Category: Chagim/Holidays

2 Powerful Benefits from Just Gazing at the Chanukah Lights

13/12/2020

As many people know, there are wonderful segulot from just gazing at the Chanukah lights.

In the Mishkan Shilo Shabbat magazine distributed in Eretz Yisrael, Rav Adir Amrutzi writes that gazing at Chanukah candles can improve your eyesight to the point that it positively influences your eyeglass prescription. It goes down by one number, he says--baduk u'menuseh! Tried and true!

He says that gazing at the Shabbat candles can reap the same effect too.

(Rav Amrutzi writes a regular column there that provides segulot & remedies for all sorts of health issues.)

And here's another from Rav Avitan (thanks to the caring reader who made sure I saw this!):

For those who suffer from fear and anxiety...

The Ohev Israel of Apta used to tell those who suffered from anxiety and fears to look for 10 straight minutes at the chanukiah while it is lit—and to do so without interruption and without speaking to anyone.

He would tell people to sit in front of the candles and absorb the holiness of the candles.

Before the 10 minutes begin, you should ask Hashem that in the merit of the holiness of the candles, you should be blessed that your soul should be lit up so you can rejoice and be blessed with a healthy and happy soul.

It is also a time to pray for good mental health.

4 Comments

Rav Avigdor Miller: The Ultimate Shortcut to Your Most Meaningful & Effective Rosh Hashanah Ever

17/9/2020

0 Comments

In the special Rosh Hashanah 5781 edition, Rav Avigdor Miller talks about the meaning of life (page 7):

The fundamental purpose of all the things in the world is to demonstrate that Somebody made them.

That’s the foundation for understanding all of reality.

Whatever you see in this world has the purpose of making you aware of the Creator.

All day long, wherever you turn, whatever you see, it should be reminding you that Hashem Melech—that He’s the One who made that.

And this is the whole point of Rosh Hashanah: Crowning Hashem King.

Then he quotes Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 3:11, which basically says that Hashem implanted the love of the world into the hearts of Man.

In other words, distractions abound.

Hashem's Kavod is all around us; it fills the Universe...but so much distracts us from really seeing His Hand in everything.

Page 7:

Hashem didn’t want us to see that He’s everything in this world.

That would be too easy; it wouldn’t be a test for us and life wouldn’t be worth living.

And so He puts into this world bicycles for children. He puts automobiles for grownups. He puts in good times and good food. He puts marriage and children and money.

All the things, some of them mitzvos, some not — whatever it is, people are busy all the time.

Parnassah, ambition, making a living, entertainment, this and that, streets and cities and newspapers and neighbors and bungalows.

Everything in the world is working hard so that people should get their minds off Hakodosh Boruch Hu.

Unfortunately, it's working.

Especially today, when social media invests unbelievable amounts of money, time, and innovation to make itself addictive.

Or movies & TV & video games—it dopes your brain in a way that is all-consuming and very difficult to detach from.

On pages 7-10, Rav Miller explains how the light of the Sun actually darkens the world—it's fascinating.

So when we say "Timloch Hashem levadecha—You alone reign Hashem," we encourage ourselves to recognize that Hashem is King.

He's the Source.

Everything else is a deception.

The Secret to Meriting Life on Rosh Hashanah

On page 11, Rav Miller refreshes our minds regarding the 1st & most important step to living successfully (boldface mine-MR):

Now, of course we wouldn’t begrudge the goyim if they also said Hashem Melech. We’d be happy if the Mohammedans and the Notzrim and the savages in the interior jungles of Central America would also be mamlich [acknowledge as king] Hashem Elokei Yisroel.

And one day they will, no question about it.

But that’s not our business right now—you have to be worried most about the interior of yourself. What about you?!

Charity begins at home.

The most important question is: Is He in charge of you?

That’s your biggest concern, yourself. You have to know that Hashem is King.

That’s the first and most important step of living successfully.

As spoken about by Rav Miller in a previous post, we repeat certain phrases and ideas to drill it into our minds AND our HEARTS.

And here's the ultimate way to merit life on Rosh Hashanah on page 13 (boldface & underline mine-MR):

That’s a very important piece of advice you’re hearing now.

Saying Hashem Melech is the most important form of teshuva, and that’s what Hakodosh Boruch Hu will consider most when He thinks about our fate for the year to come.

*
That’s the secret of saving your life on Rosh Hashanah because now you understand what life is for!

The secret of another year of life is to get “Hashem Melech” into your blood.

Many people struggle with getting into the mood of Rosh Hashanah and really understanding what it's for & what we need to do with these 2 diamond days.

It's internalizing that Hashem is King—meaning that Hashem is the Source for EVERYTHING.

We get so distracted.

And Hashem understands us; He created the world that way in order for us to reach our greatest potential & achieve our greatest tikkun (rectification).

And we should do it with joy! Sing!

