Why are there Ashkenazic and Sefardic Jews?

Rabbi Mendel Kessin, latest shiur

What's In A Name

The Hebrew word for soul is "Neshama" - נשׁמה
The middle letters of נשׁמה spell "shem" - which means "name".

This shows us the importance of your name - it is the centre of the soul.

Your Hebrew name functions as a conduit, channeling spiritual energy from G-d into your soul and your body.

This is why, say the Chassidic masters, an unconscious person will often respond and be revived when his or her name is called. To wake someone up, all you need to do is whisper their Hebrew name into their ear.

Your Hebrew name is your spiritual call sign, embodying your unique character traits and G-d-given gifts. Ideally, you should use it 24 hours a day, not just when you're called to the Torah or when prayers are offered on your behalf.

According to Jewish custom, a critically ill person is sometimes given an additional Hebrew name -- somewhat like a spiritual bypass operation to funnel fresh spirituality around their existing name and into their bodies; with the influx of spirituality, the body is given renewed vigor to heal itself.

The book of Genesis teaches that G-d created the world with "speech" ("And G-d said, 'Let there be light!', and there was light" ).

In the Kabbalah it is explained that the 22 sacred letters of the Hebrew alef-bet are the spiritual "building blocks" of all created reality, and that the name of a thing in the Holy Tongue represents the combination of sacred letters that reflects its distinct characteristics and the purpose and role towards which it was created.

If you are not using your Hebrew name, you are not tapping into your G-d given powers. If you're feeling tired and rundown, this could be the solution to your inertia.

Usually, your Hebrew name is given to you soon after birth. Jewish boys are named at their brit (circumcision), and girls at a Torah reading shortly after their birth. Your name is selected by your parents who usually name you after a dear departed loved one, most often an ancestor. Or, if they don’t have anyone to memorialize, you just might end up with a Hebrew name of their own preference. Either way, however, our sages have declared that your parents' choice of a name constitutes a "minor prophecy", since the name they choose conforms with the inborn nature of your soul.

If your parents didn't give you a brit or didn't name you at a Torah reading -- or if you're a non-Jew who's converting to Judaism -- you can select any Hebrew name that resonates with you.

[Chabad]

There are people who complete the mission associated with their name in the middle of their lifetime.

They are then given a new mission, and hence, a new name. This concept contains many deep and awesome secrets.

It is customary to give a new name to a dangerously sick person. The sick person has already fulfilled his destiny according to his original name, and is therefore ready to die. We then give him a new name, thereby also giving him a new mission. The sick person can now continue to live and complete the mission associated with his new name.

Our Rabbis teach us that Moses had many names. Moses had many missions in life; he therefore required a different name for each one of his great tasks.

Source: Rebbe Nachman's Wisdom

Naming A Baby After Someone Who Recently Died

by Rav Menashe Klein

Rav Menashe Klein (Mishneh Halachos 4:152) was asked if it is permissible to name a baby after someone who died but was not yet buried. Although reluctant to answer a question not found in Shas or Poskim, he said that people are noheg to do so.

However he did see in the Zohar that it may not be effective. The Zohar says that until a person is buried, his Neshama cannot enter another a person in the form of a Gilgul. Since one of the reasons we name after a niftar is to enable the neshama to enter the child as a gilgul, it would be pointless until after the burial. This is also the opinion of the Shu"t Tshuras Shai and the Recanti.

What if the child was born while the person was still alive but the name will be given after the burial? In this case he says that even though the child already received a neshama at birth, nevertheless the neshama of the gilgul can enter at the time the name is given. We see this from Pinchas who received the neshamos of Nadav and Avihu even though he was alive at the time of their death.

This is the same logic as giving a sick person a new name. The hope is that the neshama of a person with the same name will enter into him and extend his life. For this reason changing the name of a Choleh should be handled only by someone who is well versed in these matters.

Source: Revach L'Neshama

The Limitations of Black Magic

By: Rabbi Eliyahu Haim Aboud

There was a time in history when the powers of sorcery were brought to the test and their inherent limitations were exposed, much to the humiliation of its arrogant practitioners.

