Wednesday, January 31, 2018

COLLIVE.COM Please Say Urgent Tehillim


Please say urgent Tehillim, Kapitel 20 and 56, for Rafoel Menachem ben Chana Genendel who is in urgent need of a refuah Shelaima.

CHABAD.ORG ON TU BSHEVAT


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JM in the AM Tu B’Shvat Celebration 5778


Nachum welcomed Meir Weingarten, host of NSN’s The Israel Show, to this week’s Israel-based programming for the annual JM in the AM Tu B’Shvat Celebration. It is always a great look at the holiday of Tu B’Shvat made even more special with the NSN team broadcasting from Israel. Happy Tu B’Shvat to all!

OU TORAH YU TORAH NAALEH.COM Reconsidering Return Shira Smiles


Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein Parshat Beshalach begins with a curious statement: “…When Pharaoh sent the people out… God did not lead them by way of the Land of the Philistines, because it was close, for God said, ‘Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see a war and they will return to Egypt.’…The Children of Israel were armed when they went out from Egypt.”

RABBI WEIN ON BSHALACH 5778


The Pharaoh of Egypt has finally relented and freed the Jewish people from their centuries of slavery and persecution and allowed them to leave his country. Even though he was forced to do so by continuing plagues and disasters that fell upon him and his people, nevertheless freeing the Jewish people was a noble thing that he accomplished. Yet, as is the want of all tyrants and evil people, he does not view his behavior and action as being noble and praiseworthy. Instead he is convinced that he has made a grave error and in order to correct that mistake, immobilizes his army in order to force the Jewish people back into Egyptian slavery.

RABBI WEIN ON TU B’SHVAT


I think that if all of us stopped and contemplated the growth and success of the state of Israel in our time, we would truly realize that we are living in a miraculous age. Though the miracles are consistent and regular, oftentimes, perhaps even most times, we take them so for granted that the miraculous become mundane. One of the great miracles of the state of Israel is its agricultural industry. Israel has an arid, rock filled landscape with very large patches of desert mixed in. It is not the lush landscape that exists in other parts of the world where agricultural industries bloom and prosper. Nevertheless, the prophets of Israel guaranteed that as part of the process of redemption and the Jewish return to its homeland, the desert would somehow bloom and the land would produce delicious fruits in abundance and variety.

RABBI WEIN ON DEMOCRACY IS MESSY


Even though our wonderful little state is still facing major diplomatic and terrorist persecution and problems, the Israeli public has become so accustomed to them that we hardly take real notice or have undue concern. Currently there really are few major issues that are presented to the public as being overly threatening or very serious. Because of this we here in Israel have reverted to our favorite sport, which is political infighting. The government coalition is alternately viewed as being solid or fragile depending on which point of view you wish to adopt. The old religious – secular bugaboo has reared its head once more and as usual harsh and unnecessary invective is being employed by all sides of this debate.

YU TORAH B'Shalach By Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik


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OU TORAH Beshalach 5778 Rabbi Shalom Rosner


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YU TORAH Toronto Torah: Beshalach 5778


Toronto Torah for Parshat Beshalach includes articles on the parshah, Tu b'Shevat, Jebel Musa, Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman and more.

OU TORAH The Longer, Shorter Road By Britain's Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks


At the end of his new book, Tribe of Mentors, Timothy Ferris cites the following poem by Portia Nelson. It’s called ‘Autobiography in Five Short Chapters’: Chapter 1: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost… I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Chapter 2: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in this same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. Chapter 3: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in… It’s a habit… But, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. Chapter 4: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. Chapter 5: I walk down another street. That is probably how life is like for many of us. It certainly was for me. We set off, confident that we know where we are going, only to find that it is rarely that simple. “Life,” said John Lennon, “is what happens while we are making other plans.” We fall into holes. We make mistakes. Then we make them again. Eventually we avoid them, but by then we may have the growing suspicion that we took the wrong turning to begin with. If we are lucky, we find another road.

RAV KOOK ON Tu Bishvat Part 2: Planting a Tree in Magdiel


“At every possible occasion,” wrote Rabbi Ze'ev Gold, “I tell the story of the remarkable lesson I was privileged to learn from our great master, the gaon and holy Rav Kook, may the memory of the righteous be a blessing.” Rabbi Gold (1889-1956), a leader of the religious-Zionist Mizrahi movement, once accompanied the Chief Rabbi to the community of Magdiel1 in the Sharon area. The rabbis were invited to plant saplings in an official ceremony to inaugurate a new forest. As Rav Kook was handed a sampling to plant, Rabbi Gold was amazed to see the rabbi’s reaction. His face shone like a burning torch, and his entire body quivered with excitement. He did not use the hoe he had been provided, but knelt down to the soil and dug a hole in the earth with his bare hands. Hands shaking, he reverently placed the sampling in the ground, while murmuring his gratitude to God for the privilege of planting a tree in the Holy Land. On the trip back to Jerusalem, Rabbi Gold turned to the Chief Rabbi. “Why did you exhibit such deep emotions when you planted a tree into the ground? Nowadays, thank God, hundreds of trees are planted every day in the Land of Israel!”