Rav Miller (page 14):

So as you stand in shul on Rosh Hashanah and the chazan is singing tra-la-la, you can think – you can sing along too, but you should think:

"Tra-la-la, Hashem Melech! Tra-la-la, we’re singing to announce the reign of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Today is the day I’m committing myself to a year of reminding myself as much as I possibly can that Hashem is my King!”

Sing it right now if you can, so it'll go into your head before the chag.

All together now!: "Tra-la-la, Hashem Melech! Tra-la-la...!"

Whether you're Jewish or not, whether you're frum or not, let's hear you sing!:

♪♪"Tra-la-la, today is the day I'm committing myself to a year of reminding myself as much as I possibly can that Hashem is my King! Tra-la-la..."♫

Wow, that was beautiful. You sound great. I'm sure Hashem thinks so too.

Wishing everyone the sweetest year ever!

Credit for all material & quotes go to Toras Avigdor.

0 Comments

3 Articles to Deepen One's Understanding & Appreciation of Tu B'Av

4/8/2020

0 Comments

Here are links to 2 articles by Rav Itamar Schwartz, describing the deeper meanings & symbolism of Tu B'Av & its historical events:

And here is a link to the annual Tu B'Av post, which describes several true stories of how dancing expresses a person's true nature:

Tu B'Av - How Dancing Reflects the True You

0 Comments

The Phenomenal Importance of Mussaf on Shavuot & What It Does for Your Soul

24/5/2020

0 Comments

There's a weekly magazine available in many shuls in Eretz Yisrael on Shabbat called Mishkan Shilo.

It's technically Sefardi, but it has many columns of the Sages of the Ashkenazi world too. It even contains a "comics" serial about the life of Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman ztz"l.

It's hard for me to read the whole thing cover-to-cover because it's in Hebrew, but I enjoy the halachot and the stories, especially in the section for women. (It also has a children's section.)

But in the general halachah section of Bamidbar, they presented a Q&A with Rav Bentzion Mutzafi.

One question was about the significance of the Mussaf prayer on Shavuot.

Rav Mutzafi's reply:

The Mussaf prayer on that day is of tremendous significance.

Imprinted within it is the holy service of all the days of the Sefirah and we are written in Sefer Hazichronot [Book of Remembrances].

And we merit to receive the level of an exalted spiritual soul for the entire year.

And my father, my teacher z"l prepared himself with eimah & yirah [reverence & fear] for this prayer.

This is definitely happy news because if you messed up your Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur/Sukkot this year OR if you fell from your intended goals since then, then Mussaf on Shavuot is your best opportunity to pick yourself back up again.

It's amazing to think that a really geshmak Mussaf on Shavuot can earn yourself a whole new level of soul for the ENTIRE YEAR (what's left of it, anyway — which is actually a lot and means that you enter next year on a much higher level than you would otherwise...yay!).

Needless to say, some people might not be able to daven Mussaf Shavuot. Maybe they're busy caring for their family &/or guests or maybe they're not feeling well or some other reason.

If you have no other choice, just ask Hashem if He could please include you in the Mussaf davening of Am Yisrael.

You can also say something heartfelt like, "I love You SO MUCH Hashem — thank You TONS for the Torah!" and then ask Him to accept that as your Mussaf.

Yeah, I just made that up, but it's based on related traditions, like the prayer said at the end of saying Tehillim or before saying Tikkun HaKlali and other ideas mentioned in Chazal.

Also here is an amazing transcript of a class by Rav Itamar Schwartz:
Shavuot: Give Yourself Your Real Needs (3 Kinds of Love)

The transcript recommended at the end of the above link can be found here:
Fixing Your Water: The Desire to Love & Be Loved
(To my mind, this is an all-important read with or without Shavuot, and regardless of whether your personality contains a large degree of the "water" element or not.)

0 Comments

How Our Current Situation is Reflected in the Haftarah for Pesach

10/4/2020

4 Comments

In the Pesach Haftarahs, it's possible to see our current situation reflected in our current situation, either what is happening or what we should be doing.

The First Day of Pesach

On the first day of Pesach, we read Joshua 3:5-7; 5:2:15; 6:1; 6:27. (HERE is a summary.)

It refers to Am Yisrael leaving the regular world and entering Eretz Yisrael. It's not totally theirs yet, however.

Anyway, the luxury of manna ceases, which kind of reflects our situation now, in which many of us are making do without our usual level of material comfort this Pesach. Many of us did not manage to get new clothes or even the supplies we need for Pesach.

Personally, I was not able to get more pots for Pesach. So for meat, I ended up with just a large pot, 2 medium pots, and a frying pan. And then another a frying pan for dairy.

No Pesach oven either, but I've never had one and that's okay.

I really wanted to get more pots – a couple of small ones and at least 1 really big one – but oh well. I'm making do.

Thank You, Hashem, for disposable pots in the plastics section of the supermarket!

Many of us, both before Pesach and during, were & still are making do without ready-made food or eating out or ordering out like we're used to.

So that's the end of our manna for now. We're making do with "the grain of the land" instead of the delectable & easy manna. Just like Am Yisrael back then.

