HOW DO WE KNOW THE TORAH IS TRUE?

BS"D I appreciate that it is difficult to believe something that was supposedly written over 3000 years ago. Did HaShem write it, did Moshe write it? And even so, what does the Torah have to do with your life today? I strongly urge you to check out this website where you can read for yourself PROOF that the Torah is, was and always will be TRUE, TRUE, TRUE!!!!

http://www.kiruv.com/teachingMaterials/proofs/

In case you don't want to scroll down to the end of this blog and want to know why we don't use the "G" word, here it is again:

A mitzvah, or mitzvos, meaning more than one mitzvah, is a Hebrew word that translates as “a precept or commandment from HaShem. The reason we want to perform mitzvos is that when we do a mitzvah, it connects us to HaShem. We know that HaShem is timeless and infinite; HaShem is our Creator, our Life Source, Master of All living things, and King of the Universe.

We are accordingly very careful with this mitzvah. Our rabbis tell us that when the 3rd commandment, “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” was given on Mount Sinai, (Har Sinai in Hebrew) the whole world shook.

Okay, lets digress with a short explanation of that last statement, written by Dovid Z'ev Wilks: The climax of the Exodus from Egypt (Yetzias Mitzraim in Hebrew) and the purpose for which the world was created was the Revelation on Har Sinai. It was there that HaShem gave the Ten Commandments (Asseress HaDibros in Hebrew) and the Torah to the Jewish People. In front of the assemblage of every single Jewish man, woman and child, and in the presence of the souls (neshamos in Hebrew) of every Jew that would ever be born, HaShem descended on Har Sinai and said, "I am (Anochi) the L-rd your G-d." These historic events are described the Torah portion, Yisro, Shemos (Exodus).

The Midrash points out a curious fact: The word "Anochi" is not Hebrew - it is an Egyptian word. The Ten Commandments are a condensation of all the guiding principles of the Torah. Of these, the first two commandments, "I am the L-rd your G-d" and "You shall have no other gods," have an even greater measure of holiness, for they were heard by the Jews directly from HaShem Himself, and not through Moses. The first of these two commandments, by virtue of the order in which it was given, has even more significance. Why, then, did HaShem choose to express the most lofty and exalted concept, the "I," the very essence of HaShem Himself, in a foreign tongue? Why didn't HaShem use the Hebrew word for I - "Ani" - to begin the most important utterance ever heard?

In order to understand this paradox, we must first examine the purpose of the Revelation on Har Sinai. The Torah was not given to guard the holiness contained in the Hebrew tongue; for this, no G-dly earth-shaking Revelation would have been necessary. HaShem descended on Har Sinai for one reason only - to enable us to elevate even the lowest and most mundane aspects of our lives and of the physical world, including the Egyptian language, the spoken words of the most corrupt and abominable nation. Holiness existed before the Revelation, and Jews had long occupied themselves with the Torah. The innovation of the Revelation was the ability to "fuse" holiness with mundane, to imbue physicality with spirituality. Even things that were seemingly far removed from the realm of holiness could now be used to bring G-dliness into the world. The aim of the Revelation is pointedly emphasized by the use of the Egyptian word "Anochi."

A Jew's daily life involves elevating the physical and transforming it into a vessel for G-dliness. Prayer and Torah study enable us to reach only a limited level of spirituality; elevating that which is base and seemingly trivial, by adhering to the laws of the Torah, enables us to attain even greater heights of holiness. When we fulfill HaShem’s will by elevating even the "Anochi," as HaShem Himself did, we fulfill the purpose of the Torah and carry out the world's Divine plan.

Thank you, Reb Wilks. Now, back to why we say HaShem. We are forbidden to pronounce HaShem’s name as it is actually written in Hebrew - the four letter name of HaShem – Yud Keh Vav Keh . We say “keh” in places where one would actually say “hey” since there is a special prohibition against articulating the names of the letters in HaShem’s name. This also stems from the commandment to fear HaShem.

