Podcasts about tehilim

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 58 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (4/30/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we finished the perek! This was due, in part, to the fact that I didn't have my usual chavrusa this week AND didn't have time to prepare shiur. Nevertheless, we reviewed what we did last time and refined the theory I came up with, running it through the whole perek and bringing it down to the level of the practical. We found support in Saadia Gaon and got some nice Tehilim methodology from Hoil Moshe. I'm happy with how our analysis turned out, and I'm eager to start whatever we take up next!-----מקורות:תהלים פרק מדמצודת דוד - תהלים מד:כא-כברד"ק שםדברים ח:ז-כהואיל משהפירוש רס"ג-----The total cost of producing my five podcasts in 2024 came to $1,455—an expense I would have otherwise had to cover myself. I'm deeply grateful to the generous sponsors who helped shoulder that cost and supported my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 128 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 129 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 130 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 57 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (4/23/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we began a new chapter of Tehilim. Yeah, yeah, I know that we had STARTED Tehilim 42 last time and didn't even get to the analysis, but that was over a month ago, and most of the shiur attendees wanted to start something new. Plus, I started learning this perek over Yom Tov and I was REALLY excited to dive deeper into it! As usual, we spent most of the time working on the translation. We then identified the pivot point(s), which was relatively easy. Finally, in the last five minutes of the shiur, I revealed my subversive theory about the perek - or should I say, my theory that the perek IS subversive! We'll have to wait until next time to see whether my theory is supported by a closer reading of the text and the meforshim.-----מקורות:תהלים פרק מדArtscrollRobert Alter-----The total cost of producing my five podcasts in 2024 came to $1,455—an expense I would have otherwise had to cover myself. I'm deeply grateful to the generous sponsors who helped shoulder that cost and supported my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

***CORRECTED TRANSCRIPT*** Welcome to a special edition of Perek Shira. In the introduction to Perek Shira , it says about David Hamelech, that when he finished sefer Tehilim , זחה דעתו עליו/ He became a little proud, and said, Hashem, is there any creature in the world that says more songs than I do? At that moment, a frog appeared, and told David, אל תזוח דעתך עליך , Don't be proud, I say more songs than you do. I'm involved in a great Mitzvah. On the edge of the river, there is a certain creature, and when he's hungry, he eats me, and that's the Mitzvah that I do. That's the basic message of Chazal. Very strange. What exactly is going on over here? The frog is greater than David Hamelech? What does that mean? The Zohar HaKadosh, in Pinchas 232B cites this story as well, but with a different response from the frog, which is, " David, don't be proud. I do more than you, because I was Moser Nefesh on the command of my Creator. When it came to the plague of frogs, I jumped into the ovens, and I was Moser Nefesh ." The frog actually does sing all day, it's croaks all day. It could be that in the merit of his Mesirut Nefesh, he's the ultimate singer. The Mabit , in his commentary, brings this down as well. The Zohar says at that moment, David Hamelech said this song in Tehilim 131,1 lה' לא גבה לבי, לא רמו עיני, My heart is not arrogant, my eyes are not lifted up . So let us understand, what is this great song of the frog? The sefer Imrei Emet on Parashat Vaera brings down from the Tanna D'veh Eliyahu , that the Hebrew word for frog צפרדע Sefardea , is a contraction of two words, ציפור, a bird , that has דעה , that has understanding . It's Bird because the frog is always flying around, but what is his דעת ? The Imrei Emet says that the ultimate level of Da'at , the highest level of intellect, is when a person is Moser Nefesh , when he jumps into the fire. Avraham Avinu was the one that recognized his Creator, and he was the first one to jump into the fire. What does that mean? The Meshech Chochma in Shemot 35,30 explains something fascinating. The chief architect of the Mishkan was Betzalel Ben Ouri, Ben Chur. And what happens to him? Hashem filled him with all knowledge in the world. Why was he zocheh to that? Says the Meshech Chochma, Mesirut Nefesh . When a person jumps into a fiery furnace, it is the ultimate shutting off of one's brain- not thinking, just trusting Hashem. Hashem says it's right, so I'm doing it. Chur was Moser Nefesh at the Chet HaEgel . He made a protest and they killed him. This is not something philosophical. Philosophically, would you say, For this one second, I'm giving up my whole life and all the things that I could do ? No . The Chasid Yaavetz says that in the times of the Spanish Inquisition, those that were tainted by philosophy did not withstand the test and became Moranos. The simpler people jumped in, because with too much philosophy, you're not going to do it. But, says the Meshech Chochma , that is the ultimate Da'at . The ultimate level of understanding is knowing, I don't understand, I'm going to dive in and do what God says . That's why Chur had a great-grandson, Betzalel , who was so full of wisdom. So, ציפור דעה, the message of the frog is, he jumps in and he is Moser Nefesh , and that's the greatest Shira . Furthermore, the sefer Shem M'Shimon quotes from a sefer Baalei Chayim by Rav Klonimus, that says that the frog did something earlier in history that caused it to merit to be the first creature in the plagues, after the blood. When Nimrod threw Avraham into the fiery furnace, the frogs jumped in and squirted water to try to cool down the fire to save Avraham. Additionally, when Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah questioned whether they should jump into the fiery furnace, they said, " If the frogs did it, surely we should do it." So the frogs are the messengers of Moser Nefesh . The chiddush here is that the song of creation is not necessarily the outward , loud song. Mesirut Nefesh, even in privacy, creates a great song. The Midrash tells us that there were two approaches (Bereshit 71,5) The approach of לאה was called פלח הודיה. She took the unit of praise, and out of her came Yehuda who praised, David Hamelech who praised, and Daniel…all of her children were praisers. Rachel, on the other hand, took the unit of being quiet. She didn't say when the signs were given over to Leah. Her child, Binyamin his stone is ישפה ,. יש פה He could have revealed the sale of Yosef, but he didn't. Esther, who comes from Shaul, and Shaul…They're quiet, undercover people. Whose Mesirut Nefesh is greater? Interestingly, when it comes to the splitting of the sea, Nachshon, who comes from Yehuda jumps in and splits the sea. But behind the scenes we know, that it says, the sea saw something and ran . What did it see? It saw the bones of Yosef. It says, the sea ran away because he ran away, and the sea split. So who split the sea? Nachshon, yes, on the outside. But behind the scenes, the quiet, self-control, Mesirut Nefesh of Yosef did it. As the Rambam in Yad Hazaka , in the laws of Yesodeh HaTorah , chapter 5, Halacha 10, says, that when a person does a sin in public, it's called Chillul Hashem B'Rabim. And he says, But קול הפורש מעבירה, someone that stays away from a sin, and does it, not out of fear, not for honor, but only because God said so, like Yosef HaSaddik, that controlled himself from the wife of his master, this is a kiddush Hashem. So there are two types of Kiddush Hashem. There's a Kiddush Hashem in public, and there's a Kiddush Hashem in private. The Mesirut Nefesh that doesn't make the big, loud noise, still does something. That's the message of the frog. Yes, there are great songs that we hear, but there are songs that we don't hear, of those people that just jump into the fiery furnace. There's a great story that is told over, of a man, Joe, who was a very successful Israeli, the son of Holocaust survivors. He rose from a childhood of poverty, in the mid-80s, and built up a huge, successful high-tech company. One day, his wife called, asking to pick up some meat on his way home from the office. He stopped at a trendy take-out place, to order what they called in, Israel Basar Lavan/white meat, which is code for חזיר, pork. As he stood in line, he began to feel uneasy. He began to remember a story he had heard from his parents. He always knew the story, but now it took on a heightened meaning. Joe's maternal grandfather was Rav Shraga Feivel of Hungary. Rav Shraga Feivel was captured by the Nazis, about a year before the war ended, and imprisoned as a slave in a slave labor camp. After a year, Rav Shraga Feivel was about to be freed. The war was over, and the Allied forces were going from camp to camp, liberating the prisoners. They could already see the smoke of the Allied forces marching their way. Freedom was mere hours away. At that moment, the head SS officer gathered the Jewish prisoners together and announced, The war has ended. In a few hours, you'll be free. All but you, he said, pointing to Rav Shraga Feivel. You must pass one more test. You must eat this piece of pig's meat. Only then will you be allowed to go free. Refuse it, and I'll shoot you in the head right here and now. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Rav Shraga Feivel had been meticulous all through his days at the camp, not to eat unkosher meat. He didn't even eat soup, which might contain meat. Rav Shraga Feivel proclaimed, I will not eat chazir-flesh /I will not eat pork. A shot rang out, and Rav Shraga Feivel soul was returned to its creator. And now, 40 years later, Rav Shraga Feivel's grandson stood thinking to himself, I'm waiting in line to pay money to eat that which my grandfather gave his life not to consume? All he had to do was eat that one small piece of pork, and he'd be set free! He'd be allowed to return to his family, yet he wouldn't do it. I have everything. I'm free to live with my family. I have anything I want, yet I'm about to purchase this meat?Either my grandfather was crazy, or I'm crazy. And I cannot believe that he was crazy, thought Joe, as he got off the line and went to buy dinner elsewhere. When he got home, he spoke to his wife about his feelings and the emptiness he had been experiencing. They both had to acknowledge that despite all their material prosperity, a certain spiritual emptiness gnawed at him. They were missing something, but never knew exactly what. They spoke for a long time about values and what is important in life. They decided to attend an Arachim seminar. Joe was enthralled by the seminar. It penetrated the murky mysteriousness of God, Torah, and Judaism. It rocked his world and shook his soul. Who was that Joe? That Joe was well known as Yossi Wallis. He eventually became the CEO of the Arachim organization and built it to a huge movement of Baaleh Teshuva. Tens of thousands of Jews have already come back. We ask ourselves, what did this man, Rav Shraga Feivel, accomplish by dying and not living the rest of his life for that moment of Kiddush Hashem, shutting off his brain? He got a grandson full of Da'at and Chochma . And that's the Song of the Frog. *If you're interested in learning more about Yossi Wallis, there's a book written about him written by Rav Nacan Seltzer called Incredible , a bestseller by Artscroll. Have a wonderful day.

