AVODA OF THE WEEK – Reconnect to the source
Connect back to the source
[For Halachos of Biyur Chametz – see HALACHA OF THE WEEK – March 25/09 ;For Halachos of Eating Matzah and Maror at the Seder – see HALACHA OF THE WEEK – April 2/09.] ————–
The Message of the Sun is the Message of the Seder
The sun's coming back to its original point of starting – exactly on the day of Erev Pesach in this unique hashgacha that Hashem has given our generation – holds for us an amazing message. In actuality the message of the sun's returning to its point of origin, is really the same message that we want to give over at the seder. At the seder, we seek to impart the tenets of all our most basic beliefs to our children. It's that special time that the Torah itself has designated to give over the story of our heritage to the next generation. And Chazal through their ordinances, have added the entire dimention that they knew would be the most conducive to planting the seed of Jewish faith into the pure hearts of Jewish children.
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MESSAGE OF THE WEEK – Physical Realities and Spiritual Pursuit
Bs"d
Events of Hashgacha are Beyond Our Understanding
A shock wave probably went through everyone who heard the terrible news this week about the tragic accident that occurred to some men on the way home from Meiron.
The question that begs an answer in everyone’s heart of "Why?" or "How could this happen?", is in effect included in the question that Moshe Rabbenu asked of Hashem, "How could it be that good people receive bad?"1. According to the opinion of Rabi Meir2, Hashem did not reveal the answer for this question to Moshe Rabbenu. This is an indication to us that the answer to this question is far beyond the ability of our understanding in this world, and so we should not expect to understand it clearly and we should certainly not make up reasons that are inexact or unbased, in order to attempt to answer the question.
Deriving a Personal Insight
At the same time, we need to draw some mussar lesson and insight from the incident for ourselves, in order not to be considered in the category of those who ignore the Hashgacha. Hashem tells us explicitly in this week’s Parsha, B’chukosai, that a cause for the "tocheicha" to come upon the Jewish people is "If you go with Me ‘as a happening’ " 3; and the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh explains that it refers to the reaction of the people to what is happening: the reaction needs to be one of recognition of Hashem’s hashgacha and that He is relaying a message to us through what takes place, and not one of "it was just an unintended happening"4 At the same time we fully realize, that the mussar reason that we derive is not whatsoever a definitive reason for why the actual hashgacha took place; it is simply a limud for further bettering ourselves in some way for avodas Hashem, and may that itself be a zchus for the niftarim a"h.
Filed under Message of the Week | Comment (0)MESSAGE FOR THE WEEK– The Economy from a Torah Perspective
Bs"d
Even Money - View with a Balance
The Torah shows us the way of "Tov" – "Ki Lekach Tov Nasati Lachem" – and the way of "Tov" is the way of Balance. So even our view of money must be with a balance.
My Rebbe in Mussar, ybchl"ch, Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe z"l, has written in his sefer Alei Shur:
"In essence, [the tendency to be religious] is an [internal] drive from the energies of the soul. It is a pulling connection to the Highest of the high, that nests in the heart of every healthy person. A person can enhance this connection; then he asks himself, how will he come close to the Above and how will he give expression for his appreciation toward Him, and this brings him to the worship of G-d. And a person can [also] neglect this pulling connection and ignore it; then it rolls and turns from one form into another, and it "clothes" itself into a confused ambition "to unite with nature" or with the society of mankind, or it chooses some value from the values of the world and sets it as an ultimate value.1"
Religious affiliation and actual worship of a higher power, is natural to every human being. However if a person does not guide this natural inclination to where it was intended for, it ends up coming out in other ways. And so really every person is religious – the question is just about what.
Money is certainly an important value in our lives; but if it becomes a worship, it is in effect twisting the natural human connection to the Above away from its spiritual Source, the place that it was really intended for in the first place.
- Chelek Rishon, Sha’ar Rishon, Perek shnaim-asar, p. 52. ↩
The Evil Tounge, and the Evil Heart
Shalom,
I found something beautiful in my inbox today that MUST BE SHARED!
Thanks go out to Rabbi Eli Mansour of Daily Halacha (An amazing Sefardi based halacha website) who has been blessed to give over this amazing message that you will agree fits perfectly in our overall message. One must be balanced in life, and looking at lashon Ha’ra as a catalyst for inner change you immediately realize that YOU TOO NEED TO FIX YOUR HEART! We all do. The problem is only some of us are willing to admit it 
Hopefully our usual series will return by the end of the week!
Enjoy!
Filed under Message of the Week, Uncategorized | Comment (0)
Bs"d by Rabbi Nachum Chaimowitz Another statement that one should just never say: 3. Never compare yourselves to any other couple. The person that Hashem has introduced and ultimately united you with, is someone who is exactly what you need in order for you to reach your highest level of completeness. Realize that [...]