I got a wonderful gift from Above – my blog was hacked 🙂 I have to admit I neglected it for more than a year, so it was really delightful to find out that people cared if it is online or not. “Thank you” to Hashem and “thank you” to my readers 🙂 Naturally I should consider it as an…
Do we indeed leave Egypt this year or we just adorn our personal Mitzraim with a pretty Pesach theme? The picture here is the unfortunate symbol of many Seders that might be conducted this year… Kosher-style, mehadrim min mehadrim, comfortably staying in personal bondage… Untouched pyramids of slavery coated with matza… or we can really make a difference in our lives……
Pesah Week Meditations Translated and compiled by Rav Rahmiel Drizin: Alef”Taf ; — The day of the week on which the first day (Alef) of Pesah takes place will also be the day of the week when Tisha Be’Av occurs. “With matzot and merorim (bitter articles) they should eat it” connects the matzoh of Pesah to Tisha Be’Av, a day…
The new month of Nissan begins this Tuesday, April 5th, and with it our tradition to bless fruit trees in bloom.
Starting this Sunday we begin the period known as “Shovavim” which literally means “mischief makers,” but also the word is an acronym for the six weekly Torah portions Shemot, Vaera, Bo, Beshelah, Yitro and Mishpatim.
סֵפֶר שֶעָשָה נִסִים Compiled and written by Rav Rahmiel Drizin Hakdama – Introduction We are so fortunate to move to yet another special area in our Jewish Life cycle of organic time. For just as the Northern Hemisphere becomes its most physicallly dark, we Jews each become beacons of light, dignifying the dark with 8 nights of light, nights in…
Frequently we are starting an endeavor and from the start we encounter an obstacle, a strong resistance to our efforts, not even from people but from circumstances around us. Where do Obstacles come from? Are those Obstacles the Sign from Above that we are on a wrong path and should use our resources differently? Or, may be otherwise, those obstacles…
Tisha B’Av is the lowest day in the Jewish calendar, however precisely because of its gloomy nature it is the most suitable day to rectify all the falls that happened on that day, in this time of the year.
B”H By Kabbalist Rav Yitzchak Schwarts 1. The essence and power of grieving over the loss of the Holy Temple We are less than 2 days away from Tisha B’av—the day of the destruction of both Temples [and a number of other catastrophic events]….The question that keeps coming up every year is, ‘How can we mourn over something that we…
Tefillah is extremely potent spiritual tool, however like every tool it needs proper tuning and usage skills – that’s what we’ll try to cover in this posting. There is a tremendous amount of literature dealing with the topics of prayer and meditation, however there is a lot of ambiguity in the meaning people give to those terms. Here is…
Sefer Yitgaber KeAri, a compilation of the all-night study for next Thursday night, 5 Av, July 15th, in honor of the Holy Arizal, whose Yahrtzeit is that night and the Friday that follows. It is a translation of about 90% of the material found in the Tikkun 5 Av prepared by the Ben Ish Hai.
The three-week period between Shiva Asar Be’Tamuz and Tisha
B’Ab is known as “Ben Ha’mesarim,” during which we observe
certain practices to mourn the destruction of the Bet Ha’mikdash.
The Arizal (Rabbi Yishak Luria, 1534-1572) wrote that it is proper
during this period for “Hasidim Ve’anshe Ma’ase” (particularly
pious and devoted people) to recite each day the “Tikun Rahel”
section of the “Tikun Hasot” prayer
Rosh Hodesh, the New Moon of the New Jewish Month, is a time of renewal, both of body
and spirit. The day before is practiced as an ancient tradition as a Yom Kippur Katan –a
mini Day of Atonement–where many fast and say prayers of penitence. It is a tremendous
opportunity to review the past month’s activities, admit one’s miss-takes, regret doing
them, and pledge to try to not repeat them in the upcoming month.
We should not require any kind of a “push” to propel us up – the springboard return motion will do it for us.
What follows is a number of Shabbat meditations and a short summary of the Torah principles which they are based on. All of these meditations are drawn from a series of Shabbat essays taught by the previous Slonimer Rebbe (Zatzal) in the second volume of his work Netivot Shalom.
The common thread running through all of his essays (and I have only chosen a select few) is consciousness … the unique sublime Garden of Eden consciousness that we all can get a taste of in this world with a concerted effort…… and thereby sensitize ourselves to a life of true paradise in this world and in the next one.
I hope that by practicing these meditations we can open up more and more of this sensitivity.