TZEDOKO (#2)

The daughter of Rabbi Akiva once went to the market. As she passed a group of star-gazers and fortune–tellers, one of them said to the other: "see that lovely girl? What a dreadful calamity is awaiting her! She is going to die on the very day of her wedding."

Rabbi Akiba's daughter overheard the words of the star-gazer, but paid no attention to him. She had often heard from her great father that one who observes the Mitzvoth of the holy Torah need not be afraid of evil.

As the happy day of her wedding approached, she had forgoten all about that star-gazer. On the day before her wedding, there was much to do, and at night she went to bed, tired but happy. Before going to bed, she removed her golden hair-pin and stuck it in the wall, as she had done before.

The following morning, she pulled her pin from the wall, and in doing so dragged a small but very poisonous snake with it. Horrified, she realized that she had killed the snake that was lurking in the wall's crevice when she stuck the pin into the wall the night before. What a wonderful miracle!

She then remembered the words of the star-gazer, and shuddered.

She showed her father the dead snake still dangling from the pin and told him what happened.

"This is indeed a miracle," Rabbi Akiba said. "Tell me, daughter, what did you do yesterday? There must have been some special Mitzvah that you performed yesterday to have been saved from this."

"Well, the only thing that I can remember is that; last night, when everybody was busy with the preparations for my wedding, a poor man came in, but nobody seemed to notice him, for they were so busy. I saw that the poor man was very hungry, so I took my portion of the wedding-feast and gave it to him."

Rabbi Akiba had always known that his daughter was very devoted to the poor, but this was something special, and he was very happy indeed. "Tzedoko (charity) delivereth from death," he exclaimed.

OYYY she's SOOOO cute!!! K"eh....

"You have shown me your true colours.
They do not go with my palate."

Shelly.

"After all is said and done, more is said than done."

TZEDOKO (#1)

The Hebrew word for charity is "Tzedaka". However, Tzedaka is more that just charity.
Charity implies kindness performed out the goodness of one's heart, but which is by no means obligatory.
Tzedakah, on the other hand, means "doing right, Justice," implying an obligation to help others -- financially, materially, spiritually and in any way possible.

Besides the many commandments in the Torah instructing us to love our fellow man and be kind to the poor in specific ways, there is also an explicit commandment to "open your hand" to the poor, to give or loan them whatever they need. Jewish law requires us to give at least a tenth of our income to charity.

Charity boxes are an old Jewish tradition. During the period of the First Temple in Jerusalem, we find the first charity box: The Temple was falling into a poor state of repair, so the High Priest made a hole in the cover of a box, which he placed near the entrance before the altar, so that all contributions could be dropped in there.

During most of history, charity boxes were placed in the synagogue.

Now, it is the custom to have charity boxes in every home .

Besides giving donations directly to beggars who stretch out their hand we should regularly place coins in these boxes. Times especially appropriate for this is before prayer, and before the start of Sabbaths and Holidays -- particularly women before lighting Sabbath and Holiday candles.

PARSHA/Va'ayra

Our ancestors in Egypt were slaving away for years. Then Moses appeared and began making promises. He brings them a message from G-d that they are about to be redeemed. That there is a Promised Land ahead. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

The Jews' response? And they did not listen to Moses out of shortness of breath and from the hard labor.

A commentary explains that they weren't able to heed Moses' call - not only from physical breathlessness, but because they lacked the spirit. Having suffered in bondage for so long, they no longer had the faith or hope to believe that freedom was still in the realm of the possible. It was simply beyond them. They had lost the spirit and therefore, they could not hear, meaning they could not absorb, Moses' message.

It happens all too often. We may become so set in our simple ways that we give up hope of ever achieving a breakthrough. We simply lose our resolve.

There is a wise saying from of the legendary Chasid, Reb Mendel Futerfas. "If you lose your money, you've lost nothing. Money comes and money goes. If you lose your health, you've lost half. You are not the person you were before. But if you lose your resolve, you've lost it all."

Moses brought new hope to a depressed, dreamless nation. He gave them back the spirit they had lost and eventually, through the miracles of G-d, the promise was fulfilled and the dream became destiny.

To be out of breath is normal. To be out of spirit is something the Jewish People can never afford.

May we never lose the spirit!

"Marrakesh"

Mincha @ Chabad/Persian shul in "Marrakesh" -

flashbacked to -

the Mincha @ Me'oras Hamechpelo.

No description can do, the feeling experienced, justice.

24th of Teves

One of the main purposes of the souls descent into this world (in addition to Torah study) is to do a favour to another Jew in whatever way possible.


Alter Rebbe

What happens when a fly falls into a coffee cup?

The Italian - throws the cup, breaks it, and walks away in a fit of rage.

The German - carefully washes the cup, sterilizes it and makes a new cup of coffee.

The Frenchman - takes out the fly, and drinks the coffee.

The Chinese - eats the fly and throws away the coffee.

The Russian - Drinks the coffee with the fly, since it was extra with no charge.

The Israeli - sells the coffee to the Frenchman, the fly to the Chinese, makes a cup of tea for himself and uses the extra money to invent a device that prevents flies from falling into cups.

The Palestinian - blames the Israeli for the fly falling in his cup, protests the act of aggression to the UN, takes a loan from the European Union to buy a new cup of coffee, uses the money to purchase explosives and then blows up the coffee house where the Italian, the Frenchman, the Chinese, the German and the Russian are all trying to explain to the Israeli that he should give away his cup of tea to the Palestinian.

