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A7News: 65% of Palestinians Applaud Terror Attacks on US and Europe
12.27.05 (11:43 am)   [edit]
65% of Palestinians Applaud Terror Attacks on US and Europe

By Ezra HaLevi

A poll carried out in the Palestinian Authority shows 65% support for Al Qaeda terror attacks on the United States and European countries - the biggest donors to the PA.


The poll comes at a time when US and European funding of the Palestinian Authority is at an all-time high.

With elections due to be held next month and the Hamas terror group gaining significantly in municipal elections and polls, the survey further illustrates the desire of a majority of PA Arabs to establish an Islamic state, similar to Iran. A whopping 79.9% of Palestinians would like the PA to follow Shari'a - Islamic religious law. Included in the figure are 11.3% of the respondents, who would like to see Shari'a supplemented by the laws of a PA Legislature.

"What is striking is the willingness of Palestinians to turn against even the Western countries upon whom they are so totally dependent in order to progress," said Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) Director Itamar Marcus. "The poll underscores what PMW has been documenting for years - the profoundly negative impact hate education has had on PA society…Palestinians are not in direct conflict with the US, and certainly have counted on the Europeans as active allies. And yet an overwhelming majority desire to see Europeans and Americans killed by a religion-based terror organization."

The poll was conducted by FAFO - a Norwegian-based NGO not known for sympathy toward Israel or antipathy toward the PA. FAFO says it conducted the polling among the Palestinian population "in order to assess political feelings after Israel's voluntary withdrawal from Gaza in late-summer 2005." The poll results were reported in the PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida last Friday.

Last month (November 18th), in a sermon broadcast on PA-controlled television, Islamic leader Suleiman Satari offered the following prayer:
"Destroy the Infidels and the Polytheists! Your [i.e. Allah's] enemies are the enemies of the religion…! Count them and kill them to the last one, and don't leave even one."

According to PMW, prayers to annihilate all “infidels” have been included in Friday prayers on PA TV at least six times in recent months. Two such sermons were delivered by Yusuf Jum'a Salamah, PA Minister of the Waqf Religious Authority - the most important religious office in the PA. Even though PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas was present on at least one of these occasions, similar prayers for genocide continued on the PA-owned and controlled TV in subsequent weeks.

Just weeks before the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, Dr. Ikrime Sabri, the Mufti of Jerusalem and the highest-ranking Islamic figure in the Palestinian Authority said on PA radio: "O Allah, destroy America and its supporters and collaborators. O Allah, destroy Britain and its supporters and collaborators." Click here to view the clip.
 
A7News: Chanukah Party Miracle at Kindergarten in Kibbutz Sa'ad
12.27.05 (11:40 am)   [edit]
Chanukah Party Miracle at Kindergarten in Kibbutz Sa’ad

By Hana Levi Julian

A Kassam rocket exploded close to a kindergarten in Kibbutz Sa’ad on Monday, ending a Chanukah party and angering residents.

The Chanukah party was disrupted Monday afternoon when the “Red Dawn” alert system was activated, preceding the rocket explosion which landed nearby. No injuries were reported. “It was a big miracle,” said community director Sarah Evron.

The attack prompted residents to allow the media to identify the kibbutz which has silently suffered through Kassam strikes for months. Kibbutz officials have asked the government for months to fortify their schools, but they remain unprotected.

Residents were further angered by fortification work which began at a nearby IDF army base on Monday after a rocket attack last week injured five soldiers. “In our view, we must first protect children and then soldiers,” said Evron. “It feels as though soldiers who are not protected prompt fortification work but we have children growing up on the border here.”

A second rocket fell Monday afternoon south of Ashkelon.

Government officials were faced with another problem when terrorist group Al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigade announced they have acquired a new, longer-range missile. The group is the military wing of the ruling Fatah party in the Palestinian Authority.

The “Grad”, officially known as BM-21, has a range of 20 kilometers and is launched from trucks at a rate of 40 rockets in six seconds. Communities at risk in the south will now include Kiryat Gat, Netivot and Ofakim. Sderot has been a constant target of Kassam rocket attacks.

Israeli security officials say they may establish a “security strip” in northern Gaza to put an end to the attacks, a plan that has been considered several times in the past. Al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigade leaders say they will increase attacks in response to such a move.
 
A7News: IDF Launches Air Strikes in Gaza
12.27.05 (10:33 am)   [edit]
IDF Launches Air Strikes in Gaza

By Ezra HaLevi

The IDF has increased air strikes and created a buffer zone in Gaza to stem the increasing wave of Kassam rocket attacks on Israeli towns since the Disengagement.


Tuesday morning, Israel's Air Force fired two missiles at targets in northern Gaza. The missiles struck structures used by the Al-Aqsa Brigades terror group, which is affiliated with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party. "One structure, in Beit Lahiya, was used as a recruitment center," the IDF spokesperson announced, and the other, in Gaza City, was used as a center of activity."

During the night, the IDF also fired missiles at a bridge near the town of Beit Hanoun, from which rockets are fired on the western Negev. Six additional access routes to launching sites in northern Gaza were targeted as well.

According to PA reports, the power supply to northern Gaza was cut during the strikes.

The retaliation comes after a Kassam rocket nearly hit a kindergarten in Kibbutz Sa'ad Monday and another rocket fell near the city of Ashkelon.

According to Yediot Aharonot, Air Force planes are preparing to drop leaflets on Gaza informing residents to stay in their homes to avoid injury as Israel targets anyone involved in firing rockets at Israeli towns.

The report also quotes security sources saying that the IDF will not embark on a ground operation in Gaza, but that a three-mile security buffer has been delineated, within which strikes will be carried out on a more regular basis against those involved in firing rockets. Israel may also ask members of the PA police to evacuate the area as their presence has not been effective in preventing rocket fire.

The Al-Aqsa Brigade terror group claims to have Russian-made Grad missiles, which have a 25 kilometer (15 mile) range. The terror group is warning that if the IDF attempts to establish a buffer zone in northern Gaza, it will not sit idly by, but will opt to launch the missiles against Israeli targets. “The occupation government will be the big loser,” a statement from the group said.

Meanwhile, the Home Front Command has been instructed to speed up the process of providing reinforcement for the homes of residents living within striking range of Gaza. As the range of the rockets fired increased however – the southern Ashkelon industrial zone was struck last week – IDF sources admit it is becoming increasingly less practical to rely on defensive measures.
 
Growing Each Day - Kislev 26
12.27.05 (10:32 am)   [edit]
Kislev 26

Although the acceptable amount [of water for ritual washing of the hands before meals] is a fourth of a log, one should use abundant water in washing (Orach Chaim 158:10).


The Talmud states that Rabbi Chisda attributed his good fortune to his practice of using abundant water in the ritual washing.

Rabbi Yisroel of Salant was at an inn, and when he washed his hands for the meal, he was careful to use the minimum amount of water required. When his students wondered why he did not follow the recommendations of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Law), Rabbi Yisroel replied, "Perhaps you did not notice that a servant fetched the water from a well. If I used water lavishly, it would be at her expense."

Many times the Shulchan Aruch states the letter of the law, then add that it is commendable to go beyond it in stricter observance. However, such extra observance is only done for oneself. For instance, when rabbis are asked about the permissibility of any given practice, they must render their decision according to the letter of the law, but may add that stricter observance is commendable but not mandatory. Rabbis are not permitted to require from others more than the law dictates, even if their personal standards of observance are more demanding.

Today I shall ...
...try to increase my expectations of myself, but not at the expense of others.
 
Daily Mitzvah (Maimonides): Monday, Dec 26, 2005 Negative Mitvot 205, 206, 207, 208
12.27.05 (9:38 am)   [edit]
Kislev 25, 5766 * December 26, 2005

========================= =========================
D A I L Y M I T Z V A H (M A I M O N I D E S )
========================= =========================

Today's Mitzvot (Day 115 of 339):

Negative Mitzvot 205, 206, 208, 207
------------------------- ------------------------- ----------------

Negative Mitzvah 205: A Nazir may not eat grape seeds

-Numbers 6:4. "He shall eat nothing that is made from the vine tree, from the seed to its skin"

A Nazir is not allowed to eat grape seeds.

------------------------- ------------------------- ---------------

Negative Mitzvah 206: A Nazir may not eat grape peels

-Numbers 6:4. "He shall eat nothing that is made from the vine tree, from the seed to its skin"

A Nazir is forbidden to eat the peels (skin) of the grape.

------------------------- ------------------------- ---------------

Negative Mitzvah 208: A Nazir may not be under same roof as a dead body Numbers

-Numbers 6:6. "He shall not come near to a dead body"

Being under the same roof as a dead body makes a person impure. A Nazir is cautioned not to enter a house which has a dead body in it.

------------------------- ------------------------- ---------------

Negative Mitzvah 207: A Nazir may not become impure from contact with a dead body

-Numbers 6:7 "He shall not make himself impure for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die"

A Nazir is not allowed to become impure by coming into contact with a dead body throughout his Nazirite period. He is cautioned against coming into contact with a dead body - even when mourning for his close relatives.
 
Today in Judaism: Monday, Dec 26, 2005
12.27.05 (9:34 am)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 25, 5766 * December 26, 2005

========================= ========
T O D A Y I N J U D A I S M
========================= ========

* Laws * Customs * Jewish History * Daily Quote * Daily Study *

Today is: Monday, Kislev 25, 5766
Chanukah Day 1

======================
Today's Laws & Customs
======================

. Kindle Two Chanukah Lights tonight

Today is the first day of the eight-day festival of Chanukah [http://www.chabad.org/6218]. In commemorartion of the miracle of the oil (see "Today in Jewish History [http://www.chabad.org/225034]") we kindle the Chanukah lights -- oli lamps or candles -- each evening for eight days, increasing the number of lights each evening.

In the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall; thus, the first Chanukah light is kindled on the preceding evening, which is when the Hebrew date of Kislev 25 begins. Tonight is the eve of the 2nd day of Chanukah, so we kindle two lights in the Chanukah menorah.

The icon below displays the ideal Chanukah lighting time for your location; the lighting can be done, however, later in the evening as well. For more on Chanukah lighting times, click here [http://www.chabad.org/224506]. (If no time is displayed, click on icon to set your location.)

For more a more detailed guide to Chanukah lighting click here [http://www.chabad.org/103868]. For text and audio of the blessings recited before lighting, click here [http://www.chabad.org/219029].

Additional Chanukah observances and customs are listed below:


. Hallel & Al HaNissim

Special prayers of thanksgiving -- Hallel (in its full version) and Al HaNissim -- are added to the daily prayers and Grace After Meals on all eight days of Chanukah. Tachnun (confession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted for the duration of trhe festival.


. Latkes, Sufganiot & Dairy Foods

On Chanukah we eat foods fried in oil -- such as latkes (potato cakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts) -- in commemoration of the miracle of the oil.

It is also customary to eat dairy foods in commemoration of the Judith's heroic deed [http://www.chabad.org/103019].


. Dreidel

It is customary to play dreidel -- a game played with a spinning top inscribed with the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimmel, Hei and Shin, which spell the phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there." (It is said that when the Greeks forbade the study of Torah, Jewish children continued the study with their teachers in caves and cellars; when the agents of the king were seen approaching, the children would hide their scrolls and start to play with spinning tops...)


. Chanukah Gelt

It is an age-old custom to disribute gifts of Chanukah gelt ("Chanukah money [http://www.chabad.org/search/...]") to children on Chanukah. (It was the custom of the rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch to give Chanukah gelt to their children and other family members on the fourth or fifth night of Chanukah; more recently, however, the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged the giving of Chanukah gelt every day of the festival -- except for Shabbat, when handling money is forbidden.)


=======================
Today in Jewish History
=======================

. Cain Kills Abel (3720 BCE)

The first murder of history occurred on the 25th of Kislev in the year 41 from creation (3720 BCE), when Adam and Eve's eldest son, Cain, killed his younger brother, Abel, as recounted in the 4th chapter of Genesis.

Link: From the Midrash


. Mishkan completed (1312 BCE)

The vessels, tapestries, wall sections and other components of the Mishkan (the portable sanctuary or "Tabarnacle" built under Moses' direction to house the Divine Presence during the Israelites' journeys through the desert) were completed on the 25th of Kislev in the year 2449 from creation (1312 BCE). The Mishkan was not assembled, however, until 3 months later, when, beginning on Adar 25 of that year, it was erected and taken down daily for a 7-day "training" period prior to its dedication on the 1st of Nissan. Our Sages tell us that the day of Kislev 25 was compensated 12 centuries later, when the Maccabees dedicated the Holy Temple on Kislev 25, 3622 (139 BCE -- see below).

Links: The Mishkan described [http://www.chabad.org/2682] in the Torah and commentaries; from the Chassidic masters on the Mishkan [http://www.chabad.org/1314]


. Chanukah Miracle (139 BCE)

On the 25th of Kislev in the year 3622 from creation, the Maccabees liberated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, after defeating the vastly more numerous and powerful armies of the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV, who had tried to forcefully uproot the beliefs and practices of Judaism from the people of Israel. The victorious Jews repaired, cleansed and rededicated the Temple to the service of G-d. But all the Temple's oil had been defiled by the pagan invaders; when the Jews sought to light the Temple's menorah (candelabra), they found only one small cruse of ritually pure olive oil. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new, pure oil could be obtained. In commemoration, the Sages instituted the 8-day festival of Chanukah, on which lights are kindled nightly to recall and publicize the miracle.

Link: The Story of Chanukah [http://www.chabad.org/102816]


. R. Chizkia Medini (1904)

Kislev 25 is the yahrtzeit (date of passing) of Rabbi Chaim Chizkiah Medini (1832-1904), author of the Halachic encyclopedia Sdei Chemed.


===========
Daily Study
===========

Chitas and Rambam for today:

Chumash: Mikeitz, 2nd Portion Bereishit 41:15-41:38 with Rashi
. English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah...

Tehillim: Chapter 119, Verses 1-96
. Hebrew text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. English text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...

Tanya: Likutei Amarim, beginning of Chapter 3
. Lesson in Tanya:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. RealAudio:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. Windows Media:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...

Rambam:
. Sefer Hamitzvos:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. 1 Chapter: Mechirah Chap. 7
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. 3 Chapters: Nezirut Chap. 6, 7, 8
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...

Hayom Yom:
. English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
 
Kindness - Day 85 - The Chesed of Sodom
12.27.05 (9:33 am)   [edit]
Loving Kindness
25 Kislev, 5766 / December 26, 2005



Day 85 - The Chesed of Sodom

SEFER AHAVAS CHESED — Part II Chapter XVII footnotes



Most of the time, an organized approach is better than a scattershot approach. Most of the time, a one-stop errand is preferable to a long itinerary of stops. Both of those generalizations, however, do not hold true when the issue is charity. Jewish communities in the Chofetz Chaim’s day sometimes took it upon themselves to bring charitable giving under one umbrella, eliminating the need for solicitors to go door to door, while at the same time saving the townspeople the trouble of having to open their doors to strangers. This plan, the Chofetz Chaim insisted, was wrong headed and harmful; locking one’s doors to the poor — even if one directs them to where help is available — is not what the Torah envisions for the Jewish people.



While it is true that a person’s priorities for charity are those closest to him, this does not negate the necessity of keeping doors open to the poor from other communities. Furthermore, if a poor person is denied the opportunity to go door to door, he is denied the chance to find a sympathetic ear. Perhaps one or two people he encounters will be willing to offer him a greater level of assistance than the general fund would allow. If he cannot get past the door, he has no opportunity to state his case to someone who might feel for his particular plight. For instance, someone who has had an ill child might be inclined to give a generous amount to a man collecting for his own child’s surgery.



The Chofetz Chaim was not alone in his objections to removing charity from the realm of the private home. A story told about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev graphically defines the essence of this type of system. As a great leader of his generation, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was constantly being summoned to communal meetings. In his older years, he decided that he wanted to spend more time learning and counseling those who came to him. He instructed the elders of Berditchev to make communal decisions among themselves, and summon him only when some new enactment was being considered.



One day, he was summoned. The elders were debating the idea of shifting all the community’s charitable giving into a central fund that would be administered by a treasurer. They sought the Rabbi’s consent. “I don’t understand why you called for me,” the Rabbi said. “I told you only to summon me when you were instituting something new. This is old. It was done first in Sodom and Gomorrah.”



“Sodom?” the elders exclaimed. “But those were evil, selfish people. Our idea is to make it easier for the poor people themselves.”



The Rabbi would not be swayed. “Do you think the people of Sodom told themselves they were wicked? They had reasons. They had rationalizations as to why they were right to refuse to give. No matter how you explain it, the final result is that doors are closed to the poor. I’ll have nothing to do with it.”



A central fund has its place. Indeed, it can be a lifeline for people in need of help. The vision Hashem has for his people, however, is not a vision of institutionalized kindness. It is a vision of eyes meeting, hearts responding, hands giving, one to the other.





Step by Step



If I have tended to confine my significant giving to organized charities, today I will consider putting more into the money I give at the door.
 
Daily Halacha: Chanukah - A Dignified Menorah
12.27.05 (9:17 am)   [edit]
Halacha of the Day (12/25/2005) By Rabbi Eli Mansour

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Description: Chanukah- A Dignified Menorah


Maran in Shulchan Aruch, siman 673, Halacha 3, says that one shouldn't use a previously used vessel for the lighting of the Menorah. Specifically, Maran is referring to the actual cup or receptacle that house the oil and wick. Maran's meaning here is that we shouldn't reuse the cup over again as is, for the cup is now soiled with soot and grime. The cup is oily and probably blackened at the rim. So Maran is telling us that we must not use such a vessel as it would be disrespectful and inappropriate for the fulfillment of a Mitzvah

Now, most people who light with oil use glass receptacles. And most people who use glass receptacles, buy the ready made set of oil filled glass cups. That is nice, respectful, and fresh. There are others though who like to toil in the fulfillment of the Mitzvah, as they spend the time each day to prepare the cup, oil, and wicks. For them this Halacha teaches that although the glass receptacle may be used from one night to the next, the vessel however must be cleaned and made presentable and dignified for the next night. Certainly one would not serve a soiled glass on his table. Likewise, one should not utilize a soiled receptacle when fulfilling a Mitzvah. Therefore, for those who use the same glass cups each night be sure to clean them out and present them in a dignified manner at the time of lighting.

The question was asked in this regard about reusing wicks. Is it permissible to recycle wicks from one night to the next? Maran discusses this question in the same siman in Halacha 4, and says there is no problem if one wants to recycle wicks. In a previous Daily Halacha entitled "Can We Reuse The Candle Wick Or Do We Need To Use New Wicks Each Night", we learnt that some argue it is even better to reuse the same wicks from night to night. Others, however, like the opinion of the Ba'al HaTanya (a major treatise of Kabalah and Chassidic philosophy of the early 19th century), say that one should try to use new wicks every night, and not use the same wicks over and over again. One reason cited is Zecher L'Menorah of the Bet HaMikdash. In the Bet HaMikdash, they used new wicks every night, and therefore it is suggested to use new wicks to commemorate the Bet HaMikdash. So there are differing opinions when it comes to recycling wicks. Both sides have what to rely on, and either w

Our point today is to make sure that the Menorah is presentable, clean, nice, and dignified when fulfilling the Mitzvah.

I want to point out that the Kaf Hachayim (Rav Yaakov Chaim Sofer 1870-1939) does say that some have the custom to use golden oil receptacles. He says a person should try his utmost to perform this Mitzvah in the most distinguished manner, meaning one should acquire the most beautiful Menorah according to his means. It is brought down [listen to the audio clip for the exact quote] that one should even use a Menorah of Kesef (silver.) There are many extravagances that are less important that we in today's society splurge on. When it comes to Mitzvot, certainly one should not have a lower standard. Everyone should try to fulfill the Mitzvot in the most beautiful way possible.
 
Daily Dose: Two Lessons
12.27.05 (9:15 am)   [edit]
B"H

Two Lessons
-----------

On the first night of Chanukah all eight candle holders stand before you. But you light only one. Tomorrow night you shall light two. You know that eventually you will light all eight.

From which we learn two things:

1. Move step by step in life. Take things on at a pace you can handle.

2. Always grow. Always keep moving. If you did one good thing yesterday, do two today. Your ultimate achievement is always one step ahead.





A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Kislev 24, 5766 * December 25, 2005
 
Daily Lift #870 - Joy in the Face of Death
12.27.05 (9:13 am)   [edit]
Daily Lift #870
Joy In The Face Of Death

The Talmud (Brachot 31) relates that at the wedding of Mar, the son of Ravina, the Sages asked Rav Hamnuna to sing a song. This is hat he sang: "Woe to us that we die! Woe to us that we die!"
Since we have an obligation to rejoice with the bride and groom at a wedding, how was it proper for Rav Hamnuna to say something that would cause sadness?

When you are able to recall death and nevertheless rejoice, this is true joy. This is possible when one is committed to serving the eternal God. But if someone need to forget death in order to rejoice, the joy is incomplete.

(Rabbi Moshe Rosenstein in Darkai Mussar, p.56; Rabbi Pliskin's "Gateway to Happiness," p.113)
 
Growing Each Day - Kislev 24
12.27.05 (9:11 am)   [edit]
Way #14 Written Instructions For Living
by Rabbi Noah Weinberg
When we learn Torah, we are not studying an abstract and arcane text of the ancient world. We are engaged in discovering the essence of Judaism, which is the essence of ourselves.


The Jewish people have a set of "written instructions for living" - the Bible, and also "oral instructions for living" - the Talmud. Jewish wisdom is incomprehensible unless both parts are working together.

Way #14 is "b'mikreh," the written instructions. The Bible has three parts, totaling 24 books:


Torah - The Five Books of Moses, revealed to the Jewish people by God at Mount Sinai.


Prophets - God spoke to various prophets (e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) who transmitted messages strengthening the Jewish commitment to Torah.


Writings - The Writings (e.g. Proverbs, Psalms, Esther) emphasize God's message in a poetic style.

The Bible is the all-time bestseller and has made an enormous impact on Western civilization. Everyone should study the Bible at least once in a lifetime.

"All men have an inalienable right" - straight from the Bible. "Love your neighbor" - the Bible. Isaiah's vision of peace adorns the United Nations. The biblical sanction to "proclaim freedom throughout the land" is engraved on the Liberty Bell.

You don't need to accept the existence of God to learn these basic lessons. Whether interpersonal relationships, self-awareness, community relations, or environmental concerns - Torah is the ultimate "owner's manual."

On a deeper level, Jewish tradition says that Torah is the "blueprint for creation." Everything in life can be found in Torah... if you ask the right questions, and possess the right set of tools.



------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- -----


INTERGALACTIC COMMUNICATION

Imagine you received a message from outer space. You might not fully understand its meaning, but you are fascinated. You will study every word and try to decode it.

Torah is the word of God, communicated to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. If a piece of Torah doesn't seem to make sense, don't pass it off as irrelevant. Keep asking, searching, delving.

Look deeper into what each piece of Torah is telling you. All the stories and commandments are really philosophical messages waiting to be revealed by the intellectually active mind. The Flood, the Tower of Babel, the splitting of the Red Sea - all contain the deepest wisdom for living. Even dates, names, numbers, events and lineage all teach us something. The message is often between the lines. And when the message seems obvious, there's more below the surface.

Let's take an example. In Genesis chapter 18, Abraham is in the middle of conversing with God. Then three strangers pass by and Abraham immediately runs to serve them. At this point the alert reader should question: Why would Abraham stop talking to God in order to help strangers? It doesn't make sense. Even an atheist would admit that talking to God is the ultimate experience!

From here we learn a profound spiritual lesson: Even more important than talking to God, is to be like God.

What does it mean to "be like Him"?

God created the world for our pleasure. Everything he placed here - fruit, hands, love - are manifestations of His kindness. This world is one big hospitality inn. So when you take the role of host, of serving your fellow man, you are like God. Abraham was wealthy and famous, yet it was not beneath him to serve strangers. He understood the lesson.

Read the Bible intelligently. It is the guiding force of Jewish achievement, as fresh today as it was 3,500 years ago. Don't discount its value without first making an effort to study it. Respect the Bible. It is a hidden treasure, a special message from God.



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THE ORIGINAL

If you want to understand the Bible, you need to learn Hebrew. There's no way to get the full meaning in translation.

For example, the Torah uses 10 different names for God. Each "name" refers to a unique aspect of God's essence: all-knowing, all-powerful, prime mover, merciful, etc. But in English, these names are all translated the same, and much of the depth is lost.

Worse yet, biblical translation promotes misconceptions. For example, you'll read a translation and come across the word "sin." Uh-oh. Sin, evil, punishment. But the Hebrew word Chet does not mean sin at all. Chet appears in the Bible in reference to an arrow which missed the target. There is nothing inherently "bad" about the arrow (or the archer). Rather, a mistake was made - due to a lack of focus, concentration or skill.

From here we learn that human beings are essentially good. Nobody wants to sin. We may occasionally make a mistake, lose focus, and miss the target. But in essence we want to do good. This is a great lesson in self-esteem. Simply adjust your aim and try again!

In translation, the message is lost. In fact, entire religions have arose based on mistranslations. So get it straight. Learn Hebrew.



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PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS

I once came across a magazine profiling a group of hippies who spent the day reading the biblical "Song of Songs." "Song of Songs" is written in the form of a poem, a love song between a man and a woman, symbolizing the relationship between the Almighty and humanity. The message is so deep and beautiful that the Jewish people call this book the "holy of holies."

On the commune, they had an experience where the men recited the man's lines, and the women recited the woman's lines. The magazine reports that they read through "Song of Songs" and had a fantastic experience.

Afterward, the women proclaimed that they finally found a portion of the Bible written by a woman, because no man could ever understand a woman's feelings so deeply and state them so powerfully. In other words, they concluded that only a hermaphrodite could have edited the Bible. But God? No, that's inconceivable.

Unfortunately, Bible critics usually come from a preconceived position, and when the Bible doesn't fit those parameters, they are forced to make far-fetched conclusions. They don't seriously consider the idea of Torah's divine authorship, of "national revelation."

Yet it is an unbroken Jewish tradition that 3 million men, women and children stood at Mount Sinai and heard the Torah directly from God. And in the 3,300 years since, no other religion has ever made such a claim - because it is impossible to fabricate.



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NATURE & MIRACLES

Some critics have trouble accepting the idea of divine intervention. For them, all the biblical phenomenon need to be explained in terms of nature. A book called "World in Collision," for example, explains the splitting of the Red Sea like this:

A tremendous comet approached earth at the time the Egyptians were chasing the Jews. At that precise moment, the comet was in position to tear the Red Sea apart by the force of gravity, leaving dry land between two walls of the sea. The Jews entered the sea, and sure enough, the Egyptians followed. Luckily, the Jews came out the other side just as the comet passed, and the water returned, drowning the Egyptians.

Simple, right? You don't need God.

How does this book explain the manna bread that the Jews collected every morning for 40 years in the desert? After the comet passed, particles of petroleum remained in the higher atmosphere. It eventually burned off and mixed with the dew. The falling dew combined with a particular micro-bacteria that digests petroleum products and converts it into protein.

Thus explains how every morning, for 40 years, a nation of Jews picked up manna bread - "dew containing predigested protein." On Fridays, there was a double portion, but he doesn't explain that...

These explanations are missing the point. Torah isn't a history book, a physics book or a storybook. Rather, it is Torat Chaim - literally "instructions for living." Every word, every phrase contains a message how to maximize pleasure in life. Look for the deeper message - the wisdom within - and you will reap immense rewards.



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THE TIME IS NOW

The first sentence a Jewish child is taught is "Torah tziva lanu Moshe, morasha kehilat Yaakov" - "Torah was commanded to us through Moses and is the inheritance of every Jew." Torah was meant for everybody. It is not the exclusive domain of some priestly class. Rather, it is a living, breathing document - the lifeblood of our Jewish nation. We are required at all times to involve ourselves in its study and practice. As it says, "You shall think about it day and night" (Joshua 1:8).

Your academic education may have ended, and there may come a point where you are as good a "professional" as you need to be. But learning Torah starts at a young age and continues for a lifetime. As you mature and your awareness of reality increases, so will your understanding of concepts you thought you once knew well.

Every Jew is supposed to review the weekly Torah portion three times, and then hear it again in the synagogue on Shabbat. We review, ask questions, discuss the topics. "What did you see, what was difficult, what didn't you understand?"

After learning a piece of Torah, organize it so it's at your fingertips. For example, the Five Books of Moses are organized into 54 weekly portions and 674 chapters. After learning one chapter, pause and assign a code word or phrase to the chapter. You'll have a handy device to recall the wisdom it contains.

Some people use the excuse, "I'm too old to begin learning." But the Talmudic scholar Rebbe Akiva didn't even learn the Aleph-Bet until he was age 40. This is the same Rebbe Akiva who became the greatest sage of his generation with 24,000 students!

Some people are hesitant to learn Torah because they can't imagine ever becoming a scholar, so therefore "why even get started?" This is faulty thinking. Every drop of Torah study is precious and eternal.



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TREE OF LIFE

There are two ways to acquire wisdom: through life experience, or through learning Torah.

Judaism says it's better to get wisdom through Torah. Why? Because even though you can learn from experience, there's a negative residual effect. True, a woman who goes through a series of failed relationships will eventually learn what's important in a husband. But if she'd first studied wisdom, she'd have saved a lot of needless headache.

We learn this lesson from the Garden of Eden. Here is a story that sounds like a real fairytale: two trees in the middle of the garden, and God instructs Adam that the Tree of Life (symbolizing the attainment of wisdom through Torah) is made to be eaten, whereas the Tree of Knowledge (symbolizing wisdom through experience) is better avoided. Adam's mistake? He eats from the Tree of Knowledge.

We don't have the patience to get to know ourselves and we want to learn from experience. Many people say: "After I make money, when my business is self-sustaining, then I'll take time out to learn Torah. But I need to experience life a little first."

Three divorces later...

Do not say: "When I have free time, I will study," for perhaps you will never have time. Realistically, once you're promoted to VP of the firm, do you expect to have more free time, or less free time?

The Torah is a "tree of life" for those who grasp it. When we study Torah, we are not studying an abstract and arcane text of the ancient world. We are in fact discovering the essence of ourselves.



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WHY IS "WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS" A WAY TO WISDOM?


ead the Bible from beginning to end. If you haven't yet learned Hebrew, buy an authentic Jewish translation. (Recommended: ArtScroll's "Stone Chumash")


Learn Torah. Discover God's instructions for living. Don't wait until your life is almost over.


Understand Torah. It's the book that changed the world. Ask questions until you know the message in detail.


Correlate any differences and resolve them. There are no "unintentional" discrepancies in Torah. Look in the book and you will find it.


Organize it. Wisdom is only useful when it's at your fingertips. Torah should be your encyclopedia, almanac and index to living.


Review Torah, in order to remember. You wouldn't head out on the open road without a map. When going through life, don't leave the Torah behind.


Integrate Torah. Make the ideas part of your reality. Rebbe Akiva said that a Jew without Torah is like a fish without water.


Update it. Renew Torah wisdom as your life situation changes. Don't "honor your parents" at age 25 the same way you did at age five.


Upgrade it. The first paragraph of the "Shema" contains 48 words, corresponding to the 48 Ways. Torah wisdom is infinitely vast. Always delve one level deeper.
 
Kindness - Day 80 - On Commission
12.27.05 (8:48 am)   [edit]
Loving Kindness
20 Kislev, 5766 / December 21, 2005



Day 80 - On Commission

SEFER AHAVAS CHESED — Part II Chapter XVI



Everyone knows this person. In sixth grade he organizes a class carnival to earn money for charity. In high school he starts a tutoring program for elementary-school boys. As a newlywed, he solicits money for his synagogue’s building campaign. Five years later, he raises money for his son’s yeshivah. When he is around, everyone in his periphery gets pulled into his orbit. They suddenly find themselves writing checks for his causes and working on his projects, all because of his gentle, persistent tug.



When a person becomes involved in community chesed organizations, he does not just earn his own reward for his own kind act. He earns a “commission,” a piece of the credit for the many people he spurs onto their own acts of chesed. The Midrash Tanchuma states that if a person, as a result of sin, is liable for a severe punishment, there are actions he can take to avert the consequence. One of these actions is to take upon himself the responsibility of collecting for a chesed fund, for “One who pursues charity and kindness will find life, righteousness and honor” (Mishlei 21:21).



Giving what one can certainly evokes Heaven’s mercy, but a person can go far beyond the limits of his own financial capabilities by taking on the task of encouraging others to give. He then receives credit for the mitzvos he has encouraged.



This principle is illustrated in the Torah (Shemos 17:5) when Hashem instructs Moses: “And in your hand take your staff with which you struck the river.” The episode to which Hashem is referring did not happen. Moses never struck the river; he followed Hashem’s command to instruct Aaron to strike the river. The stick and the miracles for which it was the agent are attributed to Moses because it was he who caused Aaron to utilize it for its miraculous purpose. The person who causes others to use their assets for their Heavenly purpose shares ownership of their achievements. Their “stick” is also his.



In collecting money for charity, a person can be certain to experience rejection, sometimes even humiliation. He will not, however, come to sin through this endeavor, as the Mishnah in Avos (5:18) promises: “One who causes merit to accrue to the masses, no sin comes through his hand.” The Talmud (Bava Basra 9a) goes further, saying in the name of Rabbi Elazar that one who causes others to give is even greater than one who gives himself. The source of his greatness lies in the difficulty of his endeavor. The Chofetz Chaim says that if a person has amassed a thousand rubles for a charitable fund, he has undoubtedly undergone considerable emotional and perhaps physical hardship in the process.



It is because of this involvement of body and soul in the act of collecting that the rewards are so great. All the good that the money does earns perpetual rewards for those who reached into their own pockets, and it earns still more reward for the one who reached into each of their hearts.







Step by Step



The next time someone needs help collecting for a charitable cause, I will try to find time to take part in collecting.
 
Chassidic Story: Life after Death: A Parable
12.27.05 (8:43 am)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 21, 5766 * December 22, 2005

========================= ====
C H A S S I D I C S T O R Y
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Life After Death: A Parable
By: Maurice Lamm
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Man has had an abiding faith in a world beyond the grave. The conviction in a life after death, improvable but unshakeable, has been cherished since the beginning of thinking man's life on earth. It makes its appearance in religious literature not as fiat, commanded irrevocably by an absolute God, but rather arises plant-like, growing and developing naturally in the soul. It then sprouts forth through sublime prayer and sacred hymn. Only later does it become extrapolated in complicated metaphysical speculation.

The after-life has not been "thought up"; it is not a rational construction of a religious philosophy imposed on believing man. It has sprung from within the hearts of masses of men, a sort of consensus Pentium, inside out, a hope beyond and above the rational, a longing for the warm sun of eternity. The after-life is not a theory to be proven logically or demonstrated by rational analysis. It is axiomatic. It is to the soul what oxygen is to the lungs. There is little meaning to life, to God, to man's constant strivings, to all of his achievements, unless there is a world beyond the grave.

The Bible, so vitally concerned with the actions of man in this world, and agonizing over his day-to-day morals, is relatively silent about the world-to-come. But, precisely, this very silence is a tribute to the awesome concept, taken for granted like the oxygen in the atmosphere. No elaborate apologia, no complex abstractions are necessary. The Bible, which records the sacred dialogue between God and man, surely must be founded on the soul's eternal existence. It was not a matter of debate, as it became later in history when whole movements interpreted scripture with slavish literalism and could not find the after-life crystallized in letters and words, or later, when philosophers began to apply the yardstick of rationalism to man's every hope and idea and sought empirical proof for this conviction of the soul. It was a fundamental creed, always present, though rarely articulated.

If the soul is immortal then death cannot be considered a final act. If the life of the soul is to be continued, then death, however bitter, is deprived of its treacherous power of casting mourners into a lifetime of agonizing hopelessness over an irretrievable loss. Terrible though it is, death is a threshold to a new world-the "world-to-come."


A Parable

An imaginative and telling analogy that conveys the hope and confidence in the after-life, even though this hope must be refracted through the prism of death, is the tale of twins awaiting birth in the mother's womb. It was created by a contemporary Israeli rabbi, the late Y. M. Tuckachinsky.

Imagine twins growing peacefully in the warmth of the womb. Their mouths are closed, and they are being fed via the navel. Their lives are serene. The whole world, to these brothers, is the interior of the womb. Who could conceive anything larger, better, more comfortable? They begin to wonder: "We are getting lower and lower. Surely if it continues, we will exit one day. What will happen after we exit?"

Now the first infant is a believer. He is heir to a religious tradition which tells him that there will be a "new life" after this wet and warm existence of the womb. A strange belief, seemingly without foundation, but one to which he holds fast. The second infant is a thorough-going skeptic. Mere stories do not deceive him. He believes only in that which can be demonstrated. He is enlightened, and tolerates no idle conjecture. What is not within one's experience can have no basis in one's imagination.

