Podcasts about one shabbat

The Rambam, in Hilchot Talmud Torah (3:12), writes that one cannot achieve success in Torah learning if he learns in a relaxed manner, and only when learning is convenient and comfortable. Like anything else in life, a person excels only through persistence, diligence, and hard work. "Dabbling" in Torah will not result in Torah scholarship – just like "dabbling" in any other field will not lead to mastery or excellence in that field. There are no shortcuts to achievement in Torah study. Rav Mordechai Gifter (1915-2001), Rosh Yeshiva of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, would say that a lot of students want to learn the entire Shas in one night – and also manage to sleep eight hours that night…and to learn while sipping soda… Quite obviously, this is not how it works. A person can succeed in Torah learning only if he is prepared to put in the time, work and effort, and to learn even when conditions are far less than ideal. This includes learning even when one feels tired. Although a person should certainly sleep as much as he needs, he should ensure to use the rest of his time for Torah learning, and not for sleeping beyond what he needs for his physical and emotional wellbeing. Many sources emphasize the particular importance and value of learning Torah during the nighttime hours. In fact, the Gemara (Erubin 65a) states explicitly that the nighttime period was designated specifically for Torah learning. And the Rambam writes in Hilchot Talmud Torah (3:13): "Even though it is a Misva to study both during the day and at night, it is only at night that a person acquires the majority of his wisdom. Therefore, whoever wishes to merit the "Crown of Torah" should be careful with all of his nights, not wasting even one of them on sleep, eating, drinking, idle chatter, or the like—rather, [spending them] in the study of Torah and words of wisdom." The Rambam concludes: "And any house in which the words of Torah are not heard at night will be consumed by fire." If one's "fire" – his passion, his excitement and energy – is directed somewhere else other than Torah, then his home runs the risk, Heaven forbid, of being consumed by fire. The Torah tells (Bereshit 28:11) that when Yaakob was leaving Eretz Yisrael, and he reached the site where the Bet Ha'mikdash would be built, he went to sleep ("Va'yalen Sham"). The Midrash comments that Yaakob slept there – but did not sleep at all during the fourteen previous years, which he spent learning Torah in the yeshiva of Shem and Eber. The commentators explain that this cannot mean that he literally remained awake for fourteen years. Rather, it means that during that period, Yaakob never actually went to sleep in a bed. When he needed to, he put his head down, or found a place to lie so he could get the small amount of sleep that he needed. In order to achieve in Torah learning, one must be prepared to sacrifice physical comfort, and to keep his sleep to a minimum. A different passage in the Midrash tells that King David would go to sleep at nightfall, but he kept a musical instrument by his bedroom window, that served as a kind of "alarm clock." At Hasot (midnight), the wind would blow the strings, producing music, and David would wake up to learn Torah. The Yeser Ha'ra (evil inclination) would try to convince him to go back to sleep, saying that kings normally enjoy the luxury of sleeping late, as they do not have to rise early for work like the commoners. But David would ignore the Yeser Ha'ra and spend the rest of the night engrossed in Torah study. The Gemara (Sukka 26b) instructs that if a person needs to sleep during the day, he should sleep for only a brief amount. Elsewhere (Erubin 65a), the Gemara relates that Rav Hisda's daughter asked why he slept so little, and he replied that soon – after his passing – he would have plenty of time for sleep… Our limited time here in this world should be used productively, and not wasted on excessive rest and relaxation. The Midrash Tanhuma (Parashat Noah, 3) warns that in order to succeed in learning the intricate material of the Torah She'be'al Peh, one cannot aspire to wealth and luxuries; the only way to excel in Torah learning is by sacrificing physical and material comforts. Similarly, Tana De'beh Eliyahu Zuta (14) warns that excessive eating and sleeping leads to "poverty" in the area of Torah knowledge. Normally, when a person stays up late at night and sleeps only the minimum that he requires, he is likely to appear the next day pale, drained, and bleary-eyed, and might not be very pleasant to look at. However, the Gemara (Hagiga 12a) promises that if a person spends his night learning Torah, Hashem "casts a cord of Hesed" over him. This means that he will have a certain "charm" the next day, earning people's admiration and favor despite his fatigue. In a different passage (Sanhedrin 71b), the Gemara teaches that when the righteous sleep, they and the entire world suffer a loss. As the Sadikim spend their time productively, involved in meaningful pursuits that benefit them and the entire world, they and the world lose as a result of the time they spend sleeping. (Conversely, then, when the wicked sleep – and thus are not engaged in their sinful behavior – they and the entire world benefit from their inactivity.) The Gemara in Masechet Menahot (110a) teaches that scholars who spend their nights learning Torah are considered as though they offer sacrifices in the Bet Ha'mikdash. And in Masechet Tamid (32b), the Gemara states that if a person learns Torah at night, the Shechina accompanies him wherever he goes. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Ta'anit 3a) cites Rav Ada Bar Ahaba as avowing that he never slept an entire night, as he always rose early to learn Torah. The Reshit Hochma ( Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas, 1518–1587) writes that when one learns Torah at night, he is not seen; his study is private, without publicity and fanfare, and this lends it a very special quality. Since he learns secretly, he is worthy of having the hidden secrets of the Torah revealed to him. An especially stern passage appears in Abot De'Rabbi Natan (29:3), warning that if a person is awake at night and not involved in Torah learning, "he would be better off had he been strangled at birth." Rabbenu Yona (Spain, 1200-1263) writes that if a person stays awake at night learning Torah, then he obviates the need for Yisurin (punishments). Since he subjects himself to the discomfort of remaining awake to learn Torah, this counts for whichever kinds of suffering he needs to experience. This is alluded to by the verse in Tehillim (94:12), "Ashreh Ha'geber Asher Teyaserenu Y-ah U'mi'Toratecha Telamedenu" – "Fortunate is the man whom G-d punished, and teaches him from his Torah." This can be read to mean that a person is fortunate if he receives his punishments by immersing himself in intensive Torah learning, exerting hard work and effort. Rabbenu Yona further notes that Moshe Rabbenu did not sleep at all throughout the forty days he spent atop Mount Sinai receiving the Torah – setting an example of minimizing sleep for the sake of Torah learning. If, Rabbenu Yona adds, a king invited someone to his treasury to collect as many riches as he could for a specific period of time, this man would certainly not sleep at all during that time, and would use every moment he could to collect riches. We, too, should use as much of our limited time in this world as we can for Torah learning, collecting spiritual "riches," rather than waste our time indulging in physical comforts. Rav Besalel Ashkenazi (Israel, 1520-1592) writes that in his youth, he spent his nights engaged in Torah study, often learning throughout the night without sleeping. He also occasionally skipped meals. It was through this sacrifice of physical comforts for Torah learning that he achieved Torah scholarship. The Reshit Hochma writes that his esteemed mentor, Rav Yosef Taychik (1465-1546), did not sleep in a bed for forty years, and would instead sit on an elevated piece of furniture with his legs dangling, such that he would not stay asleep for an extended period. He rose every night at midnight and spent the rest of the night learning Torah. And a disciple of Rav Yehonatan Eibshutz (1694-1764) testified that throughout the years he spent learning under him, Rav Yehonatan never slept in a bed, and instead dozed for brief periods in his chair. Rav Chaim Brim (Jerusalem, 1922-2002) related that the Hazon Ish (Rav Abraham Yeshaya Karelitz, 1878-1953) was once found sleeping on his bed in the wrong position – with his feet on the side where the head was supposed to be. The people told him to turn around, and he said, "If I had the strength to turn myself around, I would learn another Tosafot." The Hazon Ish continued learning Torah until he had no strength left, not even to turn his body around. Rav Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1868) wrote that if a person could see into the future, to the time when he would be in the grave, and understand the extent of the regret he would experience for not having used his time properly, he would never waste time, and he would minimize his sleep in order to spend more time learning Torah. Rav Palachi added that a person who rises at midnight to learn Torah earns the status of a "friend" of Hashem and of the Nation of Israel, and he will be spared punishments that befall the rest of the world. The Reshit Hochma notes that when rising at midnight to learn Torah, one should be driven solely by his genuine love for Hashem, and not by any ulterior motives. Only if his intentions are pure will he reap the precious rewards for learning Torah at night. The Reshit Hochma says that as a teenager, he devoted himself entirely to Torah study, engaging in virtually no other activities. The Peleh Yoetz (Rav Eliezer Papo, 1785-1828) urges us to train ourselves to sleep fewer hours and to learn Torah even when we feel drowsy, in order to maximize the amount of time we have to devote to Torah. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) discusses the great value of learning Torah in the predawn hours, adding that one's intentions should be for the sake of Hashem, and not to earn reward. The Tchebiner Rav (1881-1965) had the practice on Shabbat afternoons of testing schoolchildren on their Torah studies. One Shabbat afternoon, a boy knocked on his door, but there was no answer, as the Rabbi was sleeping. The youngster continued knocking until the Rabbi answered. The Rabbi gently told the boy that if nobody answers the door on Shabbat afternoon, this usually means that the people in the home are asleep. "I didn't think that the Rabbi slept on Shabbat afternoon!" The Tchebiner Rav committed to never sleep again on Shabbat afternoon, acknowledging that this was the expectation of a sage of his stature. From all these sources, we see the importance of learning Torah even when one feels tired, and that we must try to push ourselves to achieve to the best of our ability rather than spend our free time relaxing and learning only when it is easy and convenient.

