The Mitzva Of Rosh Hashana
לשמוע קול שופר
Is different than the minhag of Elul’s shofar
Chazal ordained blowing the shofar
Not hearing it
Like after Yom Kippur
1-Why don’t we make a brocho
Like other תקנות חז״ל?
2-The ordinance is for Rosh Chodesh only
Why do we continue blowing the entire month?
3-Women are exempt from Rosh Hashana’s shofar
They come to hear anyway
Why do they ignore Elul’s shofar?
The Three רגלים
Are also three of the four מועדים
What’s the fourth מועד?
It’s hinted at toward the end of parshas Ekev
The Arizal aligns these four
With the four זכירות
We’re obligated to verbalize daily
מעמד הר סיני
מעשה עמלק
מעשה מרים
יציאת מצרים
The Baal Shem Tov says
The neshama of your Shabbos meal
Is the Torah shared at the table
Which זכירה corresponds to which מועד?
Ask the knights of your four legged Shabbos table
באי כלה באי כלה
Shabbos Mevorchim Elul Shalom
Kosher Food Must Be Tahor?
Nope
Then why in parshas Re’eh
Are only the kosher birds
Described as tahor
A four word posuk
כל צפור טהרה תאכלו
The animals and the fish
Aren’t called tahor here
The Arizal touches on this issue
Try to decipher the attached
Chicken-scratch
When Will I Be Like Our Heroes?
A question we Jews must constantly ask ourselves
Holy Days are designed to accomplish just that:
Pesach/Tisha Bav – Avraham Avinu
Shavuos/Purim – Yaakov Avinu
Rosh Hashana – Yiitzchok’s Avinu
Yom Kippur – Moshe Rabenu
Sukkos/Chanuka – Aharon HaKohen
Rosh Chodesh – Rochel’s Imenu
The two Tus aren’t associated with heroes
But Yosef remains unaccounted for
And what about Shabbos?
Jewish Valentine’s Day
Born out of assimilation and ignorance
Six occurrences converge on Tu B’Av
They’re the vav connecting the two hehs
Of the 17th of Tamuz and Tisha Bav
If you’ve understood properly
You realize the all important yud
Is still unaccounted for
Your Yiddishkeit depends on it
Where’s your crown?
Rav Chaim Vital Was Asked On Separate Occasions
Why we say Kiddush Levana after Tisha Bav?
And why we say it after Shabbos?
He gave the same answer for both questions
The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed then
So the shechina needs נחמה and שלום at that time
That’s who we’re really saying שלום עליכם to
We say המקום ינחם אתכם to mourners
So why not mention נחמה during kiddush levana?
And why did we say it last night instead of after Shabbos?
Shabbos Nachamu Shalom
Ahavat Chinam
Encouraged by popular culture
Sounds like Woodstock
And is not an authentic Jewish value
Sinas chinam is solved by
ואהבת לרעך כמוך
Which does not apply to all Jews
לאחיך בתורה ובמצות
Chazal list numerous types of Jews
We’re commanded to hate
And Hashem hates some too
Confirmed in the annals of halacha
From the Rambam to the Chofetz Chaim
Till today
Moshiach’s arrival depends on teshuva
Not on imagination
Years ago, my Rebbe said
“I wonder which is worse
Sinas Chinam
Or Ahavas Chinam?”
עשה לך רב
וקנה לך חבר
Hashem Talks To Us Through His Torah
We respond with our tefila
Neglecting Torah learning
Renders tefila abominable
מסיר אזנו משמוע תורה
גם תפלתו תועבה
On the 17th of Tamuz
Torah learning is broken
Three weeks later, our House Of Tefila
Comes crashing down
On the 9th of Av
A new tefila is introduced
Compensation
קינות = תיקון
Why is there no new learning introduced
On the 17th of Tamuz
To compensate for our loss of learning?
The Arizal Reveals How Hundreds Of Thousands Of Jews Were Counted
Every Jew’s name was gathered tribe by tribe
Then all jumbled together
Then separated tribe by tribe
Naftoli was counted last
So no sorting was necessary
That’s why it says בני נפתלי
Not לבני as in all the other tribes
Why not just count them initially tribe by tribe?
And what’s behind Naftoli’s distinction?
Imagine
A hopeful convert, or orphan
Homeless
Relies on srangers’ hospitality
And is rejected
Abused and expelled
Can you blame him
For being traumatized?
For an irrational reaction?
Would you execute him?
Somehow
Pesach Sheni explains
Emor’s tragic ending
Shabbos Shalom