To Remain in the Desert

''You will not come to the Land...'' [Shelach 14:30]

G-d does not issue a punishment to bring revenge on the sinner.  Rather, the ''punishment'' is a form of spiritual ''medicine'' aimed at correcting the spiritual deficiency caused by a sin.

With this in mind, the ''punishment'' given to the Jewish people here is difficult to understand.  Their sin was that they did not wish to enter the Land because they desired to remain in the desert where they could serve G-d without distraction; and yet, their punishment was to receive what they wanted: to remain the desert [for forty years!]  How would this ''correct' their sin of not wanting to enter the Land?

In truth however, the sin of the spies was not that they were too spiritual, but rather they were not spiritual enough.  To be involved with the physical world and remain spiritually attuned demands the highest degree of attachment to G-d.  So when the generation showed that they were lacking this level of dedication, they were given 40 more years of unrestricted Divine worship, enabling them to reach the level where they would be ready to engage in the world.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Vol 33 Lubavitcher Rebbe

R' Eibeshutz's Prayer Secret

by Rabbi David Pinto Shlita

The gaon Rabbi Yehonatan Eibeshutz revealed a great secret in regards to prayer: In our prayers, we must focus on asking G-d to help us achieve integrity, as well as the merit of giving Him satisfaction.

He said the following [Ye'arot Devash Derush 5]:

The main focus of our prayers must consist of a desire to attain perfection, to become meritorious and give satisfaction to our Creator. This is in addition, of course, to our prayers concerning the exile of the Shechinah, the exile of Israel, and the disappearance of integrity in this world. Even when we ask for material possessions, our goal must not be to accumulate unnecessary riches out of desire or greed, but simply to not lack anything that could hinder our service of G-d.

In reality, because of our numerous sins, because everything is lacking, we have lost all wisdom and every sense of proper conduct. Men of treachery and violence grow in number, the righteous cannot protest, the wisdom of the poor is ridiculed, and nobody listens to their words.

Hence we must pray to Hashem for the means to study in relative ease without having to make requests of anyone. In regards to a person who does not occupy himself with Torah study, he should pray that he never resorts to theft, violence, or dishonesty in order to earn a living. He should pray not to encroach upon the boundaries of his neighbor, not to experience jealously or be involved either with disputes or ill-gotten gains, and even to encourage the weak and support the poor.

Supporting those who devote themselves to the study of Torah is essential to our life. It is the foundation of perfection and the reward for all that is truly good, that which was ours and which we lost. In fact it is the last thing that G-d has left us in His immense kindness: Hashem has nothing in His world other than four cubits of Halachah, which replace sacrifice and incense, thanks to which the Shechinah dwelled above the Holy Ark. In our time, those who genuinely study Torah merit the Shechinah in their presence and in the presence of those who support them, maintaining the pillar of Torah and participating in the construction of the Beit Hamikdash. Happy is the one who supports the Tree of Life.

It is therefore from this perspective that we should ask Hashem to grant us wealth. If this is not our intention, then the material possessions we receive will end up becoming a source of misfortune. This is because they will be controlled by evil spirits, and we will no longer be in control of them. As we read, a “sore evil” [Kohelet 5:12] will afflict him, for he seeks material wealth out of sheer desire, not to support the poor and those who study Torah. As a result, he will not be able to properly use such wealth, for evil spirits will control it.

This is why the Birkat Kohanim states, “May G-d bless you” – with material possessions. Yet what good is there in having money that was amassed to our sorrow, and which will lead us to Gehinnom, G-d forbid? Hence it adds, “and protect you” – from evil spirits. May we always be able to use our money for the good.

Eternal Values

Likewise, when we pray for long life, it should be with the intention of devoting it to the fulfillment of G-d’s will. As our Sages affirm, “One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come” [Pirkei Avoth 4:17]. Furthermore, our numerous sins and the burden of exile in our time still delay our access to wisdom, truth, and integrity. Thus if we only attain it at an advanced age, leaving this world prematurely is like not having lived, considered to be like “never having seen the day.” In fact what do we gain from our labor, and what will we have amassed by our work to bring an offering before G-d? Is it not true that “the reaper has gathered nothing”?

Finally, many of us would need to live more than a thousand years in order to repent of the sins of our youth, to return to Hashem, and to rectify what we have damaged in a single day of disobedience to G-d.