Says the faithful brother: "After our 'death' here, there will be a new great world. We will eat through the mouth! We will see great distances, and we will hear through the ears on the sides of our heads. Why, our feet will be straightened! And our heads-up and free, rather than down and boxed in."

Replies the skeptic: "Nonsense. You're straining your imagination again. There is no foundation for this belief. It is only your survival instinct, an elaborate defense mechanism, a historically-conditioned subterfuge. You are looking for something to calm your fear of 'death.' There is only this world. There is no world-to-come!"

"Well then," asks the first, "what do you say it will be like?"

The second brother snappily replies with all the assurance of the slightly knowledgeable: "We will go with a bang. Our world will collapse and we will sink into oblivion. No more. Nothing. Black void. An end to consciousness. Forgotten. This may not be a comforting thought, but it is a logical one."

Suddenly the water inside the womb bursts. The womb convulses. Upheaval. Turmoil. Writhing. Everything lets loose. Then a mysterious pounding -- a crushing, staccato pounding. Faster, faster, lower, lower.

The believing brother exits. Tearing himself from the womb, he falls outward. The second brother shrieks, startled by the "accident" befallen his brother. He bewails and bemoans the tragedy--the death of a perfectly fine fellow. Why? Why? Why didn't he take better care? Why did he fall into that terrible abyss?

As he thus laments, he hears a head-splitting cry, and a great tumult from the black abyss, and he trembles: "Oh my! What a horrible end! As I predicted!"

Meanwhile as the skeptic brother mourns, his "dead" brother has been born into the "new" world. The headsplitting cry is a sign of health and vigor, and the tumult is really a chorus of mazel tons sounded by the waiting family thanking God for the birth of a healthy son.

Indeed, in the words of a contemporary thinker, man comes from the darkness of the "not yet," and proceeds to the darkness of the "no more." While it is difficult to imagine the "not yet" it is more difficult to picture the "no more."

As we separate and "die" from the womb, only to be born to life, so we separate and die from our world, only to be re-born to life eternal. The exit from the womb is the birth of the body. The exit from the body is the birth of the soul. As the womb requires a gestation period of nine months, the world requires a residence of 70 or 80 years. As the womb is prozdor, an anteroom preparatory to life, so our present existence is a prozdor to the world beyond.


- From The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning by Rabbi Maurice Lamm.
 
Dating Maze - 195 - Disappearance in Cyberspace - A tale of a dot-come dating gone awry.
12.27.05 (8:40 am)   [edit]
A tale of dot-come dating gone awry.





Dear Rosie & Sherry,

By chance, I met a man while playing a game online. We chatted online and then we talked on the phone. I really fell for him. He says that I am perfect for him, and he promised to come visit me (he lives in another region).

But now he keeps putting things off, and has even started "blocking" me from seeing that he is online. He says that I can call any time, but I only get his voice mail and he doesn't return the calls. I think I have been vulnerable and fell for someone who is just getting his kicks on the internet.

On the other hand, when we do talk, he goes on and on about spending his life with me. I really like this man and would like to have him in my life. Yet it's very difficult because he controls all communications. What shall I do?

Anne

Dear Anne,

This man is avoiding you for a reason, but it could be any of dozens. Please do not waste your time and emotional energy trying to figure out what went wrong. You won't be able to and you will only feel worse about yourself if you insist on over-analyzing your cyber friendship.

One of the risks of online dating is an experience such as the one you had. Someone you meet online could: 1) be afraid of face-to-face relationships, 2) have several e-mail partners at the same time, 3) is commitment phobic and cannot move any closer in a "relationship" than where the two of you got, 4) uses the Internet to escape to fantasy, 5) is married, 6) has lied about himself, or 7) was honestly pursuing an e-mail romance but decided at some point that it wasn't for him.

Even when people actually do agree to meet face to face, they may not get along as well in person as they did in cyberspace.

Don't think that we're paranoid alarmists, but... while the vast majority of people who use on-line dating services are well-adjusted adults, some of them are not. The potential to be hurt by someone you meet through the anonymity of the Internet is greater than if you are introduced by a mutual friend, or if you meet through a work-related or organizational function.

The fact is that intelligent people have been duped online by less-than-honest people who are looking for a way to relieve marital boredom, or to con people out of their savings, or who may cause others physical or emotional harm. Everyone who uses Internet dating should follow these simple precautions to help safeguard their privacy and keep out of trouble.

Keep it anonymous. When you correspond over an anonymous entity like the Internet, don't divulge biographical details like your full name, address, phone number, place of employment or any financial information. (Many sites let you keep your email address private, too.)

This is good advice whenever you meet someone on your own (such as at a bar, singles event or through a personal ad) who has not been referred to you by someone you know and trust. You can release limited information, such as your first name and metro area, but better to save additional info for a live meeting.

Exchange personal references. Don't dismiss this advice as too business-like or distrustful. Many reputable dating services and "matchmakers" ask for a list of references when you apply, and expect you to do proper follow-up about a prospective match. Nobody can learn everything about someone's background over the course of a one or two hour meeting. Similarly, you can't take what any stranger tells you at face value -- and your Internet date is, for all intents and purposes, a stranger.

You should always request references before dating anyone you "meet" through an anonymous entity, and refuse to date anyone who is not willing to give you that information. A reasonable person will understand your caution.

And be sure to do the follow-up, checking these references before your next date. Don't assume that everything is all right because you've been given a list of names and phone numbers. We know of many "references" who either did not exist, or had never heard of the person who used them as a reference.

All in all, Internet dating can be a great experience, one that can lead to marriage and a lifetime of happiness. But be aware of the Internet's limitations -- particularly at the outset of a relationship. This will help ensure that your online dating encounter is a pleasant and successful one.

For the present, we hope that you can realize that this man just isn't The One, and work on getting over the disappointment and sense of loss you feel.
 
Daily Dose: E=MC2
12.27.05 (8:39 am)   [edit]
B"H

E=MC2
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Modern physics has brought us to a realization of the oneness of our universe, from which we may better grasp the Oneness of its Creator:

All that exists can be divided into two elements: The force, and the particle that bears that force. In other terms: quality and quantity. With a simple equation, Einstein demonstrated that even these two elements are truly one.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Kislev 21, 5766 * December 22, 2005
 
Growing Each Day - Kislev 22
12.27.05 (8:35 am)   [edit]
Kislev 22

Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem the One and Only (Deuteronomy 6:4).


When reciting the declaration of the unity of God, we are required to commit ourselves to this belief, that in the event we were coerced to deny Him, we would surrender our lives rather than do so. This concept is called mesiras nefesh, and in addition to our belief in God, there are only two other instances where we are to choose martyrdom rather than transgression: murder and adultery.

While the thought of surrendering one's life is frightening, it has unfortunately characterized much of Jewish history. However, since the urge for survival is innate and most intense and generally overrides all other considerations, how can so many Jews have risen to the challenge of mesiras nefesh?

The answer is quite simple. Just think of what life would be like if nothing was worth dying for: no ideals, no principles, no loyalty, no sacredness, no ultimate value. Under duress, everything would go. Could thinking people who pride themselves in living on a plane of life higher than that of brute beasts see any value in this kind of life?

There are things that are dearer than life that give life its great value.

Today I shall ...
... try to appreciate the full value of life, and realize that there are absolute values that make life precious.



 
Shabbat Shalom Weekly - Insights into life, ideas for personal growth
12.26.05 (5:42 pm)   [edit]
Insights into life, ideas for personal growth

GOOD MORNING! How much of your success is due to your brains, good judgment, risk taking and experience versus "coincidence"?

Here's the story! The night is November 28th, 1944. You are on the U.S.S. submarine Archer-fish under the command of Captain Joe Enright, patrolling Tokyo Bay. Into the field of your periscope steams the super-aircraft carrier, Shinano, over 70,000 tons (40,000 tons bigger than the U.S. carriers Essex or Yorktown!). Its existence is unknown to the intelligence forces of the United States government! Originally intended to be a battleship, the Japanese lost so many carriers at Mariana Islands, Leyte Gulf and Midway that they put their hopes for victory on fielding this mega-aircraft carrier. It was created with a special concrete-filled double hull to make it virtually impenetrable to torpedoes and with watertight compartments in order to make it almost unsinkable.

Captain Enright has his troubles. The day before his radar went down. In fixing it his technicians had to test it, thus revealing his presence. Now he sees the carrier, but it's traveling too fast at 20 knots (the Shinano had a top speed of 27 knots, but with only 8 of its boilers operable, it could only make 20 knots; a fleet submarine's top speed was 18 knots and push come to shove, 19 knots). Wanting to keep contact with the carrier, Enright continuously uses his radar (a non-standard strategy as it announces his presence; he figures they already know he is there from the previous day's radar testing).

When the Shinano heads south there is no way the sub can keep the carrier in contact, so Archer-fish sends off a contact report to Comsubpac in Hawaii informing them of the target and course. Archer-fish follows the deduced course of the aircraft carrier in hopes that the submarine will get ahead of the carrier when the carrier will zig back to its main course. (When a carrier is in sub-infested waters it does not want to maintain a straight course to give the subs an easy setup to shoot their torpedoes; instead it zigs and zags to the right and left - starboard and port - of its main course. Sure enough, the carrier is spotted heading back towards the deduced course! The sub submerges to set up a shot. The angle is oblique, but it will have to do. Wait! The carrier is turning due north! A perfect 90 degree, perpendicular shot. Off go a spread of 6 torpedoes at 8 second intervals. Four torpedoes hit ... and about 6 hours later, the super-aircraft carrier sinks with about half of her crew.

Great job! Captain Enright receives the Navy Cross. He did everything right. He sunk the equivalent of the Japanese Bismarck, the last hope of Japan. The application of brains, daring and experience. Now ... here's what Captain Enright didn't know!

The Shinano was commanded by Captain Abe. Captain Abe is directed by the Japanese High Command to move the Shinano to the Inland Sea because they fear that a previous B-29 raid had photographed the Shinano and subsequent bombing missions will target the boatyard where the Shinano is being completed. Captain Abe protests that the Shinano is not ready - the waterproof compartments have not been air-tested to ensure that they will contain incoming water; there are gaskets missing and doors are misaligned. Four of his twelve boilers are not yet operational. The High Command tells him, "Go anyway! And go at night because we have no planes to escort you!"

Captain Abe has report of a submarine using radar (remember the testing to put the Archer-fish's radar back on line?). He assumes there is a wolf pack of submarines out there. When he hears the constant radar (remember: the Archer-fish couldn't keep up, but wanted to keep contact) he commands his four battle-proven destroyer escorts to maintain position around the Shinano. He figures that the submarine is a decoy to draw the destroyers off of their positions so that another sub can sneak inside the perimeter and sink the Shinano. When one of his destroyers spots the sub and takes chase, Captain Abe calls him back and reprimands him - right before the destroyer can fire upon the sub or depth charge the sub. Had the destroyer pursued the sub, the Shinano could have escaped contact!

After heading south, the Shinano is forced to slow down because of a hot bearing in its propeller shaft, making her speed less than the flank speed of the submarine. Captain Abe is told of the sub's radio broadcast (when the sub could no longer keep radar contact with the Shinano). Figuring that the sub is radioing his new heading to other subs, Captain Abe alters his course back to the north - towards the Archer-fish which has moved ahead and now lies in wait because of the Shinano's zig and slower speed (due to the hot ball bearing).

When Captain Abe receives report that the radar wave from the sub has ceased (when the submarine submerged for the oblique torpedo shot), he says, "Aha! (or the Japanese equivalent) "the sub is about to fire torpedoes!" So, what does Captain Abe do? He alters his course to the west to ruin the torpedo setup, thus instead putting himself in a perpendicular position to the sub for a classic, perfect setup for a torpedo shot!

Before the four torpedoes hit, Captain Abe has given the order to batten down the hatches. Unfortunately, due to missing and broken gaskets, and mis-aligned doors, the order proves worthless. Rather than heading for shore to beach his carrier and save it, he assumes that four torpedo hits cannot do major damage. So, he heads at his best speed towards his destination - thus forcing more water into his hull ... until it's too late to save the ship and it sinks.

Now, here's the question! What sunk the Shinano? Captain Enright's seamanship and strategy or Captain Abe's assumptions? The answer: both! The lesson: We have to do our best in life. Take into account the information available to us and make our decisions. The outcome? It's out of our hands! Success is in the "hands" of the Almighty. If the Almighty wants that aircraft carrier sunk, it will sink. If He doesn't, it won't.

Want evidence? One year previously our same Captain Enright was commanding the U.S.S. Dace. Comsubpac sent him a Top Secret message! They had intercepted the Japanese naval code and broken it. They gave Captain Enright the location, course and speed of the aircraft carrier Shokaku (which was involved in the bombing of Pearl Harbor). Captain Enright positioned himself in the perfect spot to intercept the aircraft carrier. At the appointed time, there was the aircraft carrier - 9 miles away (too far to intercept)! The current had slowed to 1/3 of its normal speed, accounting for the different position of the carrier. Captain Enright stood at his periscope, brokenhearted, and watched the carrier sail over the horizon, powerless to do anything. The lesson: do your best, but know that ultimately success is in the hands of the Almighty.


For more on "Hashgacha Pratis" go to ShabbatShalomAudio.com!


Torah Portion of the Week
V'etchanan

Moshe pleads with God to enter the Holy Land, but is turned down. (Remember, God always answers your prayers - sometimes with a "yes," sometimes with a "no" and sometimes with a "not yet.") Moshe commands the Children of Israel not to add or subtract from the words of the Torah and to keep all of the Commandments. He then reminds them that God has no shape or form and that we should not make or worship idols of any kind.

The cities of Bezer, Ramot and Golan are designated as Cities of Refuge east of the Jordan river. Accidental murderers can escape there to avoid revengeful relatives. They then await there until tried.

The Ten Commandments are repeated to the whole Jewish people. Moshe then expounds the Shema, affirming the unity of God, Whom all should love and transmit His commandments to the next generation. A man should wear Tefillin upon the arm and head. All Jews should put a Mezuzah (the scroll is the essential part) upon each doorpost of their home (except the bathroom).

Moshe then relays the Almighty's command not to intermarry "for they will lead your children away from Me." (Deut. 7:3-4)
 
Text of Weekly Torah Portion
12.26.05 (3:41 pm)   [edit]
Text of Weekly Torah Portion
is brought to you by The Jewish Theological Seminary

P A R A S H A T M i k k e t z
Seventh Day of Hanukkah
Rosh Hodesh Tevet
Genesis 41:1 - 44:17
Maftir: Numbers 7:48 - 53

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The text of the Torah readings for Hanukkah is
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A7News: Aliyah Flying High: 3,000 North Americans in 2005
12.26.05 (2:57 pm)   [edit]
Aliyah Flying High: 3,000 North Americans in 2005

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

An end-of-the-year Nefesh B'Nefesh-sponsored flight of new immigrants from North America will round out a year of increased aliyah. Almost all recent immigrants are satisfied with their move.

The flight is expected to leave New York on Tuesday and arrive at the new Ben Gurion Terminal 3 the following day with more than 200 new olim from the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 3,000 North American Jews, the highest number since 1984, will have "come home" by the end of the year.

The increase in aliyah (literally "moving up" to Israel) also is more successful in terms of satisfaction with the big move. An overwhelming majority of 93 percent of recent olim are satisfied with their new surroundings, a marked changed from the past.

Sociologist Prof. Haim Waxman has written in his studies more than a decade ago that more than one-third of American olim in Israel return to the U.S., a figure confirmed by Jewish Agency sources.

The results of the recent survey, carried out professional pollster Mina Tzemach, indicate a huge success by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization, which in coordination with the Jewish Agency has encouraged and assisted new immigrants who have boarded six previous flights of olim this year.

The trend of more olim from North America has continued for three consecutive years, according to Michael Landsberg, who heads the Jewish Agency's North American bureau in New York.

Significant characteristics in the makeup of the new olim are their age and education, with a majority of those coming this week having earned at least one university degree. Most of the olim who have come via Nefesh B'Nefesh are married and between the ages of 35 and 54.

One of the major reasons for the higher success in aliyah from North America has been the olim's ability to find work, according to the survey. At least half of recent olim are currently working within their field of study and are satisfied with their employment.
 
Daily Halacha: Does One Repeat the Berachot at Home if He already Lit the Menorah with the Berachot
12.26.05 (11:17 am)   [edit]
Halacha of the Day (12/26/2005) By Rabbi Eli Mansour

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Description: Chanukah- Does One Repeat The Berachot At Home If He Already Lit The Menorah With The Berachot In Shul


The question was asked by a fellow who is a bachelor and lives alone. He was invited to light the Menorah on the first night of Chanukah in synagogue with all the Berachot, and he wanted to know what Berachot he should make when getting home. Could he make the three Berachot of 'LiHadlik Ner Chanukah', 'SheAsa Nissim', and 'Shehechiynau' again when arriving home, even though he already made them in the synagogue? For those who are going home to a wife and children, in the event the husband lit in synagogue and made the Berachot, he nevertheless would make all the Berachot at home again for the others. Our question today is about the bachelor who lives alone.

On this question, we have a great Machloket between Chacham Ovadia Yoseph and the Ben Ish Chai. According to the Ben Ish Chai and Chacham Ovadia Yoseph, the bachelor makes the Beracha of 'LiHadlik Ner Chanukah', and omits the Beracha of 'Shehechiynau'. There is no dispute on those Berachot. The disagreement is in regards to the Beracha of 'SheAsa Nissim.' The Ben Ish Chai says the bachelor should make the Beracha of 'SheAsa Nissim'. Chacham Ovadia Yoseph says the bachelor does not make the Beracha of 'SheAsa Nissim'.

Halacha Lema'ase, we follow Chacham Ovadia Yoseph. If a bachelor lit in the synagogue with the Berachot, he only recites the Beracha of 'LiHadlik Ner Chanukah' when he re-lights at home later on.
 
Mom with a View - Bring it on! - When Extravagance is Called for.
12.26.05 (11:14 am)   [edit]
When extravagance is called for.


I need to be fair and honest. There is another side to the bat mitzvah extravagance story. While I still can't think of any justification for hiring the latest rapper or teenage heart throb, I can think of situations that may merit lavish celebrations, situations where the expression "Who am I to judge?" rings all too true.

Many years ago I heard Rabbi Berel Wein tell a story. He had attended one of these "event simchas," in this case a wedding, with Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, the Torah luminary of the day. On their way out, Rabbi Wein made a mild though injudicious comment about the unnecessary expenditure.

Rabbi Kamenetsky then told him the host's biography. As I remember it, the father of the bride had endured the tragedy of the Holocaust, and his wife and children were murdered. He had come to America, remarried and started anew. He had become financially successful and built a new family.

"Tonight at his daughter's wedding," explained Rabbi Kamenetsky, "he got even with Hitler."

Was any celebration too grand?

And what about my friend whose son battled a childhood cancer? Each year at his birthday, she makes a meal of thanks. At every school play and presentation she is moved to tears. After such a struggle, will this young man not have a joyful bar mitzvah? Might they possibly celebrate in way that might otherwise be defined as "over the top"?

But their gratitude is also "over the top."

And then there's the couple I know who had to wait many years before they were blessed with children. For their daughter's bat mitzvah, the parents planned a very simple party.

"But mom," said the girl, "don't you want to thank everyone who supported you through those long, trying years?"


And so extravagant festivities were arranged instead for their daughter who had already achieved wisdom and maturity.

There is a unifying thread through these three stories that seems to make all the difference. In each scenario, as unique as they may be, both parents and their children knew what they were celebrating, and why.

It wasn't just an excuse for a big party, an event no different from a sweet sixteen.

It was an opportunity to say thank you -- to friends, to family, and most of all to the Almighty. Thank You God for bringing us to this day. Thank You for the triumph of good over evil, health over sickness, fertility over barrenness. Thank You for caring for us. Thank You for caring for Your people. Thank you for the renewed opportunities to celebrate.

Bring it on!
 
Daily Dose: Chanukah Miracles
12.26.05 (11:11 am)   [edit]
B"H

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dedicated in the merit of the complete recovery of Tzvi Meir Ben Sosha
Vita, who is looking for a kidney donor, please call (323) 634-7371
or email mitzvah@juno.com if you can help, blood type O+ or O-
(Dedicate an email: http://www.chabad.org/161795)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chanukah Miracles
-----------------

Without miracles, we might come to believe that the laws of physics define reality. Once we witness the inexplicable, we see that there is a higher reality. And then we look back at physics and say, "This too is a miracle." The miracle of a small flask of oil burning for eight days was this sort of miracle.

Then there are those small miracles that occur every day. Those acts of synchronicity we call 'coincidence' because, in them, G-d prefers to remain anonymous. But when we open our eyes and hearts, we see there is truly no place void of this wondrous, unlimited G-d. These were the sort of miracles the Maccabees saw in their battles against the mighty Greek army.





A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Kislev 25, 5766 * December 26, 2005
 
A7News: Chutzpah! Palestinians Boot Jews from Gaza ... A7 Radio's "The Tovia Singer Show"
12.26.05 (10:25 am)   [edit]
 
A7News: Christians Fleeing Bethlehem's Moslem Majority
12.26.05 (10:20 am)   [edit]
Christians Fleeing Bethlehem´s Moslem Majority

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Bethlehem's Christian population has declined 10 percent in five years, and Moslems now are the majority in the city where Christians, once a majority, often have been the targets of Moslem riots.

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas visited Bethlehem Saturday night during midnight mass and used the holidays as a platform to call on the Christian community to denounce the partition barrier which separates Bethlehem from the southern limits of Jerusalem.

Foreign clerics joined Abbas, and the Archbishop of Westminster, England told worshippers that Bethlehem's citizens are "terribly alone" because of the barrier. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor urged Israel "to build bridges and not walls" and blamed Israel for making Christians feeling "compelled to leave the land of their birth for foreign lands, on account of the political situation."

However, no mention was made of the Arab terrorists' siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem three years ago, when they held nuns and priests as hostages and looted the building. A document captured by Israel shows that the terrorists who broke into the church demanded monetary support from Bethlehem town officials

Last week, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists stormed PA offices near the church for several hours on Thursday before leaving under threat of a clash with PA forces.

Christians have been fleeing Bethlehem in droves due to security concerns and the changeover to Arab authority in the town, with 3,000 having fled since the outbreak of the Oslo War in 2000.

Ten years ago, PLO chairman Yasser Arafat replaced the Christian-dominated town council with a predominately Moslem council. Christians made up 90 percent of the city before Israel became a state in 1948, but a Moslem influx has turned the Christians into a minority of less than 20 percent.

Bethlehem also is the popular site of the Jewish matriarch Rachel's Tomb, where visitors to the holy site must pass through an intense security checkpoint.

The PA officially claims to allow freedom of religion, but Moslem sermons have linked Jews and Christians as enemies.

A PA Information Ministry statement states, "The Palestinian people are also governed by [Islamic] Shari'a law..., and any Muslim who [converts] or declares becoming an unbeliever is committing a major sin punishable by capital punishment...."

Anti-Christian sentiment also has been evident elsewhere in the PA. Last September, hundreds of armed Moslems terrorized the Christian city of Taibe in Samaria, burning homes and cars, and destroying a sacred Catholic statue.

In one riot in 2002, Moslems instigated "a rampage...after torching the Christian properties," according to the Boston Globe.
 
A7News: Abbas' Government Losing Control
12.26.05 (10:17 am)   [edit]
Abbas´ Government Losing Control

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The PA has lost control in Gaza, where England has warned its citizens not to visit. A new Yasser Arafat party has been established to wrest control from the ruling Fatah regime.

A senior aide to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told United Press International that the PA no longer controls Gaza. On Saturday, Hamas terrorists seriously injured two PA policemen who stopped them at a checkpoint in Gaza City.

Kidnappings of foreign citizens have been rampant, and England told its citizens, "We advise against all travel to the Gaza strip because of the security situation and continuing threat of kidnap of foreign nationals. The most recent incident occurred on 21 December when an Australian and Dutch national were kidnapped. British nationals have also been kidnapped in previous incidents."

Anarchy also has spread to Judea and Samaria, and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists stormed PA offices in Bethlehem for several hours on Thursday before leaving under threat of a clash with PA forces.

IDF commanders have told the Israeli government that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is not trying to stop terrorists from attacking Israel with mortar shells and rockets. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government has little contact with PA ministers.

Abbas has made a pact with the growing popular young guard in an effort to shore up his strength toward the PA legislative elections scheduled for January 25. Ahmed Qureia, the prime minister of the PA, protests the move and is establishing a new party named after former PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

Qureia previously was a Fatah candidate, but then said he will not run in the elections following a maneuver by Abbas that lessened his chances of being elected. Qureia blamed his decision not to run on Israel's ban on voting by Jerusalem's Arabs, who are Israeli citizens.

Other threats to the ruling Fatah party come from the increasingly popular Hamas terrorist organization, and a rival party headed by jailed terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who consistently has headed popularity polls. Barghouti is currently serving five consecutive life sentences in Israeli prison for his role in numerous deadly terror attacks.
 
A7News: Papal Official Wants to Divide Jerusalem
12.26.05 (10:15 am)   [edit]
Papal Official Wants to Divide Jerusalem

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The Arab League and a Vatican official separately, but simultaneously, are campaigning for Israel to divide Jerusalem. The PA recently asked to the Pope to help make the capital part of a new state.

The Arab League has joined Palestinian Authority (PA) officials in exploiting Israel's policy of not allowing Arabs in Jerusalem, who are Israeli citizens, to vote in the PA legislative elections scheduled for January 25.

It told the French news agency AFP that the ban would solidify Israel's claim that the entire capital is part of the country. AFP termed the predominantly Arab neighborhoods of the city "occupied east Jerusalem."

The papal representative in Israel, Nazareth native Michael Sabbah, told reporters, "This [partition] wall must not exist. One day it will not exist. The Palestinian people should regain their liberty and land with a state and a capital and the Israeli people should have security."

His statements are in opposition to previous Vatican statements, which have suggested that Jerusalem be established as an international city.

During a recent visit to the Vatican by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Benedict accepted a document granting him unlimited access to Bethlehem, as well as a passport to the city making him "the first citizen of Bethlehem," according to the PA radio network.

Abbas told the Pope, "If we can't hold democratic elections in Jerusalem it will be difficult to do it in the other zones." The Arab League and the PA have seized the issue to put the blame on Israel if the elections are canceled. If Israel backs down and allows Arab Israelis to vote, it would help support the PA demand that the city become the capital of a new Arab state.
 
A7News: Chanukah to Light up Jerusalem
12.26.05 (10:13 am)   [edit]
Chanukah to Light Up Jerusalem

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The largest Menorah in the world, whose wax is made from more than 5,000 candles, will light up Jerusalem Sunday night, the first evening of the eight-day Festival of Lights.

The menorah will be lit at Pisgat Ze'ev, in the northern part of the capital, and is housed in an elevator, enabling it to be seen from miles around to fulfill the mitzvah of publicizing the miracle of Chanukah, which occurred 2,144 years ago. The holiday recalls both the miraculous victory of the minority of Jews over the ruling Greeks, and the miracle of the burning of holy olive oil for eight days.

After the military victory, the priests at that time searched the desecrated Temple and found one container of olive oil that was fit to light the holy Menorah. The oil was enough for only 24 hours, but lasted eight days, during which time the priests were able to prepare new oil.

The menorah used today to commemorate the holiday has eight branches, one more than that which was used in the holy Temple, and which is forbidden to use until the completion of the Third Temple.In addition to the huge menorah, thousands of menorahs distributed by the city will be lit in stores and offices throughout the capital, providing a widespread sign of the holiday.

The city is offering free tours along the route of the lit menorahs between 6 and 8 p.m. every night
 
A7 News: Israel Weighs 'Air Patrol' to Combat Rocket Attacks
12.26.05 (10:10 am)   [edit]
Ex-IDF Commander´s New Party in Election Race

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Uzi Dayan, former deputy IDF Chief of Staff, announced Saturday that his new Tafnit (Turning Point) party will field candidates in the election. Support may come at the expense of Kadima.

Dayan founded the party in May and since has come out in favor of expelling Jews from large parts of Judea and Samaria, while retaining several communities such as Bet El, in Samaria, and Kiryat Arba, next to Hevron.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called for a total surrender of Judea and Samaria, except for Ma'aleh Adumim, several Gush Etzion communities and the city of Ariel.

Dayan, who also served as head of the National Security Council, said he declined offers to join the Kadima and Labor parties. Support for his Tafnit party is likely to come at the expense of Kadima.

In other election news, Likud ministers have refused to resign, leaving the party as part of the government coalition and preventing newly-elected chairman Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu from requesting that he be named head of the opposition.

The formation of Kadima left Likud with 26 Knesset members, five more than Labor, currently the largest opposition party.
 
From the Masters: Hope
12.26.05 (10:05 am)   [edit]


HOPE

"All human wisdom is summed up in two words - wait and hope." -- Alexander Dumas

"Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again." -- Sarah Ban Breathnach

"Whenever hope and illusion become the source of the will to live, all knowledge of reality becomes highly threatening, since at any time a new piece of information might remove the grounds for this hope. When life is motivated by hope for improvement, denial of reality is necessarily renewed and fortified. -- Christina Thurmer-Rohr

"Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness and captivity would, without this comfort, be insupportable." -- Samuel Johnson




ACHIEVEMENT

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

Carl G. Jung (1875-1961)
Psychiatrist


Oppression does not always crush the spirit of progress. Men will achieve in spite of it.

Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950)
Historian
 
Chanukah - Light in the Strangest of Places
12.26.05 (10:00 am)   [edit]
At a Grateful Dead concert one Chanukah, I felt like the only Jew in the world. Then an amazing thing happened.



I had been spending Shabbat after Shabbat with Jonathan and Julie and we'd become close friends. Then one Shabbat lunch, Jonathan asked me out of the blue: "You've been enjoying Shabbat meals with our group for so long now, but I don't think I've ever asked: How did you find your way here?"

So I told him this story.

About a year and a half previous, it was Chanukah, and to my delight, The Grateful Dead were playing four shows in a row, two of which coincided with nights of Chanukah.


At the time, I didn't feel very connected to Judaism or the Jewish community. Even so, when I went to the "Dead show", I took my candles and menorah with me so I could at least light them in the parking lot before going into the concert. My non-Jewish friends were bemused, mostly because of the chocolate gelt and dreidels I brought. But they didn't really share in my "celebration." I felt very alone and sad, like I was the only Jew in the world. But later that night an amazing thing happened.

Between the band's first and second set, I was walking around the arena, when someone handed me a piece of paper. I looked down to see a picture of the Grateful Dead icon skeleton wearing a kippah and lighting a menorah! Written on it were the words to one of my favorite songs:


Once in while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right

I glimpsed again at my little flyer and reflected on its meaning. The message seemed so clear to me. Chanukah comes around during the darkest part of the year. And it is during this intense darkness that Chanukah tells us to always have hope, just as the lights of our menorahs break through the bleakness of the dark. When we gaze at the flames, growing brighter each night, we sense not only the miracles that occurred for our ancestors, but also the miracles that we experience in our lives today. No matter how down or stuck we feel, or even how disconnected we seem, we should never give up or despair -- because we can find the light even in the "strangest of places" -- if we keep our eyes and hearts open.

I broke away from my intense thoughts, trying to locate the guy who handed me the paper. I wanted to express my gratitude. Was that him walking away? He glanced back at me for a moment that seemed much longer, and all I saw was this big, sweet Cheshire-cat kind of grin as he disappeared in the crowd.

Suddenly, I felt so connected and special. Who was this Chanukah messenger who made me feel a part of the Jewish people again?

Scarlet Begonias

A few months later, my friend, Janeen, dragged me kicking and screaming (okay, maybe just kicking) to a Shabbat dinner at her friend Stuie's apartment. The thought of spending a Friday night with a bunch of "religious" Jews didn't sound so great to me at the time. Finally, she said the magic words, "Stuie's a Deadhead, too, you know."

"Hmmmm, alright," I thought, "one little dinner won't kill me."

What an unforgettable night! I knew I would have to come back again. Everyone was singing the most beautiful tunes. Even though I had never heard them before, I felt like I had always known them. And then there was this rabbi from San Francisco. I had never heard a rabbi speak so deeply, yet humorously at the same time. Afterward, I felt compelled to tell him about my special Chanukah experience. He laughed and asked my host, Stuie, to tell me how he and Stuie had met.


Stuie related a story of several years previous, at Chanukah, when he was in the Bay Area for some Grateful Dead shows. The band played the song, "Scarlet Begonias" and when they came to the line, "Once in while, you get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if you look at it right," he had an inspiration. He thought it was a perfect line for what Chanukah -- the "festival of lights" -- is all about.

Stuie had an idea to make a little flyer and spread this Chanukah message to all the Jews who might come to the concerts, but he wanted to put a reference phone number on it. So Stuie asked this particular rabbi if he could put the rabbi's number on it. Thus was the birth of not only their friendship, but the flyer that meant so very much to me. I couldn't believe that I was having the most awesome Shabbat dinner at the home of the very guy who conceived of that flyer!

The following Shabbat, I came back, even though my friend Janeen couldn't join me. And slowly I started to come more and more -- first once or twice a month and eventually, every week.

"So," I explained to Jonathan and Julie, "That's how I got here..."

When I finished my story, I looked up at my friends. How could I have missed it? There in front of me was Jonathan sprouting that big Cheshire cat grin, as he said to me, "I'm the one who handed you that flyer."
 
Appel's Parsha - Mikeitz - Joseph Interprets Pharoah's Dreams
12.26.05 (9:54 am)   [edit]
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams


The Chafetz Chaim, the leader of European Jewry in the early part of the 20th century, was known as a particularly righteous and saintly man. Once he was asked to testify in a Polish court on behalf of a Jewish defendant. Before calling the Chafetz Chaim up to testify, the defense counsel went through a lengthy explanation of the Chafetz Chaim's character, citing many stories of his righteousness and saintliness.The lawyer's words, however, did little to impress the judge, who doubted the veracity of these stories.

Observing the judge's doubts, the defense counsel acknowledged that some of the stories might be somewhat exaggerated. But then the lawyer added, "It may be that not every detail in these stories is true. But tell me, your honor, do people tell such stories about you and me?"

(Indeed, this courtroom saga had a happy ending. The Polish judge was so impressed with the Chafetz Chaim as a character witness, that he ultimately acquitted the defendant.)


* * *

The impression one's moral character can make upon others is at the very heart of this week's Torah portion, Mikeitz. The parsha opens by describing the inability of Pharaoh's wise men to interpret two of their master's dreams.

Years earlier, Joseph had correctly interpreted the dream of Pharaoh's wine steward - who reasoned now that perhaps the Hebrew lad could do the same for Pharaoh.

Desperate for a suitable interpretation, Pharaoh agrees to the suggestion that the imprisoned Joseph be given a chance to explain the dreams. Joseph is brought before Pharaoh, and lo and behold, he correctly interprets the dreams! Pharaoh is so impressed by the Hebrew young man, that he appoints Joseph to be Prime Minister of Egypt, second in power only to Pharaoh himself.

(How exactly Pharaoh knows that Joseph's interpretation is correct is left unexplained by the text. Some commentaries say that Pharaoh included false information in describing his dream to weed out false interpretations. Others say that when he initially dreamed his dream he was given its meaning, but forgot it when he woke up; Joseph was able to refresh his memory.)


* * *

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, the late dean of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem, wonders how it was possible for Joseph to be appointed to such a position?Besides being young, Joseph was also a foreigner and a total unknown to the Egyptian royal court. And until now, he'd been sitting in jail! How could he come to be appointed the second most powerful person in the Egyptian emipre?

Rabbi Shmuelevitz says the answer is found in a careful reading of the text. Joseph refuses to take any credit for the wisdom that he is imparting. He tells Pharaoh that any insights he has to offer come through the grace of G-d. Over, and over, in his interactions with Pharaoh, Joseph emphasizes that the dreams are G-d's way of communicating to Pharaoh.

Joseph's conviction that G-d is the supreme force, and his refusal to see himself as having any importance, made a tremendous impression on Pharaoh. The Egyptian monarch realized that he was dealing with a righteous, G-d fearing individual. Such an individual could be counted on to possess an honesty and integrity not normally found among the intriguing, plotting members of a royal court. For the position of Pharaoh's top advisor, this was exactly what the Egyptian ruler was looking for.

In the final analysis, it was Joseph's impeccable character which yielded political power as well. Like his descendent the Chafetz Chaim, millennia later.
 
Growing Each Day - Kislev 25
12.26.05 (8:40 am)   [edit]
Kislev 25

They established these eight daysof Chanukah to give thanks and praise to Your great Name(Siddur).


Jewish history is replete with miracles that transcend the miracle of the Menorah. Why is the latter so prominently celebrated while the others are relegated to relative obscurity?

Perhaps the reason is that most other miracles were Divinely initiated; i.e. God intervened to suspend the laws of nature in order to save His people from calamity.