RAV KOOK ON Nissan/Tu B'shvat Part 1: 'How Splendid This Tree is!'


In the spring of 1950, Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook published an article entitled, “The Beauty of the Tree.” The article addresses the divide that is sometimes erected between one’s inner spiritual life and the outer world, especially the universe and its natural beauty. The Sages taught that we should appreciate the spectacular renewal of life in springtime. One who sees fruit trees blossoming in the month of Nissan is instructed to recite Birkat Ha-Ilanot, the blessing of the trees: “Blessed are You... Ruler of the universe, who did not leave anything lacking in His world, and created in it goodly creatures and goodly trees to give pleasure to people.” And yet — we find in Pirkei Avot what appears to be the exact opposite view: “Rabbi Jacob taught: One who is reviewing his [Torah] studies while walking along the way and interrupts his study to exclaim, ‘How splendid this tree is!’ ‘How fair this field is!’ Scripture considers it as if he has forfeited his soul.” (Avot 3:9) Why was Rabbi Jacob so opposed to appreciating the beauty of nature?

RAV KOOK ON BeShalach Part 3: Listening to the Old...


Truly Listening At a place in the desert called Marah, Moses sweetened the bitter waters so the people would have water to drink. Then he admonished them that they should listen carefully — שָׁמוֹ×¢ַ תִּשְׁמַ×¢ — to God’s voice (Ex. 15:26). Why is the verb “to listen” (שָׁמוֹ×¢ַ תִּשְׁמַ×¢) repeated? In Biblical Hebrew, the grammatical structure of combining the infinitive with the conjugated verb is used to place emphasis. Thus שָׁמוֹ×¢ַ תִּשְׁמַ×¢ means “you will listen carefully.” The Talmud, however, often infers additional meanings from this repetition. In this case, the Sages derived an important lesson about Torah study: “If שָׁמוֹ×¢ַ — if you listen to the old — then תִּשְׁמַ×¢ — you will merit listening to the new. But if you turn away [from the old], you will no longer hear.” (Berachot 40a) This statement needs clarification. What is meant by “old” and “new”? What special promise is hinted in the double verb, שָׁמוֹ×¢ַ תִּשְׁמַ×¢ ?

RAV KOOK ON Beshalach Part 2: The Inner Song of the Soul


The Talmud portrays Shirat HaYam, the Israelites’ song of thanksgiving at their miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea, as a song of young children and babies: “When the Israelites exited the sea, they wanted to sing. How did they sing? A young child was sitting on his mother’s lap, and a baby was nursing at his mother’s breast. When they witnessed the Shechinah , the young child lifted his neck and the baby stopped nursing, and they sang out, “This is my God and I will honor Him” (Ex. 15:2).” (Sotah 30b) Why did the Sages describe Shirat HaYam as a song breaking forth spontaneously from the mouths of babes?

RAV KOOK ON Beshalach Part 1: This is My God


The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 23:15) makes a startling claim about the Israelites who witnessed the splitting of the Red Sea: “Come and see how great were those who crossed the Sea. Moses pleaded and beseeched before God that he should merit seeing God’s Divine Image, ‘Please, show me Your glory!’ (Ex. 33:19). Yet God told him, ‘You may not see My face….’ But every Israelite who descended into the Sea pointed with his finger and said, “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Ex. 15:2). Could it be that those who crossed the Red Sea saw more than Moses, about whom the Torah testifies, “No other prophet like Moses has arisen in Israel” (Deut. 34:10)? Furthermore, Moses was also there when they crossed the sea — he certainly saw what everyone else experienced!

