Rabbi Levin's Blog

  Today is Tu Bishvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. The Mishna tells us that it is the new year for trees, because when tithing fruits, farmers had to tithe each year’s fruit separately. The cutoff for the tithing year for fruit was Tu Bishvat.   The traditional way to observe Tu Bishvat is to eat many fruits, beginning with the fruits with which the Torah says Israel is blessed:  Grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.    There is a tradition from the great Kabbalah master the Arizal to eat 15 different fruits. (We are talking fruits that have the bracha Ha’etz. Bananas, strawberries and pineapples are not in this category.). Tree nuts are also considered fruits for this purpose. It is also customary to try to eat a new seasonal fruit and say the blessing of Shehecheyanu.   As in all things in the Torah, every observance has a mystical component.  Since the Torah compared a person to a tree, as in the verse (Devarim 20:19) “for a ...

  The Tenth of Shevat is the day the leadership of the Jewish people passed from one generation to the next. On that day in 1950 Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneerson passed away and his son in law Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson became the new leader. While he did not officially accept the position until the Tenth of Shevat of the following year, it was obvious from the beginning that he was the one for the position. See more about that in this fascinating video .  We will celebrate the anniversary of this auspicious day this Shabbat. These two leaders literally shaped two worlds and helped the Jewish people survive two major challenges. Rabbi Yosef Schneerson, whom we call the previous Rebbe, faced the murderous Soviet Union, who in the name of equality and fairness attempted to erase any vestiges of Judaism, using vicious methods including hard labor in Siberia and murder.  He sent emissaries around the country to run schools, yeshivas, synagogues, Mikvahs and more. These emissaries ...

  Moshe and Aaron wanted to get Pharaoh’s attention.  After many years of exile including hard labor, murder of children and other atrocities, the Jewish people would finally be redeemed.  The great leader and shepherd Moshe had the famous vision at the burning bush, when Hashem told him to go to Egypt and, with his brother Aaron, to approach Pharaoh and tell him to “let My people go.”   The first miracle they performed to show Pharaoh that Hashem sent them was when Aaron threw his staff (stick) onto the floor and it turned into a snake.  Pharaoh laughed at them.  “You’re bringing coals to Newcastle,” he said.  Well not exactly.  “You’re bringing sorcery to Egypt which is full of sorcery,” he said.  And he had his own sorcerers throw their staffs down and they too turned to snakes.  But, of course, what Aaron did was not sorcery, it was a Divine miracle, and his staff then proceeded to swallow up all the other staffs.   Note that I ...

  The Jewish spirit.  We have been hearing a lot about it recently.  Jews supporting each other and protecting our land.  Jews rushing from all over the world into the war zone in Israel, putting their own lives in danger.  Jews who on October 7 went right into the thick of the terrorist attack to save others.  We have heard many stories of heroism and self-sacrifice that show the enduring Jewish spirit and show how we sacrifice to help one another.    Friends of mine who lived here many years ago now live in Jerusalem.  They have a son Doron who is a police officer,a relatively safe job.  As a member of the police he is exempt from reserve army duty.  Nevertheless he joined his former army unit and put himself literally at the forefront of the war in an extremely dangerous position, providing cover for the medical teams who go into the battle zones to pull out wounded soldiers.  He sits unprotected atop an armored vehicle, mak...

  What kind of blessing is “Cursed is their anger?”  Before his passing, our forefather Yaakov gathered his children to bless them.  The Torah tells us that he blessed them all (Bereshit 49:28):  “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them; each one, according to his blessing, he blessed them.”   Yet if we read the words he said to Shimon and Levi, it does not look like such a great blessing (Bereshit 49:5-7):   “Shimon and Levi are brothers; stolen instruments are their weapons.  Let my soul not enter their counsel; my honor, you shall not join their assembly, for in their wrath they killed a man, and with their will they hamstrung a bull.  Cursed be their wrath for it is mighty, and their anger because it is harsh. I will separate them throughout Jacob, and I will scatter them throughout Israel.”     What I am about to write are my personal thoughts based on Rashi’s commenta...

This Friday is the fast of the tenth of Tevet.  This is the only fast that can occur on a Friday, and it happens rarely. Fasting is generally forbidden on Shabbat, except for Yom Kippur, and we should not go into Shabbat fasting either.  If a fast day like the 17th of Tammuz or Tisha B’Av falls on Shabbat, the observance of the day is postponed to Sunday.  If the Fast of Esther falls on a Shabbat, however, we can’t postpone it to Sunday because that would push off Purim, so the fast is held earlier instead. But it is held on Thursday, not Friday, in order that we should not fast even for the first few minutes of Shabbat.  Nevertheless on the Tenth of Tevet we do fast on Friday and we go into Shabbat fasting. One reason given is because this fast commemorates the day that the Jewish people lost our independence, and many exiles and tragedies followed.  The tenth of Tevet is the day that the Babylonians, led by the evil Nebuchadnezzar, laid siege to the city of Je...

  It is a rare occurrence when we read the Haftorah of Parshat Miketz.  The Haftorah is a section from the prophets,read after the regular weekly Torah reading, with similar themes.  However, on special days like holidays and Rosh Chodesh, we read a section of the prophets relating to that special day.  Parshat Miketz almost always falls on Chanukah, so we read the special Chanukah Haftorah.  The only exception is when Chanukah begins on a Friday, as it did this year, and then we read the “regular” haftorah for Parshat Miketz.  It happens approximately four times in forty years!   (By the way, next week there is another very rare occurrence.  The fast of the Tenth of Tevet happens next Friday, and we go into Shabbat fasting.)   The Haftorah this week is the famous story of King Solomon’s wisdom.  Solomon became king at age 12, and Hashem appeared to him in a dream,offering him any gift he would like.  Rather than riches or fame, he ...