REENACTMENT OF THE WATER LIBATION HELD TO PREPARE FOR THE THIRD TEMPLE
All posts by adongabriel
The Great Commentary of Tanach AlephBeta
What AlephBeta unique?
1. AlephBeta strives to give a modern medium to an ancient message.
They make stunning animated videos and slickly-produced audios on the parsha, holidays, prayers, and many other topics that present Torah ideas in an easy-to-consume way. I know it’s weird to compliment ourselves, but this is sort of like an interview – right? So we’re supposed to list our strengths!
In a world where you could be watching Netflix and YouTube, AlephBeta wants you here with them, experiencing the timeless wisdom of Torah in a way that stands up to the best production value the secular world has to offer. (And if you ask us about our weaknesses…it’s that they care too much 😉
Parashat Naso
Rabbi Chaim Richman has been apart of my life since 2002, when I met him in Jerusalem, Israel, for the first time. To this day, when I study the Torah and look to it’s great insights, I find myself looking for my dear friend and his great insight into the Tree of Life. Come, and eat my friend’s, and hold on to her, for all her paths are peace.
JUDAISM and CHRISTIANITY: The Parting of the Ways – Rabbi Eli Cohen
Jews for Judaism
32K subscribers
JUDAISM and CHRISTIANITY: The Parting of the Ways – with Rabbi Eli Cohen
Many people know that the religion that became Christianity originally began as a movement within Judaism. What is less well understood is how this transformation actually took place. This presentation examines the critical embryonic departure from Judaism that led to a total unraveling of Christianity from its Jewish roots.
• JEWS FOR JUDAISM is an outreach organization whose primary goal is to win back to Judaism those Jews who have been influenced by the following six threats to Jewish survival that are devastating the global Jewish community.
- Hebrew-Christian missionaries convert thousands of Jews worldwide every year
- Destructive cults cause many Jews to abandon family, friends and careers
- Eastern religions, Buddhism and Hinduism are spiritual choices for many Jews
- Apathy and ignorance leave many Jews unaware, unaffiliated and assimilated
- Intermarriage is exploding with a 75% rate in some North American cities
- Anti-Israel BDS on campus inhibits Jewish students from standing up for Israel and Judaism
To assist non-Jews who have left other religions, JEWS FOR JUDAISM also provides educational programs to help them embrace the Torah’s Seven Noachide Laws for Gentiles.
We achieve our goals through our worldwide Internet outreach, Social Media, free educational programs, educational literature and counseling services that connect Jewish people to the spiritual depth, beauty and wisdom of Judaism.
“I am so grateful to have discovered the wonderful Jews for Judaism YouTube lectures by Rabbi Skobac. I am a Jew who converted to Christianity in college, but now, thanks to your online outreach, I have returned to Judaism. Thank you.” – Rebecca G.
In a nutshell, Jews for Judaism saves Jewish lives and keeps Jews Jewish.
PLEASE SUPPORT JEWS FOR JUDAISM’S LIFE-SAVING WORK!
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From Disillusioned Catholic to Passionate Jew – Daniel Ventresca – Jews for Judaism
This Week’s Torah Portion | Bo
In last week’s Parsha, the purpose of the plagues had a distinct quality to it. It was a harsh education for Egypt. But the plagues weren’t just there to have devastating physical effects upon Egypt, they were also there to teach them something; that there was a one God, a Creator, Master of all these various different forces in nature. It all came down to one God. The plagues, in short, were for the phrase, “v’yad’u Mitzraim ki-ani HaShem,” ‘and Egypt shall know that I am God’ and, vicariously, through Egypt, the World. All of that changes in this week’s Parsha. – See more at: www.alephbeta.org Short summary: Rabbi Fohrman discusses deep Torah insights about the ten plagues in Egypt (Mitzrayim)…Were that really so necessary? He explores the 7th plague, the transitional one, and argues that God played off of Pharaoh’s ego to show Pharaoh, the people of Egypt and the people of Israel, that only God is all-powerful.
Parashat Va’yera וַיֵּרָ֤א
Genesis 18 – 22
א וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃
ב וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּה֙ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים נִצָּבִ֖ים עָלָ֑יו וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רָץ לִקְרָאתָם֙ מִפֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ אָֽרְצָה׃
A coversation with my Rabbi.