The Torah relates that when Moshe and Aharon first approached Pharaoh to demand the release of the Israelite slaves, Aharon threw his wooden staff to the ground and it was miraculously transformed into a live serpent. Pharaoh then ordered his magicians to mimic the feat, and they, too, threw their staffs and turned them into serpents. Much to their surprise, however, Aharon's staff-serpent promptly devoured all the magicians’ serpents. The commentaries explain [1] that this incident was intended to prove that Moshe’s demonstration was not derived by the powers of sorcery, as Pharaoh suspected. The Egyptian magicians were not able to create real living creatures; but rather only snake-like forms which could never attack and devour other snakes. Aharon’s snake, however, which was created using the forces of kedusha (holiness), rather than the forces of impurity, was a real-live serpent which had the power to attack the others.

This distinction was reinforced during the plague of blood. When Aharon struck the waters of the Nile River with his staff, the entire river miraculously turned into real blood, such that all the fish in the river died as a result of consuming the blood. But when the Egyptian sorcerers attempted to turn water into blood, they could only make the water appear like blood, but not turn it into actual blood[2]. Likewise, during the plague of frogs, Aharon created actual frogs which rapidly reproduced and begot many others, while the magicians could only create frog-like creatures which were incapable of reproducing. During the third plague, the plague of lice, the magicians failed in their attempts to replicate Aharon’s feat of transforming dust into vermin, and were thus forced to confess that the plague was brought about by “the finger of G-d [3].” During the subsequent plagues, the magicians did not even attempt to duplicate Moshe and Aharon’s miracles.

The commentaries explain [4] that Hashem did not give the forces of impurity limitless creative capabilities because they would then be able to create entire new worlds to advance their evil agenda. Therefore, their powers are generally limited to acts of illusion and the use of demons and spirits.

Probably the greatest sorcerer of all time was the evil prophet Bilaam, who, as the Torah relates, attempted to place a curse on the Jewish people and have them annihilated. The commentaries explain [5] that Bilaam’s extraordinary powers stemmed from his mastery of sorcery and black magic, and not from his abilities as a prophet. In fact, he was not worthy of prophecy at all, and was given prophetic capabilities only for a very brief period. This is why in the Prophets he is referred to as “Bilaam Hakosem–Bilaam the Sorcerer,” with no mention of his prophetic status. According to the Midrash [6] Bilaam and his two sons were originally the most prestigious advisors and sorcerers of Pharaoh during the period of Bene Yisrael’s enslavement. And many other stories abound of ancient nations who enlisted Bilaam to reveal to them the outcome of their battles and to help them win through his extraordinary mystical powers.[7]

Bilaam acquired his great powers of sorcery directly from the evil angels Aza and Azael. Bilaam visited these two angels every day until he learned all the mystical secrets they knew. [8]

Some sources identify Bilaam with Lavan, Yaakov’s crooked father-in-law, who sought to destroy Yaakov and prevent the emergence of the Jewish people. According to this tradition, Bilaam lived well over 300 years. [9]

Bilaam was killed by Bene Yisrael during the battle of Midyan prior to their entering the land of Israel. [10]  The Midrash relates [11] that when the Jews captured Bilaam, he used sorcery to raise himself and the five kings of Midyan high in the air and disappear from sight. (Though the powers of impurity can only be summoned while standing on the ground, once the sorcery is initiated, the subject could use the powers to levitate off the ground for a period of time.) Pinhas, the grandson of Aharon, flew after him by uttering the divine name or, according to others, by directing the name of Hashem written on the tzitz (frontlet) of the kohen gadol towards the airborne Midyanites counteracting Bilaam’s powers of magic. Bilaam and the kings immediately fell to the ground and were then easily killed by Bene Yisrael. Bilaam’s decaying body and tarnished soul transformed into evil spirits, snakes and scorpions, the result of the impurity with which they had been saturated during his lifetime. [12]


Limited Time Span
The commentaries add [13] that objects created by the powers of sorcery cannot remain in existence permanently. These creations can exist for only limited periods of time, after which the laws of nature take hold and return them to their original state. This is why the frogs that descended upon Egypt during the second plague remained in the Nile River after the plague, and did not just disappear. Gd demonstrated to Pharaoh and the Egyptians that His creations can exist indefinitely, as opposed to the creations of magic, which are only temporary.

