Mishnios list for yortzeit siyum of Esther Chroman(Esther bas Yichiel David)

Please finish by 3rd of Teves 5776 (December 15th 2015) Click here to sign up.

[Aneinu] Community Notice

ANASH NEWS UPDATE A Service of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois 14 Tishrei 5776 Licht Bentchen: 6:20 IMPORTANT COMMUNITY NOTICE Please be aware of the following incident that took place recently. An 11 year old boy was crossing the intersection of Lunt and California heading south on California Ave on the East side of the street. He passed a white beat up older model pickup truck that was on Lunt Ave heading West. The pick up truck made a left turn onto California Ave. and headed South. The driver from the pick up truck yelled at the boy to get into the car. The boy did not listen and began to run. The pickup truck proceeded to follow him and went into the opposite lane. The boy ran for a block and met his mother who was walking in the opposite direction. At that point the pickup truck sped off. The police were called on the scene. The Driver is white, scruffy with brown hair, age in the 40's, wearing a baseball cap. The passenger is Hispanic clean shaven in his late 30's early 40's.

[Aneinu] Fwd: Urgent Tehillim Needed Today!

A young 29 year old man is in critical condition with heavy head damage and other bones due to a tragic fall from a tree while building his Sukkah. He is married, has 2 small kids and his wife is pregnant (due in 2 months) B"H. Please please please take upon yourself any mitzvah for his Refuah shlema and Pray & say Tehilim for Benyamin Chaim ben Nani Chana

THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5776 Issue I Yom Kippur- Succos How to Purchase Daled Minim Grown During Shemita Part II Practical Applications of Prohibitions Associated with Produce Grown During Shemita By Rabbi Yehoshua Grunwald

n Part 1 of this article we concluded that of the seven prohibitions associated with produce grown on Shemita, a reliable Hechsher will assure that two of the prohibitions have been properly dealt with according to Halacha. They are Ne’evad - doing certain Avodos – farming activities with Sheviis crops and Shomur - where the owner guards his crops and displays ownership of them. The remaining five prohibitions can be problematic even when the Daled Minim bear a reliable Hashgacha. Let us examine each of the Daled Minim and how the remaining five prohibitions can apply to them.

NAALEH.COM and YU TORAH Parshat Nitzavim & Vayelech: Symbiotic Song By: Mrs. Shira Smiles

In this Torah shiur (class) on Parshat Nitzavim and Vayelech, Mrs. Shira Smiles speaks about the verse, "write this song for yourselves" and what song it's referring to. This Torah class is available online in streaming video and for download in mp3 and ipod video formats. Click here for Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein

NAALEH.COM Torah and Tefilla: Components of Teshuva By: Mrs. Shira Smiles

In this Torah shiur (class) on the essence of teshuva, based on the Haftara of Shabbat Shuva, Mrs. Shira Smiles demonstrates the important role of tefilla (prayer) and Torah study in enabling a person to repent completely. This Torah class is available online in streaming video and for download in mp3 and ipod video formats.

NAALEH.COM Parshat Vayeilech: Causes of Sin By: Rabbi Hershel Reichman

In this shiur(class) Rabbi Hershel Reichman explains an enigmatic Midrash which explains the word Vayeilech as a form of a rebuke. Based on the Shem Mishmuel, Rabbi Reichman launches into a discussion about the causes of sin and how to prevent sinning.

OU TORAH Torah as Song Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Moses’ long and tempestuous career is about to end. With words of blessing and encouragement he hands on the mantle of leadership to his successor Joshua, saying, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today. I may no longer go out and come in, since the Lord has said to me, you will not cross this Jordan.” (31: 2). As Rashi notes, he says, “I may not”, not “I cannot.” He is still in full bodily vigour, “his eye undimmed and his natural energy unabated.” But he has reached the end of his personal road. The time has come for another age, a new generation, and a different kind of leader.

OU HOLIDAYS The Cry of the Shofar By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

There’s an old and totally apocryphal story about the nineteenth century French Jewish aristocrat Baron de Rothschild, whose wife was in her bedroom with a nurse, in the last stages of delivery while he was sitting downstairs playing a game of cards with his friends. Suddenly they heard her cry, ‘Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu.’ ‘Baron,’ said his friends, ‘go up to your wife. She needs you.’ ‘Not yet.’ said the baron and continued playing cards. Five minutes later they heard a cry, ‘My God, My God.’ ‘Go up,’ said the Baron’s friends. ‘Not yet,’ said the Baron and returned to his cards. Finally they heard his wife cry, ‘Gevalt.’ The Baron immediately rose and ran upstairs, saying, ‘Now is the time.