We begin the Fifth book of the Torah this week, thebook of Devarim. We have mentioned many times that the Rabbis teach us thatthis book made up primarily of Moshe Rabeynu's final speech and testament wasan optional book to be included at Moses discretion. The first three portionsfeature Moses narrating a brief history of the past four decades to those aboutto enter the land (see our short class on Deravim, memory and Tisha BeAb). אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨רדִּבֶּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּעֵ֖בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן בַּמִּדְבָּ֡רבָּֽעֲרָבָה֩ מ֨וֹל ס֜וּף בֵּֽין־פָּארָ֧ן וּבֵֽין־תֹּ֛פֶל וְלָבָ֥ן וַחֲצֵרֹ֖תוְדִ֥י זָהָֽב׃ The Rabbis teach us that these words refer to placesand hint at where the Jews sinned in the desert. But then Moses adds one moreplace, “Di Zahav.” There was once a gaon, philosopher and kabbalist,Rebbi Yehudah Aryeh of Modena z”l (1571-1648) who has a book called “Ari Nohem”and responsa. This gaon was graced by Hashem with a great talent for learning,his was literally a fulfilment of the passuk, “the words of his palate aresweet and he is all delight” [Shir HaShirim 5:16]. He lived in Venice andduring his time there was a huge bet knesset in the city which could seat athousand men. On Sunday the gabbaim came to the rav's home. Theysaid to him, “Kavod harav we have brought you something, not chas veshalom as apayment, for it is impossible to paid his honor for the words more preciousthan gold and fine gold, just a token due to ‘appreciation', we brought hishonor a gold watch!” The rav saw and accepted the watch. The gabbaim said tohim, “Kavod harav, his honor saw how much the congregation benefitted from hiswords on Shabbat, do us a favor for Hashem's sake and darshen before us alsothis coming Shabbat, this is a matter of meriting the many!” The rav responded,“I cannot! It is difficult for me to make the journey to you on Shabbat!” Thegabbaim said to him, “How hard is it? Since this Shabbat his honor already cameto us, if so, just like on one Shabbat his honor was able to walk, so shall hedo also on this coming Shabbat!” The rav answered them, “Fine, I will come alsothis Shabbat! One Shabbat and that will be enough!” On the next day, Sunday, again the gabbaim arrivedat the rav's home, they said to him, “Kavod harav the payment which his honoris entitled to has no bounds, but we have just brought a token gift, theyproduced an expensive chandelier and presented it to the rav.” Immediatelyafterwards they again pressured the rav that he come again on the next Shabbatto the bet knesset to darshan for a third time since “a three-ply cord Is noteasily severed” [see Kohelet 4:12] and the rav's words in a further derashah willcertainly make a tremendous impression! The gabbaim were astonished. “What's the connection?Why is the rav not prepared to accept the gifts?” The rav replied to them, “Iwill respond with a parable. A person entered a watch shop. He was interestedin a unique expensive gold watch, he paid the full price and immediately infront of the seller he took the watch and threw it on the floor smashing it athis feet! The shop keeper won't be angry with such a person, since he paid forthe watch, on the contrary perhaps now he will buy another watch! ‘The analogy is as follows. I see that I gavederashot in the bet knesset three times. Indeed, the congregation wereattentive and very much enjoyed them, but I didn't notice that the wordsinfluenced them to change their ways, and why is this? Because they know thatthe gabbaim took money from the congregation's funds, and bought gifts from it!If so, the feeling of the congregation is that they paid me for the derashot!And now they don't care to address things in a practical level! In contrast tothis, when I speak for free and the congregation hear the derashah and theyknow that I don't receive payment for it, they won't be brazened to despise thematters, the rav stands and makes every effort in his old age to darshan, surely,they will learn that they must change their ways!” I would like to share an alternative answer as wellbased on a reading of the Gemara in Berachot which tells us that We must clarify: What is the meaning of and DiZahav? The Sages of the school of Rabbi Yannai said that Moses said thefollowing before the Holy One, Blessed be He, to atone for Israel after the sinof the Golden Calf: Master of the Universe, because of the gold and silver thatyou lavished upon Israel during the exodus from Egypt until they said enough[dai]; it was this wealth that caused Israel to make the Golden Calf. A grandson of Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt”l,a Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh in Bnei Brak, bought a gift for his grandparents – abeautiful mirror nameplate for their front door, completely customized with theHebrew name “Lefkowitz” engraved – a standard household ornament in Israel.However, a few weeks went by and the front door remained bare. Lefkowitzdid not put up the nameplate. Rav Binyamin Kamenetzky, zt”l offers thefollowing explanation. Before the evil inclination, yetzer horah, became a partof man's inner being, man was pure. He was able to withstand the pressure anddesires for physical pleasure and possessions. But after Adam sinned by eatingfrom the Tree of Knowledge, the evil inclination became part of him, and theinfamous daily struggle of man began. Who is strong enough to say enough? Only greatrabbis? No! I give tremendous credit to our children whosacrifice much to make Eretz Yisrael their home. In many ways, life is moreluxurious, care free and monetarily richer in the United States, but they andthose who have made Aliyah have in essence said, “di Zahav” – enough. This issomething human beings are rarely capable of doing. They have reached back tothe soul within them which connects to the soul of Adam before the sin. Andthis deserves, blessing, protection and the promises of Mashiach. They shouldbe blessed in happiness as Adam and Chava in Gan Eden. They should be blessedwith parnassa, health, peace and prosperity and through their sacrifice andexample, Hashem should bring Eliyahu as He promised!

