Short & Sweet

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  • September 26, 2024 3:38 pm at 3:38 pm #2319041
    Reb Eliezer
    Participant

    The Haflaah says that we should emphasize the positive, uvocharta bachaim, choose life which brings to love of Hashem rather than fear of death.

    October 13, 2024 9:54 am at 9:54 am #2323815
    Zugger613
    Participant

    Yom Kippur: A Fresh Start

    We begin the Yom Kipur Davening in a seemingly puzzling way: by reciting the passuk אור זרוע לצדיק, light is planted for the Tzaddik. What does this have to do with Yom Kippur?

    R’ Moshe Feinstein explains that in truth, this reminds us what the point of Yom Kippur is supposed to be. We do not fast and cry on Yom Kippur to mourn what was. Rather, we are planting for the future.

    Just as a seed must disintegrate in the ground before it can produce new life, so too must we go through a process of undoing what has been before we can start anew. But the point of this process is not destruction, it is creation.

    On Yom Kippur, we access a spiritual light that is not available to us the rest of the year. But we should not let that light just pass us by. Rather, we should try to internalize as much of the spirituality of the day as we are able to, and let that guide us in our future development.

    לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
    לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

    October 23, 2024 11:00 am at 11:00 am #2325410
    Reb Eliezer
    Participant

    Maybe the Ohr Zoruah dreamt that R’ Akiva should be written with a Heh at the end as the last letters naming himself by this name. Rebbi Akivah is known for unity. Veohavta Vereacha zeh kelal gadol baTorah. This is the most important theme to remember on Yom Kippur.

    October 23, 2024 11:00 am at 11:00 am #2325411
    Reb Eliezer
    Participant

    We are suppose to ask forgiveness of the Torah which is a reflection of light.

    November 1, 2024 9:05 am at 9:05 am #2328638
    Zugger613
    Participant

    Noach: Building Upward

    Noach was the first person that the Torah tells us made a מזבח. But what is the point of a מזבח? Why can’t a Korban be brought on bare ground?

    R’ Shamshon Rafael Hirsh has a fascinating explanation. Some people think that God can only be found in nature, and that they must retreat from society to connect to the divine.

    But that is not what we believe. We believe that the best way to connect to Hashem is by building a society that reflects His will, by incorporating the divine into every aspect of our lives.

    That idea, explains R’ Hirsh, is symbolized by a מזבח. A מזבח must be attached to the ground, but we need to make it by putting stones together. This represents using human activity to elevate the earth towards the divine.

    After the world was destroyed in the Mabul, Noach built the first מזבח. This was an attempt to rededicate the world to its original mission – to be a place where people are constantly striving to build higher, to create an elevated society that connects us to our Creator.

    לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
    לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

    November 4, 2024 8:41 am at 8:41 am #2329305
    Reb Eliezer
    Participant

    The Ksav Sofer explains the meaning of Yaakov Avinu’s dream where a ladder stands on the ground and its edge reaches the heavens. It reflects the human being’s potential to start from the ground and through our actions can reach the heavens such that the angels are either above us or below us.. This is similar to the altar above.

    November 4, 2024 8:42 am at 8:42 am #2329306
    Reb Eliezer
    Participant

    The Ksav Sofer explains the meaning of Yaakov Avinu’s dream where a ladder stands on the ground and its edge reaches the heavens. It reflects the human being’s potential to start from the ground and through our actions can reach the heavens such that the angels are either above us or below us.. This is similar to the altar above. We must convert our physical to spiritual.

    November 10, 2024 12:06 pm at 12:06 pm #2330915
    Zugger613
    Participant

    Lech Lecha: Weighed Down

    The Torah uses an interesting phrase to describe Avram’s journey from Mitzrayim:
    ‎ואברם כבד מאד במקנה בכסף ובזהב, וילך למסעיו – “Avram was very heavy with livestock, silver, and gold; a he went on his journey.”

    The Chida explains that Avram did not revel in his newly acquired riches. Instead, he saw all of the materiality of this world as nothing but a burden – כי כל עניני העולם הזה היו עליו לטורח.

    Instead of getting distracted by his possessions, Avram “went on his journey.” He continued on his voyage of intellectual discovery; of coming to know Hashem, and figuring out what He wants us to be doing in this world.

    לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
    לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום

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