Rebetzin Esther Jungreis a''h

Very sad to hear about the passing of Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, whose articles I have blogged from time to time, and who was one of the greats in Kiruv work. Click on the JUNGREIS label below to see past blogs.

The levayah will take place on Wednesday morning, at 11 o’clock, at Agudath Israel of Long Island, located at 1121 Sage Street in Far Rockaway, NY.

See Matzav and The Yeshiva World for more about her life and holy work.

Purification of America at the End of Days - Rabbi Mendel Kessin

Part 9 in the series - to see previous videos click on the KESSIN label below

The Life of the Tzadik

Art Baruch Nachshon

''From there, they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Yotvath..'' [Eikev 10:7]

Rashi: And at Moserah, you made a great mourning for the death of Aaron, which was the cause of this [your retreat], and it seemed to you as though he had died there. Moses juxtaposed this reproof with the breaking of the tablets to indicate that the death of the righteous is as grievous to the Holy One, blessed is He, as the day the tablets were broken...

Why is a tzadik [Aaron] compared to the tablets?

The writing on the tablets represented the ''soul'' of the tablets, and the tablets themselves, their ''body''.  The fact that the Ten Commandments were engraved into the tablets, and not merely written onto them, means that the words and the tablets [''soul'' and ''body''] became one single, indivisible entity.

Likewise in the case of a tzadik, it is not merely that his soul interacts with his body, but that the tzadik's physical life is totally at peace with his soul such that ''the life of the tzadik is not a physical life, but a spiritual life''.

Based on Likutei Sichos vol 14 pp 32-34 Lubavitcher Rebbe

The 15th of Av: Love and Rebirth

The Jewish mini-holiday of Tu B’Av

The 15th of Av is undoubtedly a most mysterious day. A search of the Shulchan Aruch [Code of Jewish Law] reveals no observances or customs for this date, except for the instruction that the tachanun [confession of sins] and similar portions should be omitted from the daily prayers [as is the case with all festive dates], and that one should increase one’s study of Torah, since the nights are begining to grow longer, and “the night was created for study.” And the Talmud tells us that many years ago the “daughters of Jerusalem would go dance in the vineyards” on the 15th of Av, and “whoever did not have a wife would go there” to find himself a bride.

And the Talmud considers this the greatest festival of the year, with Yom Kippur (!) a close second!

Indeed, the 15th of Av cannot but be a mystery. As the “full moon” of the tragic month of Av, it is the festival of the future redemption, and thus a day whose essence, by definition, is unknowable to our unredeemed selves.

Yet the unknowable is also ours to seek and explore.

Source and more  click here

Making Room for God

Photo: Source unknown

''You shall love Hashem,  your God'' [Va'etchanan 6:5]

Every individual, remarked the Dubno Maggid, is required to love Hashem with all his heart.  In order to do this, he must remove all negative and sinful thoughts from his heart.

To what can this be compared?  - to a farmer who arrived in a city on the market day and quickly sold all of his merchandise.

Now that he had a large sum of money in his possession, he decided to buy himself an elegant outfit, the type customarily worn by the city dwellers.  He entered a store that sold expensive silk garments and was given one to try on. The garment seemed too small, however, as the farmer was unable to get his arm into the sleeve.

''The garment that you have given me is too small'', said the farmer to the storeowner.

''The garment is exactly your size,'' laughed the storeowner, ''but before you try it on, you must first remove  your heavy farmer's coat.''

Only after a man removes all the wicked thoughts from his heart, explained the maggid, can there be room in his heart to love Hashem properly.

Source: Rabbi Yisroel Bronstein

Moments Before The End And Moshiach

Rabbi Mizrachi's latest shiur - all about Moshiach.  Great for beginners or anyone needing reassurance.

The Power of Pain

A 75-second revelation from Rabbi Simon Jacobson

The Hidden Treasure

Art: Dima Dmitriev

''And from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him...'' [Va'Etchanan 4:29]

Chassidic thought teaches that in order for any entity to exist at all, God must renew it continually, by enlivening it with a spark of His own Existence.  Without being connected to God - the True Existence - the entity is unable to exist.  Thus, even the forces of evil must contain a Godly spark that enables them to exist.

But why, then, is it possible for the forces of evil to conceal this presence of Godliness within them?  

The answer is: To make possible the amazing elevation that can be reached through teshuvah.

When a person has regressed to a very low spiritual state, the Torah teaches us that ''from there [i.e. from amidst the forces of evil] you will seek God''.  

This teaches us that the Godly revelation which a person reaches through teshuvah is disproportionate to the effort involved, like ''finding'' a previously hidden treasure, as the verse states ''And you will find Him''.

Source: Lubavitcher Rebbe: Based on Ma'amer ani Ledodi, Shabbos Parshas Re'eh 5747