Podcasts about chagim

Welcoming is an essential part of the Jewish tradition and a key to spirituality. I'll discuss my take on how I and so many others at Temple Emanuel work to create a welcoming – a hamish – community for our congregants and all who enter the shul. I'll look at Genesis 18 – what I've always considered the “ushers' parsha – and Abraham's response to seeing three angels outside his tent. A central theme will be one espoused by Rabbi Gardenswartz and others – that God lives in the space between us and thereby the importance of connection and creating a caring community. I'll also point to what I consider the seminal contributions made by Rabbi Ron Wolfson when he consulted here 15 or 20 years ago and literally wrote the book “The Spirituality of Welcoming.” Further, I'll bring my perspective on ushering at TE for the past quarter century, my 25 or so years on the Board of Directors and other shul roles, and my learning and practicing Mussar for the past seven years. And I'll make sure to thank my wife, Sandy, whose contributions to the shul dwarf mine in every respect.About Rick ThauAs descibed by Rick himself: Sandy and I joined TE in 1984 when she was pregnant with our first son, David. We started coming to services Friday nights and Saturday mornings about a decade later and haven't stopped. I said Kaddish for 11 months for two grandparents and my father, have kept coming to morning minyan (the best) virtually every day since my father died in 2017, have been part of the Elyse Friedman-led Bereavement Committee for about 15 years — leading dozens of shiva minyan services since — started the shul softball team about 20 years, cooked a gazillion hot dogs and burgers at the shul BBQ since the days of the old shul, ate more egg salad at Kiddish than any congregant ever, and a few other things, likely of little consequence. Basically, I help out as I can given my limited skills. I began ushering in the 1990s back in the days of the peerless Irwin Sydney and Haskell Shapiro, z'ls both, which adds up to well over 1,018 services on Shabbos, the Holidays, and the Chagim. Every day at TE has been a blessing. The place has provided me and, I firmly believe, anyone who enters the building the opportunity to grow, connect, and become a better person and better Jew. Along the way, I made my living as a writer, editor, and general nuisance in politics, government, and the tech and finance industries, ending with 22 years at Fidelity.