When we pray, sometimes we refer to HaShem as the name that begins Aleph-Daleth and at other times we refer to HaShem as Elokim. We are taught that there are two sides to HaShem – All Merciful on the right– which is when we would use the word A-do-noy, and - Strict Justice – on the left which is when we would use the word Elokim. In Kabbalah, (explanation please) the right side refers to mercy while the left side refers to justice or withholding.

The letters of HaShem’s Name (Yud-Key-Vav-Key) are made up from the words: Hoveh – He was; Hayah – He is; and YeHeyeh – He will be. This is the past, present and future tense of the verb “to be”. In other words, that HaShem is above time and space. When we say a blessing or prayer we are encouraged to pause for a brief moment after saying HaShem’s Name to reflect on this.

SWEAT IS TO THE BODY AS TEARS ARE TO THE SOUL - A TRUE STORY

BS"D This true story, submitted by Nechama Goodman, is documented in "Monsey, Kiryat Sefer and Beyond" by Zev Roth.

On his way out from shul in Jerusalem , Dan approached a young man in Dungarees, backpack, dark skin, curly black hair -- looked Sephardi, maybe Moroccan."Good Shabbos. My name is Dan Eisenblatt. Would you like to eat at my house tonight?"The young man's face broke in an instant from a worried look to a smile."Yeah, thanks. My name is Machi."

Together they walked out of the shul. A few minutes later they were all standing around Dan's Shabbos table. Dan noticed his guest fidgeting and leafing through his songbook, apparently looking for something. He asked with a smile, "Is there a song you want to sing? I can help if you're not sure about the tune."The guest's face lit up. "There is a song I'd like to sing, but I can't find it here. I really liked what we sang in the synagogue tonight. What was it called? Something 'dodi.'"Dan paused for a moment, on the verge of saying, "It's not usually sung at the table," but then he caught himself. "If that's what the kid wants," he thought, "what's the harm?" Aloud he said, "You mean Lecha Dodi. Wait, let me get you a siddur."Once they had sung Lecha Dodi, the young man resumed his silence until after the soup, when Dan asked him, "Which song now?"

READ THE REST OF THIS STORY ON: http://jewishstoriesandmore.blogspot.com/

GOOD AND REVEALED GOOD

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY TESTS?

BS"D There is a concept in Chassidus that is referred to as “Good and Revealed Good”. What this means is that everything that happens in this world is good. Sometimes we are fortunate enough that we can actually see the good, and that is what is termed “Revealed Good”. The good has been revealed to us in our lifetime. Sometimes, we cannot or do not understand or see the good. When we get sick, lose a loved one, not have parnasa – a job or enough money to get us through each day… That is when we have to take on faith, belief - in Hebrew what we call Emunah - that it is still good – we just can’t see it or understand. That is when we are truly tested in this world.

Aryeh Kaplan, in his book The Aryeh Kaplan Reader (page 156), writes: Ultimately, then, all of life is a test. However, there are times when HaShem puts an individual to a special test or nisayon. In such a case, a person is placed in an especially difficult position, where his devotion and faith are tested. However, HaShem does not put an individual to such a difficult test unless HaShem knows that he will pass it…The Midrash teaches us, “The potter does not test vessels that are easily broken, but only those that are strong”.

Again, Rabbi Jonathan Rietti discusses this at length in his wonderful lecture series:
http://www.simpletoremember.com/authors/a/jewish-inspiration/
If we need to work on the middah (character trait) of patience and we ask HaShem to help us, there is only one way that that can happen – PRACTICE. So, HaShem sends in the kids, or our boss, or our spouse, or the car doesn’t start, or a myriad of examples to help us practice to learn how to have more patience! Those are all tests – some bigger than others, but tests, just the same…

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE GEULAH (REDEMPTION) ARRIVES?

BS"D Okay – Our rabbis tell us this is what is going to happen during the time of Geulah. We are all going to be soooo proud to be Yidden – did you know once Geulah arrives no one is going to be allowed to convert to Judaism? It will be too late. So sad, you missed your chance. If you didn’t think of it before, HaShem is not going to let you choose to be Jewish once the Geulah has officially arrived - not now when finally the whole world recognizes that the Yidden actually ARE HaShem’s chosen ones.

