GREAT SHIUR FOR SUCCOS!

Best wishes to all for a true fulfillment of "V'Samachta B'Chagecha"!

Connecting to Purim on a personal level audio shiur

In a few days we will have the joy of celebrating the holiest day of the year, Purim. Rav Chaimowitz gave over a special shiur on Purim that is worthy of everyones attention. The goal of Purim is for us to connect personally with the day, and find our own revelation from the Megillah.

    Why is Purim the holiest day of the year? How does Purim affect us? What can I get out of the megillah?
These questions and more answered in this great uplifting preperation for the yom tov of the year many of us call our favourite.

 ENJOY and May we be zoche to the geula shlaymah with the coming of this happy time!

Preperation for Purim by Rav Chaimowitz

Spiritual “Ups and Downs” – 6: Sources From Sforim Hakedoshim

Bs"d

by Rabbi Micha Hyman

The Strength of Your Yetzer Tov

1. We have passed down from our sages that a person has a Yetzer Hara from when he is born, but he only receives his Yetzer Tov at age 13, when he becomes responsible for all the Mitzvos. The reason that the Yetzer Hara gets such a “head-start”, is because our Yetzer Tov is so much more stronger, that if they started on equal footing, the Yetzer Hara would not stand a chance, and therefore there would be no free will. – Nefesh HaChaim.

The Importance of the Starting Point

2. We see that in the Laws of Pesach, there are many more stringencies than in any other area of Jewish Law. The Current Belzer Rebbe shlita explains, this is because Pesach is the first holiday of the year; since the spiritual level of everything follows the beginning, the starting point, we want that starting point to be perfect, without any infraction. If we are extra careful at the time of Pesach, then the rest of the year will follow suit.

3. Being in the womb before birth is one of the best experiences in a person’s life: surrounded by warmth, comfort of one’s mother, all of one’s needs are taken care of without the necessity of any effort, an angel who teaches you the entire Torah, etc. – Masechet Niddah 31. It is  the starting point of a person’s life, and the fact that the conditions both physically and spiritually are so optimal, gives us the ability to be successful afterwards in our lives.

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“Ups and Downs” – 5: Gadlus – Katnus – Gadlus

Bs"d

by Rabbi Micha Hyman

Gadlus Rishon: A "Free" Experience

Before we enter into a state of free-choice in this world, we are given a reference point, an experience so great and certain beyond any doubt, that we are to use as our guide in making our choices. That is the initial greatness we experienced in the womb, in the desert, and in our individual experiences as we connected for the first time to Hashem’s Torah. The sages call this state Gadlus Rishon – Initial greatness. It is a free gift. It is a model to be used as a target for us, to aim for the goal of loftiness that we are able to achieve. The only thing lacking in it is that it came for free, it wasn’t an experience of our true greatness because it was given for free.

Katnus – When Gadlus Vanishes

After Gadlus Rishon, comes that state of feeling low, the feeling that all of those previous levels of spirituality have been lost, or were never really real in the first place. This stage is called Katnus – Smallness. Many people give up their quest for spiritual growth when they experience this stage, because of its apparent hopelessness. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. This is where it all begins, this is the birth into the world, into the land of Israel, into our ability to really achieve greatness through our own actions and decisions. This is the stage where all spiritual growth takes place – when that initial light is taken away and we have to create it ourselves. 

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