The good deeds we do for people eases their minds and helps them continue on with their lives happily. The Gemara in Baba Batra says, whoever is constantly doing acts of tzedaka will merit to have children who are wise in Torah and financially secure. When a person is asked to help others, there's a natural yetzer hara that tries to dissuade him by telling him what a burden it's going to be. Our Chazal have given us ammunition to fight this yetzer hara by telling us how much more we gain when we help others. Rabbi Tzvi Nakar told a story about a woman who was married for six years without children. Her neighbor passed away from a serious illness leaving four orphans. The children's father was not completely functional. And so, heroically, they accepted to take care of the four orphans as their own. Miraculously, soon thereafter, without any medical intervention, she and her husband merited to have their own children, and baruch Hashem, they had many, many children. They took care of the orphans as well as their own children, and eventually they married off all four orphans. One Shabbat, they went out of town and allowed others to use their apartment while they were away. One of the guests carelessly lit her Shabbat candles on a plastic surface in one of the bedrooms, and it caught fire and spread very quickly. Baruch Hashem, nobody was harmed, but the apartment got destroyed. The owners of the home had no hard feelings towards them. They were the ones calming their negligent guests down, saying it was all min haShamayim , and they accepted it with love. In the fire, another miracle took place. Everything was burned except for the room in which the orphans slept. That room did not even have the smell of fire. In addition, there was a closet in a different room that had two shoe drawers at the bottom, which held the orphans' slippers. The entire closet got burned except for those two drawers. It was as if the orphans created a protective wall around everything that was theirs. After the fire, this family had incredible siyata d'Shamaya . A contractor offered to rebuild their apartment at cost price. A man who sold building materials, said that he wanted to donate all the materials for free. During the rebuilding, they added on three new rooms. Today, they have a large, spacious apartment with all of their children living happily in it. The fire was actually the catalyst for their brand new, large apartment to come about. They did a tremendous chesed in raising four orphans, and Hashem gave them children as a result. They did a chesed of lending out their apartment, which initially seemed to cause a loss. But in the end, Hashem only enlarged their apartment from it. The main beneficiaries of any chesed are always the ones who are providing the chesed .