The miracle of the Menorah was something different. Having defeated the Seleucid Greek invaders, the triumphant Jews entered the Sanctuary. There they found that they could light the Menorah for only one day, due to a lack of undefiled oil. Further, they had no chance of replenishing the supply for eight days. They did light the Menorah anyway, reasoning that it was best to do what was within their ability to do and to postpone worrying about the next day until such worry was appropriate. This decision elicited a Divine response and the Menorah stayed lit for that day and for seven more.

This miracle was thus initiated by the Jews themselves, and the incident was set down as a teaching for all future generations: concentrate your efforts on what you can do, and do it! Leave the rest to God.

While even our best and most sincere efforts do not necessarily bring about miracles, the teaching is nevertheless valid. Even the likelihood of failure in the future should not discourage us from any constructive action that we can take now.

Today I shall ...
... focus my attention on what it is that I can do now, and do it to the best of my ability.

 
Daily Lift #871 - Feel Joy in Serving with Joy
12.26.05 (8:37 am)   [edit]
Daily Lift #871
Feel Joy In Serving With Joy


Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev said:
"Feel joy when you serve the Almighty. And then feel joy that you felt joy in serving the Almighty!"

(cited in Rabbi Pliskin's "Gateway to Happiness," p.94)
 
A7News: Sharon's Doctors to Publish Medical Records
12.26.05 (6:04 am)   [edit]
Sharon´s Doctors to Publish Medical Records

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The Prime Minister's doctors, one of them a personal friend, will hold a press conference Monday to disclose his condition. He returned to his office Sunday and held a Cabinet meeting.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon joked with Cabinet ministers and warned them not to eat too many Chanukah sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts).

He has told his personal physician to disclose his medical condition as opposition political parties have demanded. He had vowed to publish medical records during the last election campaign but never did so.

Among his physicians are a personal friend, Dr. Boleslav (Bolek) Goldman, who was on the medical team that treated the Prime Minister last week after he suffered a mild stroke.

"We will present all the information that needs to be presented," said Dr. Shlomo Segev of Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

However, doctors told the Hebrew daily Ma'ariv last week that the public was in fact misled on Sharon's condition. Neurologist Prof. Tamir Ben Hur originally told reporters that the Prime Minster's only problem was "a light difficulty in speaking." Later, the newspaper quoted doctors as stating, "What was said at the press conference [last week], to make an understatement, is not exact."

"The Prime Minister did not know what day it was and could not count or perform basic functions for 45 minutes. There is no obligation to reveal everything, but to release incorrect information means taking a position, and this is very problematic," the physicians asserted.

The Ma'ariv report claimed the prime minister was sedated during a medical procedure following the stroke, during which time he was completely unaware of his surroundings.

Doctors have since reported that Prime Minister Sharon, who weighs nearly 300 pounds, has normal cholesterol and blood pressure. He is to turn 78 in February. Tests performed by Hadassah Hospital following the stroke revealed Sharon carries a congenital heart defect, which may soon require catheterization or surgery.

Before the 2001 elections, he was healthy but had gout, a buildup of uric acid in the joints, according to medical reports obtained and published by the Hebrew daily Yediot Aharonot.

Dr. Marc K. Siegel wrote in the New York Post that the reports of his stroke were confusing. "First, it was suggested that Sharon, the 77 year-old prime minister, had blacked out and sustained a stroke. Then came the story that by the time he reached the hospital he was awake--somewhat confused, yet conversant with family members. Finally, we heard that Sharon was lucid, joking, that he had experienced transient weakness and slurred speech but was now OK."

"Here in America, we didn't know what to think, especially when we heard that Sharon was back to meeting with military leaders in the hospital that very night.

"No matter what actually happened to Sharon on Sunday, lurking behind all reports was the ominous word 'stroke,' the No. 1 cause of disability worldwide, and No. 3 cause of death....

"We don't know exactly what happened to Sharon because we don't have his medical reports.

"But doctors shouldn't take these sides. Professionalism demands access to the patient and his records before rendering any opinion," according to Dr. Siegel.
 
A7News: Isreal Weighs 'Air Patrol' to Combat Rocket Attacks
12.26.05 (6:00 am)   [edit]
Israel Weighs ´Air Patrol´ to Combat Rocket Attacks

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The Sharon government has decided to combat rocket attacks on a base near Ashkelon by taking soldiers out of tents and putting them in reinforced buildings. It also is planning air patrols.

The attacks by Arab terrorists once plagued Jewish communities in the Gaza region and then rained on the Negev town of Sderot after the Knesset passed the expulsion plan. After the withdrawal of the IDF from the region, the rockets penetrated deeper into Israel, hitting industrial areas in southern Ashkelon. A power station, oil pipeline and naval installations are located in Ashkelon.

In addition, rockets struck two nearby army bases. Five soldiers were lightly injured in one of the explosions last week on the Zikim army base.

To help protect soldiers, the IDF began transporting hundreds of concrete walls to the base just south of Ashkelon as a measure of fortification.

Military officials have drawn up plans to monitor Gaza from the air and sea with balloons and drones to halt Kassam rocket attacks, which Sharon said would be stopped after the expulsion.

The Kassam rocket attack on Thursday which injured five soldiers intensified pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose popularity in the pre-election polls is threatened by rockets that have reached southern Ashkelon. He promised last summer that the expulsion of Jews from the Gaza region and the accompanying withdrawal of all Israeli military forces would make it easier for Israel to stop Arab terrorists from operating there.

After the Palestinian Authority (PA) failed to halt, and sometimes abetted, Arab terrorists to launch Kassam rocket attacks, even during the expulsion, the Prime Minister told the Cabinet on September 25, "I instructed that there are no restrictions on the use of any measures in order to strike at the terrorists.... The instructions are unequivocal. This phenomenon must be stopped. It cannot continue under any circumstances."

Since then, the government tried to combat the rocket and mortar shells with warnings to the PA, which a senior aide to Mofaz admitted to United Press International (UPI), has “lost control over Gaza.”

The IDF recently began aiming artillery fire on open fields used by terrorists to launch attacks, but the Hebrew daily Yediot Aharonot reported on Friday that the artillery has hit fields which terrorists have not used.

The government's new plan is to patrol the airspace over northern Gaza with helicopters and unmanned drones and to use balloons with electronic and photographic equipment.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz's office has ordered a restriction of movement in northern Gaza, according to Reuters News Agency, but Assayed Shaban, commander of PA forces in the area, asserted, "We will not move one inch." The planned restricted zone will include 1.5 miles in northern Gaza and run along the northern and eastern edges of the region. Most of the area is uninhabited and includes the destroyed communities of three Jewish communities from which residents were expelled last August.

Kassam rockets hit army bases south of Ashkelon twice this past week, but the second one caused injuries and panic, "scaring girls who were just recruited and were undergoing basic training in another," UPI reported "Those attacks have already sent worried parents to the base's gate." The IDF said Saturday it will protect soldiers by reinforcing the base, where most of the soldiers live in tents. UPI noted that "following the Israeli withdrawal the militants were able to bring their weapons closer to Ashkelon."

Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim said that Israel might have to use artillery fire on populated areas if other measures do not stop the attacks.

Mofaz has rejected such a move as well as a land siege and power cuts, which were suggested by Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuval Shteinitz. "An absurd situation has been created where we provide them with electricity and they bomb the power station in Ashkelon," he said on Friday.

Human rights group have warned that cutting electricity is against international law.

Shteinitz spoke at a forum in Be'er Sheva, where Israel Our Home Chairman Avigdor Lieberman, said that Israel needs someone like former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani "who will maintain order and provide Israelis with security."

"We fire on sand while they fire on Ashkelon. If I was the prime minister I would not leave one Jihad or Hamas headquarters standing. But we're idiots, cheap, and nerds," he added.
 
A7News: Needed Rains, Snow Flood Isreal
12.26.05 (5:55 am)   [edit]
Needed Rains, Snow Flood Israel

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

A fierce winter storm ripped through Israel Saturday and Sunday halting the current drought. More than four inches of rain and snow fell across the country, and the Kinneret has risen as well.

Snow accumulated in the Golan Heights, flurries were scattered in higher areas of Jerusalem, and coastal cities reported flooding.

The storm system reached its peak before dawn Sunday and is expected to die out on Monday. The country was threatened with a severe drought after more than three weeks of unseasonably warm and dry weather at the beginning of the winter season, but the storm has replenished the shortage in most places.

More than four inches of rain fell in northern areas and in Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv. Ra'anana rescue teams were forced to evacuate 18 elderly people form the flooded first floor of their retirement home.

In Jerusalem, where the average annual rainfall is about 26 inches, almost three inches of rain fell, and more than two inches were received in Ashkelon, on the edge of the northern Negev.

The storm has added more than three inches to the level of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), which will continue to rise as run-off continues to drain into the lake from the Golan Heights. The Kinneret is Israel's largest single source of water and is several feet below the optimal level.

The heavy rains caused flooding in the coastal city of Nahariya, near the Lebanon border, and in areas of Haifa and Kfar Saba.

More than three feet of snow piled up at the Mount Hermon ski site, which was closed to visitors because of heavy snowstorms. The ski site is expected to open on Tuesday.
 
A7News: Needed Rains, Snow Flood Isreal
12.26.05 (5:55 am)   [edit]
Needed Rains, Snow Flood Israel

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

A fierce winter storm ripped through Israel Saturday and Sunday halting the current drought. More than four inches of rain and snow fell across the country, and the Kinneret has risen as well.

Snow accumulated in the Golan Heights, flurries were scattered in higher areas of Jerusalem, and coastal cities reported flooding.

The storm system reached its peak before dawn Sunday and is expected to die out on Monday. The country was threatened with a severe drought after more than three weeks of unseasonably warm and dry weather at the beginning of the winter season, but the storm has replenished the shortage in most places.

More than four inches of rain fell in northern areas and in Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv. Ra'anana rescue teams were forced to evacuate 18 elderly people form the flooded first floor of their retirement home.

In Jerusalem, where the average annual rainfall is about 26 inches, almost three inches of rain fell, and more than two inches were received in Ashkelon, on the edge of the northern Negev.

The storm has added more than three inches to the level of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), which will continue to rise as run-off continues to drain into the lake from the Golan Heights. The Kinneret is Israel's largest single source of water and is several feet below the optimal level.

The heavy rains caused flooding in the coastal city of Nahariya, near the Lebanon border, and in areas of Haifa and Kfar Saba.

More than three feet of snow piled up at the Mount Hermon ski site, which was closed to visitors because of heavy snowstorms. The ski site is expected to open on Tuesday.
 
Jewish History Series (Part 14 of 68) Joshua and the Conquest of the Promised Land
12.24.05 (9:34 am)   [edit]
Jewish History Series (Part 14 of 68)
Joshua and the Conquest of the Promised Land
by Rabbi Ken Spiro
This is no typical war of conquest replete with pillaging and murder. God has said, "If you follow My instructions all will go well."


The Book of Joshua begins:


And it was after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, "Moses my servant has died and now arise and cross the River Jordan. You and all this nation go to the land which I give the Children of Israel. Every place on which the soles of your feet will tread I have given to you, as I have spoken to Moses. No man shall stand up before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so shall I be with you. I will not weaken my grasp on you nor will I abandon you. Just be strong and very courageous to observe and do in accordance with all the Torah that Moses my servant has commanded you. Therefore, do not stray right or left in order that you will succeed in wherever you go."

The Book of Joshua describes the conquest and settlement of the Land of Israel during a very significant period of Jewish history.

At this time the so-called Promised Land is bounded by the Egyptian empire to the south and the Assyrian empire to the north. But it is not ruled by either of them. In fact, there is no one power ruling this section of land, rather it is settled by seven Canaanite tribes who inhabit 31 fortified city-states scattered all over the map, each ruled by its own "king."

(Jericho is one of these city-states, so is Ai, so is Jerusalem, where Canaanite tribesmen called Jebusites dwell.)

Before they enter the land, the Jewish people send an envoy to the Canaanites with the message, "God, the Creator of the Universe has promised this land to our forefathers. We are now here to claim our inheritance, and we ask you to leave peacefully."

Needless to say most of the Canaanites don't. (Only one tribe does the right thing and gets out.)

Meanwhile, Joshua has clear instructions from God that if the Canaanites don't get out, the Jews must wipe them out, because if they remain in the land they are going to corrupt the Jews. It is made clear that the Canaanites are extremely immoral and idolatrous people and the Jews cannot live with them as neighbors.

This is like saying today that living in a bad neighborhood messes up your kids. You have to always be careful about outside influences.

So what happens?

THE BATTLE OF JERICHO

The people go into the land and they fight a series of battles. The first is the battle of Jericho, the entrance to the heartland of Canaan.

Some archeologists have suggested that the easy conquest of this heavily-fortified city was made possible by a well-timed earthquake. But isn't it remarkable that precisely when the Jewish people need the city to fall, there is an earthquake and it does? Of course, they call it a miracle.

The waters of the Jordan part and they cross on dry land, then the Jordan refills with water. Next they march around the city walls, which crumble before their eyes. They conquer the city, taking no booty as commanded by God.

Hard to believe?

Writes archeologist-physicist Charles Pellegrino in Return to Sodom and Gomorrah:


... we are told (in Joshua 4:18) that the waters of the Jordan quickly returned to their normal level. This is consistent with the recent history of the Jordan's natural dams. Within forty-eight hours (and typically within as few as sixteen hours), the waters piling up behind an earthquake-made barrier overflow the mount, tearing great holes in it as they spill forth. (p. 267)

Pellegrino details (pp. 257-268) the excavation of what is believed to be the ancient city of Jericho. He notes many findings that support the story as it is told in the Book of Joshua, including the fact that the storehouses of grain -- a very valuable booty -- had been found intact.

It must be clear by now that this is not the typical war of conquest such as we read about in human history of bloody warfare, of raping and pillaging. God has said, "Nothing like that here. And if you follow My instructions all will go well."

ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE

The Jews move on to the next city-state, a place called Ai.

But here things don't go so smoothly. In fact, they meet with a terrible defeat with many of their number killed. Traumatized by the experience, they plead to know why God had abandoned them and quickly learn the terrible truth -- that one person, Achan, had stolen some items back in Jericho.

One person out of 3 million didn't listen to God and everyone suffers!

The fascinating thing here is that the Bible seems to be saying that obedience to God's commands is paramount and that as far as the Jews are concerned -- it is all for one and one for all.

As an outgrowth of that lesson, Judaism teaches that there is such a thing as collective responsibility as well as individual responsibility -- no person is an island, each exists as part of the whole and is responsible for the actions of others as well as his or her own.

In today's world, the motto seems to be "Mind your own business." If we operated on the same level as they did back then, half the world's problems would disappear.

LIFE IN THE LAND

Despite many difficulties on the way, the Israelites do finally lay claim to the Promised Land but their life there is far from calm, particularly after Joshua dies. The Bible relates that they had only themselves to blame:


And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers ... and he gave them over into the hands of their enemies." (Judges 2:8-14)

From a simple reading of the text, one might assume that the entire Jewish people abandoned the Torah and started worshipping idols. But this, in fact, was not true. As with the incident of the golden calf (see Part 12) only a small percentage of the people sinned, yet the entire nation is held accountable.

The highly self-critical nature of this passage is typical of others which make the Hebrew Bible a unique document -- a holy book of a people, but also relating the sinful history of this people. It has been said that if the Hebrew Bible was not written by the Jews, it must have been written by anti-Semites. As Gabriel Sivan observes in The Bible and Civilization:


Biblical heroes and heroines ... are depicted as they are, with their virtues and their human failings ... This ethically uncompromising aspect of the scriptural narrative particularly impressed the Anglo-Jewish writer Israel Zangwill: "The Bible is an anti-Semitic book. Israel is the villain not the hero in his own story." Alone among epics, it is out for truth, not high heroics. (p. 10)

There is no question that the criticism of the Jews in the Bible is hyper-criticism, but there are two reasons why the slightest offense by a small group of people is condemned so strongly:

As noted above, every Jew is responsible for every other Jew, and what one does reflects on all.


It's such an obvious point in the moral history of the world that as soon as you tolerate something, it becomes bearable, and before long it will become common.
Therefore, here God is driving home an important point to the Jews: You're on a very high spiritual level. If you tolerate even small indiscretions by a few, eventually these few are going to pollute the nation.

Indeed, this is eventually what does happen, but before it does the Jews enjoy a honeymoon period in the land known as the Time of Judges.

NEXT: THE TIME OF JUDGES

Author Biography:
Rabbi Ken Spiro is originally from New Rochelle,NY. He graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and did graduate studies at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He has Rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem and a Masters Degree in History from The Vermont College of Norwich University. Rabbi Spiro is also a licensed tour guide by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and five children where he works as a senior lecturer and researcher on Aish HaTorah outreach programs.


ORDER KEN SPIRO'S BOOK
"WORLDPERFECT: THE JEWISH IMPACT ON CIVILIZATION"

What it would take to constitute a perfect world? Ken Spiro questioned more than 1,500 people of various backgrounds, revealing six core elements: respect for human life; peace and harmony; justice and equality; education; family; and, social responsibility. A highly readable and well-documented book about the origins of values and virtues in Western civilization as influenced by the Greeks, Romans, Christians, Muslims and, most significantly, the Jews.


"This is a book that everyone in the world should read"
Kirk Douglas-Actor and author
 
Kabbala Series (Part 14 of 24) Love and Awe
12.24.05 (9:31 am)   [edit]
Kabbala Series (Part 14 of 24)

Love and Awe

by Rabbi Shimon Leiberman

The sefirot of "action" engender love and fear on our part, the two "wings" which we need to soar up to the heavens.


The sefirot of "action" engender love and fear on our part, the two "wings" which we need to soar up to the heavens.

As God reveals Himself to us through the sefirot of chesed (kindness) and gevurah (strength), we react with the emotions of love and fear. Just as we have shown kindness and strength to be the two fundamental "actions" of God, so too are love and fear are the fundamental "reactions" to God's deeds.

Since the sefirot of chesed and gevurah are the first sefirot of action, i.e. the visibly perceived activities, the also evoke a reaction on our part. Love of God (ahavah) and fear/awe of God (yirah) are two emotions which the Torah lists as basic to the worship of God, and they are two important commandments in their own right.

To get a very good idea of the interaction between love and fear, and how uncannily they are mirror images of chesed and gevurah, let us turn to Maimonides' description of these two emotions. Maimonides was a towering giant in the field of Jewish law and philosophy, although it was not known whether or not he involved himself in the study of Kabbalah. In his work "Mishneh Torah," he describes the obligation of loving and fearing God in the following manner:

The Lord Who is esteemed and awesome: one is commanded to love Him and fear Him, as it says, "You shall love God, your Lord," and "You shall fear God, your Lord."

What is the appropriate manner to love Him and fear Him? When a person contemplates God's most wondrous creations and deeds, and sees therein His Wisdom which is unending and incomparable, the person immediately begins to love and praise [God] and he is overwhelmed by a tremendous desire to know the Great God. As King David said, "My soul thirsts for God, the living God." And as a person thinks about this point, he is immediately thrown back and filled with awe, realizing that he is a small, tiny benighted creature, standing before the Perfect Intellect. As King David stated, "When I behold Your heavens, Your handiwork, [I ask], Who is man that you remember him?" (Rambam Yesodei HaTorah 2-1,2)

We see in Maimonides that love and fear are reactions that exactly parallel to chesed and gevurah. Love is the desire to expand, to broaden one's self. Fear, on the other hand, is mode of contraction, of imploding one's personality into the realization of God's overwhelming greatness.

The Zohar states that love and fear are two "wings" without which Torah does not "soar up" to heavens. This means that there are two emotional components in the worship of God. When a person does an act that is uninspired, insipid, it falls flat. When a person does an act with feeling and understanding, it comes alive. Just as physically a person who is motivated appears alive and animated, so too does a mitzvah done with love and fear comes alive.

WORKING IN TANDEM

But how can love and fear/awe act in concert, if they are opposites? The fact that the Zohar likens them to "wings" means that they act in tandem. While a person may hop on one foot, it is difficult to envision a bird flying with only one wing.

The answer is that every mitzvah is a bond between man and God. As such, the attitude towards the mitzvah must relate to both these points. Man must find himself in the mitzvah, and he must find God in the mitzvah. Love is the mode of the person finding himself in the mitzvah. Awe is the mode of finding God in the mitzvah.

When I want to marry a person I love, it is because I have a sense of being fulfilled by this person. When I express love of mitzvot, I am demonstrating the sense of my personal fulfillment in doing the mitzvot. I have found an element in the mitzvah that speaks to me; that adds to my person. My inner drive for self-enhancement grabs eagerly onto the mitzvah and I seek to enrich myself with its content.

Let us now look at fear/awe. A young man is dating a young woman and is taken by her intelligence and personality, and he starts to feel love for her. But during the second meeting, she is more expressive and he is overwhelmed and awed by her brilliance. This awe is an appreciation of her qualities rather than his wants and needs. This awe relates to her qualities that are beyond the qualities that he discovered in her the first time, and they reveal to him a higher level of quality. For that is awe -- the awareness of something much greater than myself.

When awe/fear kicks in, the person realizes the Divine nature of the mitzvah in which he is engaged, and is overwhelmed by it. This "overwhelming" does not dissuade the person from doing the mitzvah but, rather, gives him a further appreciation of its content. Thus, love expresses the person's appreciation of the mitzvah, fear gives him a still higher awareness of the mitzvah, and then love once again yearns on for this appreciation, etc.

HONORING PARENTS

There is another mitzvah wherein love and fear combine in a most similar fashion, and that is in the mitzvah of honoring one's parents. We are enjoined to "honor your father and mother," and also "your mother and father shall you fear." The Talmud explains that "honoring" one's parents includes such activities as standing up for them, helping them eat and get dressed, etc. -- all positive activities.

"Fearing" one's parents, on the other hand, includes not sitting in their designated seats, nor referring to them by their first name, and not blatantly contradicting them. All of these are negative activities, acts of restraint.

On the one hand, the good we have received from our parents -- including our very existence -- means that we are acknowledging that the source of benevolence and our existence comes from them. But this very self-same awareness forces us to be awed by their presence. Inasmuch as we owe our very existence and so much of our "selves" to them, our sense of self is so much diminished, for what we have is not really ours.

Thus, love and fear are the mirror reflections of chesed and gevurah. God's chesed gives us what we have, and we love Him for it. On the other hand, God's gevurah demands accountability and truth, which makes us realize that what we possess is not really ours, and we become most keenly aware of God's Omnipresence and our insignificance.
 
Daily Mitzvah (Maimonides): Friday, Dec 23, 2005 Day 112 of 339 Positive Mitzvah 95 - The Nullificat
12.24.05 (9:29 am)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 22, 5766 * December 23, 2005

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D A I L Y M I T Z V A H (M A I M O N I D E S )
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Today's Mitzvot (Day 112 of 339):

Positive Mitzvah 95
------------------------- ------------------------- ----------------

Positive Mitzvah 95: The Nullification of Vows

(The exact source for this commandment is considered a matter of question by our Rabbinic Sages.)

Sometimes, a person just cannot keep his promise or finds himself unable to fulfill his obligation. The Torah commands us to examine the situation. By dealing properly with the incident and judging the circumstances, it may be possible to absolve the vow
 
Lessons in Tanya (text): Friday, Dec 23, 2005
12.24.05 (9:26 am)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 22, 5766 * December 23, 2005

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L E S S O N S I N T A N Y A
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Today's Lesson:

Likutei Amarim
Chapter One
--------------

We have learned (Niddah, end of ch. 3): (1). "An oath is administered to him: [Before a Jew is born an oath is administered to him in heaven, charging him]:

`Be righteous and be not wicked; and even if the whole world [judging you by your actions] tells you that you are righteous, regard yourself as wicked.'"

[The soul of a Jew descends into a body for a purpose - in order to fulfill a specific spiritual mission in this world. To enable him to fulfill it a heavenly oath is administered to him that he "be righteous and not wicked," and concurrently, that he regard himself as wicked and not righteous.

The root (Shin Bet Ayin) of the verb Mashbi-im ("an oath is administered") is virtually identical with the root (Shin Bet Ayin) of the verb Masbi-im ("one causes [him] to be sated").

Accordingly, the oath charging him to be righteous may also be understood to mean that the soul is thereby invested ("sated") with the power that enables it to fulfill its destiny in life on earth.]

This requires to be understood, for we have learned in the Mishnah [Avot, ch. 2], (2) "Be not wicked in your own estimation."

[How, then, can we say that an oath is administered to the soul that it regard itself as wicked, when this directly contradicts the Mishnaic injunction not to regard oneself as wicked?] (3)

Furthermore, if a person considers himself wicked, he will be grieved at heart and depressed, and consequently will not be able to serve G-d joyfully and with a contented heart;

[Apart from the previously mentioned contradiction from the Mishnah, an additional question is now raised. A cardinal principle in the service of G-d is that it be performed with joy - joy at the privilege of serving Him either through performing a positive command or by refraining from that which is prohibited.

How then can one be required to take an oath to consider himself wicked, when this will cause him to be depressed, making it impossible for him to serve G-d with joy?

Furthermore, just as the first part of the oath, "Be righteous and be not wicked," is vital to his success in realizing his life's mission, so too the fulfillment of the second part of the oath, that he consider himself wicked, is imperative. How can this possibly be so, when such an attitude hinders his joyful service of G-d?]

While if his heart will not be at all grieved by this self-appraisal,

[I.e., if we should propose that in order to fulfill the oath the person will indeed regard himself as wicked, but at the same time will resolve that his wickedness shall not perturb him, so as not to encumber his joyful service of G-d,] he may be led to irreverence, G-d forbid, [by such an attitude, with sin perturbing him not at all.

For although his original resolve that being wicked will not perturb him stems only from his sincere desire to serve G-d with joy, yet such a resolution may very well lead to a situation where wickedness will truly not disturb him.]

However, the [above] matter [will be more clearly understood after a preliminary discussion of the true meaning of "righteous" and "wicked".]

We find in the Gemara (4) five distinct types: a righteous man who prospers, [materially as well as spiritually - he knows only good]; a righteous man who suffers,[ in both a material as well as spiritual sense: spiritually, he has not yet vanquished all his evil, and in the material sense too he is wanting]; a wicked man [in whom there is some good and] who prospers; a wicked man who suffers [spiritually and materially]; and an intermediate man - the Beinoni.

The Gemara explains: "the righteous man who prospers" is the consummate lit., ["complete"] tzaddik; [Once he has achieved this level, physical suffering - to cleanse the soul from the impurities of sin - is unnecessary; he therefore prospers materially as well], the "righteous man who suffers" is the imperfect [lit., "incomplete" tzaddik. [He therefore experiences some measure of material suffering, thereby cleansing the soul while it is yet clothed in the body, so that he will not have to endure any spiritual suffering in the World to Come.

Accordingly, the Gemara is not referring to two tzaddikim on the same spiritual level, one of whom prospers while the other suffers; rather, it speaks of two distinct levels of tzaddikim. The Gemara thus cites only two characterizations regarding the tzaddik - "consummate" and "imperfect" (lit., "complete" and "incomplete"). The terms "who prospers" or "who suffers" do not indicate his spiritual level: they merely describe his resultant material status.]

In Ra'aya Mehemna (Parshat Mishpatim) (5) it is explained that "the righteous man who suffers" is one whose evil [nature] is subservient to his good [nature]. (6)

[He is a tzaddik who still retains some vestige of evil, albeit subservient to his good nature. Accordingly, a "righteous man who prospers" is a tzaddik in whom there is only good, since he has totally transformed his evil nature.

According to the Zohar (of which Ra'aya Mehemna is a part), the terms "who prospers" and "who suffers" also indicate and describe the level of the tzaddik. The "tzaddik who prospers" is a tzaddik in whom there is only good - the evil within him having already been transformed to good; the "tzaddik who suffers" is a tzaddik of lower stature - one who still harbors some evil.

However, we must now understand why redundant titles are given to each level of tzaddik: "complete tzaddik" and "tzaddik who prospers"; "incomplete tzaddik" and "tzaddik who suffers." If the "complete tzaddik" is the "tzaddik who prospers" (i.e., in whom there is only good) and the "incomplete tzaddik" is the "tzaddik who suffers" (i.e., retains a vestige of evil), why then is it necessary to give each tzaddik two appellations?

The explanation provided further (in ch. 10) is that each descriptive term denotes a specific aspect of the divine service of the tzaddik.

The terms "complete tzaddik" and "incomplete tzaddik" denote the level of service of the tzaddik's G-dly soul, i.e., the tzaddik's love of G-d, for it is by virtue of this love that he is called "tzaddik." The "complete tzaddik" is he who has attained perfection in his love of G-d in a manner of ahavah betaanugim ("love of delights") - the serene love of fulfillment. The tzaddik whose ahavah betaanugim is as yet imperfect is called the "incomplete (or unperfected) tzaddik."

The terms "tzaddik who prospers" and "tzaddik who suffers" denote the tzaddik's status vis-a-vis his efforts in transforming his animal soul to holiness. For the tzaddik, through his lofty service of ahavah betaanugim, transforms the evil within him into holiness and good. The designation "tzaddik who prospers" indicates that he has already totally transformed the evil within him and now good alone remains, while the "tzaddik who suffers" is one who has not yet managed to totally transform the evil within him to good; a vestige of it still remains.

The explanations that follow make it abundantly clear that the evil referred to here is no more than an amorphous evil still harbored in the heart of the "incomplete tzaddik." For the tzaddik has no association with actual evil that manifests itself in thought or speech, and most certainly not with the evil that finds expression in actions.

In the Gemara (end of ch. 9 of Berachot (7)) [it is stated] that the righteous are "judged" [i.e., motivated and ruled] by their good nature, [their good nature having the final say]; the wicked are judged [i.e., motivated and ruled] by their evil nature, [their evil nature having the final say]; intermediate men are "judged" by both [the good and evil nature]. (8)

Rabbah declared: "I, for example, am a `Beinoni'." Said Abbaye to him, "Master, you make it impossible for any creature to live..."

[Abbaye argued thus: "If you are a Beinoni, then all those on a lower level than you fall into the category of the wicked, concerning whom our Sages say: (9) `The wicked, even while alive, are considered dead.' By calling yourself a Beinoni you thus make it impossible for anyone to live."]

To understand all the aforesaid clearly [an explanation is called for].

[In addition to the question which will soon follow - that according to the common conception of a Beinoni as a person having half mitzvot and half transgressions, how could a great sage like Rabbah mistake himself for a Beinoni - a further question is implied:

If a Beinoni is simply one having half mitzvot and half transgressions then his status is readily identifiable, and there is no possible room for debate.]

And also to understand the statement of Job [Bava Batra ch. 1] (10): "L-rd of the Universe! You have created righteous men, You have created wicked men,...." for He does not decree [which persons are to be] righteous and wicked.

[The Gemara (11) relates that G-d decrees that a child about to be born will be wise or foolish, strong or weak, and so on. However, whether the child will be righteous or wicked G-d does not say: this is not predetermined; rather, it is left to the individual's free choice.

How, then, are we to understand Job's plaint, "You have created righteous men, You have created wicked men"? (12)]

We must also understand the essential nature (mahut) of the rank of the Beinoni.

[The mahut of a tzaddik is righteousness; the mahut of the wicked man is evil. What is the mahut - the essential nature - of the Beinoni?]

He is certainly not one whose deeds are half virtuous and half sinful; for if this were so, how could Rabbah err in [classifying] himself as a Beinoni? - when it is known that his mouth never ceased studying [the Torah], so much so that even the Angel of Death had no dominion over him. (13)

[Such was Rabbah's diligence that he did not neglect his studies for even one moment. Qualitatively too, his learning was on so high a plane that the Angel of Death was unable to overpower him.]

How, then, could he err in considering that half his deeds were sinful, G-d forbid? Furthermore, [when can a person be considered a Beinoni?] For at the time one sins until he repents he is deemed completely wicked, (and if he [was sinful and] then repented, [thus ceasing to be wicked], he is deemed completely righteous (14).)

Even he who violates a minor prohibition of the Rabbis is termed wicked, as is stated in Yevamot, ch. 2, (15) and in Niddah, ch. 1. (16). Moreover, even he who himself does not sin, but has the opportunity to forewarn another against sinning and fails to do so is termed wicked [Shevuot, ch. 6 (17)].

All the more so he who neglects any positive law which he is able to fulfill, for instance, whoever is able to study Torah and does not do so, to whom our Sages (18) have applied the verse, (19) "Because he has despised the word of the L-rd [i.e., the Torah],....[that soul] shall be utterly cut off...."

It is thus plain that such a person is called wicked, more so than he who violates a prohibition of the Sages.

This being so, we must conclude that the Beinoni is not guilty even of the sin of neglecting to study Torah; [a sin most difficult to avoid, and counted among those sins that people transgress daily.(20).

This is why Rabbah mistook himself for a Beinoni.*

[Since a Beinoni is innocent even of neglecting Torah study, Rabbah could [mistakenly] consider himself a Beinoni, even though he scrupulously observed even the most minor commandments and never ceased from his studies.]

*NOTE

As for what is written in the Zohar III, p. 231: "He whose sins are few [is classed as a `righteous man who suffers']," [implying that even according to the Zohar the meaning of a "righteous man who suffers" is one who does have sins, albeit few; and if so, a Beinoni must be one who is in part virtuous and in part sinful], this is the query of Rav Hamnuna to Elijah.

But according to Elijah's answer [ibid.], the meaning of a "righteous man who suffers" is as stated in Ra`aya Mehemna on Parshat Mishpatim, quoted above, (5) i.e., that the "righteous man who suffers" is one whose evil nature is subservient to his good nature.]

And the Torah has seventy facets [modes of interpretation] (21).

[The Rebbe notes that the words, "And the Torah has seventy facets," help us understand Rav Hamnuna's query. It is difficult to understand how Rav Hamnuna would even entertain the notion that a "righteous man who suffers" is one who actually sins, inasmuch as all the abovementioned questions clearly lead us to assume the opposite. Rav Hamnuna's query, however, was prompted only by the fact that "the Torah has seventy facets," and he thought that this was possibly one of these facets.

END OF NOTE

Footnotes:

1. Niddah 30b.
2. Avot 2:13.
3. The apparent contradiction between the two statements is resolved
in ch. 13. See also chs. 14, 29 and 34.
4. Berachot 7a.
5. Zohar II, 117b.
6. This is an alternative interpretation of the words "vera lo" which
may be rendered literally as "evil [belongs] to him"; i.e, he is
master of the evil nature in him.
7. 61b.
8. See beginning of ch. 9, and ch. 13.
9. Berachot 18b.
10. Bava Batra 16a.
11. Niddah 16b.
12. The question is answered in ch. 14 and ch. 27.
13. See Bava Metzia 86a.
14. The Rebbe notes that although the Gemara in Kiddushin 49b
indicates only that the penitent sinner is considered a tzaddik,
it is explicitly stated in Or Zarua, sec. 112, that he is
considered a tzaddik gamur.
15. 20a.
16. 12a.
17. 39b.
18. Sanhedrin 99a.
19. Bamidbar 15:31.
20. See below, end of ch. 25.
21. Otiot deRabbi Akiva; comp. Bamidbar Rabbah 14:12.
 
From the Masters: Health
12.24.05 (9:25 am)   [edit]
HEALTH

"You can only do good if you feel good." -- Denis Waitley

"Treat your body like a temple, not a woodshed. The mind and body work together. Your body needs to be a good support system for the mind and spirit. If you take good care of it, your body can take you wherever you want to go, with the power and strength and energy and vitality you will need to get there." -- Jim Rohn

"Laughter is the most healthful exertion." -- Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland

"It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more upon a man than he can bear. Worry is rust upon the blade. It is not the revolution that destroys the machinery, but the friction. Fear secrets acids; but love and trust are sweet juices." -- Henry Ward Beecher




HAPPY HOLIDAYS

May you have the greatest two gifts of all on these holidays: Someone to love and someone who loves you.

John Sinor (1930-1996)
Columnist and author


Show your "holiday spirit" all year, instead of waiting for the right day or season to come along.

Earl Woods
President of the Tiger Woods Foundation
 
Growing Each Day - Kislev 22
12.24.05 (9:21 am)   [edit]
Kislev 22

Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem the One and Only (Deuteronomy 6:4).


When reciting the declaration of the unity of God, we are required to commit ourselves to this belief, that in the event we were coerced to deny Him, we would surrender our lives rather than do so. This concept is called mesiras nefesh, and in addition to our belief in God, there are only two other instances where we are to choose martyrdom rather than transgression: murder and adultery.

While the thought of surrendering one's life is frightening, it has unfortunately characterized much of Jewish history. However, since the urge for survival is innate and most intense and generally overrides all other considerations, how can so many Jews have risen to the challenge of mesiras nefesh?

The answer is quite simple. Just think of what life would be like if nothing was worth dying for: no ideals, no principles, no loyalty, no sacredness, no ultimate value. Under duress, everything would go. Could thinking people who pride themselves in living on a plane of life higher than that of brute beasts see any value in this kind of life?