YU TORAH Toronto Torah: Vayelech/Shuvah 5776

Toronto Torah for Vayyelech/Shuvah 5776 includes articles on the parshah, Rabbi Shlomo Brody's Guide to the Complex, adding to the Torah, Rabbi Ovadia Seforno and more

RABBI WEIN ON VAYELECH – SHUVA

The name of this week's Torah reading is taken from the first word of the parsha itself – vayelech. This word signifies movement, the action of going somewhere. The subject of this verb is a great teacher and leader Moshe. According to Jewish tradition and the words of the great commentators to the Torah, this parsha was recorded for us by Moshe on the last day of his presence on earth.

RABBI WEIN ON THE THE NEW YEAR

As part of our human nature, we begin a new year with great optimism and hope, though experience has taught us that there is no year that does not contain its share of problems. And some of the challenges that we may face, the very severe ones, are not given to easy solutions. Nevertheless, that in no way dampens our hopes for a year of goodness, success, health and accomplishment.

RAV KOOK ON VaYeilech: The Song of Torah

Near the end of his life, Moses commanded the people: “Now write for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites” (Deut. 31:19). This verse is the source-text for the obligation of each Jew to write a Torah scroll (Sanhedrin 21b). [However, the Shulchan Aruch quotes the opinion of Rabbeinu Asher (the Rosh) that ‘Nowadays it is a mitzvah to write books of the Pentateuch, Mishnah, Talmud, and their commentaries,’ since we no longer study directly from Torah scrolls.] But why did Moses refer to the Torah as a ’song’? In what way should we relate to the Torah as song?

RAV KOOK ON YOM KIPPUR Complete Teshuvah

The focus of the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is teshuvah [return or repentance]. We recite the Avinu Malkeinu prayer during this period, requesting: “Our Father our King! Return us in complete teshuvah before You.” When is teshuvah full and complete?

Kleinman Ed Midrash Rabbah: Megillas Koheles [Full Size] IS AT KESHER STAM

If you want to unlock the spiritual and ethical treasures of Jewish thought... If you want to share the insights and brilliance of Midrashic commentators, both classic and contemporary... If you want to discover the depth and beauty of the Midrash... Now is the time to begin. A monumental and magnificent new Torah project: The Kleinman Edition Midrash Rabbah Like the Talmud, the Midrash is part of the Oral Law. The Midrash delves into the spiritual essence of the revealed Torah. It adds many missing details of the Torah's narrative, and provides the ethical tradition that was passed down orally from generation to generation. Midrash Rabbah is the best known and most widely studied of all the Midrashic works. The Kleinman Edition Midrash Rabbah is a 16-volume project covering all of Midrash Rabbah, on the entire Chumash and the Five Megillahs. The Kleinman Edition Midrash Rabbah features: The Hebrew text, newly typeset, on pages facing the English translation and commentary Many classic Hebrew commentaries, including Rashi, Matnos Kehunah, Eitz Yosef, and Maharzu, plus the out-of-print classic Eshed HaNechalim -- All newly typeset on the Hebrew page ArtScroll/Mesorah's acclaimed phrase-by-phrase translation and elucidation of the Midrash text, created by an international team of Torah scholars for optimum understanding of the Midrash Explanatory footnotes to help clarify difficult passages and concepts A special "Insights" section that amplifies or complements our elucidated text and notes and at times brings a contemporary focus to the timeless words of the Midrash "Insights": Midrashic teachings enriching our contemporary understanding The Midrash has been the source of Jewish ethical and spiritual teachings for millennia, and has been mined for its treasures particularly by the masters of Mussar and Chassidic thought. In the unique "Insights" feature, we see the Midrash through the eyes of classic early authorities as well as more contemporary giants of Torah thought such as Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the Sefas Emes, and Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, and many others. (From Artscroll)and domt forget the Artscroll Medrash's are %20 off.

NAALEH.COM and YU TORAH Super Sensitivity By: Mrs. Shira Smiles

One of the sins for which we ask forgiveness through confession is, “Al chet shechatanu lefanecha behonoat rea– For the sin that we have committed before You for wronging a neighbor/friend.” Click here Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein.

