http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Lesson-A-Day.html The main point of this project is a book that can be distributed world-wide. It will contain many lessons, one per day, each allowing a person to become more focused on the main goals of the Jewish people, and of history in general, allowing him or her to be a better partner in bringing the Final Redemption more safely. iWeb 1.1.2 http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Lesson-A-Day_files/Picture%202.png http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Lesson-A-Day.html 60 The main point of this project is a book that can be distributed world-wide. It will contain many lessons, one per day, each allowing a person to become more focused on the main goals of the Jewish people, and of history in general, allowing him or her to The main point of this project is a book that can be distributed world-wide. It will contain many lessons, one per day, each allowing a person to become more focused on the main goals of the Jewish people, and of history in general, allowing him or her to be a better partner in bringing the Final Redemption more safely. Thirtysix.org en http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/78952E0D-3BE8-46B6-B33A-B8AD1EE11E60.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/78952E0D-3BE8-46B6-B33A-B8AD1EE11E60.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:49:14 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/78952E0D-3BE8-46B6-B33A-B8AD1EE11E60_files/60%20-%20Geulah%20b%27Rachamim.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/08.01.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> To date, the Jewish people are 3,319 years old. At least, that is how long we have had Torah for, having received it 2448 years from Creation, in the year 1313 BCE. We became a nation while still in 00:07:17 To date, the Jewish people are 3,319 years old. At least, that is how long we have had Torah for, having received it 2448 years from Creation, in the year 1313 BCE. We became a nation while still in To date, the Jewish people are 3,319 years old. At least, that is how long we have had Torah for, having received it 2448 years from Creation, in the year 1313 BCE. We became a nation while still in Egypt, but we became a Torah nation at Mt. Sinai after receiving the Torah directly from God. And yet, the nation that stood at Mt. Sinai and said the words, “We will do, and we will understand” (Shemos 24:7), had only been a fraction of its former self, only 3,000,000 from a population that previously had numbered five times that amount. Four-fifths, 12,000,000 Jews died in the Plague of Darkness, as Rashi explains, because they had chosen to remain behind in Egypt (Shemos 10:22). The Plague of Darkness was the only one of the 10 plagues inflicted on the Egyptian people that also affected the Jewish people. The question is, was it an isolated event, or does it have a message for the generations of Jews that survived, and followed? It has been pointed out that there may be an allusion to the Holocaust in this very plague that resulted in the death of millions of Jews. In advance of the plague, God told Moshe: “Stretch out your hand towards Heaven, so that darkness will come over Egypt, a darkness which can be felt.” (Shemos 10:21) In Hebrew, “a darkness which will be felt” is written, “vayamish choshech”, spelled: Vav-Yud-Mem-Shin — which will be felt — Ches-Shin-Chof — darkness. However, in the Aleph-Bais, the letter that precedes Vav-Yud-Mem-Shin, a valid form of gematria, is Heh-Tes-Lamed-Raish, which is how the word “Hitler” (y”s), would be transliterated. Mere coincidence, or an amazing occurrence, considering that the Plague of Darkness was the only one to kill Jews, and millions yet? Furthermore, as mentioned already, as Torah Jews, we do not believe in random occurrence, and especially in this case, since the gemora itself connects up the Final Redemption with the first one. It even warns that what went wrong in the first redemption may actually be repeated in the final one, God forbid (Sanhedrin 111a), making it somewhat difficult to ignore the implication of such a hint. If something happens historically, it is sanctioned by Heaven. If we become aware of it, then that too was planned by God. This is especially true since God is always trying to communicate with us, and save us from disaster, whenever possible. Thus, the Ben Ish Chai points out that even one of the terms used for the Final Redemption, “Keitz HaYomim” — end of days — alludes to the connection between the redemption at the beginning of history, and the one at the end of it. The gematria of “keitz”, spelled Kuf-Tzaddi, is 190. This was the amount of years remaining from the 400 years we were supposed to have spent in Egypt, but didn’t, having left early after only 210 years. Even the word “hayomim” is instructive. It would have been enough to say “keitz yomim” to say “end of days”; keitz hayomim means “end of the days,” which might have been meaningless without the 190-year reference that precedes it. Which days end with Yemos HaMoshiach? “Those days,” meaning the days left over from the Egyptian exile, revealing, as mentioned earlier (Lessons 19 and 20), that the Final Redemption is really just the conclusion of the first one. This means, that the redemption from Egypt is a work in progress, and only comes to a conclusion with the advent of Yemos HaMoshiach. Not only are the two redemptions connected, but they are really two ends of one long, ongoing journey to freedom. More than the Jewish people have been waiting for the Final Redemption, history has been waiting for the Final Redemption, and that is the reason why it hasn’t come to this very da http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/0001E59A-B30B-4FB7-8627-F652EEFC0611.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/0001E59A-B30B-4FB7-8627-F652EEFC0611.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:04:19 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/0001E59A-B30B-4FB7-8627-F652EEFC0611_files/59%20-%20Merit%20To%20Be%20Redeemed.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dpacked2Bsuitcase26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> The Midrash records a remarkable exchange that is so important for understanding the mechanics of redemption, and yet, it is barely known. It says: When Moshe came and told the Jewish people that, i 00:03:33 The Midrash records a remarkable exchange that is so important for understanding the mechanics of redemption, and yet, it is barely known. It says: When Moshe came and told the Jewish people that, i The Midrash records a remarkable exchange that is so important for understanding the mechanics of redemption, and yet, it is barely known. It says: When Moshe came and told the Jewish people that, in this month, you will be redeemed they told him, “Moshe Rabbeinu, how can we be redeemed? All of Egypt is sullied from our idol worship!” He answered them, “Since He wants you to be redeemed, He does not look at your idol worship but instead, He ‘skips over mountains’ (Shir HaShirim 2:8)” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:8:2) … This is because all redemptions are the result of a revelation of Arich Anpin. He explained to the Jewish people that, The Holy One, Blessed is He, was dealing with them on the level of the light of Arich Anpin called “Ayin”, which works above any measure. In other words, it does not depend upon merit or demerit. (Sha’arei Leshem, p. 113) Thus, when it comes to a keitz, that is, a pre-designated time for redemption on any level, God employs a special light that does not flow because of our merits, or stop flowing because of our sins. Rather, it flows regardless, performing its miracles only because the time has come for redemption, according to the Divine plan. That was true for the redemption from Egypt, and it will be true for the Final Redemption as well: Furthermore, they are destined to be redeemed in the future as well in Yemos HaMoshiach, and the light then will also not be the result of merit or good deeds at all, as it says, “You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money” (Yeshayahu 52:3). That is, without teshuvah or good deeds. (Ibid.) This is a remarkable concept, especially as we look at the Jewish world today. Eighty percent assimilation rate. Over 50 percent of Jews marrying today do so outside of their faith. Not a good situation at all, and one that is tremendous reason for concern, since Heaven does not tolerate such situations forever. Once again, the question becomes, “How can we be redeemed when all of ‘Egypt’ is sullied from our idol worship!” The answer is, simply, because the time has come. Once a keitz arrives, the only thing that concerns God is redeeming every last Jew alive, regardless of his previous record. After all, people like Dasan and Aviram left with Moshe Rabbeinu and the rest of the nation, not to mention Michah, who took his idol along with him. Thus, the four-fifths in Egypt should have survived the Plague of Darkness, since redemption did not require merit, and sin did not disqualify someone from leaving. However, you can’t redeem someone who doesn’t want to leave exile, and that was the criteria that determined who left Egypt, and who stayed behind. So, while it is absolutely crucial to constantly strengthen ourselves in Torah and mitzvos, and reach out to those who are distant from both, it is extremely crucial to be open to whatever redemption, and the lead-up to redemption, means. How we feel about the Geulah Shlaimah today can determine our right to be redeemed tomorrow. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/8CC1EBCF-6F38-4800-83B3-C9789DA27A75.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/8CC1EBCF-6F38-4800-83B3-C9789DA27A75.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:04:07 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/8CC1EBCF-6F38-4800-83B3-C9789DA27A75_files/58%20-%20Listen%20To%20The%20Message.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dhand2Bon2Bear26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> “But,” you may ask, “who hears God speak today? The Era of Prophecy ended thousands of years ago. Anyone who claims to hear God speak today probably has psychological problems and may be dangerous!” 00:03:47 “But,” you may ask, “who hears God speak today? The Era of Prophecy ended thousands of years ago. Anyone who claims to hear God speak today probably has psychological problems and may be dangerous!” “But,” you may ask, “who hears God speak today? The Era of Prophecy ended thousands of years ago. Anyone who claims to hear God speak today probably has psychological problems and may be dangerous!” True, but God has many ways of getting His message across to His people. Even at this late stage of history, when even Ruach HaKodesh may be a rarity, God talks to His people, at least those willing to hear what He has to say. It’s what we refer to as Hashgochah Pratis — Divine Providence. Everything in history is a function of Hashgochah Pratis, as the gemora states: Rebi Chanina said: A person does not damage his finger below unless they declare it above, as it says, “By God are a strong man’s footsteps established” (Tehillim 37:23). (Chullin 7b) There isn’t a blade of grass below that does not have a mazel in Heaven hitting it, telling it, “Grow!” (Bereishis Rabbah 10:6) It may not always be clear how or why something happens, but by definition, it is always a function of the will of God. To believe otherwise is to take power away from God and give it to something else, which is the classic definition of idol worship. Thus, the gemora teaches that a Jew must believe: Ain od Milvado — then is no other being controlling the events of this world but God Himself. (Sanhedrin 66b) The question is, how does one know if the events of his time are unique in as much as they are a direct message from Heaven about the direction of history? Just as it is easy to make nothing of something, it is easy to make something of nothing, as so many false messiahs have done in the past. Before a person invests himself and risks his credibility for the rest of his life, he needs to know that the messages about the events of history are, in fact, real messages. Dovid HaMelech answered this question. Perhaps, anticipating future times when the Jewish people would need prophecy to guide them, but would lack the prophets to provide it, he composed the words: This is from God, that which is wondrous in our eyes. (Tehillim 118:23) But, isn’t everything from God? Of course it is. If so, then what insight did Dovid HaMelech provide future generations with this verse? A way to translate the events of our times into messages from Heaven, and if necessary, warnings as well. Essentially, the ancestor of Moshiach was saying that, if something happens in history that catches us by surprise, or in a way that seems to be the opposite of what we would or should expect, then it can be seen as act of direct Divine Providence. If some event, or series of events, is wondrous to us, instructed Dovid HaMelech, then it can be considered to be a sign from Heaven of the current direction of history, and knowing this, it seems, is the first step to being able to take note of such events, and understand their meaning. It was the driving force behind Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen. It was what pushed Bnos Tzelofchad to the Bais HaMidrash to argue the point that they deserved to receive their father’s portion of Eretz Yisroel. And, it is what has always allowed certain individuals throughout Jewish history to make a difference, and, on many occasions, a big difference. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BB1A5A66-E739-412E-BD9D-257BD26ABCE0.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BB1A5A66-E739-412E-BD9D-257BD26ABCE0.