Parashat Hashavua

Portion of Tazria – Aw, Do we Have To do 613 Commandments?

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Portion of Tazria – Aw, Do we Have To do 613 Commandments?

Thank you Ora for initiating this idea.

How many commandments are in the Torah for us all? 613?

How does this portion say "If a woman gives birth … she shall be ritually impure for … days … and then …"?

Do men give birth? Then how do men fulfill this commandment?

Later on it says "If there is a (leprous) wound in the beard …" – but do women have beards? Then how can they be commanded to this one of the 613 commandments?

So we have been taught – all of Israel is bound as one people – and

If there are 613 Commandments, and some part of our people do this one, and when some part do that one-

we are all considered as part of the Whole People of Israel doing All the Commanments!

This Shabbat, be a part of ONE BIG HOLY PEOPLE!

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion of Shemini and Haftara of Parah - Reasonable or NOT?

פרטים: קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua; פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 05:11; נכתב על ידי Super User; כניסות: 356

Portion of Shemini and Haftara of Parah - Reasonable or NOT?

This is Based on Rabbi Sholom Brodt - a student of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach -

who heads Yeshivat Sinchat Shlomo in Jerusalem-

Who based his idea on that of the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto (1942).

Why should we perform Torah Commandments we don't understand or maybe even agree with?

(like Parah Aduma and Sacrifices the priests did in the Temple - from this week's Torah Reading)

Rabbi Akiva taught that

‘just like a ‘mikveh’ (Jewish ritual bath) purifies (for MANY purposes)

those who are ‘tamei’ (Ritually and Spiritual NOT READY)

so too The Almighty purifies Iisrael [as it says "mikveh Yisrael Hashem”

– Hashem is the ‘mikveh’ (prepares us for the SERVICE of G-d) of Yisrael.’

This explains that to come close to G-d

we must try with our whole HEARTS.to PURIFY our INTENTIONS relating to our SPIRITUAL SIDE

As Rabbi Carlebach often said "friends. Open Your Hearts" - totally

Meaning be open " to the Amighty's holiness and will, the Commandments - mitzvot"

and try to perform and enjoy them purely - as a gift of G-d.

So too did Moshe Rabeinu in this Portion - Shemini - try to teach Aron and his sons - to perform the commandments of all the Temple work - with a full heart -

and thus achieve the spiritual benefits for ALL ISRAEL

May we enjoy and perform this Shabbat and its MITZVOT with all our hearts and love

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion Tzav – Darth Vader versus Aron the Hih Priest

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Portion Tzav – Darth Vader versus Aron the Hih Priest

Searching for kid and adult costumes I found there were Cleopatra and Minnie Mouse and Darth Vader and Police Officer Outfits but-

No High Priest Costumes for sale for Purim?

In this week’s portion the Torah continues with "sacrifices"

and then with Aron the Priest and his Sons-as-Part-of the community

"Take Aron and his sons” and inaugurate the JEWISH PRIESTHOOD–

So they are inaugurated in front of the Tent (Sanctuary) of the meeting – in front of all Israel

Judaisn is One Family community

They call us tribes – but we are the "OPEN SYSTEM tribes

We are the WELCOMING ALL tribe and we say–

join us for sacrifice to FIX THE HATRED IN THE WORLD or HATRED OF ONE ANOTHER –

and learn holiness in our

“Bayti beit tefila Lekol HaAmin – our house of prayer is for ALL nations”

If only the world would understand that

Maybe there would be Purim costumes of Aron the High Priest and his sons the JEWISH priests!

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion of : Vayikra and Zachor (Remember)

פרטים: קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua; פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 05:10; נכתב על ידי Super User; כניסות: 311

Portion of : Vayikra and Zachor (Remember)

It was the week before Purim and all through the house

there were costumes of butterflies and even a mouse!

The Almighty's poetry is better than mine - and it says

We see G-d "called to Moshe" with a little "aleph" at the end -

(Hebrew letter aleph meaning "champion" - a LITTLE letter here so as NOT to inflate our EGO_

And this Shabbat we read also

that we have to "Remember what Amalek did (and does) -

so wipe out the memory of Amalek

(whether their evil acts and intentions -

or the doubt and fear they sew ...

Yes - Moses our teacher STARTED the defeat of Amalek -

but evil and doubts and fears are still things we must contend with

but we can all realize

that the Almighty calls to the "Great but Humble Moses" within us all -

with a LITTLE ALEPH

to be the CHAMPIONS of ANTI-EVIL in our world-

by celebrating AND SHARING the story of PURIM this week.

