I went to Israel for 3.5 weeks, to study in a seminary called Neve Yerushalayim and to visit family. I learned a crazy amount of knowledge in Neve and I am in love with the way of learning I was immersed in. So intelligent, deep, and philosophical... Perfect!
This post is based off a class I had with Rabbi Brown of Neve.
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How did G-d create the world?
There was no great flash of light, or sparkles clouding the earth. There wasn’t some big show, either…
G-d spoke, and the world was created. Through His words, creation came about.
Speech can create. Speech can also destroy.
Words of destruction, aka Lashon Hara, are then the complete antithesis of all G-d is. If you were trying to be the opposite of His kindness and power, good job! With these negative words, you’ve really done it.
The first temple was destroyed because of the Jews’ lowering themselves to doing the three cardinal sins: Immoral Relations, Idolatry, and Murder.
The second temple, however, was destroyed because of baseless hatred between the Jewish people, through Lashon hara. Aha! You see, those negative words brought about destruction! That’s because words are powerful, and can either create something beautiful, or destroy the world as we know it.
If this is the case, don’t you think we should watch ourselves more? This way of speaking, the negative words we say about things or people, that’s what destroyed the second temple! That’s why we still don’t have a temple now!
Just because we’re not all on the same level of observance, or even on the spectrum, does not give anybody the right to judge others based on their lack of or insufficiency of religious observance. Just because someone’s ancestors are from Spain and someone else is from Poland does not mean that a rift should be there.
Differences are just that, differences. G-d created us all in His image, but no one person is exactly the same. We were created with differences, put into unique life situations, and we should be grateful for that instead of looking at other people and judging. G-d knows what He’s doing; he created the world, He’s obviously had practice!
My friend's father is sick with Leukemia and is looking for a bone marrow transplant. If you're in Montreal, please come out and be tested on Thursday June 19, at the Y, from 2pm to 8pm.
Thank you!
Last year, I learned this beautiful idea in seminary. I even had a whole Dvar Torah written about it, which I gave at my friend’s house around 1 in the morning that Shavuot night, but I couldn’t find it now. This is written with what I could remember, so if it doesn’t make so much sense, please blame my memory!
The giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai is often likened to a marriage between G-d and His people. When Bnei Yisrael said “Na’aseh v’Nishma(We will do and we will listen),” it was just like the chupa ceremony at a wedding, or saying “I do…”
The time before marriage, or even before engagement and dating, should be used for preparation. I’ve been told countless times, since starting (and finishing a couple of days ago!) Seminary, that these 2 years would be crucial to my growth and preparation. I always laughed, but I realize now that these people were so right! These years are our last chance to learn as much as we can, to absorb as much Hashkafah, Halacha and values and as much about ourselves as we can, before we need to settle down and use what we’ve learned in a practical setting. The more you prepare the better!
It’s said that when you get married, it’s two halves of a soul coming together to make one. By doing this preparation, you’re making your half the most complete it can be so that when it meets up with it’s other half, it makes a complete whole.
If the giving of the Torah is likened to a marriage between us and Hashem, then the time before Shavuot can be likened to this preparation period. You don’t go into a relationship unprepared; we need to know ourselves and work on ourselves first.
The learning of Pirkei Avot these past few weeks was precisely for that reason. Through learning Pirkei Avot, we learn to be better people, better Jews, to improve our character traits and enhance the good qualities we already have. This shows us who we really are and how to be the best possible people we can be. In this way we fulfill our potential to the best of our ability.
May we all be zoche(deserving) to grow to our fullest potential, and find our other half...
Another beautiful idea:
When we were taken out of Mitzrayim, it was not because we truly deserved HaShem's salvation, really. We were on such a low of level of tuma(impurity) that had we stayed in Mitzrayim any longer, we would have been lost to HaShem.
At that time we were on the 49th level of tuma.
At the time of matan Torah, however, we jumped up to the 49th level of kedushah(holiness/purity)!
How did we possibly jump 98 levels in 49 days?
HaShem is pure chessed, as is obvious through His creation of the world. He had no reason to create the world, but did so anyway, for our sake.
So, in His goodness, He gave us 49 levels, just like that, raising us up to 0 by yetziat Mitzrayim.
We didn't work for that raise, it was a gift from HaShem.
The raising of our level from 0 to 49 is a different story -
From 0 to 49 - from the time of yetziat Mitzrayim to matan Torah - We worked on ourselves, in the same way we do now during the Sefirat HaOmer.
