LESSON 60: Geulah b’Rachamim
Friday, February 22, 2008
To date, the Jewish people are 3,319 years old. At least, that is how long we have had Torah for, having received it 2448 years from Creation, in the year 1313 BCE. We became a nation while still
LESSON 59: Merit To Be Redeemed
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Midrash records a remarkable exchange that is so important for understanding the mechanics of redemption, and yet, it is barely known. It says:
When Moshe came and told the Jewish people that,
LESSON 58: Listen To The Message
Friday, February 22, 2008
“But,” you may ask, “who hears God speak today? The Era of Prophecy ended thousands of years ago. Anyone who claims to hear God speak today probably has psychological problems and may be
LESSON 57: A Different Type of Yonah
Friday, February 22, 2008
On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, we read about a different type of yonah. During Minchah that day, we read Maftir Yonah, a very coveted kibud for which many often bid significant sums of
LESSON 56: Eyes Of A Dove
Friday, February 22, 2008
He waited another seven days and again sent the dove from the ark. The dove came to him in the evening and behold, there was an olive leaf torn off in her mouth. (Bereishit 8:11)
Torn off : The
LESSON 55: Finding Chayn
Friday, February 22, 2008
Based upon the previous lesson, we can better understand a short, but highly instructive verse in the Torah:
Noach found chayn —grace — in the eyes of God. (Bereishis 6:8)
This verse tells us
LESSON 54: Heaven’s-Eye View
Thursday, February 21, 2008
One of the more complicated issues to deal with, for a Torah Jew, is, “When does hishtadalus — personal effort — interfere with bitachon — trust in God?” On one hand, the gemora warns us not to
LESSON 53: For God’s Sake
Thursday, February 21, 2008
After the plague was over, and the Jewish people were in a recovery mode, God told Moshe Rabbeinu:
“Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohen, stopped My anger towards the Children of
LESSON 52: Learn To See
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The story of Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen is very brief, including his act of zealousness. However, as is the Torah’s way, it says exactly what has to be learned, concisely, summing up his
LESSON 51: Make A Difference
Thursday, February 21, 2008
In a world of about five billion people, it is hard to imagine making a difference to history. Even if we talk only about the Jewish nation, which has a population of about 12 million people, it is
LESSON 50: Making Sense Of It All
Sunday, February 17, 2008
After years of pursuing God at a time that mankind was Godless, Avraham Avinu was rewarded with prophecy, and an eternal covenant for him and all of his descendants. And, keeping that covenant can
LESSON 49: To Be A Maker
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Even in the world of Makers, there are levels, because history, from a Torah perspective is not simple. It can’t be. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough challenge to make free-will meaningful, and
LESSON 48: Makers and Pawns
Sunday, February 17, 2008
History is divided between two types of people, makers and pawns. Makers are the kinds of people who take up causes, to make things better or worst. The ones who make things better are righteous in
LESSON 47: With Perfect Clarity
Sunday, February 17, 2008
For the redemption from Egypt to be a physical success, God could have had a simple, natural plague destroy Egyptian society, as He did to the army of Sancheriv during the siege of Jerusalem in
LESSON 46: Kotzer Ruach
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The first time Moshe went down to Egypt to save the Jewish people, Pharaoh didn’t listen to him, just as God had forewarned. However, to Moshe’s surprise and consternation, making the demand, and
LESSON 45: Supernatural Channels
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The difference between the two approaches is very distinct: it is a much greater miracle and source of joy to watch one omer of munn miraculously become two omers. For two omers of munn to not
LESSON 44: The True Double Portion
Friday, February 15, 2008
When the Jews left Egypt, they ate matzah for the next 30 days, until it ran out. Just in advance of this, they complained to Moshe Rabbeinu about a lack of bread, at which point, God introduced
LESSON 43: Shabbos and Redemption
Friday, February 15, 2008
One of the first mitzvos the Jewish people received after leaving Egypt was that of Shabbos. As the Midrash explains, they had already been resting on the seventh day of the week, even while still
LESSON 42: A Holy Mindset
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Jewish people are on a mission, and it can be summed up in two words: Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify the Name of God. This is not just something we do on the side, but something that is supposed
LESSON 41: Learn Nevi’im
Friday, February 15, 2008
It is incredible how unimportant Nevi’im — the Prophets — has become over the generations. We’re not talking about Mishlei, or Koheles, which, though they may have been written with Ruach HaKodesh,
LESSON 40: Maximize Your Time
Monday, February 11, 2008
It sounds somewhat presumptuous: How do you prepare for the Final Redemption? Who says you even have to prepare? Why not just wait to see what happens, when it happens?
Because, when it comes to
LESSON 39: It's All In The Preparation
Monday, February 11, 2008
There is an interesting dialogue in the Talmud that is good advice for everyone. Apparently, it takes place in the future, after history as we know has come to an end, and it goes like this:
The
LESSON 38: To Be A Zealot, Part 2
Monday, February 11, 2008
To answer the question from the previous lesson, let’s use another analogy.
Let’s say you bought a gift for someone, and you want to know if it is truly what they want. If you simply give it to
LESSON 37: To Be A Zealot, Part 1
Monday, February 11, 2008
Let’s say that you decide to go to away for Shabbos some place relaxing, which is exactly the opposite of where your children want to spend their Shabbos.
“Do we have to go?” one child whines.
“
LESSON 36: Wellsprings of Light
Monday, February 11, 2008
When many in the Torah world hear the word “Kabbalah”, or “Sod”, they feel as if they are trespassing on private property. It doesn’t help that many people today learn Kabbalah, or aspects of it,
LESSON 34: Kohen, Levi, and Yisroel
Monday, February 11, 2008
Today, there is very little that distinguishes a Kohen from a Levi, and the two of them from a Yisroel, except, perhaps, when it comes to giving out aliyos in synagogue, or attendance at a funeral.