Aneinu Please Daven

Please daven for the refuah shleima of my grandfather, a Chicagoan, Chaim ben Ita Leah , who is in ICU in very serious condition.  

[Aneinu] Please Daven

Please daven for Bluma Sarah bas Yocheved Devorah who was rushed to the emergency room.

[Aneinu] Please Daven for New Mother in Critical Condition

From Keytfilla: Please daven for Efrat Galia bat Nili (not a Chicagoan) for a refua shlema. She just gave birth and is in very critical condition. 1.

[Aneinu] Please Daven - Surgery Monday

Please daven for Chana Rushka bas Leah Aidel, a Chicagoan having surgery tomorrow, Monday.

[Aneinu] Please Daven - Surgery Monday

Please daven for a Chicagoan, Gitta Faiga bat Malka who is having surgery tomorrow, Monday.

OU TORAH MISHNA BERURA YOMI (DIRSHU) MB 69a: Proper Kedusha and Treatment of Tefillin (40:1-2) By Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

Click here.

HaShoneh Halachos 2: Mishneh Torah By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

73. Hating Another Jew

HaShoneh Halachos 2: Mishneh Torah By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

72. Loving Your Neighbor and Converts Due to Rosh Hashonah I missed a few days so here's the index.

MAZEL TOV OU'S NACH YOMI 4TH CYCLE FINISHED DANIEL YESTERDAY AND IS STARTING EZRA TODAY

So join Rabbi Elli Fischer and Rabbi Jack Abramowitz for Ezra today.

Moadei Hashanah, The Ten Days of Repentance and Yom Kippur Restoring Our Connection with Hashem by Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus

Your ideal companion for the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah & Yom Kippur Description Moadei Hashanah, The Ten Days of Repentance and Yom Kippuris the ninth sefer from Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus zt"l to appear in English. It is part of the enormously popular Hebrew Sichos series, read by thousands of people across the world. Rav Pincus, venerated Rosh Yeshivah, beloved Rav of Ofakim, and worldwide lecturer, spoke passionately concerning the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah and Yom Kippur and the proper way to approach them. These lectures are transcribed in this powerful work. Rav Pincus clarifies the ways of teshuvah and opens their gates to all. He explains profoundly how the Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy work, helping us effect real change and renew our close attachment to Hashem. And he offers practical advice on how to make Yom Kippur into what we know it should be. These insights can surely transform lives. This latest volume of the Moadei Hashanah series enriches and adds new dimensions to these crucial days that hold the key to the entire year. Rav Pincus' depth, relevance, and wit as expressed in this book are sure to inspire each person and raise him to a new level of teshuvah and kirvas Hashem.(From Feldheim)Print discount here.

Praying with Meaning Connecting to Hashem through Tefillah By Rabbi Heshy Kleinman IS AT KESHER STAM

The revolution continues Praying with Fire (volumes 1 and 2) began a "tefillah revolution"”for tens of thousands whose prayers were immeasurably enriched by its potent insights and powerful strategies. Now Rabbi Heshy Kleinman turns his brilliant understanding of tefillah to the actual prayers themselves. Beginning with the first words a Jew says every morning - Modeh Ani - and moving throughout the prayers we recite each day, Rabbi Kleinman brings his trademark combination of scholarship and spirituality to the words of tefillah. Like a master jeweler displaying a precious gem, he shows us the many sparkling facets of our prayer's holy words. Praying with Meaning looks at the simple meaning of specific words in the tefillah, followed by an examination of the prayer's essential concepts. Then, with his genius for transforming lofty spiritual truths into practical action, the author guides us into visualizing images and finding strategies to bring these concepts into our daily routine. He weaves stories and parables to make clearer to us what the prayers are referring to, and shares important halachic information on each prayer. Praying with Fire showed us the vital importance of tefillah. Now - isn't it time to understand what we're saying? (From Artscroll)

OU and VBM The Teshuva of Shabbat

For decades, thousands from around the world gathered to join Rabbi Yehuda Amital zt”l as he led the High Holiday prayers at Yeshivat Har Etzion. Right before the most critical points in the services, at moments of high spiritual intensity, he would pause to address the assembled with words that uplifted, inspired, and enlightened. He poured into these words the depths of feeling, insight, and experience he had accumulated on his personal journey from the ashes of the Holocaust to the miraculous revival of Jewish statehood and in his life’s work as an educational visionary and pioneering thinker. The following is adapted from Rabbi Amital’s Dvar Torah from Shabbat Teshuva, as it appears in When God Is Near.

