Parashat Hashavua
pre-rosh-hashono-drosho
Based on Rabbi Effie Buchwald of NJOP
Psalm 27 is read from now through the holiday of Sukkot.
It shows us a beautiful relationship with the Divine.
King David - who had a tough life but made us a Kingdom of G-dliness said in that Psalm
“One thing have I asked of God, one thing do I desire: that I may dwell in the house of God all the days of my life, to behold the graciousness of God, and to visit in His temple” (27:4).
One may look to God as a protector and a savior (which, indeed, is how God is referred to through much of this Psalm),
it is STILL URGENT to also seek out God and be close to Him - to MAXIMIZE G-dliness.
TAKE A CHANCE - find a way to MAXIMIZE YOUR G-DLINESS!
This morning I blew Shofar for the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv.
A few days ago I was blowing Shofar for some little kids.
PICK A MITZVA AND MAXIMIZE IT THIS MONTH -
AND ENTER INTO ROSH HASHONO WITH STYLE AND GRACE!!!
While David,had his troubles (King Saul wanted him dead, his sons rebelled...), yet he remained steadfast in his faith in God.
He had the incredible gift of being able to look at the world and recognize the ways in which God protected him.
"Hope in the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, hope in the Lord."
Elul, leads into Rosh Hashana, is a time for reflecting on the wonderful gift of having a relationship with the Divine--and how one can work to achieve that relationship.
RABBI ANDY EICHENHOLZ
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So many of us judge ourselves too harshly
and some of us not at all
BUT FOR ALL OF US THERE IS
ROSH HASHONO
A JUDGEMENT HOLIDAY
wE ARE supposed TO LRT the light of the Torah
heal our eyes and
restore us to thinking good and positive thoughts
ABOUT OURSELVES AND OTHERS
Seeing good in everyone and
BEING KIND TO ALL - EVEN THAT GUY THAT CUT US OFF IN THE PARKING LOT
(IT'S NETTER FOR OUR HEARTS
EVEN IF HARD).
SO THIS SHABBOS - THE PORTION CALLED
SHOFTIM = JUDGES
IS A WARM UP EXERCISE FOR ROSH HASHONO
LOVE FROM Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
always on the way to Jerusalem
And from my friend Rabbi Sholom Brodt this word and piture of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
RESTORE OUR JUDGES
Remember the daily 'Amiddah' prayer which we recite three times a day, we ask of Hashem:
"Restore our judges as in former times, and our counselors as of yore; remove from us sorrow and sighing; and reign over us, You alone, O Lord, with kindness and compassion, with righteousness and justice. Blessed are You Hashem, King who loves righteousness and justice."
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This week commemorates the passing of Rav Kook over 70 years ago- - who saw the Holy Lights in ALL ISRAEL as they were starting to Build the Land
Rav Shlomo used to teach Rav Kook's Prot Hateshuva to his shul when he could - and though Rav Kook's Hebrew is a bit difficult - Rav Shlomo brought all the concepts to us -
such as the idea that TESHUVA is NATURAL -
it returns us to a MORE HUMAN STATE without all the "baggage" that we pick up as we try to find our place in the world.
Here is a quote from Rav Shlomo that I think would fit into his interpretation of Rav Kook's works (I actually have 2 copies of the Rav Shlomo work but not in front of me)
Rav Shlomo Carlebach speaking:
You know there is such a thing as loving Hashem,and there is such a thing as fearing Hashem. ...
Loving Hashem is not simple, but everybody understands it. When it comes to fearing Hashem we have a little trouble.
What does it mean to fear Hashem? The Baal Shem Tov says that fearing Hashem means that I'm afraid that I will lose His light,
I'm afraid that I will dosomething wrong and I'll be far away from Him.
...
In Chassiduswe learn... you can love Hashem with closed eyes or you can love Hashem and see Him.
When you see Him, you know you mamash see Hashem, you just tremble.
That's also a way of loving Hashem, but in a trembling way.
...
I'll tell you something very deep
When those great lights (of the time of the Mashiach coming - my note) are coming down to the world, they are ready to grab someone to make them ready for this great light.
The thing is you have to really know that there is one Hashem and that He is as near to you as you will let Him be.
The great lights are here right now... you just have to believe it.
If we can't believe, we are still in exile.
So by our believing (in Hashem) we mamesh are creating vessels for this great heavenly lights.
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Maimonides and the King’s Book Shelves
Friday 6:30 AM and I enter the closest Synagogue and –
The painters are already working! The tables are in disarray,
The regular Minyan-aires are finding corners to put on their Talis and Tefilin-
But me – I’m always looking for a Torah Book to study a few minutes before
And a few minutes after prayers – but the book shelves are empty and moved to the center of the Shul so the painters can work.
What would Maimonides do in this situation?