the Rebbes insights on chapter 124 tehilim

Welcome to our Bitachon class. We now discussing the Haggadah of Pesach. We're in the stanza of Yechol Rosh Hodesh, that we might have thought that the right time for the Seder is Rosh Hodesh. And the pasuk says, ב יום ההוא, B'Yom HaHu/on that day. Well, that day , may mean during the day . And as we said last class, anytime we have a thought, there has to be a basis for it. We don't just say maybe. The fact that we even thought that the Seder should be on Rosh Hodesh Nissan means there's a strong reason to think so. And the fact that we thought that the time to do it is during the day and not the nighttime means there's a strong reason to think that as well. So what happened during the day of the 14 th of Nissan that would warrant saying the Hagaddah of Pesach during the day ? The answer is, that's the day when they slaughtered the Korban Pesach. What was the ultimate revelation that caused the need to do the Haggadah? You might have thought it was the Korban Pesach. So exactly what does the Korban Pesach symbolize and teach us? This is very important information-The Egyptians worshipped the sheep. That's why it was considered an abomination to be a shepherd in Egypt, as is clearly stated in the pesukim. Furthermore, Moshe told Paroah that they could not slaughter the sheep in the local town of Egypt; they'd have to go out to the desert, because they'd be stoned if they were seen slaughtering sheep, the Egyptian god. Why did the Egyptians worship the sheep? It wasn't random. There are 12 symbols in the horoscope. These 12 symbols are not just for palm readers or the newspaper horoscope column. These are real concepts rooted in our Torah literature. The Ramban, for example, tells us that the symbol of Tishre, Libra is a scale , which he says is a sign in the heavens that we're being judged that month. And the Mazal of Adar is a fish, or Pisces, as fish are above the Ayin Hara.. The Mazal of Elul אלול אני לדודי ודודי לי, I am to my beloved, and my beloved to me is Virgo, which is a young maiden. All of these symbols are real and have to do with specific times. The sheep is the head of all 12 Mazalot . That's why Rabbenu Bachye says this month is called Aviv/ אביב is a contraction of אב י"ב, the father (or chief) of the other 12. Therefore, the Egyptians worshipped the sheep as the so- called Bechor , or first born of the Mazalot . (After the sheep comes the ox, the Taurus. One of the commentaries say the reason why the Jewish people worshipped the golden calf was because they said Now that we brought down the sheep, we have to go on to the next symbol, which is the ox. ) So the Egyptians worshipped the sheep and felt it had a power in the heavens and when we slaughtered the sheep, our actions down here were impacting the mazal of the sheep in heaven. We were going to overcome the mazal , based on the principle of אין מזל לישראל/ We Jewish people are not impacted by the horoscope. We're not impacted by any of these signs. As Hashem told Avraham, Go outside. Says Rashi , this means leave your soothsayers, leave all of that stuff. We the Jewish people are above all that. God tells Avraham, Go in front of Me and you will be perfect. And that's the Brit Milah. And there's another Mitzvah later on, which is תמים תהיה,Tamim Tihyeh be perfect with Hashem and go away from all the soothsayers and stargazers. So the Brit , the deal that we made with Hashem was to be Tamim , to be complete with Him , to rely on Him and to be above all that nonsense. We're above nature, we don't follow nature. Today we'll call mazal nature . So that was the symbolism. We slaughtered the sheep down here and the mazal of the sheep in the heavens comes down and everything falls with it. Additionally, the Jewish people tied the Korban to the bedposts on the 10th of Nissan, which was Shabbat HaGadol. It was a miracle, it says, that the Egyptians did not kill them when they did that. The midrash says further, quoted by Tosafot, that the pasuk in Tehilim lומכה מצרים בבכוריהם / Hashem hit the Egyptians with their firstborn. Shouldn't it be, He hit the firstborn Egyptians ? Tosafot explains that when Moshe announced that we'd be slaughtering the sheep, a civil war broke out among the Egyptians. The Egyptian first- borns all said, Let them out already! What are you doing , and there was a civil war between the firstborn and the rest of Egypt, about whether they should let them out before the 14th, before they slaughter the sheep. Why were the firstborn so concerned? The Maharsha says, because there was a connection between them, almost like the concept of a voodoo doll , a little doll that is supposed to resemble a particular person and if you stuck pins in the doll's ankle, suddenly that guy would get a pain in his ankle. Likewise, the firstborn sheep was like a voodoo doll of the First born Egyptians. How so? When you slaughter the sheep down here, it impacts the mazal in the heavens of the firstborn, and the firstborn would die. That's why slaughtering the sheep was actually the impetus of Makat Bechorot . That's why the firstborn said, Don't let them slaughter the sheep! It's going to bring us down. And that was what the war was about. So Korban Pesach illustrated, in a very vivid way, the power of the Hashem over the mazal, but En Mazal L'Yisrael. We ignore Mazalot . The Ramban, in many places, discusses the important rule of תמים תהיה. In Bereshit 17,1, he quotes the pasuk in Devarim 18,13, and says that This is one and the same, which is, יאמין בלבו, believe in your heart. כי הקדוש ברוך הוא לבדו, הוא בעל היכולת בתחילה ובסוף,. הוא יכול לעשות, לבטל. Only God is in charge. He can do or annul. And therefore, when you hear any soothsayer or any predictor, לא יאמין שיבואו דברים על כל פנים, don't say it has to happen. When you hear predictions, financial, health or otherwise, you should say in your heart, הכל ביד עליון, עליונים. It's all in the power of God. And he says, וכפי שיתהלך אדם לפניו, and the more I connect to Him, מפרוטות, I will undo these signs , and he says that's what it means when Hashem told Avraham Avinu, in Shabbat 156a, Leave the soothsayers. He repeats this in Devarim 18,13, where he says, When you hear what they say (tariffs or anything else), you know what your response should be? הכל בידי שמים, it's up to God. הוא אלוהי אלוהים, He's the God above all, עליון על הכל. And believe, שכל הבלות תהיינה, everything that happens to me is כפי יתקרב אדם לבדו תול, the more I connect to God in His service. This is an important rule, and this is the message of the Korban Pesach. And lastly, he says this in his השגות on the Sefer Mitzvot , Mitzvat Aseh 8, where he discusses things that he believes should be on the list, that the Rambam left out, and he believes that תמים תהיה was one of the 613. We have to believe that He alone does everything, He knows what's going to happen in the future, and if we have a problem, we look to Him. He says, שכל הכל תהיינה, We have to believe that all forces happen, as we connect to Him. And this is why we might have thought, מבעוד יום, " The message of the Korban Pesach? wow, we should make the סדר right then and there!"

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 127 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

Harav Yussie Zakutinsky Shlita

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 57 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (3/19/25), in our Wednesday night tefilah shiur, we began learning the perek before the one we did last time. We had seen opinions that 43 is part of 42, and the proof definitely seems to be in the pudding, so we're going to proceed on that assumption. The translation was a bit quicker than usual, since so many phrases were familiar. We only got a little bit into our analysis, noticing the difficulties of the perek and voicing some intuitions about its themes. Next time we'll engage in some REAL analysis! (בג"ה)-----מקורות:תהלים פרק מבArtscrollRobert Alterרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי התורה ב:א-ברמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תשובה י:ב-ג-----The Torah content for this week has been sponsored by my friend, Rabbi Dr. Elie Feder. His latest book, Happiness in the Face of Adversity: Powerful Torah Ideas from a Mom's Parting Words, shares the wisdom of Shani Feder a"h, a true Eishes Chayil. This is the kind of Torah I wish more people knew—ideas that directly impact our experience of life. Available now on Amazon.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 126 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

To reflect on what we've spoken about, we have a problem. We are bothered by the dog singing a song, and yet not by the snake singing a song. In truth, both the dog and the snake represent Amalek. So why is the dog a bigger question for Rav Yeshaya than the snake? We see that the snake represents Amalek from a pasuk in Yeshaya that says, מִשֹּׁ֤רֶשׁ נָחָשׁ֙ יֵ֣צֵא צֶ֔פַע/ From the roots of the snake came out a viper. The Mekubalim say that the / צפע viper , is has same numerical value as עמלק /Amalek , which means that Amalek is a continuation, or manifestation of the snake. Thus, Haman, who came from Amalek, is also rooted in the snake. And Haman המן / is Rasheh Tevot/ an acronym for ה וא מ שרש נ חש / He is from the root of the snake . So we have an Amalek/Haman source in the snake . We also have a source that Amalek is represented by the dog , as we said, that God puts the Jewish people down, and the dog, who's Amalek, comes to bite. Furthermore, when Esther Hamalka is praying to be saved, she says (Tehilim 22) מִיַּד־כֶּ֝֗לֶב יְחִידָתִֽי׃ /from the clutches of the dog. And we said, the dog is Haman, and the dog is Amalek. So is the Amalek the dog, or is it the snake? And why are we okay with a song from the snake but we're not okay with the song of the dog? And we have another question. As we said in our lesson on the snake, the snake says, Somech Hashem L'Kol Noflim/God will pick up those that fall down, which refers to the snake, whose legs were cut off. We were bothered by this. Isn't there no hope for the snake? The snake is Amalek, and it says that eventually he's going to be totally wiped out. The answer we said was that there were two punishments that happened to the snake. One of them was that his legs were cut off, and he's now flat on his face, because he refused to bow to God, and recognize His Hashgacha Pratit, which is the opposite of Modim. The other punishment was that he eats the dust of the earth, which was because of his sin of speaking Lashon Hara against God. One of these sins will be fixed in the future, and he will no longer be bent over. The sin of not recognizing God's Hashgacha will be fixed, and he will stand up straight. He will bow and recognize God. That's the snake-like aspect of Amalek. The dog-like aspect of Amalek is the fact that Amalek barks and speaks Lashon Hara. And that is where Rabi Yeshaya had the question. We can understand that the aspect of Amalek, that he doesn't believe in Hashgacha Pratit was fixed. But the fact of his Lashon Hara, barking like the dog, the brazenness, the עזות דטומאה, Azut D'Tumah/the brazenness of contamination that Amalek had, שמעו עמים ירגזון, when the whole world was petrified, and Amalek just jumped into the boiling bath and cooled it off, that is called an Azut of Tumah/, brazenness of Tumah , that he doesn't bend and doesn't give in. That Azut can't be fixed. That ttrait of Azut is unfixable. That's why it says say, עז פנים לגיהנום. The Brazen- faced goes to Gehinom. So there was an aspect of Amalek that could be fixed. We could fix the fact that he denies God's presence. That's fixable. The kofer/the heretic , we can fix him. That is the snake-like aspect of Amalek. But the dog-like, the barking, there's no hope for that. And that's what Rabi Yeshaya was questioning. How could it be that the brazenness was being fixed? Interestingly, as we have said, the Germans represent Amalek, as it says in the Gemara , in Masechet Megillah, that Yaakov Avinu prayed, Hold back the desires of Esav , referring to a part of Esav called Garmamiah , which Rabbi Yaakov Emden says is is Germania ,. The Germans were from Amalek. The Germans were that aspect that wanted out to wipe out the Jewish people. And part of the German sadism was using barking dogs. That brazenness will never be fixed. It's interesting that Guard your tongue is the end of that Rav Yeshaya piece, where he says, Now that you asked, go back and don't ask about it again. Don't ask any more about the dogs or Amalek . As it says, One who guards his mouth and tongue, protects himself from any evil. So we see that this final discussion of the dog connects back to Lashon Hara That is the trait of the snake that can't be fixed. He spoke Lashon Hara against God. He told us that God doesn't want to do good for you. God doesn't want you to enjoy this world. God doesn't want you to eat from the tree, because He ate from the tree. That's the Lashon Hara of the snake. And we also have Lashon Hara from Haman. It says, in Masechet Megila, No one knew how to speak Lashon Hara better than Haman, He claimed, " The Jews are not worth keeping. Every day is a holiday by them..." That's the trait of Haman. As we said, the dog's song is, בֹּאוּ נִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנִכְרָעָה נִבְרְכָה לִפְנֵי יְיָ עֹשֵׂנוּ: (תהילים צה ו) The dog song is all about bowing , which means Amalek says, OK, I'm bowing, I'm good. And we tell him, You're bowing? That's not enough. Yes, you fixed the fact that you realize God's in charge of the world. That's fine. But your brazenness, the עזות הטומאה, the brazenness that you don't want to change, that, we can't fix. That's why Yeshaya was so bothered. And it's only due to once in their history, when the dogs didn't bark as Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim, that dogs have the zechut to do even a little bit of praising. So what exactly is this concept of Azut D'Tumah/ brazenness that can't be fixed? Rav Wolbe discusses the concept of Azut D'Kedusha- Jewish people are brazen in a positive way . We don't give up, we keep on doing the right thing. But Amalek is Azut D'Tumah. They're brazen in the fact that they won't give up on Tumah/impurity So even though there might be a momentary blip, where the dog doesn't bark, as happened at Yetziat Mitzrayim, they always come back to their regular trait of Azut/brazenness . That is the negativity of Amalek. That's why it says when we come to fight against Amalek, it's מחר , Machar/ tomorrow . Why tomorrow ? Because we know that maybe for a second they're going to be good, but by tomorrow it's gone. It says that similarly about Izevel, when she fought against Eliyahu, Eliyahu HaNavi had this great revelation and surge, but she said, let's wait until tomorrow and see what's going to happen tomorrow . Amalek has an Azut . They might be momentarily impacted, but they keep their Azut going, and that can't be fixed.

