If you are sitting shiva, please go to the right and pause the music.

Parsha of the Week

        To make up all the times I said a short Shabbos Dvar Torah, here is a really long one
I will say my Dvar Torah from my Parshas Vayeshev, in the Sefer Breishis, Perek: Mem, Passuk Chuf-Gimmel .


        What’s going on? Well, the bread baker and the wine maker served Paraoh. The bread, in which the bread baker made, contained a pebble. Paraoh saw the pebble and then sent the bread baker into the dungeon, or jail. Later on the wine maker sent Paraoh wine to drink. A fly flew in the wine cup, and the fly died inside the wine cup. The king sent the wine maker off to the dungeon as well. Now, there were three people in the dungeon - they were the bread baker, the wine maker, and Yosef. Yosef was there unjustly, because Potifar, his boss, and Potifar’s wife, made a false accusation against him. 

        One morning the wine maker and the bread baker looked upset and so Yosef asked them what happened. They both said that they had weird dreams which bothered them. Yosef first asked the wine maker about his dream. And the wine maker told Yosef what he dreamt. He saw in his dream three cups of wine, and he didn’t understand what it meant. Yosef said that the three cups of wine stand for three days. That is when Paraoh will take you out of jail, and return you to your old position as a wine maker, and you will serve him once again. The bread baker saw that Yosef interpreted the wine maker’s dream, so he told Yosef about his strange dream, where he saw three baskets, but he did not understand what it meant.  Yosef said that the three baskets in your dream are also referring to three days. That is when Paraoh will take you out of the dungeon also. He will hang you from your head on a tree and birds will eat your flesh. The difference between the two is, that it wasn’t the wine maker’s fault that the fly flew inside the wine cup, but somehow, the bread baker should check and know if there is a pebble in the dough when he baked the bread. That is why the wine maker was freed, and the bread baker was hunged.
It says in the Sefer Breishis, Perek: Mem, Passuk Chuf-Gimmel: that the wine maker did not remember Yosef, when he was freed, but instead he forgot him. 
        The question which arises is, how could the wine maker forget Yosef so quickly? The answer to this question is, that since Yosef told the wine maker to remember him, and to mention his name to Paraoh, he was punished. Why was he punished? Yosef should have more Emunah and faith in Hashem, and he should not have relied on the wine maker or any of his favors. So another question which arises is, why didn’t Yosef have the Emunah and faith in Hashem that Hashem would take him out of the dungeon? Some Rabbis say, that he didn’t want to rely on a miracle to save him. So then another question arises, why did Hashem punish Yosef and make him stay an extra two years in prison? The answer given is that even though Yosef felt that he should not rely on a miracle only, he was wrong. He should have realized that Hashem was watching and helping him on a very personal, unusual, and direct level from the time his brothers threw him in the pit, even until now. He had been saved so many times by Hashem, he did not need the wine maker now.Here are some examples that show that Hashem was always with him in a very special way. When Yosef’s brothers threw him in a pit with snakes and scorpions, all these animals went away from him, instead of killing him. Another example is when Yosef was sold to the Arab spice merchants, the wagon in which he had to travel with them smelled nicely, instead of the usual foul smell of Arab merchandise. Another example is when Yosef was sold to Potiphar in Egypt, Yosef was placed in a high position instead of a low position job. There are even more examples that Hashem was watching Yosef. When Yosef was sent to jail, he was not with the hardened criminals, but he was with the political prisoners, such as the bread bakers and wine makers, who committed smaller and not such dangerous crimes. Therefore, he should have realized that Hashem was with him all along, with a high and special protection of Hashkacha Protis.  Yosef should not have asked the wine steward to remember him and ask Paraoh to save him. We, however, can not judge Yosef, because sometimes there is a very fine line between doing actions and having faith, and sometimes it is really difficult to decide what to do. It is also just as difficult to understand how much action one should take and how much faith one should have, and what is the proper balance between the two. Hopefully, we will never be put to such a test.


Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!






Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

This week's parsha is parshas Toldot, we learn that says that Yitzhak the son of Avraham and Avraham the father of Yitzhak It says in the Midrash when Avraham and Sarah were going to Avi-melech, Avraham told Sarah if they ask you if tell them that you are my sister. Avi-melech took Sarah home for one night and Hashem gave him and everyone in the kingdom Leprosy. Hashem came to Avi-Melech and said you took Sarah the wife of Avraham and that is why you got cursed,  Avi-Melech said but i did not know that Sarah is the wife of Avraham, Hashem said you are right. After one month Sarah became pregnant and the mockers said Avraham and Sarah were married so long and now Sarah is pregnant they said no it might be Avi-Melech's kid but Hashem made it that Avraham and his son Yitzhak were like twins, after a while Avraham asked Hashem that him and his son Yitzhak should not look like each other because when Yitzhak went somewhere people would stand up for him thinking Yitzhak is really Avraham. This is not honer for Avraham. So Hashem made Avraham the first old person. Before this people who where one hundred looked like the age of a twenty years old person. 

Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

There is a question about what is significant about Sarahs age when she died?

Sarah lived one hundred twenty seven years. When Sarah was one hundred and over she was like twenty years old with no sins (averot) . when Sarah was twenty years old she was like a seven year old because of her beauty.  

Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

        This weeks parsha is Parshas Vayera. The story takes place on the 3rd day after Avrahams breit. This is the most painful day after a breit. So Hashem decided to make it a really hot day, this way Avraham would not have to have any guests and can relax. However Avraham was mad because no guests were coming, so hashem sent him 3 angles. Their names were Gabriel, Michael, and Rephael. When Avraham saw them he thought they were Arabs, so he told them to wash their feet before coming in, because Arabs worship G-d's and they are Tumeh (spiritually unclean).After Avraham served them they reveled themselves as angles from Hashem and they said what they were told to say. Gabriel said he was sent to destroy Sedom. Michael said he was sent to cure Avraham. Rephael said he was sent to say that Sarah will have a baby boy in One year.

        The lesson from this is that you should treat Non- Jewish people nicely and treat them like you

              


Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

This week’s parsha is parshas Lech-Lecha, and Avraham was the first person to figure out that Hashem existed by himself.
 
How do we know that our G-d is The G-d?
If you actually take your time and think about it every single religion except of Judaism started with one or two people. For Example
 
 1. Mormons started off with a man claiming that he found gold tablets with words in a language he didn’t know and next to it was a dictionary that translated the tablets and then the man burnt the gold tablets and the dictionary. He wrote a book about what happened with his friend. They “died” and a man found it and said it was their religion.

2. Christians-Jesus was crucified, 30 years later a man named Shual claimed the he saw Jesus walking alive. Shual changed his name to Paul Johnson, and wrote many books. Paul claimed that Jesus told him the stories and the laws. 
 
3. Jews-believe (all Jews, reform, conservative …) That Hashem spoke to all three million Jews at The Mount Sini.


Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

This weeks parsha is parshas Noach. Instead of doing a normal Dvar Torah about the parsha, because it is the binging of the Torah I will write (talk) about the proofs of G-d.

Before you can say Hashem made the world,you should ask yourself, Is Christianity real? Is Judaism real? How do I really know. I have two examples about the proofs of G-d.

Example number one is that someone designed this room we are in for example that picture over there. I mean do you really think that somehow many different colors just happened to go on the canvas to look exactly like the picture.Wait a second how was the canvas made? A person who don't believe in G-d or G-ds would say oh little particles fly towards each other and the particles mixed and became a canvas.

Example number two is the following: Imagine that you are in a forest not far from a place which many tornadoes occur.You are walking in the forest and you see a new camera. How did it get there?  An atheist would say the tornado had metal pieces inside it and they mixed which caused a new camera, but how did the camera get in the middle of the forest An atheist would say the tornado threw the camera in the forest.

Scientists say that the chance for a non-living thing to become living is 120,000    


Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

Check this out.

Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

Q) When is the Hebrew date for Yom Kippur and why is it a day for Teshuva?
A) Yom Kippur is on the Tenth of Tishri.
Q) Why is it a day for Teshuva?
A) It is a day for Teshuva because Moshe came down with the new tablets.
Q) What are the Aseres Y'mei Teshuva?
A) The Ten days of repentance.
Q)  What are Kaparot?
A)  Kaparot Are chickens or money that use wave over your head while saying a blessing, to take away your sins and the chicken or money gets the sins.
Q)  What should one do if their friend does forgive them?
A) One should ask them three time at three different times, places, and days.
Q)  What do we add to prayers on Erev (before) Yom Kippur?
A) We add Confession to the prayers in case it is impossible for some one to say it on Yom Kippur.



 



Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

  • The first night of Rosh Hashana

  1. People have a custom to dip apple in honey so that you may have a sweet year.
  2. There is a custom to not eat nuts on Rosh Hashana because in Hebrew the word nut and the word sin is compared to each other because they are equal to the same number.
  3. There is a Blessing you should give to everyone you see.

  •  Rosh Hashana Prayers

 Some married men wear a Kittel on Rosh Hashana
1. They wear a Kittel to look like an angle
2. To remind us that it’s a serious day because people are buried in a Kittel

  • Shofar
  1.  You are supposed to hear 100 Shofar blasts, but if you can’t you at least have to hear 30 blasts
  2.  If you hear an echo of a shofar blast it doesn’t count
  3.  You are supposed to stand for the shofar blowing
  4.  You can’t talk from the first shofar blow until the last shofar blow.
  5.  What do you do if you use the restroom and come out during the shofar blows, can you say asher yozar? Yes
  6.  If Rosh Hashana is on shabbos can you blow the shofar? No because you might forget that it is shabbos and on shabbos you can’t carry

  •  Rosh Hashana Afternoon

  1.  On Rosh Hashana Afternoon you should feel happy that Hashem accepted your tefila.
  2.  It’s a custom not to sleep on Rosh Hashana Afternoon because should be scared that you are being judged.

