Parashat Hashavua
Abraham in the Lion's Den - wrong story?
Yes we have no tradition that Abraham was thrown into a lion's den.
Yet Abraham fought the general culture of his time when he introduced (at age 99) the Jewish Circumcision.
What do we learn from that?
Let's see what an old person can do ...
(Based on a story from Israel Radio this afternoon)
An old grandmother in Communist Russia convinced her kids to have a grandson circumcized.
The Authorities found out and brought her to a court.
"This is a brutal crime" said the judge!
"But you were also circumsized" said the old lady.
"That was before the Revolution" said the judge. "10 years in jail for you, and the cirumcision must be undone !"
The old lady said "the Bris does not seem to have kept YOU from being a good and mean Communist! Let the kid keep his bris!"
"Impertinant!" yelled the judge, "You will be Fifteen years in prison for that!"
"Wonderful" said the old lady. "My doctors say I have only 2 or 3 years to live - but you are giving me 15 years to live!"
A (formerly Jewish) lawyer present said to the judge "She's crazy - you can't waste your time with someone like that! It will embarass the revolution!"
And the woman and her grandson were set free!
You see what an old person can do ?
And you don't have to be ABRAHAM!
So Rabbi Ovadia Yosef passed away this week - he was a great leader and brilliant scholar.
He published most of his works - starting at age 74!!! (He was 94 when he passed away this week in Jerusalem).
You see what an old person can do ?
It is said that his parents were somple people who had a little store in Bagdad Iraq - until they moved to Israel when Ovadia was age 3.
SEE WHAT ANY ONE OF US CAN DO FOR G-d and the JEWISH PEOPLE and the WORLD?
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Shabbos of Noah and the Flood - and the New Month
In tradition this Lunar month is named Cheshvan
and called Mar Cheshvan - a bitter month - because there is no Jewish Holiday this month
Rabbi Carlebach used to say
"The Holy Masters inverted the 2 Hebrew letters and called it
Ram Cheshvan - the High Heshvan
In the future - they said - the 3rd Temple will be rebuilt in THIS MONTH-
and bring Peace to the World
So - we can CHANGE LITTLE THINGS AROUND -
from Mar to Ram -
and make our month better
and make our lives and the world better
SO WHAT ABOUT NOAH?
He doesn't seem to have made much of a big impact!
SO-
The Ein Yakov portion of the Talmud says -
that really Noah wasn't supposed to survive either!
But because he "found favor in the eyes of the Al-mighty "-
doing G-dly work despite the horrible environment of corruption and degradation-
his family and some animals were saved!
To start over!
Think what a little kindness can save!
Love from NY
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Pre Yom-Kippur feast
Erev Yom Kippur and Shabbos-Shaboson
Serious stuff - the Highest of the Holy Days - yet where are we spiritually the day before?
So Hashem gives us a "gift" -and says - EAT TOGETHER before the fast (not like Tisha Bav -= when the Law is to sit on the floor before the fast and eat separate from one another ...)
This is the Fast of Forgiveness - so we need to put our minds in a forgiving framework - so we sit together...
As Rabbi Carlebach said
"the evil angel or the evil in our hearts tell us "who needs you?" or "maybe Hashem doesn't need me".
I met today with an elderly person who KNOWS how he is needed-
and with a YOUNGER person who was afraid NOBODY really needs them ... WHAT A DIFFERENCE
SO REMEMBER - as Rabbi Carlebach said
"WOW - DOES G-D need you! Who will fix the world if not with your help?"
and when we eat together before the fast - look around you and think
WOW- do we all NEED EACH OTHER -
and pray for all and everyone this fast day.
Gmar Tov - may it all be proven to be good in the long run
and Shabbat Shalom -
may we experience peace
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Rosh Hashono - how deep do we feel things at 5AM?
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach used to say,
If you're praying on Rosh Hashono - pray for BIG things -
you don't ask Baron Rothschild for a $500 loan -
you ask for a million dollars for each of those in your family! and friends! and EVERYONE.!
He also said - on Rosh Hashono we PRAY FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD!
And let's face it - the world needs a BIG FIXING today.
In a minute I leave on my 5AM 3 mile walk to pray for "the day before Rosh Hashono" prayers -
and what do you do 5AM for 45 minutes - think of the French Toast you'll have when you come home after prayers?
Who can think of French Toast at 5AM? -
you gotta be thinking of the MIKVA later and
the starting over - and
THE HOLY TUNES OF ROSH HASHONO that should remind us of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
as the prophet said
"because MY house is a House of Prayer for ALL the peoples (of the world).
Have a Happy and a Healthy and Sweet New Year and a Head Start on Holiness-
intensify your JOY
and strengthen your special Mitzvas.