Before they enter the Holy Land, Bnei Yisrael either gets circumcised (for those who didn't before) or improve their original circumcision.

And that's also happening for many Jews now: Many are "circumcising" their hearts by either keeping Shabbat or other mitzvot for the first time or, if they're already mitzvah-observant, improving on what they're already doing.

And if they aren't, then reading the Haftarah gives them some pretty good advice: Get real with your Yiddishkeit! Excise that arlah!

As usual, Erev Rav was still bothering Am Yisrael, according to Rashi on Yehoshua 5:9. They were vexing or taunting them about being taken out with the star Ra'ah, which also symbolizes blood. (HERE is what the Kli Yakar says about it.)

Based on its blood association, the Egyptian astrologers predicted disaster for Am Yisrael under this star, made this prediction public, and everyone started ridiculing Am Yisrael for jumping from the frying pan and into the fire.

The Egyptians started it, and the Erev Rav continued it.

What they didn't know, however, was that the blood seen by Egyptian astrologers was the blood of circumcision.

So by circumcising (or improving the circumcision), that shut up all the leitzim (mockers & detractors), including those within Am Yisrael's ranks.

This is very symbolic of what's happening today.

The powerful & progressive surrounding culture misinterprets events & science, they mock authentic Torah Judaism & the Jews who adhere to it, and the Erev Rav (who seem just like any other Jew) follow & imitate the biggest bully instead of Hashem.

Yep, that reflects today's world pretty accurately.

And because of the mass circumcision, many people in Am Yisrael aren't feeling so good in Chapter 5 of Yehoshua. Many also died before. And so the whole Am is waiting in solitude for their fellows to recover.

Kind of like now.

And finally, in Yehoshua 6:1, we have a city shut down.

Yericho is "sogeret u'misugeret – shut & barred." Yericho is closed from within and from without, according to the commentaries.

In other words, Yericho was in bidud – quarantine.

The Second Day of Pesach

The haftarah for the second day of Pesach continues HERE with major teshuvah going on in Melachim II:23 under the reign of King Yoshiyahu.

In this haftarah, people burn all their addictive non-kosher hi-tech gadgets and got rid of all the self-proclaimed leaders leading them even deeper into sin and confusion, and turn to their real talmidei chachamim instead.

Oops, I mean that they burn all their idolatrous addictive items and get rid of the pagan priests who offered incense to Baal & led the people astray.

The Jews also rediscover the Torah and experience a spiritual re-awakening.

Hopefully, with Jews in Eretz Yisrael preparing for Shabbat on the second day of Pesach & Jews outside of Eretz Yisrael continuing to celebrate the chag as they go into Shabbat, there is some healthy spirituality going on (even if things are also understandably stressful).

And King Yoshiyahu is like many Jews today in that if you go back a few generations, he comes from good people. But his grandfather Menashe and his father Amon committed terrible transgressions.

Yet King Yoshiyahu got in touch with his real self, his neshamah, and reached back past his father & grandfather to connect with his real roots.

He made himself great and managed to influence Am Yisrael too.

And then on Shabbat, the dry bones of Sefer Yechezkel come to life.

May Mashiach please come already.

4 Comments

Alone at the Pesach Seder This Year

5/4/2020

7 Comments

As much as I would really like to give chizuk & insight at this time because I think reading the regular news is already distressing enough, however...

...I can't stop thinking about my widowed mother-in-law in her mid-70s, but to due to a lifetime of stress and health issues, she's physically & emotionally even older than that.

So she's worn out, she had a stroke over a decade ago and diabetes now, plus pain in her leg.

But she's also a social person. She really needs people around her.

And she has neighbors in next-door apartments and more neighbors also just a few footsteps across the way.

And usually, we've all taken turns going to her for Pesach, or, in later years, she's taken turns coming to each of us.

But this year, she's alone.

And because of a traumatic event back in Morocco that caused her father's death when she was only 6, her formerly wealthy family lost much of their money and my mother-in-law was pulled out of school.

So she never learned to read.

And she's going to sit there at the Pesach Seder all by herself...and she can't read the Haggadah.

Yes, there are phrases here and there that she knows by heart.

"Bivilu yatzanu miMitzrayim..."

Upon saying Bivilu, Moroccans take the Seder plate and circle it over the head of each participant, ending with a gentle bonk on each head. (I was told this symbolizes Mt. Sinai being held over the heads of bnei Yisrael, but I'm not sure if that's the real reason.)

So she knows Bivilu, but I'm not sure what else.

And I know that even if that's all she's able to say, that's like a big rav saying it.

Whatever we do is precious in Shamayim as long as we're putting forth our best effort.

Hashem judges us by our own resources, and not those of others.

I also know that she does talk to Hashem & knows that He hears her.

Back in Morocco, it was common for multi-generational extended family to live in 2-3-story homes (the ground floor often being either the family store or a communal place for the whole family to hang out).

And that's normal for her.

You weren't really ever alone. And even in a situation like now, you wouldn't really be alone.

And now she is.