This is why our prayers must be aimed in the right direction: Everything must be for the truth, not for falsehood or vanity, which characterize this world of substitution and reversal, one devoid of eternal values.

Love and Positivity

''....they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of sky blue [wool] on the fringe of each corner.'' [Shelach 15:38]

The turquoise strands of the tzitzit allude to ''abandoning evil'' [negative] and serving G-d out of fear; the white strands allude to ''doing good'' [positive] and serving G-d out of love.

In the current era, the turquoise dye [techelet] is not available to us, leaving all eight strands white. This teaches us that nowadays our emphasis in serving G-d should be on love and positivity.

Source: Likutei Sichos vol 8 Lubavitcher Rebbe

R' Mendel Kessin - 21st Century #3, more on Trump and Obama

To see previous videos on this subject by Rabbi Kessin, click on the KESSIN label below.

Brexit's Shmittah Hint

The world stock market plunge on Friday June 24, as a result of Brexit, occurred exactly 7 years, 7 months, 7 weeks and 7 days after the stock market crash of September 29, 2008 [erev Rosh Hashanah 5769] when the Dow fell 777 points.  Click here to see the calculation.

All those sevens hint to the Shemitah year and the oft-repeated phrase ''Motzei Shevi''it''  - after the seventh.

Sealed with Actual Tears

The United States Postal Service [USPS] in the late 80s - early 90s, confirmed that the Lubavitcher Rebbe received more pieces of mail each week than any other person in the entire country except for the President of the United States. What's amazing about this is that the US President has a whole team of people at the White House hired to open the mail being addressed to him, while the Rebbe personally opened 'each' letter addressed to him at 770.

Someone once suggested to the Rebbe that maybe he should at least use a machine to open these enormous piles of letters [arriving at 770 in huge mail bags each week from places all throughout the world], as the machine would speed up the process. The mail poured in each week from people of all walks of life, Jews, non-Jews, religious, non-religious, dignitaries, poor people, rich people, young people, old people, etc. Opening each letter by hand was very time consuming. And the Rebbe's schedule was much more busy than a normal person- the Rebbe barely slept, never took a vacation during his time as Rebbe, never left New York City during his time as Rebbe except on about two occasions to visit two different Lubavitch children's camps Upstate, and not one second was wasted.

And as the Lubavitch movement grew, so too did the mail grow.  [First it was confirmed by the USPS in the 70s that the Rebbe received more mail than anyone in New York State except that going to the State Capitol, but by the late 80s and early 90s Lubavitch was exponentially larger than it had been in the 70s.]. Yet when asked why not use a machine, the Rebbe replied that some of the letters were sealed with the actual tears of people writing to him, and he said that he could not open a letter sealed with tears by using a machine.

This was the exceptional sensitivity of the Rebbe to every person.

Brexit has won ! [BBC]

The BBC and ITV networks are reporting that Brexit has won the vote for the UK to LEAVE the European Union.

The Nikkei has plummeted more than 1000 points and has halted trading [now re-opened] and Asian stocks are a sea of red.

''Markets around the world are Freaking Out''

Mystical Torah - No Argument

Ordinary bread [''bread from the earth''], which is the product of hard physical labor, is a metaphor for the ''revealed'' interpretations of the Torah [nigleh], found in the Talmud, which require arduous analysis, questioning etc.  On the other hand, manna [''bread from heaven''] represents the mystical teachings of the Torah [chassidut], which are of such a ''heavenly'' nature that there is no disagreement, argument etc.

Logically speaking, a person might think that is is necessary to have a firm grounding in classic texts, and achieve a certain degree of spiritual greatness before one can progress to the study of Mysticism. However, the Torah teaches here that even the wicked individuals who complained to Moshe ate manna [Beha'alotecha 11:6]

From this we can learn that it is appropriate for people from all walks to life to study the mystical teachings of the Torah -particularly as they are formulated clearly and methodically in the teachings of Chabad.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos vol 4 Lubavitcher Rebbe

Tikkun HaMiddot Part 6

To see earlier Parts 1-5 click on the ANAVA label below.

The Character of the “Man” Moshe

From the Teachings of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi David Hanania Pinto Shlita 

It is written, “Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth” [Bamidbar 12:3].

We should reflect upon the expression “on the face of the earth,” which seems superfluous. What is the Torah trying to teach us with these extra words?