  •  Tashalich
  1.  Why do we go to a river for Tashalich? There is a custom that we would crown our king by the river and so we are asking Hashem that even though we sinned we still want you as our king.
  2.  We do Tashlich after mincha on the 1st day of Rosh Hashana

This week’s parsha is parshas Nitzavim and Vayeilech and a verse says “See I am placing before you today a choice of life and good or death and bad.”

Why is the verse saying you have a choice? Why would you want to choose death? The answer is that Hashem gives us a choice, if you want to you can pick death if not you do not have to. Another reason you have free choice is that if you do something that is good you will get more reward because it is your choice.
Another question to the verse above is: Why did Hashem add in the word “Today” when this happened over three thousand years ago? Rav Moshe Feinstein Z”TL explains that in the parsha when moshe is giving a Mussar to the Jewish people it is read close to Rosh Hashana to teach us to do Teshuva (repentance). A person might think, “I have done so much wrong up until now, how can I possibly change?” Therefore the torah says “Today” to teach us that you can change any day you want and become good.


Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!


        This week's parshas is Parshas Ki Tavo, and you will learn about the topic of Bikurim.


        You have an imagination, right? Let's just pretend that you are a farmer in Eretz Yisrael (Israel). You own grain fields, vineyards, and fields of vegetables. The crops are starting to come up from the ground. One day you come by to check on your crops and you see a golden stalk of ripe barley. This barley belongs to Hashem, and you have to bring it to the Bais Hamikdash (The Holy Temple) as "Bikurim". You go and get a piece of string and come back and tie the string around the first barley so this way you know which stalk ripened first. When harvest comes you put the stalk aside.


        If you have a vineyard you should check it too, and when you see the first grape then you should also tie a string around it. What if there are several grapes that ripen at the same time? If several grapes ripen at the same time only one of them need to be set aside as "Bikurim". You might even have an apple tree or a field of potatoes, but you do not bring "Bikurim" from this tree. Why is it that you do not bring "Bikurim" from an apple tree or a field of potatoes? The answer is that there are only seven kinds of fruit that Eretz Yisrael (Israel) is famous for. Which are: Wheat, Barley, Grapes, Pomegranate, Figs, Olives, Dates


         Bikurim is only brought from these varieties. These seven crops do not all ripen at the same time. When one ripens it is tied around with a string marking it and it is set aside until all of the kinds of crops that you have and can do "Bikurim" on are ready. When ready you may bring the crops to the Bais Hamikdash (The Holy Temple) as "Bikurim". If you scared that the fruit will spoil or get bad you may dry it. This makes it still usable. For example, when grapes are dried they become raisins.


        If you give someone a gift you would wrap it nicely. "Bikurim" is a gift for Hashem and must be arranged nicely and brought to the Bais Hamikdash (The Holy Temple) anytime between Shavuos and Chanuka.


        We bring Bikurim to Beis Hamikdash every year, except of the Shmita Year. That year the products are "hefker", they do not belong to anyone, so one cannot bring Bikurim in the Year of Smitta.


 

This week's Parsha is for the Refua Shelama for Rabbi Shelim Tzvi Ben Chana Gittel

 
Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

        This week’s parsha is parshas Ki Teitzei, which is about Moshe continuing to teach mitzvos that would apply when the Jews lived in Eretz Yisrael (Israel). Moshe spoke about the unity of the Jewish people.  


        Sometimes during a war the Jewish army would capture and hold prisoners. What happened if a Jewish soldier saw a Non-Jewish captive woman and wanted to marry her? Hashem said, “If I forbid the Jews to marry a non-Jewish captive, some soldiers might not be able conquer their Yetzer Hara (The Bad Soul). They will do the sin anyway. I will, therefore, permit it, but they must keep special laws. These laws are quite difficult, so perhaps the soldier will change his mind.”

What are these special laws?


a. When the Jewish man brings home the non-Jewish captive, she must shave off all her hair. Hashem commanded this because the soldier may have liked the woman because of her hair, and if he did only like her hair now he would not want to marry her.
b. She must let her nails grow long so they will look unattractive.
c. She must remove her beautiful garments.
The soldier might now look at her and think, “How can I think of marrying this non-Jewish woman instead of a Jewish woman? She was not as pretty as I thought she was. I was wrong in wanting to marry her!” 

        What is a “Ben sorer umoreh” (The Rebellious son)?
        Within the three months after a boy becomes Bar Mitzvah, he steals money from his Father. With the stolen money he buys meat and wine. He spends lots of time with bad people, and in their presence he eats the meat and gobbles up the wine. There were two witnesses who tried to discourage him from behaving like this. If the boy continues to act this way, the parents may bring him to the Beis Din (Jewish Court) of three judges. They tell the judges what happened. The Judges order a Malkos for the young man. It is supposed to teach him to improve his behavior. If the boy returns to his old ways, and he does the same bad things, the parents now can bring their son to a Beis Din (Jewish Court) of twenty-three judges. If certain conditions are fulfilled, he is sentenced to death. He is called a Ben sorer umoreh - The Rebellious son. The question arises, does this young man really deserve to die because he stole money and he gorged himself with meat? Hashem said, that it is true that he committed a small crime, but later in life, he might commit a serious crime, such as murder or hijacking a car with a small child in it. Was a Jewish boy ever put to death for being rebellious? The answer is no! All the conditions could never be fulfilled. It can’t be possible. For example, he can’t be sentenced to death, if he did not eat the meat in a way that the rabbis (sages) find disgusting.

