[Aneinu] Shavuos Segulos

As told by Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi shtichye’: No getting angry on Shavuot! The AriZal writes that whoever gets angry on Shavuot reduces his Torah for the whole year!!! The wisdom he is supposed to get is reduced. Read tehillim on Shavuot before going to sleep and fall asleep while reading. Wake yourself up and continue to read a bit more tehillim until you keep falling asleep. Then close the tehillim and go to sleep. It is as if you are still reading Tehillim while you are sleeping. Our tehillim is like 5 Chumshei Torah. Decorate your home with greenery. Place flowers on either side of your entrance doorpost to your home and recite the passuk from Tehillim 92:13 through the end 16, “Tzaddik k’tamar….” Have the intent that your children should be decorated with righteousness and grown straight in the Torah path. Put a dish on honey on the dining table from the beginning of the Chag until the end. The Torah is sweet as honey; may it be Hashem’s will that we have that sweetness always, Amen. Say new Torah insights as much as possible during the evening and morning seudot. It is a segula that the wellsprings of wisdom will be renewed for us the whole year. After the meal Shavuot evening the Heiliger Alshich ztk’l teaches give a giant prayer for coupling and closeness of heart. Ask for your true love match and if you are already married for Shalom Bayit. This is the night when Leah Imeinu goes out to meet Yaakov after giving the mandrakes dudayim to Rachel Imeinu. From then on she becomes his married wife and Yaakov loves her immensely. That night she conceives Yissachar. Wisdom and Torah are only possible when a great strong bond connects husband and wife! In the morning Mothers should go over to her children and cover their heads with a small towel or blanket and bless them while they are sleeping the Birkat HaCohanim, the Priestly Blessing. Just as Hashem covered all of Ahm Yisrael’s head with a cloud in the morning at the time the Torah was given (the Rokeach). When the Aseret Hadibrot are read in shul it is as though we are personally receiving them once again. Healing comes down to the world and so it is the time to ask for a refuah shleimah for all. In the afternoon, daven for all of Ahm Yisrael who has gone astray from the Torah path. On Shavuot afternoon, Batya Pharoah’s daughter reaches out and saves Moshe Rabbeinu from the Nile moments before he was going to drown. Since then, at that time, it’s possible to pull out the great terrible metaphoric Nile from those children or relatives who have gone far, far away, r”l. WISHING EVERYONE AN EMUNA FILLED CHAG ENVELOPED WITH A SHOWER OF LOVE AND KISSES FROM HASHEM YITBORACH!!! From Daily Dose of Emunah

NSN Wraps Up Yom Yerushalayim Week with One Israel Fund in the Binyamin Region

Nachum Segal and NSN General Manager Miriam L. Wallach wrapped up their great week of broadcasts from Yerushalayim with our friends at One Israel Fund and their groundbreaking/dedication ceremony in the Binyamin Region.

JM in the AM Yom Yerushalayim and Yom Hebron Retrospective with Ateret Cohanim

Nachum Segal and NSN General Manager Miriam L. Wallach continued their great series of broadcasts from the Holy city of Yerushalayim as they presented a JM in the AM Yom Yerushalayim and Yom Hebron retrospective with our friends at Ateret Cohanim.

Celebrate Yom Yerushalayim (YY50) with NSN and AMIT at the Aish Center in Yerushalayim!

Nachum Segal and NSN General Manager Miriam L. Wallach presented the annual JM in the AM Yom Yerushalayim Celebration with our friends at AMIT live from the Aish Center in Yerushalayim.NSN Facebook page with facebook lives from today.

Separating Hallah, Hiring Employees + More / SHC Weekly ~ Behar-Behukotai 5777

Click here.

OU TORAH NAALEH.COM and YU TORAH Collateral Confirmed By Shira Smiles

ummary by Channie Koplowitz Stein Hashem has blessed and cursed Bnei Yisroel. He declares He would lay waste to the land and exile the people. But in spite of the sins of Bnei Yisroel that brought about this desolation, Hashem promises, “I will remember My covenant with Jacob and also My covenant with Isaac and also My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land… The Land will be bereft of them… because they were revolted by My ordinances… But despite all this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not… have rejected them to obliterate them… I am Hashem.”

OU TORAH Behar Bechukosai 5777 Rabbi Shalom Rosner

Click here.