**Today's Halacha is dedicated f or the refuah and haslacha of Ronnie, Sharon, Eli and all the children of CARE** On Purim morning, one should make an effort to wake up extra early and recite Tehilim. This is based on the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807), who writes in his "Devash L'fi" that there are five special days during the year that one should arise at "Hashkama"-extra early: Tisha B'ab, Shabuot, Rosh Hashana, Hoshana Rabba and Purim. He says that this is alluded to in the word "AVRaHaM" in the verse "Vayashkem AVRraHaM BaBoker"-Avraham arose early in the morning. The letter "Aleph" of Avraham, hints to "Echa" which is read on Tisha B'ab; the "Vet" refers to Shabuot on which the Torah was given, and the Torah begins with the letter "Bet;" the "Resh" refers to Rosh Hashana; the "Heh" alludes to Hoshana Rabbah; and the "Mem" hints to the Megillah of Purim. *** The special Tefila of "Al Hanisim" is inserted into the Amidah of Purim. If one forgot to do so, he does not have to go back and repeat the Amidah. Nevertheless, it is preferable to recite the "Al Hanisim" at the expense of prolonging his Amidah and missing the Kedusha with the Sibbur, than to skip it and finish earlier. *** The Torah reading for Purim is "VaYavo Amalek," in Parshat B'shalach. Since it only has nine verses, the accepted custom is to read the last verse twice to complete the requisite ten verses need for a public Torah reading. It is important for everyone to hear this Parasha. Those who missed hearing Parashat Zachor can fulfill the Misva with this reading, if they have intent to do so. The Kaf HaHaim (Rav Yaakob Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Israel, 1870-1939, Ch. 693:25) writes that if someone cannot attend Bet Knesset on Purim day, he should read this passage by himself at home with the Ta'amim (cantillation). After reading the Torah, the Tefila continues with "Ashreh" and the beginning of "Uva Lesion." The Megillah is read before the Pasuk "V'atah Kadosh." In the morning, "Shehecheyanu" is not recited on the Megillah, according to the practice of the Sepharadim. The Sefer Torah is kept out until after the Megillah is read, because the Megillah states, "LaYehudim Hayta Orah V'simcha, V'saon V'y'kar"-the Jews had light and joy and happiness and glory. The Gemara understands that Orah (light) refers to the light of the Torah. One should not take off his Tefilin before the completion of the Megillah, because the same verse says that the Jews had "Y'kar"-glory. The Gemara understands that it is referring to Tefilin. In fact, the custom is to kiss the Tefilin when that word is read. If there is a Brit Mila, some say that it is performed prior to the Megillah reading to correspond to a word in that same Pasuk "Sason"-joy, which the Hachamim understand to be Brit Mila. However, the accepted practice is to conduct the Mila after Shaharit. *** There is no obligation to recite Hallel on Purim. One reason for this is that the reading of the Megillah, which tells the story of the miraculous events, takes the place of Hallel. Therefore, if one cannot hear the Megillah, there are Poskim who hold that he should recite the complete Hallel. This should be done without a Beracha, as there is a difference of opinion on the matter. After the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), the Mizmor (Tehilim 22) "Al Ayelet Hashachar" is added. Esther was referred to as "Ayelet Hashachar," and this was the prayer she offered upon approaching the King's private chamber. *** It is prohibited to eat even a small amount before hearing the Megillah on Purim morning, even if one has already prayed. Therefore, one should insure that his wife and children hear the Megillah promptly, so that they can eat. *** Immediately after Shaharit, the Matanot LaEvyonim are distributed. Performing this Misva early is not only a fulfillment of "Zerizim Makdimim L'Misvot," but it also enables the recipients to use the money to buy what they lack for the holiday. *** The Shulhan Aruch rules that the Beracha of Shehecheyanu is not recited before reading the Megillah in the morning. This applies even if one did not fulfill the Misva of Megillah the previous night. One should have in mind to include the other Misvot when he hears the Beracha at night. *** The Hida (Lev David, Ch. 30) brings a custom for both men and women to light two candles in honor of Mordechai and Esther on Purim. After lighting the candles, one should give Sedaka and offer heartfelt prayers and requests in their merit. There is a widespread custom to don costumes on Purim. The Hida mentions this specifically regarding the Seudah. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909, Ateret Tiferet) brings a custom for women to adorn themselves with their fanciest jewelry, even more than Shabbat and Yom Tov. This custom has its origins in the Kabbalah. This should only be done within the confines of her own home and not to go out publicly, so as not to breach the standards of modesty.

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 124 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 125 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 56 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (3/5/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we successfully and SMOOTHLY "landed the plane"! Not only did we get the main idea and purpose of the perek, but we explained nearly every phrase in the perek - except for the very last phrase, which we decided we can't fully understand without learning the previous perek. This short perek proved to be HIGHLY relevant to our current situation, and is a great way to showcase how Tehilim is critical for forming a relationship with Hashem.-----מקורות:תהלים פרק מגרב ש"ר הירש - תהלים כב:אמאירי - תהלים מג:אתרגום כתובים - תהלים מג:גר' אליה די נולהספורנו - ישעיהו כז:א-----The Torah content for this week has been sponsored by Rifka Kaplan-Peck in tribute to the Bibas family. May Hashem avenge their blood and may He grant Yarden Bibas and the extended family comfort in the love of Am Yisroel who mourn with them.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 123 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

Welcome to our Perek Shira class. Today's song is the song of אֵלִים שֶׁבַּשְּׁרָצִים ,the powerful strong rodents. And they say . אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בֵיתֶךָ בָּנֶיךָ כִּשְׁתִלֵי זֵיתִים סָבִיב לְשֻׁלְחָנֶךָ: (תהילים קכח ג) Your wife is like a fruitful vine, on the side of your house. Your sons are like olive saplings around your table. (Tehilim 128,3) What do these rodents have to do with this healthy pregnancies and children? So to say? We go back to the Gemara in Masechet Sotah that tells us that in the merit of the righteous woman we left Mitzrayim. What did the righteous women do? They convinced their husbands to have children even in extenuating circumstances with all the challenges that went with being in Mitzrayim with all the back breaking labor. The sefer Kol Rina says that the husbands told their wives, I'm working hard. You are working hard. Who says that your pregnancy will be successful? What, are we doing here?" And the ladies told their husbands, אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה : Your wife is like a vineyard . The Midrash Raba in Shemot Raba perek 16 tells us that one who that sees grapes in a dream, his wife will not miscarry, as the Gemara in Berachot 47A says. So the wife was telling her husband, Don't worry, I'm like a vineyard where the grapes are attached to the cluster very strongly and they don't fall down. And when the husband said, How am I going to support them , his wife said, Don't worry, your sons are going to be like olive saps, as it says, one who sees an olive in his dream will have many children and these many children, סָבִיב לְשֻׁלְחָנֶךָ they will be like olive saplings around your large table. You'll have money to support them. Additionally , the term Sheratzim also refers to the Jewish wives in Mitzrayim (although rodent is a negative term), as it says וּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל פָּר֧וּ וַֽיִּשְׁרְצ֛וּ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ they multiplied like rodents, six at a time. So –although it doesn't sound nice to us , we're referring to the Jewish woman who had the strength to give birth to six at a time, like these rodents do, with very healthy offspring. Furthermore, the Midrash Raba says on the pasuk Shemot 31 וּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל פָּר֧וּ וַֽיִּשְׁרְצ֛וּ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ that there is a machloket among the Amoraim. One says, we're compared to the strong Sheratzim, which gives birth to six at a time. Others say it's to the smallest Sheratzim , that give birth to 60 at a time. Regardless, the point is that like little scorpions that come out as teeny little things, but yet strong and healthy, so too we're being told that even though they were six at one time, they were healthy. It wasn't like modern times, where if someone had sextuplets, they'd be weak. פָּר֧וּ וַֽיִּשְׁרְצ֛וּ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ וַיַּֽעַצְמ֖וּ ׃ They were very strong. They're very powerful. The sefer Kenaf Rananim asks why it says אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בֵיתֶךָ /she's all over the different sides of your house? Because sometimes when a lady many children, she's tired, she's in bed, she's too weak to take care of the household. But here, we're saying, No, she's all over the house. She's taking care of everything. Rabbenu Bachye adds beautiful thought on Bereshit 34,1 from Midrash Tanhuma on Vayishlach chapter six that says that when a lady is , אֶשְׁתְּךָ כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בֵיתֶךָ which means she's on the side of her house, she's inside, she's modest, she's sanua . She brings kapara because it uses the term yerech which is the side, and it says in Vayikra 1,11 yerech Hamizbe'ach-, so the lady who's a modest lady is like an altar that brings kapara and she will have children. The next term talks about the olive sprouts because the children will be fit to be anointed with the holy anointing oil, which is made out of olive oil. He continues on, to tell us that Masechet Yoma daf 47 describes the lady called the Kimchit who had seven sons that all became Kohanim Gedolim because of her tremendous modesty. And again, this goes back to the modest woman of Mitzrayim . It says none of them did anything improper. There was only one lady Shlomit bat Divri that was called out. All the other ladies were modest. And that's adds to the, the, the tremendous beracha that came upon the ladies of Mitzrayim and allowed them to raise these wonderful families. In their merit, we were saved from Mitzrayim. So again, this pasuk captures the greatness and the righteousness of the Jewish women at that time. And that is the strength of the rodents. The Chatam Sofer, in his commentary on Tehilim on this pasuk, adds something beautiful. And he says that a lady is compared to a vine because wine is easy. You put the wine in the barrel and you sit it and it develops. SO she'll have children easily, but raising children is not as easy. If you want to turn an olive into olive oil, you have to crush it and smash it and push it. It's not as easy to make olive oil from olives as it is to get wine from grapes (a little hinuch hint) And finally, a beautiful thought from the Midrash Shemuel in his commentary on Pirkei Avot 3,1 He's bothered by the word אֶשְׁתְּךָ which has a segol with three dots rather than the typical spelling of wife which is Ishtecha - with a hirik - which has one dot . He says that there are three partners in a person- a husband, wife and God. And so we put the three dots there to tell you that if you want to have a successful marriage, we need the Shechina to come down. He says, that's why it says כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה It could have said porah. Why is there an extra Yud there? Because then פרעה jas a Yud and Heh and as we know, it says that when the Jewish people left Mitzrayim, God Himself testified on the kashrut of the Jewish people. If one would say, " Oh you Jewish people were in Egypt all those years, and you think your lineage is pure?" God testified, הַפָּלוֹי , all the names have a ה in the beginning and a י at the end , and they're called Shivteh Yah tribes of God , עדות לישראל the tribes of God. God came down and testified that, that they all proper couples. And that's why this pasuk specifically referring to those ladies, is Ishtecha not Eshtecha and Gefen Poriah, not Porah . Rashi brings down this point that Hashem testified to the fidelity of the Jewish people. (See Rashi in Bamidbar 26,5 and Tehilim 122,4)

Welcome back to our lessons on Perek Shira . We are now up to the song of the Sheratzim , the song of the Rodents . These are not the most beautiful or aesthetic of creatures. The Gemara mentions snails and moles, and all kinds of crawly creatures, such as cockroaches and the like. Their song is a pasuk from Tehilim 149,22 שְׁרָצִים אוֹמְרִים. יִשְׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֹשָׂיו בְּנֵי צִיּוֹן יָגִילוּ בְמַלְכָּם: (תהילים קמט ב) Let Yisrael (the Jewish people) rejoice in his maker (referring to Hashem) the children of Sion will exult in their King. Why is this the song of the Sheratzim ? Why are they singing and happy that Hashem created them, even though they don't have the nicest of looks, as we said. Everything has a purpose, and them being in the world is part of the purpose. As the Seforno says, all creatures have a reason to rejoice, but Klal Yisrael has special cause to rejoice, because they are the chosen people. They are the Am Segula . The Sheratzim's ministering angel is singing, " Yes, all creatures, even us, sing a song because we know Hashem made us for a reason. " Like the story with David Hamelech, who asked why certain things were created, and Hashem showed him there's a reason for everything. But the angel of the Sheratzim is saying. " There are creatures, specifically Klal Yisrael, that have reason to be even more happy, because they're the chosen nation." Their song is telling the Jewish people that this is not a world where everything is exactly equal. Are all men are created equal? Are all creatures are created equal? No. They aren't.The Song of the Sheratzim is saying, Even though we're down here, we're not claiming, everyone's created equal. No, we understand there are creatures that are on a higher level of the hierarchy - the Jewish people. And that's יִשְׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֹשָׂיו The Jewish people have a special happiness with their Creator. The Sefer Yismach Yehuda on Perek Shira explains this, based on a beautiful midrash Tehilim 18,12 that says Eliyahu HaNavi met the great Tanna Rav Nehorai, and he asked him, Why did God create these crawling creatures ? He answered, Because when Hashem sees that the people are sinning, He could look down and say, Why am I keeping these people going? They're sinners. There's no purpose for them. They're not helping the world. But then God looks at the Sheratzim and says, Well, I'm keeping these rodents alive, and I'm keeping these cockroaches alive, and they have no needs. The Jewish people, might be sinners now but will eventually turn around and do teshuva, so for sure I should keep them going until they come about and have something special come out of them. So the Sheratzim cause God to have mercy and patience with the Jewish people. That's why the Chida writes that it's so important to stay away from eating bugs. Because if you eat bugs, then that whole claim disappears. If you say bugs do serve a purpose, if you eat them and benefit from them, then there's a reason for them. So the more we stay away from bugs, the more we're reiterating the concept that there's no needs for bugs to be there. What are they doing for us? They're not doing anything. So why does Hashem keep them there? To keepsomething that has no need. The Sefer Yismach Yehuda says that is song that the bugs are telling us. יִשְׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֹשָׂיו בְּנֵי צִיּוֹן יָגִילוּ בְמַלְכָּם: Jewish people, be happy with your Creator. Look how far Hashem goes to keep you alive, even though you're sinners. Look at us and see, He created an entire world of Sheratzim just to be able to say, Of I'm keeping them going, surely I should keep the Jewish people going. That's the second message of the song of the Sheratzim . The Sefer Yismach Yehuda has another beautiful explanation. He says that Hashem gave us certain Mitzvot that He really didn't have to give us. For example, Hashem said, Don't eat a cockroach. Don't eat blood. Why does Hashem have to say that? Who's eating blood? Do you know why Hashem gave us these Mitzvot? In order to give us more opportunity for zechuyot . We don't like these things; we have no interest in eating them. And the Gemara says we're not supposed to say, I don't want to eat it any anyway. We're supposed to say, I would eat it, but Hashem told me not to . Hashem wanted to give us more opportunities for zechut. Going back to our bugs, Maybe I wouldn't mind eating them. Maybe I wouldn't check the lettuce. But Hashem gave us more opportunities for zechut ; He made more things Asur , so that we have more opportunities for merit. The sheratzim are saying, יִשְׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֹשָׂיו בְּנֵי צִיּוֹן יָגִילוּ בְמַלְכָּם: We're only here for you Jewish people to get more merit, and therefore be happy. The message is that the Jewish people should be happy either because - by not eating us, you're getting a merit. - of the fact that we're only here so that Hashem should say, if the Sheratzim are alive, surely I should keep the Jewish people alive. - generally speaking, if every creature has to be happy, surely you Jewish people have to be happy. All these messages are the same. The Sheratzim are singing the song, Jewish people, be happy!