L'tzaareinu harav.

PARSHA/Shmot

Parashat Shmot, it describes the beginning of bondage for the Jewish people in Egypt. Moses experiences his first official Divine revelation at the Burning Bush where he is told to confront the Pharaoh and demand that he "Let My people go."

Moses asks G-d what have the Jewish people done to deserve such a miraculous redemption? To which the Almighty answers him...this is your sign that I have sent you: when you take the people out of Egypt, you will serve G-d on this mountain.

...it was not necessarily for what they had done in the past that he was ready to redeem the Jewish people, but for what He anticipated for them in the future. On this very mountain that the burning bush has occurred they would receive His Torah; they would become His chosen messengers to be a light unto the nations. Never mind what they did or didn't do in the past. G-d had big plans for this nation and it would all begin with the impending Exodus.

What a powerful message for all of us. Sometimes, the kindness G-d does for us is not because of what we've been but rather what it would enable us to become. It's not for what we have already done but for what we still will do. So should any of us be the beneficiaries of a special blessing from Above, instead of patting ourselves on the back and concluding that we must have done something wonderful to be rewarded, let us rather ask ourselves what G-d might be expecting us to do with this particular blessing in the future. How can we use it to further His work on earth?

Special blessings carry with them special responsibilities. May each of us successfully develop all the potential G-d sees in us and use it for our moral development and to somehow better the world around us.

Da beach. duh!

Today.

"There is a dream, a vision, deep within my heart...."

It is difficult to breathe when the air is thick.
I dream for wrinkles to be smoothed, for relationships to be ironed -
before the opportunity is missed.
I envision harmonization.
And if not now, then when?
Tomorrow may be too late.

PRAYER (3) Question

"I've been struggling with my prayers." said the man to his Rabbi. "I find it difficult to motivate myself to pray properly. And sometimes, I just don't find myself in the mood to pray at all. What do you suggest, Rabbi?"

"There will always be times when we aren't in the mood to pray, to learn, or do a mitzvah", the Rabbi began. "One would think that forcing ourselves to do so anyways would result in dry acts, divorced from any real connection to G‑d. But in truth, it is times such as these that really demonstrate our deepest connection with our Father in heaven.

In other words, to do a mitzvah when it's enjoyable and inspiring is fine, but it can be difficult to know whether you're doing it for G‑d or to satisfy your own spiritual needs. But on days when you're not interested... and you do it anyways... think to yourself: "This is for YOU, G‑d!" And G‑d gets incredible satisfaction from such acts!

However, we should find ways to make prayer more meaningful for us.

We may not understand the meanings of the words we utter, but if our prayers are offered with simple faith and total sincerity they are beloved and acceptable.

PRAYER (2)

In Hebrew, the word for Prayer, is Tefillah.
One of the translations for Tefilla means "attachment".
When we pray, we create a bond between ourselves and our Creator. It connects us. It unites us.

The Zohar explains, that when Yakov had a dream where he saw a ladder standing on the ground and reaching into the heavens and angels going up and down the ladder, the ladder symbolizes - prayer. By way of the ladder of prayer we are able to rise up and elevate ourselves to the highest level.
Prayer, Tefilla, is the link between lower and higher, between earth and heaven between body and soul.
The soul climbs higher and higher: step by step, drawn upwards by its love for G-d, until it becomes fully absorbed in the Light of the Infinite, blessed be He.

WAR IN GAZA....

"I say that if for them 1000 killed is without any meaning, for us every one is a world unto itself. But I say that we will continue striking with all our might, with all our power, until there is quiet," said the prime minister.

(Hakdomo to) PRAYER (#1)

Upon arising in the morning -
One should be aware of the fact that G-d always stands near him and observes his doings, for G-d fills the whole earth with His glory. Therefore, one should be cautious at all times to keep his behavior, affairs, and speech at their very best, since he is in the presence of the Great King, the Almighty.
Upon awakening, one should consider the mercy of G-d, who graciously restores man's invigorated soul to him each morning.
To express this gratitude one should say the following prayer called Modeh-Ani:

מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה, רבה אמונתך

"I thank Thee, O living and eternal King, because Thou hast graciously restored my soul to me; great is Thy faithfulness."

Yehudah, the son of Tema, said: "Be strong as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and mighty as a lion to do the will of thy father who is in heaven."

"Strong as a leopard" means that no man should be ashamed if people should mock him for serving G-d.

"Light as an eagle" refers to the vision of the eye. Be swift to shut your eyes from looking at evil things, for this may lead to sin.

"Swift as a deer" refers to the legs. Your feet should run swiftly to do good.

"Mighty as a lion" refers to the heart. A man should strengthen his heart, by conquering his evil inclinations, and engage only in the service of G-d.

As soon as one awakens, he should be ready to serve his Creator.

WAR IN GAZA....

Wurzelbacher said the full story of Israel's campaign against Hamas is being passed over by the mainstream news outlets. He said the media is "demonizing Israel instead of recognizing it as the victim of Gaza militants," who have been incessantly firing thousands of rockets at its south.

"It's asinine when someone is firing upon you and the world is coming down on you," he said. "Common sense has gone out the window. Hamas hides among its own people causing civilian casualties," he added. "But I hear no cry out from the international community."