[Aneinu] Kol Koreh from Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah

Click here.

[Aneinu] Israeli Rabbinate Approves New Prayer for Return of Bodies of IDF Soldiers

Israeli Rabbinate Approves New Prayer for Return of Bodies of IDF SoldiersSeptember 16, 2015 8:22 am second-lieutenant-hadar-goldinIsrael’s Chief Rabbinate has approved a new prayer to be recited in shuls until further notice – a tefillah for the return of the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, Israeli soldiers who were killed and captured by Hamas in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge, Yediot reports. The idea to write such a tefillah came from the American community of Ramat Orah in New York who approached the Goldin family and told them that the community would like to establish a tefillah to be said on Yomim Tovim and Shabbos for the return of their son’s body. Goldin’s father Simcha turned to two rabbis who established the precise wording of the prayer and approached the Rabbinate for approval. Chief Rabbi Rav Dovid Lau said that adding a prayer was no simple matter, but gave his approval due to the importance of the issue. “We pray for IDF soldiers, security forces and this missing or imprisoned every Shabbos at shul,” said Rav Lau. “I call on (everyone) to add the special prayer. It’s our moral duty to the Goldin and Shaul families – to pray for the return of their sons’ bodies to bury them in Israel.” Simcha Goldin welcomed the new prayer and said, “It’s important to understand that there are still two soldiers in Gaza and we need to return them. When we talk these days about the ease we want to give the other side, it’s important to make the return of the bodies a condition.” The text of the new prayer reads as follows: אב הרחמים שוכן מרומים ברחמיו העצומים, הוא יפקוד ברחמים את החיילים הקדושים והטהורים הדר בן שמחה וחדווה לאה ואורון בן הרצל וזהבה, שמסרו נפשם על קדושת השם. מנשרים קלו ומאריות גברו לעשות רצון קונם וחפץ צורם בעוז ובענווה. יזכרם אלוהינו לטובה עם שאר צדיקי עולם, יביאם לקבר ישראל, ככתוב ואל עמו תביאנו, וינוחו בשלום על משכבם ונאמר אמן. {Matzav.com Israel}

NSN That’s Life with Miriam L. Wallach – September 17, 2015

With Rabbi Yehoshua Fass on the new Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah/Yomim Noraim video-lecture series. Check Out the New Nefesh B’Nefesh Divrei Torah Series on Israel, Aliyah and the High Holidays.

[Aneinu] Please Daven

Please daven for Rochel Leah bas Elisheva, mechetenista of an Aneinu member, who had a stroke.

OU TORAH Yerushalmi – Berachos 62 By Rabbi Yosef Grossman

Click here.

[Aneinu] Missing persons & Updates

From Debbie in Israel: BS"D Dear Daveners: Please daven and say tehillim for the following missing persons: 1. Aaron Schneiderman, 25, of Beit Shemesh, was last seen on the night of Sept. 10 in the city about 20 miles west of Jerusalem. I do not have his Hebrew name. Please daven and say tehillim for his safe return. 2. Amir Ohana, a missing Israeli, 28, married father of 3 children from Bat Yam who was among the roughly 45,000 Jews traveling to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. He apparently left to take a walk by himself in the area of Uman on the afternoon of the 2nd day of RH, and never returned. He also has epilepsy. I do not have his Hebrew name. Please daven and say tehillim for his safe return. Updates 1. Zev Yaacov Moshe ben Chaya (Rabbi Leff) is BH doing well and was in shul on Rosh Hashana 2. Marilyn bas Sarah Esther who suffered a stroke (original notification was 19-August), has experienced some small positive signs, and needs our continue prayers/tehillim during her rehabilitation period. Please keep her in your prayers for 4 weeks.