        If this din does not really occur, why is it in the Torah? For two reasons: One that we learn and we gain rewards for learning. Two, that we may learn a lesson from this. While the religious children are growing up, they hear all the instructions, such as “Do This” or ‘Go to Daven” or “Your skirt is not Tzniut”. Children might not appreciate these directions, but when they become adults, they see that this is the right way to go. People who listen to their parent’s words will be happy. The Ben sorer umoreh (The Rebellious son) meets with a sad ending, because he refused to listen to his parents.


This week's Dvar Torah is in Memory of R’ Yosef ben Avrohom Robinson


Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

        I will not be able to post for the next few (about 3) week's but please go ahead and study the parsha by your self. Please come back to Parsha Time in a few week's when I continue to post.
Sorry for any inconvenience.      

        Last week’s Parsha was Parshas Devorim, which was about Moshe rebuking the Jewish people by giving them a Mussar. We said that foolish people ignore a Mussar and that wise and smart people will take what you said to heart (and correct themselves).


         In this week’s parsha, Parsha Vaetchanan, Moshe saw that the Jews were taking what he had said to heart, causing him to consider the Jewish people ready for a review of the Torah. Moshe said to the Jews, that originally Hashem wanted to teach them all the Ten Commandments. But when Hashem was going to say the Third Commandment, the Jewish people were to scared to hear his awesome voice. That is why Moshe now will act as Hashem’s messenger and he told The Ten Commandments to the people.

                The Ten Commandments are:

  1. I am your G-d who took you out of Egypt.
  2. You shall have no other G-d in my presence.
  3. Do not pronounce G-d’s name in vain.
  4. Keep the Shabbos day to sanctify it.
  5. To honor one’s father and mother.
  6. You shall not murder.
  7. You shall not commit adultery.
  8. You shall not steal.
  9. You shall not bear false witness against your fellow man.
  10. Not to desire another’s property.


    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

    0:45PM EST: Tragedy struck the Los Angeles Frum community on Erev Tisha B’Av, with the cold-blooded murder of R’ Mordechai Bayer, HYD, of Valley Village, CA. R’ Mordechai, who was in his 60’s, was a well-known community Askan in Los Angeles.
    According to initial reports, the incident is being labeled as a dispute between a landlord (Mordechai Bayer) and his tenant (reported to be an Asian man), at a Hollywood T-shirt store on the 54000 block of Sunset Boulevard. Although details are still sketchy, it appears that Mr. Bayer was collecting rent from his tenant at approximately 12:40PM, when a dispute broke out. It ended with his killer shooting him, and then taking his own life.


    The local Chevra Kadisha & Hatzolah are working with authorities to have the Niftar released to ensure a timely Levaya.
    Further details will be posted as soon as they are available to us.

    Boruch Dayan Emmes…

    Also there is more on this topic at
    Vidyid.

    Source:
    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com

    This week’s Parsha is Parshas Devorim; which is the first Parsha featured in the 5th Book of The Chumash (The 5 Books of Moses). It is also called Shabbos Chazon.
    The Five books of the Chumash (Five book of Moses) are:
    1.      Beraishis
    2.       Shmos
    3.       Vayikra
    4.       Bamidbar
    5.       Devorim

            In this week’s parsha Moshe gives his final speech to the Jewish people before his death. He gave this speech to about 600,000 Jewish people. When Moshe was a little boy, he burned his tongue, causing him to stutter. Since Moshe’s voice was not strong enough for everyone to hear him, a miracle happened. Whatever Moshe wanted to say, Hashem’s presence said it, and spoke for Moshe. This way the Jewish people were able to hear Moshe’s speech. 


            In Moshe’s speech he rebuked the Jewish people by giving them a Mussar (instruction, discipline, or conduct). Most people do not like hear a Mussar. If you give a Mussar to a foolish person he will ignore the Mussar and dislike you. If you give a Mussar to a wise and smart person he will thank you and correct himself.    
           
            There is a story when a rabbi of a Shul was giving a Mussar to his congregation on a Shabbos morning. The rabbi was saying how people should keep Shabbos and after he finished the Board Members said to him that it is not nice to talk about keeping Shabbos when some people don’t keep Shabbos. The following week the rabbi gave a Mussar on keeping kosher and again the Board Members came to him and said that it is not appropriate to talk about keeping kosher when some people don’t keep kosher. The following week the Rabbi spoke about the importance to be married to a Jewish person. The Board members came up to him again and said you cannot talk about this subject, not everyone is married to a Jewish Person. So the rabbi said, what do you what me to talk about? Then the Board Members said, we want you to talk about Judaism. Rabbi said, talking about keeping Shabbos, keeping Kosher, and marrying a Jewish person is all Judaism. A Rabbi who speaks to his congregation and they never get mad at him is not a good Rabbi because he is afraid to do his job by giving Mussar.