So, what about today – what about right now? That will be the difference when Geulah comes – we will know that HaShem is in front of us, so we won’t have to be worried about what anybody is thinking about us –we will want to be that shining example of saying that blessing slowly, clearly, loud enough for everyone to hear! A light unto all the nations – that is what the Yidden are supposed to be. When Geulah arrives we will be.

What does it mean when we say the Redemption, the Geulah, is almost here? Of course, we know the usual things we have been told – that there will be peace throughout the entire world; the lion will lie down with the lamb; everyone with illness – physical, psychological or spiritual - will be healed; there will be no more yatzer hora - the evil inclination; the neshamos - souls, of those that have passed on will come back to this world; the third and final Beis HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, will be rebuilt; the Shofar – Ram’s horn will be heard throughout the entire world announcing the Geulah - may it all happen immediately…

But, what will it really mean in our every day, day to day, lives? The Lubavitcher Rebbe, says that the Geulah has already begun – just open up your eyes, and you will see it right in front of you. We learn that when the Geulah will arrive, we will all be “HaShem Aware”. Everyone will know that HaShem is right in front of us, and that our only desire will be to do what HaShem wants us to do on a daily basis. So, what could it mean that the Geulah has already begun?

Although we do not have true world peace yet, the miracles that have happened over this past generation had far surpassed many of our wildest dreams. We can see that HaShem is opening the doors – the falling of the Berlin Wall and the former Soviet Union; Jews from all walks of life, coming back to embrace Torah values and teachings, taking on the 613 commandments that HaShem gave us in our Holy Torah. Yiddishkeit reaching all four corners of the earth – outreach on all levels through various organizations as Chabad, Aish HaTorah, Ohr Sameach, to name just a few. Teaching of the Seven Mitzvahs B’nai Noach – the Noahide Laws – the 7 commandments that all the other nations of the world must keep in order to bring about the Redemption. People of all races and religions embracing the idea of a Higher Power – a supernal being that is all powerful, all knowing, all loving – through the teachings of the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of “Alcoholics Anonymous” studied in the various addiction recovery fellowships.

And although all illness has not yet been cured, again, the breakthroughs that have been discovered in this past generation have far surpassed anything that we could have ever imagined. As well, technology, modes of communication, cell phones, faxes, computers – the list is endless – embodies the idea that the entire world could hear the sound of the Shofar at the same time – once only a dream that today can in fact be a reality…

ANOTHER DAY IN OLAM HAZEH (THIS WORLD)

BS"D So, why do you think we get another day in Olam HaZeh? Rabbi Yisroel Brog gives a wonderful explanation of this in his three part lecture series on Reincarnation: The Plan and Purpose of One’s Life. Some people think this world is all about HaShem being the Waiter, and we walk into His restaurant and HaShem serves us. We ask for what we want, and it is HaShem’s job to provide it. There is a story in the Talmud about a man who served the meal at his son’s wedding. When his friends questioned the appropriateness of a great rabbi acting as waiter, he reminded them that Moshe the greatest rabbi of them all was a waiter when his father-in-law came to visit. Another rabbi suggested that HaShem is the waiter of the world who provides rain to feed us all.

Certainly HaShem is all kind, and merciful and beneficent. The Ramchal in his famous ethical work, Path of the Righteous, explains that a world that hosts so much suffering, where the most fortunate among us is still mortal and cannot escape death can’t be the epitome of HaShem’s kindness. Perhaps a more accurate perspective is that we are waiters in order to serve Him. This is ultimately a greater kindness of G-d to us because it brings us to a higher level.

Everyone in this world has a specific job/purpose to fulfill during the time we are allotted to be here. If we are fortunate enough to figure out what that job is during the time we are here, we will merit life in the next world, Olam HaBah. Our rabbis prove that all Jews will merit life in the next world. The Rambam says that righteous non-Jews will also merit life in the next world.

