The Voice of the Shofar

by R' Tal Moshe Zwecker

 

In Keren LeDovid, the Puppa Rov, Rav Greenwald has an amazing short but succint message for us Rosh HaShanna:

He begins with a question:

In mussaf on Rosh haShanna we recite a blessing saying "Because You hear the sound of the kol shofar and listen to the teruah blast of the shofar and there is none like You,"

Why does the verse seemingly repeat the fact that Hashem hears us blowing shofar twice, once saying that He hears the kol shofar and once saying He listens to the teruah of the shofar, isn't that saying the same thing twice?

And what does the end statement mean, and there is none like You,? we know that no one and nothing can compare to or with Hashem, what connection does this idea have to the fact that Hashem hears our shofar?

In essence the answer is based on the well known statement of our sages, Chazal tell us that where the baal teshuva, the masters of repentance stand, not even the righteous can stand.

Citing the holy Shel"ah, the Keren LeDovid teaches that there are two distinct forms of blowing shofar and what they represent. The holy Shel"ah says that the kol shofar - the simple basic trumpet like blast - is the sound of a righteous tzadik. Whereas the wailing cries of the teruah represent the penitent baal teshuva,  crying as he repents over his sins and mistakes.

Thus we now understand the symbolism and language, the Puppa Rav writes, that hearing and listening are also different. In Hebrew one can hear (Shomea) from afar, but (Haazana) listening connotes intimacy and closeness.

Thus G-d is saying that he hears the kol shofar, He is saying that He hears and accepts the prayers of the whole and simple righteous tzadik. Yet when it comes to the penitent baal teshuva, the master of return, Hashem listens up close. There is a closeness and intimacy there that the tzadik does not share.

This is why the blessing ends declaring there is none like You Hashem, because normally we would expect that a blameless righteous tzadik should be the closest to G-d, yet Hashem shows us that just the opposite is true, He values the close intimacy of the baal teshuva, thus none is like You.

The story is told about a student studying in a yeshiva for newly devoted returnees to Judaism who himself came from a religious background. He once approached a famous rabbi and introduced himself. "And in which Yeshiva do you learn?" asked the rabbi. "I study in such and such yeshiva," he answered and quickly he added, "but I am not a baal teshuva!" The rabbi smiled looked at him with a piercing glance and asked him "Nu why are you not?"

May we all merit to make this new year our best year, repent and correct our mistakes and learn from the holy words of the advocate for Klal Yisroel the holy Berditchever who declare all month long during Elul, "Today I shall repent and  return Hashem!" "Who are you kidding?" he would berate himself, "thats what you said yesterday." "ya, but yesterday I didnt really mean it, today, I mean it." And thus he would try again and again. let's give ourselves a second chance and we will all be masters of return.

Shana Tova -  A Sweet New Year to you, your family and loved ones

Kol Tuv,
R' Tal Moshe Zwecker
Director Machon Be'er Mayim Chaim Publishing
Chassidic Classics in the English Language
www.chassidusonline.com


and my favourite shofar video, with the dog in the park [a new year tradition on this blog]

Future Man

A Much Bigger Picture

The gemara in Chulin (63a) says that when Rebbi Yochanan saw a Shalach (a non Kosher bird) he would say the pasuk "Mishpatecha Tihom Rabba", your judgement is like a deep abyss (Tehilim 36:7). Rashi says that the Shalach is a bird that flies over the water and swoops down to prey on a fish, which it plucks from the water. This, says Rashi, shows that Hashem takes revenge on those who deserve to die. What is the significance of this particular act of preying that depicts Hashem's revenge?

Maybe we can conjecture that the fish that the Shalach eats is a predator himself. Yet he knows that in his turf in the ocean no one can exact revenge on him. He is the king of his turf and is protected in his environment. Hashem teaches him a lesson, that although in his eyes the world is limited to his underwater habitat, in reality there is a much bigger picture. There is a world above his cloistered confines. And from that world, from the Heavens above, Hashem can send an angel in the form of a Shalach to swoop down and take revenge, even in his deep water abyss.

We often look around and think that the cards are stacked in our favor and we are protected from Hashem's judgement. But it is not so. Our picture is limited to the confines of our mind. Hashem's world is far beyond our naive outlook. From the Heaven's, Hashem can come down and strike us and we wouldn't even know what hit us.