Maybe a neighbor will read the Haggadah out loud from a window (as far as I saw, they don't have porches in the poor immigrant neighborhood my husband's family ended up in and where my mother-in-law still lives).

So on one hand, the mental image of my older doll-like mother-in-law sitting at the Seder by herself unable to even perform the basics of the Haggadah lingers in my mind.

And it pangs my heart.

On the other hand, it makes me feel grateful for what I have, which are so common, I don't always think to appreciate them as much as I really should: immediate family at home – and the ability to read.

So, yeah, this is kind of a downer.

But maybe it's also good perspective for appreciating what we DO have (which might be less this Pesach than previous Pesachs).

7 Comments

Dina's Rosh Chodesh Secret

20/3/2020

0 Comments

On a Rosh Chodesh, not long after we were first married, my Moroccan-born Israeli-bred husband and I went to visit an older cousin of his living in a small but attractive apartment in a predominantly secular neighborhood in Yerushalayim.

Her name was Dina & she served us some leftover hamin (Moroccan cholent), in which every garbanzo bean tasted like it had been cooked individually to perfection.

As we sat in her kitchen, I couldn't help noticing the massive placard of Birkat Hamazon taped to the wall next to the kitchen table, similar to what you find in some schools. Above was a handwritten sign saying: Rosh Chodesh today – ya'aleh v'yavo!!!

Ya'aleh v'yavo is a special prayer inserted within Birkat Hamazon (and Shemoneh Esrei) in honor of Rosh Chodesh.

That's odd, I thought. Her youngest in his 20s. Why does she need such a large placard by the table?

She must have put it up for her grandchildren, I figured.

Nice. She initially impressed me as more traditional than religious – the type that keeps Shabbat and kashrut, but isn't always knowledgeable in other areas – but apparently she's more knowledgeable & serious about her mitzvah observance than she appeared. Very impressive.

At the time, I also didn't realize she was covering her hair because the shaitel she wore was a very realistic copy of the bordeaux-colored hair popular among older Sefardi women in Eretz Yisrael.

Then I noticed a sign on her fridge: Rosh Chodesh today – don't forget ya'aleh v'yavo!

And on her upper kitchen cabinet, I saw another handwritten sign: Remember – ya'aleh v'yavo!

I was no longer so sure the massive Birkat Hamazon with its accompanying Rosh Chodesh reminder was for her grandchildren because signs on refrigerators & kitchen cabinets are usually for oneself and not for the grandchildren.

Then we moved into the artfully decorated living room, where I saw another massive placard of Birkat Hamazon taped to the azure wall next to the dining room table.

That's definitely unusually because many people don't wish to affect their living room-dining room look with a massive placard of Birkat Hamazon.

I realized that in this home, Birkat Hamazon was of the utmost importance.

And this placard also sat under another handwritten admonishment to remember to say ya'aleh v'yavo.

I realized it must be for her.

Just to make sure, I politely asked her about it.

With a self-conscious yet contented little laugh, she admitted that yes, it was for her. Still, self-conscious she murmured something about how it's just her thing.

"Nice," I enthused. "Very nice, actually."

In all my life, I had never seen someone so concerned about forgetting to say ya'aleh v'yavo during Birkat Hamazon.

Impressed, I wondered where her dedication to ya'aleh v'yavo came from.

And I think I got the answer several years later on the way to a family wedding.

The Long-Lasting Influence of "Beis Yaakov" of Tangier, Morocco

On a special bus reserved for taking my husband's extended family to his brother's wedding, I found myself sitting next to Dina.

Not only did I like Dina, she also had the most beautiful French-Ladino accent on her Hebrew, making her even more of a pleasure to listen to.

Also, whenever I find myself with my husband's older female family members, I always try as gently as I can to get them to tell me about their lives back in Morocco.

Usually, they're a bit hesitant due to Moroccan culture being looked down on by Ashkenazi (mostly secular) Israelis as primitive. Sometimes, their own children make fun of them for it. The fact that for many (maybe even most) Moroccan Jews, Arabic is their main mother-tongue didn't help things.

(It's a very Jewish-style Arabic however – it's not Judeo-Arabic, but more like yeshivish English.)

Some cover it up by emphasizing their knowledge of French, but the majority of Moroccan Jews I've met are more comfortable speaking Arabic.

But once you show you're open-minded and even eager (though not too eager, because that can be kind of demeaning too), they usually open right up.

Dina had grown up in Meknes speaking French and Arabic. Then her parents sent her to the Jewish girls school in Tangier, where they spoke Ladino.

Dina was of that age which some girls attended school and some didn't. And no offense to the romanticized image of the pious unlearned Moroccan woman (who did exist, but that type was more characteristic of the generation above Dina), but in Dina's generation, there is a sharp difference between the ones who received a Jewish education and the ones who didn't.

The ones who didn't are often traditional, but not necessarily so pious or so knowledgeable.

