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

June 4, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

There is a story they tell about the Gadol Hador (one of the great rabbis of our generation) Rav Aharon Lichtenstein ztz”l, Rosh Yeshiva of Her Etzion, who passed away in April 2015. Rav Aharon came to Israel in 1970 and although past conscription age, felt it incumbent upon himself to volunteer for service in the Israeli army. During his brief basic training, he was assigned to kitchen duty. One evening a student of Har Etzion who was serving in the same base, was giving his dishes to the duty soldier washing dishes and saw that it was his Rosh yeshiva, Rav Lichtenstein! Rav Aharon would not let the young student / soldier take his place, instead insisting on fulfilling his duty to sort and wash the dishes himself as it was his assigned duty! The story eventually became known to Rav Amital zatza”l,(Rav Aharon’s co-Rosh yeshiva and a Colonel in the reserves himself ) who promptly arranged for Rav Aharon...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

May 27, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

These words of Torah are dedicated l’ilui neshama Bayla Simma bat Rut, z”l, Barbara Sharon Bernstein, beloved grandmother of Zach Bernstein (Orayta year 12), marking the shloshim of her passing on Lag b’Omer. May her neshama have an Aliyah. A Love Letter from the Divine After the miraculous Exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people traveled in the desert for 49 days until they reached Mount Sinai on the 6th day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. There they experienced the ultimate revelation and communion with G-d. They encountered G-d face to face, heard the voice of G-d and received the Torah and its commandments—the mitzvoth. Whereas, Passover is the birthday of the Jewish people, this holiday, which is referred to as the holiday of Shavuot, can be likened to the Bar Mitzvah of the Jewish people. It is a time to celebrate the Mitzvot—the responsibilities implicit to the loving relationship we enjoy with G-d. Recently a friend asked me if I would meet with his...

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

May 27, 2020May 27, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

Few things in this world are as beautiful as the night sky in the desert. Most people rarely get the chance to see this beauty, far away from the bright lights and cacophony of sounds in the city: the black velvet of a dark night sky full of stars that seem so close you can reach out and touch them. It never fails to fill me with a deep sense of awe. In the army, no matter how challenging the particular situation, I was always able to take comfort from the familiar constellations and quiet power that seem to emanate from the stars at night. I remember the wave of relief that would wash over me as the big dipper rose high in the night sky, making it easy to find the North star, the most constant point of reference for navigation at night. No matter where you are, if you can find that star, you can always find your way home. It...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

May 21, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

Prophecy 101: Ego is a Non-Prophet Venture This week we begin to read from the fourth of the five books of Moses. Although this book is referred to in English as the Book of Numbers, in Hebrew it is referred to as Bamidbar because of the opening verse; "And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness (Bamidbar) of Sinai ..." The Midrash, Jewish Oral Tradition, derives a somewhat puzzling insight from the fact that G-d spoke to Moses in the wilderness : Unless one makes himself hefker (open and ownerless) like a wilderness he cannot acquire wisdom and Torah. (Bamidbar Rabbah 1:7) In other words, to be receptive to the revelatory word of G-d you must be like the wilderness completely open and ownerless – in a state of humility and surrender. Moses heard the word of G-d not only in the physical location of the wilderness but also because was he was in a “wilderness” state of mind. Edging G-d Out The creative experience...

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

May 21, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

Three thousand years ago, King Solomon wrote in the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) that there is a time and a season for everything under the sun. “A time to sing, and a time to dance, a time to rejoice and a time to mourn, a time to reap and a time to sow.” And, like all things, there is a time to ask questions and a time to remain silent. In the Israeli army, there is a type of question known as a ‘she’elat kitbag’, or a ‘kitbag’ question. This concept is born of the first day men are inducted into the army, and I remember it like it was yesterday. When newly drafted soldiers arrive at Bakum (Basis Klitah U’Miyun: The base for receiving and sorting), they enter at one end of a long series of huts as civilians, and emerge a few hours later, Israeli soldiers in full uniform with all their gear thrown into a kitbag. Vaccinated and examined, with your...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

May 14, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

Bonding or Bondage Why Serve the Divine? “For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants who I took out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord G- d.” ~~ Leviticus 25:55 There is an Eastern teaching that proclaims, “Be here and now.” Torah however would say, “Serve G-d here and now.” Indeed, this is the fullest experience of life. The Kabbalah teaches that G-d wants to be present in the here and now, and our job is to serve G-d in that desire. Therefore, to serve G-d means to infuse each moment with the presence of G-d. In other words, I must always ask myself, “How can I serve G- d right now?” If right now I am with my friend, spouse or child, I should see this moment as an opportunity to show him/her love and thus serve G-d, who is the source of all love. It’s not my love. I didn’t invent love. I didn’t...

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman – Portion of Behar-Bechukotai

May 14, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

We’ll call him Gabi (not his real name); he was a most unlikely recruit, and none of us had any idea how and why he had gotten into our unit. He was overweight, to put it mildly, and was always the last to finish every run and every physical task, and even most of the nonphysical tasks. He was the last to get his gun cleaned and ready for inspection, the last to get out to the parade ground in the morning and the last one on every run. Maybe he was way out of shape, but looking back, I think it was also his motivation; not sure he had a clue why he was there and spent most of his time wishing he wasn’t. But on our masa’ot (forced marches) it became pretty obvious he was in the wrong place, and in a lot of trouble. I could hear his heavy breathing, groaning and agonizing as he struggled to...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

May 7, 2020May 7, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

Dating the Divine Celebrating love “These are the appointed holidays of G-d, holy convocations, which you are to proclaim in their appointed times.” — Lev. 23.4 Henny Youngman, the comedian, once said, "I tried being an atheist, but I gave it up. There were no holidays." What is a holiday really about? Is it the same as a vacation? A vacation is a time to vacate, but a holiday is a time to celebrate. To vacate means to take off, get away from the everyday and clear yourself out from the tensions and challenges of the daily grind. Perhaps you'll suntan on a beach, play golf or catch a good concert. A holiday, however, is a holy day. It is not an escape from everyday life to paradise. Rather, it is a time to infuse paradise into the everyday. This is the power of celebration. My guess is that the word celebrate connects to the word celestial. And from a Jewish perspective that would make sense,...

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

May 7, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

Visit the Synagogue of the Maharal (Rav Meir Leibush Lowe) of Prague (known as the Altneu Shul, in Prague), and you will immediately notice its most distinctive feature : with the exception of some Hebrew letters very high up near the ceiling, the walls are completely blank; devoid of any art or decorations. Standing in stark contrast to all the other Jewish Synagogues of Prague (not to mention all over Europe) this detail demands explanation. There is an intensity to this shul with its history of hundreds of years; perhaps this is why: On April 17, 1389, Easter Sunday, a Priest apparently leading a procession past the Jewish community of Prague was hit with sand thrown by a few Jewish children. (It may be some sand kicked up by a game they were playing landed on the Host (the Eucharistic wafer representing their Lord.) Claiming they had denigrated Christianity and desecrated the Host, his incitement led the clergy to encourage the mobs to...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

April 30, 2020 by admin Comment Closed

Achieving Sacred Selfishness Happiness through holiness I had a student that once came into my office and said, "My father who passed away was an atheist and a fantastic human being. He was such a moral human being. He was such a good human being. I don't believe that had he been a believer, he would have been any better. He was the epitome of being a good person. So I have a problem with Torah because I really don't believe that it would have made a difference." So I told him that it isn't the goal of Torah to merely become a moral person. There is a lot more to it. Morality is important, but morality is a stage in the journey. The destination is holiness — being whole. Morality is an aspect of that, but it is not that. So I asked him, "Do you think your father might have been more holy?" That shocked him, he never even thought about holiness. What...

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