The good deeds we do for people eases their minds and helps them continue on with their lives happily. The Gemara in Baba Batra says, whoever is constantly doing acts of tzedaka will merit to have children who are wise in Torah and financially secure. When a person is asked to help others, there's a natural yetzer hara that tries to dissuade him by telling him what a burden it's going to be. Our Chazal have given us ammunition to fight this yetzer hara by telling us how much more we gain when we help others. Rabbi Tzvi Nakar told a story about a woman who was married for six years without children. Her neighbor passed away from a serious illness leaving four orphans. The children's father was not completely functional. And so, heroically, they accepted to take care of the four orphans as their own. Miraculously, soon thereafter, without any medical intervention, she and her husband merited to have their own children, and baruch Hashem, they had many, many children. They took care of the orphans as well as their own children, and eventually they married off all four orphans. One Shabbat, they went out of town and allowed others to use their apartment while they were away. One of the guests carelessly lit her Shabbat candles on a plastic surface in one of the bedrooms, and it caught fire and spread very quickly. Baruch Hashem, nobody was harmed, but the apartment got destroyed. The owners of the home had no hard feelings towards them. They were the ones calming their negligent guests down, saying it was all min haShamayim , and they accepted it with love. In the fire, another miracle took place. Everything was burned except for the room in which the orphans slept. That room did not even have the smell of fire. In addition, there was a closet in a different room that had two shoe drawers at the bottom, which held the orphans' slippers. The entire closet got burned except for those two drawers. It was as if the orphans created a protective wall around everything that was theirs. After the fire, this family had incredible siyata d'Shamaya . A contractor offered to rebuild their apartment at cost price. A man who sold building materials, said that he wanted to donate all the materials for free. During the rebuilding, they added on three new rooms. Today, they have a large, spacious apartment with all of their children living happily in it. The fire was actually the catalyst for their brand new, large apartment to come about. They did a tremendous chesed in raising four orphans, and Hashem gave them children as a result. They did a chesed of lending out their apartment, which initially seemed to cause a loss. But in the end, Hashem only enlarged their apartment from it. The main beneficiaries of any chesed are always the ones who are providing the chesed .

THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 43, Chapter 12 We closed last week with discussing the establishment, purpose and ongoing relevance of the Sabbath. This stems from the opening verse of Matthew 12. CJB Matthew 12:1 One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking through some wheat fields. His talmidim were hungry, so they began picking […] The post Lesson 43 – Matthew 12 appeared first on Torah Class.

The Chovot HaLevavot writes that one of the benefits of being a bote'ach b'Hashem is that a person could stop feeling like he has to be a slave to others or like he has to impress others. When a person feels like he needs other people to help him, he'll naturally feel the burden of having to do whatever it takes to please those people. But if he knows Hashem is the only One in charge of giving him everything he could ever want, he will only need to focus on Hashem alone. It takes a lot of work to fully believe that people are just messengers and that everything that happens is only by the word of Hashem. But the closer we come to that realization, the closer we'll be to attaining full bitachon . A man who we'll call Rafael told that he has been praying in a certain shul for a number of years and, one day, a nearby shul closed its doors and many of the congregants began coming to his shul. One of those congregants was an elderly gentleman who sat down right next to Rafael and prayed next to him every day. Rafael was able to feel this man's tranquility and genuine happiness in life from getting to know him. Like everyone else in the shul, this gentleman got called up for an aliyah once every few weeks. It was never a special aliyah. Those were reserved for people who needed them. One Shabbat, on parashat Shemot , without any explanation, the gabai went over to this elderly gentleman and called him up for a special aliyah – aliyat Maftir . After he finished reading the Haftarah , the gabai then invited him to be the chazan for Musaf . Then, during the Kel Maleh Rachamim , this gentleman mentioned the name of his mother, aleha hashalom . The gabai asked him afterward if it was his mother's yahrtzeit that day, to which he replied yes. The gabai then said, “Why didn't you tell me in advance? Then for sure I would have given you the Maftir and Musaf .” The gentleman replied softly, with a smile on his face, that he never asks people for anything. As usual, he asked Hashem for help, namely to give him Maftir and Musaf and, lo and behold, he was invited for both of them. Rafael said what impressed him so much was that this gentleman didn't even view his getting Maftir and Musaf like a miracle. It was a matter of fact. He asked his Father to help him and He did. When Rafael spoke to this gentleman afterwards about that episode, he told him he developed such a close relationship with Hashem, he talks to Him all the time and everything that he ever needs, he only asks Him for. It is true that, in general, we are supposed to make a regular hishtadlut and use the natural means of the world which Hashem provided us with to get what we want. However, it is clear from pesukim and Chazal that the more bitachon a person develops, the less he needs to involve himself in the regular way of the world. The pasuk says, when a person puts his bitachon in Hashem, then והיה ה' מבטחו– Hashem will be his guarantor. Another pasuk says יהי חסדך ה' עלינו כאשר יחלנו לך – the kindness of Hashem upon a person depends on how much hope and bitachon the person puts in Him. Having bitachon is a mitzvah which provides benefits in this world as well. The pasuk says in parashat Behar ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גואל והשיגה ידו ונגאל. And the tzaddikim found a hint in this pasuk to the great rewards given to those who put their bitachon in Hashem. ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גואל – a man who does not put his trust in his relatives and truly understands that there is no other redeemer – then השיגה ידו ונגאל – he will get what he needs and be redeemed. אשרי הגבר אשר יבטח בה' – fortunate is the man who is able to have complete bitachon in Hashem.