            The sages said that during Moshe’s generation people were wise. Since Moshe said his Mussar, the Jewish people realized their sins, but they didn’t mind to be rebuked because they knew that Moshe loved them. We can compare this to a child being rebuked by his teacher or parents.


    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

             This week’s parsha is a double parsha which is called Parshas Matos and Parshas Masei.These are the last parshas in the book of Bamidbar.


            In this week’s Parsha we will discuss the war with the Midyanim and the death of Bilam. For the past several parshas we were learning about the evil ways of Bilam, and finally, this week we will talk about his death. Just as Bilam’s life was interesting and full of events, his death was also very interesting.

             The Jewish people assembled their army with trumpet blasts, as it is required by the Torah. When the Midyanim saw that there were only 12,000 men, they thought that they will win this war very easily.  The battles were led by 5 Midyanite Kings, which included Bilam as well. One would wonder, what was Bilam doing in Midyan? The truth is he came to redeem his money from the leaders of Midyan. It was Bilam who gave them an advice how to destroy 24,000 Jewish men. He told them to send out Midyanite women and seduce the Jewish men. That’s when plague happened, and it killed 24,000 Jewish men. Now Bilam came to collect his payment for his expert advice. And it happened to be that there was a war. So he went to the battlefield as well.

            Bilam used his magic powers to save himself and the five kings. They flew up in the air until they reached the “Divine Throne”, but Pinchas followed him there. The five kings fell down, and Pinchas had a “little chat” with Bilam. Pinchas explained Bilam how evil he was to Jewish people to give such an advice to Balak which caused to kill 24,000 Jewish men. Afterwords, Pinchas pulled out his sword, and he slew Bilam.

            At the end, the Jewish people won this war, and the soldiers brought back all the treasure (booty), without keeping even one piece of it. Moshe and Elazar, the High Priest, were impressed by the clear and pure mind of the Jewish soldiers, and rewarded them by distributing the treasure (booty).

            This week’s Parsha is Parshas Pinchas. We will discuss the subject of the final counting of Jewish people in the Desert. The Jewish people were counted before this, about one month after they received the Mishkan, which is mentioned in Parshas Bamidbar.

            G-d commanded that the Jews should be counted one more time. They were counted in the Desert, during the 40th year in their exile. There were a few reasons for the new census. Let’s discuss some of them



    1)       During the evil times of Balak and Bilam, which was discussed in last week’s Parsha, many Jewish people sinned. There was a suspicion that the Jewish nation was mixed together with the gentile (Non-Jewish) nation. In order to change people’s mind, Hashem made the Jewish boys look like their Jewish Father.  Also, many sinners died during the plague, and they needed to know how many righteous people survived. The righteous people were dear to Hashem, and they were rewarded by Hashem.  There is a story, that a herd of sheep was attacked by a wolf. Many sheep were killed by the wolf. When they got rid of the bad wolf, they needed to know how many sheep were left, because they were very dear to the shepherd. In this story, Balak and Bilam are compared to the wolf, and the sheep to Jewish nation.


    2)       The Jewish people were very close to the border of the Land of Israel. They needed to know exactly how many people will enter the land, because the land was divided between the people.
    Moshe and Elazar (Aharon’s son) were in charge of the counting. Every man between the ages of 20 and 60 received a half shekel coin. The Levites were counted separately, from the age of one month old and older. At the end, Elazar added up the numbers per each tribe.


     Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

     Sponsored by anonymous for refuah shelamia for Bernie Kaufman

            This week’s Parsha is Parshas Balak. The question arised, what did Balak do to deserve a whole Parsha to be named after him? In the whole Torah there is no Parsha named after Moshe Rebbeinu, and we all know how much Moshe accomplished for Jewish people.  

            The reason Balak was given the honor that this week’s Parsha was named after him, was because of the merit of the sacrifices he sincerely brought to G-d, although his intention was to curse the Jews. Another big merit was that important descendents came out of his family, such as Ruth the Moabite and eventually King David. Either or these merits served him well.

            Balak realized that one has to fight the Jews spiritually by cursing them and the other nations just fought the Jews with weapons, wars, and force.

            Balak saw the fear of his people and their distrust of their kings, and he felt he had to act. So he took advice from the elders of Midian, who had known Moses in his youth. "His power is in his mouth," (meaning spirituality) they informed him. Balak proclaimed: "In that case we must fight fire with fire and find someone spiritual to do battle with him."

            Bilaam had become famous in a previous war between Moab and giant King Sichon, in which the "curse of Bilaam" had won the war for Sichon. Upon learning of this, Balak sent Bilaam a message: "I know that whom you bless is blessed and whom you curse is cursed. Please curse this nation (the Jews) and get them to leave the Mideast region." (Sound familiar?)