Rabbi Brog brings stories from our sages that indicate that when we have failed to figure out our job to serve HaShem, we may have to reincarnate into this world to try again.

Now, you might say, well good, I want to come back. Well, actually, once you get back to Shomayim (the Heavens) we actually don’t really want to come back. Re-entering this world is very painful – just think about going through that birth canal again; being a baby – having to cry all the time because no one understands what you want, getting all of your teeth in again, having to learn what ever language the family you are put into speaks, learning to walk, going to school, the list goes on and on – uh uh – once is quite enough thank you…

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

TO 120 YEARS WITH HASHEM'S HELP

BS"D 120 years. It really isn’t very long. That is how many years Moshe Rabbeinu (Moshe, our teacher) lived for and what HaShem tells us is the most we will get in this world – Olam HaZeh. Of course, Dovid HaMelech (King David) tells us 70 years, if we are fortunate, 80 years, in Tehillim (the 150 psalms that were completed during his lifetime – most of them written by King David himself - but not all). 120 years compared to forever in Olam HaBah – the World to Come – or less, if we have to come back to This World to live the 120 years all over again.

So, what is the goal of the 120 years we get to spend in This World? Find HaShem – have a relationship with HaShem on a daily basis. As we mentioned earlier, (see mitzvah number four), Rabbi Jonathan Rietti eloquently describes in his tape/CD series - why do we need to go to so much trouble in order to have food to eat? Surely, HaShem in his infinite wisdom, could have come up with a much less complicated way – the planting, growing, reaping, harvesting, manufacturing, distributing, buying, preparing, cooking, baking and then actually eating – just let us inhale all of the nutrients we need in much the same way as HaShem allows us to breathe in oxygen that we need. So what was the point?

And what is this 70 year business all about? Chassidus teaches us that we are given 70 years to tame our animal soul. Every one of us is made up of two souls – our nefesh behaimes or our animal side and our nefesh Elokis – our G-dly side. All of our physical needs and desires come from our animal side. Our desire to do mitzvahs, chesed (being nice to each other)…..come from our G-dly side. Our animal side is much stronger – and most often takes over. We are born selfish and self-centered. We have to be taught be kind to others and to understand HaShem.

Another way we can think about it is that we have a good side – a yetzer tov and a not so good side – our yetzer horah. Again, the not so good side is much stronger than the good side…Much more about this can be learned by reading the Alter Rebbe’s Tanya (a systematic exposition of Chabad Chassidic philosophy)

MITZVAH NUMBER FOUR - TIME TO EAT

BS"D Now it’s time for Breakfast, but before you eat that orange juice and cereal we can do another mitzvah…V’ochalto,v’sovoto, u-vayrachto – And you shall eat and you shall be satisfied and you shall bless HaShem, your G-d (Deuteronomy/Dvarim Chapter 8: Verse 10)

This is actually one of the official commandments that HaShem gives us directly in the Torah – Dvarim is the fifth of the five books of the Chumash (Chamesh means five in Hebrew – see mitzvah number one if you have forgotten what the Torah is exactly)

Okay, back to our mitzvah – Eat, Pray and be Satisfied. What is this all about? Rabbi Jonathan Rietti suggests a parable in his wonderful tape/CD on keeping kosher in his excellent lecture series "Enhancing our Jewish Identity" Volume 2: (To hear all of Rabbi Reitti's lectures go to: http://www.simpletoremember.com/authors/a/jewish-inspiration/)

There once was a King who had a son. When the son got older, the King decided to give his son a large bag of money so that he could go out and make his way in the world. A year later, when the money had run out, the son came back to visit the King, and of course to get more money. The King was not impressed. He tells his son - I didn’t give you the large bag of money so that I wouldn’t see you on a regular basis. This time I will give you just what you will need for one day, so that tomorrow you will need to come back to see me again.

