Praying for unearned kindness |
Vaeschanan, the name of this week's parsha, is one of the ten terms that the Torah uses for prayer. Rashi explains that it derives from the word "chinun," which means gratuitous or causeless, as in "...
Posted by on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:08:00 GMT |
Exile of the Shechina |
The concept of the "exile of the Shechina" means that an aspect of God has been banished along with His people. It is not only we who were exiled with the destruction of the Temple, but an aspect of...
Posted by on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 10:40:00 GMT |
The Cleansing Power of Exile |
It is taught that Moses was given the choice of whether the Jewish nation would experience exile or Gehinnom, a purgatory realm after death where the soul is cleansed of the impurities it contracted i...
Posted by on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:37:00 GMT |
The Mystic Power of Shabbat |
The letters of the word Shabbat, shin-beit-tav, also spell Tashev, which means return. On Shabbat, everything returns to its source, the ultimate Oneness that underlies all of creation. This is ulti...
Posted by on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:35:00 GMT |
Ever Inward and Onward |
The title of the Torah portion "Massei" means "travels," and the parsha begins with a listing of the 42 journeys that the Jewish nation made from Egypt to Israel throughout their 40 years in the deser...
Posted by on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 11:11:00 GMT |
Walls |
The "three weeks" period that we are now in begins with the day on which the walls of the Jerusalem were breached by the invading forces (the 17th of Tammuz - this past Tuesday), and culminates with t...
Posted by on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:28:00 GMT |
Headache |
A friend seems stressed, so I tell her to relax, becaue she doesn't exist. To which she replies that she has a massive headache insisting that she does exist. But she has no headache, rather the ach...
Posted by on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 10:13:00 GMT |
Returning from the dead |
The second blessing of the daily standing meditation concludes "Blessed are You, God, Who enlivens the dead." On a simple level, the prayer refers to the heavenly embrace of souls who have passed fro...
Posted by on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:58:00 GMT |
Like a Lion |
Though Balak, king of Midian, hires Balaam in parshas Balak to curse the Jewish nation, God allows Balaam to pronounce only blessings. Amongst the praises that Balaam reluctantly bestows on the Jews ...
Posted by on Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:14:00 GMT |
Satan |
In last week's Torah portion, Chukas, Rashi comments on the mitzva of the red heifer that "Satan and the nations of the world taunt Israel, saying, 'What is this commandment, and what purpose does it ...
Posted by on Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:35:00 GMT |