NSN By the Book with Nachum Segal Episode 32: Featuring Rabbi David Eliezrie

On this edition of By the Book, sponsored by Koren Publishers, Nachum Segal interviewed Rabbi David Eliezrie on “The Secret of Chabad – Inside the World’s Most Successful Jewish Movement.” From the Koren website: Considered one of the most influential movements in modern Judaism, writers have speculated for decades about the unparalleled success of Chabad Lubavitch. In The Secret of Chabad, Rabbi David Eliezrie depicts the events, philosophies, and personalities that have made Chabad Lubavitch a worldwide phenomenon. From his unique style – weaving together narrative and fact, history and philosophical insight, interviews with shluchim and Chabad leaders from across the globe, and personal recollection – emerges a world rich in tradition and the enormous love for fellow Jews that is embodied by the shluchim. In this book, Rabbi Eliezrie combines the insider’s perspective of a long-time Chabad shaliach with the storytelling flair of a prolific writer.

OU TORAH MISHNA BERURA YOMI (DIRSHU) MB 68a: Who is Exempt from Writing Tefillin? – part 5 (39:3-7) By Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

Click here.

OU TORAH MISHNA BERURA YOMI (DIRSHU) MB 67b: Who is Exempt from Writing Tefillin? – part 4 (39:1-2) By Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

Click here.

OU TORAH MISHNA BERURA YOMI (DIRSHU) MB 67a: Who is Exempt from Wearing (and writing) Tefillin (part 3) (38:12-39:1) By Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

Click here.

OU TORAH MISHNA BERURA YOMI (DIRSHU) MB 66b: Who is Exempt from Wearing Tefillin (part 2) (38:8-11) By Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

Click here.

THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue XXXVI Parshas Nitzavim Pas Yisroel Product List for Aseres Ymei Teshuva OU Pas Yisroel Products (as of Elul 5775) Rabbi Eli Eleff, Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Consumer Relations Administrator

This article was reprinted with permission from the OU. THE TUR (Orach Chaim, Siman 603), based upon the Talmud Yerushalmi, cites the custom for Jews to be stringent during the Aseret Yimei Teshuva to eat exclusively PAS YISROEL bread. Even those Jews who generally do not exclusively eat PAS YISROEL are encouraged to accept this practice during the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We therefore present the list of all OU PAS YISROEL products.

THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue XXXVI Parshas Nitzavim How to Purchase Daled Minim Grown During Shemita 7 Prohibitions Associated With Produce Grown on Shemita Rabbi Yehoshua Grunwald

This article will discuss the Daled Minim – the Four Species used on Sukkos which grew during Shemita. There are specific Shemita Halachos for each of the Daled Minim. There are a total of seven prohibitions associated with produce grown on Shemita that pertain to the Four Species. Let us clarify the status of each of the four species grown during Shemita in light of those seven prohibitions.

THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue XXXVI Parshas Nitzavim The Din of Rosh Hashanah Explained People Who are Neither Righteous nor Wicked by: HaRav Chaim Weg Shlit"a, Rosh Kollel at the Bais HaVaad Kollel for Dayanus

Click here for audio.

NAALEH.COM Parshat Nitzavim: Steadfast Faith By: Rabbi Hershel Reichman

In this shiur (Torah class), Rabbi Hershel Reichman delves into the meaning of the bris (covenant) that takes place between Hashem and the Jewish People, in this week's parsha, Parshat Nitzavim. The Shem MiShmuel explains the underlying essence of the bris as the commitment to Hashem in all circumstances, both positive and negative. This Torah class is available online in streaming video and for download in mp3 and ipod video formats.

OU TORAH and CHABAD.ORG Why Judaism? By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

This week’s parsha raises a question that goes to the heart of Judaism, but which was not asked for many centuries until raised by a great Spanish scholar of the fifteenth century, Rabbi Isaac Arama. Moses is almost at the end of his life. The people are about to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land. Moses knows he must do one thing more before he dies. He must renew the covenant between the people and God.

YU TORAH Toronto Torah: Netzavim 5775

Toronto Torah for Netzavim and Rosh HaShanah includes articles on the parshah and Rosh HaShanah, Orot haTeshuvah, Rabbi Yoshiyah Pinto, the founding of Dimona and more

RABBI WEIN ON NITZAVIM 5775

One of the more obvious lessons taught to us by the book of Dvarim is the eternity and immutability of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. There are all sorts of difficulties and tragedies forecast for the Jewish people from the time of Moshe forward. And, unfortunately, these sad events have all come to pass.