There are things that are dearer than life that give life its great value.

Today I shall ...
... try to appreciate the full value of life, and realize that there are absolute values that make life precious.

 
Today's Day: Shabbat, Dec 24, 2005
12.24.05 (9:19 am)   [edit]
Kislev 23, 5766 * December 24, 2005

=======================
"T O D A Y ' S D A Y"
=======================

Wednesday, Kislev 23 5703

Torah lessons: Chumash: Vayeishev, Revi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 108-112
Tanya: Since the said...the said Likutei Amarim.
(p.xvi).

From my grandfather's talks of Elul 5635 (1875):
The three days before Shabbat are a preparation for Shabbat. The Zohar says (1) about Shabbat that "from it are all days
blessed."(2)

"All days" refers to the six days of the week on which G-d conferred a general blessing - "G-d will bless you in all you do."

The blessing of Shabbat is for the days preceding it and the days following it. The preparations for Shabbat begin Wednesday, and are announced by the brief L'chu N'ran'na (3) of three verses.
Footnotes: (1) Zohar II, 63b, 88a.
(2) Devarim 15:18.
(3) Siddur (Tehilat HaShem) p. 78. First three verses
of Psalm 95 appended to Wednesday's Psalm 94. The
same three verses begin the Friday night prayers
inaugurating Shabbat (Siddur Tehilat HaShem (Kehot)
P. 128).
 
Daily Dose: Science from the Top Down
12.24.05 (9:18 am)   [edit]
B"H

Science From the Top Down
-------------------------

The scientist's understanding begins from the outside and attempts to work in --from the bottom up. He begins with subjective empiricism and attempts to deduce an objective model.

The wisdom of Torah begins from the inside and works its way out --from the top down. In this approach you meditate upon the Creator's own objective model and apply it to discover the truth behind this world.

The prudent scientist will realize that he can benefit most through a combination of both approaches.





A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Kislev 22, 5766 * December 23, 2005
 
Reasons to Celebrate Hanukkah (very humorous!)
12.24.05 (9:05 am)   [edit]
"Reasons To Celebrate Hanukkah"

No. 10
No big, fat guy getting stuck in your chimney.

No. 9
Cleaning wax off your menorah is slightly easier
than dismantling an 8-foot tall fir tree.

No. 8
Compare: chocolate gelt vs. fruitcake.

No. 7
You get to learn cool new words like "Kislev" and
"far-shtoonken-ah."

No. 6
No brutal let-down when you discover that Santa
Claus isn't real.

No. 5
Your neighbors are unlikely to complain about how
your menorah is blinding them senseless.

No. 4
It's like a big reunion when everyone gathers at the
Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve.

No. 3
In a holiday character face-off, Judah Macabee could
kick Frosty's butt.

No. 2
No need to clean up big piles of reindeer poop off
your roof

And the Number One reason why everyone should
celebrate Hanukkah is:

**.None of that Naughty or Nice nonsense**
Everyone gets loot !!!

HAPPY HANUKKAH !!!
 
Just Jew it - One-Minute Chanukah Movie
12.24.05 (9:02 am)   [edit]
Just Jew It - http://www.aish.com/a/JustJew...
Aish.com's new one-minute Chanukah movie.
(Based on a true story)
 
JWR Today for Monday Dec 23 - 25 2005
12.24.05 (9:00 am)   [edit]


[ D A I L Y I N S P I R A T I O N ]

NEW SERIES!

"Smiling Each Day". Internationally renowned author and lecturer Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. offers a charming collection of humorous views on life. His thoughts, stories, and anecdotes will make you smile with others as you smile about yourself

http://jewishworldreview.com/twerski/smiling_each_ day.php3" title="http://jewishworldreview.com/twerski/smiling_each_ day.php3" target="_blank"http://jewishworldreview.com/...



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[ J E W I S H L I V I N G ]

--- outlook
Why is life so difficult?
By Rabbi David Aaron

Making peace with our battle

http://jewishworldreview.com/david/aaron_life_diff icult.php3" title="http://jewishworldreview.com/david/aaron_life_diff icult.php3" target="_blank"http://jewishworldreview.com/...



--- reality check
Sharon's party is NOT un-stoppable
By Caroline B. Glick

How the Likud can succeed in hitting Sharon at his weak points while building on its own strengths

http://jewishworldreview.com/1205/glick122305.php3" title="http://jewishworldreview.com/1205/glick122305.php3" target="_blank"http://jewishworldreview.com/...


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*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:**:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*



[ T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y ]

On this day in .

* 1620, construction began of the first permanent European settlement in New England, one week after the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth harbor in present day Massachusetts

* 1783, George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Army and retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia

* 1913, the Federal Reserve System was established.

* 1941, during World War Two, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese

* 1947, the transistor was invented, leading to a revolution in communications and electronics

* 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo

* 1968, 82 crew members of the U-S intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, eleven months after they had been captured

* 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, non-refueled, round-the-world flight as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California

* 1987, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of President Ford in 1975, escaped from the Alderson Federal Prison for Women in West Virginia. (She was recaptured two days later.)

* 1997, on the same day that a jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to find him guilty of murder, Woody Allen married Soon-Yi Previn in a small ceremony in Venice,
Italy


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[ W O R T H 1 0 0 0 W O R D S ]


* Frank & Ernest
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* Momma http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Bliss http://www.jewishworldreview....

* The Born Loser
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* The Sunshine Club
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* 9 to 5 http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Bound and Gagged
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* The Other Coast
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/toc/toc.asp" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/toc/toc.asp" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview....

* State of the Union
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/sou/sou.asp" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/sou/sou.asp" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview....

* One Big Happy http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Mallard Fillmore
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* Moderately Confused
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* Cox & Forkum
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* Gary Varvel
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* Steve Kelley
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* Ed Gamble
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* Wayne Stayskal
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* Chip Bok http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Chuck Asay http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Michael Ramirez
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/ramirez/ramirez 1.asp" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/ramirez/ramirez 1.asp" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview....



* " "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤"



[ L I F E S T Y L E S ]


* Tech Maven by Mark Kellner: Last-Minute Gifts
http://jewishworldreview.com/1205/kellner122305.php3" title="http://jewishworldreview.com/1205/kellner122305.php3" target="_blank"http://jewishworldreview.com/...

* The solar system isn't what it used to be
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* Everyday Cheapskate: Lawn mushrooms are a good sign; what to do about rising price of oil; flour is plain flour
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* Dr. Peter H. Gott: Pulse awareness disrupts reader's life; start of tremors and weakness legs
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gott1.asp" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gott1.asp" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Bruce Williams on JWR: The grave reality of viaticals; difference between CDs, Roth IRAs and regular IRAs; more
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/bruce1.asp" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/bruce1.asp" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview....



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[ I N S I G H T ]


* Mona Charen: Worst coverage of the year
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen122305.asp" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen122305.asp" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Argus Hamilton's political zingers!
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* Gene Weingarten: Going Postal
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* Greg Crosby: Last minute end-of-the-year bellyaching
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* Michael Medved: 'Drunk dorms' trash traditional values
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* The Medicine Men: AARP Grinch Foiled by Congress
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* David Limbaugh: The President honoring his oath (THOUGHT PROVOKING!) http://jewishworldreview.com/...

* Mary Gatta and Kevin P. McCabe: Online training for unskilled workers will boost U.S. global competitiveness
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* Tucker Carlson: It's not that hard to grasp, folks: 'Spying' saves lives http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Jonah Goldberg: Firebrand? He's nuts and he's after nukes
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* Mort Kondracke: Congress should give Bush power to tap terrorists
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* Charles Krauthammer: Impeachment nonsense (SPOT ON!)
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© 2005, JewishWorldReview.com Permission to distribute this newsletter -- NOT its articles -- is not only granted, it's also ENCOURAGED!
 
Kindness - Day 83 - Choosing Both - Day 84 - Locked Doors
12.24.05 (8:52 am)   [edit]
Loving Kindness
23 Kislev, 5766 / December 24, 2005



Day 83 - Choosing Both

SEFER AHAVAS CHESED — Part II Chapter XVII



If a doctor makes the right diagnosis but prescribes the wrong medicine, he will fail to ameliorate the problem. He may even make it worse. The Chofetz Chaim observes that in the case of a person in need of help, the benefactor must understand which “medicine” to apply. In some cases, chesed — a loan — is the answer. In others, charity is the best way to ease the person’s pain.



To a certain extent, chesed is viewed as the greater mitzvah. The Talmud (Succah 49b) offers three reasons that this is so. First, charity involves only one’s assets, but chesed often calls for physical involvement as well. A person who visits someone who is ill or helps marry someone off may be shouldering some financial burden from these deeds, but his physical involvement is at least as important. Secondly, acts of kindness may be performed for both poor and wealthy people; charity is needed only by the poor. Finally, charity is of use only to those living in this world. An act of kindness can be offered to the living as well as those in the World to Come.



Despite these advantages, charity, too, has its greatness. Certainly one must wage a tougher battle with the yetzer hara in order to open one’s hand for charity, because money donated is not going to be returned by the recipient. To win this battle, one must cling to a firm faith that Hashem returns this money twofold.



True greatness lies neither in chesed alone, nor charity alone. It lies in knowing which one to offer, and in the flexibility to respond appropriately to a given situation. Some people would rather give money outright than become enmeshed in a loan agreement. If the would-be recipient is an established businessman who merely needs to regain his footing, charity would be the wrong medicine. It could even do harm; it could cause embarrassment or indicate a lack of confidence in his ability to recover his former stature.



On the other hand, if a ragged man bangs on the door and presents a pile of letters detailing the dire straits of his family, this is no time to sit down and negotiate a loan. The man needs simple, no- strings-attached charity.



According to Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, Heaven has two great chambers. One is for those who have done acts of kindness throughout their lives; the other is for those who have given charity. The prophet Elijah stands between the chambers and directs the people to the chamber in which their reward awaits. The prophet Samuel objected to losing access to either chamber, and stated that he would learn the criteria for each mitzvah, so that he would reap the reward for both.



To this, Hashem replied, “You stood between these two paths, and said you will not satisfy yourself with any one of them, but will take both for yourself. On your life I will give you three great presents.” These are the three gifts promised in Mishlei (21:21) to the person who commits himself to both tzedakah and chesed: life, charity and honor.







Step by Step



The next time someone in need approaches me for a loan, I will consider whether the situation is better suited to an outright donation.







24 Kislev, 5766 / December 25, 2005



Day 84 - Locked Doors

SEFER AHAVAS CHESED — Part II Chapter XVII footnotes



Doublethink is a word coined to describe the process of convincing oneself that something is exactly the opposite of what it really is. With the yetzer hara’s able assistance, an entire town can convince itself that kindness lies in a policy of turning all charity collectors away from the door. The logic runs thus: A town in which residents are known to be generous will attract an ever-growing pool of solicitors. Ultimately, the residents will be overwhelmed and unable to give any meaningful assistance to anyone, even their own community members.



The Chofetz Chaim cuts through this logic with one deft slice. It is a terrible mistake, he says, to slam the door on the poor. It is so antithetical to the Torah’s viewpoint that even the design of one’s home must take the poor into account. An opinion in the Talmud (Bava Basra 7b) prohibits constructing the type of gate in front of one’s house that will block the sound of knocking.



In one town in Europe, there lived a simple Jew whose house was always open to the poor. One day, this man went to his Rebbe and received a blessing that he would become wealthy. Soon, the man’s fortunes rose dramatically. His humble abode was replaced by an exquisite mansion. Although the old wooden door had always been open, the new, carved 10-foot doors were locked tight. The man had been willing to let passersby tread across his old floor; his Oriental rugs were another story. He had been comfortable sharing his bread and cheese with the simple folk who came through, but it seemed absurd to seat them at his grand table to feast on delicacies.



One day, the man’s Rebbe paid him a visit. Upon entering the mansion, the Rebbe said nothing. He merely stared at the great arched windows opening to the outside. The man filled the Rebbe in on the windows’ origins in Italy and their stratospheric value. After awhile, the Rebbe shifted his gaze to the immense, gilt-framed mirror on the wall. Again the man supplied the pedigree to his purchase.



Finally, the Rebbe spoke: “What is the difference between a mirror and a window?” he asked.



The man answered that the mirror is backed by a bit of crushed silver, resulting in the appearance of a reflection. “Ah,” the Rebbe said, “so you have one window where you look out and see the entire world, and you have another window where there’s just a little bit of silver placed on it, and suddenly all you see is yourself.” With those words the Rebbe left the house, and soon the great, carved doors were opened to the poor.



Today, especially in America, Jewish communities do not usually propagate community-wide policies about giving charity. The Chofetz Chaim’s detailed treatment of this subject is still relevant, however, since each of these discussions illuminates deep insights into the dynamics of giving. These are concepts every person must understand, whether acting as part of a community, or simply as part of the Jewish people.





Step by Step



Today I will commit myself to graciously greet and give something to all legitimate charity collectors who come to my door.
 
Pirekei Avos - Chapter 5, Mishna 10 - Religion or Bird Watching?
12.24.05 (8:45 am)   [edit]
Chapter 5, Mishna 10

Religion or Bird Watching?

"Seven types of punishments come to the world on account of seven basic transgressions. If some people tithe and some do not, a famine caused by [partial] drought will result; some will be hungry and some will be sated. If people have determined not to tithe, a famine resulting from both unrest and drought will result. [If people have also determined] not to separate challah from dough, a fully destructive famine will result."

This mishna lists various punishments meted out by G-d for different types of sins. (The complete list of seven transgressions continues into the next mishna. In some editions of Pirkei Avos this mishna and the next are combined.) The punishments illustrate the extent and precision of G-d's justice. In each case -- as we will soon see -- the punishment fits the crime precisely -- in fact bringing to light the exact failing of each sin in ways we might not otherwise recognize.

The first set of transgressions deals with the tithing of produce. This was a major aspect of agricultural life in ancient as well as in modern Israel.

A portion of the produce (~2%) was given to the Priests, 10% was given to the Levites, sections of the field would be left for the poor, an additional 10% was consumed in Jerusalem or given to the poor (depending on the year of the agrarian cycle), first fruits were brought to the Temple, and every seven years the fields were left fallow. Finally, when kneading a sufficient amount of dough, the "challah" portion would be set aside for the Priests. (This is apart from the tithing of animals, the tithing of wool, the gift of the firstborn animals, etc.)

The sheer volume as well as the complexity of crop laws would test the resolve of even the most devout of farmers. (The modern equivalent of this -- also considerable but somewhat less taxing -- is the accepted practice to tithe all earned income.)

Such laws were evidently a great challenge to the Nation of Israel throughout its abode in the Holy Land. Jews have always recognized the significance of such forms of religious expression as the Sabbath and the holidays. Taking a little time off from work *makes sense*. No one can work seven days a week without break. Time off from the daily grind -- for both physical and spiritual rejuvenation -- promotes a healthy body as well as a healthy mind. The Jewish holidays too are a time to commemorate our past and realign ourselves with our heritage -- as well as providing us with meaningful as well as much needed vacation time from the unending monotone of daily living. In fact, quite a number of the laws of our Torah -- whether or not man would have come up with them on his own -- just plain *make sense* to the thinking Jew and can be deeply appreciated if observed properly.

Tithing is a very different matter. Here G-d "interferes" with something much nearer and dearer to us -- our earnings, and ultimately, our careers. What we earn through our own ingenuity or the sweat of our brows holds a special attachment to us. The Talmud writes that three things are particularly "dear" to a person (even if they are not the world's finest) -- a person's hometown, his wife, and a purchase for which he spent money (Sotah 47a). What we earn through our effort becomes a part of ourselves.

When a religion asks us to part with our *spare* time -- that we spend weekends or vacation time in spiritual pursuit -- that we can tolerate and even appreciate. There are many who find religion an interesting and rewarding excursion -- a fulfilling way to spend a spare Saturday or Sunday (or at least a small part of it). Judaism, however, in asking that we hand over our earnings, demands infinitely more: that we give ourselves.

(For that matter, I've come across many people over the years who have had a sincere interest in Judaism. They wanted to understand more and observe more. Yet they often would see religion as a meaningful diversion -- almost as a hobby. If a lecture or Jewish event occurs in the evening or on a Sunday, they would be more than happy to attend. If, however, it interferes with work -- nothing to talk about. (I knew one such person who had a real but casual interest in Judaism, yet because of the primacy of his career, found himself entertaining an important academic associate for the entire day of Yom Kippur.) I hate to put it this way, but one has to really question if such people are really ready to make a serious commitment to Judaism. Judaism as a *way* of life is truth and meaning; as a diversion from life is glorified bird watching.)

Judaism asks what for many of us is the ultimate sacrifice -- our hard-earned incomes. Not only must we hand it over to G-d, but we must give of it freely to people who expended no effort over it -- to the poor (and of course it's their *own* fault they're poor, etc. -- Ever notice how fond we are of playing G-d when people come to our door?), and to the non-working tribe of the Levites. The message, loud and clear, is that we are no more than custodians of our wealth. It is all a gift from G-d. He could just as easily have bequeathed it to the poor man as the rich. He granted it to us in order that we use it in the manner He intended -- that we help those less fortunate and those who -- as the Levites -- are devoted fully and entirely to the study of Torah.

Lastly, if we fail to understand this message -- if we fail to recognize the true source of our wealth -- G-d will find need to remind us. Thus, if some tithe while others do not, a partial famine will ensue. (G-d will take down the stock market, cool off the high-tech industry, etc.) Only those who withheld from others will suffer. If no one tithes, a more widespread famine will ensue, resulting from some other type of catastrophe, such as war or revolution. Finally, if even the tithing of dough is neglected, total famine will follow, resulting in widespread suffering and loss of life.

But G-d does not only punish us to remind us of this message. He rewards as well. The Talmud writes that charity is the one commandment that we have the right to "test" G-d (Ta'anis 9a). In the Book of Malachi G-d exhorts the people: "'Bring all the tithes to the storehouse (of the Temple)... and test Me in this' says the L-rd of hosts, 'if I will open for you the windows of the heavens and pour out to you blessing without limit'" (Malachi 3:10). Ordinarily, we have no right to test G-d. ("I will believe in You only if You give me a sign," or "I will keep the Torah only if You give me what I want" etc.) G-d does not give free handouts. We pray to G-d and He is merciful, but this world provides no assurance that He will answer -- or that the answer will be yes.

Charity, however, is different. We have the right to test G-d: to give more charity and fully expect to see results. (I leave this as an exercise for the reader. ;-) It is thus literally in our hands to make G-d more evident in our lives -- to give to Him and visibly see Him give back to
us. Charity thus provides us with the opportunity -- the privilege -- of letting go: of giving over a part of ourselves to G-d -- and in the process of seeing G-d enter our lives.
 
Rabbi Frand on Parshas VaYishlach - Nice Guy's Finish Second -- Second in Command to Pharoah
12.24.05 (8:39 am)   [edit]
Nice Guy's Finish Second -- Second in Command to Pharoah
------------------------- ------------------------- ------

(Rabbi Frand quotes both insights this week from the sefer Shemen HaTov by Rabbi Dov Weinberger.)

This week's parsha contains four words that changed the course of history. Yosef was arrested and imprisoned. Shortly afterwards, two members of
Pharoah's Court were also thrown into jail.

Imagine what it was like to be in jail with two officers of Pharoah's Court. As an analogy, this would be like having a two-bit drug dealer in jail together with two members of the President's cabinet. These were 'Cabinet level' people in the Egyptian government - the person who brought Pharoah his wine was a trusted individual. He was the wine taster, a person in whom the King had implicit trust. These were people who could be compared to the Attorney General and the Secretary of State.

They were sitting in jail with a Hebrew slave - the lowest rung of society, someone who was serving time for a petty crime. We can be sure that there was not a lot of camaraderie and social interaction between Yosef and Pharoah's officials.

The officers had their respective dreams, which upset them. Yosef saw that they were depressed and asked them "Why are you depressed?" The "drug dealer" (Yosef) comments to the "Secretary of State" (Wine Butler), "You don't look so good this morning!" Because of that remark, because of those four words, what happens?

The dreams are related to Yosef. Yosef interprets the dreams. The Butler sees that Yosef has special powers. The Butler is eventually released from jail and, in the time-honored tradition, gets put back on the 'Cabinet'.

Years later, the Butler remembers Yosef. Yosef is brought out of jail. He interprets the dreams of Pharoah correctly. He becomes the second in command. He feeds the entire world including his own brothers and father. And the rest - as they say -- is history!

What started this entire series of events? Four words: "Madua peneichem ra'im hayom?" (Why are your faces troubled today?) What is the ethical lesson to be learned here? The lesson is that it is incumbent upon us to be a "nice guy." Yosef was concerned about how they looked and how they felt, even though we would need to assume that these were people who did not give Yosef a second look. Merely saying a nice, kind word makes such a
difference!

Four words changed history. Two words can change history -- "Good Morning!"
"How are you?" "How are you doing?" "How was your holiday?" "How is your
spouse?" "How are your kids?" These types of words can make a difference.
They made a vast difference in Yosef's life and for Klal Yisrael's [The
Jewish Nation's] lives.


The Significance of 'Eight' -- Outside the Forces of Nature
------------------------- ------------------------- ---------

Yosef was seduced by with the wife of Potiphar. Yosef refused. "...How can I do this terribly wicked deed?..." [Bereshis 39:9] Finally, when she cornered him alone and grabbed hold of his garment, Yosef fled and ran out of the house (va'yanos vayetze haChutzah), rather than accede to her will.

There is a very famous Medrash in Tehillim on the pasuk "The Sea saw and fled..." [Psalms 114:3] The Medrash says that when the Jewish people came to the Red Sea, the Sea saw the coffin of Yosef and fled. In the words of the Medrash, "It fled because of the one who fled." In the merit of the one who withheld and did not succumb to his passions, the Sea split for Israel.

What is the connection between the merit of Yosef and the splitting of the Red Sea? If one looks in the parsha, one will notice a peculiar thing. The expression "va'yanos haChutzah" (and he fled outside) is repeated four times in the narrative. What is the significance of this?

The terminology "Vayotze oso ha'Chutzah" (and He took him outside) was used previously in Parashas Lech Lecha during the Covenant between the Pieces [Bereshis 15:5]. HaShem took Avraham -- haChutzah (outside). The Medrash comments that HaShem told Avraham, "Go out from your constellation" -- go out from the normal forces of nature. "You, Avraham, are above nature. You are not beholden to the powers of nature. Even naturally, you should not have children, you will, in fact, be the father of great nations. You are bigger than nature."

The words "Vayotze oso ha'Chutzah" implicitly contain the power to overcome nature. Yosef utilized the ability of a Jew to be superior to nature and nature's dictates.

When everything in nature would suggest that he had to succumb to the seductions of Potiphar's wife, Yosef was able to invoke the power of Avraham, his great-grandfather, who was outside the power of nature. Yosef overcame his particular nature and he too did not succumb.

Therefore, when Yosef's coffin arrived at the Red Sea, whose nature it is to flow, the Red Sea split in Yosef's merit. Nature was suspended. The sea fled before the one who fled. The one who overcame nature has the power to suspend the nature of the sea.

The Shemen HaTov takes this one step further. He brings a Sefer HaPardes who relates a fascinating insight. (This is delving here on the fringes of Kabbalah, and we can only speculate regarding the meaning of the Sefer HaPardes. The Sefer HaPardes is a Halachic compendium from the school ofRashi.)

The Sefer HaPardes says that there are 112 pasukim in Parshas VaYeishev. Out of those 112 pasukim, every single pasuk begins with a 'vov', with the exception of 8 pasukim! [Note: The count of eight pasukim begins only after Pasuk 3 where the series of Vov pasukim actually begin. Do not count from the beginning of the parsha, but rather from Pasuk 3.] The Sefer HaPardes says that the 8 pasukim that do not begin with a vov correspond to the 8 days between the birth of a boy and his circumcision. They allude
to Milah, which is performed on the 8th day.

The Shemen HaTov suggests that all the incidents of Parshas VaYeishev are one big vov. And this happened, and this happened, and this happened... It is all one big story -- one event emerging from the other. It is all one big cause and effect.

The Torah is teaching that this may be the way things work in the outside world. History involves one thing leading to another to another. But the life of a Jew is above nature.

The 8 pasukim correspond to Milah. According to traditional literature, 7 connotes nature -- the number of days in a week; while 8 connotes the property of being above nature. That is why circumcision is on the 8th day, because Milah is l'maaleh min haTeva [above Nature]. Jews are above
nature, because that is what G-d told Avraham Avinu. He took Avraham outside and told him "You are above nature."

The 8 pasukim that do not have the vov teach us something about the entire remainder of the parsha. None of it is a 'vov'. Nothing is just cause and effect. It is not just a story. It is not just natural happenstance. It is all above nature. There is, in effect, a grand plan. Nothing in history is just coincidence. Israel has no Mazal -- we are above all that!

One does not have to be a genius to make the connection to the 8 days of Chanukah, which are also supra natural. We all understand that the miracle
of the jug of oil was a miracle. But we also have to know that the miracle of the oil reveals that the victory in battle is also not nature - because nothing is nature. The Jewish people live a miraculous existence - outside
the forces of nature.
 
Rabbi Wein - Parshas Vayeshev - Dec 25 2005
12.24.05 (8:33 am)   [edit]
THE TRUE SOCIETAL GAP

With all of our politicians busily engaged in populist sloganeering about
the socio-economic gap that they have recently discovered in Israeli
society, it is my opinion that they are willfully ignoring a very
dangerous and real gap that is constantly widening in our country. And
that gap is between the section of Israeli society that is knowledgeable
about Judaism, our past history and Jewish values and that section of
society (and it may be the majority section) that is abysmally ignorant of
Judaism, its faith and moral and spiritual verities. I am not speaking
here of observance or lack of observance of Torah commandments or of
adherence to living a traditional Jewish lifestyle. Rather, I am
discussing a large section of Israeli society that exhibits a complete
lack of knowledge, understanding, appreciation and sensitivity towards
basic Jewish views, traditions and worldview. It is this gap between these
two sections of our society that is far more dangerous to our survival and
success here in Israel than any of the economic or social gaps that are
currently being debated and bemoaned. The socio-economic gap may be much
easier to treat than the dangerous gap of ignorance that eventually
translates itself into a society with no firm value system or self-
identity and pride. For eventually, a lack of appreciation of our past and
of our spiritual and intellectual heritage will lead more Israelis to ask
Why a State of Israel? That notion, which is currently already out and
alive in the non-Jewish world, will certainly infect us as well if there
is no positive answer, rooted in Jewish tradition and knowledge, presented
and advanced.

Everyone agrees that our education system is badly in need of an overhaul.
There have been numerous attempts to introduce a todaah yehudit Jewish
content into a secular school system. None of these attempts have made
any dent in the problem. I have no statistics to back up my view but my
anecdotal evidence tells me that more Israeli youth are aware of the
latest Afro-American rap singer than they are of the Talmud, Rashi,
Maimonides, or even Theodore Herzl. Since they have no concept of how we
got here and what our historical rights are, and dont have any clear idea
of what Judaism stands for, how can they be anything else than confused
self-doubters? And since there is no clear picture of the true value
system of Judaism (a study of the book of Isaiah would be a good
beginning) is there any wonder that the greater Israeli public is so
apathetic to political and commercial corruption, protektzia, domestic
violence and the exercise of raw power to solve issues? We talk about road
accidents and bemoan the terrible toll they take in Israeli lives day in
and day out. But a great deal of the problem stems from the lack of common
courtesy to others, which again, believe it or not, is a basic Jewish
value reflected in all of our holy books and emphasized over and over
again in our traditions. But if we are not taught to be better people, if
our schools teach only subjects and never values or traditions, if
everything that happened to us in our two millennia of exile is forgotten
or demeaned, then no amount of new traffic laws, additional police or
mandatory driving classes will really help solve the problem.

Israel is supposed to strive towards the goal of being a Jewish,
democratic society. We constantly hear of roadmaps to peace. What is the
road map to achieve this Jewish democratic society? What is the curriculum that is supposed to teach it and who are the role models that are supposed to exemplify it? The traditional Jewish society here in Israel, with all
of its weaknesses, human foibles, failings and sometimes backwardness, nevertheless has some inkling as to the value system that should guide us
and propel us into our future. It has an understanding of our past and thus a sense of continuity with our present and future. The militantly secularist society has been forced by the very nature of its ideological agenda, to adopt a system of values and education that is foreign to the very nature of Judaism. The gap between the two groups here in Israel therefore grows wider every day. In the words of the Bible regarding Joseph and his brothers they could not talk to each other in peaceable
terms. Unless serious thought and effort is given to closing this gap in an intelligent, compassionate and respectful manner, the very future of our existence as a Jewish, democratic state here in our homeland is in
question, if not in jeopardy.

Weekly Parsha December 23, 2005

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VAYESHEV

This weeks parsha deals with the temptations of human beings. The brothers of Yosef are mightily displeased with his attitude and behavior towards them. They choose to overlook the fact that he is only seventeen years old, orphaned from his mother and overly favored and protected by his father. When he arrives alone and vulnerable at their camp, he is an inviting target for their frustrations and wrath. Thus they are tempted by the obvious opportunity presented to solve the Yosef problem. In giving in to this temptation and not assessing correctly the consequences of their
so doing they are dooming themselves to being haunted by this fatal impulse of theirs all of their remaining lives. All sins and temptations require opportunity to be actualized. Human social existence by its very nature provides opportunity and our own innate character supplies the temptation. Thus the contest between right and wrong, good and evil, the moral and the despicable, is a never ending one as far as our lives are concerned. This is the basis for Judaisms posit of free will and freedom of choice as being the ultimate arbiter of our physical and spiritual existence and immortality. We are always tempted but we are bidden not to give in to temptation. Our ability to control ourselves in the face of temptation is the battlefield of our lives. It is no wonder therefore that the rabbis in Avot declared that the truly strong hero in life is the one who can deal with and overcome temptations. He is the one who captures the city.

Yosef is also sorely tempted by opportunities that arise in his life. Alone and in servitude, he is seemingly easy prey for the jaded wife of Potiphar. Yet at the last moment he resists the passion and temptation of
the moment and realizes the destructive consequences of immoral behavior. At great risk and danger he resists the temptation of the flesh and through that act of momentary self-denial attains for himself the title of
Yosef hatzadik Joseph the righteous. The Torah and the Midrash in recounting this tale of Yosefs temptation and triumph point out the strengths that allowed Yosef to resist the advances of the wife of Potiphar. They included, but are not limited to, the upbringing and
education he received from his father, his own visions and dreams and ambitions in life, his inherent holy nature and its ability to clearly identify right from wrong and his refusal to sin against God. All of these and other factors as well, for human beings are very complex creatures, combine to allow Yosef to resist the temptation of the moment. The opportunity is present but the choice regarding that opportunity is left
to each one of us to exercise. The factors that came to aid Yosef in avoiding the temptation to do wrong a sense of family, a vision of the future and how we would wish ourselves to be remembered by later generations, and an innate fear of God are present within all of us.
Temptations to do wrong will always abound. The ability to deny victory to those temptations becomes the hallmark of true Jewish living.

Shabat shalom
 
Sfas Emes - Parshas Veyeishev
12.24.05 (7:46 am)   [edit]
Sfas Emes, Zechuso Tagein Aleinu, Vayeishev, 5631

Here we are again. It is Shabbos, and the Sfas Emes is speaking to his chassidim. Full-time learning -- i.e., kollel -- is not an option for them. First, they are too poor to afford it. Second, I have been told that
Gerrer Chassidus does not believe in kollel for all, forever. This approach should not come as a surprise after last week's ma'amar of the Sfas Emes . As we saw there, the Sfas Emes does not view our activities
(our "asiya") during the week ("yemei ha'ma'aseh") negatively, as a curse.

On the contrary, he sees our asiya as having the potential for positive spiritual value. Thus, in the Gerrer approach, after marriage, most men go to work.

But these people face a daunting task: How to suffuse their lives with kedusha (sanctity) without full-time learning? A properly experienced Shabbos can be a great help in dealing with that difficult assignment. For
this reason, the Sfas Emes's ma'amar often discusses Shabbos and its potential for ruchniyus (spirituality). For a reason that will soon become apparent, on this Shabbos, parshas Vayeishev, the Sfas Emes dealt with
Shabbos not as a collateral topic, but rather as his central theme.

The Sfas Emes begins by noting the linguistic link between the words VayeiSHeV and SHaBBos. (This link is obvious once the Sfas Emes pointed it out. But how come I never noticed it until he showed it to me?) The Sfas Emes is not playing a word game here. Rather, the link in language has alerted him to a connection in meaning -- in this case, a connection that is telling us something about the substance of Shabbos. Namely, that we should view Shabbos as an opportunity to ('nisyaSHeiV') -- i.e., ,to 'settle into', 'to return' to our shoresh (our 'root'): to our primal selves , including our relationship with HaShem.

The Sfas Emes goes on to tell us that Shabbos is (or can be) a time for "habitul lashoresh"; that is, a time for deleting our personal agenda, and replacing it with the desire to do retzon HaShem (HaShem's will).

The Sfas Emes proceeds to develop this line of thought. He does so by citing the first paragraph of Medrash Rabba on Vayeishev. The key phrase is: " kinuso vekinus banav hitzilo." (That is, Ya'akov Avinu's "kinus" and the "kinus" of his progeny saved him from Esav.) Some commentaries understand "kinus " as meaning tefila (prayer). Other authorities -- including the Sfas Emes -- understand "kinuso" as meaning "coming
together."

Here we encounter an inimitable Sfas Emes "khap" (coup), The mainline other authorities who understand "kinuso" as "coming together" see this as
Ya'akov and his sons coming together; that is, uniting with each other. By contrast, the Sfas Emes sees the Medrash as telling us that what saved Ya' akov Avinu was his coming together with his shoresh -- i.e., with his
primal, true self. Similarly, what saved his sons was their coming together with their true selves.

'Coming together with one's primal, true self' may seem unremarkable, unimportant, and irrelevant in life. But consider the opposite state -- one in which a person is not all together -- at one -- with his/her self, with nature, and with HaShem. That state is called 'alienation' . And
alienation is the name used to characterize many of the individual and social problems of today's world.

The Sfas Emes buttresses this perspective by citing a phrase (from the Zohar Hakadosh) that Nusach Sefard recites just before ma'ariv on leil Shabbos: "Beshabbos is'yachadas beraza de'echad." (That is, on Shabbos,
she -- Knessess Yisroel -- comes together with the secret of HaShem's yichud (unity) . For, HaShem's yichud is in fact a secret. Note how few people are aware of it.)

The text in the Zohar continues: 'Ve'ahl yedei zeh, kohl dinin mis'abrin minei.' That is, by coming together with our true nature - i.e., when we recognize that we are created in the image of HaShem, and what that
implies for the way we should live our lives -- all harsh judgements depart and leave us alone. And as the Sfas Emes points out, induced by Ya'akov Avinu's "kinus," Eisav did in fact depart, and Ya'akov was saved.

The Sfas Emes moves on now to another theme. As we have seen, a word in the parsha's first pasuk,
"Vayeishev", called to the Sfas Emes's mind the
word "Shabbos ", and triggered a discussion of that topic. Similarly, a word in the parsha's second pasuk leads the Sfas Emes (and hence, us) to a new line of thought. Which word is the trigger in the second pasuk? "Yosef", which, translated literally, means: " he will increase".

What will "he increase"? The Sfas Emes tells us: "Shabbos"! Thus, the association of words just noted leads the Sfas Emes to a brief discussion of "tosefes Shabbos".

What is "tosefes Shabbos"? The term refers to the practice of bringing Shabbos in early -- before the time that halacha mandates. The Sfas Emes commends this practice. As he phrases it: 'Vezeh avoda gedola, le'havi
kedushas hashabbos toch yemei ha'ma'aseh mamash': ("This is a great avoda -- to bring the sanctity of Shabbos into weekday time." [1]).

How can a person bring about such a transformation? The Sfas Emes answers: a person's yearning and love for Shabbos can give him/her simcha (joy). And that joy gives a person the power to turn weekday time into Shabbos time.

A fair reaction at this point may be: "The idea that simcha can have this marvelous power sounds wonderful. But how does it work in the real world?"
I say: 'a fair reaction' because the Sfas Emes always deals with the (real) real world. Hence, the question: how does this extraordinary process of transforming weekday time into Shabbos actually operate?

Apparently this question also bothered the Sfas Emes. How do we know? Because he provided an answer. He does so by quoting a pasuk in Mishlei (27:19): 'Kamayim ha'pahnim la'pahnim, kein leiv ha'ahdam la'ahdam'.
(ArtScroll: " As water reflects back a face to a face,so one's heart is reflected back to him by another.') Thus, if we prepare for Shabbos with simcha, HaShem reciprocates with simcha toward us. And HaShem's joy -- likened to the joy of a choson after the chupa (Tehilim,19: 6) -- gives us the extraordinary power needed to transform weekday time into Shabbos.