YU TORAH Toronto Torah: Behar Bechukotai/Yom Yerushalayim 5777

Toronto Torah for Behar-Bechukotai 5777 is dedicated in honour of Yom Yerushalayim, with articles on moving to Yerushalayim, Rabbi Shalom Messas - a Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim, the Netivot Shalom on the Six Day War, and more.

CHABAD.ORG Torah: The Great Antidote Life Lessons from Parshat Bechukotai By Yehoshua B. Gordon

A big focus of this Torah portion is the importance of Torah study, and all the many blessings it brings. This is a timely lesson in strengthening our commitment to daily Torah study.

CHABAD.ORG Eat to Live or Live to Eat? Life Lessons from Parshat Behar By Yehoshua B. Gordon

he Torah specifically links the mitzvah of resting on the Sabbatical year to Mount Sinai. This demonstrates a powerful lesson in the proper approach to work and higher living.

RABBI WEIN ON B’HAR – B’CHKOTAI 5777

The book of Vayikra, which contains so many detailed commandments and minute details of ritual within it, concludes with a broad view and general description of Jewish faith. It restates the original premise of Bereshith, that the earth and its inhabitants belong to God and are free agents as to the limits that God has imposed upon them.

RABBI WEIN ON RETURNING HOME

I recently returned home to my residence in Jerusalem after an extended stay in the United States. Returning home has always been a difficult and challenging exercise for me. It is not only the enormous amount of mail that seemingly awaits my attention or the frantic messages left on my Israeli phone – most of which are unimportant or now irrelevant – as much as it is the necessary readjustment to the realities of life that living on one's own brings.

OU TORAH Yom Yerushalayim: Zion and Jerusalem By Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

Historians have long distinguished between two types of great leaders. On the one hand, there are those who are gifted with mighty talents and unusually powerful personalities. But they are essentially inward people who are not particularly gregarious and whose greatness often sets them at a distance from their followers. On the other hand, there are those who are typically interactive with others, who relate comfortably to crowds, and who use their talents to reach out to other people.

OU TORAH Minority Rights By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

One of the most striking features of the Torah is its emphasis on love of, and vigilance toward, the ger, the stranger: Do not oppress a stranger; you yourselves know how it feels to be strangers, because you were strangers in Egypt. (Ex. 23:9) For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger residing among you, giving them food and clothing. You are to love those who are strangers, for you yourselves were strangers in Egypt. (Deut 10:17-19) The Sages went so far as to say that the Torah commands us in only one place to love our neighbour but thirty-six times to love the stranger (Baba Metsia 59b). What is the definition of a stranger? Clearly the reference is to one who is not Jewish by birth. It could mean one of the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan. It could mean one of the “mixed multitude” who left Egypt with the Israelites. It might mean a foreigner who has entered the land seeking safety or a livelihood.

RAV KOOK ON Jerusalem Day: Windows to World Peace

Over the millennia, Jews have faced the holy city of Jerusalem when praying. The Talmud in Berachot 34b derives this practice from how Daniel would pray in Babylon: “One should only pray in a house which has windows, as it says, ‘And Daniel would enter his house, where there were open windows in his upper chamber facing Jerusalem; three times a day he would kneel and pray’ (Daniel 6:11).” Why are windows needed for prayer? Is not prayer a private exercise of the soul, where one concentrates inward? And why did Daniel have his windows facing Jerusalem?

RAV KOOK ON Bechukotai Part 2: Judicial Corruption

he parashah describes terrible calamities — disease, war, famine, and exile — that occur when the Jewish people abandon the Torah. According to Talmudic tradition, a primary cause for punishment is one particular offense: judicial corruption.

RAV KOOK Behar Part 2: The Intrinsic Sanctity of the Land of Israel

The Objection of the Ridbaz Rabbi Yaakov David Willowski (1845-1913) of Safed, known as the ‘Ridbaz,’ was one of the most vociferous opponents to the hetter mechirah — the temporary sale of land in Israel to a non-Jew in order to avoid the restrictions of working the land during the Sabbatical year. More interesting than his Halachic objections to the sale, however, is the philosophical argument that the rabbi of Safed raised.

RAV KOOK ON Bechukotai Part 1: Prophetic Letters

Five Double Letters Of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, five are called ‘double letters,’ as they take on a different form when appearing at the end of a word. The five letters are Mem, Nun, Tzadi, Pay, and Chaf. When placed together as one word, they spell M-N-Tz-P-Ch.