Sorcery is also subject to limited accessibility. The Zohar writes that the forces of impurity are unable to perform magic from hassot (midnight) at night [14] until midday, whereas Hashem, of course, can overturn the natural order he created anytime He wishes.

Additionally, someone born during the month of Adar II, on a leap year, cannot be affected by magic. This is because he is born in a month which doesn’t have a specific mazal and “doesn’t really exist”. Therefore the magicians have no way of dealing with him. In this vein, when Yehoshua gathered an army to fight Amalek, who came to fight Beneh Yisrael using witchcraft, he purposely chose people who were born in Adar II, to whom these forces take no affect.

Not Underground

The Midrash teaches[15]that after Pharaoh’s edict ordering the drowning of all newborn Jewish males in the Nile River, expectant Jewish mothers would go out to the fields to give birth, and would leave their infants there. Hashem sent angels to care for the newborns, and when the Egyptian patrolmen would arrive in search of the infants, Hashem would make the ground open and bring the children underground. The Egyptians, attributing this phenomenon to black magic, persisted in their efforts to capture and kill the Hebrew infants. Knowing that magic cannot be implemented deeper than one handbreadth underground, they brought plows to dig deep into the earth and expose the children. But the babies were not found no matter how deep the plows dug, demonstrating to the Egyptian sorcerers that Hashem’s supernatural powers are not bound by the limitations that apply to magic.

Only When Standing on the Ground

The Mishna tells[16]of the great sage Shimon Ben Shetah who used his knowledge of sorcery's limitations to successfully capture 80 witches who had been hiding in a cave in the town of Ashkelon. He brought 80 young men with him to the mouth of the cave, and announced to the witches that he had used magic to bring them 80 young men for their entertainment and pleasure. The witches expressed interest, and the rabbi instructed his men to quickly enter the cave and “embrace” the witches, each man lifting one witch off the ground. Since the powers of sorcery can only be summoned only while standing on the ground, the witches were rendered powerless. The young men quickly carried them to Bet Din where they were all charged with practicing forbidden acts of sorcery.

The commentaries add [17] that this was one of the reasons why the magicians of Egypt could not duplicate the plague of lice. The ground throughout Egypt had turned to lice, and thus the sorcerers were not standing directly on the ground. This rendered them powerless and unable to practice their magic.

Overturned by Fresh Water

The Talmud relates [18] that one of the sages once visited the Egyptian city of Alexandria where he purchased a donkey. When he brought the animal to a stream of water to drink, the donkey drank and immediately turned into a plank of wood. The rabbi returned to the dealer and demanded that he return the money, as he had been defrauded.

“Since you are a rabbi,” the man said, “I will give you your money back. Ordinarily, however, I would never refund a customer in such a case, because here in Egypt, everyone knows to check their merchandise by pouring fresh water on it to discern if it is merely a creation of magic, which dissolves when touched by fresh water.”

No Power of Resurrection

The Talmud tells [19] of a sage who once watched an Arab merchant slice a camel into many pieces, and then shook his bell. The camel stood up in one piece, alive and well, and the merchant thus claimed to possess the power of resurrection. The sage relayed this story to his colleagues, and they inquired as to whether he saw any remnants of blood or innards after the camel stood up. He answered in the negative, and the other rabbis saw this as proof that what he had seen was just an illusion, as the camel had never really died. The forces of impurity do not have the power of resurrection, and it was therefore impossible that the camel had died and was then returned to life.

By contrast, the prophet and great sages who were endowed with the powers of kedusha had the ability to resurrect the dead. The Navi, in Sefer Melachim, describes how the prophet Eliyahu and his student Elisha performed tehiyat hametim (resurrection) on various occasions. And a well-known tradition teaches that any sage mentioned by name in the Talmud was on the spiritual level to perform tehiyat hametim.

These powers were accessible to certain rabbis of later generations, as well. Once, in the 16thcentury, a young Arab boy was found murdered, and, as often happened, the Jews were accused of murdering the child and faced severe punitive measures. But a great rabbi named Rabbi Klonimous from Safed saved them by writing certain words on a piece of parchment which he then placed on the dead boy’s forehead. Suddenly, in full view of the large audience that had gathered, the boy rose to his feet and told the entire story of the real murder and where it took place. He then fell again to the ground, lifeless[20].

