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Celebration Under Fire - Sukkot 5785

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(Reminder to make an Eruv Tavshilin on Wednesday in order to be permitted to cook on Friday for Shabbat.  See the details here .) The “Time of Our Joy” is upon us.  Sukkot follows the solemn High Holidays, when we accomplished great spiritual things and brought new Divine light to the world, and now on Sukkot we celebrate that with great joy.  It is the celebration that brings the potential blessings of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to fruition. Well, how easy is it to celebrate when Israel is facing an existential war for its very existence?  As we sit in our Sukkah and as we wave our lulav, etrog, willows and myrtle to the Hallel songs, our brothers and sisters are sacrificing their lives at war with enemies on all sides.  It seems difficult to celebrate with abandon and to express open joy, let alone to dance. In 1973, right after the beginning of the Yom Kippur war, when our enemies sought to wipe us off the face of the earth, the Rebbe addressed the same question.  This was three da
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Plain Clothes on the Holiest Day - Yom Kippur 5785

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The Kohen Gadol (High Priest) changed  his clothes five times on Yom Kippur.  This was his big day.  The only day of the year when he, and only he, was allowed into the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Holy Temple, containing the Holy Ark with the Tablets.  (He would enter that chamber twice.)  Nowadays, we think of Yom Kippur as a day when we all participate in the services.  In those days, the participation was primarily watching the Kohen Gadol perform the service.   He would personally offer all the daily sacrifices and perform the tasks that were usually divided among the Kohanim (priests).  While doing all of that he wore his magnificent clothing - eight multicolored garments including gold thread and precious stones, with a gold plate engraved with Hashem’s name on his forehead.   The highlight of the day was when the Kohen Gadol went into the Holy of Holies to burn incense on the Ark. He would carry two pans, one with coals from the Altar and the other with incense.
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Rosh Hashanah in Practice - 5785

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I wish you a sweet new year.  May you be inscribed and sealed for a year of health, abundance and great spiritual growth.  May Hashem continue to show us great miracles and bless the efforts of our heroic soldiers who put their lives on the line to protect the Jewish people.  May we  see the release of all the hostages and the end of terrorism, and may this be a year of true peace and of redemption.  As I write this, I am listening to the news of Israel being under attack.  May Hashem protect our people in Israel and all over the world. Here are some practical things to remember for the upcoming holiday: ( C lick here for a lot more information on customs, practices and meanings.) On Wednesday, we make an “ Eruv Tavshilin ” in order to be able to cook and prepare on Friday for Shabbat.  Follow the link to see the explanation and instructions. Candle lighting is a little complicated, due to the two days of holiday followed immediately by Shabbat.  On Wednesday evening the candles are
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One Push-up for Teshuva - Nitzavim Veyelech 5784

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Someone asked me yesterday:  “How do I prepare practically for the New Year?  I always make all kinds of resolutions, and just like my January 1 resolutions, they don’t last more than a few days.”  I told him the allegory that the Ba’al Shemtov (founder of Chassidism) told relating to the sound of the Shofar.  In short, a king had an only son who was raised in the sheltered lifestyle of the palace and he wanted to expose him to the real world.  He sent him off to travel with some servants and lots of money, but the prince squandered the money and dismissed the servants, and descended into a life of depravity.  His royal clothes ripped and he started eating bad food, forgetting all the manners he learned in the palace.   One day the prince realized how far he had strayed from the royal life that was his heritage, and decided to return to the palace.  But at the palace nobody recognized him and they wouldn't let him in.  He had even forgotten how to speak so that they would believe t
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Practice practice practice - Ki Tavo 5784

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There is something special about the beautiful Mitzvah of “Bikkurim” - first fruits.  This Mitzvah is the opening of Parshat Ki Tavo: “It will be, when you come into the land which the Lord, your G-d, gives you for an inheritance, and you possess it and settle in it,  You shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you will bring from your land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you. And you shall put [them] into a basket and go to the place which the Lord, your God, will choose to have His Name dwell there.” (Devarim 26:1-2.) Rambam describes how this Mitzvah was carried out.  “ How are the first fruits brought to Jerusalem? [In each regional area around the country], all of [the inhabitants of] the towns in that area gather in the area’s central town, so that they will not ascend to Jerusalem as individuals, for [Proverbs 14:28] teaches: "The glory of the King is among the multitude of people." ...An ox with its horns glazed with gold leads the processio
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Tie the Knot - Ki Teitze 5784

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  There are some Mitzvot that carry as much weight as all the other Mitzvot combined.  Refraining from idol worship is one, as is Shabbat.  Perhaps a more surprising one is Tzitzit, the Mitzvah of wearing strings on the edges of a four cornered garment.  “ You shall make yourself twisted threads, on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.” (Devarim 22:12.)  This verse in this week’s Parsha is one of the times it is mentioned in the Torah.   Another is in the third section of Shema that we say at least twice daily.  In those familiar verses Hashem says: “Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations...when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them...So that you shall remember and perform all My commandments...” (Bamidbar 15:38-40.) This Mitzvah applies to men, because it is a time-bound Mitzvah.  When the Tora
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Abolish the Police - Shoftim 5784

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“Set up for yourselves judges and police officers, in all your ‘gates’,”  opens this week’s Parsha, stressing the need for law enforcement, courts and judges, in all cities in Israel.  The judges were the ones who determined the law, according to Torah, and officers ensured that the law was carried out. In one of Isaiah’s prophecies about the end of exile and the final redemption of the Jewish people, he says: “I will return your judges as at first and your advisors as in the beginning.”  It is interesting that he does not mention law enforcers, and instead he says “advisors.” The distinction is interesting.  Whereas in the past they enforced the law, in the future they will advise.  This fits well with the vision of what the future redemption will bring.  As Rambam says, there will not be any war or jealousy, and everyone will spend their time pursuing knowledge of Hashem.  There is no need for enforcement of law and order in that type of society.  We will still need judges to determi
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