RAV KOOK ON Behar Part 1: Jubilee - National Reconciliation

In 1751, the Pennsylvania Assembly ordered a special bell be cast, commemorating the 50th anniversary of William Penn’s ‘Charter of Privileges.’ The Speaker of the Assembly was entrusted with finding an appropriate inscription for what later became famous as the Liberty Bell. The best expression of freedom and equality that the speaker could find was the Biblical verse describing the Jubilee year: “You will blow the shofar on the tenth day of the seventh month; on Yom Kippur you will blow the shofar in all your land. You shall sanctify the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom to all its inhabitants.” (Lev. 25:9–10)

CHABAD.ORG Day Two of Week 7: Gevurah of Malchut 44th Day of the Omer (29 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Examine the discipline of your sovereignty and leadership. Although sovereignty is loving, it needs to be balanced with discipline. Effective leadership is built on authority and discipline.

CHABAD.ORG Day One of Week 7: Chesed of Malchut 43rd Day of the Omer (28 Iyar Yom Yerushaliem) By Simon Jacobson

Week Seven - Malchut Sovereignty - the last of the seven attributes - is different than the previous six. It is a state of being rather than an activity. Leadership is a passive expression of human dignity which has nothing of its own except that which it receives from the other six emotions. On the other hand, malchut manifests and actualizes the character and majesty of the human spirit. It is the very fiber of what makes us human. When love, discipline, compassion, endurance and humility are properly channeled into the psyche through bonding - the result is malchut. Bonding nurtures us and allows our sovereignty to surface and flourish.

CHABAD.ORG Day Seven of Week 6: Malchut of Yesod 42nd Day of the Omer (27 Iyar ) By Simon Jacobson

Bonding must enhance a person's sovereignty. It should nurture and strengthen your own dignity and the dignity of the one you bond with. Does my bonding inhibit the expression of my personality and qualities? Does it overwhelm the one I bond with?

CHABAD.ORG Day Six of Week 6: Yesod of Yesod 41st Day of the Omer (26 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Examine the bonding aspect of bonding. The forms it takes and its level of expression. Every person needs and has the capacity to bond with other people, with significant undertakings and with meaningful experiences.

CHABAD.ORG Day Five of Week 6: Hod of Yesod 40th Day of the Omer (25 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Humility is crucial in healthy bonding. Arrogance divides people. Preoccupation with your own desires and needs separates you from others. Humility allows you to appreciate another person and bond with him. Bonding that is just an extension of your own needs is only bonding tighter with yourself. Healthy bonding is the union of two distinct people, with independent personalities, who join for a higher purpose than satisfying their own needs.

CHABAD.ORG Day Four of Week 6: Netzach of Yesod 39th Day of the Omer (24 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

An essential component of bonding is its endurance. Its ability to withstand challenges and setbacks. Without endurance there is no chance to develop true bonding. Am I totally committed to the one I bond with? How much will I endure and how ready am I to fight to maintain this bond? Is the person I bond with aware of my devotion?

CHABAD.ORG Day Three of Week 6: Tiferet of Yesod 38th Day of the Omer (23 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Bonding needs to be not only loving but also compassionate, feeling your friend's pain and empathizing with him. Is my bonding conditional? Do I withdraw when I am uncomfortable with my friend's troubles?

CHABAD.ORG Day Two of Week 6: Gevurah of Yesod 37th Day of the Omer (22 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Examine the discipline of your bonding. Bonding must be done with discretion and careful consideration with whom and with what you bond. Even the healthiest and closest bonding needs "time out", a respect for each individual's space. Do I overbond?

Aneinu Tefillos Needed

Please daven for Naftali Meir ben Sara Esther, a Chicagoan who is currently in the emergency room after being injured while working with a tool. Please daven that he should have a refuah shlema and no residual effects from the accident.

NSN YY50 Tour Broadcasts from Yad Sarah in Yerushalayim

Nachum Segal and NSN General Manager Miriam L. Wallach continued their exciting week of programming from the Holy City of Yerushalayim this morning with a broadcast from the Yad Sarah with several special guests.

NSN Heads to Yerushalayim for Yom Yerushalayim and a Great Week of Programming

Nachum Segal and NSN General Manager Miriam L. Wallach kicked off what promises to be an exciting week of programming from the Holy City of Yerushalayim this morning, in honor of YY50, the 50th anniversary of the reunification of our Holiest city. The adventure began with a broadcast from the Nefesh B’Nefesh headquarters with Rabbi Josh Fass.