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:44:02 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BB1A5A66-E739-412E-BD9D-257BD26ABCE0_files/57%20-%20A%20Different%20Type%20of%20Yonah.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dstormy2Bsea26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, we read about a different type of yonah. During Minchah that day, we read Maftir Yonah, a very coveted kibud for which many often bid significant sums of m 00:03:26 On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, we read about a different type of yonah. During Minchah that day, we read Maftir Yonah, a very coveted kibud for which many often bid significant sums of m On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, we read about a different type of yonah. During Minchah that day, we read Maftir Yonah, a very coveted kibud for which many often bid significant sums of money to receive. There are various explanations as to why we read about this specific prophet on such a spiritual day. However, none of them seem to point out one very important point of the story, which may be one of the most important lessons of life for a Jew. Yonah had been summoned by God to warn the people of Nineveh that, unless they did teshuvah, their great city would be overturned. Yonah, suspecting that they would heed the warning, and therefore, they would not be destroyed, worried about looking like a false prophet, and, about making his own people look bad. Unlike the people of Nineveh, the Jewish people of that time did not heed the prophets’ adjurations to do teshuvah before it was too late. As a result, Yonah fled both his cherished homeland and the responsibility of the prophecy with which he had been entrusted. As he ran away, he boarded a ship that set sail for Tarshish, without his fellow sailors knowing who he was and what he was trying to do. However, it did not take long before God whipped up a mighty storm that threatened to sink the ship in which Yonah had taken refuge. As a result, everyone else on board panicked and immediately did whatever they could to appease whatever god might be responsible for the raging storm. When all else failed, they realized that Yonah was missing, and went looking for him. To their utter shock, they found him sleeping, and soundly yet, in the hold of the ship, in spite of the angry movements of the ship. How could a person sleep through such a storm, and so peacefully yet? They woke him up, and explained the predicament. He explained who he was, and that the storm, no doubt, was because of him. They implored him to pray to God to end the storm, but he told them that nothing short of throwing him overboard would save them and their ship, and very reluctantly, they complied, and the storm subsided. The rest is history in the book itself. The fact that the Jewish people are compared to a yonah means that the story has additional layers of meaning that apply to the nation as a whole. Indeed, it may be a warning of a certain nature within the Jewish people that prevents us from acknowledging the storm taking place around us, until it is too late. Even though the gentiles all around us panic about current predicaments, we have often just looked the other way as the storm clouds gather all around us. The moral of the story is, when God talks to you, listen. And, if He tells you things, pay attention to what He says. Most important of all, if He gives you the opportunity to make a difference, don’t run in the opposite direction. Above all, don’t “sleep” in the “hold” while the sea rages around you, and while the rest of the people on board run around frantically to save the day! http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/AF7097F7-6E4E-4BDF-BA18-7F96852D030B.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/AF7097F7-6E4E-4BDF-BA18-7F96852D030B.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:05:56 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/AF7097F7-6E4E-4BDF-BA18-7F96852D030B_files/56%20-%20Eyes%20Of%20A%20Dove.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Ddove26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> He waited another seven days and again sent the dove from the ark. The dove came to him in the evening and behold, there was an olive leaf torn off in her mouth. (Bereishit 8:11) Torn off : The Midr 00:03:25 He waited another seven days and again sent the dove from the ark. The dove came to him in the evening and behold, there was an olive leaf torn off in her mouth. (Bereishit 8:11) Torn off : The Midr He waited another seven days and again sent the dove from the ark. The dove came to him in the evening and behold, there was an olive leaf torn off in her mouth. (Bereishit 8:11) Torn off : The Midrash explains this to mean food, and interprets “in her mouth” as speaking, i.e., she said, “Rather that my food be bitter as an olive but from the hand of God, than as sweet as honey from the hand of mortal men.” (Rashi) In other words, the dove told Noach, “Nothing is better than living with the knowledge that God is the hand that feeds you, even if it means eating bitter food.” The dove’s message is not that man should forsake physical pleasure in this world; there is plenty to enjoy in life without even coming close to violating one’s relationship with God. Rather, the dove’s message to Noach was, “Don’t forget what led to the downfall of mankind and brought about the Flood! It was man’s insatiable need for physical pleasure, as if such pleasure was a goal unto itself. The goal of Creation is to be close to God, to be like Him, even if it means sacrificing physical comfort and pleasure to do so. Remember this,” the dove reminded Noach, “and mankind will avoid sliding to such physical destruction again.” Lest we mistakenly think that such danger only exists for those who do not live by Torah, the Ramban explains otherwise: God told Moshe, “Speak to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel and tell them, ‘Be holy, for I, your God, am holy.’” (Vayikra 19:1-2) BE HOLY: In my opinion, this “separation” is not from forbidden relationships, as he (i.e., Rashi) says, but it is the kind of separation mentioned throughout Torah when it comes to being elevated. For, the Torah warned us regarding forbidden relationships and forbidden foods, but it also permitted spousal intimacy and [kosher] meat and wine. Thus, a person with strong physical desires could behave immodestly with his own wife … and eat [kosher] meat and drink wine in a disgusting manner, since the Torah has not yet forbidden this. Nevertheless, [if he acted in this manner] he would be a “menuval b’reshus HaTorah” — “disgusting with that which the Torah permits.” Therefore, after the Torah specified what is certainly forbidden, it returned to tell us that we should exercise restraint with that which is permissible. (Ramban, Vayikra 19:2) The physical world exists as a means to become closer to God, which means using it in a Godly manner. If so, then its value is derived by its ability to facilitate a closer relationship with God, not by how physically pleasurable it is. When the latter becomes the priority, warned the yonah, the animal to which the Jewish people are compared (Brochos 53b), we tend to lose sight of the purpose of life, the goal of Torah. Or, even worse, God forbid, we cease to justify our success and existence, as Jewish history has shown time-and-time again. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/3FF2FDB1-0A48-4001-8BB3-2A4F26FD7E1A.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/3FF2FDB1-0A48-4001-8BB3-2A4F26FD7E1A.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:58:29 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/3FF2FDB1-0A48-4001-8BB3-2A4F26FD7E1A_files/55%20-%20Finding%20Chayn.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dcute2Bbaby26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> Based upon the previous lesson, we can better understand a short, but highly instructive verse in the Torah: Noach found chayn —grace — in the eyes of God. (Bereishis 6:8) This verse tells us Noach 00:03:26 Based upon the previous lesson, we can better understand a short, but highly instructive verse in the Torah: Noach found chayn —grace — in the eyes of God. (Bereishis 6:8) This verse tells us Noach Based upon the previous lesson, we can better understand a short, but highly instructive verse in the Torah: Noach found chayn —grace — in the eyes of God. (Bereishis 6:8) This verse tells us Noach why survived the Flood, even though, by Noach’s time, God had “regretted” making Creation. Though everyone else in the world angered God by their immoral behavior, God found something in Noach that He liked, something important enough to justify his miraculous survival from the tumultuous waters of the Great Flood. However, if the verse is taken literally, it can actually tell us what was unique about Noach: he found grace in the eyes of God. In other words, when Noach looked into the “eyes” of God, he found something called “chayn”, which happens to spell “Noach” in reverse: Ches-Nun — Nun-Ches. This is what you would expect to see if you held the letters up in front of someone’s eyes, which reflect imagines like a mirror does. This is all quite conceptual because, after all, God does not have eyes that we can look into. So, then, what does all of this mean? Well, what do eyes really represent, if not the vision of reality of a person. As much as seeing requires the receiving of light, the main function of the eyes is to allow us to look out at the world, and our analysis of what we see, and how we relate to it, is called our “outlook”. Therefore, what the verse is really telling us is that Noach was saved because he looked at the world through God’s eyes. Noach, unlike the rest of his generation, saw reality as God saw it, and that is why he lived his life differently than anyone else. He found chayn. For, chayn is much more than grace. It is what emanates from a person when he acts God-like. It is the light of the soul that is sensed by others from a person who allows his soul to guide his actions. This is why the trait of chayn is associated with Yosef: A son of chayn is Yosef. (Rashi, Bereishis 49:22) regarding whom it says: God was with Yosef, and he became a successful man … His master perceived that God was with him, and whatever he did God made succeed in his hand. (Bereishis 39:2-3) Pharaoh said to his servants, “Could we find another like him — a man in whom is the spirit of God?” (Bereishis 41:37-38) Hence, the gemora concludes: Whoever has chayn has fear of God. (Succah 49b) This is because, such a person sees reality as God does, which allows to see past the illusionary façade of the everyday physical world, past the “body” of Creation and into its soul. It is this knowledge that makes mitzvos meaningful, and what makes sin futile and wasteful. It was this knowledge that gave Noach the courage to stand apart from the society around him, and make him brave enough to pursue a Godly lifestyle in a Godless world. It was this knowledge, ultimately, that saved him from catastrophe. Thousands of years later, the knowledge is even more pertinent than ever, and the need to see past the façade of the materialistic world, just as crucial. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/82BC1D84-22FB-438B-B1B7-2AAA92762C96.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/82BC1D84-22FB-438B-B1B7-2AAA92762C96.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:34:38 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/82BC1D84-22FB-438B-B1B7-2AAA92762C96_files/54%20-%20Heaven%27s-Eye%20View.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dview2Bfrom2Bairplane26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> One of the more complicated issues to deal with, for a Torah Jew, is, “When does hishtadalus — personal effort — interfere with bitachon — trust in God?” On one hand, the gemora warns us not to rely 00:03:25 One of the more complicated issues to deal with, for a Torah Jew, is, “When does hishtadalus — personal effort — interfere with bitachon — trust in God?” On one hand, the gemora warns us not to rely One of the more complicated issues to deal with, for a Torah Jew, is, “When does hishtadalus — personal effort — interfere with bitachon — trust in God?” On one hand, the gemora warns us not to rely upon miracles, either because the miracle won’t happen for us, or even if it does, it won’t come for free, but out of the reward we are destined to enjoy in the World-to-Come (Shabbos 32a). On the other hand, the gemora, teaches: All is in the hands of Heaven except for fear Heaven. (Brochos 33b) This means that, no matter what kind of effort we make in just about every area of life, the results are beyond our control, except for one: fear of God. Heaven leaves success in that area of life up to us. It does not mean that Heaven does not help out with our developing fear of God; it certainly does. As the Talmud states: Anyone who comes to purify himself, they help him. (Shabbos 104a). There can be no greater act of purification than striving to increase one’s fear of God. However, it is important to realize that there are two types of fear of God, as the Ramchal points out in Mesillas Yesharim. The most common is not fear of God Himself, but the fear of punishment that He may inflict upon us for committing a sin. On such a level, if a person thinks God doesn’t see him committing the sin, or doesn’t relate to the fact that God is watching him, even if it seems as if He isn’t, he will commit the crime. The second level of fear of God is far more sophisticated, and truer to the words, “yiras Hashem”. For, the word “yiras” can mean, “the seeing of,” as in “the seeing of God.” However, not so much as in our seeing of God, which, of course, is not possible, but the seeing of God, that is, how God sees, specifically how He views the world and history. There are two ways to view reality, God’s way, and that of man’s. God, being omnipotent and omniscient, knows everything; there is nothing He can’t know. His perception of reality is 100 percent accurate, always was, and always will be. There is no such thing as misperception or misconception with respect to God. This is not the case with respect to man. Man, though he often thinks he knows enough to correctly evaluate reality and the opportunity of the moment, usually doesn’t. When you consider how many times men have misunderstood history and its needs, it is a wonder that we are still here. Actually, it is a miracle. The goal of any human being, if he or she is going to fulfill his or her potential, must be to be able to perceive reality as accurately as possible. We must try to bring our perception of reality in line with God’s, so that we can look at history through His eyes, so-to-speak. We must develop a Heaven’s-eye view of life; that is true yiras Shamayim. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/3205BCBE-E0F0-4B11-B68F-756D0FB2D055.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/3205BCBE-E0F0-4B11-B68F-756D0FB2D055.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:57:29 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/3205BCBE-E0F0-4B11-B68F-756D0FB2D055_files/53%20-%20For%20God%27s%20Sake.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dtorah2Blishma26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> After the plague was over, and the Jewish people were in a recovery mode, God told Moshe Rabbeinu: “Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohen, stopped My anger towards the Children of Is 00:04:43 After the plague was over, and the Jewish people were in a recovery mode, God told Moshe Rabbeinu: “Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohen, stopped My anger towards the Children of Is After the plague was over, and the Jewish people were in a recovery mode, God told Moshe Rabbeinu: “Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohen, stopped My anger towards the Children of Israel, because he was zealous on My behalf, which prevented Me from destroying them because of jealousy.” (Bamidbar 25:10-11) God wasn’t just praising Pinchas’ act, He was telling everyone why Pinchas had succeeded against the odds, and why he had been able to take action at a time that even his teachers had not: he had acted completely on behalf of God, not on behalf of himself. If he had felt any personal feelings about what Zimri was doing, he had cast them aside, relating to the crisis from God’s perspective, not his own. This was not something that Pinchas had learned to do at the moment of the crisis, as the Midrash teaches: “They were crying at the opening of the Appointed Tent” (Bamidbar 25:6); their hands became weakened at that moment … At the end of the 40 years, as the Jewish people camped by the Jordan river ready to cross over into Eretz Yisroel … they went ahead and acted promiscuously, weakening Moshe and the righteous people with him. “They cried”?! Did Moshe not stand up against 600,000, as it says, “He took the calf which they had made” (Shemos 32:20)? His hands were weakened?! Rather, [Moshe was made to forget the law] in order for Pinchas to take that which he deserved. (Bamidbar Rabbah 20:24) Deserved? What did he do previously to deserve to be such a hero on behalf of the floundering nation? We only briefly find out about him in Parashas VaAira (Shemos 6:25), and then again at the end of Parashas Balak. Where does it tell us what made Pinchas unique? In the verse itself, when it traces his lineage back to his grandfather, Aharon HaKohen. As we learn from Ya’akov Avinu, whenever the Torah traces a person’s lineage back to his ancestor, it is to associate his actions with those for which the ancestor became well known (Rashi, Bereishis 49:6). And, if ever there was a zealot on behalf of God, it had been Aharon HaKohen, as the Rambam writes (Yad Chazakah, Hilchos Talmud Torah, 3:1). Another example of this idea is the Bnos Tzelofchad, who had the merit of being the ones through whom a halachah regarding inheritance was introduced in the Torah: The daughters of Tzelofchad — the son of Cheifer, the son of Gilad, the son of Machir, the son of Menashe, from the family of Menashe, the son of Yosef … (Bamidbar 27:1) Why did it have to mention this, since it already says “the son of Menashe”? To tell you that Yosef loved the land, as it says, “Bring my bones up” (Bereishis 50:25), and that his “daughters” also loved the land, as it says, “Give us our possession” (Bamidbar 27:4). (Rashi) In each case, it was not that the Gadol HaDor lacked or lost the merit to provide the direction at the critical moment in history. Rather, it was that someone else, because of his love of the mitzvah, merited to be the instrument of God at that moment in time. In fact, in each case, Moshe Rabbeinu was “held back” by Heaven to “make room” for the zealot to do his thing, with, as the Talmud explains, his blessing (Sanhedrin 82a), something that is not even necessary when Chillul Hashem is involved. Today, unfortunately, that is almost always the case, whether we are talking about 80 percent assimilation, 52 percent intermarriage, or, as the prophet said, Jews spread throughout the world with little or no desire to return home. Not to mention a whole list of other issues and crises that Klal Yisroel is grappling with today. So, you can take your pick; just don’t avoid getting involved. For, as Mordechai told Esther: http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/FADB0B69-62D0-4F6A-8731-8B7C213D83A3.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/FADB0B69-62D0-4F6A-8731-8B7C213D83A3.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:08:00 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/FADB0B69-62D0-4F6A-8731-8B7C213D83A3_files/52%20-%20Learn%20To%20See.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dtunnel2Bvision26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> The story of Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen is very brief, including his act of zealousness. However, as is the Torah’s way, it says exactly what has to be learned, concisely, summing up his n 00:03:28 The story of Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen is very brief, including his act of zealousness. However, as is the Torah’s way, it says exactly what has to be learned, concisely, summing up his n The story of Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen is very brief, including his act of zealousness. However, as is the Torah’s way, it says exactly what has to be learned, concisely, summing up his nation-saving act in the following way: Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen saw and got up from within the assembly and took a spear in his hand. (Bamidbar 25:7) Of the three aspects of what Pinchas did — he saw, he got up, and took a spear — the first is the most important, because everything else depended upon it: What did he see? Rav said: He saw what was happening and remembered the halachah … Shmuel said: He saw that “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against God” (Mishlei 21:30): whenever the Divine Name is being profaned, honor must not be paid to one's teacher.  Rav Yitzchak said in Rebi Elazar’s name: He saw the angel wreaking destruction amongst the people. (Sanhedrin 82a) Of the three million Jews who had heard the law of what to do when a Jew takes a non-Jewish woman in public, he was the only one who recalled what to do? Unlikely. Rather, “seeing” here means that he appreciated what he saw, and sprung into action. Everyone saw what was happening, but didn’t make the connection between what was taking place, what to do about it, and what would happen if they didn’t take the appropriate action. Pinchas did. It was taught in a brisa: Rebi Yosi taught, “Woe to the creations that see, but do not know what they see … (Chagigah 12b) Furthermore, it is a common reaction in the Torah community that, when it comes to the big issues, it is wiser to leave them for the “big people”. Emunas Chachamim — faith in the wise men — says that the rabbis know more than we do, that they are better connected than we are, and are more rational when it comes to dealing with crises. On top of all that, because they are the leaders of the Jewish people, they get more siyita d’Shemaya than we can ever hope to receive. How many stories have been told of rabbanim who decided the halachah correctly, in spite of the fact that, inadvertently, they were told the wrong information? More than likely, this was also what held back many would-be zealots from acting when Zimri took Kozbi before the eyes of the people. After all, Moshe Rabbeinu had been there, the Sanhedrin had been there, and the princes had been there. They had all witnessed the terrible profanation of God’s Name, so certainly, if anyone should have acted and put an end to the crisis, it should have been them. That’s why, explains the Midrash, after Pinchas had done the deed, they began to chide him (Sanhedrin 82b), and might have killed him, had God not intervened, setting the record straight, and telling us what it takes to be a true zealot, for any cause. Sometimes being a zealot for God is so important, that even the little guy can get a chance to be the “redeemer” from a crisis. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/F3662012-A18C-496D-B1C1-1196D639C57F.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/F3662012-A18C-496D-B1C1-1196D639C57F.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:38:54 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/F3662012-A18C-496D-B1C1-1196D639C57F_files/51%20-%20Make%20A%20Difference.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dteamwork26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> In a world of about five billion people, it is hard to imagine making a difference to history. Even if we talk only about the Jewish nation, which has a population of about 12 million people, it is h 00:03:25 In a world of about five billion people, it is hard to imagine making a difference to history. Even if we talk only about the Jewish nation, which has a population of about 12 million people, it is h In a world of about five billion people, it is hard to imagine making a difference to history. Even if we talk only about the Jewish nation, which has a population of about 12 million people, it is hard to imagine, for the average Jew, making a significant impact on the direction and success of the Jewish people as a whole. However, often what stands between the Makers and the Pawns of history is not money, position, or power. It is usually two things: perception of a problem and the desire to do something about it. You can’t fix something that you can’t see is broken, and, you won’t try to fix that which you think you can’t fix. A person who was planning a project to have a significant, and seemingly impossible, impact on the Jewish people was asked, “What do you expect to do? How do you expect to reach that many people, and, even if you reach them, how do you expect them to change their minds and get them to hear your message?” Undaunted, he answered, “What difference does it make? What is the alternative, no project at all? If I do nothing, I will fail for sure. If I do something, even if I fail, I will know, at least, that I did my best to succeed. Don’t forget that Pinchas required 12 miracles to make him successful against Zimri (Bamidbar Rabbah 20:26). In other words, naturally speaking, the odds were stacked against him, and yet, that didn’t stop him, because win or lose, he had to choose, and he chose to make a difference. In fact, he’d rather die making a difference, than live and make none at all.” This is what the Talmud says: One who comes to purify himself, they help him … One who comes to sanctify himself, they sanctify him. (Shabbos 104a) In other words, our responsibility is to make the effort, to take steps in the right direction, and leave the rest up to Heaven. We only have to make an opening the size of a pinhole, and Heaven will find a way to drive a wagon through it. In God’s world, small efforts can have huge effects, when they are in the right direction and with the right intention. As we learn from the Torah, crises, from a Divine perspective, are really spiritual opportunities. As chaotic as history can seem to become, it is never out of control, at least not out of God’s control. Even in the worst circumstances, there remains an opportunity to rise to the occasion and make a difference on some level. In the Torah, Pinchas merited to end the crisis in his time because he had developed himself into the kind of zealot who could perform the necessary deed. The daughters of Tzelofchad merited to teach an important law regarding inheritance of Eretz Yisroel because of their inherent love of the land, like their great ancestor before them (Rashi, Bamidbar 27:4). If we plan to make a difference during the quiet times, then God will find a way to make it happen during the times of crisis. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/4F290649-2E3F-4B9E-8C6C-2E9C77EC8FF1.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/4F290649-2E3F-4B9E-8C6C-2E9C77EC8FF1.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:54:03 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/4F290649-2E3F-4B9E-8C6C-2E9C77EC8FF1_files/50%20-%20Making%20Sense%20Of%20It%20All.