With blessings from Israel

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion of Pekuday – Ending Book 2 of the Famous 5 - How Good is Good?

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Portion of Pekuday – Ending Book 2 of the Famous 5 - How Good is Good?

Reb Elimelech ofLizensk wrote the Hassidism/Torah Book "Noam Elimelech".

Actually, Saturday nights, his son Elozer used to write down the talks given each Shabbat, and later on show them to his father "for corrections". (These were the basis of the book.)

One time his father asked "who wrote this stuff? It's pretty Holy!" not realizing that they were his own words!

So who knows how Holy we are?

On this week's portion Reb Elimelech said: There are 3 types of Tzadikim (Holy People).
(All the great Masters remark on the fact that the portion begins with sentences repeating the word PEKUDAY – "orders" – 3 times. I try here to explain Reb Elimelech's view.)

There is a Holy person who accepts gifts only to give to others, and there is a Holy person who accepts gifts for others but also in order to personally survive.We all are ordered by Hashem in some way.

Yet there is a third type of Holy person who is always praying and living in a heavenly sphere continuously supplicating for the good and welfare of the Almighty's world and G-d's people and ALL the creations of the Holy One Blessed Be He. This is a level of orders not everyone can achieve easily.

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach used to say, ALL of us are HOLY, and anyone can be Holy – just you have to know where to START – like with Shabbos.

You may feel you can't satisfactorily keep the Shabbos – so start with JUST ONE HOUR.

And then when you have that under your belt – try two hours. And later three hours. Etc.

The same with HOLINESS – start slow – BUT STRIVE TO ADVANCE IN G-DLINESS AS YOU CAN.

Have a wonderful and HOLY Shabbat
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion of VaYakHel – Is there a Sabbath in a cultural Desert?

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Portion of VaYakHel – Is there a Sabbath in a cultural Desert?

"YihYeh Lachem Shabbat Kodesh – You will have a Holy Shabbat"

How could G-d tell them this after sending the Israelites to 40 years in the desert? What Shabbat does He promise them? What Holiness?

Rebbe Nachman of Breslav writes about "How you make a Shabbat Kodesh" – with a discussion from the Talmud about "If you get lost in the desert – make the seventh day your Sabbath…"

And he quotes the Kabbalah where the students say to Rebbe Shimon "you the Holy Tzadik are equivalent to the Sabbath".

Where is the spirituality of the world? Not in the great cities of the world. After you see the culture - they hold nothing of spiritual value.

I just flew home via Moscow again – Moscow of the Russians bombing in the Middle East, Moscow the "Workers' Paradise" – where in transferring planes, the workers stole 3 or 4 baby carriages from the passengers!

They left families with kids having to walk kilometers in the airport carrying screaming kids – is that culture?

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach taught that the greatest Mitzva is to try and help – but not one of the workers responsible for transferring planes would listen to me and make a call to find out where the baby carriages were! So I ended up carrying a one-year old and a Sefer Torah through the airport to help out as my Rebbe would expect.

So here the Almighty says there is a concept of Holiness and of Sabbath.

When you are lost in a desert the Talmud teaches us to look for a Holy Tzadik -to lead and teach you out of the desert – physical or spiritual.

May G-d bless us all with a little Sabbath, a little holiness, and a little direction from Holy Righteous people.

Love and Shabbos for all

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Key Teesah - Raising Up - Of Moses and Modesty

פרטים: קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua; פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 05:08; נכתב על ידי Super User; כניסות: 244

Key Teesah - Raising Up - Of Moses and Modesty

Key Tisah means "when you raise up"

and ends with Moses shining "light" to the people of Israel

The Medrash explains that the "rays of light" were a reward for Moses' modesty -

because he did not even want the Almighty to write in the Torah how modest he was!

Moses did not get angry when the people created the Golden Calf - nor did he "go on strike"

but he kept on WITH HIS JOB -

to RAISE THE G-D AWARENESS AMONGTHE PEOPLE

That was why the portion ends with the rays of light emanating from Moses - showing how

he would not give up after the Golden Calf - but SPREAD LIGHT

He knew it was HIS JOB TO REJUVENATE THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF THE ISRAELITES

AND WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS PORTION

(Thank you Dr Moshe Rothkopf for pointing this out- and I paraphrase here-

We learn that no matter how spiritually low we might fall-

there is always a Moshe Rabaynu soul out there - a spiritual powerhouse

to show you that you can get to "the highest closest to the Almighty"

This is the example of Moses - the light that shone - from his modesty - always uplifting

and this is the point of the world -

to have pointers on how raise each other up

have a High Shabbat -

a HEALING Shabbat-

As Rav Shlomo Carlebach said -

Let this shabbat should be the highest yet!

love and shabbos

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion of Tetzaveh - the Eternal Light - Ner Tamid - Award - or Reward?