Naaleh.com Urgent Tehillim Request for Today

Dear Naaleh Friends, Urgent tehillim request for two young men having surgery today: Abba ben Zeeva Elchonon Shmuel ben Yael Minna The Naaleh Crew Naaleh.com

RABBI SACKS ON YOM YERUSHALIAM 50

As we approach Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) on the 23rd / 24th May, and the 50th anniversary of the reunification of our beloved city, here are a few thoughts about what Jerusalem means to me. (This video includes captions in Hebrew. If you wish to receive an MP4 version of this video for use in your community, school or organisation on Yom Yerushalayim, please email info@rabbisacks.org and put ‘Jerusalem 50 video’ in the subject line.)

JM in the AM 2017 Fundraising Marathon, Day 4 Guests: Shmueli Ungar, Phil Goldfeder:

The 2017 JM in the AM Fundraising Marathon officially began on Monday morning with JM in the AM and continues through this Friday, May 19. Tune in for the exciting Marathon week and support another year of great JM in the AM programming by giving generously at https://www.fjbunity.org/

Practical Kabbala, Solicitors, Electricity on Yom Tov / SHC Weekly ~ Emor 5777

Click here.

OU TORAH YU TORAH NAALEH.COM Galvanizing Gestures By Shira Smiles

Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein The beginning of Parshat Emor deals with laws that are directed at the kohanim, the priests, and then focus on the even more stringent restrictions on the High Priest. He is called the kohain gadol, the “great”priest who is above his brothers. What constitutes this greatness that should elevate him above his brother priests? Why can the other priests, for example, go to the funerals of the seven members of their immediate family, for example, while he cannot contaminate himself even with the death of his parents? How do we define greatness, especially since at a bris we wish the little infant that he should become “gadol/big/great”.

OU TORAH Emor 5777 By Rabbi Shalom Rosner

Click here.

YU TORAH Toronto Torah: Emor 5777

Toronto Torah for Parshat Emor includes articles on the parshah, Rabbi Benny Elon z"l, Rabbi Menachem Elon's HaMishpat HaIvri, Rabbi J. David Bleich's With Perfect Faith, and more.

RABBI WEIN ON EMOR 5777

In commenting on the double use of the verb “emor” and “v’amarta,” Rashi states that the lesson to be derived from this grammatical anomaly is that the elder generation is charged with instructing and guiding the younger generation. This apparently simple and very necessary and logical requirement is more difficult to implement than it was to state.

RABBI WEIN ON RABBI BINYAMIN KAMENETZKY, Z’TL

Rabbi Binyamin Kamenetzky passed away last week. He was the eldest son of the great Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky and was a distant relative of our family in previous generations. Presently, a niece of mine is married to one of his sons. But this familial relationship was not the basis of my connection with him and my admiration of his great accomplishments of a long lifetime.

YU TORAH Emor and Lag B'Omer By Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik

Click here.

OU TORAH A Life of Sanctification By Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

The conditions under which we live are many and varied. Some of us live in very comfortable, even idyllic, surroundings. Others struggle with diverse hardships, including poverty, disease, and the conditions of war. Our people have known unspeakably extreme conditions, such as those experienced during the Holocaust. Throughout history, we have learned to obey God’s commands, no matter the situation in which we find ourselves. Not too long ago, we all celebrated Passover. Some of us were privileged to conduct the seder in the Old City of Jerusalem, in close proximity to the site of the Holy Temple. Others gathered around tables in resorts in much more unlikely venues, ranging from Florida and California to exotic Mediterranean or Caribbean isles.

OU TORAH Parshat Emor: The Duality of Jewish Time By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Alongside the holiness of place and person is the holiness of time, something parshat Emor charts in its deceptively simple list of festivals and holy days (Lev. 23:1-44). Time plays an enormous part in Judaism. The first thing God declared holy was a day: Shabbat, at the conclusion of creation. The first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a whole, prior to the Exodus, was the command to sanctify time, by determining and applying the Jewish calendar (Ex. 12:1-2). The prophets were the first people in history to see God in history, seeing time itself as the arena of the Divine-human encounter. Virtually every other religion and civilisation before and since has identified God, reality and truth with timelessness.