Thursday, January 25, 2018

MAZEL TOV OU'S NACH YOMI 6TH CYCLE FINISHED YEHOSHUA AND STARTED SHOFTIM


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OU TORAH NAALEH.COM Fermentation or Fervor? By Shira Smiles


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RABBI WEIN ON BO 5778


As the narrative of the Torah regarding the exodus of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery reaches its climax in this week’s reading, I feel that it is important for us to concentrate on the verb that the Lord uses so to speak in telling Moshe to once again appear before the Egyptian Pharaoh. The word “bo” in Hebrew means not only to come but it’s more nuanced understanding is to enter, to penetrate deeply into a place or person. It is the verb that is used for physical intimacy throughout biblical and rabbinic writings. The Lord here tells Moshe to enter into the state of mind and the state of heart of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Not merely to appear before him in a superficial manner but rather to attempt to understand why he is so stubborn and what the true issue involved here is in the freeing of the Jewish slaves from Egypt.

THE INSCRUTABLE FUTURE By Rabbi Wein


Human beings are limited drastically by our inability to forecast and see the future accurately while we are engaged in the present. There is no question that world history would read far differently if only the assumptions of the present could be judged by the realities of the future. In the autumn of 1914 the German army stood at the gates of Paris and the Kaiser believed that his victory was at hand and that his troops “would return home before the leaves fall."

OU TORAH Bo 5778 By Rabbi Shalom Rosner


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YU TORAH Bo By Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik


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YU TORAH Toronto Torah: Bo 5778


Toronto Torah for Parshat Bo 5778 includes a guest article on the parshah by Rabbi Yedidya Noiman, and articles on Torat Eretz Yisrael, the Underground Synagogue, Rabbi Yehosef Schwarz and more!

OU TORAH The Story We Tell Britain's Former By Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks


It remains one of the most counterintuitive passages in all of religious literature. Moses is addressing the Israelites just days before their release. They have been exiles for 210 years. After an initial period of affluence and ease, they have been oppressed, enslaved, and their male children killed in an act of slow genocide. Now, after signs and wonders and a series of plagues that have brought the greatest empire of the ancient world to its knees, they are about to go free.

RAV KOOK ON Bo Part 4: Memories of the Soul


“Moses told the people: Remember (zachor) this day that you have left Egypt, the place of slavery.” (Ex. 13:3) The word 'zachor' (remember) is not in the imperative tense (z'chor!), but in the infinitive absolute form. This grammatical form indicates that the Torah is not merely commanding us to remember and commemorate the anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt. Rather, zachor implies a state of being. It describes us as a people who always remember this historic date.

RAV KOOK ON Bo Part 3: Training for Greatness


Before the Jewish people left Egypt, God had a request: “Please speak to the people, and let each man request from his neighbor gold and silver articles. Let every woman make the same request of her neighbors.” (Exod. 11:2) The language in the verse is surprisingly gentle. God usually commands the Israelites. Why the solicitous request, “Please speak"? The Sages noted the unusual wording. According to Rabbi Yanai, God was asking the Jewish people for a favor: Please request gold and silver from your Egyptian neighbors, so that Abraham will not be able to claim that I failed to keep My promise to him that his children will leave Egypt with great wealth (Berachot 9a-b). But if God wanted the Israelites to leave Egypt with riches, surely He could have arranged it without any effort on their part. Why did God want them to borrow from the Egyptians in order to fulfill His promise to Abraham? In addition, requesting handouts from their Egyptians neighbors was uncomfortable and even embarrassing. Why put the Jewish people through this ordeal?

RAV KOOK ON Bo Part 2: Donkey-Holiness


Immediately before leaving Egypt, the Israelites were commanded to commemorate the final plague of makkat bechorot, the death of the firstborn, by consecrating their firstborn, saying: “When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us leave, God killed all the firstborns in Egypt, both man and beast. I therefore offer to God all male firstling animals, and redeem all the firstborns of my sons.” (Ex. 13:15) This mitzvah applies not only to firstborn babies, but also to kosher animals, and — surprisingly — to firstborn donkeys: “Every firstling donkey must be redeemed with a sheep” (Ex. 13:13). Why are firstborn donkeys also included in this mitzvah? This is even more surprising when we consider that some non-kosher animals, such as camels and pigs, have only one sign of impurity. Donkeys, however, exhibit both signs of impurity — they are not ruminants, nor do they have cloven hooves. The Zohar teaches that the donkey is avi avot ha-tumah, the ultimate source of impurity. In addition, the Maharal of Prague noted that the Hebrew word for ‘donkey’ (chamor) shares the same root as the word for ‘material’ (chomer). The donkey, he explained, is a symbol of materialism and crassness. So why did God bestow the special holiness of bechor on this ignoble creature?

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Aneinu Please Daven


From an Aneinu member: Please daven for my great aunt, Frumit bas Devorah who is really not doing well.