LESSON 35: The Ninth of Av
Monday, February 11, 2008
Even though the Kohanim and Levi’im officiated in the Mishkan throughout the time in the desert, it was not the ideal circumstance. It had been a very unique situation in which the close proximity
LESSON 33: The Third Temple
Monday, February 11, 2008
Chazal, with their great wisdom and foresight, saw fit to establish the 9th day of Av as a national day of mourning over the loss of the temples, and a list of other terrible tragedies that
LESSON 32: Ideal Time
Monday, February 11, 2008
If the yetzer hara is eliminated during Yemos HaMoshiach, then so is the Malach HaMaves — the Angel of Death, as it says:
Reish Lakish said: Satan, the yetzer hara, and the Angel of Death are all
LESSON 31: Ideal State
Monday, February 11, 2008
It is often said that, “You don’t know what you have until you lose it.” If that is so, then it is certainly even more difficult to appreciate what you can have if you have never had it before. Why
LESSON 30: Bring Peace
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The nineteenth blessing of the Shemonah Esrai is one for peace:
Bring peace and blessing, grace, kindness, and mercy upon us and all of Israel, Your people. Bless us, our Father, all of us
LESSON 29: Return The Shechinah
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
May our eyes see Your return to Tzion in mercy. Blessed are You, God, Who returns His Presence to Tzion.
This is the end game of all of our yearning and efforts. We may have lost track of this
LESSON 28: Sprouting of David
Monday, February 4, 2008
The next blessing refers to Moshiach himself:
The sprouting of Your servant David may You speedily cause to flourish, and enhance his pride through Your salvation, for we hope for Your salvation
LESSON 27: Rebuild Jerusalem
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Who would have thought that the world would want to divide Jerusalem, taking part of it away from the Jewish people? What could be more backwards in terms of the Final Redemption than this?
LESSON 26: Stop The Slanderers
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The twelfth brochah is the reason why the Shemonah Esrai — the “Eighteen” — in fact, has 19 blessings. Added during Roman times, when some Jews used to inform to the Romans on fellow Jews who kept
LESSON 25: Return Our Judges
Thursday, January 31, 2008
One of the signs that the Messianic Period is about to begin is when the governments of the world become corrupt (Sanhedrin 97a). The amazing thing is how much corruption can exist, and yet people
LESSON 24: Blow The Shofar
Monday, January 28, 2008
The tenth blessing reads as follows:
Blow the great shofar for our freedom, and raise the banner to gather our exiles, and gather us together from the four corners of the earth …
There is
LESSON 23: Redeemer of Israel
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The seventh blessing says:
Please see our suffering, take up our fight, and redeem us speedily for Your Name’s sake, for You are a powerful redeemer …
How easy it must have been to be sincere
LESSON 22: Giver of Knowledge
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Books have been written about the first three brochos of the Shemonah Esrai, so we’ll start with the fourth one, “Chonain Da’as”, which blesses God for giving man, knowledge, understanding, and the
LESSON 21: We Pray For It
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Of the many activities that the Jewish people do most, prayer is certainly one of them. And, one of the most difficult aspects of prayer is remaining focused on the words and their meanings,
LESSON 20: If Matzah Could Speak, Part 2
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
If the Jewish people did not have to leave Egypt quickly to save themselves, then who were they saving? The Leshem explains:
Therefore, they could not remain in Egypt a moment longer, since that
LESSON 19: If Matzah Could Speak, Part 1
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Why do we eat matzah at the Seder? To recall that the Jewish people had to leave Egypt so quickly that they didn’t even have enough time to make provisions for their journey. There wasn’t even
LESSON 18: Relating to Destiny
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Ultimately, any desire a Jew has for Eretz Yisroel and redemption flows from his or her desire to fulfill the destiny of the Jewish people, and the world in general.
After being around for over
LESSON 17: According To The Effort
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Without a doubt, life is far more comfortable for the average Jew today than it was 100 years ago. Even poor people are often better off than the “average” Jew of Europe a century ago. Thank God,
LESSON 16: Eretz Yisroel and Achdus
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The fact that God allowed the second Temple to be destroyed because of sinas chinum — unwarranted hatred (Avodah Zarah 9b) — makes a strong case for the importance of achdus — unity — to the safety
LESSON 15: Eretz Yisroel and Bitachon
Monday, January 21, 2008
Bitachon means “trust”, and it usually refers to trust in God specifically. When life goes according to plan, and we feel a significant amount of control over the outcome of the events that matter
LESSON 14: Eretz Yisroel and Olam HaBah
Monday, January 21, 2008
Whatever we accomplish in this world, ultimately, it is for the sake of becoming a Ben Olam HaBah — someone who is guaranteed a good portion in the World-to-Come. Although it is true that every Jew
LESSON 13: Toras Eretz Yisroel
Monday, January 21, 2008
The Midrash states:
There is no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisroel. (Bereishit Rabbah 16)
The air of Eretz Yisroel makes a person wise. (Bava Basra 158b)
There are Kabbalistic reasons why
LESSON 12: Why Eretz Yisroel?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
I am God, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be God to you. (Vayikra 25:38)
Even for a Torah Jew who has yet to develop a yearning for Eretz
LESSON 11: When The Shechinah Leaves
Sunday, January 20, 2008
No believing Jew wants to live where the Shechinah is not. We have seen what happens to the Jewish people when we stay anywhere too long, which, according to our long and difficult history, seems