A man said every year when spring comes, his allergies get very bad. His eyes get teary, his nose gets stuffy and his head starts to throb. He finds it very hard to function for the entire season. He tried every cure possible, including medications, herbs, acupuncture, and even Bach flower remedies, but nothing worked. This past year, his allergies began a whole month early, which meant two months of suffering instead of one. He begged Hashem from the bottom of his heart to cure him. He knew nothing could save him other than Hashem, and he prayed with that understanding. The next morning, he woke up like a new man. It was a miracle! The allergies were gone and they did not come back. He was overjoyed. Then he realized something about another challenge he and his wife were going through. His wife works at a job that demands more of her than others, but she is being paid even less than the other employees. The administration agreed that she deserves to be paid more, but the managers hadn't taken care of it yet. This had been going on for a very long time with no end in sight. He wondered why, for something so natural like a salary, they pray and pray and are not being answered, while to cure his allergies, one heartfelt prayer got the job done. He then answered his own question by saying, when he prayed for his allergies, he knew that only Hashem was the One who could help him, while for the salary there were a lot of connections that needed to be made and they were relying heavily upon those connections. Believing that Hashem is the only One who can help is a very high form of bitachon and it produces enormous merits which bring down a lot of beracha . One of the things we should be focusing on in our tefilot is that it is only Hashem who is going to determine if we get what we are asking for. We should also strengthen our emunah to believe that Hashem can do anything and no matter what a situation appears to be, He could always come to the rescue in the blink of an eye. It may seem that someone we are close to will never become observant, or will never change an opinion he has on something which bothers us, but with Hashem, everything is possible. I heard a story about a boy who became shomer Shabbat and was being ridiculed by every member of his family for doing so. They would constantly badger him, attempting to get him to violate Shabbat, but he wouldn't budge from his commitment to Hashem. The one who bothered him the most about it was his grandmother. One Shabbat afternoon, he was walking a long distance to shul as he always did and it was very hot out. As he was passing by his grandmother's house, he decided to quickly go in and get a cup of water. He didn't want to get into a confrontation with her, so he pushed the button code on her side door and went right into the kitchen. While he was there, he heard faint knocking. He checked the front door but no one was there. He heard it again and realized it was coming from the elevator shaft that his grandmother used to go from floor to floor. Turned out she had gotten stuck in the elevator and was already there for over 36 hours without any food or drink. He called Hatzala and they saved her life. He told his grandmother later, he was only walking at that time because he kept Shabbat and that's what saved her life. From that day on, her attitude changed about religion, and today, she herself is shomer Shabbat. Anything is possible. The more we believe in Hashem's abilities and sole control over everything, the more effective our tefilot will be.

There is a beautiful story about Rav Moshe Feinstein, with an explanation given by the Mashgiach of his Yeshiva on the Lower East Side, Rabbi Michel Birnbaum: He says that Rav Naftali Amsterdam was a student of Rav Yisrael Salanter. He once asked Rabbi Yisrael for advice about a disagreement that he had with his wife, based on the fact that his wife was insisting that it was time that he bought himself a new suit, while Rav Naftali felt that such a purchase was unnecessary. Rabbi Yisrael replied that there is a level of where one understands the need for a given item, and sees to it that someone else has that item. For example, if I think you need a coat, I buy you a coat. Then there is a higher level of Hessed where one provides somebody with something that he personally sees no need for at all. For example, your friend may think that he needs suspenders, and while you see no need for them, you get them for him anyway. The following story relates to this concept: One Shabbat morning Rav Moshe Feinstein was on his way out of shul. He put his on coat, and as he was walking toward the door, a man stopped Rabbi Moshe, and said something to him. Rabbi Moshe then took his coat off, sat down at a table made a beracha on a piece of cake, ate half the cake, and left. On the way home, his student asked Rabbi Moshe what that was all about. Rabbi Moshe explained that the man was a Hasidic Jew. Hasidim have a custom called Shira'im , whereby they sit by their Rebbe's table on Friday night. The Rebbe eats from the meal and gives leftovers to his Hasidim. They believe that there is something special about eating the leftover food that the Rebbe ate from. Rav Moshe Feinstein was of Lithuanian descent, and this was definitely not a Lithuanian custom or belief. Nonetheless, Rabbi Moshe explained, “ That Hasidic Jew came over and asked me if I would eat a piece of the cake, so that he could take some of the leftovers. So although it wasn't my custom, it was his custom. I did not want to disturb his happiness on Shabbat, so I took the piece of cake and made him happy.” What a great concept! Quite often, we look at people and we think that their needs are silly. We don't think it is our job to fulfill their crazy needs. If you have a son-in-law, for example, who decides that he only wants organic tomatoes, you may think that's crazy, but if that is what makes him happy, that is what you do. That is the higher level of Hessed, it is a wonderful concept that was taught and Rav Moshe actually lived. Have a wonderful day.