I know how weird that sounds because their own mothers were pretty knowledgeable in the areas they needed to be. So why didn't it get passed down to their daughters without a formal education? I'm not sure. I think it has to do with the same ruach that affected the Jewish girls in Europe pre-WWII. The Beis Yaakov girls were stunning in their knowledge, middot, and mesirut nefesh. But most of the girls who did not manage to receive a good formal Jewish education did not end up the same way as the Beis Yaakov girls, even if they had pious mothers. Some did, but most did not.

But the Moroccan women you'll meet who received a solid Jewish education in Morocco are incredibly committed.

Anyway, I asked Dina if it was Beis Yaakov, and she said it wasn't exactly a branch of Beis Yaakov, but it was very similar to Beis Yaakov.

Because these were sheltered Jewish girls from good families living away from home in a dorm in a country where neither Jews nor females had many rights, the school really watched over the girls like their own daughters.

Dina recalls that in addition to the warmth of the teachers, there were also madrichot (counselors) in the dormitory (which was in the same building as the school, I think). Because girls married by age 18 in Morocco at that time, the madrichot weren't much older than the students, and they were more like big sisters to the students.

One of Dina's warmest memories of her school was Rosh Chodesh.

On Rosh Chodesh, all the girls would get together and produce a meal fitting for Rosh Chodesh, along with a variety of the tasty little Moroccan pastries you see at their simchahs until today.

Then they would all sit down to eat and sing piyutim (poetic Hebrew love songs to Hashem written by holy rabbis), including special piyutim for Rosh Chodesh.

And I realized that this solid foundation in Yiddishkeit is what held Dina so firmly throughout all the years and transitions.

She covered her hair even when it was uncomfortable & unfashionable to do so, like among secular upper-class people who already looked down on her for being Moroccan.

While I normally don't admire shaitels that are indistinguishable from real hair, I feel that in Dina's situation, it's a tremendous virtue & I admire her so much for it.

It shows her mesirut nefesh for covering her hair. In her situation, there was no other comfortable way to do it.

And now her unique dedication to ya'aleh v'yavo also made sense.

The "Beis Yaakov" of Tangier managed to ingrain into their students a profound appreciation of Rosh Chodesh – a monthly holiday with a special emphasis for women.

And that quiet impact still reverberates many decades later.

Why is Rosh Chodesh Considered a "Women's Holiday"?

Okay, I just have to vent here. True confession time: I ALSO WANT TO LEARN IN BEIS YAAKOV OF TANGIER! I was born in the wrong place at the wrong time! ... Okay, yes, I know that Hashem always put me exactly where I needed to be in order to achieve my personal tikkun, but I can't tell you how much I would've loved learning Torah Judaism in Ladino (!!!) with a familial staff, and cooking & baking all sorts of delicacies on Rosh Chodesh while singing piyutim with all the girls. It's really something worth envying, no?

0 Comments

Rav Avigdor Miller on Jews Falling in Love with Ourselves in Parshat Miketz

26/12/2019

0 Comments

In Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshas Mikeitz – Chanukah 3 – Pride of Israel, Rav Miller first delves into the real story of Chanukah.

And the ugly truth about the story is that our real enemies were the same persecutors who joined the Reform Movement (and got the Malbim imprisoned on false charges) or the Communist Yevsektsia, both of whom made trouble for dedicated Jews with the non-Jewish authorities.

Today, we have terrorist-sympathizing Leftists, among others.

Back then, these troublemakers were known as mityavnim – those who became Greek, the Hellenizers.

Through their vocations (like tax collecting), they came in contact with the Greek elite, and then these mityavnim became upper-class elitists who scorned Torah ideals and strove to emulate the ideals of their surrounding society.

Yes, this has repeated itself several times, particularly in the past 200 years.

So Rav Miller emphasizes that all the tragedy and challenge of Chanukah started with Jews who fell in love with their surrounding non-Jewish society (including the aspects diametrically opposed by the Torah), and lost their heads.

Then he segues into the story of a Jew who could have been swallowed up by his non-Jewish surrounding society, but didn't allow that to happen:

Yosef Hatzaddik.

When "Nice!" Means "The End"

Upon his release from lengthy imprisonment underground, Yosef Hatzaddik was made into one of the most powerful people in Egypt.

And back then, Egypt was a vast & powerful empire, plus it was the leader in ancient hi-tech.

And Yosef Hatzaddik was second only to Paroh (Pharaoh) at the top of this incredible empire.

From both Egyptian royalty and the masses, Yosef received accolades, honor, glory, and all the material benefits available at that time.

Yet he remained Yosef ben Yaakov Avinu.

Rav Miller points out how the allure of a nice non-Jewish culture is ironically what destroyed the Jewish people via assimilation.

He gives examples from America (page 8) and from Germany (page 9).

Rav Miller recalls his visit to Germany just before yemach shemo took over in 1933.

Though Rav Miller was identifiably Jewish, an older German professor rushed over to help the young Rav Miller lift his suitcase on the train.

Such humility and a sincere desire to do chessed! What could go wrong?

Rav Miller recalls a country with no violence, a country that was so clean & law-abiding that no one even littered the streets. Even as a Jew, you could get an education, even a doctorate (as one former yeshivah bachur did, Rav Miller recalls).