The Overpowering Forces of Kedusha

Even though the forces of impurity were given the power to perform supernatural acts, these powers pale in comparison to those of the forces of kedusha, in which Hashem invested far more strength. As the aforementioned stories from the Tanach and Talmud clearly demonstrate, the powers of kedusha can be used to subdue and triumph over the forces of sorcery. Thus, for example, Pinhas succeeded in defeating Bilaam, and many sages were able to remove magical spells through the use of the forces of sanctity[21].

[1]See commentary of Seforno Parashat Va’era chapter 7:23

[2]Ibid

[3]Parashat Va’era 8:15

[4]Maharsha in Sanhedrin 67b

[5]Ramban in Parashat Balak chapter 22:31

[6]Yalkut Shimoni Parashat Shemot, chapter 168

[7]Ibid, Sefer Hayasher Parashat Shemot

[8]Sefer Kav Hayashar chapter 28

[9]Yalkut Shimoni Parashat Shemot chapter 168

[10]Parashat Matot chapter 31:8

[11]Ibid (see Rashi and Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel)

[12]Sefer Kav Hayashar chapter 28

[13]Seforno Parashat Va’era 8:5

[14]Malbim Perashat Va’era 8:8

[15]Tractate Sota 11b and see Maharsha.

[16]Tractate Sanhedrin 45b (see Talmud Yerushalmi)

[17]Meam Loez: Parashat Va’era 8:4

[18]Tractate Sanhedrin 67b

[19]Tractate Sanhedrin 67b

[20]Sefer Simhat Haregel by The Hida, (on his commentary of Nishmat).

[21]Sefer Nefesh Hahayim chapter 3:11

The Erev Rav - The Evil And Corrupt Of The Holy Nation

Rabbi Yehoshua Zitron - this is Part 6 in his Moshiach series

Previous lectures can be found at Torah Anytime

-Who is the erev rav

-The history of erev rav  [the magicians from Egypt]

-The corrupt people

-The people who cause others to sin

''Before the arrival of the Moshiach there are going to be many rabbis who are from the Erev Rav'' [Divrei Chaim]

Rabbi Kessin on Comey

A short clip - regarding Comey.

Three Ways Hashem Interacts With The World

Rabbi Mendel Kessin

God interacts with the world in 3 ways to ensure that as many people merit the bliss of Olam Haba / the world-to-come as possible.

A Star Will Shoot Forth....

 

"A star will shoot forth from Jacob, and a staff will arise from Israel" [Balak 24:17]

Rambam understood the verse above as referring to King David and Moshiach.  The Jerusalem Talmud, however, uses the metaphor of a "star" in this verse to refer to even the ordinary Jew. 

At first glance, this appears to be a contradiction, for Moshiach represents the highest perfection possible in a human being, whereas the "ordinary" Jew includes every Jewish person, even the most simple.  However, the matter can be reconciled based on the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that every Jew contains within him a "spark" of the soul of Moshiach.  The verse therefore refers to both Moshiach himself and the "Moshiach" within us.

The presence of this "spark" of Moshiach has a twofold implication:

a) The verse states the star will "shoot forth" suggesting that one's personal spark of Moshiach should be revealed and "shoot out" into the world;

b) Every Jew is able to speed up and bring about the actual manifestation of Moshiach through revealing his own spark and adding in Torah and Mitzvot.

Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

The Lower You Fall, The Higher You Can Rise

Yerida L'tzorech Aliyah

There is no ascent [aliyah] without a prior descent [yeridah]. The lower the descent, the higher the potential ascent.

Collecting diamonds from the mud: how to rise after you've fallen: Rabbi Alon Anava

Rabbi Kessin: What Ahavas Hashem Really Is

Ahavas Hashem: Love of Hashem

Rabbi Kessin's latest shiur

The Secret Behind the Vision

Chevlei Moshiach - the birthpangs of Moshiach - from the Holocaust until now.

The vision of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ;  the secrets behind his global mission to bring the Redemption, and why it is taking so long; our obligation to teach the nations.; the millions of ''Noahides'' in the world now.