RAV KOOK ON Emor Part 2: Agents of Holiness

The Talmud in Nedarim 35b describes the kohanim as sheluchei didan, our agents. When they perform the Temple service, the kohanim act as our emissaries. Yet this idea ­ that the kohanim act as agents for the Jewish people — appears to violate the legal definition of a shaliach. An agent acts on behalf of the one sending him (the principal), executing his wishes. The agent, however, can only do that which the principal himself is authorized to do. So how can the kohanim perform the Temple service on our behalf, when we as non-kohanim are not permitted to serve there?

RAV KOOK ON Emor Part 1: Kohanim and the Illusion of Death

“God told Moses, ‘Speak to the kohanim, the descendants of Aaron. Let no [kohen] defile himself [by contact] with a dead soul among his people.” (Lev. 21:1) Why are kohanim not allowed to come in contact with a dead body? Why does the Torah refer to the dead person as a “dead soul"? After all, it is the body that dies, not the soul!

CHABAD.ORG Day One of Week 6: Chesed of Yesod 36th Day of the Omer (21 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Week Six - Yesod Bonding is the ultimate emotional connection. While the first five qualities (love, discipline, compassion, endurance and humility) are interactive, they manifest duality: the lover and the beloved. The emphasis is on an individual's feelings, not necessarily on mutuality. Bonding, on the other hand, is a complete fusion of the two. Without bonding no feeling can be truly realized. Bonding means connecting; not only feeling for another, but being attached to him. Not just a token commitment, but total devotion. It creates a channel between giver and receiver. Bonding is eternal. It develops an everlasting union that lives on forever through the perpetual fruit it bears. Bonding is the foundation of life. The emotional spine of the human psyche. Every person needs bonding to flourish and grow. The bonding between mother and child; between husband and wife; between brothers and sisters; between close friends. Bonding is affirmation; it gives one the sense of belonging; that "I matter", "I am significant and important". It establishes trust - trust in yourself and trust in others. It instills confidence. Without bonding and nurturing we cannot realize and be ourse lves. Bonding channels all five previous qualities into a constructive bond, giving it the meaning "foundation". Whereas all other human feelings are individual emotions, separate stories of a building, each a necessary component of human experience, bonding channels and integrates them all into one bond which creates a foundation upon which the structure of human emotions firmly stands. Bonding is giving all of yourself not just part; it is not one emotion but all of them. So Yesod completes the spectrum of the first six emotions. The foundation of Yesod is different from an ordinary foundation. It does not just rest beneath the higher levels of the structure, but encompasses them all. An effective bedrock of the emotional psyche cannot remain separate but must include and permeate all the emotions. Only then can bonding be constructive and everlasting.

CHABAD.ORG Day Seven of Week 5: Malchut of Hod 35th Day of the Omer (20 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Walking humbly is walking tall. Dignity is the essence of humility and modesty. The splendor of humility is majestic and aristocratic. Humility that suppresses the human spirit and denies individual sovereignty is not humility at all. Does my humility make me feel dignified? Do I feel alive and vibrant?

CHABAD.ORG Day Six of Week 5: Yesod of Hod 34th Day of the Omer (19 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Humility should not be a lonely experience. It ought to result in deep bonding and commitment. There is no stronger bond than one that comes out of humility. Does my humility separate me from others or bring us closer? Does my humility produce results? Long term results? Does it create an everlasting foundation upon which I and others can rely and build.

CHABAD.ORG Day Five of Week 5: Hod of Hod Lag BaOmer- 33rd Day of the Omer 18 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Examine the humility of humility. Everyone has humility and modesty in their hearts, the question is the measure and manner in which one consciously feels it? Am I afraid to be too humble? Do I mask and protect my modesty with aggressive behavior? Learn to cultivate your humility by interacting with people who are more refined than yourself, evoking in you modesty and humility that motivates you to grow.

CHABAD.ORG Day Four of Week 5: Netzach of Hod 32nd Day of the Omer (17 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Examine the strength and endurance of your humility. Does my humility withstand challenges? Am I firm in my positions or do I waffle in the name of humility?

CHABAD.ORG Day Three of Week 5: Tiferet of Hod 31st Day of the Omer (16 Iyar) By Simon Jacobson

Examine if your humility is compassionate. Does my humility cause me to be self-contained and anti-social or does it express itself in empathy for others. Is my humility balanced and beautiful? Or is it awkward?

JM in the AM 2017 Fundraising Marathon, Day 3

JM in the AM 2017 Fundraising Marathon, Day 3 Host: Nachum Segal, Featuring: Great Jewish music, news from Israel and Morning Chizuk with Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser.Click here to donate.