RABBI WEIN ON SELICHOT

The custom of reciting special penitential prayers before Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is an ancient one. It certainly dates back to the time of the Geonim in Babylonia, if not even earlier. The custom of the Sefaradim is to recite these prayers beginning with the entire month of Elul until Yom Kippur. The custom of the Ashkenazin is to begin the recitation of these prayers the week before Rosh Hashana and to continue their recitation also until Yom Kippur. These prayers have been layered over centuries though the format that is currently used in most synagogues has been pretty much established since the seventeenth century. Tens of scholars and poets have contributed to composing the liturgy of these prayers, within which much of the history of the Jewish people and their exile has been recorded.

RAV KOOK ON Elul/Nitzavim: Teshuvah for the Generation of Rebirth

“For some time I have been struggling with an inner conflict, and a mighty force impels me to speak about teshuvah [penitence]. All my thoughts are focused on this topic. Teshuvah holds a primary place in Torah and in life. All the hopes of the individual and of society depend on it.” So begins Rav Kook’s introduction to Orot HaTeshuvah (‘Lights of Penitence'), perhaps his most popular work, first published in 1925. The compact book was beloved by its author, and Rav Kook himself would study its teachings during the month of Elul after morning prayers. One student reported hearing Rav Kook say, ‘I worked extensively on Orot HaTeshuvah. Whoever studies it properly will find light in every word.’ He also declared: Orot HaTeshuvah should be be studied endlessly.’ What is so special about the book’s outlook on teshuvah? Teshuvah — a Return to Life

RAV KOOK ON Nitzavim Part 1: Bridging the Generation Gap

The time will come, the Torah assures us, when God will bring the Jewish people back to the land of their ancestors. In the Land of Israel, they will learn to fully love God and keep His commandments: “God will remove the barriers from your hearts and from your descendants’ hearts, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul... .” (Deut. 30:6) Why does the verse mention both ‘your hearts’ and ‘your descendants’ hearts’? Do the parents and children have different hearts?

[Aneinu] Please Daven - Test Today, Wednesday

Please daven that everything should go well for Aneinu member, Tzvia bas Chana Devorah who is having a test today at 4:30 PM.

VIRTUAL BEIT MEDRASH ON ROSH HASHANA

CLICK HERE

NAALEH.COM and YU TORAH The Silent Sound Of The Shofar By: Mrs. Shira Smiles

he mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah is hearing the shofar. What should we be thinking of as we hear the shofar blasts that will make this mitzvah relevant? In the Mussaf Amidah of Rosh Hashanah we ask Hashem to remember the akeidah, the binding of Isaac, and in the shofrot section of the Amidah the references are to the shofar blasts at Sinai when we accepted the Torah. What is the connecting theme between the shofar, the akeidah and Sinai? And if Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, why don’t we discuss teshuvah and have viduy (confession) as part of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy as we do on Yom Kippur? Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein.

OU HOLIDAYS The Future of the Past By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

It’s strange, very strange. Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the aseret yemei teshuvah, the ten days of repentance. We reflect on the past year, recall the bad we did and the good we failed to do, apologise, confess and ask for forgiveness. Yet there’s almost none of this on Rosh Hashanah. There is no confession, no Ashamnu bagadnu, no Al chet, no reference to the past year, no looking back. One of the few references to the fact that we are embarking on a process of teshuvah is the Unetaneh Tokef prayer reminding us that today our fate is being written: who will live and who will die. Surely the beginning of the days of repentance should begin with repentance? The answer is one of the deepest truths of Judaism. To mend the past, first you have to secure the future.

OU HOLIDAYS Halacha L’Maaseh on Rosh Hashana By Richard B. Aiken

Introduction Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the Jewish calendar year (there are three other dates that begin other aspects of the Jewish year). Rosh Hashana is observed for two days, which are considered to be one continuous day. In Temple times, a Kohen would offer a sacrifice but might not know until the following evening, after the new moon had been seen (or not), whether he had offered the Rosh Hashana offering. Rosh Hashana focuses on the idea of God as King and of our relationship as Jews to that King.

RAV KOOK ON Elul/ROSH HASHONAH: The Shofar of Redemption

Zalman Shazar, the third president of the State of Israel, was a childhood friend of Rav Kook’s most prominent disciple — Rabbi David Cohen, the Rav HaNazir. Shazar and Rabbi Cohen both relocated to Jerusalem, where they renewed their former friendship. Zalman Shazar described an extraordinary encounter that he witnessed during the month of Elul, the month of reflection and repentance leading up to Rosh Hashanah. When I rediscovered Rav David Cohen in Jerusalem, he was steadily ascending the world of mysticism and silence. One day in Elul, I went to visit him in Rav Kook’s house. It was before the High Holidays, and I wanted to absorb some of his spirit of purity and holiness.

