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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 00:41
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Portion of Devarim and ADHD Nation - Tisha B'av and Mourning
If Jerusalem withstood the invading Sennacherib - why did it fall to the
Babylonians?
The prophets
said the nation acted rotten to its basic core - but what caused those sins?
And if they were so bad - how did we recover - and with the Help of
the Almighty - REBUILD the Temple and our Nation?
I believe the sins
that caused Jerusalem and the Temple to fall were NOT
inherent in our nation's soul -
but
were like a national "ADHD hormonal" affliction -
which caused havoc to our people - until some cures were discovered -
Mordechai (and Esther) medicine (as in Purim medicine);
Yearning to re-build therapy (as in Ezra and Nehemiah doctoring);
Research into Torah curative powers (as in the Mishna - Ethics of the Fathers,
etc).
Saturday we read
the Portion Devarim which starts with Moses reminding the
Israelites of their "imbalances" during the exodus-via-the-desert.
Saturday night we have an "almost" like Yom Kippur - a day of fasting - but
also a 25 hour day of mourning.
A couple of weeks ago I had the merit and sad task to eulogize a brilliant elderly friend.
A couple of thousand years ago there was only one lamenting Rabbi - Jeremiah the
Prophet. (He wrote the book we read Tisha B'Av night- Lamentations - Eichah - about the
destruction of the Temple and the downfall of our FIRST STATE of ISRAEL - may it never be repeated).
Today we are in a position to
finish the cure - re-build th Jewish People and the Jewish
State
with
Mordechai (and Esther) medicine - getting us to act together
Yearning to re-build therapy - going to Israel to visit and helping those who live that life and
Research into Torah curative powers - studying a little more Torah each day.
May we dance together at the
Holy Wall at the re-building of a Holy Temple.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
- פרטים
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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 00:38
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Based on Rav Moshe Tzvi Neriya 's works -
What was the equivalence of the sin of Bilam and the Midianite women?
Instead of respecting the Israelites who endured 40 years in the desert to follow G-d's will -
they tried to destroy Israel
and destroy the hope for a better world - the message of the freed slaves !!!
So in the war the holy Israelite soldiers had mercy on the women of Midian - but
Moses reprimands the army for allowing the Midianite women to be captured.
"It was they that caused a venereal disease! It caused 24000 Israelites to die!
Rav Neria about 40 years talked of the seduction of the Jews by the Midianite women -
and the cursing of Bilam the sorcerer
(who STAYED OVER in Midian TO CURSE AND PLOT- against us - until he was killed)
Mercy and respect to the non-merciful and non-respectful was a danger then (as the Torah states in this portion)
and today? Iran? ISIS?
What an important lesson this week's portion teaches.
The reasons we are in Israel and in the world - is
to teach something the world needs more of-
BASIC MORALITY - which MAY NEVER be COMPROMISED
So let us teach our children to respect - and to teach respect in the world - but not to legitimize destructive forces.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
- פרטים
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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 00:37
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כניסות: 1497
Portion of Pinchas- Who was that Masked Man?
We see from Moses that we are all prisoners of inaction at times.
When the Moabite women lured even a President of a Tribe
to desert the camp blessed even by our enemies (Bilam the wicked wizzard - see last week)
Moses did NOTHING -
but his GREAT nephew Pinchas
came OUT OF THE BLUE
and acted -
and it was enough to stop a plague - and earn Pinchas' family the high priesthood
(for most of history).
How can we defeat fear and indecisiveness? Because we MUST in order to survive.
We were given commandments to MAKE IT THROUGH THE YEAR - no matter what -
holidays and rituals and commandments to love one another -
and in this portion - Moses was told even to start to
"count the potential soldiers who may have to go to war to fulfill G-d's vision" (to enter Israel).
We fix the world by tuning in to the Torah way of life - following the Almighty's commandments -
and thus
taking steps to overcome the difficulties the challenges and the twists and turns of fate that confront us.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