Jews loved visiting pre-WWII Germany, a bastion of modernity & progress.

And look what happened in the end.

On page 10, Rav Miller exhorts:

“Don’t make any mistake about it,” Hashem was telling us. “It’s all shav v’sheker!” Like the medrash says: Eisav – what does Eisav mean?

הוי שוא
– How false he is!

How false is the gentile culture! How false are their ideals and attitudes!

How false they themselves are!

And not only Germany – everywhere!

No Inferiority Complex?

Rav Miller reminds us how many Jews got lost in America, Canada, England, and France.

Where are the Jews who came to American in the mid-1800s? Why don't we hear about them?

Why are so many of the Jews we know today only 2nd- or 3rd-generation Americans?

Vast amounts of Jews came to America over a century ago. Where are they now? Where are their descendants?

Rav Miller explains that traditionally, Jews didn't have an inferiority complex.

They had fear of their non-Jewish countrymen.

Jews only knew of rabble-rousing when the rabble came pouring into their neighborhoods to make violent trouble.

So the Jews had fear, but no feelings of inferiority.

Why Do Some Jews Hate Themselves More Than Non-Jews Hate Them?

But when Jews enter into non-Jewish society, they read and hear what that society thinks about them.

And suddenly, the Jew feels bad about himself.

Rav Miller explains why a Jew sometimes hates himself more than non-Jews hate him:

Non-Jews, even those who don't really like Jews, have other things to do. They have other things to think about.

But a Jew influenced by non-Jewish culture?

Rav Miller explains:

But the Jew who has now learned gentile attitudes is living with himself always – he can’t escape it and so he learns to despise himself, to hate his own people.

It's so true.

Why is covering hair such a big nisayon for many Jewish women today?

Why is tsniyut (dressing & behaving with dignity) being bulldozed, with short skirts entering even the most insular communities (though not all of them, baruch Hashem)?

Who says that long clothing and wrapping up your hair is oppressive?

In many cultures throughout history, women covered their hair.

Outside of primitive cultures, women dressed tsniusly.

Today, even the most tsnius woman is not wearing as many layers or wearing the sheer lengths that chassidish men wear.

Some women go on diatribes against sheitels or hair-scarves.

But what about the chassidish men who wear a velvet kippah AND a fur shtreimel in the middle of summer in suffocatingly humid New York or the desert of Arad?

Who's head-covering is more oppressive and more uncomfortable?

Yet who's complaining?

It's all attitudes from non-Jewish society.

Look at how even the most ultra-Orthodox Jews need to tiptoe around toeva, making sure that even in their rejection of the worst parts of it, they don't sound too judgmental.

If you journey throughout history, someone somewhere is always nitpicking at Judaism for one reason or another.

They polytheist cultures didn't like the exclusionism of One God.

Ancient Egyptians, who worshiped sheep, didn't like the Jewish practices of sheep-herding and dinners of grilled lamb chops.

One Roman elitist criticized Jews for being too nice to slaves.

Greeks considered Jewish tsniyut (for both men & women) odd & backwards. They wanted to celebrate the human body by putting it on display. They took this so far, they considered brit milah a type of mutilation.

In fact, some Greek thinkers even considered the lack of idols and human statues in the Beit Hamikdash as "barbaric" and displaying a hatred of fellow humans. Weird, right?

Later, Jews were despised for killing a "god." (Yeah, talk about irrational contradictions.)

I was confronted with this accusation during Home Ec class in 7th grade. It was terrifying because I knew that no one would be on my side, what with blonde blue-eyed Tina insisting, "My pastor says that the Jews killed Jesus, not the Romans!"

Most of my classmates attended church, and respected the words of a pastor.

So I felt it was me against over 20 others.

Fortunately, a black friend of mine named Valerye came to my defense, passionately asserting her pastor said it was indeed the Romans.

Phew!

Anyway, the list goes on.

Rav Miller notes that even observant Jews look at fellow frummies through the eyes of non-Jewish values.

They don't see all the mitzvot being performed in frum homes; they see only the aspects criticized by their surrounding society.

But back to Yosef Hatzaddik...

Self-Love, Chanukah-Style

Yosef Hatzaddik didn't find lamb chops repulsive even though he'd been immersed for years in a society that worshiped sheep.

He also kept his brothers away from Egyptian influence even when they were in Egypt.

Yosef Hatzaddik loved Hashem. He loved Am Yisrael, even when it was hardly an Am.

And that's the real message in Chanukah (page 17):

And Chanukah tells us that great lesson, that beauty is only by us!

We always have to be on guard not to look for beauty and culture and perfection outside of our people.

You have to fall in love with the Am Yisroel – that’s what Chanukah is telling us, that we have to fall in love with ourselves

Rav Miller's Great Passion

This is one of Rav Miller's big passions:

He kept praising frum Jews.

Yes, we all know there are bad ones. He knows it too; he mentioned them occasionally.