On the flip side look at it from the small fish perspective. We must realize that even if we are being hunted by a far larger fish and it seems there is no help in sight and we are doomed, there is far more to consider than meets the eye. Even when we think we are trapped and the bigger fish are closing in on us, a Yeshua can come from places far beyond our imagination. Hashem's means are vast. Never lose faith!

Source: Revach L'Neshama

When Silence is Deafening

"The hidden things belong to the Lord, our God, but the revealed things apply to us and to our children forever: that we must fulfill all the words of this Torah." [Nitzavim 29:28]

[Written by Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein]

Rashi explains that a Jew is not expected to offer his friend rebuke for the sins that lie hidden within his heart, for how can he possibly know what another man is thinking?  Therefore, in the case of hidden sins, Hashem exacts retribution from the sinner alone.

On the other hand, a Jew is expected to rebuke his fellow man for the sins he does openly.  Consequently, when Jews overlook other people's misdeeds, Hashem's anger is brought upon all of them.

A terrible dispute broke out in Radin, the Chofetz Chaim's hometown. Though the Chofetz Chaim was by now in his later years, he rushed to the shul and approached the bimah.  From there, he addressed the community.

"My dear brothers!" began the Chofetz Chaim.  "If someone would have offered me 2,000 rubles to deliver a derashah in shul, I would not have accepted it! I am not willing to sell my precious time for money.  However, because of the situation, I am forced to speak.  We must know that there will come a time when each and every one of us will be required to stand before the Heavenly Court and give an account of all the deeds that he performed over the course of his life.

"You must be aware that strife is a very serious matter!  A person may have performed scores of mitzvos in his life, but if he was guilty of causing or involving himself in matters of dispute, then he is like a person who tried filling a bag that had a large hole at its bottom - all the mitzvos he performed will be lost.

"I have no doubt that when the individuals from Radin who were involved in the dispute come before the Heavenly Court, they will attempt to clear themselves by stating the following:

"We cannot be held accountable! For in our city there lived an elderly Jew, by the name of Yisrael Meir, whom we deemed to be a talmid chacham.  He saw all that was transpiring, yet he remained silent."

"Therefore, my dear brothers" concluded the Chofetz Chaim in a voice filled with emotion, "I beg of you - do not mention my name before the Heavenly Court!"

As these words left the mouth of the Chofetz Chaim, he broke down and wept bitterly, and his frail body trembled. This sight made a very powerful impression on the people of Radin, and the dispute was resolved immediately.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. .... Edmund Burke
Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.....Elie Wiesel

You are where your thoughts are

 

Guest post from a reader:

I woke up feeling unusually happy and full of chiyus today, in stark contrast to the previous weeks of feeling down and utterly physically and mentally drained from all the mishigas happening on the personal, national and international scene.  I had a sense of real closeness to H-shem, and a feeling of overwhelming gratitude. It was the first time in a long time that I said "modeh ani" and really meant it . 

Then, while still in bed, the thought flashed through my mind that we, the Jewish people, were starting a new era, a new beginning in some way. That every Jew had the power to transform the present perceived reality of "doom and gloom" into a reality of  joy and thanksgiving. I had this vision of every Jew being the center of concentric circles of light and positivity radiating outwards and intersecting with all those around them, ripples in a cosmic pond, until the whole world vibrated with this encompassing light. 

The saying from the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe came into my mind: Think good and it will be good. I'd always related to this injunction as a nice intellectual idea, but never really felt it on a gut level.

Today, I believed in my heart that not only could I live this but that all of us could. I decided then and there that when I spoke to the people around me, I would say, "Did you know that today is international "Think good and it'll be good" day?" From the few people that I mentioned this to, I got some amused reactions; nobody took me seriously. But I still figured that change has to start somewhere and it can (and often does) start with one person.  So what's holding any of us back from truly believing in and living this motto? Our fears and doubts, basically. Fears imposed from the outside Amaleks as well as fears and doubts welling up from our internal Amalek. After all, they don't call the Moslem monsters wrecking havoc on the world terrorists for nothing. And they're not the only sowers of terror and hopelessness. The global media, with their constant emphasis on disaster and horror, is doing an excellent job, too. So that at the end of the day, we're drowning in a painfilled, black sludge that masks the vitality within us and obscures H-shem Himself.