    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

    How to Make The Red-Heifer (Cow) Ashes

            Today we will talk about details and the procedure for making the Parah Adumah, The Red-Heifer.

    1) Take a Red Heifer which has not had a calf, the cow has Three Requirements:

    A. The cow has to be completely red and the cow cannot even have two or more non-red hairs.
    B. The cow can’t have any blemishes that would cause it not to be accepted as a Korban.
    C. The animal never did any work which includes having a baby.

    2) Lead it Out of Camp – there is not one specific person assigned to do this task, any man can do this.

    3) The Cohen Gadol observes, as A Jew Slaughters It – again, any Jew can slaughter it

    4) The Cohen Gadol dips his finger in the blood and sprinkles it 7 times
    towards the Temple – standing on the East side of Jerusalem.

    5) The Cow is Burnt Completely – they don’t take out its guts and
    clean its insides as they normally would. On its fire they also burn
    with it…
    a. Hyssop (a low bush), Cedar (a tall tree) & Silk (from a worm)
    b. Thread (dyed) Red
    6) The Ashes are Gathered and Brought to the Temple – by any man

    7) The One Who Slaughtered It Must Wash His Garments, Take a
    Mikvah and Only Becomes Pure at Night – even though he was pure
    when he started out!

    8) The Cohen Gadol Must Wash His Garments, Take a Mikvah and Only
    Becomes Pure at Night – even though he was pure when he started
    out!

    9) The One Who Gathers the Ashes Must Wash His Garments, Take a
    Mikvah and Only Becomes Pure at Night – even though he was pure
    when he started out!

    (Tell the story of Dama Ben Nesina, who merited having a parah
    adumah born in his flock because he didn’t wake his father up.)

    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

          This week’s Parsha is Parshas Korach. It talks about the argument between Korach’s company of 250 people and Moshe. The disagreement caused Korach & Korach’s company to get swallowed up by a pit, including their homes and their possessions. Immediately after that the pit closed to a point were not one can recognize were the pit was.

            This particular pit was created during sixth day of creation to swallow Korach and  Korach’s company. Rabbi Bechaye said that children of Korach were not killed. The children felt in the pit, but Hashem placed a very high mountain in the pit, so the children were able to climb up and leave, and they did not fall into the opposite if heaven.

    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!


     

    Moshe sent out one spy from tribe, there was a total of twelve spy's altogether who went to the land of Kanaan. The Spies were supposed to find out if there was a good land and sufficient water sources, if the cities were walled, and if the people were strong enough and worthy to remain in the land.

    When the spies returned, they brought back with them giant fruits, including one huge cluster of grapes and said, that the land is full of strong and big people, just like their fruits. The land swallows up its people, they are always dying, and they are giants. After people heard these reports, they wanted to return to Mitzrayim, because they thought it was safer than Kanaan, and they tried to stone Yehoshua and Kaleb.

    This sad event happened on the 9th of Av, Tisha B'Av. We consider it a terrible day, because the Jewish people became hesitant and fearful. The Jewish people doubted Hashem's strength as the Almighty and lost their basic Faith in Hashem. It was because of this loss of faith that the Jewish people had suffered many more tragedies later on in history.

    Moshe changed Yehoshua's name by adding the Hebrew letter "Yud". His original name was Hoshea, and by adding the "Yud" it became Yehoshua. "Yud" is Hashem's name, and this represents that Hashem should protect Yehoshua and save Yehoshua from the other spies's ideas.


     

    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

    This week’s parsha is parshas Beha'alotcha, which is about the Mishkon, the Jews traveling, and Loshon Hara. Aharon is the person who dedicated the Mishkon. Since Aharon dedicated the Mishkon he got the honor of lighting the menorah every day for generations which means even his descendents lighted the menorah. The tribe of Levi worked in the Mishkon; they started to learn how to do the work in the Mishkon at the age of 25 years old. At the age of 30 years old they began to “work”. At the age of 50 years old they “stopped” and helped others by guard and sing.

    When the Jews were traveling by day there was a cloud and by night there was a pillar of fire, when the fire or cloud moved near the tribe of Yehuda that indicated that it was time to continue to travel. Also the clouds of honor helped the Jews on their journey, one cloud was above them to protect them from the hot desert sun ,one cloud below them, one, one on front of them that makes the ground leveled while destroying snakes, scorpions and other animals to make a path and to protect them from their enemies.

    Miriam said that Moshe left his wife since he was getting prophecy this was Loshon Hara and since Miraim said Loshon Hara Hashem made her get Leprosy (So she was outside the camps for seven days). Aharon asked Moshe to (pray) daven for Miraim.





    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

    This week's Parsha is Parsha Naso, which talks about a man who thinks his wife is doing adultery with another man (Sotah).