I would like to explain this by saying that the verse is telling us that just as the earth does not feel anything when Lashon Harah is spoken about it, or if it is scorned, the same exact thing applied to Moshe. He was so humble that he felt absolutely nothing when Miriam and Aaron spoke Lashon Harah about him.

We may also explain this verse by saying that Moshe possessed two characteristics:

The first is that he is called a “man,” and the second is that he is called “humble.” These are opposite characteristics.

How could Moshe excel in both things at the same time? The answer is that when it came to the honor of Heaven and the leadership of the Children of Israel according to the holy Torah, he acted as a “man,” and he was a warrior. Yet when it came to himself, Moshe was “humble, more than any person on the face of the earth,” as the holy Torah testifies.

R' Mendel Kessin - On Trump & others [continuation of Current Events]

This is a continuation of the Current Events shiur which you can find by clicking here.

 

''Moments before the End''

This is Rabbi Mizrachi's latest video. I have not watched it, I hope to do so later on today or after Shabbat. It is titled ''Moments Before The End [What Will Happen In The World In End Of Days]''. Seems that this topic is on every rabbi's mind, and we are the fortunate recipients of their collective knowledge.

Update: If you are short on time, he does go off-topic for about an hour.  He returns to the End of Days topic at approx 1.23.00.

Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Current Events - Is Redemption Near 6-15-2016

Here is the video of the latest Rabbi Pinchas Winston shiur given in Israel on June 15. Some of you have no doubt already heard it by now via the audio link, but here is the video for those who have not.

Turn Away from Evil

To serve God, one must both ''turn away from evil'' and 'do good''.  But which of these steps is the most important? And which must be prioritized first of all? [Naso 4: 1-28]

The sequence of Kehos' and Gershon's descendants in the Torah provides the key to answer these questions.

Gershon is related to the Hebrew word Gerushin, meaning ''divorce'' alluding to the process of turning away from and ''divorcing'' oneself from evil.  Kehos means ''gathering'' [as in '''He will gather [yikhas] the people'' [Bereishis 49:10], alluding to the accumulation of good deeds - ''doing good''.

Gershon was the firstborn, indicating that at the outset, when one is just beginning to serve God, a person should stress the path of turning away from evil.  This is in order to thoroughly cleanse oneself from negative traits before one can begin to sanctify oneself properly with good deeds.

However, in the Torah, Kehos' descendants are placed before Gershon's descendants [see Midrash] to indicate that, ultimately, ''doing good'' is the ultimate goal which actively brings a person close to God, and makes this world a ''home'' for Him.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Vol 13 p. 9 Lubavitcher Rebbe

Rav Kanievsky: ''Moshiach is already here''

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky

HT: Rivkah Lambert Adler

An Israeli news report states that Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, whilst visiting a father in Bnei Brak whose son had just passed away, said to him  “The redemption is closer than ever”. 

Kooker reports that the man asked Rav Kanievsky “How can you console me, when my dear son left behind ten orphans?” 

Rabbi Kanievsky answered him, “Don’t be sad. The Moshiach is already here. He will reveal himself very soon and your son will see his children again.” 

Tikkun HaMiddot Part 5

Parts 3 and 4 - click here

A Stubborn Cold

"A man or woman who distinguishes himself (or herself) by taking a Nazirite vow of abstinence for the sake of Hashem" [Naso 6:2]

Rashi asks "Why was the Torah portion of the nazir put adjacent to the portion of the sotah (a woman who deviated from moral behaviour)? To tell you that anyone who sees a sotah in her disgrace should take upon himself to abstain from wine [by becoming a nazir]."

Whenever a person sees something improper, he must think: "Why has Heaven shown this impure thing to me?" He must do some serious soul-searching and attempt to strengthen himself in his Divine service.

R' Yisrael Salanter once caught a bad cold. The first day of his illness, he spent the entire day worrying.

"Why is the Rav so worried?" asked one of his close disciples. "Baruch Hashem, it's just a cold and it will not pose any serious threat to your health."

"It is not my health that concerns me" responded R' Salanter. "I worry over what it states in Mishlei: "Colds and traps are in the path of the stubborn" [Mishlei 22:5] "This verse is evidence that I was stricken with a cold on account of possessing the terrible trait of stubbornness".

Only once evening had arrived and R' Salanter had thoroughly examined his deeds without finding the trait of stubbornness within himself, was his mind put to rest.