Rabbi Alon Anava

The Living Waters of Miriam

"The congregation had no water, so they ganged up against Moshe and Aharon..." [Chukat 20:2]

Water assists the digestive system to break down food, and the water within the bloodstream carries those nutrients to all parts of the body.  This represents the mission of all Jewish women: to bring the well of living water - Torah - to nourish all segments of the Jewish people, even those who totally lack knowledge of it.  Thus we find that, while still in Egypt, Miriam devoted herself to small children, and her heroic efforts led to the annulment of Pharoah's decree against children.  Consequently, it was in her merit that the well water came, since water represents the universal dissemination of Torah.

Thus, when a mother, sister or teacher educates a child, we witness the modern-day "living waters of Miriam" sustaining the Jewish people in exile, making it possible to go peacefully throughout our current "sojourn" in the "desert" of exile.

In addition to providing water to drink, Miriam's well also made it possible for the mitzvah of taharas hamishpachah [family purity] to be fulfilled.  There was no other source of water in the desert, so Miriam's well served as a mikvah, enabling children to be born throughout the forty years.

The custom of drawing water on Motzei Shabbat [to draw from the well of Miriam] is cited in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch.  This appears to suggest that it is applicable today; however, this was not a custom practiced in the House of the Chabad Rebbeim.  In any case, it certainly applies to all of us spiritually: studying this law about Miriam's well influences the whole week, that it may be a healthy week in both spiritual and physical terms.

Source: Gutnick Chumash: Based on various Sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Chukat: The Death of a Tzadik

Art Laurence Amelie

Source: Rav Kook Torah

As the Israelites neared the end of their forty-year trek in the wilderness, they lost two great leaders, Miriam and Aaron. While a tremendous loss for the nation, their passing had a hidden spiritual benefit.

The Torah informs us of Miriam's death immediately after enumerating the laws of the Parah Adumah, the red heifer whose ashes were used for purification. The Talmudic sages already wondered what connection there might be between Miriam's death and the Parah Adumah :

"Why is the death of Miriam juxtaposed to the laws of the Parah Adumah? This teaches that just as the Parah Adumah brings atonement, so too, the death of the righteous brings atonement." [Mo'ed Katan 28a]

While this connection between Miriam and the Parah Adumah is well-known, the continuation of the same Talmudic statement, concerning the death of Aaron, is less so.

"And why is the death of Aaron juxtaposed to [the mention of] the priestly clothes? This teaches that just as the priestly clothes bring atonement, so too, the death of the righteous brings atonement."

In what way does the death of tzaddikim atone for the people? And why does the Talmud infer this lesson from both the Parah Adumah and the priestly clothes?

Larger Than Life

The principal benefit that comes from the death of tzaddikim is the spiritual and moral awakening that takes place after they pass away. When a tzaddik is alive, his acts of kindness and generosity are not always public knowledge. True tzaddikim do not promote themselves. On the contrary, they often take great pains to conceal their virtues and charitable deeds. It is not uncommon that we become aware of their true greatness and nobility of spirit only after they are no longer with us. Only then do we hear reports of their selfless deeds and extraordinary sensitivity, and we are inspired to emulate their ways. In this way, the positive impact of the righteous as inspiring role models increases after their death.

While stories of their fine traits and good deeds stir us to follow in their path, certain aspects of great tzaddikim — extraordinary erudition and scholarship, for example — are beyond the capabilities of most people to emulate. In such matters, the best we can do is to take upon ourselves to promote these qualities in our spiritual leadership, such as supporting the Torah study of young, promising scholars.

Two Forms of Emulation

In short, the death of tzaddikim inspires us to imitate their personal conduct — if possible, in our own actions, and if not, by ensuring that there will be others who will fill this spiritual void.

These two methods of emulation parallel the different forms of atonement through the Parah Adumah and the priestly clothes. Ritual purification using Parah Adumah ashes was only effective when they were sprinkled on the body of the impure person; no one else could be purified in his place. This is comparable to those aspects of the tzaddik that are accessible to, and incumbent upon, all to emulate.

