Rabbi Levin's Blog

The city of Jerusalem was under siege.  It was around the year 70 CE and the Romans wanted to control Israel from the river to the sea.  The prize was Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.  The sages and Torah leaders knew that all attempts at resistance were futile and would lead to total disaster.  They wanted to surrender to the Romans and save the people from the disaster that ended up happening. There were young Jewish militants who knew better.  No way were they going to allow themselves to be controlled by a foreign power.  They would stand up and fight regardless of what the sages said.  In the interest of protecting the people from the Roman onslaught, they burned down the massive storehouses of grain, oil and firewood that three philanthropists had donated.  Now the supplies that could have fed the city for 21 years were gone, and there was a deep famine. The great leader Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai knew that the end was near.  He had to get...

Why would Moshe repeat the Torah in 70 languages? Rashi tells us that before Moshe passed away, he repeated the Torah to the Jewish nation in 70 languages!  (Rashi Devarim 1:5.)  He was speaking to the Jews at the end of his life, preparing them for life without his leadership.  They were about to enter the Land of Israel under the leadership of Yehoshua.   After 40 years of Torah study in the cocoon of the desert, surrounded by miraculous clouds, eating miraculous bread and drinking miraculous water, the people were about to live a life of Torah practice in the real world.  So Moshe repeated the Torah in a way that was clear and relevant to them.  But why in 70 languages?  The Jews in the desert all spoke Hebrew and probably very few spoke any other languages. The Torah is much more than a history book or a book of laws.  In addition to being the world’s user guide, if you will, the Torah is the will and the wisdom of Hashem.  Meaning, ...

For 40 years the Jews wandered in the desert, making 42 stops along the way from Egypt to the edge of the Land of Israel.  Hashem promised Moshe that He would take the Jews out of Egypt and bring them to the promised land, but said nothing about all the detours!   The basic reason for the 40 year journey was that the spies who toured the land for 40 days frightened everyone, leading the people to cry and complain that they would not be able to live in Israel as G-d promised.  Hashem decreed that, as punishment, they would spend one year wandering the desert for every day that the spies toured the land.   As in all of the Torah, there is a deeper mystical explanation, as explained in Chassidic teachings – the “soul of the Torah.”  Let’s step back for a second and review why our mission in the world  is tied to the land of Israel.    Hashem created us with free choice in a world where the right choice is not always easiest.  The point of us liv...

We have had our fair share of tragedies.  We are not the only ones, but the way we mark them is unique, I think.  Close to 2,000 years have passed since the destruction of our Temple, and we act as if it just happened.  In fact the Talmud says that if the Temple has not been rebuilt in our generation, it is as if it was destroyed in our days.   Today, the 17 th of Tammuz, we fast, commemorating the breach of Jerusalem’s walls leading up to the Temple’s destruction.  But we don’t stop there.  Every day, at least three times a day, we pray for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, as we have been doing consistently for the past 2,000 years.  “May our eyes see Your return to Zion.”  “For we wait for your salvation all day.”  “Rebuild [Jerusalem] speedily in our days as an eternal edifice.”  These are passages from the daily Amidah prayer.   Our connection to Jerusalem, the Temple and the Holy Land of Israel has never wavered, and now more than...

“Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov…” – How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel.  These famous words are the evil prophet Bilaam’s reluctant blessing to the Jewish people.  There are several ways to explain his blessing.  He saw how the opening of the tents were placed so as to ensure privacy, and he was moved by the modesty that is one of the hallmarks of the Jewish people.  Another explanation is that he was foreseeing the synagogues and Torah study halls of the future.   I want to venture a guess that he would also be impressed by the way we open our homes to guests.  Hachnasat Orchim – bringing guests into the home –  is a value that we have going back to our forefather Avraham.  It is one of the pillars of the great Mitzvah of Gemilut Chasadim, acts of kindness.  Another crucial part of that Mitzvah is Bikur Cholim – visiting (or caring for) the sick.  How great is it then when both of these Mitzvot are bundled toge...

The third of Tamuz!  It is a day marked all over the world as a day of reflection and celebration of a leader unmatched in recent history.  The 29 th Yartzeit (anniversary of passing) of the saintly Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson is today, Thursday.   There are thousands of articles, videos, books and stories written about his remarkable life and his unprecedented impact on a world shattered by the Holocaust and assimilation.  I would imagine that you have seen some of the ubiquitous stories today, and you can read a lot more here .    What more is there to add?  I just want to talk about some personal reflections and experiences.  I spent several years studying in the Yeshiva in Crown Heights Brooklyn where I merited to see and pray with the Rebbe almost every day.  I attended over 100 Farbrengens (Chassidic gatherings) that he led.  I had the great merit to see him personally a few times in a meeting known as “Yechidus” – private au...

Twelve Jewish leaders were handpicked by Moshe to go and scout out the land of Canaan. Hashem promised to give the land to the Jews, and their job was to figure out the best way to approach this on the ground. Although Hashem promised miracles, we also need to do our part using natural means.    Though they witnessed the ten plagues in Egypt, the miraculous Exodus, the splitting of the sea and the revelation at Sinai, ate heavenly bread and drank water from a rock, ten of the scouts said that conquering the land can’t be done. “But the men who went up with him said, ‘We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’” (Shemot 13:31)   The Hebrew word for “than we” is “mimenu” which can also be translated as “than him.”  The Talmud says that they were saying - as shocking as it sounds - that the people of the land are too strong for Hashem to overcome. As the Talmud says (Sotah 35a): “it was as if the owner of the house (referring to Hashem) co...