Source: Rabbi Y. Bronstein

The Test of the Jews at the End of Time

The title of this blog post is a quote from the shiur below, by Rabbi Mendel Kessin, which was given in New Jersey December 2015.

The real title of the shiur is ''Greatness of this Generation''.

If you have ever felt insignificant or lacking in greatness, listen to this shiur and have your perception changed.  This is another highly recommended shiur from the amazing Rabbi Mendel Kessin.



Also see: The Highest Souls

Tikun HaMidot Parts 3 and 4

Click here for Part 1 and Part 2

Tikkun Lei'l Shavuot

Etsy Art

by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto

The custom to learn Torah on the eve of Shavuot [also see here for more information]

Millions of people all over the world are eager to receive “only” one blessing from the Creator of the world. They are willing to work hard with all their heart and soul in order to merit being included in the category of fortunate people, who are listed in the sefer zichronot of Hashem. Of course, to merit receiving The ultimate blessing, with a capital “T”, is not simple. However, once a year a unique opportunity presents itself to receive not only one blessing from Hashem, but to receive a package full of blessings, with seventy blessings all together.

This unique opportunity will commence on Motzei Shabbat, on the eve of Shavuot, since on this night it is the common practice throughout the Diaspora to remain awake all night to study Torah until dawn.

What is the reward for those who learn Torah all night on the eve of Shavuot?

This is what the holy Zohar reveals [Introduction to the Zohar chelek I, p. 8]:

All those who complete the tikkun on this night and do so joyously, will be registered and recorded in the sefer zichronot, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu blesses them with seventy blessings and with crowns from the Upper world. Regarding them it says, “Then those who fear Hashem spoke to one another and Hashem listened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear Hashem and those who give thought to His Name.”

Regarding the segulah of learning Torah throughout the eve of Shavuot, the sefer on the customs of the Arizal, called Pitora d’Abba, states: All those who did not sleep in this night at all, not even for one moment, and was involved in the study of Torah the entire night, is promised that he will live out the year and no harm will befall him in that year. As Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai writes in his introduction to Bereishit, “He will live through the year in peace.” Moreover, a person’s life is determined according to this matter, because if he will not sleep at all on the eve of Shavuot, then he will surely not die that year. This is why it became a custom for Am Yisrael to delve in Torah the entire night of Shavuot.

Moreover, it is important to note that there are many communities that are meticulous about not speaking any mundane words the entire night until after the Kedushah beginning with “Keter” (כתר) in the tefillah of Mussaf. This is a special segulah, according to the Arizal, to be saved from death defined as “karet” (כרת), since the word “karet” (כרת) contains the same letters as “Keter” (כתר)

Befitting Teshuvah

The reason for learning Torah on the eve of Shavuot is explained in Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer. At the time of Matan Torah, Bnei Yisrael had slept throughout the night, since sleeping on the Atzeret is pleasant, and the night is short. Hashem had to wake them up from their sleep with thunder and lightning, which occurred prior to receiving the Torah on Har Sinai. In order to make amends, Chazal established, as befitting teshuvah, to be on duty that entire night and study the holy Torah in the way they outlined, until dawn, and hear kriat HaTorah and the Ten Commandments as if we had just received them on Har Sinai.

Rabbi Mendel Kessin - ''Current Events''

The Kessin brothers have a couple of new videos given for the yarzheit of the RamChal, which you can listen to or watch at TorahThinking.com

In the video below Rabbi Mendel Kessin speaks about current events - a new shiur.  Fascinating as usual, he speaks about the cosmic clock, Yishmael, Obama, Moshiach ...... and the end of time.

The Ability of Prayer

The evil inclination does all that it can to fight and disturb us during prayer, because fulfilling this mitzvah is the most fitting way to defeat it. Hence we must concentrate on praying with all our strength. The evil inclination is ready to fight us, the Jewish people, and to prevent us from pouring out our hearts as we should during prayer. In effect, prayer has ability to “defeat it more than all the other mitzvot.” We can therefore deduce its great value and importance. – Be'er Moshe

Aftermath

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!

''My Country'' - Dorothea Mackeller c. 1904

Australia is used to floods.  ''Droughts and flooding rains'' are nothing new to Australians. But this time, the entire east coast was deluged, from the northern tip of Queensland down to the southern island of Tasmania - that's about 3860 kilometres.  As you can see from the picture, the United Kingdom has been inserted to give you some idea of the size of Australia.