CHABAD.ORG 50 Years After Koufax, Students Take Rain Check on St. Louis Cardinals’ Yom Kippur Game Jewish university students to attend services on ballpark’s “College Night” and plan new event on anniversary

ST. LOUIS—When Sandy Koufax decided not to pitch in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur, he became an instant hero for many Jews across the country. He was still able to help his team—the Los Angeles Dodgers—starting in games 2, 5 and 7, and they went on to win the title, beating their rival the Minnesota Twins. Koufax was even awarded “Most Valuable Player” of the series. That was 50 years ago, but his actions have had a lingering effect to this day. After all, it was a big move on a very big stage, and it could have had real repercussions on the outcome of the game—and Koufax’s career.

COLLIVE.COM Shlucha Needs Urgent Tehillim

Please say urgent Tehillim for Chaya Shoshana bas Itl Leah, a Shlucha that is in need of a Refuah Shelaima.

MAZEL TOV OU'S NACH YOMI 4TH CYCLE FINISHED MEGILLAS ESTHER (THATS ALL 5 MEGGILAS) THIS WEEK AND IS STARTING DANIEL THIS WEEK

So join Rabbi Eric Levy and Rabbi Jack Abramowitz for Daniel today.

NSN SEASON 4 By the Book with Nachum Segal Episode 31: Featuring Rabbi Reuven Ziegler

NSN BY THE BOOK IS BACK.On this edition of By the Book, sponsored by Koren Publishers, Nachum Segal interviewed Rabbi Reuven Ziegler about Rabbi Yehuda Amital’s book on the High Holidays entitled, “When God is Near.” From the Koren website: For decades, thousands from around the world gathered to join Rabbi Yehuda Amital zt”l as he led the High Holiday prayers at Yeshivat Har Etzion. Right before the most critical points in the services, at moments of high spiritual intensity, he would pause to address the assembled with words that uplifted, inspired, and enlightened. He poured into these words the depths of feeling, insight, and experience he had accumulated on his personal journey from the ashes of the Holocaust to the miraculous revival of Jewish statehood and in his life’s work as an educational visionary and pioneering thinker. When God Is Near presents a compilation of these powerful discourses by one of the most profound religious leaders of our time. Bringing together Rabbi Amital’s wisdom, sensitivity, humanity, and uncompromising search for truth, this volume guides readers on the path to sincere prayer and true repentance.

OU TORAH MISHNA BERURA YOMI (DIRSHU) MB 66a: Who is Exempt from Wearing Tefillin (part 1) (38:5-8) By Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

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OU TORAH HaShoneh Halachos 2: Mishneh Torah By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

63. When There Is No Doctor

Talks on the Parasha By: Adin Steinsaltz

alks on the Parasha recreates the warm, intimate atmosphere of a personal encounter with Rabbi Steinsaltz. While providing insights that are meaningful for the Jewish collective, it speaks to every individual as well. To Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, the Torah contains within it many worlds. The themes, the language, the myriad ways in which to understand and interpret it – all of these are worlds that both exist independently and are connected to one another, inextricably linked from within and from without. What emerges from the totality of the Torah’s manifold shades of meaning is that the Torah is essentially “the book of the chronicles of man.” The Torah – addressing, in particular, the Jewish people and the individual – helps the reader understand not only what happened in the past and what ought to happen in the future, but also the meaning of his or her own life.(FROM Koren)Order here.

THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue XXXV Parshas Ki Savo The 'Magical Power' of the Rabbis How Does The Pruzbul Really Work? By Rabbi Tzvi Price