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 59 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (2/26/24), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we continued our analysis of the short perek we began last time. After reviewing our translation, our pivot point theories, and our questions, we came up with a few ideas and approaches. I presented the findings that my chavrusa and I came up with, which I think carry real promise. The central idea we developed today is fundamental in our relationship with Hashem, as individuals and as a nation. I THOUGHT we'd manage to wrap it up this time, but I think there's still one more session to go!-----מקורות:תהלים פרק מגרד"קאבן עזראתרגום כתוביםספורנורב ש"ר הירשRabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, "Fate and Destiny"-----The Torah content for the entire month of February has been sponsored by Y.K. with gratitude to Rabbi Schneeweiss for providing a clear and easily accessible path to personal growth via his reliably interesting and inspiring Torah content.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 122 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

Welcome to our Anava series. A while back we said that the goal of Yetziat Mitzrayim was to make us humble. Somebody recently shared with me a sefer Tiferet Shlomo , on Parashat Beshalach , that says, Anytime a person wants to merit any level of greatness, he has to start off with the understanding that, 'I am not fit for this.' It's not my merit, but rather than merit of my forefathers that opened the path for me, and set me on the road. The Gemara in Berachot 10B says, כל התולה בזכות עצמו תולין לו בזכות אבותיו כו' ע"ש. If you think that you're worthy on your own, God will reciprocate and say, "I gave this to you because of your forefathers. " The very fact that you take credit makes you less worthy so you need the merit of others. But when someone says, I don't have merit, that in itself is the merit, because humility is the merit! As the pasuk in Devarim 7,7 says לֹ֣א מֵֽרֻבְּכֶ֞ם מִכׇּל־הָֽעַמִּ֗ים חָשַׁ֧ק יְהֹוָ֛ה בָּכֶ֖ם / God likes you because you are not great, but you humble yourselves. That's why we always say Elohenu V'Elohei Avotenu / Our God and the God of our forefathers, which means the whole Elohut / the whole connection to God comes because we realize it's Elohenu avotenu . It's not enough to simply understand, I got it from my father. No, the fact that you make the statement and realize it's from your father, is how you create your connection. Conversely, somebody who lifts themself up and thinks I'm worthy on my own, is going to go down, as we see in many cases in history The Tiferet Shlomo points out that Az Yashir starts with, כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃ He threw the horse in the rider. Why do we say that? Because Paroah was the one that said, I am a god. So Hashem is showing us what happens to those that think they're gods. The Jewish people were saved specifically because they were humble. He then goes through the Nusach HaTefila that we say every morning. ממצרים גאלתנו כו' וים סוף להם בקעת כו' על זאת שבחו אהובים כו' שירות ותשבחות ברכות והודאות למלך אל חי וקים . God took us out of Egypt… He split the sea….Those beloved ones sing songs Wonderful! We are talking about Keriat Yam Suf and we are going to say Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Vaed- that's our daily introduction to our prayers. You have to have Keriat Yam Suf on your mind, so that you are ready to pray. You're supposed to make Keriat Yam Suf alive every day of your life. In middle of that discussion, we say רם ונשא כו' משפיל גאים ומגביה שפלים . Ram V'Nisah God is great. He brings down the arrogant What does that have to do with anything? Then we go back to תהלות לאל עליו ן Why, in the middle of my discussion about God saving us from Mitzrayim , do I have this little Mussar on Anava ? He explains, That's the point. Without the Anava, they never would've gotten out of Mitzrayim . And without the Anava you can't connect to Hashem. So every single day, I'm not just Zecher LYetziat Mitzrayim as a philosophical concept. Rather, with that Zecher LYetziat Mitzrayim comes my daily dose of Anava , and then I'm ready to pray. And he says, we see this built in to the famous Rashi on Zeh Eli V'Anvehu, Rashi15B, which says שראתה שפחה על הים מה שלא ראו / So the Jewish people saw tremendous things and yet they remained humble. That's what we want to say. מוציא אסירים ופודה ענוים / God took those out of jail and He redeems the humble. Why did He take them out of jail? Why did He redeem them? Because they were Anavim . And he says, an unbelievable thing ועונ"ה לעמו הוא אותיות ענו"ה /We say God answers ועונה Onah which has the same letters as the word Anava humility ענוה indicating that what caused Hashem to answer us is our Anava . In Arbit, we say the same. בוקע ים לפני משה זה אלי ענו ואמרו. God split the sea for all the Jewish people . He says, Moshe is the symbol of humility. משה עניו מכל אדם. ( Bamidbar 12,3) The sea was split in the merit of Moshe Rabbenu, in the merit of Anava . It says זה אלי ענו ואמרו Answer ענו has the same letters as ענו Anav humble They saw these great, great revelations and they still remained anav . That's one explanation. Annu/ Anav, they remained anav . The other explanation is because they were Anav they were able to say is Zeh Eli, which is Kabalat Ohl Malchut Shamayim. You can't accept the yoke of God's kingdom unless you're humble. Another unbelievable explanation- It says in the war with Amalek, Shemot 17, וּמֹשֶׁה֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן וְח֔וּר עָל֖וּ רֹ֥אשׁ הַגִּבְעָֽה׃ Moshe and Aharon went to top of the mountain. And in Bamidbar 23, 9 it says, Bilam says וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹת אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ / I see them from the mountains, Rashi says that refers to the Avot , who are considered the mountains. So says Moshe and Aharon went to top of the mountain, when going to fight Amalek. Amalek is all about Ga'ava , and we fight him with humility, by realizing we'll go on top of the mountain. There is a phrase from the Rishonim, the Kananas al gavei Anak/The Jewish people are like dwarfs on top of giants. So before we go to fight against Amalek, we can't stand on regular ground. We're going up on the mountain, as if to say I'm a dwarf and I'm standing on top of a giant. That humility is what caused us to win against Amalek. And that's why at Keriat Yam Suf, we aroused Zechut Avot. As it says in Shemot 14,30 וירא ישראל . /And Yisrael saw. But Tiferet Shlomo says we can read it as, they saw Yisrael, their grandfather referring to Yaakov Avinu. I'd like to add that Rav Wolbe says Shema Yisrael also means Listen Yaakov . When the tribes were standing around Yaakov Avinu's bed and they said, Shema Yisrael/ Listen, our father Yisrael. And that's what we're saying every single day. When I say Hashem Elokenu Hashem Echad , it's not because of me , it's because of Shema Yisrael, because of my grandparents , and that in itself is a statement of humility. It's not just Zechut Avot. It's the expression of humility, that I need to come on to them. This is a fascinating thesis by the Tiferet Shlomo. It says in Devarim 26,7 ונצעק אל ה' אלהי אבותינו We cried out to the God of our fathers, וישמע ה' את קולנו . and He heard our voice. And I was always bothered that it starts our our fathers and then our voices. But based on what we said before from the Gemara, that if you are humble and you say, I need my parents zechut, then Hashem says, well then I could do it on your zechut alone. As it says in Shemot 2,24 (שמות ב, כד) וישמע אלהים את נאקתם ויזכור אלהים את בריתו את אברהם את יצחק ואת יעקב. He heard their groans and He remembered the Brit with Avraham Yitzhak and Yaakov. When he wanted to hear their cries, Hashem said, Oh, they're arousing zechut Avot. They're not doing in their own merit, then I'll answer them. Shemot 2,25 וירא אלהים את בנ"י Hashem saw Benei Yisrael. This is an unbelievable explanation. He saw that there were Bnei Yisrael, He saw that they realized they needed zechut Avot, and וידע אלהים God knew. The simple explanation is, that this refers to the interference with intimacy. because that's something that only God could know. But he adds, Only God knows when you are praying, if you're praying because you think you're worthy, or you're not. Every single day before we say Az Yashir, we quote from Nechemia 9,9 ותרא את עני אבותינו / You saw the poverty, you saw the humility. And again, quite clear, the only way God heard our prayers at Yam Suf was because he saw the עוני , he saw the humility. As Rashi says at Zeh Eli , לא אני תחלת הקדושה / I'm not the beginning of Kedusha מימי אבותי it's my forefathers. He offers an unbelievable explanation of why Keriat Yam Suf needed Anava . Because when it came to time for Keriat Yam Suf Moshe wanted to pray but Hashem said it's not about praying. And he uses the term that's a Zohar that says, בעתיקא תליא מילטא / it's dependent on the Atika /the ancient One (on God). There are different explanations of what that means (Zohar volume two, page 52B.) The Nefesh HaChaim, Rav Chaim Volozhin says, Atikah means you need bitachon , it's not about prayer, it's about relying . But the Tiferet Shlomo explains it's about humility . Keriat Yam Suf needed humility. What does humility have to do with, with Hashem being called the Atikah/ the ancient One? In creation, Hashem hides Himself. The word Olam is from the Lashon of He'Elam/hidden . God is referred to as Sanua . He is hidden . We don't know where He is. And in Keriat Yam Suf, we know the wind's blew as the sea split. Why not let the sea split in a very open way? Because all miracles are done in a way that the nature is also involved. Noah had to get on an Ark. Why? An ark can't hold the whole creation. The answer is Because God is humble in His miracles. So if we want miracles to happen, we have to emulate God and also be humble. That's what it means by בעתיקא תליא מילטא The whole KeriatYam Suf was dependent the on humility of the Jewish people, to emulate the humility of God*. And that's why it says in in Tehilim (113,6) המשפילי לראות בשמים ובארץ . God humbles Himself every time He comes down and looks at the heavens and earth. Through the Anava , Hashem brings down the miracles. Again, if we want to arouse the humble God's miracles, we too have to be humble. I once heard an unbelievable explanation from Hacham Yeuda Moalem, one of the Roshei Yeshiva of Porat Yosef (there is a sefer written on him called Gaon HaAnava) He was humble, beyond humble. He says that when the sea split, it split at different times for different peoples. He asks, Why did it split for one person at one point, and for another person later? He says that it says that when the water hit Nachshon's nose, it split. And everyone is different. Someone who walks with his head down low, who's humble, the water hits his nose earlier, so the sea split earlier. Someone who walks with the head high in the air, is arrogant (Of course this is being said in a a figurative, joking way) and if the person is arrogant, his head is high up in the air, so it took longer for the water to reach his nose, and longer for the sea to split. He says the same is true in our lives. If we want our symbolic sea to split our problems, we have to lower our noses a little bit. We know there are two things that are as difficult as Keriat Yam Suf- Parnasa and Shidduchim , and both of those things are humbling. When does our sea split? When we're humbled? Oh, you have a business? You you know what you're doing? Not so simple. Oh, Everyone's going to want want my family. Everyone will want my son or daughter. Let's see.. The shidduch process is humbling. Why is it humbling? Because we need you to put your nose down for the sea to split. That's the way we arouse Hashem's mercy. If you want to see the miracles of the humble God, we too have to reciprocate with humility. * For a source that Hashem is considered humble, a pasuk in Mishleh 8,30says, וָאֶהְיֶ֥ה אֶצְל֗וֹ אָ֫מ֥וֹן I will be by Him an Amon Amon can mean different things, and one of which is craftsman. The Midrash in Bereshit Rabba 1,1 uses the term Amon M'Tsuna/ humble craftsman. Rav Wolbe used to quote this on this concept that God is called a Humble Craftsman.