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> After years of pursuing God at a time that mankind was Godless, Avraham Avinu was rewarded with prophecy, and an eternal covenant for him and all of his descendants. And, keeping that covenant can be 00:05:11 After years of pursuing God at a time that mankind was Godless, Avraham Avinu was rewarded with prophecy, and an eternal covenant for him and all of his descendants. And, keeping that covenant can be After years of pursuing God at a time that mankind was Godless, Avraham Avinu was rewarded with prophecy, and an eternal covenant for him and all of his descendants. And, keeping that covenant can be summed up by the words: When Avram was 99 years old, God appeared to Avram and He said to him, “I am God Almighty, walk before Me and be tamim.” (Bereishis 17:1) For the most part, the word “tamim” is translated as “perfect”, something which, as Rashi explains, Avraham was about to become through Bris Milah. However, the word “shalaim”, as used with respect to Ya’akov Avinu after his struggle with the angel (Bereishis 3:18), would have been more appropriate to express such an idea. Therefore, “tamim” has an additional nuance of meaning: be simple in your perfection. Be up front with God and Torah. Man has a tendency to “serve” God in the most convoluted ways, rationalizing that which really ought not to be rationalized, all in the Name of God. Serve God in a straightforward manner, and you will never stray from this covenant. Ironically, Jewish history has been anything but tamim. From its inception, perfection has been pursued through the least simplest of means, at least from man’s perspective. The very creation of the dynasty of Moshiach, beginning with the birth of Avraham from idol-worshipping Terach, to the birth of the ancestor of Dovid HaMelech on one side from the union of Yehudah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar, and on the other side, from that of Lot and his daughter, to the rest of Jewish history, has been anything but straightforward! What has been going on? Mirmos v’tachboles. As mentioned before, Yemos HaMoshiach represents utopia for mankind, but annihilation for the Sitra Achra, yetzer hara, and Malach HaMaves (see Lesson 32). Therefore, as much as we long for history as we know it to come to a conclusion so that Yemos HaMoshiach can finally begin, the Sitra Achra wants it not to begin even more. Therefore, he will do anything he can to thwart it, or at least hold it off for as long as can. In the end, he is still only doing his job, making redemption a matter of free-will, creating resistance that we have to choose to overcome in order to usher in the period of Yemos HaMoshiach. And, what’s worse is that he does such a good job that people are either intimidated to get involved, or they have just lost interest in the topic altogether, distracted instead by everyday concerns and pleasures. Nevertheless, regardless of what we do or how much we participate in the redemption process, it has to come; there are Heavenly deadliness that have to be met. We can choose to either bring them about on our terms, or let them come about on their own terms, which rarely works well for the Jewish people. But who wants to engage the Sitra Achra head on? As the Talmud states, “Do not open your mouth to the Satan” (Kesuvos 8b), which means, don’t start up with the Sitra Achra, because doing so can have disastrous results. How much more so is this true if one is attempting to bring out redemption, and therefore, the demise of the Sitra Achra himself? Hence, explains the Arizal, there is the concept of mirmos v’tachboles. It is at the root of every major historical event meant to advance the cause of Moshiach’s arrival, and which has occurred in a seemingly non-Torah way (Sha’ar HaGilgulim, Ch. 38). “What can be born from a man such as Terach?” mocked the Sitra Achra, only to be shocked, when it was already too late, by the birth of Avraham Avinu. “What can result from the union of a father and his daughter?” he snickered, only to be thrown for a loop once the righteous Rus emerged, and became available for yibum with Boaz, the descendant of Yehudah and Tamar. For, when it comes to geu http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/33A12891-B44C-4526-BF13-21F9B8B0C10A.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/33A12891-B44C-4526-BF13-21F9B8B0C10A.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:09:16 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/33A12891-B44C-4526-BF13-21F9B8B0C10A_files/49%20-%20To%20Be%20A%20Maker.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images_1.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> Even in the world of Makers, there are levels, because history, from a Torah perspective is not simple. It can’t be. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough challenge to make free-will meaningful, and ac 00:04:57 Even in the world of Makers, there are levels, because history, from a Torah perspective is not simple. It can’t be. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough challenge to make free-will meaningful, and ac Even in the world of Makers, there are levels, because history, from a Torah perspective is not simple. It can’t be. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough challenge to make free-will meaningful, and accomplishments gratifying. To be a real partner with God in the fulfillment of Creation, it helps to know how this world works, not just on a physical and obvious level, but behind the scenes. There are rules and objectives to Creation, some of which we are aware in the context of everyday life, others of which are hidden until someone makes a point of finding them. And yet, they play a major role in life, and often provide important clues for understanding history and its opportunities. Some can take years to research and understand, but to the extent that a Jew makes that effort is to the extent that he can become a conscious partner with the Creator of the world in perfecting it. For example, there is concept called “mirmos v’tachboles”, which literally translates as, “trickery and scheming”. In this case, it is not talking about dishonest business people, but the way to bring about the Final Redemption without arousing the interest and resistance of the Sitra Achra. We’re always trying to outsmart the Sitra Achra, who at, first, plays the role of the yetzer hara to tempt us to sin. Then, after the sin, he becomes himself as he accuses us before the Heavenly Court, demanding justice against us. If he is successful in his case against us, then he becomes the punishing angel as well (Bava Basra 16a). For the Sitra Achra, it’s all in a day’s work, because that is what he was created to do: make free-will meaningful. It makes life quite the game, except that this “game” has life and death consequences, if not physical ones, certainly spiritual ones. As the Talmud teaches, righteous people are alive even after they have died, and evil people are dead even while they still live (Brochos 18a). There is a story about the Chofetz Chaim in his later years, how once, getting up early for Shacharis as had been his custom for decades, was approached by his yetzer hara, who said: “Old man, why are you up so early in the morning? After all these years, surely you deserve to sleep in and wake up later!” To which the Chofetz Chaim responded: “If you’re up this early in the morning, why shouldn’t I be?” Did the Chofetz Chaim really hear the voice of the Sitra Achra, his yetzer hara? Sure, as we all do, each time we are tempted to do that which we really ought not to, or each time we don’t do that we should do. It’s just that, for most of us, the voice of the yetzer hara sounds like our own, so we follow its advice as if it is our own advice. After all, our yetzer tov and yetzer hara share the same brain — ours: Yoel called it (i.e., the yetzer hara) “Tzafoni” — Hidden One — as it says, “I will distance Tzafoni from you …” (Yoel 2:20). Our rabbis taught: I will distance Tzafoni from you: this is the yetzer hara that is hidden and stands in the person’s heart. (Succah 52a) And, unless one knows how to distinguish one from the other, it is easy to confuse one for the other during a time of spiritual crisis. It is amazing how well people can rationalize the wrong, and transform it into right, and bad into good. The Chofetz Chaim, being the great and righteous man that he was, was a master player of the yetzer hara’s game. He knew his tricks, and therefore, knew how to out-trick him at his own game. The story is one of mirmos v’tachboles, first by his yetzer hara, who had a good case, and then, by the Chofetz Chaim himself, who had a better one, and therefore, was able to win the battle and do the mitzvah, once again, “ http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/CD78579D-D818-4B75-820A-F24CC53BD4CB.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/CD78579D-D818-4B75-820A-F24CC53BD4CB.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:38:17 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/CD78579D-D818-4B75-820A-F24CC53BD4CB_files/48%20-%20%20Makers%20and%20Pawns.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images-2.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> History is divided between two types of people, makers and pawns. Makers are the kinds of people who take up causes, to make things better or worst. The ones who make things better are righteous in G 00:03:28 History is divided between two types of people, makers and pawns. Makers are the kinds of people who take up causes, to make things better or worst. The ones who make things better are righteous in G History is divided between two types of people, makers and pawns. Makers are the kinds of people who take up causes, to make things better or worst. The ones who make things better are righteous in God’s eyes, partners with Him in Creation. The ones who choose to make things worst are evil, and have no share in God’s Creation, present or future. Then there are the pawns. Those are the vast amounts of people throughout history who simply minded their own business whenever they could. Rather than impact history, they are usually impacted by it, often the “victims” of other people’s schemes and plans. Nothing is by accident (Chullin 7b), and everything is the will of God, but if someone chooses to play the part of a pawn, then that is the role God allows him to play. No question, it is easier to be a pawn. If history is peaceful, one can get away with simply taking as much responsibility for the fulfillment of Creation as is necessary to fulfill his own personal life. However, reward in the World-to-Come will also be limited, because, as the rabbis teach, “According to the effort is the reward” (Pirkei Avos 5:26). And, no effort earns greater reward in the World-to-Come as the ones made on behalf of the nation as a whole. God gave some of His glory to man, so that he can be a partner with Him in Creation, building Heaven and its upper realms through all of his actions and deeds that he performs in this world. (Sha’arei Leshem, p. 76) There is no question that every mitzvah performed brings great reward in the World-to-Come. We can’t even begin to imagine how much. There is no question that, when a person performs a chesed, Heaven smiles. And, as the Nefesh HaChaim emphasizes in the fourth section, the learning of Torah maintains Creation. Nevertheless, there is no better way to prepare for the Final Redemption than by playing a role in it. What kind of role? It depends upon the person, the opportunity, the time of history, and the will to get involved. It may be something as basic as saying one chapter of Tehillim each day, just for the sake of speeding up the redemption, or something as involving as starting an organization that furthers the cause itself. The reward is tremendous for a variety of reasons. First of all, according to the GR”A, though God provides Heavenly help for every mitzvah we do, the help, when it comes to redemption-oriented activities, can be many times more than the effort we ourselves make. This means that we can succeed far beyond our expectations. Furthermore, by being a partner in redemption, we put ourselves on the inside track. This means that, rather than simply being pawns in the process, we are makers of it, together with God and all the other people who consciously choose to play a role in redemption. Not only is this very rewarding, but it adds an element of safety for all those taking an active role in Geulah Shlaimah. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/9E761C73-E55E-4054-A32E-E318D4065868.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/9E761C73-E55E-4054-A32E-E318D4065868.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:56:50 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/9E761C73-E55E-4054-A32E-E318D4065868_files/47%20-%20With%20Perfect%20Clarity.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images-1.