Love Shabbos from NY
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Portion Of Key Tavo - talking blessings curses and a Torah Carved in Stone (and in our SOULS)
In this week's portion G-d tells Moshe to tell the people
"G-D SAYS CARVE a copy of the Torah IN STONE -
write it AT THE TOP OF THE SHECHEM MOUNTAIN"
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach used to teach -
what it says in the Torah - WE HAVE TO DO
SO
CLOSE YOUR EYES - and
Listen to MOSES TALKING -
AND WATCH all those thousands of workers setting up stones and carving the words of the Torah on the mountain.
where are the stones today - when the Arabs are even destroying any artifacts on our Holy Temple Mount -
the WORDS " carve it in stone" must echo to us
But this Portion also has the curses - carried out at the time of the Second Temple destruction -
what would Reb Shlomo say?
I remember he said -
Key Tavo - curses NOT set in Stone - happiness set in Stone
Rabbi Mendele Vitebsker always wanted that Aliyah -
he was not well-
but Reb Mendele said
"in the sickness described in the Torah - is hidden 'THE HEALING qualities ..."
This is our TORAH - all hidden blessings!
So open your hearts -
a regular Torah is written on skins of kosher animals - softened to accept the ink-
BUT the TORAH in STONE
(I believe) IS IN EVERY STONE OF THE HOLY LAND!
REB SHLOMO USED TO SAY
" TELL THE WORLD - that the TORAH is CARVED in STONE on the Shechem Mountain-"
for hundreds of years it was visible-
but now WE must remind the world that the Shechem Mountain was BOUGHT by our forefather Jacob and our 4 foremothers and the 12 tribes!
To tell us and all the world about the hidden blessings in everything from G-d!
Let it be written gently in our softened hearts like a PARCHMENT Torah -
so that it will be strong as STONE - for the world to "see" and understand!
Shabbat Shalom from Israel
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Key Tay Tzay - mitzvas we can do, mitzvas we can't do - and those we MIGHT do
There are so many commandments in this portion Key Tay Tzay,
it's not an easy read ...
and there are so many ideas for thought - especially now, the month of Elul -
preparing for Rosh Hashono-
The portion starts with "the captive woman" - who must be respected,
continues with "if your enemy's animal is collapsing under it's load" - do not allow it to be in pain,
and
WHEN YOU GO INTO ISRAEL (but not when you are outside Israel-
destroy the memory of Amalek - the CRUEL tribes - the wanton killers -
So what do we learn to do, how do we deal with the many things we can't do (ever see your enemy's donkey?)
and what's a mitzva and what's a sin?
So here's a word of wisdom from Rabbi Shlomo:
"I want you to know that the tshuvah (repentance) of (the month of) Elul is not tshuvah for sins.
That is for the ten days between Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur.
In Elul the important thing is, I am doing tshuvah for
all the gates (opportunity to do mitzvas)
that were open to me and that I didn't enter." Reb Shlomo Carlebach zt"l
Shabbat Shalom from Israel
and Let's get ready for Rosh Hashono
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Judges and People
Where do we connect to G-dliness?
Who influences us into a closeness to the spiritual in the world?
And where does the Torah direct us to get spiritual nourishment from?
My friend Rabbi Josh Hoffman wrote this week " the Torah says, “and you shall not cut it (fruit trees)....and quoted the Ibn Ezra
as connecting that commandment to the later wording in the portion
“for a man is a tree of the field.” Then Rabbi Josh writes that "Maharal,... gives an elaborate explanation of this imagery, explaining that a man, like a tree, grows and bears fruit, namely, the actions that he does in his lifetime."
I once had a problem and needed to cut down a fruit tree on my property. In a quandry I delayed - and the All-mighty sent me an answer -
a good bid on the house and I sold it! What a way to teach me that MITZVA! Thank you Hashem!
In this week's portion the Torah tells us to appoint uncorruptable judges. Don't we know what to do when we appoint judges?
I'm not so sure. I was once at a judicial convention (as a computer support peson)
and a judge gave a talk about his "buying a TV cheaply that was stolen off a truck". Was he being "resonsible"?
Reading the Torah through the eyes of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach we would see
"you need to have judges who teach and direct you to do everything with love and joy" - and we should learn from them.
Do what you do honestly - and be happy - and make your world better that way.
Again - the words of Rabbi Carlebach:
"The most important things between my wife, my children and I are always the things I don’t have to do.
If I don’t, it's also okay, but gevalt are they important, gevalt are they important....
Rashi says that the tora portion Eikev is talking about Mitzvos Kalos (basic mitzvas)...
You know what that means? We are talking about mitzvahs you step on, mitzvahs which I don’t have to do.
(so) Let me ask you something. I see a poor man and I give him ten dollars, do I have to smile at him? I don’t have to.
Let me ask you something else. When I say good Shabbos ... (to someone), where does it say that I have to say it besimcha
(with joy)? It doesn't say it anywhere."
But if we had teachers and judges who taught us that lesson - imagine what a great world
imagine what a great Shabbos
we could all have.
Love and Shabbos
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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strike one, strike two, and - Torah portion of Re-ay
definitions:
strike - in baseball, trying to get the other side "out"
strike - to hit
strike - to attack
strike - to stop work in protest
So why in the portion of Re-ay does it say -
how to react to a city which turns to IDOLS (something that NEVER happened)
where it says
"strike, and strike it..."
yet elsewhere in the portion it so sweetly says
"open your hand (to the poor)"...