That is what HaShem also wants from us. The easiest way for us to have an ongoing relationship with Him is to teach us to say a blessing before we eat and after we eat. Try it – say a blessing out loud and slowly every time BEFORE you put something into your mouth – it will really make a difference. HaShem gives us different blessings to say on different types of food – this helps us really think about what we are about to eat.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS MITZVAH AT: http://mitzvahsmitzvahsandmoremitzvahs.blogspot.com/

MITZVAH NUMBER THREE - WHICH SHOE DO WE PUT ON FIRST?

BS"D So after we have washed our hands and thanked HaShem for looking after our bodily needs so well, most of us get dressed at this point in our morning. The Code of Jewish laws, which we call Shulchan Aruch in Hebrew, teaches us everything we need to know in order to act as a Jewish person should. It is our guide book to a Jewish way of life. On page 6 is outlines the rules for how we get dressed in the morning:

…when dressing ourselves, we must always give preference to the right hand or foot, over the left; but when removing shoes and other articles of apparel, the left comes first…When our shoes have laces, we first put the shoe on the right foot without lacing it, then we put the one of the left and lace it, and afterward we lace the one of the right. The method of dressing also applies to all other articles of clothing.


READ MORE ABOUT THIS MITZVAH AT: http://mitzvahsmitzvahsandmoremitzvahs.blogspot.com/

MITZVAH NUMBER TWO - ASHER YATZER - BATHROOM TIME

BS"D I don’t know about you, but after I wash my hands in the morning, it is a direct route - Do not pass Go - to the bathroom. So then after relieving ourselves, it’s time to say thank you again to HaShem and we get to do another Mitzvah…

We wash our hands again – the same way we did first thing in the morning. Then we go outside of the bathroom because we are not supposed to talk inside the bathroom (ever notice that there are no mezuzzos on a bathroom door) and we say this blessing:

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who has formed man in wisdom, and created within him numerous orifices and cavities. It is revealed and known before the Throne of Your Glory, that if but one of them were to be blocked, or one of them were to be opened, it would be impossible to exist even for a short while. Blessed are you, Lord, who heals all flesh and performs wonders.

Amazing - thank you Hashem for thinking of everything we need to exist in this world. Everything we take for granted twenty-four/seven – You thought of everything – all we need to do is say: Thank you.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS MITZVAH AT: http://mitzvahsmitzvahsandmoremitzvahs.blogspot.com/

MITZVAH NUMBER ONE - MODEH ANI

BS"D Modeh Ani L’Fonecho - Thank you HaShem for granting me another day in this world (Olam HaZeh). The essence of a Jew is gratitude to HaShem. “Yehudi” comes from the root verb meaning to thank. If we really stopped to think about how much HaShem does for us every second of the day, we wouldn’t be able to stop saying thank you. Sometimes we can get frustrated at the people around us – why don’t most people say “thank you”? We take each other so much for granted. We don’t always remember to say thank you for the countless jobs each of us do every day to keep our households afloat – the shopping, cooking, dishes, taking out the garbage, clothing, washing, drying, cleaning, working - the list is endless – and I mean everyone – men, women, children. We all take each other for granted – so what about HaShem?

So here is a very easy Mitzvah: The first thing we do when we wake up, every morning, is to immediately thank HaShem for returning our souls to us.

READ ALL ABOUT THIS MITZVAH AT: http://mitzvahsmitzvahsandmoremitzvahs.blogspot.com/

WHY DO WE SAY HASHEM?

BS"D The Lubavitcher Rebbe, teaches us that being Jewish is not about labeling ourselves to fit into a certain group – ie Reform, Conservative, Orthodox. Rather, it’s about doing Mitzvahs, Mitzvahs and more Mitzvahs in order to get closer to our Creator.

Out of respect for our Creator, unless we are reciting a specific blessing or prayer, we use the word HaShem, which is a Hebrew word that translates as The Name. You may also have heard HaShem referred to as Ribbono Shel Olam, which translates in English to Master of the Universe, or HaKodesh Baruch Hu, which translates as The Holy One, Blessed is He. A mitzvah, or mitzvos, meaning more than one mitzvah, is a Hebrew word that translates as “a precept or commandment from HaShem. The reason we want to perform mitzvos is that when we do a mitzvah, it connects us to HaShem. We know that HaShem is timeless and infinite; HaShem is our Creator, our Life Source, Master of All living things, and King of the Universe.