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> For the redemption from Egypt to be a physical success, God could have had a simple, natural plague destroy Egyptian society, as He did to the army of Sancheriv during the siege of Jerusalem in Chizk 00:03:24 For the redemption from Egypt to be a physical success, God could have had a simple, natural plague destroy Egyptian society, as He did to the army of Sancheriv during the siege of Jerusalem in Chizk For the redemption from Egypt to be a physical success, God could have had a simple, natural plague destroy Egyptian society, as He did to the army of Sancheriv during the siege of Jerusalem in Chizkiah HaMelech’s time. After all, four-fifths of the Jewish people died in the Plague of Darkness anyhow, so what difference would it have made had they died from a plague instead? However, for the redemption from Egypt to be a spiritual success, there had to be no doubt, at least in the minds of the Jewish people who finally went free with Moshe Rabbeinu, that God, and only God had saved them. The redemption from Egypt was not about freeing a broken and embittered nation, it was about building one whose entire existence is clearly dependent on its relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Given the nature of man, for that to happen, every other means of escape and survival had to fail — completely. Kotzer ruach meant that the Jewish people had given up on every other “natural” form of redemption. After Moshe Rabbeinu failed to free them the first time, and after the slavery was increased as a result, they saw that they had no where to place their hope and trust in the physical world. It was into this intellectual and emotional void that the light of God flowed, rejuvenating the broken Jewish nation, gradually rebuilding them spiritually and physically. Each plague, as it subsequently destroyed the Egyptian nation and its will, re-built the Jewish people, and their confidence. As a result, by the time the tenth plague of the death of the firstborn began, not one surviving Jew had any doubt whatsoever Who was responsible for their survival and salvation. That is the way it will be at the end of history as we know it as well — On that day, God will be one and His Name, one. (Zechariah 14:9) — which means that the events leading up to the Final Redemption, as was in the case of Egypt, will promote such a perception. As in Egypt, over time, all false sources of security will probably fail, or disappear, until we have no one to rely upon except for our Father-in-Heaven. At this stage of history, though many may already know this message, few have been able to integrate it. While our mouths may articulate the words, our actions and lifestyles may not quite be expressions of such a belief, since many are overly dependent upon secondary sources of survival, at the cost of relying solely on the Primary Source Himself. Preparing for the Final Redemption is about becoming real with this concept. It is about developing as clear an understanding and appreciation of what it means and its importance now, so that when God perfects that clarity through the events of history, we’ll have done most of the work on our own, already. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/9DE954ED-9448-476D-95C1-A6AC78AA42CC.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/9DE954ED-9448-476D-95C1-A6AC78AA42CC.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:30:42 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/9DE954ED-9448-476D-95C1-A6AC78AA42CC_files/46%20-%20Kotzer%20Ruach.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images-1_1.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> The first time Moshe went down to Egypt to save the Jewish people, Pharaoh didn’t listen to him, just as God had forewarned. However, to Moshe’s surprise and consternation, making the demand, and ins 00:03:35 The first time Moshe went down to Egypt to save the Jewish people, Pharaoh didn’t listen to him, just as God had forewarned. However, to Moshe’s surprise and consternation, making the demand, and ins The first time Moshe went down to Egypt to save the Jewish people, Pharaoh didn’t listen to him, just as God had forewarned. However, to Moshe’s surprise and consternation, making the demand, and instilling the Jewish people with hope of redemption, resulted in Pharaoh increasing the slavery to impossible levels. Thus, the next time Moshe Rabbeinu came to redeem the Jewish nation, they were a broken people. The Hebrew term is, “kotzer ruach”, which Rashi explains to mean “shortness of breath” (Shemos 6:9). They were like people who could not catch their breath, let alone pay attention to Moshe Rabbeinu’s second promise of redemption. God runs the world, and everything in it. Yes, we have free-will, but up to a point. It is amazing how much good man can do, and, unfortunately, how much evil as well. However, the moment God decides enough is enough, everything becomes secondary to His will, and history will follow a specific course no matter how hard man tries to change it. If so, then what was the purpose of having Moshe Rabbeinu go down to Egypt, demand the release of God’s people, the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, and fail? At the time, was it not a tremendous Chillul Hashem? Furthermore, why would God allow Moshe’s attempt at salvation result in just the opposite: increased slavery? The answer has to do with the overall goal of Creation, as God told Moshe Rabbeinu: God said to Moshe, “Come to Pharaoh. I have hardened his heart, and those of his servants, in order to perform My signs among them, so you can relate it to your son, and your son’s son, how I mocked Egypt, and about the signs I performed among them, so you will know that I am God.” (Shemos 10:1-2) That is what it is all about: knowing God. Not just knowing about God, but about knowing God as much as is humanly possible. The goal is a knowledge of God that is so perfect that one is never fooled by anything within Creation that gives the appearance that it has power independent of God’s. All power must be ascribed only to God. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. (Devarim 6:4) You saw [the events of Mt. Sinai] in order to know that Hashem is Elokim, and there is nothing else besides Him. (Devarim 4:35) That’s the way it was at the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, before the sin of the Aitz HaDa’as Tov v’Rah. That is the way it is going to be at the end, after Moshiach rids the world of evil, and the yetzer hara is no more. In-between, history has seen many tyrants rise up who have tried to usurp the power of God, or, at least make it appear that way in the minds of men, most notably, Amalek. And, history has seen billions of people fall for the ruse, and pay for it as a result. This, apparently, is what necessitates kotzer ruach, a situation in which all false sources of hope no longer exist, so that we can ascribe our salvation only to God. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BD3858DE-4471-43C0-9796-122803E0A8DE.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BD3858DE-4471-43C0-9796-122803E0A8DE.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:04:58 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BD3858DE-4471-43C0-9796-122803E0A8DE_files/45%20-%20Supernatural%20Channels.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images_2.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> The difference between the two approaches is very distinct: it is a much greater miracle and source of joy to watch one omer of munn miraculously become two omers. For two omers of munn to not become 00:05:00 The difference between the two approaches is very distinct: it is a much greater miracle and source of joy to watch one omer of munn miraculously become two omers. For two omers of munn to not become The difference between the two approaches is very distinct: it is a much greater miracle and source of joy to watch one omer of munn miraculously become two omers. For two omers of munn to not become one may also be miraculous, but it is also the kind of miracle for which the scientific world as a name: phenomenon. The event, according to all known rules, should not have occurred, but you can’t deny reality. You can only analyze it to understand the new rule the phenomenon teaches. What was the message that the munn of Erev Shabbos was supposed to teach the Jewish people? That material success, for the Jew, ideally, should come through spiritual channels. For, the journey through the desert was all for the sake of preparing the Jewish people for living in Eretz Yisroel, and this lesson of the munn was the very underpinning of daily life in Eretz Yisroel, a place where material success comes through spiritual channels: The land you are about to possess is not like Egypt from where you came, and in which, if you sowed seeds, you had to bring water to them as you would for a garden of green herbs. The land you are about to possess has mountains and deep valleys, and is watered by rain from the sky — a land which God, your God, cares for, God, your God pays attention to continuously the entire year. (Devarim 11:11-12) It is a lesson about life that we struggle with to this very day. And, to make sure the point was not lost forever, it was repeated in the incident with the rock that Moshe was told to speak to in order to bring forth water for the thirsty Jewish nation (Bamidbar 20:1). At the end of the 40 years in the desert, poised to enter Eretz Yisroel, it was crucial to learn the lesson of “Yaish m’Ayin”. Yaish M’Ayin, or “something from nothing”, is usually the term used to describe a crucial aspect of the Creation process. Historically, there was a time when nothing physical existed anywhere, just the completely spiritual light of God. And then, God made Creation, which is quite physical. That critical moment of time that God’s completely spiritual light created something physical is called “Yaish m’Ayin.” Of course, “nothing” is a relative term. To a physical being, it’s as if the spiritual world doesn’t even exist, even though it is more “real” than the physical world. We can’t see it, touch it, smell it, or interact with it using any of our five, physical senses. That is not a limitation of the spiritual world, but of our five senses. Physical solutions to physical problems begin in the spiritual realm. The Jewish people needed two portions of munn for Shabbos, which, as God had told Moshe, had already been set aside in the spiritual realm. This is what the gemora means when it says that, when it comes to the Jewish people, the remedy is prepared before the illness (Megillah 10b). On Erev Shabbos, by saying the words, “This is for the honor of Shabbos” before collecting it, each Jew would have been able to draw that spiritual reality into the physical realm — on his own. The previous five days of the week, God did it for the nation. Likewise, the first time Moshe Rabbeinu brought forth water from the rock, he struck it with his staff, a physical act. Even though it was a miracle, physical interaction to produce the water made it less so, more yaish m’yaish, something from something, so-to-speak. That time, it was only to provide water for a complaining, thirsty people. However, the second time Moshe Rabbeinu brought forth water from the rock, it was to teach the Jewish people how blessing is accessed in Eretz Yisroel: yaish m’Ayin — directly from God, direct from the spiritual realm. By talking to the rock, a spiritual act, Moshe Rabbeinu was mimicking life in Eretz Yisroel. Needless to say, just http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/901E86BD-581F-4422-B01B-21ECA8346B46.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/901E86BD-581F-4422-B01B-21ECA8346B46.html Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:05:43 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/901E86BD-581F-4422-B01B-21ECA8346B46_files/44%20-%20The%20True%20Double%20Portion.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images_3.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> When the Jews left Egypt, they ate matzah for the next 30 days, until it ran out. Just in advance of this, they complained to Moshe Rabbeinu about a lack of bread, at which point, God introduced them 00:04:51 When the Jews left Egypt, they ate matzah for the next 30 days, until it ran out. Just in advance of this, they complained to Moshe Rabbeinu about a lack of bread, at which point, God introduced them When the Jews left Egypt, they ate matzah for the next 30 days, until it ran out. Just in advance of this, they complained to Moshe Rabbeinu about a lack of bread, at which point, God introduced them to the concept of the munn — Heavenly bread. As the Torah reports, every individual was supposed to collect one omer, about 2 quarts, of munn each day. If they collected too little, it became an omer in their vessel; if they collected too much, the surplus rotted, as did any munn that was left over until the morning. The rule was, one omer of munn per person per day, to be consumed before the next morning. The only exception was Erev Shabbos, as the Torah states: On the sixth day, they must prepare that which they bring in, which will be twice as much as they usually collect. (Shemos 16:5) Unfortunately, by the time Erev Shabbos came around, Moshe had yet to tell them about the double portion. Instead, the Torah reports that they learned it on their own, and much to their surprise: On the sixth day, however, they collected a double portion, two omers per person, and all the princes of the congregation came and told Moshe. He said to them, “This is what God said …” (Shemos 16:22-23) Seemingly, no big deal. However, the verse in which God tells Moshe to explain to the Jewish people that they would be able to collect two omers Erev Shabbos, begins with the word “v’hayah” (Shemos 16:5), which the gemora says is the “language of smichah”, foreshadowing a positive event about to occur (Megillah 10b). However, the verse in which the Jewish people discover the miracle of the second omer begins with the word “v’yehi”, which the gemora says is the “language of trouble”, foreshadowing a negative event that is about to occur. What negative event occurred? On the contrary, discovering the bonus omer for themselves was probably more exciting than being told about it in advance. If anything, that verse should begin with “v’hayah”, to indicate the surprise and joy the Jewish people must have felt at the time. This is the answer: This was the joy of the sixth day, that speech alone was enough to prepare and designate a different bread for Shabbos: different in measure, different in smell and taste, and different in appearance. It did not require any additional effort or act. For this reason, when Moshe was told to command them regarding the preparation for Shabbos, it was said in the language of joy: “V’hayah b’yom hashishi …” since, a minute effort of speech was enough to complete the bread that was different. However, Moshe did not tell them the matter of “On the sixth day they shall prepare …” until after they came and inquired about it … For this reason, the Torah punishes him as well when it says, “For how long will you not believe in Me?” (Shemos 16:28), including Moshe in the criticism, as Rashi says. If so, then, at the time they went out to collect the munn on Erev Shabbos, they had yet to learn the matter of the joy of Erev Shabbos, that speech alone is enough to prepare and designate the bread to be different for Shabbos. Therefore, they went out thinking that they would have to actually collect a double portion of the omer for each person, having assumed already that the sixth day had to be different from the previous five days … (Ze’ev Yitraf, Ze’ev HaKohen Hoberman, “Krias Shabbos Oneg”) And, what were they supposed to have said? This is a source from a verse for what the Magen Avraham brings (250:1), that a person is supposed to say regarding everything he buys, “This is for the honor of Shabbos.” The Mishnah Brurah adds that speech helps to increase the holiness. (Ibid.) http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/AA9FFB30-9461-4E0C-9DD5-ED4BB194949C.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/AA9FFB30-9461-4E0C-9DD5-ED4BB194949C.html Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:44:36 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/AA9FFB30-9461-4E0C-9DD5-ED4BB194949C_files/43%20-%20Shabbos%20and%20Redemption.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images-1_2.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> One of the first mitzvos the Jewish people received after leaving Egypt was that of Shabbos. As the Midrash explains, they had already been resting on the seventh day of the week, even while still en 00:03:06 One of the first mitzvos the Jewish people received after leaving Egypt was that of Shabbos. As the Midrash explains, they had already been resting on the seventh day of the week, even while still en One of the first mitzvos the Jewish people received after leaving Egypt was that of Shabbos. As the Midrash explains, they had already been resting on the seventh day of the week, even while still enslaved in Egypt, thanks to the advice of Moshe Rabbeinu to Pharaoh. However, in Marah, Shabbos became halachah (Sanhedrin 56b). Shabbos is considered to be the cornerstone of Judaism, since it embodies so much of what Torah is all about. Therefore, by keeping its laws, as a nation, we merit to see everyday life transformed into a permanent state of Shabbos: Rebi Yochanan said in the name of Rebi Shimon bar Yochai: “If Israel were to keep two Shabboses according to the law, they would be redeemed immediately.” (Shabbos 118b) This is because the proper observance of Shabbos results in a state of redemption — every Shabbos. For the time being, until the rest of the nation gets with the program and observes Shabbos properly, the redemptive power of Shabbos remains an individualistic opportunity. When Shabbos is observed both in law and spirit, it is a great way to prepare for redemption. Hence, the gemora adds: Rebi Shimon ben Pazzi said in the name of Rebi Yehoshua ben Levi, in Bar Kappara’s name: One who eats three meals on Shabbos is saved from three evils: Chevlei Moshiach,  the judgment of Gihenom, and the war of Gog and Magog. (Shabbos 118a) These are three catastrophic events that all of us would like to avoid, at just about any cost. Why would the three Shabbos meals, a mitzvah that seemingly is very easy to perform, be the reason to be spared from any of them? What is so redeeming about fulfilling the halachah of three Shabbos meals? The reward seems to be far out of proportion to the effort made to receive it. The Maharal explains: The three meals teach about the good that is in Creation of God. Therefore, these three meals, which represent the good and perfection within Creation, save from three punishments that represent what is missing within Creation. (Chidushei Aggados, Shabbos 118a) In other words, Shabbos represents the perfection of Creation, and the pleasure that comes from eating the three meals is meant to be a way to experience that good. By eating them, and ideally, with this intention, one becomes part of that perfection, and is influenced by it, saving him from punishments that come because of what goes wrong in Creation. Hence, it is very important to eat all three meals, and with this intention. However, there is another aspect to Shabbos that is very important, because it actually represents the transition from this stage of history to the next one, that of Yemos HaMoshiach. It’s what went wrong in the desert, and that which we have been trying to rectify ever since. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/2C278E14-CDCB-40AB-9B61-4FC54E5DA3FF.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/2C278E14-CDCB-40AB-9B61-4FC54E5DA3FF.html Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:18:39 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/2C278E14-CDCB-40AB-9B61-4FC54E5DA3FF_files/42%20-%20A%20Holy%20Mindset.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images_4.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> The Jewish people are on a mission, and it can be summed up in two words: Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify the Name of God. This is not just something we do on the side, but something that is supposed to 00:03:11 The Jewish people are on a mission, and it can be summed up in two words: Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify the Name of God. This is not just something we do on the side, but something that is supposed to The Jewish people are on a mission, and it can be summed up in two words: Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify the Name of God. This is not just something we do on the side, but something that is supposed to result from everything we do, whether alone or in public. Rav Papa asked Abaye: “Why is it that for the former generations miracles were performed and for us miracles are not performed? It cannot be because of their learning, because in the years of Rav Yehudah, their learning was confined to Nezikin, and we learn all six orders … And yet, when Rav Yehudah took off one shoe [during a drought on a fast day], rain used to come. We torment ourselves and cry loudly, and no one pays attention to us!” He answered: “The former generations used to sacrifice themselves for Kiddush Hashem; we do not sacrifice ourselves for Kiddush Hashem.” (Brochos 20a) What does it mean to sanctify the Name of God? There are many ways to do it, but they all result in the same thing: more of God’s Presence in Creation. The opposite term, “Chillul Hashem”, the profanation of God’s Name, comes from the word “challal”, which means a “void”. Something that profanes God’s Name has the impact of making Creation somewhat void of the Presence of God, the extent to which depends upon the severity of the Chillul Hashem. Kiddush Hashem has the opposite effect, by drawing more Divine light into Creation, thereby making the Presence of God more pronounced. That’s why a Kiddush Hashem can occur even when a person is alone, and no one else is around to witness it; it will still impact Creation in a positive way. The longer the Jewish people remain in exile, the more we begin to mimic the host nations amongst whom we live, blurring the distinction between Jew and gentile. Eventually, our actions, even as Torah Jews, may fall into the category of those which are acceptable by world standards, but not by Torah standards, resulting in a Chillul Hashem, and sometimes, severe ones. This is very dangerous for everyone. Reducing the Shechinah in Creation, l’havdil, is like not keeping up sanitary conditions in a hospital: unhealthy stuff fills the void, endangering the lives of everyone. The more Creation becomes void of the Presence of God, the more spiritual impurity fills the void, corrupting man and Creation, a situation that Heaven will put up with for only so long. We’ve seen what results when we cross that line. As the gemora says, doing that which sanctifies the Name of God brings special Divine Providence, anything from success in business to good relationships, to, perhaps, personal salvation from a life-threatening circumstance. Aside from being a Torah mitzvah, it is a wise step in the direction of the Final Redemption. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/00B306C1-0C11-41DA-865E-8916A277267B.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/00B306C1-0C11-41DA-865E-8916A277267B.html Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:53:00 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/00B306C1-0C11-41DA-865E-8916A277267B_files/41%20-%20Learn%20Nevi%27im.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images_5.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> It is incredible how unimportant Nevi’im — the Prophets — has become over the generations. We’re not talking about Mishlei, or Koheles, which, though they may have been written with Ruach HaKodesh, a 00:03:16 It is incredible how unimportant Nevi’im — the Prophets — has become over the generations. We’re not talking about Mishlei, or Koheles, which, though they may have been written with Ruach HaKodesh, a It is incredible how unimportant Nevi’im — the Prophets — has become over the generations. We’re not talking about Mishlei, or Koheles, which, though they may have been written with Ruach HaKodesh, are not prophecy. We’re talking about Nevi’im, which is completely prophecy, the word of God delivered to man through confirmed prophets. Yet, so few people learn it today, as if what it has to say only applied to past generations. People learn Chumash, because that is the source of the mitzvos. We learn gemora, because that is how we understand the correct way to perform the mitzvos in all their glorious detail. We learn the Rishonim and Acharonim, to make sure that we learned the gemora correctly, and to advance our own learning skills. And, we have probably added some mussar and hashkofah, just to round out our learning program. But no Navi, or very little of it, which is really remarkable when you consider that their prophecies, written down about two millennia ago, are for us. We could not merit to have prophecy in our time, so God did the next best thing: He had the prophets of their time speak about our time, so that we could benefit from prophecy even though we don’t have prophets. True, some of the prophecies are quite frightening. However, whatever hasn’t happened can still be avoided, but only if we know what to avoid. God gave us these prophecies so that we can recognize the meaning of what might otherwise be confusing events, allowing us to better respond to the spiritual needs of the moment, specifically to avoid disaster. Learning Navi is like putting on glasses to enhance one’s vision. A person with poor vision can often make things out, but not clearly. He can, somewhat, guess what he is looking at, but he can’t see any pertinent details. As a result, he can be mistaken about what he thinks he sees. Or, worse, he may not see it at all, which can certainly be dangerous. Lots of events are occurring today, and it is hard to tell how significant they are, at least in terms of the “big picture” of Jewish history. One day, it will all be clear. In the future, looking back on today, the people living at that time will be able to see what were turning points in our time, and were not. However, that doesn’t help those of us living through these crucial times. Learning Nevi’im does. The more one learns Navi, the more one can look at current history with a discerning eye, and make decisions that can actually mean life-or-death. God gave us Nevi’im so that we could see the events of our time in the proper Torah and historical context, so why disregard that gift? Why ignore such an advantage? Yearning for redemption depends upon it. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/27590644-F6C5-4805-A889-D419117DE3EB.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/27590644-F6C5-4805-A889-D419117DE3EB.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:40 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/27590644-F6C5-4805-A889-D419117DE3EB_files/40%20-%20Maximize%20Your%20Time.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dappointment2Bbook26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> It sounds somewhat presumptuous: How do you prepare for the Final Redemption? Who says you even have to prepare? Why not just wait to see what happens, when it happens? Because, when it comes to Jewi 00:03:14 It sounds somewhat presumptuous: How do you prepare for the Final Redemption? Who says you even have to prepare? Why not just wait to see what happens, when it happens? Because, when it comes to Jewi It sounds somewhat presumptuous: How do you prepare for the Final Redemption? Who says you even have to prepare? Why not just wait to see what happens, when it happens? Because, when it comes to Jewish history, that has rarely been a good idea. It is not a contradiction of bitachon and emunah — trust and faith in God — to prepare oneself in the event that redemption takes place in one’s lifetime. It’s really part of the fulfillment of anticipating the possible arrival of Moshiach any day, especially when you consider the following: Rav Elchanan [Wasserman] concluded that one must suffer the pangs of Moshiach, but the wise man will quietly prepare himself during that time … perhaps he will be worthy of seeing the comforting of Tzion and Yerushalayim. (Leiv Eliyahu, Shemos, page 172) Hopefully, the “pangs of Moshiach” won’t be so bad for us, but avoiding them may depend upon our preparation. The more real we are with the concept of redemption, the less real God will have to make it to us. So, then, how does one prepare for such a major historical event? To begin with, take time more seriously. Spiritually seriously. We take for granted our most important asset and commodity: free-will. We are here in this world specifically to use our free-will to earn merit to maximize our portion in the World-to-Come (Derech Hashem, 1:2:1-1:3:2). It is easy to forget this on a daily basis, since life is so distracting with its mundane, temporal matters. However, once the Final Redemption is complete, the period of free-will comes to an end, and we will lose the age-old opportunity to earn additional reward for the World-to-Come. This will probably come as a shock to a lot of people who barely ever thought about using, let alone losing, their power of choice. It probably won’t be too uncommon to hear people moaning, “If only I had known … I would have made more good choices!” How much more so will this be the case when we find out what good choices are worth in terms of the World-to-Come, and what bad choices take away from it. This is something worth thinking about on a daily basis, as the rabbis taught: Consider the loss incurred for performing a mitzvah compared to its reward, and the benefit received for sinning compared to the loss. (Pirkei Avos 2:1) The Talmud says that one of the gravest sins is bitul Torah — using time that could have been spent learning Torah to do less important things (Brochos 5a). It doesn’t just mean wasting learning time, but wasting time by doing something less meaningful than the moment might have allowed. To be real with redemption is to be real with time, and there is no better opportunity to be real with time than the present. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BC7E3860-BF19-4391-9C1E-2098389E5558.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BC7E3860-BF19-4391-9C1E-2098389E5558.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:39 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/BC7E3860-BF19-4391-9C1E-2098389E5558_files/39%20-%20It%27s%20All%20In%20The%20Preparation.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dcheck2Blist26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> There is an interesting dialogue in the Talmud that is good advice for everyone. Apparently, it takes place in the future, after history as we know has come to an end, and it goes like this: The nat 00:03:29 There is an interesting dialogue in the Talmud that is good advice for everyone. Apparently, it takes place in the future, after history as we know has come to an end, and it goes like this: The nat There is an interesting dialogue in the Talmud that is good advice for everyone. Apparently, it takes place in the future, after history as we know has come to an end, and it goes like this: The nations will plead, “Offer us the Torah anew and we shall obey it.” However, The Holy One, Blessed is He, will tell them, “Foolish ones! He who took the trouble [to prepare] on Erev Shabbos can eat on Shabbos, but he who did not prepare on Erev Shabbos, what will he eat on Shabbos?” (Avodah Zarah 3a) The meaning is simple: if you don’t make the effort to prepare when you can, they’ll come a time when you’ll wish you had, but won’t be able to any longer. Times of crisis are not the time to learn anything, they are times to put into practice what you hopefully already know. How many crises have ended tragically because the people involved were unqualified to save the day? The Talmud, elsewhere, teaches a similar lesson: A person doesn’t sin unless a spirit of insanity enters him. (Sotah 3a) That’s good news, because an insane person is not held responsible for his sins. However, if only insane people sin, then why do we have Yom Kippur? Why is there even a threat of punishment for transgressing the Torah? No one should ever be culpable enough to be judged worthy of such punishment! What the Talmud means is that when it comes to a moment of temptation, if a person is not prepared for it, then he becomes temporarily insane as his emotions and desires take control. It’s like being on a strict diet, only to come to a food tasting contest, ravenous. What chance does a person have in such a test? On the other hand, if a person anticipates a situation of temptation, and prepares himself against it, it can become a simple matter of passing the test with flying colors. When it comes to any kind of test, success depends upon advance preparation, as it says, “Who is the wise man? He who sees what is being born” (Tamid 32a), and prepares accordingly. So, though it may be true that only people who are out of touch with reality sin, the real sin is in not preparing oneself in advance of the crisis. At such times, we are completely sane, and perfectly capable of rising to the occasion to prepare ourselves, so that when the moment of temptation arrives, we are well-fortified against it. In a sense, this is what yearning for the Final Redemption, and for Eretz Yisroel represents. It is our preparation in advance of the event itself, may it happen in our time. It shows God that, when the moment comes, and it can come at the blink of an eye, we want to be as ready as possible, so as to not make any mistakes in terms of response. And, when Heaven sees how prepared we are to prepare ourselves, they make a point of making sure that we are as successful as we prepared to be. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/682097ED-5E04-416A-8450-2B8E7C51CB53.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/682097ED-5E04-416A-8450-2B8E7C51CB53.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:39 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/682097ED-5E04-416A-8450-2B8E7C51CB53_files/38%20-%20To%20Be%20A%20Zealot,%20Part%202.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dbig2Bpresent2Bwrapped26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> To answer the question from the previous lesson, let’s use another analogy. Let’s say you bought a gift for someone, and you want to know if it is truly what they want. If you simply give it to them 00:03:07 To answer the question from the previous lesson, let’s use another analogy. Let’s say you bought a gift for someone, and you want to know if it is truly what they want. If you simply give it to them To answer the question from the previous lesson, let’s use another analogy. Let’s say you bought a gift for someone, and you want to know if it is truly what they want. If you simply give it to them, you know they will graciously accept it as if it is the most important gift in the world. They won’t let you know if you made a mistake, because they value your friendship too much. So, instead, you buy what you think is the perfect gift, and before wrapping it, you put it on your desk and invite your friend over. Leaving it in plain view, your friend enters your office, and right on cue, he notices the gift, and not knowing that it is for him, says, “Wow, this is great! Would I ever love one of these!” at which point you smile from ear-to-ear, and tell him, “Good, because I bought it for you!” Likewise, had the Jewish people shown up at the border of Eretz Yisroel on the day they were meant to enter it, it would have been a mitzvah to cross the Jordan river and take the land. Even if you enjoy doing a particular mitzvah, it is still something you have to do, because transgressing it has severe consequences. However, had the Spies come back with the kind of enthusiasm that Kaleiv and Yehoshua had shown, it would have proven how much the Jewish people sincerely wanted the “gift” that Eretz Yisroel was meant to be (Brochos 5a). It would have shown God how much they appreciated all that the land embodied, and what living there means to enhancing once relationship with God and Torah. To be a zealot, means to go the extra distance for a cause, even if it doesn’t seem to be required, and sometimes, even at personal risk. And, when that cause is important to God, it is one of the most beautiful expressions of love and devotion to Him, and therefore, it is very dear to Him. From the Jews who merited to enter the land and live there, only to be exiled 850 years later, we learn how important it is to appreciate living on the land. Until the time of exile, we had it good: a land, a temple, and God watching over us. Taking all of that for granted, we squandered it, and were forced into bitter exile for millennia to follow. And, it’s not over yet. From the Spies, and the Jews of Bavel who failed to return to Eretz Yisroel with the minority of the nation that did, we learn just how important it is to value the land even before it becomes a mitzvah to live there. We learn how important a spiritual opportunity it is to show God how much we love that which He values, especially at times when it is easy not to do so. To be a Jew, is to be a zealot, whether it means going the extra distance for a simple chesed, performing a daily mitzvah with a little extra intention, or yearning for redemption at a time when others do not. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/003A3265-E2DA-4734-856E-0049D714750D.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/003A3265-E2DA-4734-856E-0049D714750D.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:38 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/003A3265-E2DA-4734-856E-0049D714750D_files/37%20-%20To%20Be%20A%20Zealot,%20Part%201.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dspies2Breturn2Bwith2Bevil2Breport26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> Let’s say that you decide to go to away for Shabbos some place relaxing, which is exactly the opposite of where your children want to spend their Shabbos. “Do we have to go?” one child whines. “It’s 00:02:45 Let’s say that you decide to go to away for Shabbos some place relaxing, which is exactly the opposite of where your children want to spend their Shabbos. “Do we have to go?” one child whines. “It’s Let’s say that you decide to go to away for Shabbos some place relaxing, which is exactly the opposite of where your children want to spend their Shabbos. “Do we have to go?” one child whines. “It’s so boring there!” another ones throws in. “I’m not going!” declares the third one. Even though you expected such a reaction, it is still somewhat upsetting to hear it. How do you respond, if your heart is set on heading out there for a long-earned break? It depends upon a few factors, including the day on which all of this is taking place. If it is only Tuesday, it is easier to remain calm, and say: “We’re going, and you’ll see that it is more enjoyable than you think, so stop complaining.” It probably won’t matter to you that they are still complaining as you walk away, planning what to take with you on your Shabbos vacation. Being only Tuesday, there are still three days to get the children on side. However, should Friday roll around, and as you load up the car to go, they are still resisting and putting up a fight, it becomes increasingly more difficult to suffer their complaints. Suddenly, as time slips away and Shabbos comes closer, you find yourself pulling rank and using threats to get everyone on board so that you can get going in good time. When the Spies came back with their evil report and rejected aliyah, it was “Tuesday”, so-to-speak. One might have expected God to say to them, “Look, the reason why you are not crossing the Jordan river today is because you are not ready to do so. You asked to spy the land; I didn’t send you. In the meantime, stop complaining and wait and see. By the time you get to the border of Eretz Canaan, you’ll be ready to cross it and all will go well, just as it did when you miraculously left Egypt and miraculously crossed the sea. Have a little trust already!” However, instead God punished the Jewish people as if it was already “Friday”, as if they were supposed to go in at that time, but had refused to do so. The question is, why was their rejection of Eretz Yisroel taken so sternly at a time that they weren’t even required to enter the land yet? Why didn’t God just tell them to wait a few days and see what changes were in store, what growth they were destined to accomplish in the meantime to prepare them for conquering the land? http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/5BD04B26-6AA3-479B-915C-C32BC682785C.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/5BD04B26-6AA3-479B-915C-C32BC682785C.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:37 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/5BD04B26-6AA3-479B-915C-C32BC682785C_files/36%20-%20Wellsprings%20of%20Light.