Latest news from here - America says Israel's air strike against the Russian Missiles in Syria missed a few. So?
Let's look at a little Israel history here:
The Arabs under the British Mandate held a general strike from April–October 1936.
It was part of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.
Among demands of the strike were Independence for Jerusalem.
The British ordered the demolition of hundreds of homes in Jaffa ...and authorised the Zionist Movement to build a port in Tel Aviv.
Strike - and strike again ...the Arabs, the British - and here we are still today...2013
Now as Reb Shlomo Carlebach used to always say - open your heart...
And this week his student Reb Sholom Brodt of Jerusalem quoted the famous Ohr Hachaim on this portion:
... receive Me into the deepest depth of your heart,
such that your Neshama (soul) will radiate with My light
... it is your choice ... If you will ‘hearken’ to the mitzvot of Hashem,
you will bring His holy light into the world,
then all the nations will stream to Yerushalayim and join you in amazing prayer.
But if you don’t, ... they will continue to attack you and blame you for all their ills.
We need to learn the lessons that sometimes you have to strike evil (like in Missiles)
and STRIKE IT AGAIN IF NEED BE (as quoted above fro this portion)
BUT
sometimes ...
we have to teach the world to LET LOOSE
OPEN YOUR (their) HANDS (and their hearts) TO HELP
and hopefully the world will some day join us in amazing prayer ...
Thank you Reb Shlomo, then you Reb Sholom, thank you Ohr Hachaim and thank you G-d ...
Shabbat Shalom from Israel
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Portion of Eikev 5773
Moshe, Moses, the 2 Tablets Man (10 Commandments - given twice) has the 7 portions of Torah leading up to Rosh Hashono mostly to himself.- and throws in some new tidbits here and there which explain things - but sometimes raise questions - and today I had a few.
So it was funny after prayers this morning to study Eikev - the portion we read tomorrow - and Rashi - the medievil Rabbinic commentary - and then getting an email from my old study-partner Rabbi Joshua Hoffman (when we were in Yeshiva together in Israel) - who was concerned by the same issue!
He wrote a beautiful comprehensive essay - but I will try in a few words to bring his conclusions and mine to this page.
He wrote "The first luchos (tablets - later broken by Moses) were both made and written by God, while the second luchos were made by Moshe and written by God. (For) the second luchos, God told Moshe ... to build an aron, or ark of wood, in which to store them.... Rashi... says that it is not the same ark as the one for the Temple...(which) Betzalel built. ... According to Rashi, the broken luchos remained in the aron (ark) made by Moshe, and that aron, with the broken luchos inside, went out to war with the people (when they conquerred Israel)."
Rabbi Josh quotes Rav Amnon Bazak and others who discuss which Tablets were holier. Some say,the second luchos were on a higher level than the first, because the second set was made by Moshe, thus adding the human element to G-d's work. (This is the Jewish explanation of why we are here on Earth - to add a human element to G-d's Creation).
This "human element that assured their permanence ... in God’s realm, indicating that the covenant He made with the Jewish people would remain forever. "
But I had another issue. The portion quotes Moses saying "I had to go up on the MOUNTAIN again for 40 days and nights to bring you these tablets". Moses went up there 40 days for the first tablets. Then after the Golden Calf he went up AGAIN 40 days to pray that G-d forgive the people.
And then G-d says - come up again 40 more days toprepare the second set of Tablets which will last forever - and not be broken. Why the 3 forties?
So I think that fits in with what Rabbi Josh says - that WE ADD OUR SPIRIT TO G-D'S CREATION AND IT BECOMES HOLIER.
Moses did that - and that effort created the permanent BOND of ISRAEL and G-d and TORAH.
May we be blessed to keep it strong and a light to the world.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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VaEtChaNan - - Moses begs Hashem ...
Based on words from Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria's son -
WHAT WE REALLY HAVE TO DO -
it's never clear -
but Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach said in the name of the spiritual masters
Everyone has ONE major spiritual challenge in their life-
to get them into Heaven
just don't IGNORE that challenge!
Rabbi Nachman said HIS challenge was to be buried in Uman and help fix the souls of all those from that area
Moshe in the portion Va Et Cha Nan prays "515" prayers to beg Hashem to let him enter Israel
and Hashem said "enough already - stop"
And Rabbi Neria quotes the Medrash Rabba to say
"Hashem said to Moses -
"your JOB was to take the first generation out of Egypt
"and in the end of days to bring them into the HOLY LAND"
so you must NOT go to Israel
and you MUST be BURIED in the DESERT with them ...
AND THAT WAS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FOR MOSES
I don't know what I wuld have done -
I thank G-d for every day I live in Israel-
but "Moses was Silent" - and accepted G-d's challenge
MAY WE ALL BE ABLE TO MEET OUR CHALLENGES
shabbat shalom
AE
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