Frankly, I think this was his way of preventing another Shoah.

That's why he was so passionate about seeing fellow frummies in a positive light.

He vehemently opposed putting down other groups that were uncompromisingly shomer Torah & mitzvot, even when he didn't personally subscribe to their hashkafah. He only praised them no matter what.

He wanted Jews to burst with love for Hashem and each other and the Torah's mitzvot.

He wanted Jews to serve Hashem with happy hearts.

This is what prevents Jew-hatred.

This is what hastens and sweetens the Geula.

Seeing ourselves, our Torah, and our God through positive eyes is the secret to Jewish survival.

Credit for all quotes goes to the wonderful Toras Avigdor.

0 Comments

The Netivot Shalom on How to Use the Loving & Joyful Power of Simchat Torah & Shemini Atzeret to Support You Throughout the Darkest Times of Your Life All Year Long

20/10/2019

0 Comments

Since coming to Eretz Yisrael, it took me several years to acclimate to the fact that all the final chagim land on one day at the end of Sukkot. Outside of Eretz Yisrael, they're 2 days.

Anyway, according to the wonderful book, Netivot Shalom, these final days of Simchat Torah & Shemini Atzeret comprise the real holiday of love: the Love of the Creator of the Universe for the Jewish people.

(Note: Everything in this post is taken from Netivot Shalom: Simchat Torah, Ma'amar 5, Ne'ilat HaChag.)

Netivot Shalom stresses that Hashem's Love always exists, but during this final autumn chag, Hashem's Love is revealed at its zenith.

This idea taken from the verse in Shir HaShirim, "the King brought me into His Chamber," describes the intimacy we have with Hashem during Sukkot, an intimacy that culminates in these final days.

Shemini Atzeret (a day unto itself outside of Eretz Yisrael, but the same day as Simchat Torah within Eretz Yisrael) is the day that "locks" up these autumn chagim.

We've made our final plea for rain and other blessings, we've received our final kvittel, the final seal on the upcoming year.

But why all the love & celebration?

Wouldn't it be better to end on the note of teshuvah?

Why, Netivot Shalom asks, do we end this time with such joy & love, rather than the teshuvah & atonement of Yom Kippur?

He explains:

Being that the rest of the year, many instances of material & spiritual darkness pass over a Jew, and the strengthening of many gloomy inclinations — the metaphorical aspect of the long nights of Tevet [the winteriest month-MR], which are so dark — therefore, The Holy One Blessed Be He gave a last day to lock up the Regalim (Pilgrimage Holidays), this holy chag Simchat Torah, which is an intimate time between Hashem and the Jewish people and within it is revealed the Ultimate Love of Hashem for the Jewish people.

This is so that a Jew can go out of these holy days with a clear feeling of the Love of the Blessed One, which is eternal in every situation — and this he should take with him for the rest of the year.

In short, we end this period on the cusp of the darkest & gloomiest days of the year.

While winter literally presents us with our darkest & gloomiest physical days, the above hints at the metaphorical interpretation of the spiritually dark & gloomy days that can occur any time throughout the continuing year.

Netivot Shalom adds:

It happens that even the sins & flaws cause "separating curtains" to appear and obstruct so that one cannot see the Love.

Yet because one believes that The Holy One Blessed Be He is always close to him, even when one doesn't feel it and one doesn't see it, then one believes it is now only "hiding."

Oncee a Jew has fully connected to Hashem in joy & love on Simchat Torah/Shemini Atzeret, this connection sustains him or her even through the times of darkness, both spiritual and physical darkness.

When we can't see or feel Hashem, the love & joy of these final days remind us that Hashem hasn't rejected or abandoned us; He is merely "hidden."

Here's the rest:

Behold, this is the power that illuminates for a Jew throughout all the times of darkness of the year.

And a Jew needs to take this joy with him, that the engraving of Simchat Torah will remain within him all year long, enabling him to always feel HaKadosh Baruch Hu with him throughout all the situations of the material reality and the spiritual reality.

Hold on TIGHT!

In Hallel, which we recite on the chagim, we include the verse from Psalm 118:27 "issru chag ba'avotim ad karnot hamizbeyach" — which basically means taking strong cords to tie the offering to the Altar.

Yet there is a much deeper meaning too.

Netivot Shalom stresses that this time is a most auspicious time to purify one's heart & eyes.

This is a time to focus on shemirat einayim and shemirat halev.

The eyes notice the attractions of the world while the heart feels and ponders them.

This combination leads to sin.

But if we purify our eyes & hearts (especially by asking Hashem to help us with this now), then we save ourselves.

The trait of holiness is the most precious to Hashem.

When a Jew makes himself or herself holy, this grants the Jew special protection and blessings in the face of every kind & any kind of threat.

So Netivot Shalom encourages us to "bind the chag with strong cords, in all the opaque and worldly matters."

There is so much spiritual illumination throughout Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah & Shemini Atzeret.

Yet when it's all over, many people return to what they were before.

How can we prevent this?

"issru chag ba'avotim — bind the chag with strong cords!"

