What this Election is Really Saying to the Jews

Rabbi Pinchas Winston

A new shiur from Rabbi Pinchas Winston

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Video has now been put up and can be watched below.

Sparks of Holiness

"They will leave with substantial wealth" [Lech Lecha 15:14]

The above verse indicates that amassing wealth was one of the purposes of Egyptian exile.  For this to be achieved, it was necessary for Yosef to become the ruler of Egypt and gather wealth from all the other lands.

According to chassidic teachings, ''sparks of holiness'' are trapped within the physical world and are released when a Jew takes the object and uses it to perform a mitzvah.  Therefore, one of the inner purposes of exile is for the Jew to utilize physical objects in the service of G-d.

Thus, someone who truly desires to cleave to G-d needs to involve himself in the physical performance of mitzvot, for this is also the only way he can fulfill his soul's mission.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Rabbi Kessin: Trump and Hillary [new shiur]

One day before the elections.....

Lech Lecha: Father of Many Nations

Source: Chanan Morrison from the writings of Rav Kook

Notarikon in the Torah    -      [Notarikon is a method of deriving a word, by using each of its initial
(ראשי תיבות) or final letters (סופי תיבות) to stand for another, to form a sentence or idea out of the words]

Abbreviations and acronyms are common in rabbinic writings, but they are rare in the text of the Torah itself. Nonetheless, the Sages observed that a few acronyms - notarikon in Aramaic - may be found in the Torah. The first and clearest example is the new name that God gave to Abraham:

“No longer shall you be called ‘Abram.’ Your name will be ‘Abraham,’ for I have made you the father of many nations.” [Gen. 17:5]

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, explaining that this new name indicates his new identity and mission. The name Avraham is short for “av hamon goyim,” ‘the father of many nations.’

The Talmud [Shabbat 105a], however, was not satisfied with this interpretation of the name. While the Torah explains “Avraham” to be a syllabic abbreviation of the words av hamon, the Sages converted it into a full-blown acronym. They wrote that each of the six Hebrew letters of av hamon (אב המון) indicates a different aspect of Abraham’s standing and influence in the world.

Aleph - I have made you a father [Av] to the nations;

Bet - I have made you chosen [Bachur] among the nations;

Hei - I have made you beloved [Haviv] among the nations;

Mem - I have you a king [Melech] for the nations;

Vav - I have made you exemplary [Vatik] among the nations;

Nun - I have made you faithful (Ne'eman) among the nations.

Of all the names in the Torah, why is Abraham’s name an abbreviation? Why did the Sages further expand this abbreviation, letter by letter?

Abraham’s Dual Influence

It would be a mistake to consider a notarikon as merely a homiletic or mnemonic device. Rather, it reveals deeper levels of meaning in the text. In addition to a literal understanding of the words, there is a wealth of profound ideas contained within the written text. This is similar to the workings of an acronym, where from each letter we extrapolate an entire word.

Of particular interest is the example that the Sages chose for a notarikon in the Torah - the name ‘Abraham.’ Why is this significant?

Abraham’s life-mission was to found the Jewish people. All three patriarchs, the Sages taught, are called ‘Israel’ (Breishit Rabbah 63:3). This is because their primary goal was to establish the people of Israel, a unique people who would serve as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6).

But Abraham also had a powerful impact on all nations. His teachings of monotheism transformed a world of paganism and idolatry.

The Sages analyzed Abraham’s influence, noting that it incorporated six qualities - corresponding to the six letters of אב המון. Thus, like a notarikon, Abraham’s influence was on two levels. His explicit life-goal was to found the Jewish people. But Abraham had an additional level of influence, as he disseminated his ideals of monotheism and morality among all peoples.

Six Aspects of Universal Influence

By examining each letter of the phrase av hamon, we uncover a different aspect of Abraham’s influence. He was an Av - a spiritual father and mentor to many nations, the source for true knowledge of God throughout the world.

His teachings were Bachur - select and distinct from the jumble of confused beliefs and superstitions held by the pagan nations. His faith in one God was pure, free of erroneous influences. Furthermore, his Torah enjoyed a charismatic attraction. Recognizing its inner truth and beauty, many were drawn to it and inspired by it. It was beloved and Haviv.

Due to his sterling character traits and beliefs, Abraham was highly respected. He was regarded as a Melech, a king. The people looked upon him as a “prince of God” [Gen. 23:6]. Like a king in battle, he led the fight for truth in a world shrouded in darkness and ignorance, victorious by virtue of the truth of his vision.

Furthermore, Abraham’s Torah was not just some theoretical philosophy. He was Vatik among the nations - respected for his personal integrity and piety. Abraham sought to refine deeds and character traits through the holiness of his beliefs, and promoted a life of morality and justice.

The final quality of Abraham’s influence was Ne'eman - as a man of steadfast faith. As the Torah testifies, “He believed in God, and God counted it as righteousness” [Gen. 15:6].