Luckily I was studying Maimonides’ “Laws of Kings” a few days ago.
Law 1 – the Torah says a King should WRITE a TORAH
Law 2 – the King should always Carry the Torah With Him!
Question 1 – What if the King’s Father Left him a Torah?
Maimonides – Answer – Keep one on his HOME SHELF to study at Home
Write another one – and Carry it with him!
As Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach used to say based on many great Hassidic Rabbis-
YOU NEED to ALWAYS have a TORAH THOUGHT to SHARE
(he’d say “keep a CASH Torah in your POCKET – readily available!)
and Maimonides would say –
IF THEY’re PAINTING THE BOOK SHELVES-
CARRY YOUR OWN HOLY BOOK WITH YOU
And grab those few HOLY MOMENTS of study-learning NO MATTER WHAT!
Shabbat Shalom from holy Tel Aviv
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Moses in the Mist? (even though Arafel is more like FOG?)
What a Portion this week! So much of Moses’ 40-year- review –
but
Where are the easy parts? Is Israel’s task in this world easy?
So when Moses climbs the Mount Sinai trail to prepare to chisel in stone the 10 Commandments- he doesn’t even see the trail!
He has to
“walk into the misty fog – " the Torah says
because his job-
the 10 Commandments’ job-
the TORAH’s job-
is to lead the way in this foggy world – towards our DEVELOPMENT
as G-d-close people
and ENLIGHTENED people
so the world can know how to fix itself.
Love and Shabos from Tel Aviv
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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9 av - a happy shabbat or not? 9AV - but a happier and holier one?
why did the rabbis ordain that 9 AV on Shabbat be observed the "next day" (called nidcheh or pushed off)?
Since the temple was burning for 2 days they COULD EASILY have said
observe the fast day on "9 or 10 of the month of AV" - rather than
"observe it on the 9th of Av -
"but if" it's a shabbos ... on the 10th...
So - Here we can see the GREATNESS of our sages -
who were DEVASTATED when the temples were destroyed -
BUT NOT DESTROYED by the devastation!
( the destruction of the temple on 9 AV -
first by the babylonians 586 bce
then by the romans about 70 CE!)
And why not?
Because our Temple stood for both great holiness - and great wisdom - so I'm sharing 2 thoughts from 2 sources.
From my friend Rabbi Brodt who reminds us -
this shabbat is called
Shabbat Chazon -
the shabbat of VISION -
not just prophecy -
but depth of VISION so we can ALL see G-d's
HOLY long-term plan for our world.
to make us all HOLIER people
And from the weeklydvar website
he quotes King Solomon
"A conceited fool has no desire
for understanding, but only wants to express his own views (18:2)."
What's the point of a past if we don't learn from it? Let's integrate what we learned from the past
into our future!
So - let's FAST this Tisha Bav -
do deepen our understanding and widen our vision
of what's happening in the world-
and learn from the Sages to
make the world both wiser and holier.
Shabat Shalom from Jerusalem
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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PURPOSE?
The beginning of the month of Av (today) we are taught to mourn destruction of our Great Temples
In 2 weeks' time we are taught that 15th of Av was one of the Happiest Days of Ancient Israel
Why and how are we directed by 3000 years of Jewish Scholarship to adapt our FEELINGS to EVENTS ?
And what good is it to do so?
As Rabbi Carlebach used to say - (my paraphrase)
it isn't so important how much you love someone when you love them-
as how much you can love someone when you're angry at them!
FEELINGS are GREAT - but
FEELINGS without DIRECTION and/or PURPOSE -
can be MISLEADING.
So Jewish WISDOM teaches us to LEARN TO CHANNEL feelings-
to EMPOWER US -
and to PRACTICE implementing FEELINGS within the needs of TIME - so that
we can ADD to the dimension of our HUMANITY at those critical times
when we will need to direct our feelings towards the PURPOSE in our lives.
Love and Shabbos from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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Chapter 6 of his 8-Chapters-Book
Understand that health and eating and sleep and EVERY moment can be FOCUSED
Focus on the HOLY PURPOSE of LIFE - and ALL things
(according to Judaism) become SPIRIT and Holiness
Not Easy? so -
START with a prayer before you eat
and 3 seconds FOCUS that the
food should bring you health
the health should bring you GOOD FEELING
the Good Feeling should bring you CLOSER TO YOUR MAKER
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebac would add
You GOTTA grab the HOLINESS of each moment
to turn an ISSUE into an EVENT to BRING YOU CLOSER
and to quote him on this week's Torah portion
The same is the 3 weeks these are the very days we can turn everything over the right way and fixour soul in the deepest way being one with every yid, bringing the ultimate redemption
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my Hebrew birthday is the same day as the previous lubavitcher rebbe's release from Tzarist Russia prison
in order for a blessing to be effective-
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