A take-home lesson? One possibility comes to mind immediately. Go back to the beginning of this ma'amar, where I mentioned the difficult task that these chassidim face. They must try to live a life of kedusha even though
they are out in the world, without full-time Torah learning. As you probably noted, we face the same challenge. For most of the people who receive the Sfas Emes e-mails are also out in the world. Indeed, we are
even more vulnerable than the chassidim; for they have sources of protection that most of us lack. The sources of protection unique to chassidim include: tight social ties, which culminate in reverence for the Rebbe, shelita; and the levush (chassidic attire), which can help keep them out of unsavory environments.

Despite these advantages, the Sfas Emes made special efforts to emphasize the potential of a well-lived Shabbos to infuse his chassidim with kedusha. The take-home lesson is clear: that we focus on Shabbos as an
avenue to kedusha. This may involve making the effort on Shabbos to come together with our true nature - i.e., to try to view ourselves as agents of HaShem's will.

That notion may initially seem strange to us. We live in a society that glorifies self-expression -- to the point of narcissism. In such a social context, the idea of subordinating our will to anyone else's will -- even
HaShem's will -- may even strike us as morally repugnant. But the Sfas Emes is obviously on firm hashkofo ground when he commends this doctrine
to our attention. Hopefully, by heeding his counsel, we will experience Shabbos not as a day to catch up on our sleep, but rather as Shabbos is supposed to be: 'yom menucha u'kedusha' -- a day of repose and sanctity.

[1] Fellow-learners who remember last week's Sfas Emes may find his commendation of tosefes Shabbos this week confusing. For, in parshas Vayishlach, the Sfas Emes (echoing Chazal in Medrash Raba) spoke with
approbation of Ya'akov Avinu's doing melacha until the very last moment before Shabbos. So you may ask: which practice is right -- tosefes Shabbos or working until the last moment?

I suggest that the answer is: both. That is, one approach may be right for one person and the other approach suits someone else. Or, one practice may be right for a person at one time or at one phase of his life . But as
circumstances change, so too should his/her practice change. We live in a complex world; but with the help of HaShem, we should be able to handle it.
 
Truth - Day 82- The Footsteps of Mashiach
12.24.05 (7:37 am)   [edit]
Lessons in Truth
22 Kislev, 5766 / December 23, 2005



Day 82 - The Footsteps of Mashiach

SEFER SHEM OLAM — Chapter Twelve: The Birthpangs of Mashiach (cont.)



That which the Talmud predicts (Sanhedrin Ch. 11) will take place prior to Mashiach’s arrival has, in fact, occurred in our times. The same is true of the predictions in the final mishnah of Masechta Sotah.



The eleventh chapter of Masechta Sanhedrin is replete with statements concerning the period preceding Mashiach’s arrival. One passage there (Sanhedrin 97a) is similar to the concluding Mishnah of Masechta Sotah to which the Chofetz Chaim referred:



With the footsteps of Mashiach insolence will increase, and inflation will soar, the vine will give its fruit but wine will be dear, and the government will turn to heresy, and there will be no rebuke, the places of meeting will be used for immorality, and the Galilee will be destroyed and the Gavlan desolated, and the border dwellers will wander about from city to city, but will not be pitied, the knowledge of scholars will be lost, those who fear sin will be despised, and the truth will be hidden; youths will shame old men and old men will stand up for youngsters; [it will be a time when] “a son shames his father, a daughter rebels against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, [and] a man’s enemies are the members of his household” (Michah 7:6); the face of the generation will be like the face of the dog [i.e. without shame — Rashi]; [and] the son is not ashamed before his father. On whom can we rely? [Only] on our Father in Heaven (Mishnah Sotah 9:15).



On whom can we rely? [Only] on our Father in Heaven. This means that before Mashiach’s arrival, the Jewish people will find themselves in a position so precarious that everyone will come to the realization that only Hashem can rescue us from our plight (heard from Rabbi Moshe Wolfson).



As the Jews headed toward the Sea of Reeds at the time of the Exodus, they found themselves trapped on all sides (see Shemos Ch. 14) and they cried out in prayer to Hashem. Rashi (citing Mechilta and Tanchuma) writes: “They adopted the craft of their forefathers,” meaning that they prayed the way Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov would pray — with a feeling and awareness that without Hashem’s intervention they were totally lost. This is what Hashem had been waiting for and He immediately commanded Moshe: “Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey!” (ibid. v. 15). It is this sort of recognition which the Jewish people will need to demonstrate as a prelude to the Final Redemption (based on the thoughts of Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz).
 
Truth - Day 81 - A Time to Hope
12.24.05 (7:34 am)   [edit]
Day 81 - A Time to Hope

SEFER SHEM OLAM — Chapter Twelve: The Birthpangs of Mashiach



We are living in times when the sufferings of our people are great. One may wonder: Why has Hashem brought all this upon us and where is it all leading?



In fact, the increase in suffering is in itself a source for at least partial consolation. It is well known that the Gra (Gaon R’ Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon) wrote that this exile is likened to a pregnancy and the period preceding Mashiach’s arrival is like the pangs of childbirth. This is why the Talmud refers to the sufferings of this last period as “the birth pangs of Mashiach” (Shabbos 118a).



Now, when a woman is on the verge of giving birth and the pains become so strong that they seem unbearable, the nurse will comfort her by saying, “If the pain is so intense, then it will not last much longer — you will soon give birth.” This is exactly our situation in exile. As long as the travails of exile were relatively “bearable,” we had reason to be concerned that it had not yet reached its final stages. However, now that the sufferings have multiplied to a point where they have become unbearable, we can be hopeful that soon, Hashem will bring salvation through the coming of Mashiach. As our Sages teach (Sanhedrin 98a): “If you see a generation upon which numerous troubles come like a river, expect him [the Mashiach], as it is written, ‘For distress shall come like a river...’ (Yeshayahu 59:19) and next to that verse it is written, ‘A redeemer shall come to Zion.’ “



Often there is a break in the pangs of childbirth, which allows the mother to regain some strength before the next pains set in. This exactly describes the period before Mashiach, when the Jewish people sometimes experience somewhat of an easing of their suffering before new travails occur.



In his memoirs, the Chofetz Chaim’s son, R’ Aryeh Leib HaKohen Kagan, wrote:



Many of the stories which abound concerning the way in which my father awaited the arrival of Mashiach are exaggerated. In truth, however, none of these exaggerations capture the essence of his unshakable faith in Mashiach’s ultimate arrival. For his faith was not based on mere allusions or even on Aggadic teachings which often are obscure and lend themselves to various interpretations. Rather, it was based on the clearly expressed words of the Prophets, and even more so, the words of the Chumash.



Virtually all his life, my father kept a one volume Tanach in his tallis bag. Never did he attempt to apply the words of Tanach to his way of thinking, to propound from them original insights — as many are wont to do. Rather, he always applied his way of thinking to the wisdom of Torah [to understand the plain meaning of each Scriptural verse]. It is not surprising, then, that he was possessed of powerful faith and mighty hope that not one word would remain unfulfilled of the glorious future for our people that the prophets foretell.
 
Truth - Day 80 - A Proper Perception
12.24.05 (7:27 am)   [edit]
Lessons in Truth
20 Kislev, 5766 / December 21, 2005



Day 80 - A Proper Perception

SEFER SHEM OLAM — Chapter Eleven: Avoiding Contradictions in One’s Life (cont.)



The reason why we lack proper perception of the value of doing mitzvos on this world is that we lack proper perception of the greatness and sanctity of Hashem. Even Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest of all prophets who attained the forty-ninth level of wisdom, declared, “You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness...” (Devarim 3:24). Were we to perceive this properly, we would naturally realize how precious is our lot, that we merit to serve the King of Glory. This is the meaning of the mishnah, “Know before Whom you toil” (Avos 2:19).



At the tenth anniversary dinner of Shuvu, which provides thousands of Russian immigrant children in Israel with a Torah education, the Guest of Honor was Rabbi Abraham Pam z”l, the organization’s revered founder and leader. He delivered an emotional address at what would be his last Shuvu dinner; he passed away on 28 Menachem Av, 5761. Rabbi Pam began with the following thought:



“On Shalosh Regalim (the Three Festivals), we recite a special tefillah (prayer) upon opening the Aron Kodesh (Holy Ark) to take out the Sefer Torah, a tefillah which contains a number of requests. One of them is: that Hashem should grant us the privilege to do good deeds.



“Ribono shel Olam” (Master of the World), cried Rabbi Pam, “how can I thank You for giving me the daas (wisdom) to initiate and to launch Shuvu? With what shall I approach Hashem [in appreciation], humble myself before God on high? How can I express even a fraction of my gratitude to HaKadosh Baruch Hu for granting me such a zechus (privilege) and for granting the entire Shuvu family such a zechus!”



------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- -----------------------



Someone once accompanied Rabbi Pam on his walk home from yeshivah. As they approached the street on which Rabbi Pam lived, he turned to cross the street in the opposite direction. “I have to mail a letter,” he explained, motioning toward the mail box across the street. “I’m going that way anyway,” his companion said. “I would be happy to mail the letter for the Rosh Yeshivah.”



“Thank you,” Rabbi Pam replied, “But it’s a tzedakah envelope. I would rather do the mitzvah myself.” In the Avinu Malkeinu prayer which we recite during the High Holy days, we beseech Hashem:



“Our Father, our King, inscribe us in the book of merits.”



The meaning of this prayer is: “Hashem, please grant me the opportunity to accrue zechuyos (merits) through the performance of mitzvos.”
 
Truth - Day 83 - Hastening the Redemption - Day 84 - Suffering Atones
12.24.05 (7:25 am)   [edit]
Lessons in Truth
23 Kislev, 5766 / December 24, 2005

Day 83 - Hastening the Redemption

SEFER SHEM OLAM — Chapter Twelve: Birthpangs of Mashiach (cont.)

We cannot know exactly when the Final Redemption will occur. The duration of the exile following the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash was explicitly stated by the prophet, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I shall remember you” (Yirmiyahu 29:10). Nevertheless, as recorded in the Talmud,1 many calculated the seventy years and erred. Even the righteous Daniel erred as to when the seventy years began. Certainly no one can know the end of the current exile, for its conclusion has been concealed from us. However, the sufferings of our time indicate that it is drawing to a close.

This is how it was in Egypt; the depth of suffering hastened the redemption. Our forefather Avraham had been told that his descendants would be strangers in a land not their own for four hundred years (Bereishis 15:13), but Hashem calculated the exile as beginning with the birth of Yitzchak. The depths of the Jews’ suffering awakened Divine mercy so that the redemption was hastened and their stay in Egypt (from the time Yaakov descended there with his family) lasted two hundred ten years. Included in those years was the period of Yosef’s rule over Egypt when the Jews enjoyed a peaceful existence.

Over the past eight hundred years, the Jewish people have suffered greatly. Surely this is cause for hope that the exile will not last much longer. It is quite possible that we have already entered the period of “the birth pangs of Mashiach.” In Egypt, even after the Jews were informed that the time of redemption had arrived, the situation got worse before it improved. This can explain the situation in which we find ourselves today.

The Chofetz Chaim possessed not only perfect emunah (faith), but also a degree of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration), as can be seen from the following episode, related by Rabbi Shimon Schwab z”l, who spent a memorable Shabbos in Radin in the company of the Chofetz Chaim in 1930:

An incident took place that Shabbos which gave me a glimpse into the measure of the man. Had I not witnessed it myself, I would not have believed it...

The Chofetz Chaim had eaten a frugal Shalosh Seudos... He said, “It’s time to bentch (recite Bircas HaMazon),” and he started to bentch, like a simple Jew, saying one word at a time... I did not see anything special in his manner. Suddenly, when he reached the phrase Have mercy... something seemed to happen to him. He cried out:for Your people Israel, oy, oy!, for Zion, resting place of Your Glory, oy, oy!” He continued in this manner until he reached the end of the fourth and final blessing and stopped (before the “Harachamons”). At this point he said, “I see what will be ten years from now. You don’t see, but I do. A great conflagration will burn!” In the middle of Bircas HaMazon, he suddenly had a vision of future events. “Twelve million is child’s play!”

I turned to the person next to me and asked him what the Chofetz Chaim meant with these comments. He replied, “He always talks about it. Twelve million is the sum total of those killed in the [First] World War.”

I never forgot this scene and for ten years I repeated it, and waited watchfully, fearfully, for its realization — until ten years later, in 1940, when it started to come true.

This was the Chofetz Chaim.



24 Kislev, 5766 / December 25, 2005

Day 84 - Suffering Atones

SEFER SHEM OLAM — Chapter Twelve: The Birthpangs of Mashiach (cont.)

You may be wondering: Why must the Jewish people endure so much suffering in order to merit redemption? Is it not possible to redeem us without so much pain and distress? There are many answers to this question. Let us begin with the following:

The prophet states (Yoel 4:2) that at the time of the Redemption, Hashem will gather the other nations at the Valley of Yehoshaphat and judge them for their mistreatment of His beloved people during the two millenium of exile. The gentiles will surely respond that the Jewish people should also be brought to judgment for all their sins. Hashem, therefore, is purifying us now through various tests and sufferings, so that when the time of Redemption comes, we will be truly deserving of it, for we will have atoned for all our sins through our suffering. As the prophet states: “You alone did I know from among all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all of your sins” (Amos 3:2). Our Sages explain this with a parable:

A person lends money to two people, one whom he loves and one whom he despises. From his friend he exacts payment little by little so that it should not have too great an effect on him financially. From his enemy he demands the entire payment at one time; and when payment time arrives, he collects it mercilessly.

So, too, Hashem grants the other nations the freedom to do as they choose until they reach “the limits of His endurance” and He exacts punishment without mercy. From the Jewish people, however, He exacts punishment on an ongoing basis so that the scope of their punishment should be limited (Based on Avodah Zara 4a).

Thus, whereas other nations have achieved great prosperity and prestige and then passed from the stage of history, the Jewish people have undergone sufferings of epic proportions but still exist and will exist forever.

In the words of Rabbi Simchah Wasserman:

In the Torah portion of Haazinu (Devarim Ch. 32), Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu that the people will go through many kinds of experiences, many of them very unpleasant, and they will wonder why these things are happening. Hashem commands Moshe to tell the people the song of Haazinu: “Tell them that this song will explain everything. It will tell them what is going to happen and why it is going to happen.” It is a very short and concise song, but it has exhaustive information in it. In that song there is a prophecy for everything that is going to happen to the Jewish people.

Hashem tells Moshe that the song is an eid. This word has two meanings: witness or warning. The song of Haazinu is both. It is a warning because it explains what the results of certain behavior will be. It is also a witness because we can observe through history that what has been predicted has come true. Ramban writes that the song is so accurate that even if we would find it written somewhere other than the Torah, we would have to believe every word of it (from Reb Simcha Speaks).

Ramban concludes his commentary to the song by stating:

This song is a clear promise of the future Redemption, contrary to what the heretics claim... Had this song been found in a stargazer’s record of his predictions it would be proper to believe it, for all its words have come true to this point. How much more so do we have to believe and anticipate with all our heart the words of G-d which were communicated to His most trustworthy prophet [Moshe], may he rest in peace, who had no equal before him or after him. (Ramban to Devarim 32:40)
 
Women in Judaism - Rachav: The Courage to Create a New Reality
12.24.05 (7:16 am)   [edit]
Rachav: The Courage to Create a New Reality

Mrs. Leah Kohn

The story of Rachav is set forth in the Book of Joshua, Chapter Two, takes place approximately forty years after the Exodus from Egypt, when the Jewish people are ready to cross the Jordan River to conquer the land of Israel. The entire world is aware of this imminent event, given that the Jewish people have been in the public eye ever since they left Egypt. The Ten Plagues, the Exodus and its ensuing miracles had had a tremendous effect on all of mankind. What's more, the Jewish people had vanquished Egypt - at that time the world's premier civilization - as well as several other nations.

At this point in Jewish history, Moses has just passed away and Joshua has taken over as leader. He decides to send a two man reconnaissance mission into Israel, in order to determine the best way to conduct his conquest of the land. The two he sends are Pinchas and Calev, men of exemplary character and accomplishment. Calev was originally sent by Moshe with eleven others to spy out the land of Israel forty years prior. He (and Yehoshua) accomplished this mission according to God's will, while the other ten failed, and died as a result (Parashas Shelach, Chapter 13, Book of Numbers). Pinchas - a grandson of Aaron - was also distinguished and there are stories about him in the Torah that indicate his greatness (see in particular Parashas Pinchas, Book of Numbers).

So Pinchas and Calev cross the Jordan into Israel, and stop for the night in the city of Jerico, at the house of an innkeeper named Rahav. The Hebrew word for innkeeper is "zonah", which comes from the word "mazon" (food). Rachav is referred to in the Book of Joshua as "isha zonah", which can be translated as "a female innkeeper, who provided food for people".

But the word "zonah" also means prostitute. Rahav was a prostitute, involved with many people, and she supported herself by running a brothel disguised as an inn.

In Hebrew, the name Rachav means "wide" or "broad". In a positive sense, she has a broad heart - she likes to be a host and help people and give. The risk for this type of personality is that some fall into immorality because their good-heartedness makes it difficult for them to say "no". Our sages say that, besides Rachav's giving, open nature, she was physically exquisite and that she channeled these qualities in the wrong direction and fell easily into her profession. Moreover, Rachav started working at the age of ten. So, most likely, she had difficult life circumstances, for whatever reason. As a woman, she was very exclusive in her business, and we are told that many important people, including kings, were involved with her.

Why would Joshua's spies stay in such a disreputable place, given they are from a Nation that at that point in history is famous for its high moral standards? Precisely because of this moral reputation, Pinchas and Calev
choose Rachav's inn because they expect the Canaanites will never look for them there.

And here they find Rachav, a non-Jewish native of Canaan who, through her business, is connected to the leaders of the land of Israel. (The potential for etracting political information is another reason why
Pinchas and Calev choose Rachav's inn).

But things go wrong. The king of Yericho is informed of the presence of the spies in his domain and he sends messengers to Rachav, where they have been seen. Surprisingly, instead of giving the spies up, she hides them on the roof of her inn and tells the messengers, "It is true; the men did come to me, but I do not know from where they are. When the city gate was about to close at dark, the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them!" (Joshua 2: 4-6).

What causes Rachav to protect Pinchas and Calev, and to risk charges of treason? As a Canaanite, especially connected to high officials, one would imagine her loyalties would be with the kings she knows and her nation. Our sages tell us Rachav's actions were not a betrayal of state, but a consequence of her sincere conviction that the Jewish conquest was Divinely ordained and that the Jews had a right to their Land. For the past forty years, the world had heard about the miracles that had followed the Jews from the Exodus to the Red Sea, to Sinai and throughout their long sojourn in the desert. Rachav's concludes, logically, that God is
squarely behind the Jews.

In other words, she knows exactly who G-d is. She approaches Pinchas and Calev in their hiding place on the roof and, at last, reveals her intentions behind the unlikely favor she has done for them. She requests of them, "...swear to me by Hashem, since I have done kindness with you, that you too will do kindness with my father's household and give me a trustworthy countersign...that you will save our souls from death" (Joshua 2: 12-13). Her words reflect an understanding that the Jewish Nation is invincible, given God's protection of them, and that they will destroy those nations who remain in the land without taking on the seven laws of Noach, which Torah requires of non-Jews.

In essence, Rachav tells Pinchas and Calev that she and all of her family will convert to Judaism. If their intention was to remain in Israel after the Jewish conquest, and abide by the seven laws of Noach, she would not even have had to approach the two men, since there was already a guarantee that any nation accepting these terms would be allowed to remain peacefully in Israel. Rather, Rachav sees in the Jewish Nation something
awesome in which she wants to participate, even though she understands that she is not expected or obligated by the Jews to do so .

Why didn't everyone in Canaan see this awesomeness and take action, at least to the extent of accepting the Seven Laws of Noach, which was the alternative to their annihilation, were they to stay in the land without
changing their idolatrous, immoral practices. Instead, only one nation leaves the country, while the others stay, without accepting the Noachide Laws, which means they are sure to be annihilated by the Jews. Only Rachav takes a step that everyone else should logically take, and goes even further by expressing her desire to actually become Jewish.As we opened up, everybody knew about what's going on. But she is unique.

The choice that Rachav makes is a choice between action and denial, which is a dilemma that is part of the human condition to this day. Things that are behavioral - not even having to do with Judaism - the diet we should
eat, the cigarettes we shouldn't smoke, the habits we should break - we are all capable of sustaining or destroying ourselves in these ways. The goal is not only to know what is right, but to actually internalizing this knowledge. And herein lies the difference between Rachav and the other inhabitants of Canaan, who knew what action to take in order to survive, but did not accept the reality of having to change. By contrast, Rachav not only knew what to do, but turned the new circumstances to her advantage, seeing the opportunity to create for herself a new reality.

The business of change is a hard job for anyone, yet rewarding because it changes our essence. It is a step-by-step job of growing, and slowly bringing into ourselves and into our heart, what our head knows. The
difference between knowing and internalizing is that knowledge is something external to us. It is something we know about, something we have, but it is not who we are. What exists in our heart is who we are and what we want to strive for. To turn something from a possession to an essence - that is what life is all about.

Rahav did it, although she was not a likely candidate for this accomplishment. What led her towards such unbelievable behavior, will be the subject of our next class. But before that installment we would like to involve you, our 3,700 readers, in a discussion about the power of change.
 
Yom Tov - Redeeming Factors
12.24.05 (5:15 am)   [edit]
YomTov, vol. XI # 7
Week of Parshas VaYeishev
Topic: Redeeming Factors
------------------------- -----------

Chanukah and Purim are similar in one respect: they are the two holidays whose observance is not biblically ordained. Rather, the observance of these two holidays was decreed by our Sages, and so we observe them until this day.

Perhaps it is for this reason that we find the two holidays often compared to one another in the writings of many commentators, and even in the Talmud.

The Talmud (in Yoma 29a) tells us that "the story of Esther is the end of all the miracles." Immediately, a question is posed: "But there is Chanukah?" The response related in the Talmud is that the reference
to "the end of all the miracles" referred only to those miracles included in Scripture. The story of Chanukah, we know, is not included in Scripture, and therefore not included in the categorical statement.

Rav Yehonasan Eibshitz explains that the miracle of Chanukah was deliberately not included in Scriptures. In order to understand why that was the case, he explains that one has to truly understand what the "miracle of Chanukah" was. Generally, one would say that the miracle of Chanukah was that a small band of Jews militarily defeated the powerful army of an empire. The victory of the few over the many, the weak over the mighty, is the supernatural event we celebrate.

However, Rav Eibshitz posits, this occurrence in reality is not so supernatural. In every era, one can find an instance of an outnumbered, weaker group or country
defeating the more numerous and powerful armies of another group or country. This fact, in it of itself, cannot be the miracle we celebrate.

In times of oppression, the nation of Israel has traditionally recognized that salvation comes from one place and one place only: Hashem. When faced with persecution and suffering, the nation repents and cries out to G-d with their hearts and souls. G-d responds in kind, and in His mercy, provides salvation and respite from the oppression. In the time of Chanukah, this did not happen. Yes, there was persecution. There was
suffering. But the sinners remained unrepentant and the righteous remained righteous. The Hellenized Jews remained unchanged, and the Chashmonaim remained steadfast in their devotion to G-d. Notwithstanding
the failure of much of the nation at the time to repent, G-d allowed the Chasmomaim to achieve victory. Hashem had mercy, a "supernatural" degree of mercy, and he saved the people despite their failure to change.

The miraculous nature of the victory is rooted in the fact that G-d caused it to occur at all. Most of the people failed to recognize the need to repent, and under normal circumstances, would not merit salvation. In a miraculous display of mercy, Hashem saved the people anyway. This type of miracle, as great as it may be, is not one that is worthy of being recorded in Scriptures. It differs from Purim, when the people did repent.

Therefore, the story of Chanukah, with this underlying miracle, was not recorded in Scriptures. However, in other respects, the story of Chanukah contains elements that are viewed more positively than those in the story
of Purim. R' Shlomo Kluger notes that the Talmud tells us (Megilla 14a) that we do not recite Hallel on Purim. Why is that the case? The Talmud says "The verse in Psalms (113) says "Give praise, you servants of
Hashem" meaning those who are no longer servants of Pharaoh. But can we say in this case, Give praise, you servants of Hashem and not servants of Achashverosh? We are still servants of Achashverosh!" The Talmud is
saying that as we were still servants to Achashverosh, we cannot say Hallel to Hashem, as we can only say Hallel when we are the servants of G-d and G-d alone. But why is this the case? Why is it impossible to be
servants of Hashem if we are servants to Achashverosh as well?

The Talmud (Megilla 11a) tells us that at the time of the story of Esther, the nation indulged in slothfulness by not busying themselves with the Torah. They therefore made themselves akin to enemies of G-d. The
nation found themselves facing destruction at the hands of Haman. They, until the decree was issued, did not busy themselves with Torah. It was not important. When the evil decree of Haman was issued by Achashverosh,
they engaged in the pattern of behavior that Rav Eibshitz described: they repented and cried out to G-d.

However, because of their prior behavior en masse, they did not merit a complete salvation. Yes, their lives were spared. However, they remained servants of Achashverosh, subject to his will and rule. There was a
miraculous salvation, but it was not a complete one.

It is evident from how the miracle of Purim occurred that the people were not worthy on their own merit of salvation. G-d, in His mercy, accepted atonement and annulled Haman's decree. In such a situation, where the
underlying merits for the performance of the miracle were lacking, its not appropriate to sing songs of praise.

When we praise G-d for our salvation, we are also praising G-d for the downfall of the evil. When we ourselves are not too far from that category, that of evil-doers, we do not sing songs of praise. Because we had to remain servants to Achashverosh, we cannot say Hallel.

However, in the days of Chanukah, the Chashmonaim were righteous from beginning to end. They were steadfast in their faith and devotion to G-d. Even though a large portion of the nation did not live lives that were
Torah-true, and there was tremendous pressure to live a Hellenized life, the Chashmonaim not only persevered, they fought back. They were worthy of having a miracle performed for them. Indeed, they merited the occurrence of that miracle. And because they indeed were always righteous, it is appropriate to say Hallel, praise, upon the downfall of their evil oppressors.

The miracle of Chanukah, on one hand, is one that is not appropriate to record in Scriptures. On the other hand, it is one for which we can appropriately sing songs of praise. Chanukah was a time when, in large part, the nation of Israel remained unrepentant. Yet, it was also a time when those who were devoted to G-d remained so and acted upon that dedication. The holiday of Chanukah is a time that reminds us, both literally and figuratively, that in times of darkness, the illumination of
just one light can have effects far and wide.
 
Yom Tov - Redeeming Factors
12.24.05 (3:00 am)   [edit]
YomTov, vol. XI # 7
Week of Parshas VaYeishev
Topic: Redeeming Factors
------------------------- -----------

Chanukah and Purim are similar in one respect: they are the two holidays whose observance is not biblically ordained. Rather, the observance of these two holidays was decreed by our Sages, and so we observe them until this day.

Perhaps it is for this reason that we find the two holidays often compared to one another in the writings of many commentators, and even in the Talmud.

The Talmud (in Yoma 29a) tells us that "the story of Esther is the end of all the miracles." Immediately, a question is posed: "But there is Chanukah?" The response related in the Talmud is that the reference
to "the end of all the miracles" referred only to those miracles included in Scripture. The story of Chanukah, we know, is not included in Scripture, and therefore not included in the categorical statement.

Rav Yehonasan Eibshitz explains that the miracle of Chanukah was deliberately not included in Scriptures. In order to understand why that was the case, he explains that one has to truly understand what
the "miracle of Chanukah" was. Generally, one would say that the miracle of Chanukah was that a small band of Jews militarily defeated the powerful army of an empire. The victory of the few over the many, the weak over the mighty, is the supernatural event we celebrate. However, Rav Eibshitz posits, this occurrence in reality is not so supernatural. In every era, one can find an instance of an outnumbered, weaker group or country
defeating the more numerous and powerful armies of another group or country. This fact, in it of itself, cannot be the miracle we celebrate.

In times of oppression, the nation of Israel has traditionally recognized that salvation comes from one place and one place only: Hashem. When faced
with persecution and suffering, the nation repents and cries out to G-d with their hearts and souls. G-d responds in kind, and in His mercy, provides salvation and respite from the oppression. In the time of
Chanukah, this did not happen. Yes, there was persecution. There was suffering. But the sinners remained unrepentant and the righteous remained righteous. The Hellenized Jews remained unchanged, and the Chashmonaim remained steadfast in their devotion to G-d. Notwithstanding the failure of much of the nation at the time to repent, G-d allowed the
Chasmomaim to achieve victory. Hashem had mercy, a "supernatural" degree of mercy, and he saved the people despite their failure to change.

The miraculous nature of the victory is rooted in the fact that G-d caused it to occur at all. Most of the people failed to recognize the need to repent, and under normal circumstances, would not merit salvation. In a miraculous display of mercy, Hashem saved the people anyway. This type of miracle, as great as it may be, is not one that is worthy of being recorded in Scriptures. It differs from Purim, when the people did repent.

Therefore, the story of Chanukah, with this underlying miracle, was not recorded in Scriptures. However, in other respects, the story of Chanukah contains elements that are viewed more positively than those in the story
of Purim. R' Shlomo Kluger notes that the Talmud tells us (Megilla 14a) that we do not recite Hallel on Purim. Why is that the case? The Talmud says "The verse in Psalms (113) says "Give praise, you servants of
Hashem" meaning those who are no longer servants of Pharaoh. But can we say in this case, Give praise, you servants of Hashem and not servants of
Achashverosh? We are still servants of Achashverosh!" The Talmud is saying that as we were still servants to Achashverosh, we cannot say Hallel to Hashem, as we can only say Hallel when we are the servants of
G-d and G-d alone. But why is this the case? Why is it impossible to be servants of Hashem if we are servants to Achashverosh as well?

The Talmud (Megilla 11a) tells us that at the time of the story of Esther, the nation indulged in slothfulness by not busying themselves with the Torah. They therefore made themselves akin to enemies of G-d. The nation found themselves facing destruction at the hands of Haman. They, until the decree was issued, did not busy themselves with Torah. It was not important. When the evil decree of Haman was issued by Achashverosh,
they engaged in the pattern of behavior that Rav Eibshitz described: they repented and cried out to G-d.

However, because of their prior behavior en masse, they did not merit a complete salvation. Yes, their lives were spared. However, they remained servants of Achashverosh, subject to his will and rule. There was a
miraculous salvation, but it was not a complete one.

It is evident from how the miracle of Purim occurred that the people were not worthy on their own merit of salvation. G-d, in His mercy, accepted atonement and annulled Haman's decree. In such a situation, where the
underlying merits for the performance of the miracle were lacking, its not appropriate to sing songs of praise.

When we praise G-d for our salvation, we are also praising G-d for the downfall of the evil. When we ourselves are not too far from that category, that of evil-doers, we do not sing songs of praise. Because we
had to remain servants to Achashverosh, we cannot say Hallel.

However, in the days of Chanukah, the Chashmonaim were righteous from beginning to end. They were steadfast in their faith and devotion to G-d.
Even though a large portion of the nation did not live lives that were Torah-true, and there was tremendous pressure to live a Hellenized life, the Chashmonaim not only persevered, they fought back. They were worthy of
having a miracle performed for them. Indeed, they merited the occurrence of that miracle. And because they indeed were always righteous, it is appropriate to say Hallel, praise, upon the downfall of their evil
oppressors.

The miracle of Chanukah, on one hand, is one that is not appropriate to record in Scriptures. On the other hand, it is one for which we can appropriately sing songs of praise. Chanukah was a time when, in large part, the nation of Israel remained unrepentant. Yet, it was also a time when those who were devoted to G-d remained so and acted upon that dedication. The holiday of Chanukah is a time that reminds us, both literally and figuratively, that in times of darkness, the illumination of
just one light can have effects far and wide.
 
A Lesson a Day - Day 83 - Suggesting a Relationship - Day 84 When Facts May be Concealed
12.24.05 (2:24 am)   [edit]
A Lesson A Day
23 Kislev, 5766 / December 24, 2005



SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM


Day 83 – Suggesting a Relationship



We have seen that it is forbidden to attempt to involve someone in a situation that the person would not want, would he be aware of certain facts.



If an acquaintance is seeking a person with years of experience with whom to start a business, one may not recommend someone who appears to be experienced but, in fact, is not – unless the acquaintance is told this. This holds true even if the person possesses natural talent which seems to compensate for his lack of experience.



Often, people feel that they know what their friend is “really looking for” far better than the friend himself does, and feel justified in deceiving the friend by providing inaccurate information about a perspective shidduch (marriage match), or employee, with the aim of seeing the shidduch or hiring realized.



It is presumptuous and arrogant for one to think that he has the right to make others’ life decisions for them.

Furthermore, it should be understood that the human personality is complex. Logically, one may seem to have found the perfect match for his friend. Nevertheless, if one’s friend has developed an attitude – irrational though it may be – that he or she will only marry someone who meets a particular specification, hiding the truth about a prospective mate could have lifelong repercussions. Upon discovering the truth after the wedding, the person might spend the rest of is married life feeling that he settled for second best. Even if he was told the truth right before the wedding and nevertheless went through with it, feelings of disappointment might surface later.



Such practices, though well intended, constitute giving bad advice and are in violation of “Before a blind person do not place a stumbling block.”





SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON



The Way of Moshe



A son is required to totally remove himself from his father’s feud when he sees himself as powerless to resolve it. However, in a situation where a father has high regard for his son’s opinion and would allow him to bring the matter to a peaceful resolution, the son is obligated to become involved.



Tanna D’Vei Eliyahu Rabbah (ch. 21) states: “One cannot stand silently as his father and mother speak forbidden talk. If he will remain silent, the lives of all three may be cut short.’’1



It is a mitzvah for every Jew to make peace between feuding parties. As the Mishnah states (Pe’ah 1:1), this is one of the deeds whose “fruits” one enjoys in this world but whose “principal” [i.e. primary reward] remains for the World to Come. Even if one side is clearly wrong and is deserving of punishment for having initiated the dispute, and one has the power to bring this punishment upon this person, nevertheless, he should do everything in his power to resolve the matter peacefully. Such was the way of Moshe, who strove to make peace with Dasan and Aviram, though he had the power to bring punishment upon them for their having brazenly opposed him. Thus does the Torah relate, “Moshe stood up and went to Dasan and Aviram” (Bamidbar 15:25), to which the Sages comment, “From this we derive that one should not remain steadfast in dispute” (Sanhedrin 110a).



Because Moshe went to the tents of Dasan and Aviram to make peace, he merited to save four righteous individuals, Ohn ben Peles and Korach’s three sons, from the sufferings of Gehinnom.





1. Of course, he should intervene respectfully, in consonance with the stringent rules of kibud av v’em (honoring one’s father and mother — see Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah ch. 240).





24 Kislev, 5766 / December 25, 2005




SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM


Day 84 – When Facts May be Concealed



There are times when a rav may permit suggesting a shidduch and temporarily concealing information which could prevent the shidduch from coming about.



Occasionally, a situation exists as a result of which people might be reluctant to even consider a shidduch(3) with a particular person or family, though, in fact, the situation need not warrant such reluctance.

It is in such a case that a rav may permit an initial meeting (and at times even a series of meetings) without the pertinent fact being mentioned, so that when it finally is revealed, the person stands a chance of being judged fairly.



However, it is forbidden to conceal the information until after the other party has developed strong, positive feelings concerning the shidduch, for at that point, the party will be denied the opportunity to reach an objective decision, and will have been the victim of dishonesty and manipulation.



Needless to say, such decisions are not to be made by a shadchan (matchmaker) and certainly not by the family involved. Only a qualified Torah authority should decide such matters.





SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON



Perseverance



David declared: “Seek peace and pursue it” (Tehillim 34:15). The Sages comment (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): “Seek peace for your loved ones and pursue it for your enemies; seek peace where you live and pursue it elsewhere; seek peace with your body and pursue it with your resources; seek peace for yourself and pursue it for others; seek peace today and pursue it tomorrow.’’



This final exhortation means that one should never despair of making peace; rather, he should pursue it today, and then tomorrow, and the next day ... until he attains it.



If thick ropes which pull a wagon are strained regularly, they will become weak, and eventually will tear. So it is with strife. If one does not succeed in making peace on his first or second attempt, nevertheless, he should not abandon his pursuit of this sacred achievement. Ultimately, his words will accomplish. If he will have no effect at all upon the prime quarrelers, because they have become overpowered by the appetite for triumph and are blind to the truth, he may be able to influence those who have been drawn into a quarrel that is not their own. In this way, he will save them from the bitter retribution which results from strife, in the way of Moshe, who saved Ohn and Korach’s sons.
 