DON'T stay the same as you were before — take the spiritual illumination with you!

The Netivot Shalom quotes an Admor who said:

Thankful am I before You, O Lord My God and God of my Forefathers, for all the loving-kindness you have performed for me during these holy days that have passed. But it is the nature of a human that the day after the Yom Tov, he completely forgets what was.

Where was he the night before? And what was the movement of his thoughts? What were the requests of his heart at the moment he was dancing with the Torah: "Achat shaalti m'eit Hashem otah avakesh shivti b'veit Hashem kol yamei chayai — One thing I asked from Hashem, this I shall ask: that I shall dwell in the House of Hashem all the days of my life" [Tehillim 27:4].

About this, it's stated: "issru chag ba'avotim" — to bind the chag with strong cords so that it won't slip from between his hands, and so that it will remain engraved from the Yom Tov for all the year.

Everyone faces different situations at this time of year.

There can be ups and downs throughout this day (or especially two days).

But whatever joy and closeness to Hashem we can manage, we need to hold onto it as tight as we can because this is what sustains us throughout the rest of the year.

The above translation is mine and therefore any errors are also mine.

0 Comments

What's Behind the Final Days of Sukkot?

16/10/2019

4 Comments

According to the Netivot Shalom (which is based on fundamental sources), every single thing in Creation (including YOU) is renewed on Rosh Hashanah.

This renewal gives us the ability to make deep, long-lasting changes.

You literally become a new creation.

Then Yom Kippur cleanses us of sin.

Yet it can be disheartening as Sukkot comes around and you find that the new you is suddenly disintegrating into some old & unwanted patterns.

This is particularly distressing if you had a particularly transformative Elul-Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur and you really felt you'd done the work necessary, including the correct emotional internalization (i.e., you really do regret your sins & set out a plan to improve — a plan you genuinely enjoy).

The thing is, there is a Zohar that the end of Sukkot, Hoshana Rabbah, grants you your last chance. It's your final judgement.

This is the time when Jews wish a Piska Taba (Aramaic) or a Gut Kvittel (Yiddish), both of which mean "a good note." Like a final slip of paper, this can be last evidence to save the person in their trial.

I can't help noticing that, with all the delights of Sukkot, there tend to be some real challenges too.

Yes, it's easy to dismiss it all as the kids being on vacation, everyone's off schedule, hosting guests or being guests, plus lots of chag-Shabbat and meal-planning, and so on with all the derech-hateva stuff.

Some people also need to make do with very cramped or hot sukkahs (which can still be very pretty, but just not as comfortable to sit or sleep in).

And some people's jobs force them to work during chol hamoed while other people face the (hopefully worthwhile) chaos of traveling and outings.

Yet I can't help noticing that Sukkot usually brings me certain situations in which I tend to fail.

Sometimes, I face very odd nisayonot that seem so out of character, especially during Sukkot.

Putting 2 & 2 together, I realized that it must be Hashem giving a last chance to get it right.

(Or at least somewhat right.)

Maybe He's also giving me the opportunity to fully express the new me.

So if you're finding yourself in odd or stressful situations, situations that make you ask, "Why is this happening to me? And why davka NOW?" — this could be the reason.

One final point: While it's best to master a nisayon, we all know that it often doesn't work like that in real life with non-tzaddikim.

Sometimes, we feel like we totally failed.

But really, if we handled it just a bit better than we ever did before, that makes a huge impression in Shamayim.

What looks like an imperceptible step in This World shows up as a massive leap in the Upper Worlds.

4 Comments

<<Previous

2 Powerful Benefits from Just Gazing at the Chanukah Lights

Rav Avigdor Miller: The Ultimate Shortcut to Your Most Meaningful & Effective Rosh Hashanah Ever

The Secret to Meriting Life on Rosh Hashanah

3 Articles to Deepen One's Understanding & Appreciation of Tu B'Av

The Phenomenal Importance of Mussaf on Shavuot & What It Does for Your Soul

How Our Current Situation is Reflected in the Haftarah for Pesach

The First Day of Pesach

The Second Day of Pesach

Alone at the Pesach Seder This Year

Dina's Rosh Chodesh Secret

The Long-Lasting Influence of "Beis Yaakov" of Tangier, Morocco

Rav Avigdor Miller on Jews Falling in Love with Ourselves in Parshat Miketz

When "Nice!" Means "The End"

No Inferiority Complex?

Why Do Some Jews Hate Themselves More Than Non-Jews Hate Them?

Self-Love, Chanukah-Style

Rav Miller's Great Passion

The Netivot Shalom on How to Use the Loving & Joyful Power of Simchat Torah & Shemini Atzeret to Support You Throughout the Darkest Times of Your Life All Year Long

Hold on TIGHT!

What's Behind the Final Days of Sukkot?

Myrtle Rising

Categories

Jewish Blogs

Jewish Current Events

Jewish Health

Archives

Copyright Notice

Home/Blog

Contact

Comment Policy

Aliyah

Kli Yakar in English