For the last several weeks I have had a wonderful conversation with my Rabbi about the beginning of Bereshit and the message that Hashem has given us through the Torah. One of the central questions that have to be answered in the story of Adam and Hava is why. Why? What is the purpose of this story and why has the majority of religions perceived this story as one of sin and punishment?
What if there another story, that is not so popular. One that belongs to the original holders of the Torah. What if Adam and Hava followed the path that has lead every one of their children to have a place in the world of Tikkun?
Did Adam and Hava really sin? Or, did they simply obey, and fixed the world that was outside the Garden? A world that was the lowest part. Judaism believes that sometimes one has to sin to do something greater. Not, the means justify the end, but something, that has to be done, to bring about the will of Hashem, that is greater than the moment.
You may ask, how did they fix the world? Look at this world and all its problems. This is not a world I would want for anyone, you might say. Yes, this world has a million and one problems or should I say six billion problems. And this is the beauty of it all. We all have a garden to make and a world to keep.
What if you were and Doctor and no one ever got sick or became ill. Being a doctor was your only job forever. What would you do in a world that? A perfect world.
I’m not claiming to know the mind of Hashem. Or, why things are so terrible in this world. I can only see that there are some very beautiful people in this world and they make this world worthwhile.
You see, now, I have an obligation to humanity and also, to Hashem, every day. I have to emulate Hashem in this world. To care for the stranger and the widow and the orphan. To care for my fellow Jew. To visit the ones in prison. To feed the hungry and to care for my family. To teach them the way of righteousness and judgment. To teach them the way of our fathers and mothers.
Being Jewish is a practice and not something that one ever learns completely. We are always learning and practicing. And yes, many times we miss the mark. It is something you do every day. Day in and day out, whether you feel like it or not. Our faith requires that we take responsibility for this world and not try to give it to someone else. In the end, Hashem is asking each one of us, “where have you gone”?
Rabbi Fohrman Aleph-Beta
My life has been a journey of unknowns. Always moving toward a place that seems to always move. I have questioned where I am, and where am I going, and what does it mean to find something that can not be seen.
One thing I know is that my heart and eyes cannot be trusted to guide along the way. But only by holding on to what my forefathers have to say. Where do they speak to me you might ask?
Well, they are words that have come from a long history pasted. Traditions that no other people have had. This is what has lead me to the future… and has connected me to the covenant that shall never past.
Choose to be chosen. Be Jewish.
Herzog College
The Place you should go to study Tanach every day.
Parashat Tezaveh Exodus 27 – 30 The Light and The Mishkan
Parashat Tezaveh “AND YOU”
Exodus 27 – 30
כ וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה ׀ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד׃
The words of Moshe Rabbenu still speaks to us today. “And you”. What kind of light and what kind of holiness can I bring to this world?
I once had a dream of changing the world, I could see myself, so clearly, accomplishing so many great things and making such a difference in this world. I could feel the greatest and the taste of joy from the many things that would be. The flash of lightning that lit up the road before me was so overwhelming. I could see every pitfall and turn in the way. My vision was so clear and there was nothing to detour me is what I would always say.
But then, life began to restrain me and restrict my way. I felt as if the road became narrower and confined my way. I could no longer even see a road. My life had grown overcast and gray. The light that once shined and lit the way before me had gone just like the day. What had happened? Why is life filled with dismay? Why is life so wasted and filled with decay?
“And You”, Moshe commanded us to take the pure olive oil. The oil that was meant for holiness and to burn in the menorah in the holy place.
Why does Hashem the light of the world need a menorah in the Temple or the Mishkan?
Shemot 25:8(8) וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Here we find two words “מִקְדָּ֑שׁ” and “שָׁכַנְ” that are the clues to life.
Rabbi Akiva Tatz in his lecture on Journey to the Self – Inspiration & Disappointment. speaks of two lights. A greater light and a lesser light. Rabbi Tatz says that this is the secret to happiness and the secret of life. If one does not understand these two lights and how they work in our lives then we are destined to find ourselves in the story above. Restained and restricted and never able to find our way.
The first light is free and it is given to us by Hashem. There is nothing we do, it is a gift. The second light we must shine. That is where the work begins!
The first commandment given to us was to sanctify time and to create this world a new. And then we were to make a space in this world for Hashem to dwell.
How are you doing?
More to come on this subject…