Aneinu Please Daven


Please daven for a Chicagoan, Eli Lebowicz,  Eli Dovid Shlomo ben Chana Rochel who is  having heart surgery tomorrow, Thursday. He should have a refuah shleima bim'heira.

RAV KOOK ON Bo Part 1: The Exodus and Tefillin


The Torah commands us to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt by wearing tefillin (phylacteries) on the arm and head. “These words will be for a sign on your arm and a reminder between your eyes, so that God’s Torah will be in your mouth; for God brought you out of Egypt with a strong arm.” (Ex. 13:9) What is the connection between tefillin and the Exodus? How does wearing tefillin ensure that the Torah will be “in our mouths”?

Collive.com Aneinu Please Daven


Tragedy in Israel: 13 year old Ori Lipnik and her 8 year old brother Ro'ee Lipnik were killed in a terrible car crash Tuesday, their family members were seriously injured. Thirteen-year-old Ori Lipnik and her eight-year-old brother Ro'ee Lipnik of Shavei Shomron in Samaria, were killed in a head on collision Tuesday night. A Palestinian man was killed as well in the collision between their two vehicles on Route 557 near the Shavei Shomron junction. Ro'ee was rushed to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba in critical condition, where he later died of his injuries. Eight people were injured in the accident, four of them Israelis. An additional brother, aged 12, as well as the children's mother, are in serious condition. The father of the family, and a six-month-old baby were lightly injured. All of them were evacuated to the Meir Hospital. Four Palestinian Authority Arabs were injured. One of them was evacuated by helicopter to the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. Three others were moderately injured and evacuated to a hospital in the Palestinian Authority. The public is asked to say Tehillim for Shirli Malka bas Aliza, Ohad ben Malka, Binyamin ben Shirli Malka, and Elkana Yosef ben Shirli Malka. Baruch Dayan Ha'emes.

Monday, January 22, 2018

Aneinu Please Daven For Healthy Pregnancy


Once again, please keep Gavriellla Michaella bas Esther in your tefillos that her pregnancy should proceed smoothly, that Hashem should keep her body strong so this baby can grow as it should, and for the baby to be healthy and delivered easily without complications.

Aneinu Please Daven Icu


Please daven for Yehudis bas Sara who is on a respirator in ICU.

Saturday, January 20, 2018

[Aneinu] Baruch Dayan HaEmes


Baruch Dayan HaEmes. With sorrow I inform you of the loss of Zushe Yosef Ben Hinda Rivkah, Rabbi Zishe Blech. I have no other information at this time. HaMakom yenachem eschem bsoch sha'ar aveilei Tzion v'Yerushalayim.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Aneinu Please Daven Surgery Monday


Please daven for an Aneinu member, Rivkah Yehudis bas Nechuma who will be having a small operation Monday morning.

Aneinu Please Daven Critical


Please daven for Rabbi Zishe Blech. He is in critical condition.  Zushe Yosef Ben Hinda Rivkah 

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Aneinu Please Daven Heart Surgery Thursday Morning


Please daven for a Chicagoan, Avraham Meir ben Shayna, who is having heart surgery tomorrow, Thursday morning at 8:30 AM.

MAZEL TOV DAF YOMI FINISHED MASECHTA SHEVUOS YESTERDAY and IS STARTING MASECHTA AVODAH ZARAH TODAY

Don't forget to buy a Yated Neman b/c it has Tales and Teachings From the Daf.

V'Higadeta-Shemos IS AT KESHER STAM


Insights, stories, and teachings on THE WEEKLY PARASHAH from the treasure-trove of the maggid Harav Yaakov Galinsky zt"l Overview Delivering a good derashah is an art. An art that Rav Yaakov Galinsky, zt"l, one of the greatest maggidim of our generation, perfected as he delivered thousands of derashos in the halls of yeshivos and batei midrash before huge audiences, both religious and nonreligious. When he was a bachur in the Novardok yeshivah, there was a daily mussar seder during which each talmid was expected to present his thoughts and ideas. It was then that Rav Galinsky started to develop his talent for making an impact on others with his words. Over the years, he was responsible for bringing many people closer to Hashem. What was his secret? First of all, he would say, if someone delivers divrei Torah in public that don't resonate with his listeners, it would be better not to say them at all. The listeners need to be able to relate to what they are hearing. Second: If someone says divrei Torah, not only do they have to be relevant, but also "sweet as honey." The speech has to be entertaining and enjoyable. Interweave the words of Torah with captivating stories and penetrating meshalim to hold the listeners' attention. Finally, it's not enough to have relevant content. It's not enough to have engaging stories. The mixture of content and stories has to be balanced, like a cup of tea with a dollop of honey. Too much honey, and it's oversweet. Too little, and it's too bland. Just right, and it's a delight... This was the secret to Rav Galinsky's success as a maggid. Everything he said had its basis in Chazal; everything had a lesson that resonated with today's generation. But he made sure to sprinkle his derashos with enough good stories to illustrate the lessons and captivate his audiences. Now his derashos are finally accessible in print to the English-speaking readership. In his unique, penetrating style-with stories and parables, lessons and maxims, pesukim and ma'amarei Chazal-he brings the weekly parashah to life. As you unearth this magnificent treasury of stories and real-life lessons, Rav Galinsky's derashoswill transform you and your Shabbos table.

