Hi,
"Rabbi Zusia of Anipoli lived in abject poverty. Someone asked him, 'How can you be sincere in reciting the blessing thanking Gd for giving you all your needs when you lack so much?'
"Rabbi Zusia replied, 'Gd knows what my needs are better than I do. If He knows that one of my needs is poverty, who am I to say otherwise?"
(R' Dr. Avraham Twerski, Rebbes and Chassidim, Chapter 38)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Challenges
Hi,
"Impediments, obstacles are not to be regarded as causes for despair in a spiritual quest: but, on the contrary, as a saving grace, turning man's attention inwards, to his own defects: they are, in the long run, weapons lent to man to achieve a more perfect victory than he originally thought possible."
(Rabbi M. Miller. Sabbath Shiurim, Nasso)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Impediments, obstacles are not to be regarded as causes for despair in a spiritual quest: but, on the contrary, as a saving grace, turning man's attention inwards, to his own defects: they are, in the long run, weapons lent to man to achieve a more perfect victory than he originally thought possible."
(Rabbi M. Miller. Sabbath Shiurim, Nasso)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Repealing an oath
Hi,
“A certain local official was bad to the Jews in his city, and they plotted to flee. He imprisoned them, and forced them to swear that they would not flee.
“Do not propose that they ritually repeal their vow, for that would desecrate Gd’s Name. Further, he would no longer trust Jews for their oaths, and he might imprison one of them and not release him even with an oath.
“Rather, they should work with the king or some great official to enable the transplantation of the community against this official’s wishes.”
(R' Yehudah haChasid, Sefer Chasidim 423)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
“A certain local official was bad to the Jews in his city, and they plotted to flee. He imprisoned them, and forced them to swear that they would not flee.
“Do not propose that they ritually repeal their vow, for that would desecrate Gd’s Name. Further, he would no longer trust Jews for their oaths, and he might imprison one of them and not release him even with an oath.
“Rather, they should work with the king or some great official to enable the transplantation of the community against this official’s wishes.”
(R' Yehudah haChasid, Sefer Chasidim 423)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
On Isru Chag, tie one on!
Hi,
“One who ties [an extra day] on to the holiday with special eating and drinking is considered as though he had built an altar and brought an offering on it, as it is written, ‘Tie a celebratory offering [‘chag’, which can also mean ‘holiday’] with branches to the corners of the altar.’”
(Talmud, Succah 45b)
Happy Isru Chag,
Mordechai
“One who ties [an extra day] on to the holiday with special eating and drinking is considered as though he had built an altar and brought an offering on it, as it is written, ‘Tie a celebratory offering [‘chag’, which can also mean ‘holiday’] with branches to the corners of the altar.’”
(Talmud, Succah 45b)
Happy Isru Chag,
Mordechai
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Mitzvot of Pesach - Refraining from Melachah
Hi,
[Please note: This concludes our current series on "The Mitzvot of Pesach", but we did not cover all of the relevant mitzvot. Perhaps we'll return to the theme next year.]
We are taught to cease all melachah on the first (Mitzvah 298 in the Sefer haChinuch’s count) and seventh (Mitzvah 300) days of Pesach. “Melachah” is the set of tasks employed in building and maintaining the mishkan, the portable Temple which the Jews used before the permanent Beit haMikdash was built in Jerusalem. As the Sefer haChinuch notes, refraining from melachah has many benefits, including permitting us to spend time focussing on the miracles performed on these days.
Good moed,
Mordechai
[Please note: This concludes our current series on "The Mitzvot of Pesach", but we did not cover all of the relevant mitzvot. Perhaps we'll return to the theme next year.]
We are taught to cease all melachah on the first (Mitzvah 298 in the Sefer haChinuch’s count) and seventh (Mitzvah 300) days of Pesach. “Melachah” is the set of tasks employed in building and maintaining the mishkan, the portable Temple which the Jews used before the permanent Beit haMikdash was built in Jerusalem. As the Sefer haChinuch notes, refraining from melachah has many benefits, including permitting us to spend time focussing on the miracles performed on these days.
Good moed,
Mordechai
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Mitzvot of Pesach - The timeframe for the Korban Pesach
Hi,
The Sefer haChinuch points out that mitzvot are marked as significant if they have an allotted time period of their own, during which their rituals must be performed and into which nothing foreign is permitted to intrude. In keeping with this theme, the Torah instructs us to eliminate all chametz before midday on the fourteenth of Nisan (the Sefer haChinuch's Mitzvah 89), and only afterward may we bring the korban pesach.
At the other end of the mitzvah, we are instructed (Mitzvah 90) to ensure that all of the fats of the korban pesach, which are meant for the mizbeiach, are burned by morning. This is separate from our obligation (Mitzvah 8) to ensure that the meat of the korban pesach is not left over until the next morning.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
The Sefer haChinuch points out that mitzvot are marked as significant if they have an allotted time period of their own, during which their rituals must be performed and into which nothing foreign is permitted to intrude. In keeping with this theme, the Torah instructs us to eliminate all chametz before midday on the fourteenth of Nisan (the Sefer haChinuch's Mitzvah 89), and only afterward may we bring the korban pesach.
At the other end of the mitzvah, we are instructed (Mitzvah 90) to ensure that all of the fats of the korban pesach, which are meant for the mizbeiach, are burned by morning. This is separate from our obligation (Mitzvah 8) to ensure that the meat of the korban pesach is not left over until the next morning.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Mitzvot of Pesach - Aliyah laRegel
Hi,
Mitzvah 489, according to the count of the Sefer haChinuch, instructs us to ascend to Yerushalayim and visit the Beit haMikdash [Jerusalem Temple] for each of the three major Yamim Tovim, Pesach, Shavuot and Succot; this is the mitzvah of aliyah laregel. Mitzvah 88 instructs us to bring a korban chagigah in honor of the Yom Tov when we arrive, to demonstrate our desire to give to HaShem.
The mitzvah of aliyah laregel provides us with an opportunity to re-enact the major theme of these celebrations: The original Jewish journey from Egypt to Israel. We depart from our homes, leaving behind our wealth and trusting HaShem to take care of us along the way and at our destination in Yerushalayim. In this way, we demonstrate our own willingness to match the deeds of our ancestors and achieve greatness.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Mitzvah 489, according to the count of the Sefer haChinuch, instructs us to ascend to Yerushalayim and visit the Beit haMikdash [Jerusalem Temple] for each of the three major Yamim Tovim, Pesach, Shavuot and Succot; this is the mitzvah of aliyah laregel. Mitzvah 88 instructs us to bring a korban chagigah in honor of the Yom Tov when we arrive, to demonstrate our desire to give to HaShem.
The mitzvah of aliyah laregel provides us with an opportunity to re-enact the major theme of these celebrations: The original Jewish journey from Egypt to Israel. We depart from our homes, leaving behind our wealth and trusting HaShem to take care of us along the way and at our destination in Yerushalayim. In this way, we demonstrate our own willingness to match the deeds of our ancestors and achieve greatness.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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