Les Psaumes , Tehilim et ses remèdes by Rav David Touitou

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 58 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (2/19/24), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we began a new and (to us) unknown chapter towards the beginning of Book II. I chose it because it was unfamiliar, short, and looked like it might help us to cope with the current situation Israel is in, and the despondent feelings of many Jews around the world. We spent much of the time going over various translations, then discussed where the pivot point might be, and concluded with a series of questions. Next time (בג"ה) we'll see if we can come up with a theory, with or without the meforshim!-----מקורות:תהלים פרק מגמצודת ציוןArtscrollRobert Alterהואיל משה - תהלים מג:אתרגום רס"גתרגום כתובים (trans. Prof. Edward M. Cook)פשיטתאSeptuagint (trans. Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton)-----The Torah content for the entire month of February has been sponsored by Y.K. with gratitude to Rabbi Schneeweiss for providing a clear and easily accessible path to personal growth via his reliably interesting and inspiring Torah content.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

CURSO TEHILIM- MIZMOR- 121 by Rab Shlomo Benhamu

Welcome to our class on humility. We continue with the topic of accepting suffering with humility. David Hamelech, in chapter 23 of Tehilim says the famous pasuk גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃ / Even though I go in the valley of death, I do not fear evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they will give me comfort. The word shevet / rod is something to hit with. Like the pasuk says, וּפָקַדְתִּ֣י בְשֵׁ֣בֶט פִּשְׁעָ֑ם / I will remember them with a staff for their sins וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ is something you lean on, something you get support from. Like we say, Mishan U'Mivtach L'Sadikim The word Mishan is like a cane that you lean on. Hema Ynahamuni/They give me comfort. Rashi says, Shivtecha refers to the suffering , and Mishan means I feel guaranteed in your kindness. Right now I'm going through Din/justice but with that din and justice, I am relying on You that it will turn around. I know that the suffering will cause my sins to be forgiven and therefore I am Batuach/guaranteed that I will go back to my kingdom. David Hamelech said this when he was on the run. So yes, there's a shevet / rod. David Hamelech realizes that he just got whacked, but he knows that ultimately this whack will bring him the good. The Tomar Devorah adds another point, when discussing Nachum Ish Gamzu , who famously said, Gam Zu L'Tova / This is also for the good This also , that looks like it's coming from the bad and looks like justice, is good . He would try to take the bad and say it's going to turn around to the good. Gam zu L'Tova. Rav Shlomo Kluger, in his commentary on the siddur says, It says Hodu L'Olam Ki Tov, we thank Hashem that it's good. Ki L'Olam Hasdo/ His kindness is forever. The Jewish people have to say, Ki L'Olam Hasdo. And if you say it and work on realizing that this difficult situation is for the good, that will turn it into the good. But it starts by accepting that it's difficult, acknowledging that It's hard but I'm going to accept it, although it's difficult. That Emunah, and working through it will turn it around. There's a sefer Rav Yeveh Al HaTorah , by Rav Yaakov Yosef ben Yehuda (1738- 1790) one of the students of the Maggid of Mezrich (who sent his students to hear from Rav Zusha how to make a blessing on the bad and good in the same way). He says because Nahum Ish Gamzu believed (he didn't feel it, but he believed) that everything is Hessed and Rachamim , he was able to take the din , which was justice and turn around. That's what happened when he bought gold and jewels to give to the king as a present. But an innkeeper stole the gold and precious items and replaced them with dust. When Nachum Ish Gamzu got to the king, he discovered that the chest was full of dust and said Gam Zu LTova, and Hashem made a miracle that the dust turned into miraculous dust like the dust of Abraham Avinu. When they threw it at the enemy, it turned into arrows and spears. That it turned into dirt was calamity, and I don't know what Nachum was thinking, but he turned it around. It was justice, he says, but it turned out to good. He offers a nice explanation of the pasuk , " VaYomer Elokim Vayehi Or/God (of justice) says, let there be light." What does that mean? When a person is in a situation of Elokim/ Middat HaDin and he says ' Yehi Or/let this judgment that's happening to me turn into a light ,' then yehi Or/ it will turn into light . I once saw a beautiful quote by Rabbi Moshe Wilson z'l via email ( I don't have the source in a book) when he was still alive. It quoted him as saying that the Mekubalim teach that המתקת הדינים בשקדים which means justice/din is sweetened at its source . What does that mean? He explains that justice emanates from a spiritual world that demands that no spark be left behind, no soul will be lost and that we all must do teshuva. Similarly, Rav Wolbe used to always say that Middat HaDin is Tovea Shelemut/God's justice is demanding perfection. It's not this big mean, angry Middat HaDin . No Middat HaDin is the teacher that says, " Come on Abie, you can do better. I think you could get a higher mark. Take the test again. Study harder, you'll do better. I want more than an 83. I want a 90." That's Middat HaDin It's demanding perfection. In Shemuel 2, 14:14 it says, לְבִלְתִּ֛י יִדַּ֥ח מִמֶּ֖נּוּ נִדָּֽח׃ / So that nobody is pushed away, which is a kabbalistic concept that Hashem works the world that the end everyone will come back. So now the verdict says " Such and such person has to return." They want this soul back. Being way up there in Shamayim , can there anything be sweeter than that? But then when the justice goes out from its root and enters our world, it might be implemented harshly, maybe has v'shalom with an illness, a financial loss or other calamity to pull this Neshama out of its bond with evil and bad character traits etc.. the court decided that's what he needs and the verdict goes forth. But what happens if instead of the judgment coming out of its source and reaching us, we go back to the source of the justice on our own? What if we ourselves realize that since we will anyways be forced to return to our source through suffering, we'll do the work of teshuva and avoid all the pain. Once you take that attitude, everything turns around. That's why it says, If one sees suffering is coming his way. Why doesn't it say When he's suffering ? The Ben Ish Chai in his sefer Ben Yoyada on that Gemara says that Hashem, in His mercy, doesn't bring things on a person immediately. First there are little telltale signs. The financial climate is not good. You get a little scare and you have to go take a test… He sees it coming, but it hasn't come yet. And then he says, " Oh no! I'm humbled. I realize, I have things to fix," and he returns to Hashem- and that's it! It goes away because we fulfilled the purpose and then the justice becomes sweet, because even if the Teshuva demands that we break our ego (that's what it's all about. That's why we're talking about humility) when we do so on our own, even if the process isn't easy, it's very sweet . That's why we say Shana Tova U'Metuka, a sweet new year . The Chafetz Chaim once said , Everything is good, but some things are sweet and some things are bitter. When we say something is evil, it's because it's bitter. Of course it's ultimately good, Gam Zu L'Tova . But I don't want it just to be L'Tova . I don't want to have the bitter that's going to get sweet. I want to have the sweet . And it's sweet when you go back to the source and you say, Hashem, I know why it's happening. I know you want me back. I'm gonna come back on my own. I once an explanation of why we read Maftir Yona on Yom Kippur Mincha. It's because Yona tried to run away from God. Hashem brought a whale. He went under and he came up and he was spit out and the whole story until eventually he goes and does what he has to do. And the lesson is, You're going to get there anyway. Do it willingly . Hashem wants what's best for us. He's trying to get us there. And everything that happens around us is to humble us, accept His will and go further. That's the Jewish outlook on when things are challenging and why it's happening- ultimately, for humility.

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 58 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (2/12/24), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we attempted to "land the plane" - and I believe we succeeded! We reviewed our analysis from last time, honed in on the key questions we intended to resolve, then managed to synthesize the steps we took, thanks to one new step which tied everything together. We emerged with a solid understanding of the main idea of the perek and its application. This is yet another example of how enriching it can be to learn an unfamiliar perek of Tehilim! Now the question is: Which perek should we learn next?-----מקורות:תהלים פרק סהמצודת דודרד"ק - תהלים קטז:יד-----The Torah content for the entire month of February has been sponsored by Y.K. with gratitude to Rabbi Schneeweiss for providing a clear and easily accessible path to personal growth via his reliably interesting and inspiring Torah content.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Before one immerses a new utensil, he recites the Beracha, "Baruch Ata…Asher Kideshanu Be'misvotav Ve'sivanu Al Tebilat Keli." If he immerses more than one utensil on one occasion, then he recites "Al Tebilat Kelim," in the plural form, instead of the singular form of "Al Tebilat Keli." Nevertheless, if one mistakenly recited the Beracha in the plural form for a single utensil, or in the singular form for multiple utensils, he has fulfilled his obligation and does not repeat the Beracha. While reciting the Beracha, one should preferably hold the utensil in his right hand. Furthermore, it is proper to stand while reciting the Beracha, just as one should stand whenever he recites a Beracha over a Misva. Some Rabbis found an allusion for this Halacha in the verse (Tehilim 33:11), "Asat Hashem Le'olam Ta'amod" (literally, "the counsel of God shall always endure"). The letters of the words "Asat" and "Le'olam" are "Ayin," "Sadi," "Tav," "Lamed," "Ayin," "Lamed" and "Mem," which represent the words, "Erub," "Sisit," "Tefilin," "Lulab," "Omer," "Lebana" and "Mila." This verse thus alludes to the fact that when one recites the Beracha over these Misvot, "Ta'amod" – he must stand. This applies to Tebilat Kelim (immersing utensils), as well. Nevertheless, if a person sat while reciting the Beracha before immersing a utensil, he has fulfilled his obligation and does not repeat the Beracha. Tebilat Kelim differs from other Misvot in that it is not an outright obligation; one is not required to immerse a new utensil unless he wishes to use it. As such, there is greater room for leniency, and thus one who mistakenly sat while reciting the Beracha does not repeat the Beracha. One must not speak after reciting the Beracha until he finishes immersing all the utensils he intends to immerse. One may speak in matters related to the immersion, such as asking somebody to bring him another utensil or the scraper to remove stickers. If one spoke in matters unrelated to the immersion after he recited the Beracha and before he began immersing the utensils, he must repeat the Beracha. While immersing a utensil, one should hold it with a loose grip, in order to allow the water in the Mikveh to come in contact with the entire surface of the utensil. Alternatively, one may wet his hands before immersing the utensil, in which case he is allowed to hold the utensil with an average grip during the immersion. Since his hands are already wet, the part of the utensil that he holds will come in contact with Mikveh water by touching his hands. One may even wet his hands with water from a sink for this purpose, as this water will obtain the status of Mikveh water once it enters the Mikveh (due to a Halachic concept known as "Hashaka"). Many people use baskets with holes in the bottom and sides when immersing several utensils at once. They lower the basket into the Mikveh, and the water in the Mikveh enters the basket through the holes and touches the utensils. This is certainly permissible, but on condition that one places the utensils alongside one another, as opposed to on top of one another. When utensils rest on top of one another, the weight of the top utensil might prevent the water from touching the upper surface of the lower utensil. One must therefore ensure that the utensils are lined across, next to one another, without any utensil on top of another. Summary: Before immersing a utensil, one recites the Beracha of "Al Tebilat Keli" (or "Al Tebilat Kelim" for multiple utensils), preferably while standing and while holding the utensil in his right hand. He should not speak in matters unrelated to the immersion until he finishes immersing all the utensils. One should hold the utensil with a loose grip, or wet his hands prior to the immersion and then hold the utensil with an average grip. Perforated baskets may be used to immerse several utensils together, provided that no utensil is placed on top of another.