Schottenstein Talmud Yerushalmi - English Edition - Tractate Kiddushin IS AT KESHER STAM


For five generations of the Talmudic era, the great Sages of the Land of Israel flourished in the Galil. There, like the Sages of Babylonia, they debated, expounded, and applied the laws and principles of the Mishnah that were received at Sinai .The sacred learning of those years was gathered in the Talmud Yerushalmi ù The Jerusalem Tamud. They lived with Roman pogroms and persecution ù but the flame of Torah burned bright despite it all. Until about 350 C. E., when brutal Roman anti-Semitism decimated the Holy LandÆs yeshivos and silenced its voice of Torah. But the SagesÆ teachings live on in the Talmud Yerushalmi, just as the teachings of Babylonia live one in the Talmud Bavli ù The Babylonian Talmud. But while the Sages of Babylonia had another 150 years to redact, clarify and organize the text of the Babylonian Talmud, Roman persecution in the Holy Land made that impossible. Thus, the Jerusalem Talmud is exceedingly difficult, and ù despite its great significance û it has been a closed book to all but select, elite scholars. Now, thanks to the outstanding scholars who produced the classic Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli, the lock is being removed on yet another treasure-house of Torah ShebÆal Peh, the Oral Law. This project has been enthusiastically welcomed and endorsed by Torah leaders in Israel and America.20% off at KESHER STAM

Schottenstein Talmud Yerushalmi - English Edition [#37] - Tractate Sotah Vol 2 IS AT KESHER STAM


For five generations of the Talmudic era, the great Sages of the Land of Israel flourished in the Galil. There, like the Sages of Babylonia, they debated, expounded, and applied the laws and principles of the Mishnah that were received at Sinai .The sacred learning of those years was gathered in the Talmud Yerushalmi The Jerusalem Tamud. They lived with Roman pogroms and persecution but the flame of Torah burned bright despite it all. Until about 350 C. E., when brutal Roman anti-Semitism decimated the Holy LandÆs yeshivos and silenced its voice of Torah. But the Sages teachings live on in the Talmud Yerushalmi, just as the teachings of Babylonia live one in the Talmud Bavli - The Babylonian Talmud. But while the Sages of Babylonia had another 150 years to redact, clarify and organize the text of the Babylonian Talmud, Roman persecution in the Holy Land made that impossible. Thus, the Jerusalem Talmud is exceedingly difficult, and despite its great significance it has been a closed book to all but select, elite scholars. Now, thanks to the outstanding scholars who produced the classic Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli, the lock is being removed on yet another treasure-house of Torah Sheball Peh, the Oral Law. This project has been enthusiastically welcomed and endorsed by Torah leaders in Israel and America.20% off at KESHER STAM

OU TORAH YU TORAH and NAALEH.COM By Stupendous Supplication Shira Smiles


Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein While Parshat Shemot sets the stage for the redemption and introduces us to all the players in the drama, the actual process of redemption begins in Parshat Va’eira, and seven of the ten plagues are recorded in this parsha. A pattern is established: Moshe Rabennu goes to Pharaoh, asks that Bnei Yisroel be granted permission to worship their God, Pharaoh refuses, Hashem brings a plague onto Egypt, Pharaoh asks Moshe Rabennu to lift the plague, Hashem accedes to Moshe Rabennu’s prayer on Egypt’s behalf and ends the plague, and Pharaoh again refuses to let Bnei Yisroel go.

RABBI WEIN ON VAEIRA 5778


Moshe had complained to God that since the Lord had sent him on a mission to the Pharaoh, the situation of the Jewish people had not only not improved but in fact had worsened. Moshe’s view of the matter was that somehow the Lord had not fulfilled the Divine part of the bargain. This opinion was based on Moshe’s human logic and understanding, which, even though Moshe was on such a high level, was still only a human response.