We are accordingly very careful with this mitzvah. Our rabbis tell us that when the 3rd commandment, “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” was given on Mount Sinai, (Har Sinai in Hebrew) the whole world shook. Okay, lets digress with a short explanation written by Dovid Z'ev Wilks, of that last statement:

The climax of the Exodus from Egypt (Yesiras Mezrayim in Hebrew) and the purpose for which the world was created was the Revelation on Har Sinai. It was there that HaShem gave the Ten Commandments (Azeres HaDibros in Hebrew) and the Torah to the Jewish People. In front of the assemblage of every single Jewish man, woman and child, and in the presence of the souls (neshamos in Hebrew) of every Jew that would ever be born, HaShem descended on Har Sinai and said, "I am (Anochi) the L-rd your G-d." These historic events are described the Torah portion, Yisro, in the book of Shemos (Exodus).

The Midrash points out a curious fact: The word "Anochi" is not Hebrew - it is an Egyptian word. The Ten Commandments are a condensation of all the guiding principles of the Torah. Of these, the first two commandments, "I am the L-rd your G-d" and "You shall have no other gods," have an even greater measure of holiness, for they were heard by the Jews directly from HaShem Himself, and not through Moses. The first of these two commandments, by virtue of the order in which it was given, has even more significance. Why, then, did HaShem choose to express the most lofty and exalted concept, the "I," the very essence of HaShem Himself, in a foreign tongue? Why didn't HaShem use the Hebrew word for I - "Ani" - to begin the most important utterance ever heard?

In order to understand this paradox, we must first examine the purpose of the Revelation on Har Sinai. The Torah was not given to guard the holiness contained in the Hebrew tongue; for this, no G-dly earth-shaking Revelation would have been necessary. HaShem descended on Har Sinai for one reason only - to enable us to elevate even the lowest and most mundane aspects of our lives and of the physical world, including the Egyptian language, the spoken words of the most corrupt and abominable nation. Holiness existed before the Revelation, and Jews had long occupied themselves with the Torah. The innovation of the Revelation was the ability to "fuse" holiness with mundane, to imbue physicality with spirituality. Even things that were seemingly far removed from the realm of holiness could now be used to bring G-dliness into the world. The aim of the Revelation is pointedly emphasized by the use of the Egyptian word "Anochi."

A Jew's daily life involves elevating the physical and transforming it into a vessel for G-dliness. Prayer and Torah study enable us to reach only a limited level of spirituality; elevating that which is base and seemingly trivial, by adhering to the laws of the Torah, enables us to attain even greater heights of holiness. When we fulfill Hashem’s will by elevating even the "Anochi," as HaShem Himself did, we fulfill the purpose of the Torah and carry out the world's Divine plan.

Thank you, Reb Wilks. Now, back to why we say HaShem. We are forbidden to pronounce HaShem’s name as it is actually written in Hebrew - the four letter name of HaShem – Yud Keh Vav Keh . We say “keh” in places where one would actually say “hey” since there is a special prohibition against articulating the names of the letters in HaShem’s name. This also stems from the commandment to fear HaShem.

When we pray, sometimes we refer to HaShem as the name that begins Aleph-Daleth and at other times we refer to Hashem as Elokim. We are taught that there are two sides to HaShem – All Merciful on the right– which is when we would use the word A-do-noy, and - Strict Justice – on the left which is when we would use the word Elokim. In Kabbalah, the right side refers to mercy while the left side refers to justice or withholding.

The letters of HaShem’s Name (Yud-Key-Vav-Key) are made up from the words: Hoveh – He was; Hayah – He is; and YeHeyeh – He will be. This is the past, present and future tense of the verb “to be”. In other words, that HaShem is above time and space. When we say a blessing or prayer we are encouraged to pause for a brief moment after saying HaShem’s Name to reflect on this.