Rabbi Levin's Blog

  Today, Thursday, is the 17th of Tammuz, a fast day commemorating the Romans’ breaching the walls of the City of Jerusalem, leading to the destruction of the Holy Temple three weeks later.  There were several other calamities that happened on that day, and you can read about it here .  The fast is observed by not eating or drinking all day until nightfall (9:05 in Palo Alto), saying special prayers called Selichot and Aneinu, increasing Tzedakah, and spending time contemplating the meaning of the day.  We recognize the need to strengthen our bond with Hashem, and to turn the tide on the exile through Teshuvah.   There are different ways we can approach this.  One is to focus on the destruction and pain and suffering.  Another way is to focus on changing the situation and bringing about the redemption and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple (in a peaceful way).   We can take this second approach a step further.  When Moshiach comes, t...

“The world is not a jungle.  It is Hashem’s beautiful garden.”  “We each have a mission on Earth. To make it a home for Hashem.  Anything that stands in the way of that mission can only be a test, because the entire purpose of Creation is for that mission to be fulfilled.”  “Hashem does not expect more from a person than they can handle.  If you have a test, it means you have the strength to overcome it.” These are (paraphrased) some of the teachings of the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson.  He taught and inspired us to strengthen the deep faith in Hashem that is ingrained in our soul, in the face of the many obstacles that come our way.  The world around us is not conducive to Torah observance, and many of us face real hardships that make it difficult to keep faithful to the Torah lifestyle. And then he was tested.  He was the one Jewish leader in the Soviet Union who refused to bow to the vicious, murderous Communists, who in the ...

I’m writing these lines at 35,000 feet, on my way to New York to mark the Third of Tammuz, the 32nd Yartzeit of the Rebbe. I plan to visit the Ohel and I was invited to speak at a gathering in Brooklyn Heights. At the 32nd Yartzeit of the previous Rebbe, the Rebbe pointed out the significance of the number 32. It is the numerical value of the Hebrew word “lev” which means heart. Rambam tells us that the leader of the Jewish people is considered the heart of the nation. The heart is one of the key organs that give life to the body, and in some ways is the most important because it provides the lifeblood to every limb in the body. A healthy heart must pump the blood to every arteryand every limb, and even helps the nails grow.  Our spiritual life force is the Torah, and it is interesting to note that “lev”, the letters lamed and beit, are the end and the beginning of the Torah. The last letter is lamed, and when we conclude the reading of the Torah on Simchat Torah, we immediatel...

What comes to mind when we use the word Challah?  Usually it refers to the special bread that we eat on Shabbat and holidays after kiddush, often braided and with seeds on top.  The meaning of the word Challah in its original Biblical form is a loaf.  A loaf of bread or even a “loaf” of Matzah.  And there is a Mitzvah of “Challah” in this week’s Parsha (Bamidbar 15:18-21): Upon your arrival in the land to which I am bringing you, when you eat from the bread of the land, you must donate a raised-offering to G-d: Donate the first of your dough, a loaf (Challah in the original Hebrew) as a raised-offering... From the first portion of your dough you must give a gift to G-d, in all your generations.   Which means that whenever a person would make a dough, they are to give the Kohen (priest) the first loaf, and it needs to be large enough to make a meal.  This was the case at the time when people were generally ritually pure, meaning that they had the ashes ...

“Can I become a Levite?” the great philanthropist asked the Rabbi.  It is a famous old joke (usually told about Kohanim). The Rabbi says: “I’m sorry, I can’t make you a Levite.”  The man pleads and begs, but the Rabbi refuses to budge.  He offers a million dollars, but the Rabbi says “I’m sorry, I just can’t make you a Levite.”  (There is a PS to this joke, I’ll get to that soon.) When the disappointed man leaves, the Rabbi’s assistant follows him out and asks why it is so important for him to become a Levite.  “Well,” he answers, "My father is a Levite and my grandfather was a Levite, I also want to be a Levite!” At the beginning of our Parsha this week, Hashem tells Moshe to separate the Levites to work in the Mishkan (traveling Sanctuary), and later in the Holy Temple, alongside the Kohanim (priests).  The Levites (Leviim) were chosen by their lineage, as descendants of Yaakov’s son Levi, with the exclusion of Aarn’s branch of the tribe, who were the koh...

The Mishkan (traveling sanctuary) was finally completed.  It was a magnificent portable building made of many materials including gold, silver and copper, and various colors of fabrics and skins. To dedicate the Mishkan, over the course of the first 12 days, each head of tribe brought a lavish offering consisting of animal sacrifices, incense and more. They also donated six covered wagons and 12 oxen to pull them.  These wagons were used by the Levites to transport the pieces of the Mishkan and all the utensils and vessels from place to place as the Jews traveled through the desert.  However the wagons were not given to all the Levites.   Each of the three levite families carried different specific parts of the Mishkan.  The family of Kehot were assigned the holy furniture items, including the Holy Ark.  Those items had poles and were carried by Levites on foot, not transported on wagons.   Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Klei Hamikdash 2:12) ...