The Middle Path

Recognition of a Lifetime
Probably the greatest teaching that I’ve learned over the years has been the "secret" of the middle path. The reason I call it a secret, is because it was never presented to me with the full importance that it really commands. Sure, I had known for years about the Rambam zy"a in Hilchos Deyos¹ regarding how to heal an extreme character trait – by going to the other extreme in order to come to the middle. But that had seemed like just another valuable idea among thousands of other mussar selections regarding how to improve one’s character traits, rather than being a foundational understanding of the entire Torah.
 
The point in my life when I came to realize the magnanimity of this rule, was about twelve years ago during a discussion with an older, very proficient and highly respected Talmid Chacham in Yerushalayim tv"s. The discussion was about "truth", and the question was: "What really is the definition of truth?"
 
My understanding until then had been that truth is an absolute; that we believe as frum Jews that there is an objective non-changing truth in the world, and that – by definition – ultimately obligates everyone to subscribe to it. Therefore I also thought, that each situation in life has ultimately one solution. I thought that there is an absolute truth that is uniform and non-changing for all situations, and that it is just each person’s free choice to decide whether he wants to see it and follow it or not.
 

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The Purpose of this Site

            For years my students have been asking for a continuation of their Yeshiva experience through a mode that they can access. They would love to be able to continue to learn, to grow, and to go on to the next level of understanding beyond what they’ve already achieved. The majority of students are now married, with small to medium sized families – kein yirbu – and reside in various places, literally, around the world. The question was always how would such an undertaking look, how would each person be able to continue to grow at their respective levels, yet all of them collectively having one medium to access.

A new day with new Potential from Hashem

With the great advance and development of computer technology over the last years, that question has answered itself. The way to be in touch world-wide, to impart shiurim and divrei Torah that can reach throughout the world wherever Jews are located, is through the "world wide" communications network. As frum Jews we must believe, that one of the major reasons in Hashem’s plan for the advance of such technology, is in order to teach Torah to many many Jews. And so through the events of hashgacha in my own life, I realized that it was necessary to use this medium of communication for avodas Hashem -  for the benefit of teaching Torah.
 
      That being said, I would like to make a disclaimer: Whatever is written – now or in the future – on this site, represents only my personal understanding of Torah. My intent is in no way to impose or to force my understanding upon others. True, it is my hope and prayer that the words and ideas that are given over on this site be helpful and encouraging for as many people as possible to connect to Hashem; but when it comes down as to how each and every individual should act, each person needs to consult with his personal Halachic Posek or Hashkafic Rebbe.
 
 
       The way that the idea of this site was "born", was that over this past winter, one of the students who has become a professional computer technition, had hashgacha in his life that allowed him the necessary time to work on such a project. One day he approached me saying: "Rav, I got this great new software and I’ve even set up a site already; all I need is content. And I would like you to give that content, Rav".
    
      It felt to me as if Hashem was talking to me through the hashgacha. It seemed like this was the time when such a project needed to take place. And so I made a decision, that once the work on the sefer I was working on would be complete bs"d, I would dedicate time to this undertaking.
 
 
       I have organized the site so that each day of the week, im yirtze Hashem, we are able to learn about a different topic as follows:
Sunday – Energy of the Week (Bnei Yisasschar) Monday – Avoda of the Week (Parsha) Tuesday – Fresh Outlook for the Week (Ramchal) Wednesday – Halacha of the Week (Mishna Berura) Thursday – Message from the Week (Current Events) Friday – Message for Shabbos (Sidduro Shel Shabbos) As a general rule, whenever parenthesis appear in the diveri Torah, it indicates a sub-comment or definition that is included in the source that is being quoted. Whenever brackets appear, it indicates something that I understood implicitly from the source, although it is not stated there explicitly.
 
       And with that being said, I hope and daven that the ideas that are shared on this site (the site is formatted to allow active feedback), be ideas that will enhance within the participants positive growth and avodas Hashem, ideas that will encourage the unity of Klal Yisroel, and ideas that will help us to strengthen each other during these trying times, the "end of days" before Moshiach comes – May we bee be zoche to them b’rachamim, b’mheira v’yamenu, Amen.
 
 
I look forward your feedback, your constructive criticism, and your chidushim in regard to the topics that we learn.