A Lesson a Day - Day 82 - Potentially Harmful Relationships
12.24.05 (2:22 am)   [edit]
A Lesson A Day
22 Kislev, 5766 / December 23, 2005



SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM


Day 82 – Potentially Harmful Relationships



The next set of rules concerns information which, if provided, could prevent a potential relationship (e.g. business partnership, shidduch {marriage match}, hiring a worker) from materializing.



In these cases, Halachah differentiates between three situations:

(1) Where one suggests the relationship;



(2) Where one is called on to answer questions from one party concerning the other;



(3) Where one is in a position to volunteer information to either one of the parties about the other though it has not been requested.



These three situations involve different Torah commandments and therefore are to be dealt with using varying criteria.



When suggesting that someone consider entering into a relationship with someone else, one must be mindful of the commandment Lifnei ivair lo sitain michshol, Before a blind person do not place a stumbling block (Vayikra 19:14), which our Sages interpret as an admonition not to offer aitza sheaino hogenes, advice which is not proper.



It is absolutely forbidden to suggest someone as a possible employee, business partner, or marriage partner if one is aware that:



(1) Objectively speaking, it may not be good for the people involved,

or (2) it does not satisfy the subjective needs and tastes of both parties.



Not only is it cruel to subject people to situations that are bad for them, it is also wrong to involve the unsuspecting in relationships they would not have wanted had they known the facts.

Examples of this rule will be discussed below.





SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON



The Sons of Korach



The sons of Korach were not drawn after their father’s rebellious ways, and thus were saved from the terrible punishment which befell him. As the Midrash comments (Yalkut Shimoni, Parashas Korach, ch. 16):



Praiseworthy is the man (Tehillim 1:1): These are the sons of Korach. ...



that walks not in the counsel of the wicked: who did not follow their father’s counsel, as it is written, “[Moshe told the people:] ‘Turn away now from the tents of these wicked men ...’ ” (Bamidbar 16:26).



... and stood not in the path of the sinful: as it is written, “As for the fire-pans of these sinners against their [own] souls” (ibid. 17:3).



... and sat not in the sessions of scoffers: This refers to Korach who scorned Moshe and Aharon.



The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 752) relates that at one point the sons of Korach were in a dilemma. They were sitting with their father when Moshe appeared. They said to one another: “What shall we do? If we rise out of respect for Moshe, we will, in effect, be showing disrespect for our father, and we are commanded to honor father and mother. If we do not rise, we will have transgressed the command to rise before a sage.’’ They decided to rise out of respect for Moshe. It was in this merit that they were saved, for at that moment thoughts of repentance stirred in their hearts. Regarding them did David say, “My heart is astir with a good theme” (Tehillim 45:2).
 
A Lesson A Day - Day 81 - Breaking up a Harmful Friendship
12.24.05 (2:19 am)   [edit]
A Lesson A Day
21 Kislev, 5766/ December 22, 2005




SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM


Day 81 – Breaking up a Harmful Friendship



Another form of constructive speech is that which prevents or breaks up a relationship that is harmful to at least one of the parties. It is correct to suggest that someone distance himself from a person or persons who may have a negative influence upon him. Similarly, it is proper to inform a parent that someone may be having a negative influence on his child. All preconditions must, of course, be fulfilled – including verification of fact constructive intent (see Days 43-50). If the information is not firsthand it may nevertheless be conveyed, provided that it is clearly being presented as secondhand information.



With regard to the requirement of accuracy of the information, the Chofetz Chaim(1) suggests that exaggeration may be permissible if that is the only way to convince the person or parent to end the relationship.



The Chofetz Chaim adds that it is imperative to explain why conveying the information does not constitute speaking loshon hora, especially when speaking to a child.



SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON



Father and Son



Even if the quarreler is one’s close relative, including his own father, he should, nevertheless, be exceedingly careful not to join the feud.



Even if it appears that one’s father is correct in his contentions, one should seek to quell the dispute, rather than to strengthen his father’s hand against his adversary. Aside from the mitzvah of making peace between Jews, one should realize that it is impossible to see things objectively when one of the parties involved is one’s parent. Sifre interprets the phrase, “...your friend who is like your own soul” (Devarim 13:7) as a reference to one’s father, whom one loves like his own self. Thus, deciding between the positions of one’s father and his adversary is akin to deciding between the positions of oneself and one’s own adversary.



If a father instructs his son to assist him in his dispute, his order must not be obeyed. For, as the halachah states (Yoreh De’ah 240:15), if a father commands his son to transgress even a Rabbinic decree, his order must be ignored, for both father and son are obligated to honor the word of Hashem. This is especially true with regard to the severe sin of engaging in strife.
 
A Lesson A Day - Day 80 - Learning from Others' Mistakes
12.24.05 (2:11 am)   [edit]
A Lesson A Day
20 Kislev, 5766 / December 21, 2005




SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM


Day 80 – Learning from Others’ Mistakes



We have seen (Day 11) that it is forbidden to discuss someone’s faults even with people who are aware of these deficiencies, for to focus on a person’s weaknesses is lowly.



However, when teaching or offering guidance, one may make use of real-life illustrations of improper behavior in other people and even refer to those people by name, provided that the listeners are already familiar with the behavior of these people. The use of actual situations to which the listener can relate will deliver a message that mere discussion cannot convey. Reference to negativity here is constructive and is not considered lowly.



Therefore, it is permissible to make reference to the life-style of a non-observant Jew to emphasize weaknesses in his behavior and its consequences, though his lack of observance is rooted in ignorance. However, one should be careful not to condemn the person.



One may not use examples from the past history of a baal teshuva without his permission. Constructive intent is not a license for possible embarrassment.



It is also wrong to use examples from the lifestyles of different ethnic groups within the Jewish nation unless it is clear that neither speaker nor listener is unsympathetic towards that group.





SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON



The Pursuer’s Lot



Scripture states: “God always seeks the pursued” (Koheles 3:15).



The Midrash comments (Vayikra Rabbah 27:5):



R’ Yose ben Nehurai said: The Holy One, Blessed is He, always exacts retribution from the pursuers for the blood of the pursued.



R’ Elazar said in the name of R’ Yose ben Zimra: So it is with Temple offerings. God said: The ox is pursued by the lion, the goat by the leopard, the sheep by the wolf; do not bring offerings from the pursuers, but only from the pursued.



One must refrain from assisting in a feud, lest Hashem hold him accountable for the hurt caused the other party. Rather than anticipate the glory of triumph when his side emerges victorious, let him instead picture the shame and retribution that may be his lot.



One who scrupulously avoids dispute is truly honored by others, as it is written, “It is an honor for a man to refrain from quarreling” (Mishlei 20:3). The Midrash comments (Yalkut HaMechiri, Mishlei 26:14): If personal dignity demands that one refrain from becoming involved in personal feud, then certainly it demands that one avoid becoming entangled in someone else’s feud! Of those who take the opposite path, Scripture states: “Like someone who grabs hold of a dog’s ears is a passerby who becomes involved in a quarrel not his own” (Mishlei 26:17).1



1. The man who grabs hold of a dog’s ears has only himself to blame for the bite that is sure to come (Rashi).
 
A7 News: Polls Show Sharon to Appoint 1/3 of Knesset
12.23.05 (10:15 am)   [edit]
Bethlehem Tourism is Up, But Media Blame Israel

By Hillel Fendel

Media around the world are painting a grim picture of Bethlehem a few days before Christmas - and blaming it on Israel.


HonestReporting.com cites sample articles from the New Statesman and the Baltimore Sun. According to the Sun,
"A towering wall of gray concrete slabs, 30 feet high, cuts across what was once the main road into this town from Jerusalem. Just inside the barrier, past a new Israeli security terminal, a once-bustling neighborhood has become a ghost town. Shops are shuttered or empty, and the streets are deserted."

Buried several paragraphs later is the fact that tourism to Bethlehem is actually up:
"Figures kept by the Bethlehem Municipality show a rebound in tourist visits... the numbers have climbed steadily since [2002], reaching 100,000 in 2004 and 252,000 this year."

Yet this does not stop the paper from writing, just two paragraphs later,
"The deteriorating economy [emphasis added] has led to a steady exodus of the city's Christian residents, once a majority and now estimated at about 35 percent of the total population of 30,000."

The Statesman claims,
"The flicker of optimism has been dampened by the completion of the barrier around Bethlehem and the installation of the gate, which has given a sense of permanence to the isolation and the economy's free fall. The crossing is daunting even for tourists who are searched on their coaches as they enter Bethlehem."

HonestReporting notes that according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, each one of these points is factually incorrect:

* There is no barrier that completely encircles Bethlehem. A fence exists only where the Bethlehem area interfaces with Jerusalem, and only a very small segment of the fence is a concrete wall, which prevents terrorists from shooting at Israeli motorists.

* The economy has actually improved significantly. Tourism has doubled compared to last year, and Bethlehem's main industries are also up: Textiles by 50%, stone and marble export by 40%, and commercial transportation 20%. These increases have brought millions of dollars into the local economy.

* The IDF has decided to take a "calculated risk" to make access easier for tourists. IDF Lt.-Col. Aviv Feigel said, "The military will try to speed the process by not checking every tourist bus, but conducting spot checks of random buses instead."

The New Statesman also raps Israel for pushing Christians out of Bethlehem. But as FrontPage magazine points out, it is actually the Muslims who have been forcing the city's Christian residents to leave:

"The Vatican, in a rare diplomatic move, called publicly on the Israelis to intervene in Bethlehem on behalf of its severely receding Christian population. Now totaling less than 12% of Bethlehem's population, Christians, who have been the targets of continual PA violence, might leave entirely."

Just this week, some 20 Fatah Al-Aqsa gunmen disrupted Christmas preparations in Bethlehem, taking over the municipality building across from the Church of Nativity and demanding police jobs or payment from the Palestinian Authority. Click here for a detailed report on Muslim violence against Christians that is largely ignored by the media.

HonestReporting did not cite BBC, which reported on Thursday on the financial hardships of a Bethlehem Christian named Nasim Bannoura. The BBC report concluded, "Curfews, closures and the newly-built West Bank barrier have cut him off from business in Jerusalem."

Only towards the end of the report is it stated, "A few Christians speak privately of harassment, Muslims seizing Christian land and the fear of speaking out against radical groups" - but this is followed immediately by, "But many others say they live like brothers with their Muslim neighbours, sharing the struggle against Israeli occupation."

Israel Army Radio reported Friday that Israel will institute special shuttle buses to Bethlehem this weekend, in order to ease travel for tourists. "The number of holiday tourists to Bethlehem is expected to be lower than usual this year," the report stated, "because of the continuing tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and tensions between various factions in the Palestinian Authority itself."
 
A7News: Pinner Remains in Prison
12.23.05 (10:13 am)   [edit]
Pinner Remains in Prison

By Hillel Fendel

Daniel Pinner of Kfar Tapuach, imprisoned since June on charges that his self-defense shots wounded a Gush Katif Arab, will remain in prison for at least another month, a High Court justice ruled.


Though the evidence against him is weak, his attorney Baruch Ben-Yosef says, no judge in Israel has beeen willing to release him even to a form of house arrest. The latest to hear an appeal on this issue was Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Rivlin, Thursday, Dec. 22. "It looked at first like he saw through the whole story [and would release him to house arrest]," Ben-Yosef said, "but in the end, the usual happened... [The judge] said that the case is almost over, and things like that."

"My client admits that he fired," Ben-Yosef sums up the case, "but not at the Arab in question - and there is no proof that it was his bullet that hit him."

Pinner, 38 and unmarried, was in Gush Katif to volunteer his services as a licensed electrician in refurbishing the Palm Beach Hotel in the last weeks of the the Jewish presence there. He was taking a walk on the beach when "about 50 Arabs throwing rocks attacked me," he recently told IsraelNationalRadio's Avi Hyman. "I was carrying an Uzi, so I shot in the air. After a few yards they began throwing rocks again, so I fired several more shots in the air. The Arabs then backed off, and I went back to the hotel. Four days later I was arrested at home, with the police claiming that I had shot one of the Arabs and wounded him. First they said in the chest, later it turned out that there was an Arab who claimed to have been shot in the leg. Because of that I am in jail almost six months."

Pinner insists that his life was "clearly in danger."

The case is being heard by Be'er Sheva District Court Justice Rachel Barkai. In this week's hearing, she told both sides to present written summations - unless they wanted to limit themselves to a 10-minute oral presentation. Both sides said that ten minutes would be far from sufficient to sum up a months-long case. The prosecution will therefore present its summation within ten days, followed ten days later by the defense. A verdict is expected on January 24.

Asked earlier this month why he thinks he is still in prison despite his innocence, Pinner said, "At every stage the judges continue to claim that I am a danger to society. I think the real reason I am still in jail is that at the very first hearing, all those months ago, I was denied any legal representation, held incommunicado for five days, and there was a total news blackout on the basis of a request from the Shabak [General Security Service]... My arrest was extended ten days originally, then fifteen and so on and so on, based on a secret Shabak report which I have not seen and probably will never see."

Daniel Pinner said he would appreciate messages from supporters via voicemail at 03-906-8079 (+972-3-906-8079 from outside Israel) or by regular mail at: Daniel Pinner- Maasiyahu Prison, POB 13 72100, Disengagement Wing. He asks for prayers for Daniel Moshe Tzvi ben (son of) Channah Malka Fayge.
 
A7News: Katif: Isreal Pays to Clear Debris, Expellees Meet with Katzav
12.23.05 (10:11 am)   [edit]
Katif: Israel Pays to Clear Debris, Expellees Meet With Katzav

By Hillel Fendel

Israel has agreed to pay nearly $25 million to the UN to clear the debris remaining from the destroyed homes of Gush Katif... Gush Katif expellees held a positive meeting with President Katzav...


The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was asked to undertake the rehabilitation project of what was Gush Katif by the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Quartet. With more than 1.2 million tons of debris and rubble to be cleared and recycled, the project will cost US $24.7 million - underwritten totally by the Government of Israel. It will take an estimated 18 months to complete, and will employ several hundred PA workers. The concrete and metal debris cleared from the site will be milled and recycled for use as road paving and building materials.

The money will presumably also be used to clear the debris of the synagogues and greenhouses that the Arabs themselves destroyed.

MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), who voted for the Disengagement in the Knesset and against its delay, told Arutz-7, "We shouldn't have paid anything; they should thank us for what we left them. For Israel to pay is absurd, but unfortunately, we caved in all the way during these negotiations, simply in order to get this diplomatic achievement. I'd like to see the U.S. pay for what it did in Afghanistan... It's humiliating and irrational."

Shteinitz said the issue was discussed several months ago in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which he heads, and that he said the same things then.

This past Monday, President Moshe Katzav met with representatives of the destroyed Jewish communities and - at the Gush Katif residents' demand - directors of various government ministries.

The residents presented four main problems:
* heavy unemployment,
* the lack of agricultural plots for nearly all of the former farmers,
* the lack compensation for children who lived in Gush Katif and wish to build in their old/new communities,
* and the lack of funding for their communal frameworks.

The government officials said that in most cases, their hands are tied by the Evacuation/Compensation Law. President Katzav asked them to work to have the law changed, but to find other solutions in the interim. He suggested that the Ministry directors adopt the model utilized by the Education Ministry, which employs a community representative as a liaison between the town and its schools. The Agriculture Ministry's Director accepted the idea on the spot.

Prime Minister's Office Director Ilan Cohen said that as of January 1, the communities will receive funding. The residents say that most of the uprooted residents continue to live in their communal frameworks, yet money for synagogues, mikvaot, secretariat leaders (mayors), youth directors, welfare employees, culture directors and the like has not been provided since the expulsion.
 
A7News: Violence Against Jews Continues Worldwide
12.23.05 (10:08 am)   [edit]
Violence Against Jews Continues Worldwide

By Ezra HaLevi

Though many of them have only appeared on page 2 of local Jewish papers, a wave of anti-Jewish attacks continues around the globe. In recent weeks...


* In Australia, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry's annual report points to Jews there increasingly being verbally abused and physically attacked. "There were 332 incidents of anti-Jewish assault, vandalism, intimidation and harassment in the past 12 months," according to the report. Among the incidents reported were arson attacks on synagogues, vandalism and Nazi graffiti on property, assaults on Jewish men by unknown assailants, and vandalism of Jewish schools and synagogues.

* A 16-year-old British Jew was attacked with a knife in Manchester last week. His ear was slashed and his assailant shouted anti-Jewish slogans as he attacked him. A local rabbi chased the attacker.

* A French court sentenced a 25-year-old man last week to three years in jail for vandalizing a cemetery with Nazi graffiti and anti-Jewish slogans.

* Three teens in Swampscott, Massachusetts have been charged with hate crimes after burning a van belonging to a local Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue. The same Chabad synagogue was broken into in October and anti-Jewish graffiti was scrawled inside the sanctuary.

* A large menorah was torn down and stomped to pieces by a group of vandals at a South Philadelphia community center last week. The community says it will put up a newer and brighter Chanukah menorah to replace it.

* An anti-Jewish TV program called "America is a Changing Country” was aired on cable access television in Maryland. The program, produced by the National Alliance neo-Nazi group, blames “Jewish media” for urban decay and the denigration of "Aryan values."

* Thousands of fans of Hungary's Ujpest FC soccer team chanted anti-Jewish slogans during a league match last month when the team played against MTK Budapest, a team with Hungarian Jewish roots.

* In Salt Lake City, Utah, a plaque featuring a quote by Rabbi Eric Silver was defaced. The plaque, part of the Judge Memorial Religious Freedom Shrine, featured the words: "Upon his deeds not his ideas does G-d's favor rest on man.'' Vandals scratched out the words "G-d" and "Rabbi" and added the words, "Jews suck." Rabbi Silver said, ``It is unfortunate that in times that we'd like to regard as enlightened this sort of thing can still occur."

* In Peru, Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein, rabbi of Lima's only Conservative synagogue, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency of a significant rise in attacks on the country's small Jewish community. Bronstein attributed the rise in attacks to the increase in neo-Nazi groups and the perception that the Jews have disproportionate influence in the government.

* Jews in the South Tottenham area of London have reported that they live in constant fear of violent attacks, citing several recent cases of unprovoked assaults on outwardly Orthodox Jews.

* According to a report released last week, the regimes in the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Syria promoted Holocaust-denial or defended Holocaust-deniers over the past year. Iran and Egypt have each been in the headlines several times in recent months for similar government statements and activities. Just Thursday, the head of Egypt`s Muslim Brotherhood said that the Holocaust is a "myth."

Efraim Zuroff, director of the Israeli branch of the Nazi watchdog group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, warned, "There's no question that a very ugly wave of Holocaust denial is sweeping the Arab world."

Also on Thursday, a man was put on trial in Austria for publicly swearing allegiance to Adolf Hitler. A French group was reported to be distributing pork soup to homeless in a bid to exclude Jews and Muslims from benefiting from their magnanimity.
 
A7News: Polls Show Sharon to Appoint 1/3 of Knesset
12.23.05 (10:07 am)   [edit]
Polls Show: Ariel Sharon to Appoint One-Third of the Knesset

By Hillel Fendel

Though Israel is officially a democracy, Ariel Sharon appears to be in the unique position of being able to determine, all by himself, a full third of the upcoming Knesset.


When he quit the Likud and announced the formation of his new party last month, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon explained that as the party did not yet have institutions, he himself would set the party's list of Knesset candidates. With polls currently giving his party approximately one-third of the 120-member Knesset, it appears that he has the sole power of determining the identities of a significant number of members of Israel's 17th Knesset.

The issue comes to the fore with the reported tension in the party between Finance Minister Ehud Olmert and Justice Minister Tzippy Livny, both of whom wish to be appointed to the #2 slot. The matter has now been complicated by Shimon Peres' announcement that he, too, is leaning towards joining the list after all.

Peres originally said, when he quit Labor and joined Kadima several weeks ago, that he would not run for a Knesset list - but is now reconsidering. (Peres' flip-flop was reminiscent of his announcement two years ago, upon assuming the position of Temporary Chairman of the Labor Party, that he would not run for the permanent post - which he did, losing two months ago to Amir Peretz.)

Sharon must name 120 people to his list of Knesset candidates, knowing that the slot he personally chooses for each one will determine whether s/he becomes one of Israel's lawmakers or not. The higher on the list each candidate is, the more chances s/he has of entering the Knesset. If the party receives 30% of the popular vote, for instance, then it will have (roughly) 30% of the Knesset Members.

Other large parties choose their Knesset Members more democratically. In the Likud, on the other hand, the list is chosen in a vote of the 3,000 members of the party's Central Committee. That vote is currently scheduled for January 9, 2006. In Labor, the entire party membership throughout the country will choose the party's candidates, on Jan. 17.

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, asked his opinion on Sharon's power to name MKs, said, "It's very negative. But in truth, I can't blame Sharon - it looks like one-third of the voters in Israel are willing to swallow this and vote for Kadima..."

Polls show that Sharon's Kadima party continues to hold a landslide lead over the other parties. If elections were held today, Kadima would receive 39-40 seats, while Labor would receive 19-22, and the Likud - 12-15.
 
A7News: Violence Against Jews Continues Worldwide
12.23.05 (6:57 am)   [edit]
Violence Against Jews Continues Worldwide

By Ezra HaLevi

Though many of them have only appeared on page 2 of local Jewish papers, a wave of anti-Jewish attacks continues around the globe. In recent weeks...


* In Australia, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry's annual report points to Jews there increasingly being verbally abused and physically attacked. "There were 332 incidents of anti-Jewish assault, vandalism, intimidation and harassment in the past 12 months," according to the report. Among the incidents reported were arson attacks on synagogues, vandalism and Nazi graffiti on property, assaults on Jewish men by unknown assailants, and vandalism of Jewish schools and synagogues.

* A 16-year-old British Jew was attacked with a knife in Manchester last week. His ear was slashed and his assailant shouted anti-Jewish slogans as he attacked him. A local rabbi chased the attacker.

* A French court sentenced a 25-year-old man last week to three years in jail for vandalizing a cemetery with Nazi graffiti and anti-Jewish slogans.

* Three teens in Swampscott, Massachusetts have been charged with hate crimes after burning a van belonging to a local Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue. The same Chabad synagogue was broken into in October and anti-Jewish graffiti was scrawled inside the sanctuary.

* A large menorah was torn down and stomped to pieces by a group of vandals at a South Philadelphia community center last week. The community says it will put up a newer and brighter Chanukah menorah to replace it.

* An anti-Jewish TV program called "America is a Changing Country” was aired on cable access television in Maryland. The program, produced by the National Alliance neo-Nazi group, blames “Jewish media” for urban decay and the denigration of "Aryan values."

* Thousands of fans of Hungary's Ujpest FC soccer team chanted anti-Jewish slogans during a league match last month when the team played against MTK Budapest, a team with Hungarian Jewish roots.

* In Salt Lake City, Utah, a plaque featuring a quote by Rabbi Eric Silver was defaced. The plaque, part of the Judge Memorial Religious Freedom Shrine, featured the words: "Upon his deeds not his ideas does G-d's favor rest on man.'' Vandals scratched out the words "G-d" and "Rabbi" and added the words, "Jews suck." Rabbi Silver said, ``It is unfortunate that in times that we'd like to regard as enlightened this sort of thing can still occur."

* In Peru, Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein, rabbi of Lima's only Conservative synagogue, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency of a significant rise in attacks on the country's small Jewish community. Bronstein attributed the rise in attacks to the increase in neo-Nazi groups and the perception that the Jews have disproportionate influence in the government.

* Jews in the South Tottenham area of London have reported that they live in constant fear of violent attacks, citing several recent cases of unprovoked assaults on outwardly Orthodox Jews.

* According to a report released last week, the regimes in the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Syria promoted Holocaust-denial or defended Holocaust-deniers over the past year. Iran and Egypt have each been in the headlines several times in recent months for similar government statements and activities. Just Thursday, the head of Egypt`s Muslim Brotherhood said that the Holocaust is a "myth."

Efraim Zuroff, director of the Israeli branch of the Nazi watchdog group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, warned, "There's no question that a very ugly wave of Holocaust denial is sweeping the Arab world."

Also on Thursday, a man was put on trial in Austria for publicly swearing allegiance to Adolf Hitler. A French group was reported to be distributing pork soup to homeless in a bid to exclude Jews and Muslims from benefiting from their magnanimity.
 
A7News: Ariel Sharon to Appoint One-Third of teh Knesset
12.23.05 (6:55 am)   [edit]
Polls Show: Ariel Sharon to Appoint One-Third of the Knesset

By Hillel Fendel

Though Israel is officially a democracy, Ariel Sharon appears to be in the unique position of being able to determine, all by himself, a full third of the upcoming Knesset.


When he quit the Likud and announced the formation of his new party last month, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon explained that as the party did not yet have institutions, he himself would set the party's list of Knesset candidates. With polls currently giving his party approximately one-third of the 120-member Knesset, it appears that he has the sole power of determining the identities of a significant number of members of Israel's 17th Knesset.

The issue comes to the fore with the reported tension in the party between Finance Minister Ehud Olmert and Justice Minister Tzippy Livny, both of whom wish to be appointed to the #2 slot. The matter has now been complicated by Shimon Peres' announcement that he, too, is leaning towards joining the list after all.

Peres originally said, when he quit Labor and joined Kadima several weeks ago, that he would not run for a Knesset list - but is now reconsidering. (Peres' flip-flop was reminiscent of his announcement two years ago, upon assuming the position of Temporary Chairman of the Labor Party, that he would not run for the permanent post - which he did, losing two months ago to Amir Peretz.)

Sharon must name 120 people to his list of Knesset candidates, knowing that the slot he personally chooses for each one will determine whether s/he becomes one of Israel's lawmakers or not. The higher on the list each candidate is, the more chances s/he has of entering the Knesset. If the party receives 30% of the popular vote, for instance, then it will have (roughly) 30% of the Knesset Members.

Other large parties choose their Knesset Members more democratically. In the Likud, on the other hand, the list is chosen in a vote of the 3,000 members of the party's Central Committee. That vote is currently scheduled for January 9, 2006. In Labor, the entire party membership throughout the country will choose the party's candidates, on Jan. 17.

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, asked his opinion on Sharon's power to name MKs, said, "It's very negative. But in truth, I can't blame Sharon - it looks like one-third of the voters in Israel are willing to swallow this and vote for Kadima..."

Polls show that Sharon's Kadima party continues to hold a landslide lead over the other parties. If elections were held today, Kadima would receive 39-40 seats, while Labor would receive 19-22, and the Likud - 12-15.
 
Weekly Kolel Study: Shabbat VaYeishev for Dec. 24, 2005
12.22.05 (11:29 am)   [edit]
Want to know the true story of Chanukah? Refresh your memory on Chanukah customs? Or check out contemporary approaches to celebrating our mid-winter festival of lights. Kolel Chanukah pages





Parashat VaYeishev (Gen. 37:1-40:23), for Dec. 23, 2005
Study this week's parasha with Baruch Sienna





In order to receive charitable tax receipts for 2005,
donations must be received by December 31st.
You can easily donate to Kolel online by clicking below:


With great power comes great responsibility.

Study with Baruch Sienna

This year's cycle of weekly Parasha study explores what connections and insight we can find by examining the Torah portion together with the Haftarah.

OUR HAFTARAH TEXT

People of Israel,
hear this word the Eternal has spoken about you,
about the whole crowd that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

You alone have I known of all the families of the earth--
therefore I will punish you for all you iniquities.
Amos 3:1,2

INTRODUCTION & CONNECTION
The book of Genesis now begins its final episode: the extended novella of the Joseph narrative. The haftarah from the prophet Amos begins with a list of the sins of Israel. The first example, selling the righteous (tzaddik) for silver, echoes the brothers who sell Joseph (called Yosef Hatzaddik in rabbinic literature) for silver. His second example of a man and son who go to the same woman recalls the story of Judah who sleeps with his son's wife, Tamar.

HISTORICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Amos is the first of the 'literary' prophets. He lived and prophesied around 784-748 B.C.E. during the reign of King Jeroboam. Like Moses, Amos was a 'reluctant' prophet. That is, he described himself as a sheep breeder and tended sycomore figs and was called by God to proclaim a message warning of Israel's destruction. He prophesied in the Northern Kingdom of Israel against the immoral practices that he saw. His message was the classic prophetic message: that rituals and religious piety do not have God's approval when there is inequity between people and social injustice.

OUR COMMENTARY
Judaism has never valued asceticism, and if one can afford good things, there is no sin in enjoying life. We don't have to suffer. At the same time, we must be careful that our enjoyment does not become the be-all and end-all. Those of us who are blessed with a high standard of living know that we should do more for those in the world without clean water, enough food or decent housing even though we don't always put that knowledge into practice.

Amos, a peasant coming from Judah, is similarly disturbed by the ill treatment of the poor. He is shocked by the lifestyle of the rich and famous in Israel's north country. His listeners were probably annoyed by his message, thinking, 'Hey, we're comfortable. Don't bother us.' But he wouldn't relent, and in passionate language, he castigates those hypocrites who exploit the poor. We think our situation is different; we don't enjoy our privileged life on the backs of the poor and the disadvantaged. Unless you've read 'No logo' by Naomi Klein and realize that the clothes we wear and the sneakers we buy are being produced by workers (often children) in Bangladesh under inhumane conditions and with no rights. I remember creative Youth group services with the climactic verse from Amos (regrettably not included in our Haftarah), "Let justice well up like water, righteousness like a raging stream" (Amos 6:24).

The job of Rabbis today, they say, is to 'comfort the afflicted' and 'afflict the comfortable.' And as we are in full swing of the season of consumer shopping, it is hard, but maybe more necessary than ever, to hear the message that the goal in life is not more 'stuff.' It is a challenge to teach children to understand the difference between: I need, and I want. (The sentence from your teenager: "I really need the new iPod nano" should be corrected to: "I really want the new iPod.")

A few weeks ago (Parashat Lech Lecha) we talked about the possible meanings of 'being chosen.' The prophet Amos says something different: Being chosen means being accountable to a higher standard: You alone have I known of all the families of the earth--therefore I will punish you for all you iniquities. . As Peter Parker's Uncle Ben teaches him, "With great power, comes great responsibility." Amos might have said, "With great affluence, comes great social responsibility." It's a message suitable for all of us, not just those with Spiderman's super powers.

I always feel like Scrooge at this time of year. Not that I mind the religious Christian celebration of Christmas; I realize that I live in a multicultural society. Rather it is the incessant marketing of mostly unnecessary products that irritates me. While we're celebrating the light of Chanukah and our freedom, one of our Chanukah gifts one night should be a donation to any number of charitable causes (Veahavta, Mazon) that increase social justice in the world. (Remember that donations made before Dec. 31 apply to this year's income tax deductions). See Rabbi Jeremy Schwart'z suggestions on our Chanukah pages for reflections and contemporary approaches to making each night special without presents every night.

Especially looking back at the untold suffering caused this past year by the natural disasters that affected so many, helping to heal the world would make the candles glow just a bit brighter.

Shabbat Shalom & Chanukah Same'ach
 
Rabbi's Notebook - Parhshas Vayeishev - The Whole & The Part - Part I
12.22.05 (11:20 am)   [edit]
Rabbi's Notebook Parshas Vayeishev 5766
The Whole and The Part - Part I

After Yakov's encounter with Eisav, he crossed over the border and returned to the land of Canaan. The Torah recorded in last week's Parsha that the first place he chose to settle was the area of Shechem. (33:18-19) "And Yakov came 'whole' to the city of Shechem... and he camped outside of the city. He then purchased the field where he had pitched his tent from the family of Chamor the father of Shechem..."

The Shem Meshmuel makes the following observation. Avraham, upon entering Canaan for the first time, went to Shechem (12:6). Yakov, upon returning to Canaan, first went to Shechem. Yehoshua, upon crossing the Yarden for the first time, led the Bnai Yisroel (Sons of Israel) directly to Shechem (the ceremony at the twin mountains Ayval and Grizim). Additionally, Shechem proved to be a place of great significance in other ways. Dina was violated in Shechem. The brothers sold Yoseph into slavery in Shechem; and the split between the kingdoms of Yehudah and Yisroel, (North and the South) took place in Shechem.

The Shem Meshmuel explains that the word Shechem means, "portion - part of the whole." Shechem was a place that could inspire tremendous unity or disunity. The reason that Avraham, Yakov, and Yehoshua "first planted the flag" in the area of Shechem was to establish from the outset that their
purpose in living in the Promised Land was to reinforce the whole by embracing their responsibilities for creating the whole.

The part in relation to the whole can be viewed in two opposing ways. On the one hand, the part is primary and the whole functions as the means or support for the part. On the other hand, the part is important only in its capacity to complement and complete the whole. It is the whole that is primary and the part that supports the whole. Shechem was a location that presented either choice. It could inspire the part to see itself as primary and the whole as secondary and it could inspire the part to see
the whole as primary and itself as secondary.

Eretz Yisroel (Land of Israel) is not like any other land. It is a land that responds to its inhabitants by either aiding or hindering their exclusive mission. It can aid its inhabitants by giving its natural resources to strengthen the nation's economy and well-being. It can hinder its inhabitants by denying them its natural resources making the natural environment inhospitable and challenging. When Avraham, Yakov, and Yehoshua entered Eretz Yisroel they recognized the importance of the moment. They understood that their being in the land could mean success or failure and they had to be clear as to their intentions. If their intentions were to serve Hashem (G-d) and aid in the creation of the whole, they would be successful; if not, the land would deny their attempts at settling and cultivating. The Land would chase them away.

This basic concept of the symbiotic relationship between the nation and land is not new. From the very beginning of time the relationship between human behavior and the availability of natural resources was made clear.

Adam and Chava had a perfect world that took care of them. Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) left them free to focus solely on understanding G-d and His intentions for humanity. Once they sinned Adam and Chava were chased out of Gan Eden and humanities struggle with nature began. To the extent that they listened to G-d was the extent to which nature gave over its largess and bounty.

The Mabul made the symbiotic relationship between human and nature even more direct. To the extent that the human is responsible for creating and maintaining the whole of nature (the experience in the Tayvah (ark) by caring for all the animals) is the extent to which the whole of nature will support humanity in its endeavor to rise above animal and embrace its own divine image.

The destruction of society with the Tower of Baval further underscored the symbiotic relationship between human, nature, and devotion to Hashem. If humanity devotes itself to Hashem, nature will support its social constructions. However, if humanity unites in opposition to G-d nature will respond by destroying the foundation of that society and dispersing its members to the four corners of the earth.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah soon after the fall of the Tower of Bavel (52 years) left an indelible scar on the perfection of the Land.

That utterly lifeless destruction proclaimed loud and clear that the Land will respond to its inhabitants in the most extreme way possible. It can be as the Garden of G-d or a pillar of salt. The choice is ours. If we serve Hashem and humanity the land will be as Gan Eden. If we choose to not serve Hashem and humanity it will become the scorched, infertile, and wasted landscape we recognize today. The Avos (patriarchs) knew this fundamental symbiotic relationship and embraced their responsibilities for maintaining the whole.

On a smaller but consistent scale were the Avos themselves. Each of them proved to be financially successful despite grave difficulties and challenges. Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov each did far more than survive. They rose to dominate their societies financially and spiritually. Clearly, they were living examples of the human / nature relationship. The Avos represented the importance of the part in relation to what it contributes to the whole.

For whatever reason the area of Shechem was the key to unlocking or locking Eretz Yisroel's potential to aid or hinder their destiny. It was the key to the land being a blessing or a curse. Rashi records that when Avraham went to Shechem and built his first Mizbeach (alter) "G-d showed him the mountains of Grizim and Ayval where his children would receive the oaths." Avraham knew that it was up to him and it would be up to them (his future descendants) to commit to success. Yakov as progenitor of the family returned to the land and immediately settled outside the city of Shechem.

He too understood that the success of their tenure in Eretz Yisroel was dependent on the commitment they would make in Shechem. When Yehoshua led the Bnai Yisroel across the Yarden (Jordan river) he was commanded to shepherd the nation to the foot of Har Grizim and Ayval. There, the nation would hear the blessings and the curses that was theirs for the choosing. They would have to proclaim loud and clear why they wanted to inherit the land. Being the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov was not enough. The right of inheritance was to those who would honor the conditions of the relationship. They would have to decide if they were to be the part, the portion, the Shechem that supported the whole; or, the part, portion, Shechem that considered the whole important only to the extent that it supported the part.

What is the part and what is the whole? To be more exact, what is the whole? We know what the part is. We are each a part. The nation is a part. But what are we a part of? To which whole are we responsible?

This week's Parsha, begins to define the whole and the part. The root meaning of the name Yoseph is to gather, to unify. Yoseph's strength according to the Shem Meshmuel was to unify his brothers into a cohesive whole. Each of the brothers presented unique characteristics essential for the whole of the Jewish nation. Yoseph was the one who was intended to rally them all in the cohesive whole of a family soon to be nation that could survive all that destiny would reveal.