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 56 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (2/5/24), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we continued our analysis of the perek we began last week. Day 2 of learning a new perek is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get. I was actually a bit worried that we wouldn't get ANYWHERE tonight, as sometimes happens on Day 2, but I was pleasantly surprised. We came up with three general approaches which all overlapped, and we developed a few other ideas as well. I'm encouraged by the progress we've made and I'm fairly confident we'll continue developing these ideas next week when we start looking into the meforshim.-----מקורות:תהלים פרק סהרד"ק - תהלים סה:אמלבי"ם - תהלים סה:אThe Torah content for the entire month of February has been sponsored by Y.K. with gratitude to Rabbi Schneeweiss for providing a clear and easily accessible path to personal growth via his reliably interesting and inspiring Torah content.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

1)     Many Sidurim have a list of verses corresponding to people's names, to be recited before stepping back at the end of the Shmone Esrei. I found some of those verses to be difficult for my younger pupils. Can I recommend a simpler verse instead?[1] 2)    Is playing football on Shabbos permitted?[2] 3)    A non-frum Jew kindly lent money to my Beis Chabad, but he wrote the cheque on Shabbos. May I deposit the cheque?[3] 4)    Why does Chabad not say א-ל מלך נאמן before Shema?[4] 5)    Following on from discussion about the issue of Nolad in making whip-cream on Shabbos; may one make soda-water on Shabbos?[5] 6)    When visiting small communities ahead of Purim, should I read theMegila for them?[6] 7)    I ate a meaty supper. I then saw a tasty bun, said the brocho, and was then alerted that the bun is milky. May I eat a drop of the bun in order to avoid a brocho in vain?[7] 8)    Is there value in saying Birkas haMozon in Hebrew from a transliterated text?[8] 9)    I share an office with a non-Jew. On a recent vacation trip to Egypt, he picked up some antique artefacts and has displayed them in our office. May I pray in that office?[9] 10)  Feedback on saying Tehilim on the eve of Shabbos Mevorchim:[10] [1] במאמר הר' ישראל חיים שטעסל (מח"ס שיח תפלה, ונספח לסידור 'תפלת ישראל, י. קרויס, תשע"ד, ע' רלא) מוכיח שיש להעדיף פסוקים אלו דוקא. [2] דיון מדין מוקצה – בשו"ע סי' שח סמ"ה ובשוע"ר שם ספ"ג. ואילו בסי' שלח ס"ו חשש להשוויית גומות. ונ"ל דשם מיירי במשחק גולות וכיו"ב. [3] איסור מעשה שבת (בר"ס שיח) לאחרים רק עד מוצ"ש, אף למי שבישל בשבילם. וש"נ לסי' תקג סי"ב שהתבשיל אסור לכל אנשי ביתו לעולם. ויל"ח בין שבת דחמירא בעיני אינשי, משא"כ יו"ט, ולכך החמירו שם. [4] דבר זה הובא בשוע"ר סי' סא ס"ד. ובהע' צויין לתקוני זהר. ב'סדור' הורה להכפיל התיבות "'אה"א'. בס' דרכי חיים ושלום (אות קמג) מביא מהאשכול והרמב"ן שאמירת 'א-ל מלך נאמן' הוי' עניית אמן על ברכת עצמו, דהוי מגונה (לבד מ'בונה ירושלים'). אכן בזמנים עברו היה הש"ץ מברך בקול ברכות קר"ש, והקהל ענו 'אמן'. או שענו 'א-ל מלך נאמן'. אבל מי שמברך בעצמו 'אהבת עולם' אין לו לומר 'א-ל מלך נאמן'. ולהעיר ממנהגנו (ספר המנהגים ע' 11) שהש"ץ מסיים ברכת 'אהבת עולם' בלחש – מחשש הפסק ב'אמן'. אע"פ שיש דעות בראשונים לענות שם אמן על ברכת עצמו. [5] בס' שמירת שבת כהלכתה פי"א סל"ו מתיר הדבר. ואילו בפסקי תשובות (סי' שכ אות טו) מביא מצדדים לכאן ולכאן. [6] מבואר באו"ח סי' תרפח ס"ז. [7] בס' פסקים ותשובות (יו"ד סי' פט אות ה) מקיל לטעום מעט לאחרי שעה מאכילת הבשר, ויש מקילים בתוך השעה, אך בקינוח ידיו ופיו.  ולענין תענית ראה שערי תשובה סי' תקסח סק"א. ובפסקי תשובות (שם אות ב) תלוה הדבר בפלוגתא אם ברכה לבטלה אסורה מדאורייתא או מדרבנן. [8] ראה שוע"ר סי' קפה ס"א ואילך. [9] ראה שוע"ר סי' צד ס"י. [10] ראה ליקוט דיני ומנהגי ראש חודש (לר"ח רפפורט, קה"ת נ"י תש"נ) פ"א הע' 26. הערת ר"א קיעוומאן נ"י: א) אחרי תשמ"ח לא הי' מיקרופון לברכה לתמימים בערב יו"כ; ב) כשחל יו"ט בערב שבת, לא היתה התוועדות בערב שבת. ומשמע שבגלל שהרבי הדליק נרות, לא סמך על אי-קבלת השבת מיד.

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 57 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (1/29/24), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we began a new perek! I chose this one because of the famous opening line (which is central to the Rambam's writings about praising Hashem). As usual, we spent much of this first session reading and translating the perek, and BOY WAS IT A TEETHBREAKER! The words, grammar, and syntax in this perek are NOT simple! Still, we hobbled together a translation, then stuck with Robert Alter's translation for our analysis. We identified a viable pivot point and raised a bunch of questions. Next time (בג"ה), we'll try to develop a theory about the theme or the main idea, either on our own or with the help of meforshim.-----מקורות:תהלים פרק סה-----The Torah content for the rest of January is sponsored by Avital, “to continued growth, learning and clarity IY”H. Thank you for all your guidance!”-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

The blessing of Birkat Ha'gomel (which one recites after emerging from a situation of danger) must be recited in the presence of ten people. The authorities debate the question of whether one must repeat the Beracha if he recited it when ten people were not present. The Shulhan Aruch applies to this case the famous rule of "Safek Berachot Le'hakel," which means that one should not recite a Beracha in situations of uncertainty. One who mistakenly recited Birkat Ha'gomel while not in the presence of ten people therefore should not repeat the Beracha in the presence of ten people. Preferably, if he finds somebody who will be reciting the Beracha in the presence of ten people, then he should listen to the Beracha and have the person reciting the Beracha have in mind to fulfill his obligation, as well. Alternatively, he can repeat the Beracha in the presence of ten people but omit the phrase, "Hashem Elokenu Melech Ha'olam." Preferably, at least two Torah scholars should be present for the recitation of Birkat Ha'gomel. It is uncertain whether these two scholars should be among or in addition to the ten people – that is, whether there should be ten in addition to the scholars, or ten including the scholars. In any event, when possible, one should arrange to recite Birkat Ha'gomel in front of a group that includes at least two Torah scholars. However, one should not delay Birkat Ha'gomel for this purpose. If a person is in the synagogue with a Minyan but no Torah scholars are present, he should recite Birkat Ha'gomel despite the absence of Torah scholars, rather than delay the recitation to another day. One should recite Birkat Ha'gomel while standing, and the people listening should preferably be seated. The verse (Tehilim 107:32) speaks of praising God for one's salvation "Be'moshab Zekenim," which literally means, "among the sitting elders," implying that the people in whose presence one recites the Beracha should be sitting. After the individual recites Birkat Ha'gomel, the people listening answer "Amen" and then respond, "Mi She'gemalach Kol Tub Hu Yigmulcha Kol Tub Sela." This means, "He who has granted you all kindness shall [continue to] grant you all kindness." The Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) writes that after the congregation answers with this response, the individual should then say, "Amen Ken Yehi Rason," expressing his wish that their prayer for him shall be fulfilled. Summary: Birkat Ha'gomel must be recited in the presence of ten people. If ten people were not present at the time of Birkat Ha'gomel, one nevertheless does not repeat the Beracha. It is preferable to have Torah scholars present for Birkat Ha'gomel, but the Beracha should not be delayed for this purpose. During the recitation, the individual reciting the Beracha should be standing and the audience should be sitting.

1)    Siyum on Rambam Sefer Nezikin. 2)    In error I sent £1000 to a Tzedoko account. Is the Tzedoko's manager permitted to reimburse the money to my account?[1] 3)    I've heard of a Segula: to recite Chapter 20 of Tehilim during pregnancy. Please enlighten me:[2] 4)    Some Sefardim are lenient re. chazarah and permit placing food from the fridge onto the hotplate on Shabbos. May an Ashkenazi eat from this?[3] 5)    A nozzle-extension to a tap, does it need to be toivelled?[4] 6)    In our (Central European) city, it's only at this time of the year that we can buy beeswax candles (for a fraction of the price in heimishe stores). May we buy them?[5] 7)    I'm travelling during Chanukah. Is there value in lighting Menora at my host after Plag haMincha with a lot of oil, and then rush away to the airport for our evening flight?[6] 8)    A Chuppah was held during Bein HaShmoshos. When does the week of celebration end?[7] 9)    A balebos was asked by a church to rent a property of his. Is that permitted?[8] 10)  I have a tattoo from before I became frum. I'm embarrassed with the inappropriate image on my body. May I have a tattoo done to obliterate the present image?[9] 11)  Feedback: number of Tevilos[10]; removal of name from cake - why it isn't borer; leftovers of Mayim Acharonim. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9764852268?omn=8473670146 [1] ראה רמ"א יו"ד סי' רנח ס"ב; צדקה ומשפט פ"ד ס"ז. [2] ראה קובץ מנהגי חב"ד - בענייני הריון, לידה, ברית, פדיון הבן ולידת בת, ע' 13; מדרש תילים מזמור כ. [3] בס' ילקוט יוסף לסי' שיח (סנ"ז) מתיר לספרדי ליהנות ממעשה אשכנזי שחימם מאכל לח שנצטנן, אך לא לגמרי, אע"פ שלדעת השו"ע זה אסור. והוא משום ס"ס: אולי הלכה כהרמב"ם שאין בישול אחר בישול בדבר לח, ואולי ההלכה כרמ"א להקל בלא נצטנן לגמרי, ע"כ. וא"כ י"ל גם איפכא, בספרדי שחימם תבשיל עם מיעוט רוטב, להתיר לאשכנזי לאוכלו, משום ס"ס: אולי הלכתא כהרמב"ם, ואולי יש להתיר למיזיל בתר רוב המאכל. הגר"מ אליהו (דרכי הלכה על קצש"ע סי' פ הע' ד) אוסר הנחת פשטידא קרה על הפלטה (שנראה כמבשל), כ"א מול המדורה. [4] ראה ס' טבילת כלים פ"א הע' טז שכל ששימושו עם הקרקע אין צריך טבילה. [5] בשו"ת שבט הלוי (ח"ב סי' נז) מתיר הדבר, כי אין הקדש לע"ז (אף שכתוב מפורש על החבילה שהוא מיועד לחג הנוצרים). ואילו בשו"ת חלקת יעקב (ח"ג סי' ל) כתב שאין זה הידור מצוה, ואפילו לצורך השמש שאינו מצוה. ואולי באינו מפורש יודה גם הוא. [6] בשו"ע או"ח (סי' תערב ס"א) מתיר להדליק מפלג המנחה ולמעלה "ובלבד שיתן בה שמן עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק". ב'אור ישראל' (יח) מאריך הרב חיים אבערלאנדער נ"י אודות הנוסע מארה"ב לאירופא בחנוכה, אם ידליק אחר פלג המנחה טרם נסיעתו לנמל-תעופה או שידליק ע"י שליח. אך לא נחית למצב שיוצא מבית מארחו, ואז – בהגיע עיקר הזמן, בשקיעת החמה – אין זה ביתו. [7]  ברמ"א אה"ע סי' סב ס"ו נפסק שמתחילין מיד לאחר ז' ברכות שבירך בראשונה. [8] ראה שו"ע יו"ד סי' קנא ס"י; ש"ך שם ס"ק יז; דרכי תשובה שם אות כז. [9] ראה נשמת אברהם יו"ד סי' קפ א:3 בדבר איפור קבוע לאשה שחסרו לה גבות עיניים או למי שיש לו צלקת על עורו, שלמסקנת הגר"ע יוסף ז''ל יש להתיר בנידון, כי הרי"ף והרא"ש פסקו כר"ש (מכות כא ) שרק בשם ע"ז חייב, ואף להרמב"ם שפסק כת"ק, י"א דהיינו רק כשעושה הקעקוע לשם ע"ז, וזה לא שייך בנדו"ד, ואדרבה. גם אין כאן כתב, ודמיא לטשטוש צלקת שהתיר הגר"ע. אגב: שם דן על כתיבה עראית על בשר האדם. ולהעיר מדין הסגרת נגע צרעת, שי"א דהיינו ע"י דיו (רא"ש, בטור הארוך, ויקרא יג, ה); עובדא של אדה"ז עם אחיו בבירור שיעור גריס (שו"ת שארית יהודה יו"ד סי' יג). [10] ציטוט מקונטרס 'שופר לאור החסידות', לב לייבמן, אלול תשפ"ג. ואילו בס' 'המזכיר' ח"א ע' 158 – הסדר להיפך!