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dwellsprings2Bof2Blight26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> When many in the Torah world hear the word “Kabbalah”, or “Sod”, they feel as if they are trespassing on private property. It doesn’t help that many people today learn Kabbalah, or aspects of it, eve 00:03:51 When many in the Torah world hear the word “Kabbalah”, or “Sod”, they feel as if they are trespassing on private property. It doesn’t help that many people today learn Kabbalah, or aspects of it, eve When many in the Torah world hear the word “Kabbalah”, or “Sod”, they feel as if they are trespassing on private property. It doesn’t help that many people today learn Kabbalah, or aspects of it, even though they are totally unqualified to do so, creating quite a controversy. However, sometimes it is important to draw from such knowledge to understand the answers to even basic questions. Not everyone wants to know how the body works in detail, but if someone becomes ill, God forbid, such knowledge can save his life. Likewise, when things go wrong in history, it helps to have a deeper understanding of what was going on “behind the scenes”, to better appreciate how to avoid such mistakes in the future. If you want to cure the symptoms, you have to first deal with their cause. Most of us, when celebrating Purim, think only about the miraculous victory that brought down Haman and ended his diabolical plan to annihilate the Jewish people of his time. As a result, we focus only on the celebration aspect of the holiday, and do not contemplate the lesson it is also supposed to teach future generations, just as we do at the Pesach Seder each year as well (see Day 20). However, the Zohar provides a very important insight as to why the Purim redemption was not the final one, as it ought to have been: Since the power of the kingdom of Bavel was removed, the “Lower Heh” [of God’s four-letter Name] began to emanate light. However, since the Jewish people did not return to become purified from their impurity, to become the treasured nation as before, only a few at a time and as a mixture, and since they were not found in completion, the light of the “Upper Yud” [of God’s Name and corresponding to the sefirah of Chochmah] did not descend that much as before, and therefore, the upper springs did not flow or give off light as before … (Zohar, Shemos 9b) In simpler terms, the Purim redemption represented a very significant turning point in Jewish history. At that time, after the fall of Bavel, the upper spiritual realms were prepared to shower down Divine Light onto the Jewish people, making possible a temple on the level of the first one. This would have completely rectified the Jewish people, and for that matter, the entire world, ushering in the Messianic Era. However, it didn’t happen, for one reason only: not all the Jews came back from Bavel, choosing instead to stay in the Diaspora, even though they had permission to return to Eretz Yisroel and re-build the temple and the nation. As a result, the Zohar reveals, the holy light destined to be revealed at that time remained hidden above. Instead, future exiles remained in store for the Jewish people, and darkness descended upon the land. The returning Jews from Golus Bavel had the opportunity to rectify the sin of the Spies, but failed a second time. The rest, as they say, is history. And now, it is our history, since we are the most recent generation to live out the exile that should have ended back in the time of Mordechai and Esther. Knowing this may not make one want to pack up and move to the Holy Land, but at the very least, it ought to make one yearn to be able to yearn to do so. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/1A0C8671-DC05-49BE-8C36-8216F34D789C.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/1A0C8671-DC05-49BE-8C36-8216F34D789C.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:36 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/1A0C8671-DC05-49BE-8C36-8216F34D789C_files/35%20-%20The%20Ninth%20of%20Av.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dtisha2Bb2527av26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> Even though the Kohanim and Levi’im officiated in the Mishkan throughout the time in the desert, it was not the ideal circumstance. It had been a very unique situation in which the close proximity of 00:03:20 Even though the Kohanim and Levi’im officiated in the Mishkan throughout the time in the desert, it was not the ideal circumstance. It had been a very unique situation in which the close proximity of Even though the Kohanim and Levi’im officiated in the Mishkan throughout the time in the desert, it was not the ideal circumstance. It had been a very unique situation in which the close proximity of the Shechinah had elevated the camp of the Jewish nation, giving it a holier status than any other place in the Diaspora. Even still, the Mishkan had not functioned at the same capacity as the future temple would. For the desert, it was an ideal situation. With respect to the ultimate goals of Creation and the Jewish people, it was far from it. So, when the Generation of the Spies refused to accept the gift of Eretz Yisroel, they had rejected more than just the land; they had rejected everything they had been redeemed from Egypt to become, as embodied in the temple that was destined to be built. Hence, the intrinsic connection between the disaster of the Spies, and all of those destined to result on the Tisha B’Avs of the future: “The entire assembly raised up and issued its voice; the people wept that night” (Bamidbar 14:1). Rabbah said in the name of Rebi Yochanan, “That night was the night of Tisha B’Av, and The Holy One, Blessed is He, told them, ‘You cry for nothing? I will establish a crying for the generations!’.” (Ta’anis 29a) Hence, was born Tisha B’Av, a day of national mourning for the Jewish people. However, what it is really meant to be is a day of national yearning for the Jewish people, yearning for the temple and the Divine Presence meant to dwell within it, yearning for the return to the temple service of the Kohanim and Levi’im, yearning to live on the land in order to bear witness to all of this, and to participate in it. Eventually, those who survived the 40 years in the desert entered the land, as God had promised: Your young children of whom you said they will be taken captive, I will bring them; they will know the land that you have despised. (Bamidbar 14:31) They fought against the Canaanites, and took the land. Eventually, Shlomo HaMelech built the first temple in 2928/833 BCE, and it stood for 410 years, before being destroyed by Nebuchadnetzar in the year 3338/423 BCE. Exiled to Bavel, once again, the Jewish people found themselves outside the Land of Israel. The Babylonian Exile lasted 70 years, 52 years under the rulership of Babylonian kings, and 18 years under that of Median kings, just as the Torah had predicted. Then it came time to return home, and to re-build what was supposed to have been the second and final temple. The miraculous victory of the Jewish people over Haman in 3407/353 BCE, was meant to initiate that process. The Babylonian Exile should have been the last one, but it wasn’t, and the question is, why? http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/E9590ED5-6B8A-4735-B55A-97918E5C2E76.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/E9590ED5-6B8A-4735-B55A-97918E5C2E76.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:36 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/E9590ED5-6B8A-4735-B55A-97918E5C2E76_files/34%20-%20Kohen,%20Levi,%20and%20Yisroel.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dkohen26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> Today, there is very little that distinguishes a Kohen from a Levi, and the two of them from a Yisroel, except, perhaps, when it comes to giving out aliyos in synagogue, or attendance at a funeral. T 00:03:59 Today, there is very little that distinguishes a Kohen from a Levi, and the two of them from a Yisroel, except, perhaps, when it comes to giving out aliyos in synagogue, or attendance at a funeral. T Today, there is very little that distinguishes a Kohen from a Levi, and the two of them from a Yisroel, except, perhaps, when it comes to giving out aliyos in synagogue, or attendance at a funeral. There are some other laws today that do apply only to Kohanim, but for the most part, people don’t even know what they are. As a result, it makes little difference where a Kohen or Levi lives, or what they do for a living. As a result, it makes little difference where they shop for their food: if the food is sufficiently kosher, that is all that counts today. In Yemos HaMoshiach, especially after the return of the temple, all of this will make a difference once again. Most of the Kohanim will move to Jerusalem, and live as close to the temple as possible. They won’t need to own property, or earn a living, since they will once again be supported by the rest of the nation, as they resume their responsibility of the temple service on behalf of the entire Jewish people. Likewise, the Levi’im, more than likely, will also take up residence close to the temple grounds, to be ready and available to resume their role in the temple service. They, too, like the Kohanim, will receive support from the tithes of the rest of the nation, so that they can focus on their spiritual responsibilities. As for the rest of the people, they will see the miracles that result from the holy cycle of which they are a part. By supporting the temple service, the Kohanim are able to act as a conduit for the blessing God sends our way, and that blessing falls on the rest of the nation. In the meantime, Moshiach, whose soul will be that of Moshe Rabbeinu — Moshe was the first redeemer, and he will be the final one as well, as it says in Tikunim, Tikun 69, 131a, and the GR”A there, on 137b. (Hakdamos v’Sha’arim, 6:1) — but, who will have descended from Dovid HaMelech, will preside over the Jewish people as their nasi — prince — as did Moshe Rabbeinu in his own time. No longer will there be any confusion about Torah or regarding any law. Anyhow, by that time, prophecy will already start returning to the entire Jewish nation, and we’ll know a level of clarity that even the Generation of the Desert didn’t know. They still had a yetzer hara; ours will be gone. As a result, free-choice will have ended: no evil, no free-will. Which begs the question, what will life be about at that time? What will there be to do, if choosing to be moral is no longer a choice but the only way of life, as life becomes increasingly more miraculous, and the vision of God, increasingly more intense? The answer is wonderful, and one worth yearning for: tikun. But, not the kind of tikun that comes through hard work, or as a result of suffering. It will be the kind of tikun to our bodies and souls that results from the warmth and glow of the light of God; just the revelation of God alone will be enough to rectify us, as part of the preparation for the World-to-Come. Once Moshiach comes, and evil has been completely eradicated, then the light of God can increase daily for everyone, and the pleasure of receiving it will be tremendous, and just get better each day. The world will still be quite physical, but it certainly will feel incredibly spiritual, and forever uplifting. Sadness, depression, and all such unfortunate states of mind will never exist again. http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/7A65BB05-012E-4F1C-828C-725829517C8B.html http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/7A65BB05-012E-4F1C-828C-725829517C8B.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:50:35 +0300 <a href="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/7A65BB05-012E-4F1C-828C-725829517C8B_files/33%20-%20The%20Third%20Temple.mp3"><img src="http://web.mac.com/pwinston/iWeb/Site%2023/Lesson-A-Day/Images/images3Fq3Dthird2Btemple26gbv3D226hl3Den26safe3Dactive26sa3DG.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:150px; height:150px;"/></a> Chazal, with their great wisdom and foresight, saw fit to establish the 9th day of Av as a national day of mourning over the loss of the temples, and a list of other terrible tragedies that occurred 00:03:34 Chazal, with their great wisdom and foresight, saw fit to establish the 9th day of Av as a national day of mourning over the loss of the temples, and a list of other terrible tragedies that occurred Chazal, with their great wisdom and foresight, saw fit to establish the 9th day of Av as a national day of mourning over the loss of the temples, and a list of other terrible tragedies that occurred on that day throughout history. The knew that, after being in exile for so many centuries, the Jewish people would lose touch with the concept of a Jewish temple, especially after being exiled from their land for 2,000 years. They were correct in their assessment, since even with Tisha B’Av, most Jews today have little appreciation of what it means to have the third and final temple arrive, whether by natural means, or through a Heavenly fire as the Talmud predicts. They don’t give much thought to how having a temple will dramatically enhance the spiritual and physical quality of their lives. The first thing a new temple means to the Jewish people is the return of the Shechinah to Tzion. Even though the Divine Presence will already have become tremendously enhanced, it will be more so after the temple is returned. No longer will foreign religions occupy anything in Eretz Yisroel, especially the Temple Mount. When the gentiles return to Jerusalem to pray, it will be to the Jewish God, in a way that is acceptable to Torah, and with complete respect for the Jewish people. They will bring sacrifices and gifts for the temple and the Jewish people, because of their intense desire to join with the Jewish nation in their worship of God. It will be commonplace for Jews to travel to Jerusalem, to see the temple and watch the kohanim perform their service once again. Today, if Jews travel to the Kosel HaMa’aravi — the Western Wall — on occasion, it is usually to catch a minyan, or to say some tehillim, and then leave. As a person leaves the Kosel, and looks back, he sees a big stone wall, at the base of which are others still praying, while over the wall, he sees Arab mosques dominating the skyline. As moving an experience as going to the Kosel may be today, it becomes bitter-sweet when we are forced to recall how little control we have over the holiest site in the world. However, in Yemos HaMoshiach, after the temple has returned, as a Jew ascends the stairs away from the Western Wall Court, and he looks back, he will see others Jews ascending to the Temple Mount area, with the proper amount of purity, and with no resistance. As he looks up, he will see the temple towering high above, completely dominating the view. He will see smoke arising straight up, as new sacrifices are offered up, as per the instructions of the Torah. And, we will feel different. It won’t have just been a great spiritual experience, it will have been a tangible interaction with the Creator of the Universe. The sense of spiritual lift will be greater than any other we have experienced during our present time. We will become in touch with our own sense of eternity, and it will be ultimately exhilarating. This is certainly something to contemplate, and to yearn for.