Yoseph's mission is revealed on two accounts. First the manner in which the brothers related to him. Yoseph's job was to unify and the barriers he had to overcome were the brothers themselves. Secondly, the outcome of his personal destiny transcended the unification of a nation and embraced the unity of a world. He and he alone became the Mashbir, the provider of food for the starving masses.

Next week we will continue the discussion of the Whole and The Part by further exploring the uniqueness of Shechem as a place of Whole or Part.

Quick Review: Laws of Chanukah

Sunday night 12/25 through Sunday 1/1.

Hallel is said every morning and Al Hanisim is added to the Amidah and the Benching.

1. The Menorah should be lit 35 minutes after sunset and remain lit for at least 1/2 hr. On Friday the Menorah must be lit before the Shabbos candles and remain lit for at least 90 minutes.

2. Candles should be placed in the Menorah from right to left and lit from left to right.

3. Olive oil or wax candles are acceptable; however, olive oil is preferred. Electric or gas lights are unacceptable.

4. Each family member should light their own Menorah. A wife may light her own (there are differing opinions about whether she should or should not) and, if agreed upon, exempt her husband if he will not be home.

5. The Menorah should be placed in a location where it can be seen by both the family and the public. The best height is at 35'" to 40" off the floor, however safety must be a priority.

6. Brochos should be recited before lighting the Menorah. Talking is prohibited between the Brochos and the lighting.
 
From the Masters: Potentialize Your Opportunities
12.22.05 (9:53 am)   [edit]
POTENTIALIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
by Mark Victor Hansen


I remember watching the movie "Dead Poet's Society" when it was first released in the theatres. Robin Williams's character is a professor who wants his students to think for themselves, so he makes them stand on top of their desks to view things in a different way. That really stuck with me.

When you think about it, people hardly ever look at the world through their own eyes. They get their information filtered through the eyes of others, whether they're the eyes of the media, politicians, friends or family. But what looks like one thing to someone may look totally different to someone else. To really see what's going on in the world, to see what opportunities exist for us, we have to see the world through our own eyes in our own way.

We all need to recognize and potentialize opportunities when we see them. What do I mean by potentialize? When something has potential it has power, it expresses possibility, it is influential and effective.
_________________________ _________________________ _____

Marketing, Creating Wealth, Writing and Speaking!


Mark Victor Hansen is offering 6 of his best-selling programs at 40-60% less than he even sells them on his site (but only for a very limited time), also free shipping for the first 50 to order (see details online).

For complete descriptions of these programs click here or call 877-929-0439.
_________________________ _________________________ _____
As we go through each day we should be on the lookout for any situation that expresses possibility. Any situation. To attain the success you desire you have to recognize possibility everywhere and then stretch and flex your mind to create million-dollar ideas. And you're not limited to just one. The more you practice seeing the possible in daily life, the better you will become. Then you take those small possibilities and potentialize them and create great monetary abundance.

We all have the ability to potentialize opportunities and create phenomenal wealth. And the amazing thing is that there are multiple possibilities for potentalizing in every situation! Just because someone comes up with a new way to do something doesn't mean that there isn't yet another way to do it. We have each been blessed with individual characteristics and abilities that no one else has. We each have our own special way of doing things. And that means we each have the ability to potentialize in our own unique way.

'Be grateful for your problems, for they stimulate an 'I-can-solve-it' new attitude.'

Mark Victor Hansen
 
From the Masters: Potentialize Your Opportunities
12.22.05 (9:53 am)   [edit]
POTENTIALIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
by Mark Victor Hansen


I remember watching the movie "Dead Poet's Society" when it was first released in the theatres. Robin Williams's character is a professor who wants his students to think for themselves, so he makes them stand on top of their desks to view things in a different way. That really stuck with me.

When you think about it, people hardly ever look at the world through their own eyes. They get their information filtered through the eyes of others, whether they're the eyes of the media, politicians, friends or family. But what looks like one thing to someone may look totally different to someone else. To really see what's going on in the world, to see what opportunities exist for us, we have to see the world through our own eyes in our own way.

We all need to recognize and potentialize opportunities when we see them. What do I mean by potentialize? When something has potential it has power, it expresses possibility, it is influential and effective.
_________________________ _________________________ _____

Marketing, Creating Wealth, Writing and Speaking!


Mark Victor Hansen is offering 6 of his best-selling programs at 40-60% less than he even sells them on his site (but only for a very limited time), also free shipping for the first 50 to order (see details online).

For complete descriptions of these programs click here or call 877-929-0439.
_________________________ _________________________ _____
As we go through each day we should be on the lookout for any situation that expresses possibility. Any situation. To attain the success you desire you have to recognize possibility everywhere and then stretch and flex your mind to create million-dollar ideas. And you're not limited to just one. The more you practice seeing the possible in daily life, the better you will become. Then you take those small possibilities and potentialize them and create great monetary abundance.

We all have the ability to potentialize opportunities and create phenomenal wealth. And the amazing thing is that there are multiple possibilities for potentalizing in every situation! Just because someone comes up with a new way to do something doesn't mean that there isn't yet another way to do it. We have each been blessed with individual characteristics and abilities that no one else has. We each have our own special way of doing things. And that means we each have the ability to potentialize in our own unique way.

'Be grateful for your problems, for they stimulate an 'I-can-solve-it' new attitude.'

Mark Victor Hansen
 
From the Masters: Potentialize Your Opportunities
12.22.05 (9:52 am)   [edit]
POTENTIALIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES
by Mark Victor Hansen


I remember watching the movie "Dead Poet's Society" when it was first released in the theatres. Robin Williams's character is a professor who wants his students to think for themselves, so he makes them stand on top of their desks to view things in a different way. That really stuck with me.

When you think about it, people hardly ever look at the world through their own eyes. They get their information filtered through the eyes of others, whether they're the eyes of the media, politicians, friends or family. But what looks like one thing to someone may look totally different to someone else. To really see what's going on in the world, to see what opportunities exist for us, we have to see the world through our own eyes in our own way.

We all need to recognize and potentialize opportunities when we see them. What do I mean by potentialize? When something has potential it has power, it expresses possibility, it is influential and effective.
_________________________ _________________________ _____

Marketing, Creating Wealth, Writing and Speaking!


Mark Victor Hansen is offering 6 of his best-selling programs at 40-60% less than he even sells them on his site (but only for a very limited time), also free shipping for the first 50 to order (see details online).

For complete descriptions of these programs click here or call 877-929-0439.
_________________________ _________________________ _____
As we go through each day we should be on the lookout for any situation that expresses possibility. Any situation. To attain the success you desire you have to recognize possibility everywhere and then stretch and flex your mind to create million-dollar ideas. And you're not limited to just one. The more you practice seeing the possible in daily life, the better you will become. Then you take those small possibilities and potentialize them and create great monetary abundance.

We all have the ability to potentialize opportunities and create phenomenal wealth. And the amazing thing is that there are multiple possibilities for potentalizing in every situation! Just because someone comes up with a new way to do something doesn't mean that there isn't yet another way to do it. We have each been blessed with individual characteristics and abilities that no one else has. We each have our own special way of doing things. And that means we each have the ability to potentialize in our own unique way.

'Be grateful for your problems, for they stimulate an 'I-can-solve-it' new attitude.'

Mark Victor Hansen
 
Just Jew it - One-Minute Chanukah Movie
12.22.05 (6:52 am)   [edit]
Just Jew It
Aish.com's new one-minute Chanukah movie.
(Based on a true story)




http://www.aish.com/a/JustJewIt.asp" title="http://www.aish.com/a/JustJewIt.asp" target="_blank"http://www.aish.com/a/JustJew...
 
Podcast - Strategy for Becoming your Ideal Self
12.21.05 (8:51 am)   [edit]
Becoming the person you wish to be.


Click to listen: Strategy for Becoming Your Ideal Self


This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/ppg/ppgDe...
 
Ruth - Overcoming Dispair
12.21.05 (12:49 am)   [edit]
Overcoming Despair

So the came to Beth-lehem, that all the city was astir concerning them, and the women said: 'Is this Naomi?'

And she said unto them: 'Call me not Naomi (pleasant), call me Marah (bitter); for Shakkai dealt very bitterly with me.

I went out full, and HaShem hath brought me back home empty; why call you me Naomi, and HaShem testified against me, and Shad-dai afflicted me?'

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the field of Moab--and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

It is instructive to compare this anguished cry with the face that Naomi presented earlier to her daughters-in-law.

..nay, my daughters; for it grieves me much for your sakes, for the hand of HaShem is gone forth against me.(1:13)'

The name of God, Shad-dai is significant for it is rarely used in Tanach except in the book of Job. While the etymology of this name is not entirely clear, it appears to be related to the Hebrew word "shod" that signifies destruction and ruin (Ibn Ezra Exodus 6:3). The name Hashem, on the other hand, most often refers to God as friend and ally. Naomi showed faith and trust to her foreign daughters-in-law, her students, the lonely widows who looked to her for consolation, spiritual support and encouragement. To them she spoke of kind Hashem whose judgment one accepts because "all the Merciful One does is for the good". Undoubtedly she spoke the truth for she did accept God's reproof with gratitude. Deep inside, perhaps unawares, bitterness slowly grew and multiplied. Her defenses crumbled when she found herself surrounded by the faces of women who played with her as children, her relatives and kinsmen, and what she did not acknowledge came pouring out. Could she not bare her heart to these kind women with whom she shared so much and who were so much like she was?

Naomi forgot that ten years of suffering have taught her wisdom that her better off neighbors and relatives could not assimilate. True they suffered famine but they suffered it as a community and now God has blessed them with bounty. Naomi alone felt the hand of Shakkai and that made all the difference.

"Did the women have nothing to say in reply? Did they accept her, comfort her - or did they shy away, reject her? For at Naomi's side there stood her gentile daughter-in-law - the daughter of Moab, who had sinfully married Naomi's son. Perhaps Scripture tells us nothing here, because each woman in turn slunk silently to her own home. Shunned Naoi remained alone in the city square, and with her daughter in law, Ruth, the Moabite (Y. Bachrach, Mother of Royalty Feldheim, 1980, p. 60)". Naomi returned from Moab with an attitude the women could not assimilate or accept and by her side stood a Moabite girl who represented a morality that imminently threatened their homes and hearths. It was not so long ago that " Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto the Baal of Peor; and the anger of HaShem was kindled against Israel (Numbers 25:1-3)".

Did Naomi began to doubt the truth and validity of her own religious perception? Did she retreat into silence to allow her heart to sort out the truth that she felt but could not accept? Did she need time to elevate the feelings which unexpectedly broke through to her awareness at that moment? Did she need to make peace with Hashem who testified against her and with Shakkai who did not spare her, who took away Naomi and left behind a stranger called Marah?

The two lonely figures entered the city of Bethlehem and all her inhabitants were there to encounter them. The Sages variously say that they were gathered for a funeral of Boaz's wife or to reap the first barley offering. Two stragglers hesitantly walked into town. The city was astir about them both but the women spoke only to Naomi. No one spoke to Ruth, no one, not even Naomi.

"And when she (Naomi) saw that she (Ruth) was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her (1:18)." We don't know how long the silence lasted. We do know that this silence was broken by Ruth and not by Naomi. "And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi: 'Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find favour.' And she said unto her: 'Go, my daughter (2:2)."

It appears that men recognized the character and worthiness of Ruth. The men admired Ruth but the women shunned her. "And he (Boaz) said: 'Blessed be you of HaShem, my daughter; thou has shown more kindness in the end than at the beginning, inasmuch as you did not follow the young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to you all that you say; for all the men in the gate of my people do know that thou art a virtuous woman (3:11)."

This insight may explain the later curious change interchange between Naomi and Ruth. Ruth preferred to stay with the male reapers but Naomi could not understand why.

And Ruth the Moabitess said: 'Yea, he said unto me: Thou shalt keep fast by my young MEN, until they have ended all my harvest.'

And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law: 'It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his MAIDENS, and that thou be not met in any other field.'

So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law. (3:21-13)

Not until the very end of the book do we find women speaking positively of the Moabite stranger. "And the women said unto Naomi: for thy daughter-in-law, who loves thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him (3:14-15)." Yet even now they do not call her by name.

Things were certainly not easy for Ruth in her new chosen land and among the people she longed to call her own. Yet, she did not grow bitter. Ruth's resilience and perseverance is an important ingredient in the mix of character traits that earned her the opportunity to become the mother of Israelite royalty.

The Sages tells us that all the people of the town were gathered to ceremoniously reap the first stalks of barley in order to bring them as the Omer sacrifice (Ruth Rabba 4:2). What implication of the last verse of our chapter did they bring out with this comment?

The Omer sacrifice is always brought on the second day of Passover. It seems that on the day that the Jews left Egypt and witnessed God's judgment of Egypt they were granted profound spiritual insights. However, as it was gifted and not earned, all these insights were lost and by the day after, the second day of Passover, they descended back to their original lowly spiritual state. However, they did not despair. That day marked a long, slow climb back up the scale of self-improvement that culminated fifty days later with Revelation at Mount Sinai. The Omer sacrifice represents a victory of despair. It teaches us that even if we fail, even if we fall very, very far, even is we loose all the spiritual gains that we earned with such difficulty and self sacrifice, there is always a new beginning. We can, we must start again at the beginning and with optimism and hope we will again succeed (Idrei Tson).

R. Tsadok Hacohen writes that the Jewish nation began with Abraham and Sarah. Why was it necessary for these two paragons of virtue to suffer childlessness for so many years? It is, he writes, because the beginning of Jewish peoplehood had to start in despair so that the ability to overcome despair and grasp hope becomes a part of our national character.

Our people lives and survives against all expectations, even when every reckoning show that it is doomed. It is above natural law for it is guided by the hand of the Almighty Himself. In this lies the great and true expectation for the deliverance of Israel and in it an individual draws a lesson for overcoming adversity and gaining hope.

"So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the field of Moab--and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest."
 
Today in Judaism: Tuesday, Dec 20, 2005
12.20.05 (6:06 pm)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 19, 5766 * December 20, 2005

========================= ========
T O D A Y I N J U D A I S M
========================= ========

* Laws * Customs * Jewish History * Daily Quote * Daily Study *

Today is: Tuesday, Kislev 19, 5766
Yud-Tes Kislev - "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism"

======================
Today's Laws & Customs
======================

. "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism"; begin Tanya study cycle

Chassidim joyfully celebrate today and tomorrow as the Rosh Hashanah ("new year") of Chassidism (see "Today in Jewish History"), with farbrengens [http://www.chabad.org/2216] (Chassidic gatherings) and an increased commitment to the ways and teachings of Chassidism. Tachnun (supplication) and similar prayers are omitted. We begin anew the yearly cycle of the daily study of the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman's major Chassidic work (as part of the "Chitas" daily study [http://www.chabad.org/6207] program.)

Links: The Longer Shorter Way [http://www.chabad.org/63843]; Today's Tanya Lesson [http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...]


=======================
Today in Jewish History
=======================

. Passing of Maggid (1772)

Rabbi DovBer, known as "The Maggid of Mezeritch", was the disciple of, and successor to, the founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi DovBer led the Chassidic movement from 1761 until his passing on Kislev 19, 1772.

Link: About Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch [http://www.chabad.org/search/...]


. Liberation of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1798)

On the 19th of Kislev of the year 5559 from creation (1798), Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi -- a leading disciple of Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch (see previous entry) and the founder of Chabad Chassidism -- was released from his imprisonment in the Peter-Paul fortress in Petersburg, where he was held for 52 days on charges that his teachings threatened the imperial authority of the Czar. More than a personal liberation, this was a watershed event in the history of Chassidism heralding a new era in the revelation of the "inner soul" of Torah, and is celebrated to this day as "The Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism."

Links: About Kislev 19 [http://www.chabad.org/335659]


. Rebbetzin Menuchah Rachel born (1798)

On the very day that Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi was liberated from prison (see above), a granddaughter was born to him -- the daugher of his son Rabbi Dovber [http://www.chabad.org/search/...] and his wife Rebbetzin Sheina. The girl was named Menuchah Rachel -- "Menuchah", meaning "tranquility" (Rachel was the name of a daughter of Rabbi Schneur Zalman who died in her youth).

In 1845, Rebbetzin Menuchah Rachel realized her lifelong desire to live in the Holy Land when she and her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Culi Slonim (d. 1857), led a contingent of Chassidim who settled in Hebron. Famed for her wisdom, piety and erudition, she served as the matriarch of the Chassidic community in Hebron until her passing in her 90th year in 1888.


===========
Daily Quote
===========

Our Rebbe revives the dead. What is a corpse? Something cold and unfeeling. Life is movement, warmth, excitement. Is there anything as frozen in self-absorption, as cold and unfeeling as the mind? And when the cold-blooded mind understands, comprehends, and is excited by a G-dly idea - is this not a revival of the dead?

- The disciples of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi


===========
Daily Study
===========

Chitas and Rambam for today:

Chumash: Vayeishev, 3rd Portion Bereishit 37:23-37:36 with Rashi
. English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah...

Tehillim: Chapters 90 - 96
. Hebrew text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. English text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...

Tanya: Likutei Amarim, beginning of Aprobations
. Lesson in Tanya:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. RealAudio:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. Windows Media:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...

Rambam:
. Sefer Hamitzvos:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. 1 Chapter: Mechirah Chap. 1
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
. 3 Chapters: Nedarim Chap. 1, 2, 3
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...

Hayom Yom:
. English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailyst...
 
From the Masters: 7 Keys for JOyful Living
12.20.05 (6:01 pm)   [edit]
7 KEYS FOR JOYFUL LIVING! by Chris Widener


Here are some thoughts for finding and experiencing joy in your life. If there were one thing I could wish upon my family, friends and the readers of this Ezine, it would be joy in everything they do!

Know your purpose. Nothing will bring you joy more than knowing what it is that you are about on this earth. Not knowing brings sadness, wondering, fear and lack of fulfillment. Above all, find out what your unique purpose is here on this earth - then fulfill it! As you do, you will experience joy!

Live purposefully. This is a follow up to number one. It is one thing to know your purpose, but then you need to live according to that purpose. This is a matter of priorities. Let your actions and schedule reflect your purpose. Don't react to circumstances and let them cause you to live without your purpose fully in site. Living without your purpose will cause frustration. Living purposefully will bring you deep satisfaction and joy!

Stretch yourself. Don't settle into the status quo. That will leave you unfulfilled. Always look to stretch yourself. Whatever you are doing, stretch yourself to do more! Stretching yourself will break the limits you have set for yourself and will cause you to find joy in your expanded horizons!

Ultimately the people who win, who achieve victory in Life, are the people who are committed to it. They outlast everybody else. Because, quite frankly, all success in business, all success in relationships, all success in life comes at the end of the road of commitment!" -- Chris Widener (excerpted from Secrets of Influence)

Give more than you take. It brings happiness to accumulate. It brings joy to give away. Sure, getting the car you worked hard for will bring you a sense of satisfaction and even happiness. But it won't bring you joy. Giving something away to the less fortunate will bring you deep, abiding joy.

Surprise yourself and others too. The words here are spontaneity and surprise! Every once in a while, do the unexpected. It will cause everybody to sit back and say, "Wow, where did that come from?" It will put a little joy in your life, and theirs.

Indulge yourself sometimes. Too much indulgence and you are caught in the happiness trap; looking for the next purchase, celebration, etc., to bring you a little "happiness high." But if you will allow yourself an infrequent indulgence as a reward for a job well done and a life well lived, you will appreciate the indulgence and experience the joy of it.

Laugh a little - no, a lot! Most people are just too serious. We need to laugh a little - no, a lot! Learn to laugh daily, even if you have to learn to laugh in bad situations. This life is to be enjoyed! The next time you go to the movie rental store, get a comedy and let loose! Let yourself laugh!

Joy can be yours! Look for it, pursue it and enjoy it!
 
Thought of the Day II 12/19/2005
12.20.05 (5:54 pm)   [edit]
"Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence." - Erich Fromm
 
Comment: The Quest for Peace
12.20.05 (5:01 pm)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 19, 5766 * December 20, 2005

=============
C O M M E N T
=============

The Quest for Peace
By: Yanki Tauber
-------------------

The problem with clichés is that their banality allows us to ignore how true they are.

Take a cliché like "Ignorance is bliss." How facile -- and how true! Are you sick to your soul of all the ugliness and injustice in the world? Just close your eyes, and make believe it ain't so. And when reality barges in your door and comes crashing down on your head, close your eyes tighter, imagine harder. If you sing loud enough to drown out the sounds of carnage in the next street or continent, you can experience peace (or at least participate in a ceremony celebrating the same).

The opening verse of this week's Torah reading, Vayeishev (Genesis 37-40), speaks of Jacob's desire to "settle down in tranquility." Anyone following the Torah's account of Jacob's life until this point cannot but agree that, after 34 years of fleeing from Esau and slaving for Laban, Jacob deserves some peace and quiet. But the very next verse begins the story of how, as the Talmud puts it, "there pounced on him the trouble of Joseph": the most beloved of Jacob's sons is sold into slavery by his own brothers and for 22 years Jacob grieves, thinking him dead; and the Jacob is compelled to spend the last years of his life far from home, in alien Egypt.

Why, indeed, was Jacob's desire denied him? "When the righteous wish to settle in tranquility," explain our sages, "G-d says: Is it not enough for them what is prepared for them in the World to Come, that they also ask for a tranquil life in this world?"

But why not? Does G-d have a limited quantity of tranquility to mete out? Why can't we have the peace and perfection of the World to Come, and a few years of respite in this world as well?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the world to come is a world of truth. It is a world in which what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow cannot be divorced from what's happening today, and what's happening to your fellow man cannot be separated from what is happening to yourself. Peace in our still unperfected world, viewed from the perspective of the "World to Come", is a lie.

Many are content to live this lie: to forget what happened yesterday, avoid thinking about what will happen tomorrow, ignore the sadness in a neighbor's eye, the poverty on the other side of town and the bombs in the other time zone.

But then there are the righteous: men and women who cannot relish their meal as long as someone, somewhere, remains hungry; who, if there is ignorance in the world, know their own wisdom to be deficient; who, if there is discord anywhere in G-d's creation, cannot be at peace with themselves.

Yes, you can have some peace in this world, and then experience the real thing in the World to Come--if you're willing to let the World to Come come when it comes.

The righteous are not that patient. Their physical selves may be stuck in this world, but their minds and souls inhabit the world to come. They refuse to close their eyes.


- By Yanki Tauber; based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
 
Daily Lift #867 - Marriage is for Growth
12.20.05 (10:55 am)   [edit]
Daily Lift #867
Marriage Is For Growth

The purpose of marriage is growth. By its very nature, marriage will continuously give you opportunities to develop your character. And the more challenging one's marriage - the greater the growth possibilities!
(From Rabbi Pliskin's book "Marriage", Introduction, p.11)
 
The Freeman Files: Seasons - A Chanukah Thought
12.20.05 (10:23 am)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 19, 5766 * December 20, 2005

========================= ========
T H E F R E E M A N F I L E S
========================= ========

Seasons - A Chanukah Thought
------------------------- ---

Say the word "spring," and thoughts of life and rebirth spring to mind. "Summer" is a time to reflect and grow, while "autumn" evokes images of maturation and return.

But here we are in the dead of winter. The seasons of life, light and color are already a fading memory. What does "winter" have to say?

In "Seasons: A Chanukah Thought", Tzvi Freeman once again stirs together photography, music and text in his Macromedia Flash kitchen to inspire and uplift us with the most vital message of the year--the message of Winter and Chanukah.

It's waiting for you now at: http://www.chabad.org/336568
 
Thought of the Day 12/19/2005
12.20.05 (9:22 am)   [edit]
"Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not. We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them." - Cardinal Newman
 
Parsha Summary - Vayeishev
12.19.05 (3:42 pm)   [edit]
Parshas Vayeishev

Note: The Shabbos Torah Reading is divided into 7 sections. Each section
is called an Aliya [literally: Go up] since for each Aliya, one
person "goes up" to make a bracha [blessing] on the Torah Reading.

------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------

1st Aliya: In the year 2216, Yakov was settled in Canaan. Yoseph was 17
years old and Yakov presented him with the multi-colored coat. Yoseph
related his two dreams to his brothers.

2nd Aliya: The brothers conspired to kill Yoseph, but Reuven intervened.
He suggested throwing Yoseph into a pit to buy time, during which he
would have been able to save Yoseph.

3rd Aliya: During Reuven's absence, Yehudah suggested selling Yoseph into
slavery. The brothers presented Yakov with contrived evidence of Yoseph's
death, and he was inconsolable.

4th Aliya: The story of Yehudah and Tamar is related. In the end, their
first son, Peretz, is the progenitor of Mashiach.

5th Aliya: Yoseph had been purchased by Potiphar and was quickly
recognized for his managerial skills and integrity. He was appointed to
run Potiphar's household.

6th Aliya: Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce Yoseph, but Yoseph
withstood temptation and fled his mistress's presence. He was thrown into
the royal prison and was soon chosen by the warden to run the prison.

7th Aliya: Due to his managerial position, Yoseph came in contact with the
former royal wine steward and baker. He successfully interpreted their
dreams and the wine steward was re-appointed to his position. Yoseph asked
the wine steward to intervene on his behalf with Pharaoh. In the year 2227
Yoseph is 28 years old.

------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------

Haftorah Vayeishev Amos 2:6 - 3:8

In this weeks Haftorah, Amos the Navi chastised the Bnai Yisroel [Children
of Israel] for the perversion of justice manifest in their behavior toward
the widowed, orphaned and the poor. Yoseph's sale for a few pieces of
silver is referenced as a prime example of such injustice. Regardless of
whatever rationalization the brothers may have used to justify their
actions, the money they accepted for the sale reduced their actions to
nothing more than selfish and self-serving.

This same theme is repeated in the story of the 10 Martyrs. The Roman
Governor accused the brothers of selling Yoseph for money. If their
motives were in fact righteous, they should not have accepted any personal
gain from their actions.

The Navi contrasted the injustices against the poor to the three most
severe sins of: idolatry, adultery, and murder. Hashem [G-d] is willing to
give a second chance when humankind fails due to personal failing;
however, when humankind fails in the arena of social justice, there can
not be a second chance. Judges are intended to do G-d's work of
ministering justice, and the administration of justice should be a primary
display of Hashem's manifest presence within society. When a judge
perverts the power of his office he compromises much more than justice. He
compromises G-d Himself.

Quick Review: Laws of Chanukah

Sunday night 12/25 through Sunday 1/1.

Hallel is said every morning and Al Hanisim is added to the Amidah and the
Benching.

1. The Menorah should be lit 35 minutes after sunset and remain lit for at
least 1/2 hr. On Friday the Menorah must be lit before the Shabbos candles
and remain lit for at least 90 minutes.

2. Candles should be placed in the Menorah from right to left and lit from
left to right.

3. Olive oil or wax candles are acceptable; however, olive oil is
preferred. Electric or gas lights are unacceptable.

4. Each family member should light their own Menorah. A wife may light her
own (there are differing opinions about whether she should or should not)
and, if agreed upon, exempt her husband if he will not be home.

5. The Menorah should be placed in a location where it can be seen by both
the family and the public. The best height is at 35'" to 40" off the
floor, however safety must be a priority.

6. Brochos should be recited before lighting the Menorah. Talking is
prohibited between the Brochos and the lighting.
 
A7News: Isreal to HOst Intl Youth Cricket Championship
12.19.05 (1:34 pm)   [edit]
Israel to Host International Youth Cricket Championship

By Ezra HaLevi

Israel is preparing to host its first international cricket event this summer.


The tournament, the European Cricket Council's (ECC) Under-17 2nd Division Championship, will take place over the course of a week this coming August. The matches will be held at Tel Aviv's Olympic Athletics Stadium and in Ashdod.

Teams participating will hail from Belgium, France, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Italy and Jersey.

Israel Cricket Association (ICA) Chairman Stanley Perlman said he was thrilled at the decision to hold the event in Israel and promised to make it a great tournament for everyone involved.

"This is not only going to be a sports spectacle, but we also intend to show all participants what a great country Israel is from a cultural, historical and religious point of view,” Perlman said.

Israel, an Associate member of the ICC since 1974, has 18 domestic clubs in three divisions with 270 seniors and 270 juniors playing the game, plus a further 1,000 youngsters involved in development programs.

More information about Israel's Cricket Association can be found by clicking here.
 
A7News: Arab MK Bishara: Wipe Out Isreal and Take Democracy with You
12.19.05 (1:32 pm)   [edit]
Arab MK Bishara: Wipe Out Israel and ´Take Democracy With You

By Debbie Berman

Israeli-Arab Knesset Member Azmi Bishara claimed in Lebanon that the State of Israel is the greatest robbery of this century.

Bishara, addressing an Arab audience in Lebanon late last week, asserted that Arabs were the original residents of the land and urged Israelis to leave and "take their democracy" with them.

”Israel is the 20th century's greatest robbery, carried out in broad daylight. I will never recognize Zionism even if all Arabs do. I will never concede Palestine. The battle is still long," Bishara stated at a Lebanese book fair in Beirut.

The Lebanese audience received Bishara’s comments warmly. "Return Palestine to us and take your democracy with you. We Arabs are not interested in it," the Knesset Member stated.

"The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is not a demographic dispute, but a national one. It's not the problem of 1.2 million Palestinians living in Israel. They are like all Arabs, only with Israeli citizenship forced upon them. We are the original residents of Palestine, not those who came from Poland and Russia," Bishara told Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir.

MK Azmi Bishara was born in Nazareth in 1956, and received his doctorate in philosophy at Humboldt University in East Germany. Bishara headed the Philosophy Department at Bir-Zeit University, located 15 miles north of Jerusalem, and was a senior researcher at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. Bishara has announced his intention to campaign for re-election to the Knesset in the party that he founded, the National Democratic Assembly (NDA).

Bishara left Israel for Lebanon last week without receiving consent from the Interior Ministry for his trip.

This is not the first time Bishara has brashly spoken against Israel to audiences in hostile Arab nations. In June 2001, a group of Knesset Members sought to end his immunity from prosecution and brought charges of disloyalty against Bishara for a speech he gave at a memorial ceremony in Damascus for the late Hafez Assad. Bishara appeared jointly with Hizbullah terrorist leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and called for a ‘united Arab nation’ to come together against Israel.

Angry reactions from Knesset members included then-coalition leader Likud MK Ze'ev Boim, who said, "Bishara has publicly connected himself to Israel's worst enemies. This cannot be ignored, and the police should detain him and possibly charge him for conspiring with the enemy."

MK Michael Kleiner of Herut stated, "In any normal country, they'd put him in front of a firing squad. It's inconceivable that an Israeli Knesset Member would encourage Arab states to launch a full-scale war against us."

Bishara returned to Israel over the weekend and claimed that his address in Lebanon was commentary on the subjects of Zionism and citizenship. "I didn’t say anything new that I hadn't said in other places. I've spoken like this in the Knesset," he told Yediot Acharonot.

In addition to his harsh statements against Israel, Bishara also criticized the leaders of Arab nations that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, including Tunisia where Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom recently visited. "Why does one of the Arab countries provide a home for Silvan Shalom, while the army destroys homes in Palestine on a daily basis? If you want to surrender, do it, but don't force us to give in," Bishara told Al-Safir.

MK Bishara took part in a gathering in the Israeli-Arab city of Nazareth on Saturday, at which it was demanded that Israel recognize the "right of return" for Galilee Arabs who fled during the 1948 War of Independence. The participants called for an alignment of Arab organizations in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority (PA). The gathering was held under the banner, "Responsibility for the Historical Nakba," referring to the "tragedy" of the establishment of Israel as a Jewish state.
 
A7News: The Year in Hatred: Virulent Anti-US Cartoons from the PA Press
12.19.05 (1:26 pm)   [edit]
The Year in Hatred: Virulent Anti-US Cartoons from the PA Press

By Scott Shiloh

2005 was a banner year in the PA press for pernicious material attacking the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. A selection of poltical cartoons inciting against U.S. forces in Iraq are reproduced here.

Before the Iraq war, the Palestinian Authority was one of Saddam Hussein’s staunchest allies.

Since the United States-led coalition toppled Saddam’s regime, the PA media regularly publishes material supporting the Iraqi insurgents, calling for killing American soldiers fighting in Iraq.

Ironically, the Bush Administration, though committed to winning the war in Iraq, is also determined to establish a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Since President Bush launched his “Road Map” peace proposal, the United States has poured millions of dollars into propping up the PA regime.

Much of the expressions of anti-American hatred in the PA’s tightly controlled media appear in Arabic radio or television broadcasts. A significant amount also appears in the PA press in the format of political cartoons, a form of political commentary that more easily crosses the language barrier.

Below is a selection of anti-American political cartoons that appeared in 2005, in one of the most widely read publications in the PA, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. These cartoons, as well as others from previous years, are depicted on the web site of Palestinian Media Watch.
 
A7News: Natl Service for Hareidim, Arabs
12.19.05 (1:23 pm)   [edit]
National Service for Hareidim, Arabs

By Hillel Fendel

A committee appointed by the Defense Minister recommends that hareidim and Arabs be compelled to perform National Service - or lose basic rights such as child allowances.

The committee, headed by former Defense Ministry Director David Ivry, was appointed last year to investigate solutions for the problem of low enlistment rates.

The current "army enlistment" law, legislated three years ago, is known as the Tal Law. Its goal was to encourage more hareidi-religious young men to enlist in the army, and stipulates the following arrangement: Yeshiva students may defer their army service for up to four years, until age 22, by declaring twice a year that they are engaged in full-time yeshiva study. At age 22, the students have the chance to leave the yeshiva and work for a year without being drafted, or, of course continue in the army. If they chose work, then at age 23, they must decide whether to return to yeshiva study or to join the work force. If the latter, they must first perform shortened army service - four months for a married man with at least two children - or national service for a year and a half.

During 2003-4, only 77% of eligible 18-year-old Jews and Druze enlisted in the army. Nine percent received "Torah study" exemptions, while 14% did not enlist for health or other reasons.

The Ivry Committee recommends that those who neither enlist in the army nor serve in a national service framework be stripped of their rights to receive government-backed housing mortgages, allocation of land by the Israel Lands Authority, and even monthly National Insurance Institute child allowance payments.

It is felt that without the above threat, neither Arabs nor hareidim will feel obligated to perform national service.

The recommendations have a long way to go before being accepted, but in the meantime, the Cabinet voted yesterday to enable National Service for hareidim. The government resolved that as the goals of the Tal Law have not been sufficiently attained, the Defense Minister must order the army to enable "more attractive" courses of enlistment for hareidi soldiers. Such courses will be similar, in terms of duration and type of service, to hesder units (five years divided roughly 2-1 into yeshiva studies and active army service), Nahal hareidi (three years of service catered to a religious way of life), and new-immigrant service (shortened duration).

In addition, the Cabinet voted to enable young yeshiva students to perform a track of national service. Beginning in 2006, the Welfare Ministry will pay for at least 200 yeshiva students in various tasks, such as firefighting, Magen David Adom, or police work near their homes.
 
A7News: Terrorists Arrested in Jerusalem, IDF Fires at Kassam-Launching
12.19.05 (1:16 pm)   [edit]
Terrorists Arrested in Jerusalem, IDF Fires at Kassam-Launching

By Hillel Fendel

A Jerusalem terror attack was averted with the arrest of two armed terrorists near Har Homa.The IAF fired at Kassam-launching sites in Gaza; Mofaz says he's not interested now in a ground operation.


Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have fired an almost daily portion of Kassam rockets towards Israel over the past two weeks, and yesterday's serving included a rocket that landed in the southern areas of Ashkelon. Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz convened a meeting of senior defense establishment figures, and demanded that the army continue to fire artillery at northern Gaza as a deterrence measure.

The Israel Air Force in fact attacked early this morning four northern Gaza areas from where Kassams have been fired.

However, Mofaz emphasized that he is not interested, at this point, to initiate action that will involved the entry of ground forces into Gaza.

Mofaz was running for head of the Likud until last week, when he suddenly decided to transfer to Ariel Sharon's Kadima party, where he is guaranteed a Knesset seat and, most likely, a Cabinet position. In light of what many viewed as his unabashed opportunism, many questions were raised as to his fitness to make life-and-death decisions in the capacity of Defense Minister.

Ashkelon Mayor Roni Mahatzri, who took a "not to worry" tone after last week's Kassam attack towards the city, is now demanding firm action. He said the residents of Ashkelon sense that the "governmental and defense frameworks are neglecting them," and demands that the army rush up a "Red Dawn" early warning system in the city.

"Yesterday," Mahatzri said, "the terrorists fired a Kassam rocket from a Jewish community that was evacuated, Dugit [one of the three dismantled northern Gaza communities - ed.], and the government is ignoring its responsibility to protect us."

The fear in the army as well as in Ashkelon is that in addition to the dangers facing the residents, the sensitive installations adjacent to the city are at risk. The rockets have already come close to the Rothenberg power plant, as well as the oil pipeline to Eilat. The terrorist organizations have declared that these are, in fact, their targets - and have improved their precision over the weeks and months.