The priestly garments, on the other hand, were only worn by the kohanim. It was through the service of these holy emissaries that the entire nation was forgiven. This is like those extraordinary traits of the tzaddik that are beyond the capabilities of most people. These qualities can be carried on only by a select few, with the support of the entire nation.

Gimmel Tammuz

Art: Robert Kremnizer

The 3rd of Tammuz this year begins tonight [Monday] and on the day of Tuesday 27 June. Throughout Chabad this date is simply known as ''Gimmel Tammuz'' - the day of the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe  in 5754 [June 12 1994].

Chabad has a mass of information on the Rebbe and Gimmel Tammuz which can be found here.

Vision of Geula has an interesting post about Gimmel Tammuz and the date of Moshiach.  Click here to read.

Islam, Isis In The End of Days- Will Islam Take Over The World?

Rabbi Yehoshua Zitron

 

Understanding Moshiach

Rabbi Tovia Singer on the signs of the Moshiach, and the mystery of the 12th Principle of the Jewish Faith: Ani Ma'amin 

The Way of Strife

"Why do you elevate yourselves over Hashem's congregation?" [Korach 16:3]

Such is the nature of a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven, noted R' Simchah Bunim of P'shischa. It blinds the eyes and closes the hearts of the quarrelers, so that they lose their common sense.

For the Torah testifies about Moshe Rabbeinu: "Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth." How could anyone possibly accuse him of possessing the contemptible trait of arrogance? Yet this is exactly what Korach and his assembly did, as the verse states: "Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?"

Rather, this is the way of strife, the power of impurity that accompanies it totally corrupts an individual's intellect.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

What Yiras Hashem Really Is

Rabbi Mendel Kessin, new shiur

For the Sake of Heaven

Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi took [himself to one side] along with Dathan and Abiram..... [Korach 16:1]

Chazal state in Pirkei Avos [5:20] : ''Any dispute that is for the sake of Heaven will have a constructive outcome, but one that is not for the sake of Heaven will not have a constructive outcome.''

What sort of dispute was for the sake of Heaven? - the dispute between Hillel and Shammai. And which was not for the sake of Heaven? - the dispute between Korach and his entire company.

Why, asked R'Yonason Eybeschutz, does the Mishnah state: ''The dispute between Korach and his entire company''?  Wasn't the dispute between Korach and Moshe?

From here we learn, said R'Eybeschutz, that the dispute was not between Korach and Moshe at all; rather, it was really between Korach and his assembly, as each one of them was vying for leadership and power!  Moshe Rabbeinu, however, did not take up their quarrel; on the contrary, he tried his utmost to appease them so as not to carry on a dispute that would eventually lead to disastrous results.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Transparency

"It was the season when the first grapes ripen..." [Shelach 13:20 ]

Moses did not command the spies to bring back grapes in particular, but just "fruit", and we find that they brought back various fruits - grapes, pomegranates and figs [v.23]

So why does the Torah stress that "It was the season when the first grapes ripen" and not simply, the time when fruit was ripening?

The process of spying out the Land to conquer it represents our daily mission of evaluating how to advance the "conquering" of this physical world for G-d, through the most effective use of time and resources for Torah.  Verse 20 concludes that the goal of this process is represented by grapes: grapes are unique in that their seeds are visible through their skins, and this teaches us that the goal of our observance is to make the physical "skin" of this world transparent to its higher, spiritual purpose.

Source: Based on Sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shabbos Parshas Shelach 5750

The Seven Keys to Shamayim

Written by HaRav Moshe Wolfson shlita [Rav of Beis Medrash Emunas Yisroel and Mashgiach of Yeshivah Torah Vodaas]

Adapted from a shiur that was delivered under the auspices of Irgun Shiurai Torah and prepared for publication by Rabbi Yochonon Donn


Wordless Power

There are two types of song: one has words (this category would include the art of poetry) in which words are joined together to create a rhythmic pattern and a sense of uniformity. In this type, the feeling of enjoyment and relaxation that comes from hearing music results from the whole song including the words.

In the second type of song, the reason for the enjoyment it gives us is more obscure: it comes when notes are put together to create a wordless song. It is not logical that notes thrown together should elicit a sense of enjoyment in people, that wordless tunes can be enjoyed is a gift from Hashem.