    The husband must bring an offering (Korban) to a Kohen, which consists of barley (not wheat as usually), flour (not finely sifted as usually), water, and it must be plain, without oil and spices. The accused wife must drink part of the offering. Afterwards the Kohen writes Hashem's name and places it in a cup of water, which the wife must drinks. If she refuses to drink the water with Hashem's name, then she is as if guilty.

    If she drinks the water mixed with Hashem's name in it, and she is guilty of and committing an adultery, then, when she leaves, she and her wrong partner would "explode" and die. But, if she did not commit adultery, if she is not guilty, then she will be rewarded, and she will have a baby more easily.


     

          This week’s parsha is parshas Bamidbar. In this Parsha we learn about Hashem counting the Jewish people and we learn about the Mishkon. Why is it so important to Hashem to count the Jews? It is important to Hashem to count the Jews because Hashem holds the Jews so dear, they are his “chosen people”, and one counts things they find valuable over and over again. The Tribe Yehuda was the largest Tribe with 74,600 people and the smallest Tribe Menashe with 32,000 people. The Tribe Levi was not counted since they did not participate in the golden calf (When people were making and worshiping a golden calf which they had made of Jewelry).How did Hashem count the Jews? Hashem counted the Jews with a special method; each man from the age of twenty (which meant he was ready to join the army) donated ½ shekel which is Israeli currency. The coins were counted by Moshe Rebbeinu, Aharon, and the 12 heads of the tribes.

       
           Originally the firstborns were supposed to do the holy or special work in the Mishkon since they were saved and not killed in the plague of the firstborns. The firstborns bowed down to the golden calf and lost their privilege to do the work. So instead of the firstborns doing the work the tribe Levi which once again did not participate in the golden calf got the privilege to do the holy work.
         

    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

          This week’s Parsha is Behar and Bechukotai, which is about Sh’mitta, also called the Sabbatical Year. Every seven years, the Jewish people observe Sh’mitta by not planting, weeding, or harvesting, etc.  By doing this the crops become free for the poor too take and eat. This law also forbids one from working in their own garden, even though it does not produce crops. But one should keep watering the plants or crops so they don’t die. This demonstrates to the Jewish people that Hashem is the true master of the land. If the law of Sh’mitta is not kept properly, it will bring exile to the Jewish people from the land of Israel and fewer crops would be produced.
          The fiftieth year is known as Yovil. On Yovil, the law of Sh’mitta is followed, in addition to that all Hebrew slaves were set free and all land was returned to its original owners. The price of land is figured out by how many years are left until Sh’mitta. If one sold a house in a walled city, village, or the community of Levites one could redeem it for a period of one year but after such time he could never redeem it as it would be returned to the original owner when Sh’mitta arrived.   

     Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

    This week’s Parsha is Parshas Emor. One must be careful not to become spiritually unclean from a dead body since they must be spiritually pure to be able to prepare to eat from the korbon. A Kohen may become spiritually unclean for the “Seven relatives”- father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, wife and someone who dies with no one to bury him. A Kohen cannot marry a woman who is divorced or a woman who married someone who she was not allowed to.

    A Jewish person must honor a Kohen with high priority. For example, when there is a meal the Kohen should be served first and when he washes his hands to eat he should wash first, just as he should be given the honor to say the blessing over the bread. After the meal, the Kohen also says the grace after the meal.
    Teruma is a portion of crops that we give to a Kohen. The following people may eat from the Teruma; The Kohen, his wife, his children, his slaves (not Hebrew slaves) and his animals.
    One may not bring an animal to offer as a sacrifice if the animal is not physically perfect (has a blemish) the animal has to be at least 8 days old. One may not sacrifice a mother animal or the mother’s child.


    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

          We celebrate Lag BaOmer on the day Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohoi died. Before he died, he hid in a cave for twelve years with his son, Rabbi Elazer where they studied Torah day and night. During this time of study they also created a book called The Zohar (Kabbalah) Which revealed some of the secrets in the Torah. A person is not allowed to study the Zohar  if one had not studied the Torah, Talmud, Shulchan Aruch and all the commentaries. If one has studied these then they may study the Zohar. When the Romans found out that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohoi was hiding and was learning with a candle, they went out on a search for Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohoi’s fire but when they went out to search all the jews had lit fires to confuse the Romans so they wouldn’t be able to find him. This is why some people light Bonfires as a custom on Lag Baomer.

                    This week’s parsha is parshas Achrei Mot and Kedoshim. The Kohen Gadol did the special work on the tenth day of Tishrei, on Yom Kippur. The Jewish people must bring two goats. They must be identical.  One of the goats would be used for a sin offering, and the second goat would be pushed off from a high cliff.  The Kohen Gadol confessed the sins of the Jews to Hashem by putting his hands on the head of the goat that will be pushed off the cliff and saying “Viduy “ (with Hashem’s name). The special place the Kohen Gadol goes to on Yom Kippur is the holly of hollies, where he brought spice offerings, and dripped the blood of the Korbons. The time for eating from the Korbon is the day that the Korbon was created, and the following night afterwards it must be burned.
    On another note one becomes holly by staying away from the sins. A person should:

    1.       Stay away from idol worship
    2.       Being careful about eating Kosher
    3.       Be careful who we marry
    4.       Not imitating the way of the other nations act

    This week’s Parsha is Parshas Tazria and Metzora, and speaks about Loshon Hora.  צרעת (leprosy) is a type of disease you get when you say Loshon Hora. צרעת (leprosy) is unusual spots on a person’s body, house, hair, etc. If a person thinks he has צרעת (leprosy) then he must be examined by a כהן (Kohen) who then could Say if he is טמא (spiritually unclean) or טהור (spiritually clean). If the Kohen isn’t sure whether the spot is צרעת (leprosy) then the person must be placed in isolation for seven days and the Kohen must examine the person again after those seven days.  If the Kohen still isn’t sure if it is צרעת (leprosy), the person must be isolated for 7 more days. If the person is טמא (spiritually unclean) he must go outside the camps, since the person separated himself by talking Loshon Hora, and now he must think over and do Teshuva, repentance, by himself. If the clothing has צרעת (leprosy), then the clothing should be burned. A מטהר (one who had צרעת (leprosy) but is now purifying himself) must bring:

     1)      Two birds – because the birds chattered as he did
     2)      תולעת שני – A red ribbon and אזוב-moss, since these are low things to teach modesty
     3)      עץ ארז-A piece of a tall tree to show that one considered himself too big

    One of the birds is slaughtered over spring water, showing that one hopes that the צרעת (leprosy) will stay dead and away. The second bird is dipped in the water along with the other things, and then the צרעת (leprosy) and the bird are sent away, but the צרעת (leprosy) could return just like the bird might return.

    The מטהר now cuts all his hair and washes his clothing and himself in a Mikvah. After seven days he must repeat. On the 8th day the מטהר must bring an offering with oil and the Kohen places some blood of the offering and the oil of the מטהר‘s right ear, thumb, and foot forefinger.

    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

          This weeks parsha is parshas Shmini. On the eighth day when the kohanim and the mishkan were being prepared for service ,Nadab and Abihu brought incense on the Golden Altar without any permission. Moshe and aharon asked Hashem to send a fire  down. Hashem sent a fire and the fire killed Nadab and Abihu instantly.After they were killed aharon did not complain but instead he kept queit about what happened a Hashem rewarded him by teaching him new halachot.
          The signs of a kosher animal are:

    1. The animal must have split hooves 
    2. The animal must chew it's cud 
          The signs of a kosher fish:
    1. The fish must have fins
    2. The fish must have scales

    Shabbat Shalom! Have a Good Shabbos!

     Questions and Answers




    1) Why is the 1st part of the Haggada in Aramaic? 
        Because in   מגיד (Reciting of the Passover story) in the Haggada it says “All who are hungry let them come and eat”, we didn’t want the Egyptians to “come and eat”.


    2) Why on the day of our freedom do we have to admit that we were a slave at one point?
    If we admit that we were slaves at one point then we will feel more free because we mentioned both extremes (Haggadas HaMalbim)

    3) Until when do we say קריאת שמע
        Forever, even after Moshiach comes.


    4) Why do we say קריאת שמע even after moshiach comes? 
        Because even though we will have bigger miracles by moshiach we still have to remember the miracles of Egypt which are compared to the miracles of moshiach will be smaller. This teaches us that anything good someone does for us—big or small---we must always remember.


    5) After the story of Rabbi Elazar the son of Azariah it says בורך המקום which means “bless Hashem” but why is Hashem referred to as a מקום which means “place”? 
        Hashem is everywhere and in every place. That’s why Hashem is referred as aמקום “place”.


    6) What is the point of reading Chad Gadya?
        To teach you that Hashem has plans for everything and everyone, and runs the world.


    7) Why didn’t the Haggada bring the story of Haman and Amaleik? 
        The war of Amaleik has not ended and is still going on.


    8) Why do we only have four cups? 
        The four cups stand for the four words of redemption,    והוצאתי (And I will take out), והצלתי (And I will save), וגאלתי (And I will redeem), ולקחתי (And I will took out)



    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_k56Q946dPgY/S60cPV1wWTI/AAAAAAAAAO0/BnMu7qouUCU/s200/Passover+Plate+2.pngOrder of the Seder



     1. Recite the Kiddush-קדש
    2. Washing the Hands-ורחץ
    3. Eat a Green Vegetable-כרפס
    4. Break the Middle Matzah and Hide Half of it for the Afikoman-יחץ
    5. Recite the Passover Story-מגיד
    6. Wash the Hand before the Meal-רחצה
    7. Say the Hamotzi and the Special Blessing for the Matzah-מוציא מצה  
    8. Eat the Bitter Herb-מרור
    9. Eat the Bitter Herb and Matzah Together-כורך
    10.   Serve the Festival Meal- שלחן עורך
    11.   Eat the Afikoman- צפון
    12.   Say the Grace after Meal- ברך
    13.   Recite the Hallel- הלל
    14.   Conclude the Seder- נרצה