Talk of a ground operation in northern Gaza - the area of the destroyed Jewish communities - is gaining steam, despite Mofaz's objections. The army would not necessarily take over these areas, but would rather enter merely to push the terrorists out of range of southern Ashkelon.

Just outside Jerusalem's new southern Har Homa neighborhood this morning, security forces arrested two Arab terrorists. The Arabs were holding knives and ready-to-fire pipebombs. The two had crossed into Jerusalem from PA-controlled Bethlehem, and were arrested just outside the fence surrounding Har Homa. The terrorists were taken for interrogation.
 
US Stocks Mixed with Pfizer in Focus
12.19.05 (11:40 am)   [edit]







   







 
























  TRADING CENTER
U.S. stocks mixed with Pfizer in focus

By MarketWatch
Last Update: 12/19/2005 12:00:09 PM

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks were mixed in morning trade Monday, with the pharmaceutical sector outperforming many other groups after Pfizer Inc. won a legal victory, as investors wondered about the state of the end-of-the-year rally. See full story.
 
A7News: MK Dr. Eldad: Sharon Physically Unfit to Run Nation
12.19.05 (10:33 am)   [edit]
MK Dr. Eldad: Sharon Physically Unfit to Run State






By Hillel Fendel

"Someone who is 78, overweight, short of breath and had a stroke cannot run a country." So says MK Aryeh Eldad, the former IDF Chief Physician. Hadassah Hospital doctors say Sharon is OK.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a TIA (transient ischemic attack) last night, was rushed to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital, and is expected to remain hospitalized until at least tomorrow. A TIA, sometimes called a mini-stroke, involves a brief deprivation of adequate oxygen to part of the brain.

Though a TIA is said not to cause permanent damage, researchers have found that 11% of patients diagnosed with a TIA in an emergency room suffer a stroke within the next 90 days.

The Prime Minister underwent a battery of tests this morning, after which Hadassah Hospital's top doctors held a press conference. The doctors said Sharon's condition is fine and that no trace remains of the stroke. They said that Sharon will be released tomorrow morning, and will be able to resume a full work schedule after a short period of rest.

Dr. Ben-Hur of Hadassah said the stroke-causing clot had been caused by a minor malfunction of the heart, "not uncommon among otherwise healthy people." He said that Sharon would be called in for a heart check-up within a 2-3 weeks.

MK Eldad (National Union), who in the past headed the plastic surgery department in Hadassah Ein Kerem and is an expert in burns, said that last night's incident will "imbue the public with the realization" that a country cannot be run by someone in Sharon's medical condition.

"The incident at hand means that the Prime Minister must reveal his physical condition to the public," Eldad said, "so that the country's fate not be dependent upon a millimeter-sized blood clot." Sharon's press advisor Assaf Shariv said the Prime Minister has said in the past that he does not object to releasing such a report.

Shariv, asked about the political vacuum that would have been formed in the Kadima party had Sharon not recovered, said, "The other parties also do not have a #2 man... I can assure you that soon, Kadima will have a #2 person."

Prime Minister Sharon was on his way to his HaShikmim Farm near Sderot last night shortly after 8 PM, when he began to feel dizzy. He called his son Gilad, and his bodyguards decided to rush him to the hospital. Sharon was conscious the entire time, according to all reports and contrary to some rumors. The hospital staff quickly determined, with the help of an MRI test, that it was a TIA and that his life was not in danger.

Well-wishers from around the world and country quickly sent their blessings of a quick recovery. These included U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Likud candidates Binyamin Netanyahu and Silvan Shalom, Eli Yishai, and many others.
 
Halacha of the Day 12/19/2005 - Hallel for Men and Women on Chanukah
12.19.05 (9:36 am)   [edit]
Halacha of the Day (12/19/2005) By Rabbi Eli Mansour

To dedicate Daily Halacha for a day please click here. Thank you.
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Description: Chanukah- Hallel for Men and Women On Chanukah


On each of the eight days of Chanukah, men are obligated to recite the complete Hallel service, with the introductory Beracha, "Baruch Ata.Asher Kideshanu.Ligmor Et Ha'hallel." Women have the option of reciting Hallel as part of the prayer service during Chanukah. However, as Chacham Ovadya Yoseph writes in his work "Yabia Omer" (vol. 6), women reciting Hallel on Chanukah must not recite the Beracha. Since it is questionable whether this Beracha is sanctioned, we apply the rule of Safek Berachot Le'hakel - meaning, that we refrain from reciting a Beracha when uncertainty exists concerning its obligation. Thus, while it is certainly appropriate for women to recite Hallel on Chanukah, they must ensure to omit the introductory Beracha.

The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, 1835-1909) emphasizes that one should recite Hallel on Chanukah with particular concentration and joy. He notes that even on Pesach we do not recite the complete Hallel service throughout the festival, and it is thus a rare opportunity we have on Chanukah to recite the full Hallel, and we should therefore do so with sincere emotion.

On Rosh Chodesh Tevet, which occurs during Chanukah, there is a custom to light an extra candle in memory of Rabbi Meir Ba'al Ha'ness. Additionally, the Ben Ish Chai writes that the double festivity of Rosh Chodesh Tevet - as both Rosh Chodesh and a day of Chanukah - warrants an extra dimension of celebration, and one should therefore eat a festive meal on the day of Rosh Chodesh Tevet.

Summary: One must recite the complete Hallel service on each of the eight days of Chanukah with its introductory blessing, and with particular joy and sincerity. Women certainly may recite Hallel, but they must omit the introductory blessing. On Rosh Chodesh Tevet, some have the practice to light an extra candle in memory of Rabbi Meir Ba'al Ha'ness; furthermore, it is appropriate to conduct a festive meal on Rosh Chodesh Tevet in honor of the double celebration of this day.
 
Halacha of the Day 12/19/2005 - Chanukah - Menorah Lighting in Shul
12.19.05 (9:32 am)   [edit]
Halacha of the Day (12/14/2005) By Rabbi Eli Mansour

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Description: Chanukah- Menorah Lighting in Shul


The custom is to light Chanukah candles in the synagogue with the recitation of all the Berachot for the purpose of Pirsumei Nisa - publicizing the miracle of Chanukah. The candles in the synagogue are lit in between Mincha and Arbit, even though the proper time for lighting has not yet arrived, because if we wait until after Arbit the congregation will disperse, thus undermining the desired effect of Pirsumei Nisa.

As mentioned, the one who lights the Chanukah candles in the synagogue recites all the Berachot, including the Beracha of Shehechiynau on the first night.

One does not fulfill his personal obligation of lighting Chanukah candles with the lighting in the synagogue. Even if one is present at the synagogue lighting, listens to the Berachot and answers, "Amen," he must still light when he returns home. Moreover, even the person who lights the candles in the synagogue must light again at home with the Berachot. The only exception is that on the first night of Chanukah, the one who lights in the synagogue does not repeat the Beracha of Shehechiynau at home if he lights only for himself. If he lights for his family, then he must repeat even this Beracha. For this reason, it has become customary to choose somebody who will not be lighting for his family, such as a single person or a traveler away from home, to light the Chanukah candles in the synagogue. According to some authorities, even a Katan (child under the age of thirteen) who has reached the age of Chinuch (training in Mitzvot), such as an eleven or twelve-year old child, may be

How much oil must be placed in the lamps for the synagogue lighting? When lighting at home, one must add enough oil to sustain the candles for a half-hour. Different opinions exist as to whether the same applies to the candle lighting in the synagogue. Chacham Ovadia Yoseph maintains that preferably, this amount should, indeed, be used for the synagogue lighting, as well, and the candles in the synagogue should burn for at least a half-hour. If, however, there is concern for the risk of a fire if the candles continue burning after the congregation disperses, it is permissible to extinguish them once the people leave the synagogue.

The candles in the synagogue are lit only if a minimum of ten people are present. Both women and men count towards this minimum quorum. If - as occasionally happens on Erev Shabbat - ten people are not yet present but this number will undoubtedly be reached a bit later in the service, the candles may be lit, but without the Berachot. Therefore, whenever possible, the people present should wait for ten people to arrive before conducting the synagogue candle lighting.
 
Healthy, Well & Wise - Coping with Disappointment
12.19.05 (9:30 am)   [edit]









Coping with Disappointment
When something or someone does not meet our expectations or hopes, we experience disappointment. From not getting an expected toy as a young person to being turned down for a promotion or raise at the office, we all experience this unpleasant feeling of loss of hope at varying stages of our lives…
click here to read more
 
Appel's Parsha - Vayeshev
12.19.05 (9:21 am)   [edit]
Showing Favoritism to Children


For a parent to be fair and give each child equal treatment has never been an easy task. But a good friend of mine living in Jerusalem had an unusual experience that he says made it particularly hard to see all his children in the same light. His wife had given birth to a new baby boy, and the family was celebrating the "Shalom Zachor," a gathering of friends held the Friday night before a baby's Bris.

Suddenly, an old, wizened Sephardic mystic came unexpectedly into the celebration. He quieted the room and announced that the newborn would grow up to be a great Torah scholar. Then, as abruptly as he had entered, the old Kabbalist left, leaving the guests in a state of bewilderment.

Remarkably, some years have passed since that occurrence and the child has, in fact, shown signs of genius. My friend says that the old rabbi's words clearly had their effect, and he wonders whether this child, more than any of his other children, is bound for a life of exceptional greatness.

This story is similar to one in this week's Torah portion, Vayeshev. The Midrash says that from the moment of Joseph's birth, it was clear to his father Jacob that Joseph was very special. To begin with, his facial appearance was remarkably similar to his father. Moreover, Joseph possessed a great deal of "chein" - spiritual charm. Joseph was also the first child born, after many years of waiting, to Jacob's beloved wife Rachel. In short, various realities were conspiring to make Joseph the "special son."

Later, in his teenage years, Joseph has a dream in which the sun, moon, and stars are all bowing down to him. He and the rest of his family correctly surmise that the meaning of the dream is that his father, stepmother, and brothers will all eventually prostrate themselves before him. While Jacob publicly chides Joseph for his dream, the Bible says that Jacob "guarded the matter." Rashi explains this to mean that in his innermost heart, Jacob actually expected the dream to come true.

Given all these factors, it is not surprising that Jacob showed favoritism toward Joseph. Of course, the Bible tells of Jacob giving Joseph a small multi-colored armband. (The Hebrew word kutonet, which has often been translated as a "coat," can just as correctly be understood to mean "armband.") This show of favoritism was just one example; there were undoubtedly other factors which caused the rest of the brothers to feel that Jacob loved Joseph most.

While one can perhaps understand Jacob's behavior, the Talmud roundly condemns his actions, ascribing Jacob's favoritism as the direct cause of the brothers' hatred for Joseph. This hatred in turn led them to sell Joseph as a slave down to Egypt.

Interestingly, it was Joseph's prominence there that ultimately caused the whole family to relocate in the Kingdom of the Nile. Thus, the Sages observe, if Jacob had treated all his children equally, it is entirely possible that the Jews never would have gone down to Egypt in the first place - and the whole period of slavery in Egypt might have been avoided.In a famous pithy phrase, the Sages say: "A small armband caused our people to be enslaved in Egypt."

While we can understand Jacob's plight, the reality is that Judaism demands that we treat all children equally. This is not just because it is good practical advice, but rather because the Torah teaches that everyone has their own unique role to play in this world. Greatness is not determined by what gifts and talents we have, but rather by what we do with those gifts.

Thus, in God's eyes, the average person who has applied his limited skills to the utmost, is greater than the "success" who has coasted with his God-given skills. With such an outlook, there is no place for showing favoritism to one child just because he may have more innate talent than another.

It's a lesson every parent should learn.
 
Daily Dose: Discoveries & Inventions
12.19.05 (9:19 am)   [edit]
B"H

Discoveries & Inventions
------------------------

Everything was created as a means to know G-d.

Every discovery we have ever made, each of our inventions, was planted here in the six days of creation in order that we utilize it for a G-dly purpose.


A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Kislev 18, 5766 * December 19, 2005
 
Kol Yaakov - Vayeshev
12.19.05 (8:59 am)   [edit]
Rest and Relaxation


Special for Chanukah
Purchase "Forever His Students" - Save 35% by Rabbi Baruch Leff.

Don't we all crave those moments in life of rest and relaxation? Many of us may even use such times for spiritual meaning and growth. What's wrong with a little peace and quiet?

We would say nothing at all. Yet, in this week's portion, Jacob asks for peace and quiet and God does not grant it to him. Instead, God criticizes him. Where did Jacob go wrong? What can be wrong with some R(est) & R(elaxation)?

Let us read the Rashi commentary (37:2) where this appears:

"Jacob wanted to dwell in tranquility but then the ordeal of Joseph (sale into slavery) came upon him. The righteous seek to dwell in tranquility but God says 'Is it not enough for the righteous what has been prepared for them (reward) in the World to Come that they need to seek tranquility in this world!'"

Anyone who has ever read this Rashi is always left with a question. Why do righteous people ever seek peace? Is it because they wish to spend their time on the beaches of the Bahamas? Besides, if you want to grow spiritually, don't you need peace and quiet in your life? Is it really possible to contemplate the serious issues of our existence and goals in this world while being bogged down with earthly, physical problems and struggles? We usually need very few distractions in order to grow spiritually. So shouldn't the righteous desire peace and tranquility in order to continue on their path of righteousness?

The solution to this puzzle takes us back to Parshat Vayetzei where we discover that God's criticism of Jacob involves a very subtle and specific area.

In 31:3, God tells Jacob to "return to the land of your fathers and to your birthplace and I will be with you." God does not call the land "Israel," or "the Holy land," but "the land of your fathers." There is something about Jacob's connection to the Land (Israel) that is uniquely expressed through his bond with his fathers. This is what God wants Jacob to focus on when he returns.

What's more, Rashi comments, on the verse in Vayetzei, saying, "Return to the land of your fathers and there I will be with you, but as long as you are connected to the impure one (Lavan), it is impossible to rest my Divine Presence, the Shechinah, upon you."

Apparently, not only does God want Jacob to focus on his connections to the land of his fathers, but the Divine Presence Itself. God's special Providence will not come to Jacob without this special link to the land based upon what his fathers have accomplished in the Land of Israel. Jacob is to build his spiritual growth in the Land of Israel based upon what his fathers have already accomplished.

And this is where Jacob was lacking. Sure, there's no question that Jacob was growing and striving spiritually, especially having returned to the holiest place on earth, Israel. But he was resting and not working within this specific area of building upon what his fathers had already done.

Jacob's resting is reflected in the words of the Torah. The opening verse in our parsha states: "Jacob settled in the land of his father's dwellings, in the Land of Caanan." It is unnecessary to inform us that the Land of Israel was the place where Jacob's fathers lived. We know this from previous readings of Genesis. Rather, the Torah is hinting to us the area in which Jacob was lacking, in his growth of building upon what his fathers accomplished. Jacob may have been creating new paths of spirituality but he was resting and not maintaining the precious old ones of his fathers.

What these paths were exactly is hard for us to decipher from the Torah, but we do see that even when a righteous person seeks peace and quiet for the right reasons, it may not be part of God's plan to grant the peace. The righteous person may not be excelling in a specific area that God wants him to excel in and therefore may not deserve the tranquility.

Of course, we non-Patriarchal type of people should always ask God to grant us peace of mind to be able to grow spiritually because, for us, in most cases, this is exactly what we need. Supremely righteous people, however, may not have the peaceful lives that we would expect that God would grant to them. This may be as a result of God's expecting a very specific area of growth from them that they may not have as of yet attained.

Rest can be good if used properly. Let us hope that God gives us the peace and serenity to reach our maximum potential.
 
From the Masters: Habits
12.19.05 (8:32 am)   [edit]
HABITS

"Habits are like submarines; they run silent and deep." -- Denis Waitley

"The secret to Momentum in life can be found in the word Momentum... you create it Moment by Moment..." -- Doug Firebaugh

"Being miserable is a habit; being happy is a habit; and the choice is yours." -- Tom Hopkins

"Good habits are hard to form and easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with. Nothing is neutral. Everything counts." -- Brian Tracy


KINDNESS

Kindness is the evidence of greatness. If anyone is glad that you are here, then you have not lived in vain.

Charles Fenno Hoffman (1806-1884)
Editor and writer


[M]easure people first by their kindness and their capacity for devotion.

Michael Cunningham
The Hours
Picador USA
 
Weekly Torah eLetter 12/19/2005
12.19.05 (8:25 am)   [edit]













This week's parashah is


 


 










Torah Readings:


Annual Cycle:
Genesis 37:1-40:23
Triennial Cycle:
Genesis 38:1-38:30



Torah Readings image



-Vayeshev-




Joseph's dreams anger his brothers, who sell him into slavery in Egypt, where he eventually ends up in prison, still interpreting others' dreams.


By Nancy Reuben Greenfield, reprinted with permission from Jewish Family & Life!


These are the descendants of Jacob. More...


 















































Text Studies and Commentaries:




Text Studies



Joseph: Technicolor Tzadik? By Rabbi Sharon Mars, Hillel's Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning



Anger Management. By Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, KOLEL: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning



Mindfulness. By Rabbi Jeffrey L. Glickman, The Union of American Hebrew Congregations


 


 


Commentaries



The Challenge of Changing. By Dvora Weisberg, CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership



From Pride Comes Loneliness. By Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, University of Judaism



Controlling Love. By Rabbi Shimon Felix, The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel



Leadership Traits. By Rabbi Chaim Landau, Orthodox Union



Before the Law: Creating Real Systems of Justice. By Aliza Mazor, SocialAction.com



Improving Our Speech. By Marjorie Rothenberg, UJA-Federation of New York



God Was In That Text. By Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, Jewish Theological Seminary
 
Growing Each Day - Kislev 18
12.19.05 (8:22 am)   [edit]
Kislev 18

In those days there was no king in Israel; each man did that which was proper in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).


At first glance, this verse appears to describe a chaotic state of affairs - anarchy itself - where in absence of a central authority everyone did as they pleased.

The Rabbi of Satmar said that this interpretation is incorrect. Everyone has common sense, which can reliably guide him to do right and avoid wrong. He derives his proof from the verse: Do that which is proper and good (Deuteronomy 6:18). How do we know what is proper and good if the Torah does not specify it? It must be that we have an innate common sense.

If so, why does the world seem so unjust? One reason might be that people do not act according to their own common sense, but rather according to what they think others might think of them. If people did what was good in their own eyes, we might have less injustice.

The driving force behind the lusts for power, fame, and wealth - which themselves lead to corrupt behavior - may not necessarily be what people want for themselves as much as their desire to impress others. If we start behaving according to what we wish others to think, we might give our common sense a fighting chance.

Today I shall ...
... try to stop impressing others. Instead, I will try to reason for myself what is right and wrong.

 
From the Masters: Why Accepting Change is Vital to Your Professional Success
12.19.05 (8:17 am)   [edit]
WHY ACCEPTING CHANGE IS VITAL TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS by Connie Podesta


Like it or not, change is an integral part of today's business climate. Those employees who embrace and initiate change will thrive, while those who complain and fear change may be headed for the unemployment line.

Employers feel strongly about the need to have employees who are successful change agents for their team and their organization as a whole. What exactly is a "change agent?" An agent is someone who represents the interests of another person or organization, and his or her job is to take care of business and make sure everything goes smoothly. Thus, a change agent helps take care of an employer's business by facilitating change.

Are you a change agent for your organization? Can others count on you to make sure things go smoothly? Do you continue to take care of business in the midst of change?

Although some employees have been conditioned to fear change, we must not lose sight of the fact that change is normal, and most of us will experience unpredictable changes in both our personal and professional lives. In the workplace, changes can occur as a result of new thinking, advances in technology, innovation and progress, knowledge and communication, as well as mergers, takeovers, layoffs, and downsizing. These organizational changes can directly affect our professional lives as well as our personal lives. They may also lead to feelings of sadness, frustration, grief, and anger, especially when jobs are lost or worse, when an entire organization ceases to exist. So let's discuss how we can make this normal life experience-change-as positive and beneficial as possible.

What's Wrong with Change?

Employers want commitment to change when it's necessary. Knowing that, then, why are so many people resistant to it? The number one reason is fear, although very few people are willing to admit it. None of us want to acknowledge that we doubt our ability to integrate new ideas, use new technology, or adapt to new organizations. We don't even want to think about what's ahead: new management, new ways of doing things, new terminology, new titles, and new job description. Fear can have several components:

1. Fear of the unknown: What will happen to my organization, my job, my life, as I know it now? How secure is my future?

2. Fear of not being in control: What should I do? Should I just wait around while they make decisions that could seriously affect my life?

3. Fear of being inadequate: I know how to do this job now, but will I be able to do it as well as they expect me to when everything has changed? And if I can't, what happens then?

4. Fear of moving outside your personal comfort zone: I've been doing my job this way for years, and I'm very good at it. Why do we have to change what has worked so well for so long?

No matter which category your fear falls in, one thing is for sure. The more we fight and resist the change, the more painful and frightening the changes will be. Resisting doesn't keep a new idea from taking hold; it simply makes the process longer and more painful. Change will happen no matter what. We will handle it better when we learn to move with the change-not against it. Plus, this is definitely not the time to drag your feet because managers are not inclined to take employees by the hand and lead them through the change process.

Communication is Key:

There is no doubt that employees often view change from a different perspective than their supervisors. Many employees believe that management doesn't understand their side of the story, and managers often feel it is the employees who don't understand why the change is necessary. This is why communication is so vital during any change circumstance.
It's been said that lack of communication is the number one reason why personal relationships can develop problems, and the same holds true for relationships between employers and employees. Change will require open communication on both sides. Unfortunately, fear has the power to freeze employees in their tracks and prevent them from expressing their ideas and opinions.

When faced with change we must always ask ourselves this important question: Does my resistance to change have anything to do with my own fears? That's a tough question and one that's not easy to answer honestly. It's natural to fear the unknown and lack of control. We know that we won't be quite as proficient at our tasks while we're in the process of learning to do things a new way. We know we will have to work a lot harder. Are we willing to let go of the present to embrace the future? We may not know what the future will bring, but we are responsible for what we bring to the future.

The Positive Side of Change

If you routinely describe your current job as boring, mundane, or menial, then perhaps a change is good for you. One of the most positive aspects of change is that it is never boring. On the contrary, it can create passion. And passion-and the excitement, creativity, and energy that accompany it-is the spark that keeps us going.

Passion could be called the charge for our life's batteries. Without that charge, it's hard to get our engines revved up. That igniting charge is sparked by the challenge of change-learning new things, meeting new people, growing as professionals, and taking risks that push us to reach our potential. None of that can happen unless and until we are willing to experience the fear that inevitably arises when we move out of our comfort zones. No risk, no fear; no fear, no passion; no passion, no fun.

If we want passion back in our lives, we must be willing to meet the challenge of change. What might that mean for you? Perhaps it might involve going back to school, learning how to work with a computer, working with a team, taking on new responsibilities, or redefining a career path. If you want to remain employable, you may have to change more than just your attitude and your reaction to change. You may have to change some of your ideas and goals to create a better future for yourself.

Embrace Upcoming Changes:

Many people are content to live their lives by playing it safe. If fear, pain, and hard work are prerequisites of change, it's easier to understand why some people are so dedicated to resisting it. They might be good at giving all the best-sounding reasons why this particular change is not right for the department, the organization, the team, or the customer. However, their underlying concern may be their fear about how the change will affect them-their job-their lives.

If you've been reacting negatively to change, it's important to modify your attitude and your behavior before it's too late. Think about what you really want. Comfort at all costs? The status quo? The good old days? If those are the aspects you desire-if that's what you're waiting for-then you will probably soon be out of a job. If, instead, you want challenge and welcome change, you will always be employable.
 
Essay: The Kabbalah of Deconstruction
12.19.05 (8:09 am)   [edit]
B"H

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dedicated in honor of the birthday of my dear husband, Ya'acov (Jake) Berman
(Dedicate an email: http://www.chabad.org/161795)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kislev 11, 5766 * December 12, 2005

=========
E S S A Y
=========

The Kabbalah of Deconstruction
By: Levi Brackman
------------------------- -----

Up until the French Revolution in 1789, society was divided into three groups: the church, the aristocracy and the peasants. In the terminology of the post-modern French philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), the landowners and the church were the center and the peasants were the periphery. The two did not mix. Education, money and power were restricted to the elite; the peasants enjoyed no such privileges. After the French Revolution, the periphery was also given some of the privileges that were previously the exclusive right of the center. Although the landowners and the educated were still regarded as the center, the difference now was that peasants had the possibility of entering this exclusive domain.

The post-modern era, according to Derrida, was a time of "deconstruction." While previously all things were seen in pairs, one superior to the other--rich and poor, educated and ignorant, powerful and powerless, etc.--the deconstructivist view is that rich is not necessarily superior to poor, in fact, being poor can be more advantageous. Seen from this perspective, poor is the new center and rich is the periphery. Derrida goes one step further and says that hierarchy should not exist at all; rather, all boundaries between center and periphery should be deconstructed. [1]

Western society is, in many ways, a deconstructed civilization. Modern human rights laws have ensured that the views of vulnerable minorities are respected and listened to. Whereas in the past women were seen as inferior, today they are often regarded as superior to men.

In Judaism, too, one can identify these two approaches and philosophies--what I would call the non-Kabbalistic view of Judaism and the Kabbalistic view of Judaism. While both affirm the Thirteen Principles of Faith (the fundamental beliefs and doctrines of Judaism as formulated by Maimonides) and fully adhere to Halachah (Torah law), the former represents an almost "feudal" outlook while the latter is deconstructivist in its perspective.

In non-Kabbalistic Judaism, the center is held distinct from the periphery. An enclave of (male) Torah scholars keeps itself aloof from the unlearned, spiritually disenfranchised masses. Theologically, the center is occupied by the spiritual and the holy; the periphery by the material and the mundane. There is little contact or movement between the center and the periphery, and only for the latter to serve the former.

The Kabbalah, particularly as interpreted by the Chabad school, adds a deconstructivist element to Judaism. It notes the inherent superiority of the female over the male and says that in the messianic epoch women will be perceivably greater than men. Similarly, the Kabbalah deconstructs the boundaries between the physical and the spiritual. Whereas non-Kabbalistic Judaism holds spirituality superior to physicality, the Kabbalah maintains that in the final analysis the physical is more potent.

The principle is simple: the higher the source the lower it reaches. Esau is thus seen as having a higher spiritual antecedent than Jacob. One who meditates may reach lofty spiritual heights; however, the essence of G-d will remain elusive. Ironically, Kabbalah teaches that the only way one can connect to the Divine essence is through the physical. Spiritual levels are by definition constantly cognizant of their dependency on their sources. Conversely, physical objects project auras of egocentricity--they seem to depend on nothing other than themselves for their existence. This aura is, in a sense, a reflection of the the nature of the Divine essence whose existence is truly independent. [2] According to the Kabbalists, the ex nihilo nature of the creation of the physical universe necessitates direct intervention of the Divine essence. It is this intervention that allowed the physical to assume its egocentric aura. Thus, there is a unique similarity--at least in terms of language--an

This sheds light on the mitzvot, which are mainly physical acts rather than mystical meditations. It is precisely through the physical act of a mitzvah that the most profound connection with the Divine is forged. In fact, according to a Midrash[4]--adopted by the Kabbalists--the purpose of creation was for humans to unveil the Divine essence found in those parts of the universe which are most devoid of G-dliness. This stresses the inherent value of the mundane and unrefined aspects of the universe--where the mission is most intense. [5] This completely deconstructs the boundaries: [6] what was once regarded as the centre--without the Kabbalistic explanation--can now be seen as the periphery, and vice versa.


- Rabbi Levi I. Brackman is director of Judaism in the Mountains and the author of numerous articles on issues of the day.

Footnotes:
1. See Jacques Derrida, Of Grammatology, John Hopkins, (1976).
2. See Maimonides, The Book of Knowledge, 1:3.
3. For a more in-depth analysis of post-modern parallels with the Chassidic School of Kabbalistic thought, see Naftali Loewenthal's forthcoming article, "Jewish Mysticism in a World of Change: Pre-Modern, Modern and Post-Modern Perspectives," which in part inspired this article.
4. Bamidbar Rabba, 13:6; this Midrash is quoted most frequently in Chabad Chassidic litrature.
5. See Body: The Physical World According to Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi and other articles on the subject of A Dwelling for G-d in the Physical World. For a complete treatise on this subject see Faitel Levin's Heaven on Earth (Kehot 2002).
6. Inherent in deconstructing boundaries is the danger of losing all sense of limits, and thus raising the possibility of further concealing the Divine essence. To forestall this possibility the Halachah (Jewish law) must be steadfastly adhered to at all times.
 
Daily Mitzvah (Maimonides) Day 102 of 339 - Positive Mitzvah 147
12.19.05 (8:08 am)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 12, 5766 * December 13, 2005

========================= ===========
D A I L Y M I T Z V A H (M A I M O N I D E S )
========================= ===========
Today's Mitzvot (Day 102 of 339): Positive Mitzvah 147
------------------------- ------------------------- ----------------

Positive Mitzvah 147: Covering the Blood of a Slaughtered Wild Animal or Bird

-Leviticus 17:13 "And he shall pour out its blood, and cover it with earth"

The Torah permits us to slaughter a kosher animal in order to derive nourishment from the animal.

Nevertheless, its life force, its blood, must be respected and treated with dignity.

Thus, the Torah commands us to cover up the blood which is spilled when we slaughter fowl or kosher animals from the wild.
 
Daily Mitzvah (Maimonides) Day 108 of 339 - Positive Mitzvah 7
12.19.05 (8:06 am)   [edit]
B"H

Kislev 18, 5766 * December 19, 2005

========================= ===========
D A I L Y M I T Z V A H (M A I M O N I D E S )
========================= ===========

Today's Mitzvah (Day 108 of 339): Positive Mitzvah 7
------------------------- ------------------------- ----------------

Positive Mitzvah 7: Taking an oath in G-d's name

-Deuteronomy 10:20 "And swear by His name"

In court, when the defendant is called to the stand, he or she is questioned again and again by the lawyers and the judge.

The defendant tries to convince the jury that he is not guilty of the crime he is charged with. The judge demands that he swear he is telling the truth.

The defendant chooses to swear by something he holds to be sacred and important. He hopes this will impress the jury of his sincerity and innocence.

In a Beit Din, a Jew may also be required to take an oath confirming that he is telling the truth.

When taking an oath, he is commanded to swear by the name of HaShem. He will be using HaShem's holy name to convince the court of his honesty.
 
Daily Lift #866 - Admith the Truth
12.19.05 (7:59 am)   [edit]
Daily Lift #866 Admit The Truth

When you speak to others, admit the truth when they are right.

People often deny the truth because they are afraid that others will look down at them if they admit making a mistake. But in fact, most people will respect you more when they see that you have the moral courage to admit when you are wrong. (see Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler - Michtav MaiEliyahu, vol.4, pp.244-5; Rabbi Pliskin's "Consulting the Wise")
 
Daily Lift #865 - Be Patient in Your Growth
12.19.05 (7:56 am)   [edit]
Daily Lift #865
Be Patient In Your Growth

Be patient in your efforts to integrate and internalize new ideas, tools, and patterns. It is normal to experience ups and downs. Don't let difficulties discourage you. Growth and change are lifetime processes. Feel joy with every degree of improvement.
(From Rabbi Pliskin's book "Marriage" - Introduction, p.14)
 
Daily Lift #864 - Challenges for Growth
12.19.05 (7:55 am)   [edit]
Daily Lift #864
Challenges For Growth

The goal of all education, preaching, and instruction is the development of mature individuals who will understand that difficulties in life are Divine-ordained challenges to overcome and opportunities for growth, and not excuses for defeat.


(Rabbi Aaron M. Brafman; The Jewish Observer, Dec.1982; Gateway to Happiness, p.388)
 
Eruvin, Chapter One, Mishnah Seven - Reading for Monday Dec 19 2005
12.19.05 (7:42 am)   [edit]
Eruvin, Chapter One, Mishnah Seven - Reading for Monday, December 19, 2005

Introduction

This mishnah discusses the material which can be used to make the side-posts.

Mishnah Seven
1) One may make the side-posts out of anything, even something that is alive.
a) But Rabbi Yose prohibits this.
2) It also causes defilement as the covering of a tomb,
a) But Rabbi Meir makes pure.
3) One may write on them gittin,
a) But Rabbi Yose the Galilean declares it unfit.

Explanation

Section one: According to the first opinion, one may use even an animal to make the side-post. The animal would have to be tied in place, so that it couldn't wander away. Similarly, one can, according to some opinions, use an animal to make a wall of a sukkah. We have seen several similarities between the laws of setting up the cross-beam and side-post and the sukkah. Rabbi Yose prohibits using an animal, lest it dies and become less than the required ten handbreadths high.

Section two: If one used an animal to cover a tomb, the animal will convey ritual defilement, as do all coverings of tombs. The tomb described here was not in the ground, as tombs usually are today, but a cave in the side of a hill. The animal must be tied to the tomb in order for it to be considered a tomb covering.

Rabbi Meir holds that anything that is alive cannot transmit impurity if used as a tomb covering. Therefore, one who touches an animal used to cover a tomb is still pure. Section three: One can write a get on animal, for instance on the horn of a cow, and then divorce one's wife by giving her the cow (see Gittin 2:3). Rabbi Yose the Galilean says that such a get is invalid because it is not like a scroll, specifically mentioned as the divorce document in Deuteronomy
24:3.
 
JWR Today for Monday Dec 19 2005
12.19.05 (7:23 am)   [edit]

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Monday, Dec. 19, 2005

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[ J E W I S H  L I V I N G ]

---> outlook
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir

The ethics of shopping around

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Saudi moneybags has become Crimson sugar daddy, Hoya honey pot and
Fox News policy maker
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There's one good thing about the news that Alwaleed bin Talal, the
richest Saudi prince in the world, just bought Harvard and
Georgetown universities --- or, at least buried them up to their ivy
in $40 million.

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---> reality check
Sharon suffers mild stroke; episode raises doubts about new party
By Michael Matza

"He is going to recover, and (his handlers) will play it down," said
Uri Dromi, a political analyst with the Israel Democracy Institute.
"But it really reminds people that he is not terribly healthy and
that Kadima is really a one-man show."

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[ T O D A Y  I N  H I S T O R Y ]

On this day in .

* 1732, Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."

* 1776, Thomas Paine publishes his first "American Crisis" essay

* 1777, Continental Army enters winter camp at Valley Forge

* 1823, Georgia passes the first US state birth registration law

* 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan,
opens

* 1907, 239 workers die in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek,
Pennsylvania

* 1958, the U.S. satellite Atlas transmits the first radio voice
broadcast from space

* 1972, Apollo 17 lands in the Pacific, ending the Apollo program of
manned lunar landings

* 1986, Gorbachev releases Sakharov from internal exile

* 1998, President Clinton becomes only the second U.S. president to
be impeached when the House of Representatives approved two articles
of impeachment, charging him with perjury and obstruction of
justice. The allegations stemmed from the actions he took to conceal
his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

* 2000, President-elect Bush meets with President Clinton in
Washington. ALSO: The UN Security Council voted to impose broad
sanctions on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless they closed
terrorist training camps and surrender U-S embassy bombing suspect
Osama bin Laden


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[ W O R T H  1 0 0 0  W O R D S ]


* Frank & Ernest
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* The Born Loser
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* Chip Bok http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/bok/bok1.asp" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/bok/bok1.asp" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview....

* Gary Varvel
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* Ed Gamble
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* Jake Fuller
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* Gary Brookins
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* Scott Stantis
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* Michael Ramirez
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[ L I F E S T Y L E S ]


* NextSteps: Elder Matters Power of attorney can be a powerful
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* Growing number of illegal immigrants fleeing the law back home
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* Everyday Cheapskate: Tipping the scales in favor of gratitude
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* Dr. Peter H. Gott: Surgery might not be the answer for flat feet;
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* Bruce Williams on JWR: Check your own checks; wife's bank refuses
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[ I N S I G H T ]


* Mark Steyn: Iraq vote leaves Dems looking like the losers
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* Argus Hamilton's political zingers!
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* Mitch Albom: Definition of 'fan' has become outdated
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* Tom Purcell: All Iraqis need to know
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* Clarence Page: Wit, wisdom from two departed icons
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* Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Matching Granddad? He wins hands down
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* Froma Harrop: Progressive tax, or regressive blue
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* Michael Barone: Lessons of 25 Years (EXCELLENT!)
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* Tucker Carlson: What if Bush is right about Iraq?
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* Mort Kondracke: McCain amendment goes too far barring coercive
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* Paul Greenberg: Talking power to truth
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* Jeff Jacoby: Obsessive anti-Semitism (SPOT ON!)
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* Peter A. Brown: China's pollution pass hurts U.S.
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* Bill O'Reilly: The Lieberman factor