In Parshas Re’eh the Torah states, “At the end of seven years you shall institute a Shemittah (release)… Every creditor shall release his authority over what he has lent his fellow Jew; he shall not press his fellow Jew…” (Devarim 15:1-2) Chazal (our Sages) explain that these words present us with two commandments. Firstly, there is a positive commandment to declare that we waive our right to collect any loans that were payable during the year of Shemittah. Secondly, the Torah commands us to refrain from demanding payment of those loans. Later on in the same passage (Devarim 15:9) the Torah obligates us in a third Shemittah commandment. There the Torah states that when making a decision whether to lend money, one is not allowed to take into account the possibility that Shemittah may release the loan. The concept that is formed by these three mitzvos is called Shemittas Kesafim, ‘the release of monies.’ Surprisingly, though the agricultural Shemittah only applies in the land of Israel, the mitzvos of Shemittas Kesafim are incumbent upon every Jew wherever he may find himself. On the surface, our present observance of Shemittas Kesafim bears very little resemblance to that which the Torah describes. Unlike in olden times, today’s Jewish courts rarely, if ever, enforce the release of a loan due to Shemittah. The rabbinic enactment of the pruzbul, which is a main cause for this change, is often misunderstood. Unfortunately, the procedure of making a pruzbul leaves the onlooker with the feeling that he had just witnessed some kind of magic which somehow makes the mitzvah of Shemittas Kesafim disappear. The purpose of this article is to demystify this often poorly understood subject.

THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue XXXV Parshas Ki Savo The Laws of Shemitas Kesofim and Pruzbul 5775 – Part II Everything You Need to Know to Properly Execute a Pruzbul This Year By Rabbi Yehoshua Grunwald

How Does One Write a Pruzbul in the Best Way Possible? In Part 1 of this article we learned that in order to properly write a Pruzbul in our times we are faced with two main issues that the Poskim grapple with. 1. Does the Malveh have to actually appear in front of Bais Din to affect a Pruzbul? 2. Is it required, as the Mechaber brings in the name of the Sefer HaTerumos, to appear in front of an esteemed Bais Din – one that either contains a gadol hador or was accepted by the community, which have the power to take money from one litigant and give it to the other one. On a practical level most Ashkenazim appear in front of a Bais Din of Bnei Torah and do not seek the Bais Din Choshuv – the esteemed Bais Din. What can Sefardim, who wish to follow the Mechaber and the Sefer HaTerumos opinion, do?

THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5775 Issue XXXV Parshas Ki Savo When a Person's Property Defines His Identity Broad Applications of Hasagas Gvul by: Rabbi Yosef Greenwald

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NAALEH.COM The Source Of Self Effacement By: Mrs. Shira Smiles

In this shiur Shira Smiles answers the questions what so special about bikurrim and why is davening 3 times a day a replacement for bikkurim?

NAALEH.COM Parshat Ki Tavo: Submission to G-d By: Rabbi Hershel Reichman

In this Torah shiur (class), Rabbi Hershel Reichman expounds on the idea of bowing before G-d. This discussion is prompted by a difficult Midrash found in reference to this week's parsha, Parshat Ki Tavo. Based on the Shem Mishmuel, this class provides a Chassidic interpretation of an essential act of prayer. This Torah class is available online in streaming video and for download in mp3 and ipod video formats.

OU TORAH The Pursuit of Joy By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Happiness, said Aristotle, is the ultimate goal at which all humans aim.[1] But in Judaism it is not necessarily so. Happiness is a high value. Ashrei, the closest Hebrew word to happiness, is the first word of the book of Psalms. We say the prayer known as Ashrei three times each day. We can surely endorse the phrase in the American Declaration of Independence that among the inalienable rights of humankind are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

YU TORAH Toronto Torah: Ki Tavo 5775

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RABBI WEIN KI TAVO 5775

The next few parshiyot of the Torah, leading up to the final uplifting and glorious conclusion, portray for us a somber picture of the experiences that the Jewish people will undergo in their march through history. The descriptions of the horrors that will overtake the Jewish people, when their national entity is destroyed and they embark on a long and painful exile of millennia, are graphic, frightening…..and tragically accurate. As we read in the Torah, the Jewish people wondered how it was possible for the world to worship with intense loyalty the false gods and imperfect faiths. Because of this vexing question, the Jewish people as a whole also succumbed to such worthless worship and falsity. This in turn led the Jewish people to wonder why they suffered such an onerous fate in their history.

RABBI WEIN ON THE SUNSHINE PATRIOTS

The Jewish communities and individual Jews living in the Diaspora, in the United States and the Western world particularly are currently faced with having to make a difficult and almost fateful decision regarding the signing of an admittedly bad deal with Iran. As t his would pave the way for that nation to become a nuclear power in the very foreseeable future, does continued Jewish opposition to the deal contribute to Jewish interests worldwide? To put the matter more boldly and painfully, is it right and necessary to advocate a Jewish interest over the national policy of governments of nations where Jews are citizens but are only a rather small minority?