The deluge of rain, combined with the king tides [Rosh Chodesh inspired king tides, I believe] have destroyed many beach-side properties, including the 106 year old Coogee Surf Club.  

Part of the famous beach walk from Bondi to Bronte has collapsed.

Beach walk: Bondi to Bronte; June 6 2016

The giant king tides washed away people's backyards as well as an entire apartment block.  

Rivers and creeks have burst their banks, and dams are overflowing.  Aerial footage shows flooding in Sydney's south-west.

Now the rain has stopped, the clean up begins.  Australians are very good at cleaning up, they are used to it.   But.....   this time it seems different, it's the entire east coast, and properties worth millions of dollars are now worthless.  

The Power of R''H Sivan and Shavuot

The power of Rosh Chodesh Sivan & the Holiday of Shavuot + The prayer for kids by the Shloh Hakodosh - Rabbi Alon Anava




How to Prepare for the Night of Shavuot - Tap into Ohr Ein Sof

Shelah HaKadosh - Parent's Prayer

All parents want the best for their children — that they should be good and upright, that they have everything they need for a fruitful, joyous life. 

The classic work, Shelah HaKadosh, contains a prayer that parents should recite for their children at any time of the year — but especially before Rosh Chodesh Sivan, for that is the month when G-d gave us the Torah, and when the Jewish people began to be called His Children.

Prayer should be recited on erev Chodesh Sivan which is today - June 6th.

For text of prayer in Hebrew and English Click here

In the Desert

Bamidbar, the name of this week's parsha as well as the name of the entire 4th book of the Torah, means "in the desert". However, the name Bamidbar itself does not seem to bring to light any unique qualities of the Parsha at all. At this point, the Jewish people have been situated in the desert for a considerable period of time: throughout the whole book of Vayikra and part of the book of Shemos. So what is added now by stressing that the Jewish people were "in the desert"?

The answer to this question lies in the fact that "we always read Parshas Bamidbar before Shavuot" [Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim]. Before we experience the giving of the Torah once again - for spiritually the Torah is given anew every Shavuot - it is necessary to recall and take to heart the fact that the Torah was not given in a civilized environment, but in a desert.

The lesson here is twofold:

1. A desert is a place of utter desolation where "no man can live". Thus the Torah was given there to indicate that it should be embraced without any preconceptions or ulterior motives. When a person lives in a civilized place and he encounters a new idea or suggestions, he will first evaluate it to determine whether it is acceptable according to societal norms. With Torah, however, this would be a mistake; the correct approach to accepting the Torah is "we will do, and (later) we will understand" (Shemos 24:7). Therefore the Torah was given in a desert, where nobody lives, to indicate that one needs to be truly "open-minded" - i.e. not influenced by one's environment - to appreciate its values.

2. The Torah was given in a desert to teach that sharing the Torah with those who currently find themselves in a spiritual desert is fundamental to Torah Judaism. It is not the case that the Torah can "also" reach those who are found in a spiritual wasteland; to the contrary, this is a central theme of the giving of the Torah: To transform every spiritual desert into a "civilized environment".

Based on Sichas Shabbos Parshas Bamidbar of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (5732 and 5734)

The Power of Prayer

To the reader who asked me to publish the entire video of Rabbi Anava's Power of Prayer: here are the two parts. I'm not sure why I missed this back in February, but here it is now.

 

The Highest Souls

A kabbalistic lesson of Gan Eden and how our souls can fall into klipa. ''In our generation many special souls are stuck in the deepest Klipa, trapped in impurity and separated from G-od and his Torah. it is up to us to pull them out.''

Eventually

Artist Unknown

''and I will remember My covenant [with] Jacob, and also My covenant [with] Isaac, and also My covenant [with] Abraham I will remember. And I will remember the Land'' [Bechukotai 26:42]

Unlike the redemption described here, where the Jewish people were redeemed despite their lowly state, without having done teshuvah, in the case of the true and final Redemption '''the Jewish people will eventually do teshuvah at the end of their exile, and they will immediately be redeemed''.  [Rambam, Laws of Teshuvah 7:5]

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Vol 27 Lubavitcher Rebbe

Thank you to Yeranen Yaakov for the Cosmic Clock which you can now see on the side bar.  This clock shows us where we are when we count each millenium as one day, with the seventh day being Shabbat [the Geula].  We are now past the mid-day hour of the Friday and as we can bring Shabbat in early, we can see that we are very close to the Geula.