The working on our middot that we do now is, in a way, done in order to keep up a certain level of kedushah that we have in our days. However, it is NOT the same level of kedushah that we had at the time of matan Torah - That level was lost to us through the cheit ha'egel (sin of the golden calf).
This shows why working on ourselves - now during the Sefirat HaOmer or any other time during the year - is such an important aspect of Yiddishkeit. Our kedushah is what helps bring us closer to HaShem.
When people look forward to something, they usually make a countdown.
For example: When you’re really excited to be finishing the school year you count down the days until the end, crossing off each day as you go along. (Right now I am currently 6 days away from graduating Seminary!) When one day finishes it is as if it is meaningless and it seems as though it never existed at all.
The Sefira is the total opposite...
We look forward to Shavuot – the time of matan Torah (Giving of the Torah) – but we do not count down. We count each day as it comes, and never forget the days that have passed. For example – after 8 days you count 1 week and 1 day – still mentioning the past 7 days even though they are over. Each day is remembered and counts toward the end of the journey.
Each day is meaningful in the Sefira.
The Sefira is a time for tikkun middot (fixing our character traits.) - We fix our character traits, our behaviors, our way of thinking – We better ourselves in all aspects of our lives.
Because of the meaning behind each day of the Sefira, each day is important.
We remember each day on this journey towards matan Torah because it is important to remember where you are coming from when you embark on such a spiritual journey.
Therefore, each day of the Sefira counts towards something – they are tiny steps on your journey towards completion.
Everyday matters.
Pretty last minute, Thursday night, I decided to go to downtown Montreal for Shabbat the next day, somewhere I had never gone before. I stayed at a university student’s apartment, and went for the night meal at the university’s Rabbi and Rebbetzin’s place. Lunch the next day was at Chabad and Seudah Shlishit was back with the Rabbi, but what I want to talk about is the amazing walk I went on after that lunch…
There’s a big tourist attraction in Montreal, Mont Royal. It’s a beautiful mountain, great for walking, and at the bottom is a huge area where people gather in the summer with their drums and friends and just hang out in the sun enjoying the ambience.
I went with the Rebbetzin and a friend of hers for a walk on this mountain, which lasted about 2 hours. I can gladly say it was the best 2 hours of my life so far, even though I wasn’t really dressed for such a long walk.
It was the most amazing experience I’ve had on a Shabbat before. I was connecting to Hashem in a way I’ve never connected before. The nature around me was stunning and I was constantly reminded of how great Hashem is and how beautiful His creations are.
I came back from that walk feeling so high, and I hope that feeling stays with me.
I feel like I’m so connected to Him, and it’s such an incredible feeling.
My bracha to you is that you all find some way to connect to Hashem and realize His greatness, and that the feeling sticks with you for as long as possible!
(Sorry this is so short, but I’m in the middle of my last 2 weeks of school, and I’m swamped with schoolwork with exams coming up in a few days!)
Hello everyone, my name is Aliza, and I've just recently been recruited to write for Tzipiyah.com. I've done some guest posts here, from my own blog http://www.torahtopics.blogspot.com, and now I'm here to write on a regular basis. Wonderful! This post was originally posted at the opening of my own blog, but I want to share it with a wider spectrum of readers. So, here it is!
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Do people ever ask you why Jews are G-d's "chosen nation"?
Do they ask what makes us so special that we are "above" everyone else?
Are we really chosen?
I don't think so.
Now, wait a second. I don't think we are the chosen nation?!
Yeah, I would think I was crazy, too, if I were you :p
Originally, Adam and Chava were supposed to be the start of Am Israel.
Then they sinned and missed that opportunity.
So, from the time of Adam and Chava until the time of Avraham and Sarah there were 10 generations in which HaShem searched for someone who would merit being Israel.
Yes, there were tzadikim in those generations, and they followed HaShem's ways and tried to show people His greatness.
Then why weren’t they chosen?
Sure, Noah was a great Tzadik; HaShem even saved his family from total destruction!
But why wasn't he chosen?
He would tell people of HaShem's greatness, that is true. But he never really said it without being asked.
He would tell the people of the generation about HaShem and what he would do to them and what was going on only when they asked him why he was building the ark.
He didn't show his love and dedication to HaShem in the right way.
But wait, was HaShem doing the choosing or were the people doing the choosing?