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Portion of Tetzaveh - the Eternal Light - Ner Tamid - Award - or Reward?

In the USA', Scouting has an award for young Jewish members that achieve a basic understanding of Jewish values - called the Ner Tamid Award.

Howeve, in the works of Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah (a great educator of youth -

who built up religious schools for the religious supporters of the EARLY years of the new State of Israel:-

he wrote a discussion of the Eternal Light in the Temple -

which was one of there candles of the Menora of the Temple

And he said

"Moses requested of the Almighty that there should be a PROOF of the eternal Holy Spirit

in the Tabernacle of the desert-

as a reward for building the Mishkan in the desert ..." - and for

INSPRATION andAN EXAMPLE to the Israelites - (and to the WORLD)

THAT G-d's HOLY SPIRIT WOULD ALWAYS BE AMONGST THE JEWISH PEOPLE -

there in the Temple - the Sanctuary in the desert - and later the one to be built in Israel -

and thus for inspiration in our Synagogues which we buit later in the exile.

That was that light of the western candle that stayed lit -

even when the others burned out and were re-kindled each day.

We need to ALL make a place for an Eternal ight -

that eternal connection to holiness and the Almighty-

And shabbat each week is a good time to remind us of this Eternal Light in our souls

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion of Teruma: Where does G-d live anyway?

פרטים: קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua; פורסם בשלישי, 01 דצמבר 2020 05:06; נכתב על ידי Super User; כניסות: 390

Portion of Teruma: Where does G-d live anyway?

In last week's portion we read "the sky was open and the people of Israel saw the AlMighty

and below his feet was a street of Saphire...

Thank you Eitan for lending me one of your favorite seforim (Holy Books) -where I read the Medrash

That when the sky opened and the people saw the Almighty

"The people saw the Angels encamped around the L-rd- in a holy way

and they wanted to do the same"

It is written in our POrtion that the Almighty said

"And you shall build me a sanctuary and I shall dwell amongt you"

and according to the medrash it means "the same as I dwell among my Angels on High

I can dwell among you "

The Kabbalist Masters answer "Where does G-d dwell? Wherever you let G-d in"

And so Israel built a sanctuary in the desert - and kept it also in Israel a few hundred years-

Until Solomon built the Great Temple in Jerusalem

and we maintain our synagogues wherever we go - so that

a little G-dliness can dwell within us and amongst us!

Especially on Shabbat

Love from Israel

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion of Yitro AND Mishpatim - Speilberg would need 8 screens to describe these two!‏

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Yitro and Mishpatim: Speilberg would need 8 screens to describe these two!

What do we see from Yisro – Jethro? How you can believe in G-d in today's world?

There were no miracles like "frogs, lice, darkness and killing of Egypt's first born"

But Jethro heard Israel had escaped from Egypt – and he believed in G-d and came to Moses

"And there was thunder and lightning … and the mountain burned …" (portion of Yitro)

Jethro's heart lit up – right away – and he came to join the Israelites

So why tell the story of Mount Sinai a little differently in Mishpatim?

"And the people sacrificed and ate – and saw the L-rd the All-Mighty … and like a street of sapphire below his feet"

Jethro is the story of acceding to the quick acceptance of FAITH

And Mishpatim ("Laws") – where the Israelites sacrificed and accepted the Covenant with the Almighty -

to DO the COMMANDMENTS

That is the story of BUILDing on FAITH – and how to believe in G-d today and for always

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

מאמרים נוספים...

עמוד 35 מתוך 53

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Parashat Hashavua

Portion of Tazria – Aw, Do we Have To do 613 Commandments?

Portion of Shemini and Haftara of Parah - Reasonable or NOT?

Portion Tzav – Darth Vader versus Aron the Hih Priest

Portion of : Vayikra and Zachor (Remember)

Portion of Pekuday – Ending Book 2 of the Famous 5 - How Good is Good?

Portion of VaYakHel – Is there a Sabbath in a cultural Desert?

Key Teesah - Raising Up - Of Moses and Modesty

Portion of Tetzaveh - the Eternal Light - Ner Tamid - Award - or Reward?

Portion of Teruma: Where does G-d live anyway?

Portion of Yitro AND Mishpatim - Speilberg would need 8 screens to describe these two!‏

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