Sefer Pe'as Hashulchan by Harav Yisrael of Shklov zt'l, cites the Vilna Gaon in saying that most of the secrets of Torah are hidden in the art of music and that without understanding music it is impossible to comprehend the Torah. This knowledge of music was given over to Moshe Rabbeinu on Har Sinai along with the rest of the Torah.

The Zohar even says that there is a heichal - an entranceway - in Shamayim that can be opened only with neginah (song). The Zohar relates that Dovid HaMelech approached that entrance only with the neginah of his Sefer Tehillim.

Keys to the Heichal

The seven major musical notes are called keys. Each of the seven keys opens a different door in Shamayim, and it is only through music that these entryways can be opened. Musicologists do not know why the term "key" is used, but it is quite possible that it is a tradition handed down from Yuval, whom the Torah identifies as the father of music.

When the Baal Ha'Tanya came to Shklov, the residents bombarded him with questions. Chabad sources say that he responded with only a niggun, which answered all their questions. As the Vilna Gaon explained, music opens the doors of Torah in Shamayim.

A Gemara in Arachin says that the kinor (stringed instrument) in the Beis Hamikdash had seven strings, but in the times of Moshiach it will have eight strings. There are seven major notes on a musical scale, and the seventh note corresponds to Shabbos, for Shabbos completes the kinor, so that even today one can sing. The seven days of the week are actually the seven tunes of Creation. When Shabbos - the seventh tune - arrives, the harp is complete. This is the reason why we usher in the Shabbos with kapitel 29 of Tehillim, which describes the seven kolos - since then we can proceed with song.

This is the reason for the minhag among Klal Yisrael of singing zemiros on Shabbos. HaRav Mordechai of Lechovich zt"l reportedly said that he would be able to believe that all the seven seas had dried up, but not that a Jew does not sing zemiros on Shabbos.

The reason people so enjoy songs is that the tones that form them have been combined ever since the six days of Creation. Some songs, however, only confuse a person, such as some modern-day songs that are based on, for example, the pounding of a drum, or on words that have no correlation to each other, such as many non-Jewish songs. While they have a tune, it is different than the accepted process of music.

This latter type of song leads to immorality, just as the tones of these songs have no relation to each other but are merely thrown together, immorality involves the relations of two people who are not meant for each other. Neither these songs nor illicit unions were predestined from Creation.

Seven Keys of Chesed

There is a fundamental difference between the seven ushpizin (the holy guests on Succot) and the twelve shvatim - the 12 tribes of Israel. Every Jew has a direct connection with the Ushpizin, whereas each shevet is a separate and unique entity, the shvatim are thus a symbol of disunity.

For every seven white keys, representing the major notes on the piano, there are five black keys, representing the minor notes, each of which is a half-tone higher or lower than the white key next to it. The black keys complement and harmonize with the white keys.

In general, someone who would play using just the white keys on the piano would be able to play only a lively song, while playing just the black keys would result in a sorrowful song of sadness.

It is likely then that another tradition handed down from Yuval is for the keys that play major notes to be white, for happy songs, while the black keys, which play the minor notes, are black, for mournful music.

White is a source of chessed (kindness) for Klal Yisrael (this may be one reason doctors wear white), on the Yamim Nora'im we wear white kittels. Black, on the other hand, represents the trait of gevurah (severity) and is a source and an expression of melancholy.

A song that is played using a combination of black and white keys mixes chessed and gevurah. Together the seven white keys and five black keys of an octave equal twelve, the number of tribes of Israel, which as mentoned above, can symbolize disunity. Such a song is appropriate only for galus. When Moshiach arrives, however, everything will be white, for there will be no atzvus (sadness).

Chazal tell us that when Moshiach comes, an eighth key will be added to music; this key will be a 'roundup' of the previous seven (similar to the all-inclusive kollel used in gematriyos).

In Sefer Tehillim (68:7) when Dovid HaMelech relates the events of our redemption from Mitzrayim, he says motzi asirim bakosharos - "(Hashem) releases those who are bound in chains". The Gemara explains that the word "bakosharos" is a combination of bechi and shiros - simultaneous crying and laughter. This is a song played with both the white and black keys. When Moshiach comes, however, there will only be shirah - a joyous song played with the white keys.