We continue discussing whether one can or can't hate a wicked person. I once heard Rav Wolbe say, in the name of his rebbe, Rav Yerucham Levovitz, that only an Adam Gadol/ great man can hate a rasha . Why? Because when you hate a wicked person, you aren't hating the person, you are hating their deeds, and only a great man can differentiate between the two. There is a Gemarah in Masechet Berachot ( daf י , amud א ) that backs up this point: There were some ruffians in Rabbi Meir's neighborhood, who caused him a lot of pain, and Rabbi Meir prayed for them to die. His wife Bruria reproached him, saying that if his reasoning was that it says, “ Let the “sinners” be obliterated,” it actually says, “ Let the “ sins ” be obliterated. Therefore, she told him, “ Pray for them to return in Teshuva, and then they won't be wicked anymore.” Sure enough, he followed his wife's advice, he prayed for them, and they returned in Teshuva . So we see that the Gemara sides with Rabbi Meir's wife, that we should not pray for the wicked to die, but rather pray for their wickedness to go away. Furthermore, when you have a right to hate the wicked, it actually means the wicked in the wicked person, and not the person himself. Only a great man can make the distinction. Rav Wolbe also told a story about the Elder of Kelm. He always had a very pale complexion during the week, but on Shabbat, his face would change, and he'd get a reddish look to him. One Shabbat, his face stayed pale and his students didn't know why. They waited until after Havdala to ask him what happened, when he told them: Peretz Smolenskin had died. He explained that this man had been a communist, anti-religious Jew who had caused a lot of problems and was a true threat to religion. Then why the pale face? He told them, “ Imagine the pain of this neshama, when he gets to the world of truth and discovers that he'd been fighting for lies his whole life. Imagine the pain that his soul will go through.” Thinking of this, the Alter of Kelm could not enjoy Shabbat. That is a great man. As bad as the man was, he had a Jewish soul that would suffer. The Alter of Kelm felt bad, he felt for his pain. That is a great man, and that is why we simple people don't necessarily have the right to hate anybody. Because we cannot make that distinction between the person and his deeds.

Rabbi Jonathan Singer delivers a sermon at Emanu-El's One Shabbat service - December 11, 2020

Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris delivers a sermon at Emanu-El's One Shabbat service on November 20, 2020 "Although there is much around us that is not how we would like it to be this Thanksgiving, I believe that it is especially important this year to ground ourselves in sincere gratitude, and place an extra special emphasis on what Thanksgiving is about at its core."

Rabbi Beth Singer delivers a sermon at Emanu-El's One Shabbat service, November 6, 2020. Quote: “You may be a Republican or you may be a Democrat or neither of those, but our tradition teaches that what unites us is that each of us, created by God, can be a person of faith.”

Rabbi Ryan Bauer delivers a sermon at Emanu-El's One Shabbat service, October 23, 2020

Rabbi Jason Rodich delivers a sermon at Emanu-El's One Shabbat Service - October 2, 2020

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner delivers a sermon on the subject of "Our Town." - September 25, 2020

Today's Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 156 and 157, bring to its conclusion the Talmud's longest tractate. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to sum up the wisdom we've learned over the last few months, and deliver a much-needed reminder of the beauties and difficulties of being an adult. Why was so much of the tractate spent on technicalities and so little on the magic of our day of rest? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 154 and 155, teach us that God has a soft spot in His heart for dogs. Lily, 9, and Hudson, 7, join us to talk about their love of dogs, and dispense advice on how to be kinder to your pooch. What's the most important thing you can do to make your dog happy? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 153, delivers a stunning teaching from the rabbis: Repent one day before your death. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to help us unlock this quizzical statement, and teach us how to repent better. How does your need to make amends change as you mature and grow? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 152, contains one curious bit of life advice from the rabbis: You should spend your first forty years on this planet taking pleasure in food, but once you turn forty, it's time to get serious about drinking. Alana Newhouse, Tablet's editor in chief, returns to talk about how drinking in your forties is different than drinking in your twenties, and what different insights you find in cocktails throughout the years. What's the perfect drink for the middle-aged? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 151, delivers a painful reminder of a universal truth rarely acknowledged: That poverty is cyclical, and that we are all, at some point or another, likely to feel its sting. Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, joins us to compare the attitudes to poverty in the Jewish and Catholic traditions, and leave us with some useful advice about how to be more compassionate. Why is it so important to get to know your less fortunate neighbors? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 149 and 150, find the rabbis raising one of the humanity's most ancient and most difficult questions: What, exactly, is art? Ben Kovalis, co-founder of a company that uses artificial intelligence to create original works of art,  joins us to talk about what it takes to train a computer to generate something that previously took a human artist. What would Rashi say about machines learning to emulate our greatest masterworks? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 146, begins with a meditation on original sin and then goes on to ask whether converts were present at Mount Sinai. Fresh off of her visit to the mikvah, Kerigan Kelly joins us to talk about her conversion process, what inspired her, and what she finds comforting and challenging about being Jewish. Why did the rabbis believe converts each had a guardian angel? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 145, ponders the differences between scholars in Israel and in Babylonia, and delivers a powerful meditation on belonging, exile, and redemption. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain why sometimes being a minority means having to strive to translate your own experience to the rest of the nation, and how such an experience can create great artistic and religious depths. Why is it sometimes a blessing in disguise to be in exile? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 142 and 143, find the rabbis in full parenting mode, discussing whether or not it's permitted to bend the rules on Shabbat for the emotional well-being of your kids. Writer Jordana Horn joins us to talk about the rules we set for ourselves and our families, and the times we decide to break them for everyone's sake. What advice should parents heed now that we're preparing for an uncertain back-to-school period in the fall? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 140 and 141, find the rabbis discussing the intricacies of preparing some of their favorite food dishes. Producer Josh Kross returns to share a confession about his coffee addiction, and explain how having a counter-full of specialized gear can lead to mindfulness. What spiritual teachings might there be in using a burr grinder? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 139, kicks things off with a sharp pronouncements: Unless our judges are righteous, a heap of trouble will be visited on our generation. New York City Judge Ilana Marcus joins us to explain how knowledge of the law and a capacity for empathy are a judge's best tools, and talk about her work in a community court that stresses aid and education rather than punishment. What happens when a judge puts on her black robe? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 138, strikes a dramatic note: The Jews, one of the rabbis predicts, are destined to one day forget the Torah. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to explain this menacing passage, and why it should be seen not as a doomsday prophecy but as an invitation to appreciate our own diverse moment in time. Why should we rejoice in divergent opinions? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 137, revolves around a question that has troubled males for millennia: What does it mean to be a man? We seek a modern answer in a very personal story about crime, punishment, and parenthood. What do you do when your father isn't who you thought he was? Listen and find out.

Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris delivers a sermon at Emanu-El's One Shabbat service, July 17, 2020 "It is only through mutual learning, reflecting, and lifting each other up that we can truly build a more just society together."

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 135 and 136, ask a difficult question: How must we confront that most terrible of ordeals, the loss of a child? Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm joins us to share his own personal experience and find hope and meaning in the wisdom of the rabbis. What, according to the Talmud, is the meaning of life? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi pages, Shabbat 133 and 134, urge us that we ought to strive and be as beautiful and as merciful as God. But what does that mean? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin returns to introduce us to one of the Talmud's most famous concepts, and tell us how it should inform our daily behavior. What is the one thing in each happy occasion we should always strive to make as beautiful as possible? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 132, finds the rabbis in a cutting state of mind: They talk about circumcision, and whether or not it is permissible on Shabbat. Dr. Emily Blake, a physician and a mohel, joins us to walk us through the specifics of the sacred ceremony, and share some of her tips to soothing anxious parents. Why is a bris on Shabbat a rare and special thing? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 131, raises the painful question of what we're supposed to do when we can't celebrate the holidays in the joyous and festive fashion to which we're accustomed. Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky joins us to talk about preparing for High Holidays in the Covid-19 era, and what we can do spiritually and practically to have a meaningful Tishrei even if it might not happen in shul. What spiritual advantages might there be to this crazy year of social distancing? Listen and find out.

Today’s Daf Yomi page, Shabbat 130, tells a miraculous tale of tefilin transformed. What happens when we start our day by wrapping the leather straps around our arms and our head? And why are tefilin the world's greatest spiritual technology? Listen and find out.

Rabbi Ryan Bauer delivers a sermon 2020.06.19 at Emanu-El-s One Shabbat service

You never know when something many Jews may associate with old-fashioned Jewish fare, like herring and crackers, will somehow turn high-end and hipster. One millennial, barely out of his teens, is putting herring out there for all the internet to see. And he’s got a heck of a story to tell. It all started in late 2014, when Queens, NY-teen Naftali Engel was in Israel for post-high school gap-year study. He spent some Shabbats away from his Judean Hills yeshivah with his brother who lives in Safed, the holy city famous for its spiritually creative enclaves. One Shabbat, Engel tasted a particularly delicious homemade herring, and, perhaps nonchalantly, asked the maker for his recipe. The answer he got was not quite traditional.

Dr. Dagmar Pruin delivers a talk about "Germany Close Up" and German-Jewish relations at the One Shabbat service on July 12th at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. Introduction by Rabbi Jason Rodich.

6-21-2019 One Shabbat Service

“A leader is one who recognizes when a space has been created in order to step in and lead.” Rabbi Beth Singer delivers a brief sermon before a blessing of new board members at the One Shabbat service on 01-25-2019 at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco.