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Mishlei 15:11 - The Grave, Destruction, and Kal va'Chomer Human Hearts (Part 1)שְׁאוֹל וַאֲבַדּוֹן נֶגֶד י"י אַף כִּי לִבּוֹת בְּנֵי אָדָם:Length: 46 minutesSynopsis: This morning (12/11/24), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we learned a strange pasuk which looks like it belongs in Iyov or Tehilim rather than in Mishlei. We came up with a few approaches, some in need of more work than others, and we reviewed some important methodology points. Tomorrow (בג"ה) we'll try on our own again before delving into the meforshim.-----מקורות:משלי טו:אתרגום רב הירשמצודת ציוןתרגום רס"ג-----This week's Torah content has been generously sponsored by Ann, a dedicated supporter of the Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund. Thank you, Ann, for your ongoing contribution, which enables me to make my Torah available and accessible to everyone!-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 58 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (11/13/24), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we successfully "landed the plane"! Last time we ran through the Radak to get the big picture and I shared the core of my theory. This time we read through him at a more deliberate pace and then brought it all together by asking a key question: When should this perek be said? The answer to that question unlocked the main idea and purpose of the perek. I'm really happy with our this round of analysis went, and I can't wait to see what happens NEXT time we return to this perek!-----מקורות:תהלים פרק כגרד"קאבן עזרא פירוש שניר' אליה די נולהספורנורמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תשובה י:גרמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה, חלוקת הספריםרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות ברכות א:ג-ד-----This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Yael Weiss. I forgot to ask her for a dedication message in advance, but in the meantime, I'll dedicate this Torah content to the entire Weiss family: Rabbi and Sara, Yael and Esti, Eli and Benji, with a special shout-out to Rabbi Weiss Sr. Thank you for supporting what I do and for being part of my learning life, each in your own way!-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Mishlei 15:8 - Tefilah and Korbanos in Mishlei?! (Part 1)זֶבַח רְשָׁעִים תּוֹעֲבַת י"י וּתְפִלַּת יְשָׁרִים רְצוֹנוֹ:Length: 46 minutesSynopsis: This morning (11/13/24), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we began working on a pasuk which looks like it belongs in Tehilim or the Neviim more than in Mishlei. We worked on one approach, then set it aside to review Rabbeinu Yonah's definition of "yashar." Tomorrow (בג"ה) we'll attempt our own analysis again before turning to the meforshim.-----מקורות:משלי טו:חתרגום רס"גתרגום כתוביםרבינו יונה - משלי יא:ג-----This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Yael Weiss. I forgot to ask her for a dedication message in advance, but in the meantime, I'll dedicate this Torah content to the entire Weiss family: Rabbi and Sara, Yael and Esti, Eli and Benji, with a special shout-out to Rabbi Weiss Sr. Thank you for supporting what I do and for being part of my learning life, each in your own way!-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Rabbi Daniel Kalish

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 58 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (11/6/24), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we quickly reviewed the perek and all the questions from last time. After exploring an approach from one of the shiur attendees, we learned the Radak's commentary which I attempted to elucidate with a little help from the Ibn Ezra. I believe I managed to get everything out on the table, but we'll need to mull it over and come back to it next week to sharpen it up. Still, I'm glad we managed to get two nice approaches (or three, depending on how you count) within the hour! Please feel free to leave your questions, insights, and feedback in the comments!-----מקורות:תהלים פרק כגרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תשובה ח:דרד"קאבן עזרא פירוש שניבראשית כח:כרד"ק - תהלים צא:יד-----This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Yael Weiss. I forgot to ask her for a dedication message in advance, but in the meantime, I'll dedicate this Torah content to the entire Weiss family: Rabbi and Sara, Yael and Esti, Eli and Benji, with a special shout-out to Rabbi Weiss Sr. Thank you for supporting what I do and for being part of my learning life, each in your own way!-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

In this week's Parasha , Noach was commanded to bring into the Teva two of every kind of animal that existed in the world to keep it's species alive. The sefer Birkat David quotes from studies that were done investigating how many species exist in the world. It said there are 10 kosher animals, 5,300 non-kosher animals, 18,000 kinds of reptiles, 9,000 kinds of birds and hundreds of thousands of insects. As big as the teva was, it was mathematically impossible for all of those animals to have fit on it. Furthermore, Noah and his family were given the job of feeding those animals. Even if every one of them would have spent all of their 24 hour days feeding the animals, they still wouldn't even come close to reaching every animal each day. Moreover, where was all that food stored ?Just the elephant alone eats approximately 300 pounds of food a day. Obviously this must have been accomplished by way of a miracle from Hashem. If that's the case, the Ramban asks, why did Hashem instruct Noah to build such a big Teva ? Anyway, it wasn't going to fit everything. He answered, Hashem wanted the miracle to be minimized as much as possible. And then he added, this is the way of all miracles. Man has to do all he can. And then Hashem does the rest. This is how it is with everything we do in life. We go through the motions, doing what we can, and Hashem is the One who gets things done. With this knowledge, if a person ever runs into a situation where it doesn't seem possible for him to accomplish his goal, but he knows it's the right thing to do, his job is to proceed with it, and he can then leave the rest to Hashem. Rabbi Avraham Salem, a mohel in Israel, told the following story about himself. Some years back on a hot day in the month of Elul, he had many brit milas scheduled in Netanya and the surrounding areas. The second to last one of the day was scheduled for 7:00 PM in one location. And the last one was in a different location pretty far from there, with sunset being at 7:15. This meant the mohel would have less than ten minutes to get there and do that last brit milah . He had no other choice. That was the only possibility for him to get all of them done on that day. While he was driving to that last brit milah, he saw smoke coming from underneath his car, and he quickly pulled over. He saw one of his tires was completely flat. It was too late to first call a taxi. He made a tefila to Hashem, "Please help me get this Mila accomplished." It seemed impossible to get there and complete it before sunset. But this rabbi knew he had to put in the effort and Hashem would decide what happens. So he waved down the next car driving by and begged the driver to help him. The driver was apprehensive, not knowing who this man was. The rabbi already started thanking him and got into his car and told him, "Please just go. I assure you we are doing holy work. I'll explain on the road." It was about a five mile drive to the next place, and there was nine minutes to go until sunset. The rabbi told the driver who was not religious, "You are Hashem's messenger. I am trying to get a brit mila done by the end of the day. I'm going to say Tehilim now and you just drive" When they arrived at the address, the rabbi was afraid to look at his watch. The driver told him you still have more than four minutes to go. The rabbi ran into the shul and was able to finish the mila before sunset. When he came out, he told the driver, you have no idea how great of a mitzvah you just did. The driver then said, "My name is Shimon. And if I just did a great mitzvah and you are a rabbi, please give me a beracha that I should get married. I'm 45 and I'm still single. I'm so lonely." The rabbi then put his hands on Shimon's head and gave him a heartfelt beracha and concluded by saying, "B'ezrat Hashem, I will have the merit to circumcise your first born son." The rabbi concluded this story by saying it was just one year later when Shimon called him in tears telling him that he got married two months after that episode, and now they had their first baby boy and were hoping he could come do the brit milah. That day that the rabbi tried to do all of those brit milas it seemed like he hit a roadblock and wasn't going to be able to complete the mission. Yet he kept going, because he knew that he just had to make the efforts, and it will be Hashem who actually gets things done. Shabbat Shalom.

CONCIERTO DE TEHILIM Y PEREK SHIRA 5785 by TALMUD TORA MONTE SINAI

Podcast Jajam Shlomo (Sally) Zaed Enseñanzas de Tehilim 27 Conferencia

Navigating Spiritual Highs and Lows: Insights from Rabbi Nachman and the TorahThis script offers an in-depth analysis of the spiritual and emotional journeys inspired by Rabbi Nachman and the Torah. It emphasizes the significance of introspection during Elul, the impact of B'Kurim, and the analysis of Psukim, focusing on the roles of Tehillim and Tshuva in personal and collective redemption. Key teachings from Likutei Moharan and the Tanya are discussed, highlighting the necessity of experiencing both spiritual highs and lows, the importance of recognizing emotions, and the profound truths found in Sefer Tehillim. The insights presented aim to guide individuals in finding comfort and purpose in their unique spiritual paths.Kollel Toras Chaim was established to learn Rebbe Nachman torah in depth and to live with his torah for several months with chaburas in various cities learning together. Download our learning pamphlet here, our special English version here feel free to reach out to us by email or by WhatsApp. Subscribe to our WhatsApp status for exclusive updates, short clips and more. We are also available on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Gratitude00:59 The Struggle of Avoda02:14 Dealing with Adversity04:23 The Importance of Embracing Challenges11:04 The Role of Tehillim in Tshuva12:58 Understanding the Process of Growth13:52 The Concept of the 50 Gates of Tshuva23:43 The Power of Crying Out to Hashem44:17 Struggling with Perfection45:30 The Essence of Tshuva45:59 Facing HaKadosh Baruch Hu46:30 The Power of Direction47:22 Inspiration and Effort49:34 Personalizing the Journey55:59 The Role of Tehillim58:29 Connecting Through Tshuva01:01:56 Final Reflections and Encouragement

R' Micha Golshevsly Torah 73 Pt. 1The Power of Tehillim in Achieving TeshuvahThis episode explores the concepts of Teshuvah and Tehillim and their deep, interconnected significance. The discussion begins with the common challenge of people's lack of urgency in doing Teshuvah, often stemming from feelings of despair. Using the metaphor of a general in despair after a loss, it emphasizes the importance of Tehillim in rekindling one's desire and ability to perform Teshuvah. Through various scenarios, whether someone is clueless on where to begin or cannot follow through despite knowing the steps, Tehillim is presented as a guiding and transformative tool. The script also highlights different stages of Teshuvah, the spiritual orientation needed for the Jewish New Year, and the inspirational story of a girl whose adherence to Shabbat brings about a miraculous change in her family's faith. Ultimately, the power of Tehillim is celebrated for its ability to bring individuals closer to their spiritual mission and help them achieve true transformation.Kollel Toras Chaim was established to learn Rebbe Nachman torah in depth and to live with his torah for several months with chaburas in various cities learning together. Download our learning pamphlet here, our special English version here feel free to reach out to us by email or by WhatsApp. Subscribe to our WhatsApp status for exclusive updates, short clips and more. We are also available on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Teshuvah and Tehillim00:46 Overcoming Despair with Tehillim01:37 Finding the Path to Teshuvah03:10 The Power of Prayer and Tehillim04:35 Spiritual Orientation and Rosh Hashanah07:19 Transformative Stories of Tehillim10:00 Levels of Teshuvah and Continuous Growth

R' Shaya Sussman Torah 73 Pt. 1The Healing Power of Tehillim: Connecting with Our True SelvesIn this episode, Shai Sussman delves into Rebbe Nachman's lesson 73 from the second section of Likud Maran, exploring its implications on mental health and self-improvement. Sussman emphasizes the importance of saying Tehillim (psalms) to achieve authenticity, alleviate shame, and foster a deep, vulnerable connection with oneself and God. Through the honest and real reflections of David HaMelech in Tehillim, we learn to face our true selves and find our unique place and purpose in life. By embracing vulnerability and owning our stories, we can achieve a meaningful relationship with Hashem and personal growth.Chapters00:00 The Power of Tehillim00:39 Facing Ourselves with Honesty01:32 Dealing with Shame02:30 Finding Our Unique Role03:31 Brene Brown's Insight04:21 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

