Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

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  (print version) Of all the experiences I have ever had on Yom Kippur, none have made as indelible an impression on me as the ones I spent in Yeshivat Har Etzion as a young student in Israel. Har Etzion is a very special type of yeshiva (institute for advanced Jewish studies), known as a Hesder yeshiva, where students choose not only to spend years studying Torah, but serve in the Israeli army as well. Literally with a bible in one hand and a rifle in the other, balancing the desire to grow spiritually with the need to contribute to the community and the country, these young men, veterans of some of Israel...
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Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

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(print version) Enjoying Heaven on Earth In this week's Torah portion G-d appeared to Abraham and yet He said nothing. "G-d appeared to [Abraham] in the Plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the hottest part of the day. [Abraham] lifted his eyes and he saw three strangers approaching and ran towards them." Until now G-d appeared to Abraham to instruct, promise or bless him. The Talmud (Sotah 14A) comments that G-d was visiting sick Abraham who was recuperating from his circumcision. What does this mean? When you visit a person who is ill it is not in order to say something; your mere presence communicates your pure desire to identify with this person in his/her time of need. You go for the sole purpose of being there. So it was when G-d visited Abraham. For the first time G-d appears to Abraham only to be with him, identify with him and share this special moment. Sometimes the highest...
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Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

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(print version) There is a well known (and widely corroborated) story concerning Rav Shlomo Goren and the Jewish return to Hebron in 1967. There are different versions of this story; this is my favorite... Try and imagine the spirit that had capture an entire people in the early days of June, 1967. After nineteen years of Jordanian occupation during which time no Jew had been allowed to set foot in Judaism...
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Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

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(print version) Are You Ready for the Ultimate Pleasure? The generations following the sin of Adam and Eve proceeded upon a path of moral degeneration. Cain, in a jealous rage, impulsively killed his brother Abel. In the next generation, Tuvel- Kain perfected the crime of Cain through manufacturing weapons. Then, Lemach boasted to his wives of committing pre-meditative murder. Idolatry flourished during the time of Enosh. Organized crime was established by a group of hoodlums called ...
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Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

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(print version) Contrary to popular myth, there is no better or worse way to lose someone close to you, but there is definitely a worst way to find out about it. It had been a long day, and I was finally taking a few moments to relax, sitting in our small living room watching the evening news. There had been a terrible tragedy. An elite unit of the paratroopers, on a mission, deep in Lebanon, had gotten a little too spread out, and there was a heavy fog. Somehow, without realizing it, the officer leading the unit was allowing them to gradually curve around until the front of the unit was almost heading back in the direction whence they had come. Suddenly, the men on point saw silhouettes in the fog and, assuming them to be the enemy, opened fire. As it turned out, they were actually firing at their own comrades, as the patrol line had gotten split up in...
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Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

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(print version) Sukkot and Simchat Torah Celebrating Wholeness, Spontaneity and Anticipation Off to a Right Start The holiday of Sukkot reminds us of the huts of the Israelites as they wandered for forty years in the desert after their miraculous Exodus from Egypt . It would stand to reason, then, that Sukkot should be celebrated right after the holiday of Passover. However, the Talmudic sages explain that since Passover is in the spring, living in the sukkah would not be anything special. It is common to be outside during the warm months of the year. After Yom Kippur, however, when it starts to get cold, people generally take shelter inside. We go outside, only because G-d commands us to do so. Leaving our homes precisely when we are not naturally inclined to do so, internalizes one of the important lessons of Sukkot-G-d is our only true shelter, and we must trust in Him. We often transgress the will of G-d, because we mistakenly think...
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Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman

by admin Comment Closed
(print version) Yom Kippur was over, and with the festival of Sukkot around the corner, I realized I had no way to get a set of four species in time for the festival. Traditionally, every day of Sukkot (The Festival of the Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles), one gathers the four species mentioned in the bible (The Etrog or Citrus fruit, the Lulav or palm branch, the Haddasim or myrtle branches, and the Aravot, or willow branches) wrapping them together as part of the daily ritual of the holiday. We were actually in Lebanon at the time, and as I was the only Kippah-wearing soldier on the base, I already knew I would have no minyan ( community prayer service), and no sukkah (the booth Jews traditionally eat and sleep in during the festival.) So the thought of having no set of ...
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