Halachic Sensitivity It is obvious that learning halachah is critical for proper observance of halachah . If a person does not know what is obligatory, permissible and prohibited, he will not know how to do what he is required to do and how to avoid what he is forbidden to do. But the Hazon Ish , in his Emunah Ve'bitahon (chapter 3), notes that it is vitally important to not only learn the bottom-line halachic rulings, but also to delve into halachah and thoroughly study the source material. When a person delves into a topic in halachah , he develops a certain emotional connection with that subject, a special feeling and love for that particular area of Torah. There is a certain supernatural bond, the Hazon Ish writes, that is forged between a person and an area of Torah that he studies in depth. People who have experienced this feeling know exactly what this means. For example, there are many people today, baruch Hashem , who have the beautiful custom to study some laws of lashon ha'ra (negative speech about others) each day. People who follow this custom develop not only the knowledge of what they are allowed and prohibited to say about others, but also a special affection for this area of halachah . Additionally, as they understand the background and source material of these halachot , they have a much stronger belief and greater appreciation for the laws than those who have not studied them in depth. If a person who has never delved into the depths of the laws of lashon ha'ra is told that something is forbidden to be said under a particular circumstance, he might likely react with skepticism, or even ridicule, and cynically say, “Come on, really? That is forbidden?!” Most of us have likely heard people react this way to hearing a halachah . The only way to develop a firm belief in halachic details and to treat them with the seriousness they deserve is by learning the background and the fundamental concepts that underlie the bottom-line “dos and don'ts.” The Hazon Ish gives the example of shaking a dusty garment to clean it on Shabbat, which constitutes a Torah violation, as opposed to chopping wood, which, in some instances, would be forbidden only מדרבנן (by force of Rabbinic enactment). When a person who has little background in the fundamentals of hilchot Shabbat hears this, he might find it ridiculous. If Shabbat is a day of rest, he will think, then why does the Torah forbid shaking off a piece of clothing, but not chopping wood? But when a person takes the time and goes through the trouble to learn the background of the halachot , it makes perfect sense. Without this in-depth study, a person will likely be unable to appreciate the truth of the halachot . An example I like to give has to do with the laws of בורר , separating on Shabbat. If a person is eating a salad on Shabbos and notices a pebble in the bowl, if he then removes the pebble from the bowl to make the salad edible, he has committed an act of Shabbat desecration no less severe than driving a car. A person who has never learned about the laws of Shabbat might find this very difficult to accept. It is only by delving into the topic that one gains an appreciation for the subject matter and an understanding of how the system works. The Hazon Ish gives the example of a noble, decent man who invited a guest to his home for Friday night dinner. Being very generous and hospitable, he was overjoyed and excited to host this guest. On Friday night, he noticed that he had forgotten to add kerosene to his lamp. (The Hazon Ish says that it was the Satan who caused this oversight in an attempt to lure the man to sin.) In his admirable concern for his guest's comfort, he did not want the home to be cold and dark, and so he added kerosene to the lamp. If he had learned the halachot , he would have known that this action constitutes a violation of Shabbat which one must avoid even at the expense of his and his guest's comfort. Studying halachot gives one the understanding and sensitivity needed to properly apply the laws of the Torah. An extreme example of this sensitivity is a story told by Rav Shlomo Wolbe of the Vilna Gaon. One Shabbat, the Gaon was sitting at his table eating nuts, and without realizing it, he started fiddling with the shells that he had removed. The shells covering nuts are considered muktzeh , and there are specific halachic restrictions on when and how they may be handled on Shabbat. When the Gaon realized that he had been handling muktzeh on Shabbat – something forbidden מדרבנן – he fainted. After the Gaon regained his consciousness and realized what happened, he fainted again. Finally, his wife took a shell and ate it to show that the shells were edible and thus not muktzeh , and the Gaon then felt calmer. For somebody with the Vilna Gaon's level of halachic sensitivity, transgressing a Rabbinic prohibition, even inadvertently, is an earth-shattering experience. We cannot aspire to this level of halachic sensitivity, but it demonstrates how studying halachah brings the laws to life and helps us internalize the concepts and heighten our sensitivity. This is something that takes a good deal of time, work and effort. We are not naturally attuned to halachah . So often, when we first hear of a halachah , it sounds peculiar and far-fetched, but once we learn the background and begin to understand how this conclusion was reached, it makes perfect sense and becomes natural and intuitive. We were not born with knowledge, and acquiring knowledge is a lifelong process. Therefore, when we hear something new that might sound strange or difficult to accept, we must keep an open mind and be willing to learn. Rabbenu Yonah writes that the highest level of knowledge is the recognition of one's lack of knowledge. It is only through this recognition that we are able to grow and learn more. Too often, our arrogance causes us to close our minds and refuse to accept something new. Or, we prefer blissful ignorance to the challenge of acquiring new information and then changing our conduct accordingly. This is like a patient who prefers not knowing the results of his blood test, because he does not want to hear about his high cholesterol. His cholesterol is at the same level whether he knows it or not, and so there is no wisdom or benefit in ignoring the reality. The same is true of halachah . We do not do ourselves any favors by knowingly remaining ignorant. We need to continue learning, each at his or her level and pace, so we can ensure that we live our lives the way we are meant to. The Steipler Gaon remarked that if we believed in hilchot Shabbat the way we believed in allergic reactions, we would be as careful with regard to the Shabbat prohibitions as we are with allergens. Unless we seriously study the laws of Shabbat, we will approach them as just an option, or a nice ideal to aspire to. We need to view halachah as reality, and this only comes through serious, devoted study. Let us, then, make an effort to devote time each week for studying the halachot of Shabbat, so we can enhance not only our observance of Shabbat, but our appreciation of, and sensitivity to, halachah generally.

One Shabbat Service with Chava Mirel by Congregation Emanu-El

Rabbi Yechiel had a pair of candlesticks, and they were his most prized possessions. Every Shabbat, he would shine them until they sparkled and place them on his table. One Shabbat, the candlesticks weren't there! Rabbi Yechiel looks all around town for them, but when he sees his candlesticks through the window of a poor family's home, what does he do? Rabbi Leah Berkowitz tells the story. For a written version of this story, attributed to I.L. Peretz and Victor Hugo, read p. 202-203 in The Essential Jewish Stories edited by Seymour Rossel. 

A New Pair of Shoes/Yom Kippur One Shabbat sermon - Rabbi Jonathan Singer October 7 by Congregation Emanu-El

February 19, 2016 - One Shabbat Service, Mina Miller, Music of Remembrance founder by Congregation Emanu-El

Confirmation of 12th Grade Havurah Asher at ONE SHABBAT by Congregation Emanu-El

October 10, 2014 Rabbi Beth Singer on One Shabbat by Congregation Emanu-El