Abraham and his radical ideas kindled a nascent spark of faith among the nations. This flame of faith continues to illuminate the paths of many nations - a flame that will be elevated in the future into a pure and refined faith in God.

[Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. IV, p. 264]

Trump Seeking Rebbe's Blessing.....

Photo: COLLive

Blink and you'll miss it.... but here is a video of Ivanka and husband Jared Kushner visiting the Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe seeking a blessing days before the election.

The Misery of Life Without Faith

Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi returns after the holidays.

The Miraculous Torah Scroll

Danny Avidan, Rabbi Levi Wolff, Susan Avidan
Central Synagogue Sydney

Text by John Lyons, The Australian - 

After being buried in a Jewish cemetery in Nazi-occupied Hungary, a family Torah is about to complete a remarkable journey to Sydney.

The Central Synagogue, at Bondi Junction, in Sydney’s east, will soon receive its first pre-­Holocaust Torah, the final leg of a journey managed by property ­developer Danny Avidan.

The Torah will be flown from Israel to Sydney by his sister, Dorit Avidan Eldar, and her husband, leading Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar.

Before it is taken on to the plane it will have been carefully wrapped under the guidance of a rabbi.

In 1934 in Budapest, Mr ­Avidan’s grandfather, Haim Yacov Meir Bialazurker, was given a Torah by his 10 children to mark his 60th birthday.

But in 1944, amid the chaos of the Nazi invasion of Hungary, someone, without the family’s knowledge, buried the Torah in a Jewish cemetery in the hope it would survive.

As the war was ending, a man disguised as a Nazi soldier knocked on the family’s door — he had brought back the Torah, hidden in a potato sack.

Today, Yacov’s youngest daughter Susan lives in Sydney and is about to turn 90.

To mark her birthday, Mr Avidan — her son — will present the Torah to her at the synagogue on November 7.

Asked if she thought the Torah would survive the war, Mrs Avidan said: “We didn’t even think that we would survive.”

After the war, the Torah was taken to Israel, but it deteriorated to the point where it was no longer considered Kosher — which meant it could not be read from in a synagogue.

With the aim of presenting it to his mother, Mr Avidan had it ­restored, letter by letter, over many months. The Torah, which contains the five Books of Moses, is considered the central document of Judaism.

Mr Avidan began the project after reading a book by Susan Gordon, called Finding Eva, about his grandfather and the Torah.

“I had to find out more and I had to see that Torah,” Mr Avidan said. “I followed my feelings, went to Israel and found it.

He said that for his family, who came to Australia in the 1960s with little family and money, bringing the Torah was “a way of bringing and planting our heritage in our country, Australia”.

“Having my mother still with us to be able to embrace that, and feel the satisfaction of knowing that for me, my children and great-grandchildren in years to come will always know the story of where we came from — and the Torah will be our family root, our family tree, and hopefully keep us practising Judaism in the manner that my grandfather did and the manner that we try to do, and hopefully future generations in our family will do,” he said.

“In 1944 people were worried about surviving, eating, and my grandfather was very active with the Wallenberg movement and the whole Swedish movement in saving his family’s lives and as many people’s lives as possible by handing out Swedish papers.

“I don’t think the Torah was a concern. As the war was ending in Hungary, a person disguised as a Nazi brought him the Torah and, as far as I understood it, my grandfather was overwhelmed that the horror, the dark night of the last couple of years, had come to an end.

“He died a couple of days later.”

The Chief Rabbi of the Central Synagogue, Levi Wolff, said even if one letter of a Torah was cracked it was deemed not to be Kosher.

Asked how he saw this story at a human level, Rabbi Wolff said: “At first glance, it may seem like a stretch to find common ground between Danny’s Hungarian grandfather, his mother who resided in Israel and his Aussie children,” he said.

“Different language, different culinary tastes and vastly different recreational activities and sporting teams.

“Yet it is a microcosm of the Jewish experience ... Often, by necessity, we’ve been scattered and nomadic. At its core, our unity is based on one truth: the Torah. The values and moral compass found within teach us life lessons that are lovingly passed down from generation to generation.”

Click on the source to see video: The Australian

Mekubal Predicts Trump

Donald Trump holds a question-and-answer session with Jewish reporters at his offices at Trump Tower, New York, April 14, 2016. (Uriel Heilman/JTA

HT: Yaak

The head of the Republican Party’s branch in Israel, attorney Marc Zell, told an ultra-Orthodox website that an unnamed but “great” Jewish mystic told him Judaism’s major mystical work predicts an election victory for Donald Trump. 

''....a mekubal, or sage steeped in the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah, had informed him that according to the tradition’s seminal text, the Zohar, Trump will be the next president of the United States.

 “Two days ago, a great mekubal came to me — I don’t want to say his name — with all his entourage from Bnei Brak, just to give me this message for Donald Trump,” Zell reportedly said. 

“According to the rabbi, the Zohar says Donald Trump will win next week. The rabbi didn’t ask for anything, but just wanted to send this message.”

Source and more at:  Times of Israel