Derech HaShem by the RaMChaL states that HaShem did not choose Avraham Avinu, Avraham Avinu chose HaShem.
Avraham Avinu loved and dedicated his entire life and being to HaShem.
Every second of every day was spent talking about HaShem, His glories and wonders and how he created everything whatnot.
He never backed down from saying these things, and never waited to be asked.
He would tell anybody who would listen, and even those who would not!
This was the ultimate dedication to and servitude of HaShem.
Thus, Avraham Avinu was not chosen. His dedication and servitude was HIS way of choosing HaShem.
So that is why he merited becoming Israel, not the other tzadikim of the 10 generations before him.
So, are we HaShem's chosen people?
Nope :)
We choose HaShem with our actions.
Through our daily mitzvot, we show our dedication to HaShem.
Everyday when you say a bracha, when you daven, when you learn Torah, that is a decision.
Life is full of choices - and the ultimate one is to choose HaShem.
What do you think of this concept? Do you agree? Or does this sound like a load of garbage?
Written by Aliza of Torah Topics
http://torahtopics.blogspot.com
Purim is a holiday all about the hidden miracles in life – Hashem was hidden in the story of Purim, and His name is not mentioned once throughout Megillat Esther.
As the name alludes to, megilla comes from the Hebrew word “L’galot,” to reveal or uncover, and Esther comes from the word “Hester,” hidden or covered. Thus, Purim is viewed as a Holiday where Hashem’s guiding hand was hidden, but we look through to see that now and commemorate His presence in our lives, though seemingly hidden.
Pesach, on the other hand, was a time when Hashem’s miracles were ever-present, and so obvious to all. They were great in quantity and in quality, even more so than any other time in Jewish history. Pesach is thus a time for looking at the miracles which are obvious.
The time in between Purim and Pesach should then be a time where we go from not being able to see Hashem or His miracles to being able to see Him everywhere in everything. This time should a growth period where we work on seeing His hand in everything; such as the fact that we breathe and walk, that the snow melts and that the sun shines, that a baby is born and that an old man dies…
As Pesach then approaches we have prepared ourselves to commemorate His hand in the Pesach story more so than we would have been able to otherwise, and that is really what this time should be used for. We can’t just jump straight into Pesach and the remembering of the redemption from Egypt.
Remembrance days are often used as just that; days for remembrance. However there’s no internalizing these things we remember or growth from what we have learned. This is where Pesach differs from any American or Canadian remembrance holidays. This Yom Tov is for remembering the story through the reading of the Haggadah and constant reminders throughout the year during our prayers and such, but we don’t just remember. We also learn lessons and open our eyes to the miracles Hashem has given us.
My bracha to you all is that you be able to recognize the hand of Hashem in everything in your lives, in the good times and the ‘bad,’ and in the mundane and extraordinary. Hashem is always there to guide us, but it is up to us whether we open our eyes to His presence or not.
This parsha begins with the laws of slaves. How fitting, seeing as Bnei Yisrael were just let out of Mitzrayim after being slaves.
Slavery could be that one is a slave to a master, doing work for him.
But, it could also be another way:
In life, we are given the opportunity to gain wealth and accumulate possessions. But what we do with these possessions is the important part. You can either use them for good, or use them for bad - as is the case with everything in life.
Either you can be the 'master' over these things, or you can be their 'slave'.
As is the case with most of the world, unfortunately, people are slaves to their possessions. When you focus on your belongings more than your avodat HaShem(service to Hashem), there is a problem there!
HaShem gives us these things not so we can focus our entire lives on them, but so we can use them for a higher purpose, to further our avodat HaShem! We have money so we can give tzedakah. We have a house so we can put up a mezuzah, and so we can do the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim! We are given a parnassah(income) so we can use that money to provide for our families, so we can raise our children in the best way possible and so we can do our mitzvot in the best way possible.
We are not given all these things to compete with our neighbor over who has the best car or who has the most money. You want to have a great car so you can use it to go out and do mitzvot? You want to use it to drive people around because they don't have one or you want to use it to deliver tzedakah and food to the needy? Fine, that's wonderful; you're using your belongings in a positive way!
But it's when you lose sight of your avodat HaShem and replace it with a focus on your possessions that is when you become a slave to the world.