Welcome to Daily Bitachon Welcome to Daily Bitachon. Having completed Sha'ar Habechina , we are now going to switch to a more timely topic. We find ourselves in the month of Tammuz , which brings the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, followed by the month of Av and its respective fast. I would like to spend some time understanding the deeper dimensions of these months. Personally, seeing how perfectly planned and intricate the events of Jewish history are always provides a powerful chizuk in emunah , which naturally leads to deeper bitachon . To fully appreciate this, we need some background. We are not in a rush, so we will take our time to truly understand it. This framework is based largely on the teachings of the Ben Ish Chai (in Parashat Devarim ), where he discusses these concepts at length. The Three Dimensions of Conflict: Place, Person, and Time First, the Ben Ish Chai notes that the twelve months of the year are fundamentally broken down into four sets of three, aligned with the solar cycle—what we know as the four seasons. Secondly, we know that from the womb, there was a perpetual struggle between Yaakov and Esav . They fought over everything in existence, categorized by the classic framework of Place, Person, and Time . These are the three core dimensions of our existence: a person lives in a place and moves through time . Place: They struggled over the land of Eretz Yisrael . Person: They struggled over who would hold the status of the Bechorah (the birthright). Time: They struggled over who would control the different seasons of the year. The Summer Cycle: Grabbing the Heel Looking at the summer cycle, Yaakov claimed the spring months of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan —the three months of Chodesh Ha'aviv . This is a beautiful, spiritually rich period: Nissan contains Pesach, Iyar holds the bulk of Sefirat Ha'omer, and Sivan brings Matan Torah. Yaakov Avinu fought for these three wonderful months and claimed them as his own. Then, the intense heat of the summer begins—a period of strict, intense judgment. This is where Esav takes over. This aligns with the fact that Esav calculates by the sun, and the sun is at its strongest during this time. Esav was originally slated to receive Tammuz, Av, and Elul . However, the Torah emphasizes that Yaakov grabbed Esav's heel at birth, earning him the name Yaakov (from Ekev , meaning heel). This teaches us that each of these three-month cycles has a "heel," or a tail end. Yaakov pulled the heel of this summer cycle—the month of Elul —back into his own domain. This converted what would have been an equal three-and-three split into an unequal four-month to two-month split in favor of Yaakov. The Winter Cycle: Venahapoch Hu We see the exact same pattern repeat during the winter months. Tishrei, Cheshvan, and Kislev belong to Yaakov. Tishrei is the month of the High Holidays. Cheshvan, though it contains no holidays, serves as the time to review and process the spiritual gains of the Chagim . Finally, Kislev brings the light of Chanukah. The next three months— Tevet, Shevat, and Adar —should have belonged to Esav. Tevet contains the fast of Asara B'Tevet . Shevat shares a root with the word Shevet , which means a whipping stick or a staff of judgment, signifying that Shevat also carries an element of strict justice. Adar was also supposed to belong to Esav, but once again, Yaakov grabbed the heel of the cycle and pulled Adar back. This is the deeper secret behind the phrase Venahapoch hu —it was completely turned around. Ultimately, this leaves Esav with only four distinct months of intense judgment throughout the year: Tammuz, Av, Tevet, and Shevat . The Spiritual Mechanics of Heat and Cold It is fascinating to see how something as everyday as the twelve months and the changing seasons trace back to the foundational conflict between Yaakov and Esav. Furthermore, the winter and summer concepts relate directly to the ideas of severe cold and severe heat. What do hot and cold have to do with our spiritual lives? It might sound intense, but our tradition teaches that while Gehenom is made of fire—which is what most people know—there is also a Gehenom of snow. There is a realm of extreme heat (like the Sahara Desert) and a realm of extreme cold (like the North Pole). Both are incredibly difficult environments for life. These two extremes correspond to the two primary ways we stumble: Intense Heat: This represents the burning pursuit of desires and lust. Intense Cold: This represents a state of freezing, spiritual paralysis, and laziness. In the winter months, our primary challenge is to overcome the "cold" of laziness and not simply stay in bed. In the summer months, our challenge is to control the "heat" and not follow our desires. The Gehenom of fire is the consequence of chasing unbridled passion, while the Gehenom of snow is for frozen apathy. Esav is constantly trying to entrap us in these two areas. As Rashi notes, when Esav walked in to receive a blessing from his father Yitzchak, Yitzchak saw Gehenom open up behind him. Esav is the one who ultimately aligns with Gehenom , while Yaakov and his children inherit Gan Eden and Olam HaBa . Historical Precision as a Source of Chizuk These spiritual dynamics repeat themselves every single year. As we overcome the specific trials of the summer and winter, we emerge clean. The calendar is not random or haphazard. Tammuz and Av are months of strict judgment because they are Esav's remaining summer months of intense, severe heat. It is no coincidence that this was the exact time of year the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed by fire. The historical convergence is remarkable. The First Beit HaMikdash , the Second Beit HaMikdash , the Spanish Inquisition, and the outbreaks of both World War I and World War II all heavily converged around this specific window of the year. Rav Eliyahu Lopian once beautifully remarked that if the enemy only realized that the Jewish people actually derive a chizuk in emunah from the fact that these tragic events repeatedly happen at the exact same calendar window, they would have intentionally chosen a different time to attack us! Recognizing that everything is so precisely designed and orchestrated by Hakadosh Baruch Hu is profoundly comforting. It serves to strengthen our emunah and bitachon , giving us the tools to navigate and elevate these challenging times of the year.

Why did the silver trumpets in the Mishkan have to be hammered from a single piece of metal? And what do trumpets used for journeys, war, and Chagim have in common?In Parshas Behaaloscha, Rabbi Prisman uncovers the unifying message of the chatzotzros. Through the story of an elite IDF soldier who never knows where his blacked-out bus will take him - dropped in desert or beach, always on the move - he brings the parsha's "al pi Hashem" to life. Drawing from the Shlah Hakadosh, Rav Hirsch, and the Sefer Hachinuch, he shows that the trumpet is always a wake-up call: in movement, in danger, and in celebration alike.He closes with a story from Rav Elazar Abish about a man whose rebbe mailed back his letter of complaint with every "I" and "me" circled. The message is the same one the trumpet has been sounding all along - are you a Hashem-centric Jew or an egocentric one?