Can we overcome this and finally start to believe that we have the ability to change reality? I think so. And not only by thinking positively and changing our personal circumstances (as some New Age gurus emphasize with their magical formulas that "guarantee"wealth, health and personal happiness).  But to be partners with H-shem, in the fullest sense of the word,and through our positive, holy thinking actually bring the Moshiach and the Geulah NOW!!!

Who Is Religious?

Question of the Week - by Rabbi Aron Moss

My brother is very religious and I am not. We are on good terms now, but for a while he disowned me for what he deemed as my straying from the path. Is this the Jewish way, to shun those who are less religious than you?

Answer:

Let me share with you a different view. Here is a story of how a spiritual giant of the last century saw the religious/secular divide.

In the 1940's the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson, was looking for a sponsor to publish a religious text. The funding came from an unexpected source. An elderly woman who was known to be completely secular made a large donation to pay for this project. She had come from a religious background in Europe, but had long abandoned the ways of her family and raised her children without the traditions of her people. Nevertheless she maintained certain emotional ties to her past, and would occasionally support Jewish causes such as the Rebbe's.

When the book was published she was invited to a private audience with the Rebbe. He thanked her for her generosity, and then blessed her that her children and grandchildren should go in the path of Torah and be G-d fearing and righteous Jews.

This blessing came as a surprise to the lady. She thought the Rebbe may have mistaken her for someone else. Her children were far from anything Jewish, so why would he bless her that they be righteous Jews? 

She said, "But Rebbe, I am not religious."

The Rebbe looked at her with serious eyes. Then he told her, "We don't know who is religious."

This response is striking. Here is a venerable rabbi with a long white beard telling an assimilated modern woman that we don't really know who is closer to G-d. He was not giving an easy excuse for rejecting Judaism. Rather he was completely destroying the idea of a spiritual hierarchy based on human standards. In true religion, there is no room for snobbery on the part of those who see themselves as committed, nor feelings of inadequacy on the part of those who feel they are on the periphery. We don't know who is religious. So we all need to try harder.

We don't know which mitzvah is the one our soul came into this world to do. We don't know how precious our efforts are in the eyes of G-d, even if they seem small in the eyes of man.

So who is religious?

G-d knows. We don't.

Overcoming All Obstacles

 

Elul - L'Dovid Hashem Ori - When You Carry Valuable Merchandise

The Ohr HaMeir says that in life there are certain people who have it easy. Everything goes smooth for them and no obstacles stand in their way. They think that they have reached perfection, they are on top of the world. On the other hand some people cannot catch a break. Every time they make a move something goes wrong. Are they traveling on the wrong road?

The Ohr HaMeir explains with a Mashal. If someone is traveling on the road carrying a sack of wheat husks, his trip is easy. He can travel wherever he wants, for as long as he wants, feeling secure and knowing no one will rob him of his goods. However, if he is carrying a satchel of precious stones he sweats every step, knowing that he is a hunted man.

Dovid HaMelech says in L'Dovid Hashem Ori [Tehilim 27:3] "Im Takum Alai Milchama B'Zos Ani Botei'ach" - if the enemy is constantly attacking me, in this I find confidence. Why? If my path in life was devoid of any value I would not encounter constant resistance from the Yetzer Hara. The fact that there is an obstacle in my path at every turn is a sign that I, my actions, goals, and ambitions are very valuable. So valuable that the Yetzer Hara is throwing all his resources at me to stop from accomplishing my dreams.

As we start Elul and head quickly towards Rosh Hashana and a new year, contemplate the past year. Did you have it easy? Did you get anything worthwhile accomplished? The Ohr HaMeir would venture to guess that the answer to the first question is not the answer to the second!

Source: Revach L'Neshama

Rav Calls For Tefilos for Critical Situation

Hagaon HaRav Shteinman Calls For Tefilos In Light Of Critical Situation

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

HaGaon HaRav Aaron Leib Shteinman Shlita is calling upon Am Yisrael to daven, for residents of Eretz Yisrael to increase tefilos in light of the perilous threats facing Eretz Yisrael on many fronts.

The Gadol HaDor’s statement comes in response to a question from HaGaon Rabbi Meir Kessler Shlita, Rav of Modi’in Illit, who called upon Rav Shteinman to ask what we should be doing at present due to the situation.

Rav Shteinman said that each and every person in Eretz HaKodesh should take upon himself to increase tefilos, and Tehillim, especially Chapters 93, 130, 142, and the Mizmor, Ki Yaancha Hashem Beyom Tzora.

[YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem]