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 of mourning, the most bitter day of our year.

Beit”Shin :— The second day (Beit) of Pesah will be the day when : Shavuot falls.

Gimmel”Reish — The third day (Gimmel)  of Pesah will be the day when first day of Rosh Hashanah takes place.

Daled”Kof — The fourth day (Daled) of Pesah will be the day of Kriat haTorah,

which is Simhat Torah, when we conclude the annual cycle of Torah reading and start again from the beginning.

Hei”Tzaddik — The fifth day (Hei) of Pesah is the day of Tzom, the fast of Yom Kippur.

Vav”Pei — The sixth day (Vav) of Pesah is the day on which 5 Purim has taken place a month earlier (in Adar). It is necessary to know what day Purim took place the month before in order to calculate the day of Lag BaOmer since Lag BaOmer and Purim always occur on the same day of the week.

Meditation for 15 Nissan: 1st Day of Pesah

We start with 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

of mourning, the most bitter day of our year.

We read in the Haggadah right before the “Egyptian Hallel”:

He [Gd] took us from slavery to freedom,

from sorrow to joy,

and from mourning to festivity,

and from deep darkness to great light

and from bondage to redemption

So at our time of greatest joy, when we left Egypt, we recall our pain. It is sort of like a coin. On the one side there is the revealed good which we celebrate. On the other there is the pain of bitter times. But this is the same coin! These bitter times we are told are really concealed good. As it is said, Gam Zu LeTovah…this too is for the good.

Our job, perhaps is to keep flipping the coin to make sure we realize that when things seem bad, that they can become good in an instant. On Tisha Be’Av we sing a Kinnot/lamentation of unknown authorship, following the Alef-Bet that has been used to connect the ; Tav of Tisha Be’Av to the ! Alef first day of Pesah:

A fire of elations burns within me, when I recall in my heart what happened,

when I went forth from Egypt (in triumph);

But I will arouse lamentations so that I remember what really occurred,

when I went forth from Jerusalem (in chains)

Complete Pesah Week Meditations in PDF

Pesach Reading from the Zohar

Many Sefardi Haggadot list this to be read before Maggid. The following (26th) commandment is to relate the praise of the exodus from Egypt, whichis incumbent upon every person always to relate these praises. We have explained thatevery person who relates the exodus from Egypt and rejoices when relating that account isdestined to rejoice with the Shekhinah in the World to Come, which is joy from all sides.For such is a person who rejoices in his Master, and the Holy One, blessed be He, rejoicesin his story.     At that time, the Holy One, blessed be He, gathers His whole retinue, and says to them:’Go and listen to the account of My excellency that My children are relating, rejoice in Myredemption.’ At that time, they all gather and come and join with Yisrael to hear the storyof the praise. They rejoice with the joy of the deliverance by their Master, and come tothank and praise the Holy One, blessed be He, for all these miracles and mighty deeds, andthank Him for the Holy Nation that He has on earth that rejoices in the joy of thedeliverance of their Master.   Then His strength and power are increased above. By their recounting, the children ofYisrael give power to their Master, like a king whose strength and power are increasedwhen his strength is praised and he is acknowledged. All fear him and his glory rises aboveall of them. Therefore, it is incumbent to praise and relate this story, as we learned.Similarly, it is the duty of every person to relate before the Holy One, blessed be He, andpublicize the miracle among all these miracles that He did.     One may ask why it is obligatory; does not the Holy One, blessed be He, know everything,everything that was and will be in the future? And wherefore this publicity before Him ofwhat He did, if He knows? Surely one has to make the miracle known and relate beforeHim all that He did, because these words ascend and all the company above gather and seethem, and give thanks before the Holy One, blessed be He, and His glory rises over themabove and below.   It is the same with he who relates and enumerates his sins, of everything that he did. If youask why this is necessary, it is because the Accuser is constantly before the Holy One,blessed be He, in order to recount and seek retribution for the sins of people, and todemand Judgment against them. However, when the person enumerates each and everyone of his sins beforehand, he does not leave any pretext to the Accuser to exploit. And theAccuser can not demand any Judgment against him, for he always demands Judgmentfirst, and afterwards enumerates and accuses. Therefore, the person should take his owninitiative before the Accuser and enumerate his own sins.   As soon as the Accuser sees this, he has no pretext to complain against him, and then takesleave from him entirely. If he repents, well, but if not, the Accuser rests on him and says:’So and so who came before you unashamedly, he kicked his Master, his sins are such andsuch.’ Therefore, it is advisable that a person be careful in all this, so that he should beconsidered a faithful servant before the Holy One, blessed be He.LaShon Hakamim (Vol 1, p. 171) suggests this learning upon one’s table during the meal in apleasant voice, which consists of collections from the Holy Zohar.Peace to you Holy Holiday!  Peace to you Holy Hag!  Peace to you Holy Guest!  You arecalled Holy!  You are an appointed time called Holy.  You are crowned and desired.  Andyou  are sanctified and praised with joy.  You are considered the deep of the depths.  Riverscome and flow from you.  And Yisrael  who are called Holy  receive you with glowing facesin joy and in praise.  They appoint you and prepare for you a rich feast.  They set theirtables with complete preparation and beautiful vessels. This is the joy and praise to theHoly One Blessed be He.The Holiday of Pesah corresponds to the right arm. How beloved and precious are you! On you Yisrael went out from a foreign domain to that of a Holy supervision. On you itsays ” For seven days leavening shall not be found in your homes.”  The bread is calledMatzah,  for it subdues and subjugates; namely, it chases away the evil ones of all sides andmakes a quarrel with them, just as the name Shadai of the mezuzah chases away the evilspirits and demons that are at the gate. So, too, Matzah chases them away from all thedwellings of holiness, and makes a quarrel and a fight with them. How beloved are your days which are days of joy! These days rise to the the supernalhonor.  In you is the joy of Yisrael who rejoice in the redemption of their Master. In youYisrael praises the might of the Holy One blessed is He and gives strength to above.  In youthe Holy One blessed be He rejoices  in His story  and praise.On you Yisrael eats the food of healing.  On you they eat matzah which is the curative toaid in coming into and knowing the secret of Faith.  This is the bread of wisdom in whichYisrael receives the supernal wisdom of the Torah and brings them on Her path.  On youall Yisrael needs to guard and protect from Hametz and leavening at all times.  And alltheir food and drink all are protected.

Complete Pesach reading from the Zohar in PDF

Seder Korban Pesah: The Order of the Pesah Offering

Mishnayot Pesahim

Ari'zal · Kabbalah · Meditation · Moed · Pesach · Torah · Zohar

Initially I wanted to title this posting “How to use Tisha B’Av” or “How not to miss Tisha B’Av”, however those titles do not reflect the unique opportunity of that day.

The truth is, 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.  Any day when Hashem allows and helps us to get closer to him is a very good day, so why not celebrate Tisha B’Av?

It is a mistake to “suffer through” the day and think that we did what is required of us on Tisha B’Av.

The power of Tisha B’Av is exactly in the fact that it’s so low and deep.

Using the Springboard Dynamic, we can propel ourselves into astonishing ascent, towards  Tu B’Av, through the great opportunities of Elul, into the holiness of Tishrei and beyond!

To accomplish this jump we have to identify the reasons for the Destruction of our Holy Temple and our low spiritual state – reasons that are most relevant to us and rectify those flaws with Tefillah to the best of our ability.

Looking at the events that created and shaped the Tisha B’Av

(Incident with ten spies who caused the entire generation to die in the desert instead of inheriting Eretz Israel, Destruction of the First and the Second Beit HaMikdash)

- we see lack of Emunah ( belief  that absolutely everything is from Hashem),  idol worship, licentiousness, murder, and baseless hatred to another Jew.

None of those issues was completely rectified and they still remain and are  up to us to fix.

The grief over the destruction is only the first step. Grief and anguish over the loss of our intimacy with Hashem needs to be transformed into the constructive effort of Tikun – to fix the relationship between us and other Jews, relationship between us and Hashem, rectify what was broken on Tisha B’Av!

Article by Rav Yitzchak Schwartz provides great tools for this re-channeling.

May we be successful in doing our part and may Hashem bring our Redemption with joy and light, speedily, in our days,

Amen

Beit HaMikdash · Ish Tam · Moed · Prayer · Shekhinah · springboard · Tefillah · Temple · Tikkun · Tisha B’Ab

The Tikkun of the Ben Ish Hai for Erev Rosh Hodesh

Translated by

Rahmiel Hayyim Drizin

Revised Tammuz 5770

Table of Contents

Hakdama/Introduction……………………………………………………………..2

Article by Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzaddok…………………………………………….3

Viddui…………………………………………………………………………………….7

Mishnayot……………………………………………………………………………….7

Gemara………………………………………………………………………………….22

Midrash…………………………………………………………………………………28

Zohar

Volume I……………………………………………………………………………….33

Volume II………………………………………………………………………………35

Volume III……………………………………………………………………………..51

Tikkun Yom Erev Rosh Hodesh………………………………………………….71

Tikkun Leil Rosh Hodesh…………………………………………………………..81

Verses to be said in the place of Tikkun Rahel………………………………84

Hakdama/Introduction

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. Rabbi Yosef Hayyim of Bagdad, the Ben Ish Hai, has compiled a series of readings in his Sefer Mishmeret HaHodesh, some 95% of which is translated below. All of these selections were chosen with his brilliant intuition to help us proceed from one month to the next. If one choses to fast, the fast must be accepted before dusk on the night of Erev Rosh Hodesh.

The fast reduces one’s fats and blood in the same manner as these substances were offered upon the altar in the Temple through the sacrifices. The readings below can all be read after Midnight, or during the day of Erev Rosh Hodesh. It is our prayer that they lead you to personal renewal, spiritual reinvigoration, and holistic rededication to sacred mission.

See the translated The Tikkun of the Ben Ish Hai for Erev Rosh Hodesh

Here are other compilations, translations and original Torah

by HaRav Rahmiel Hayyim Drizin

Ben Ish Hai · Chatzot · Hollistic · Kabbalah · Midrash · Mishmeret HaHodesh · Mishna · Moed · New Moon · Prayer · Rabbi Haim Vital · Rabbi Yosef Hayyim · Rosh Hodesh · Sefirot · Tefillah · Tikkun · Torah · Yom Kippur · Yom Kippur Katan · Zohar

Living with the Times“ Mystic Calendar  for

Wednesday-Naso PARSHA:  Netzah   of  Hod

by Rav Rahmiel Drizin:

Year: 5770 = 5 [Yesod] 7 [Hod] 7 [ Hod] 0 [Malkut]

Season: Spring  Alef א

Month: Sivan

Attributes of the month of Sivan: Ruling permutation of the letters of HAVAYAH:   יְוּהַהַ contained in the initial Hebrew letters of Yedotav U-letzela

Hamiskan Hasheinit – יְ דֹתָיו – וּ לְצֶלַע הַ מִּשְׁכָּן הַ שֵּׁנִית“…for its tenons and for the second side of the tabernacle…” (Exodus 26:19-20).

The month’s corresponding letter is: ז ZAYIN;

Human attribute: MOTION;

Body Part: LEFT FOOT; Left ear of Nok ;

Tribe: ZEVULUN;

Constellation: TE-OMIM (Gemini, the Twins).  Tiferet of Nok;

Color:  gold

Day Wednesday-Netzah:  Shavuot–Tiferet 2-8 Abba

Import of the Day http://www.chassidusonline.com/baalshemtov.html

In honor of the 250th Anniversary of the Baal Shem Tov HaKadosh this Shavout, from R. Tal Zwecker

The Baal Shem Tov’s vision

In a letter to his brother-in-law, Rabbi Gershon Kitover, the Baal Shem Tov relates: “On Rosh Hashanah of the year 5507 I made an ‘ascent of soul’… I ascended level after level until I reached the chamber of the Moshiach… And I asked Moshiach: “When will the Master come?”
(more…)

Baal Shem Tov · Chariot · Chassidic · David HaMeleh · Kabbalah · Moed · Netzach · Parsha · Psalms · Remez · Shaul · Shavuot · Sivan · Sod · Tehillim · Tiferet

Torah Scroll

This is Shavuot Learning Compilation
by HaRav Rachmiel Hayyim Drizin:

Dear Teachers, students, readers, friends!

Enclosed please find a veritable buffet of Shavuot treats, for the first time compiled in English to this author’s knowledge. The Torah is likened to milk, and our prayer is that the materials here are nourishing to your mind and your soul. Here we have provided:

(1) The translation of the Ben Ish Hai’s Zohar collection to be learned at the Shavuot meals;
(2) The Order of the Tikkun Leil Shavuot and intentions for Mikvah and the morning meal;
(3) The translation of the Ben Ish Hai’s Request to be said after learning the Tenakh, which sections may be repeated at the morning meal with #1 above;
(4) The translation of the 613 mitzvot read after the Tenakh sections;
(5) The Eyn Yaakov Shabbat 86-89 for Shavuot translated;
(6) The Midrash Rabbah Parshat Yitro translated; and
(7) The translations of the Zohar sections read after this, plus the original text for
-Emor 97
-Beresheet 8
-Mishpatim 122

As a brief introduction, the Ari’zal writes that one who does not sleep the night of Shavuot and toils in Torah is assured to live out the year and no harm will occur to him. Shulhan Arukh with Mishnah Brurah 494:1 There is a compilation of torah learning known as “Tikkun Lay’l Shavuot” which has the Zohar and the writings of The Ari’zal as its source, and many have the minhag to say/learn this on Shavuot night. Kaf Hachaim 106:7, Lev Dovid L’Hachidah. This compilation can be purchased at most Hebrew Book stores. We follow the Sefardic custom. Traditional Kabbalah holds that women should not say the “Tikkun Lay’l Shavuot”. However, some say that a woman who counted all the days of Sefirat Ha’omer may learn the portions of the Tikkun which are from Tanakh. S’U Rav Poalim 1SY:9, Kaf HaHaim 106:8

The 24 books of the Torah correspond to the 24 adornments we prepare for the Bride (us Jewish people) for our marriage with Gd under the Huppah (Mount Sinai) with our Ketuba (the Torah). [see below]They are listed in Isaiah 3:18-24 and are: shoe-bells, head scarves, moon-shaped ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, veils, bonnets, leg bands, hair ties, brooches, earrings, rings, nose rings, robes, shawls, kerchiefs, pouches, mirrors, linens, turbans, claps, belts, coiffure, and ornamental belt. We read a portion from each book to bedeck the Bride, which is her Tikkun–repair, hence the name Tikkun Lay’l Shavuot.

It is said that all were healed from the venom of the Garden of Eden Serpent when the Torah was received.

Guess what? The Torah is received anew every year. And if you are present and have learned the Tikkun, you have done a good start to heal yourself in the 24 areas corresponding to the 24 garments. By clothing the Bride we are healing ourselves. Even though it may not manifest externally, Kol Yisrael–the collective soul of Israel–is a very different creature after this Wednesday morn.

Blessings on a night of renewed Torah: the Torah of the body, the Torah of the mind, the Torah of the soul.

For the elevation of the soul of my father Shmuel ben Mosheh Yaakov, the complete healing of body and soul for Devorah Ester Bat Hayyah, and the Yom Huledet Samayah (Shavuot) of Malkah Ester bat Rivka.

Rahmiel Hayyim Drizin
Sivan 5770

Here is another good Reading for Shavuot by Sarah Schneider

Beautiful 1-minute video by LazerBeams

Ari'zal · Garden of Eden · Jewish · Kabbalah · Moed · Prayer · Sefirat Ha'omer · Shavuot · Tikkun · Torah · Zohar

Chodesh Tov!

Rosh Chodesh (Head of the Month) – New Moon Festival is described in the Torah as the day of rejoicing (Bamidbar (Numbers) 10:10) , the time of renewal. Even the word “Chodesh” – month – comes from the root “חדש” – “Chadash” – “NEW”.

Like all “moadim” – appointed times – Rosh Hodesh is the time of opportunity. The deeper meaning of Holidays and special times in Torah is not “commemoration” of some event, but an active opportunity to use the flow of energy that is descending at that time into the physical world. On Rosh Chodesh, the surge of energy that is creating the reality of the upcoming month is available to us – and the way to receive it is to be joyous!

This is because joy causes us to be expansive and enables us to receive Hashem’s light. On the contrary, negative emotions e.g., sadness, make us contract and unable to turn on our “receptive mode”
After ensuring that we do fulfill Torah’s directive to be joyous, we can harness that energy of Rosh Chodesh withTefillah. We can target specific issues in our prayer – because it’s much easier to change the month in its conception.

This can be compared to a garden hose that can create various shapes of a spout by twisting the nozzle – because it’s changing the shape of a jetstream of water in the place where it is forming.

Of course when we talk about “Changing the month”, we mean “Changing ourselves” in order to create the new month of opportunities for spiritual growth. The change is always easier when level of energy is high – if we direct the energy into changing ourselves in Tefillah, it will be used constructively, if we are oblivious to the chance, the energy can even destabilize us or dissipate inconsequentially.

In a sense, Rosh Chodesh is similar to Rosh HaShanah – just with a different scope.

Just like Rosh HaShanah helps us to create a new year full of opportunities, so does Rosh Chodesh give us a chance to break out of our routine and rise up.

Rosh Chodesh is also regarded as a special time for Jewish women. You can read the standard explanation “why?” here, but I think the deeper reason for women’s special connection to Rosh Chodesh, is that our ladies are much more in tune with the dynamics of time and renewal.

Men need rigorous halachic times laws just to be basically in sync with spiritual reality,

while women are exempt from those laws – because they are generally already in tune with times and do not need specific Halachah for that. Interestingly, many Chassidic Tzaddikim were known to be very liberal with halachic times – perhaps because they reached the level of being in tune with times – similar to what most women have from birth.

So while women might be more in tune with the energy of Lunar renewal, men also try to catch up with Kiddush Levanah – another wonderful mitzvah using the Lunar energy of growth and rejuvenation. B’Ezrat Hashem we will discuss it in one of the future postings.

Today is the first day of Sivan and in 4 days we have Chag Shavuot – holiday of receiving the Torah. The energy needed to form the Holiday is also descending today – so we start defining our receiving of the Torah already today!

Good Month Sivan to everyone!

Chassidic · Energy · Halacha · Ish Tam · Jewish · Joy · Kiddush Levanah · Mitzvah · Moed · New Moon · Prayer · Rosh Chodesh · Shavuot · Tefillah · Tzaddik