In reality, the world is not our master, HaShem is. So the only 'thing' we can be slaves to is HaShem - We must serve HaShem always, not the world and our possessions
Guest Post by Aliza of Torah Topics
Tonight I attended a lecture by Rabbi Skobac, of Jews for Judaism, a group that opposes the Jews for Jesus organization. They don’t go after those who would seek to convert us, rather, they speak to our people, and help prevent what Jews for Jesus sets out to do, and helps those who have already fallen into the trap.
His words were inspiring, and the knowledge sparked an interest and concern in me. I feel that as Jews, we have a responsibility to help our brothers and sisters just as much as the Evangelical Christians feel they have to the rest of the world. Where they think they need to stop us all from damning ourselves to hell, I feel it is our responsibility to reach out to our fellow Jews and show them how meaningful and amazing our religion is.
What can we do, as a community, to keep our people from turning to other sources of spiritual fulfilment? What is lacking that propels these Jews to the search for deeper meaning elsewhere?
I think the first step is being a more welcoming and inviting community? Not just here in Montreal, but anywhere in the world, Jews need to be more tolerant of each other, despite background or affiliation! Once we see that we are truly one, than there won’t be as much discord and enmity, and people will feel more open to asking questions and receiving answers.
Those who would seek spiritual fulfilment elsewhere would just as easily seek it here in Judaism if they had the resources. This would work if we provided an open atmosphere where people would be willing to learn and others willing to teach. That, my friends, is KIRUV! By bringing Jews closer to their Judaism we are furthering them from other ties! That is amazing, isn’t it?
I told Rabbi Skobac that I felt we should be fighting the Christians who are pulling our brothers and sisters into their trap. He said we should, rather, be fighting the pull, and preventing the temptation instead of fighting the people behind that pull. And the only way we can do that is by being more open, by answering questions, having an atmosphere conducive to learning and seeking truth, and, in essence, doing Kiruv.
So, my main point here is that in order to combat the views of Jews for Jesus, we must not seek to refute everything they say, and attack their beliefs rather we should do what we can as our responsibility to keep our brothers and sisters from even falling into that trap. Kiruv is the answer.
To see my further views on Kiruv, please see this blog post.
http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/
Display Name: Aliza Perez
Gender: Female
Birthday: September 17, 1987
Hometown: Montreal
Current City of Residence: Montreal
Favorite City outside of Jerusalem: I don’t really have one
Yeshiva/Seminary Attended: Beis Yakov Seminary
Occupation: Student, finishing up my second year of BY Seminary
Interests or Hobbies: I’m an avid Harry Potter fan, and I really enjoy fantasy literature. I also love learning anything and everything to do with Judaism, especially Chassidut and random ideas.
Favorite Music: I love love love Israeli music, of any genre. If it’s from Israel, I’ll probably like it. Aside from that I like random songs here and there, ranging from Celtic and Irish songs, to cheesy 90’s love songs. I also like some Jewish stuff, too.
Favorite Book: I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy! And the Harry Potter series, of course. Out of the Jewish things I’ve read, I suppose my favorite sefer so far has got to be Shmuel Bet, and only because my teacher makes it an amazing read :)
Freestyle description: I’m a fairly quiet person, but once you get me started on something I’m passionate about, it’s impossible to shut me up. I tend to babble a lot in those situations, and it gets a little silly eventually. I love being Jewish and I love the land of Israel even though I haven’t been there since a family visit 13 years ago. I went to secular Jewish schools for most of my life, and then to a 2 year college here in Montreal. Somewhere along the road I became observant and then decided to attend seminary. I ended up in Beis Yakov Seminary; a place that does not portray my belief system or my personality. I’m just there for the awesome Jewish education I missed out on before. I’ll be a Seminary graduate in a month, and next semester it’s off to university!
Random Questions:
-I never hit the snooze button; I always get up when it goes off. I can just go back to sleep later!
What's the earliest you've gotten up to watch cartoons and what did you see?
- I used to be up at 6:30… or maybe it was 7? To watch this show Maya the Bee. I think I saw it once in Hebrew, too.
For your birthday, your aunt gave you a maple syrup dispenser shaped like a rooster. Please write her a thank-you note:
- Hey, (insert aunt’s name here), thank you so much for the funky present. I like strange things, and it seems like you picked up on that – It’s pretty strange! Now that I know your taste too, I’ll be sure to get you something similar for your birthday :p
What is your dream vacation?
What’s your favorite planet and why?
-Planet Earth! ‘Cause that’s where we live.
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