We Learnfrom the Fruit of the Earth to Reinvent Ourselves in the Month of Elul so thatWe Will Be New Creatures at Rosh HaShanah Based onShvilei Pinchas – Rav Pinchas Friedman I canstart with the story Can aperson be reborn? Lastnight Chantelle took me along to an Emunah Dinner. I say Chantelle took mebecause if she didn't make me come out, I wouldn't. She lights the fire. Herfriends Liz Gindea and Fran Hirmes have been very involved with and generouslysupportive of the organization for years. Emunah funds a number of children'shomes in Israel, along with schools, an arts college, daycare services andthese days many mental health programs. My son in law, Daniel's brother Michaelthrough his organization Kol HaNearim also works with these children'shomes. Chantelleand all of my kids have volunteered and worked in some of these homes over theyears especially with Yehuda Kohen of Bet Elazraki. At thedinner, a young lady spoke and shared her very moving story. She grewup in the north of Israel in no mans land. Her mother did nothing and herfather raised goats. She was one of ten siblings. They had no rules, nodiscipline, no money, sometimes no food and ran amok. The kids sometimes foughtand often got in trouble. When shewas ten, social services showed up. After investigating, they took some of heryounger siblings to be raised outside the house. She convinced them that sheshould stay. But her situation went from bad to worse and a few months laterthey came back and took her as well. She wasplaced into one of Emunah's homes and was angry with her situation and everyonearound her. She was angry that she had been taken from home. She was angry thather parents had not provided a real home. She was angry to be told when to wakeup and when to go to sleep. She was angry to be sent to school. She was angryto be pressed to do homework. She was angry that she was subject to structureand in her mind lost her freedom. She was depressed and alone in the world. Ateleven years old, she had reached rock bottom. Butwithin a few weeks, things started to change. The people at the Emunah homemade her feel loved and wanted. She made friends in the home and at school. Thesocial workers and teachers encouraged her and in a short time she began tosoar as a phoenix rising from the ashes. She wasencouraged to pursue drama studies and loved it. In 2013 she joined the armyand became a combat paramedic assisting injured soldiers and people in thefield, sometimes under fire. When she completed her army duty, she continuedher studies focusing on drama. She eventually went to work for channel 12 newsin Israel. She currently heads their social media team and pursues feel goodstories to help lift people. Emunahbecame her family. Her goal is to raise her own family and break the cycle. Her storywas very moving. Chantelle noted that she wished she could have her share herstory with our own community children in school. She would surely touch someand encourage others. Some might be lifted and others might consider assistingin the homes one summer. Perhaps we can get a video from Emunah and share that. There isa beautiful story told of Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, a renowned Hasidicmaster, who was known for his compassion and ability to find sparks of holinessin every soul. One day, a poor, troubled Jew came to him, feeling hopeless andconsumed by darkness. The rabbilistened attentively, then began to tell a story: 'In the summer, when thesun shines brightly, the grasshopper sings a beautiful song. But in the winter,when snow covers the earth, the grasshopper's song is silenced. Does this meanthe grasshopper has lost its ability to sing?' The manshook his head. 'Ofcourse not!' the rabbi exclaimed. 'The grasshopper's song is stillwithin, waiting to emerge when the seasons change.' The rabbilooked deeply into the man's eyes: 'Similarly, within you, there is aspark of divine light, a song waiting to be sung. Though darkness may surroundyou now, it's temporary, like winter's snow. Your task is to find that innerlight, nurture it, and let it shine forth.' The man'sface lit up with newfound hope. In thisseason of Elul, we hope to be born again. We canimagine ourselves as caterpillars, hoping to shed our cocoons and emerge asbutterflies. Sometimesthough we think that success is based on achieving perfection. But isthat really what Hashem demands or even wants from us. There isa story, I heard from Rabbi Joey Haber, of a man seeking perfection in his ownlife. His rabbiasks his profession He is anartist, Hisfavorite painting is of sunset. Histeacher suggests taking a picture of a sunset and that will be a perfectreproduction. theartist explains the painting has imperfections and thats what makes it special. Theteacher explains, same with us Angelsmay be perfect, but our imperfection makes us special. imperfectionsadd uniqueness and value, both in art and in life. Thisweek's parsha is Ki Tavo. Based onthe teaching of the Shvilei Pinchas, Rabbi Pinchas Friedman, I would like toshare with you a connection of our efforts in Elul and the mitzvah of“bikkurim,” bringing the first fruits, which we open the perasha with The SefatEmet quotes the Chiddushei HaRim, zy”a. Heexplains why the month designated for teshuvah is named Elul based on thepassuk (ibid. 100, 3 דְּע֗וּ כִּֽי־ ה֮ ה֤וּא אֱלֹ֫קים הֽוּא־עָ֭שָׂנוּ (ולא) [וְל֣וֹ]אֲנַ֑חְנוּ עַ֝מּ֗וֹ וְצֹ֣אן מַרְעִיתֽוֹ׃ If onelooks in the book of Tehilim the word Loh is spelled Lamed alef or No But inthe siddur when we read this psalm each morning as Paslm 100 Miszor LeDavid wechange the aleph to a vav —know thatHashem, He is G-d; it is He Who made us and we are His—His nation and the sheepof His pasture. Traditionteaches us that the word “v'lo” in this passuk is written as ' ולא ',with an “aleph”; yet, it is read as ולו' ', with a “vav.” With an“aleph,” the passuk suggests that we are unworthy and inadequate to be Hispeople; with a “vav,” it means that we merit being close to Him. Heexplains that in reality both the way “v'lo” is written and the way it is readcomplement each other and achieve the same goal. By recognizing our lowlystature and the fact that we have sinned and failed to serve Hashemadequately--' ולא אנחנו עמו ' (the way the passuk is written)—we aremotivated to draw closer to Hashem by means of sincere teshuvah and attain thestatus of-- ולו אנחנו עמו' ' (the way the passuk is read) again. Bothprocesses enable us to achieve the goal of being ' עמו ', HKB”H'speople. This is alluded to by the name אלו'ל ; it combines thetwo spellings of the word “lo”-- ל'א and ל'ו . This teaches us thatour goal during the month of Elul is to combine these two processes, to correctall of our wrongdoings by means of complete teshuvah and to regain the statusof ' .'עמו Lets turnto the Gemara (Makkot 24a): 'וכברהיה רבן גמליאל ורבי אלעזר בן עזריה ורבי יהושע ורבי עקיבא מהלכין בדרך...The first story tells about the Goyim. Then the gemara continues Now Iimagine these stories take place following the rebellion of Bar Kochba and theedicts of Hadrian Yimach Shemo שׁוּב פַּעַםאַחַת הָיוּ עוֹלִין לִירוּשָׁלַיִם, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעוּ לְהַר הַצּוֹפִים קָרְעוּבִּגְדֵיהֶם, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעוּ לְהַר הַבַּיִת רָאוּ שׁוּעָל שֶׁיָּצָא מִבֵּיתקׇדְשֵׁי הַקֳּדָשִׁים, הִתְחִילוּ הֵן בּוֹכִין וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מְצַחֵק. אָמְרוּלוֹ: מִפְּנֵי מָה אַתָּה מְצַחֵק? אָמַר לָהֶם: מִפְּנֵי מָה אַתֶּם בּוֹכִים? אָמְרוּלוֹ: מָקוֹם שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ ״וְהַזָּר הַקָּרֵב יוּמָת״, וְעַכְשָׁיו שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּבּוֹ, וְלֹא נִבְכֶּה?! אָמַר לָהֶן:לְכָךְ אֲנִי מְצַחֵק, דִּכְתִיב: ״וְאָעִידָה לִּי עֵדִים נֶאֱמָנִים אֵת אוּרִיָּההַכֹּהֵן וְאֶת זְכַרְיָה בֶּן יְבֶרֶכְיָהוּ״ – וְכִי מָה עִנְיַן אוּרִיָּה אֵצֶלזְכַרְיָה? אוּרִיָּה בְּמִקְדָּשׁ רִאשׁוֹן, וּזְכַרְיָה בְּמִקְדָּשׁ שֵׁנִי! אֶלָּא:תָּלָה הַכָּתוּב נְבוּאָתוֹ שֶׁל זְכַרְיָה בִּנְבוּאָתוֹ שֶׁל אוּרִיָּה. בְּאוּרִיָּהכְּתִיב ״לָכֵן בִּגְלַלְכֶם צִיּוֹן שָׂדֶה תֵחָרֵשׁ״, בִּזְכַרְיָה כְּתִיב ״עוֹדיֵשְׁבוּ זְקֵנִים וּזְקֵנוֹת בִּרְחֹבוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם״. עַד שֶׁלֹּא נִתְקַיְּימָהנְבוּאָתוֹ שֶׁל אוּרִיָּה הָיִיתִי מִתְיָירֵא שֶׁלֹּא תִּתְקַיֵּים נְבוּאָתוֹ שֶׁלזְכַרְיָה, עַכְשָׁיו שֶׁנִּתְקַיְּימָה נְבוּאָתוֹ שֶׁל אוּרִיָּה – בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁנְּבוּאָתוֹשֶׁל זְכַרְיָה מִתְקַיֶּימֶת. בַּלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה אָמְרוּ לוֹ: עֲקִיבָא נִיחַמְתָּנוּ,עֲקִיבָא נִיחַמְתָּנוּ. Once,Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva weretraveling on the road . . . When they reached Har HaTzofim, they tore theirgarments. When they came to Har HaBayis, they saw a fox emerging from KodeshHaKodashim, and they began to cry; however, Rabbi Akiva smiled. They said tohim, “Why are you smiling?” He responded to them, “Why are you crying?” Theyanswered him, “A place about which it is written (Bamidbar 1, 51): ‘Thenon-kohen who comes close shall be put to death,' and now (Eichah 5, 18) ‘foxesare walking about there,' should we not cry?” He saidto them, “This is why I am smiling . . . In the prophecy of Uriah, it iswritten (Michah 3, 12): ‘Therefore, because of you, Tziyon will be plowed likea field etc.' In the prophecy of Zechariah, it is written (Zechariah 8, 4):‘Old men and old women will yet sit in the streets of Yerushalayim.' As longas the nevuah of Uriah had not been fulfilled, I feared that the nevuah ofZechariah would not be fulfilled. Now, that the nevuah of Uriah has beenfulfilled, it is apparent that the nevuah of Zechariah will be fulfilled.” Theyresponded to him in these words, “Akiva, you have consoled us; Akiva, you haveconsoled us!” Itbehooves us to analyze Rabbi Akiva's reactions described above. Why did helaugh and smile upon seeing proof of Zechariah's nevuah related to the futuregeulah? Without a doubt, the other sages also believed wholeheartedly in theveracity of the prophecies concerning the future geulah. Nevertheless, whenconfronted with the extent of the churban—witnessing a fox exiting from theKodesh HaKodashim—they were overcome with grief and cried. So, what possessedRabbi Akiva to react so differently to the same disturbing sight? Additionally,why did he require seeing the fulfillment of Uriah's nevuah concerning theextent of the churban in order to substantiate that Zechariah's nevuahconcerning the geulah would be fulfilled? Toexplain the matter, the Maharal teaches us a basic principle. HKB”H created theworld such that there is always void and nullification prior to renewal.Furthermore, the degree of renewal relates to the degree of absence and divineconcealment. In other words, the greater the absence and void, the greater therenewal will be. TheMaharal asserts that HKB”H revealed this phenomenon to us at the beginning ofthe Torah (Bereishis 1, 1): 'בראשית ברא אלקים את השמיםואת הארץ, והארץ היתה תוהו ובוהו וחושך על פני תהום ורוח אלקיםמרחפת על פני המים, ויאמר אלקים יהי אור ויהי אור'. theMaharal interprets Rabbi Akiva's profound message. Uponseeing the fox emerge from the chamber of the Kodesh HaKodashim, he smiled. Hehad no doubt that the nevuah of Zechariah would come to pass—that old men andwomen would sit in the streets of Yerushalayim. However, he had no idea howgreat or grand the revival and renewal of Yerushalayim would be. The foxemerging from the Kodesh HaKodashim represented an extreme degree of “hesterpanim”—divine concealment. Therefore, he had cause to rejoice. For, heunderstood that the degree of churban and absence of the divine presencereflected on the commensurate greatness and glory of the renewal ofYerushalayim at the time of the geulah. InNetzach Yisrael (Chapter 30), the Maharal applies this incredible principle toexplain the galut in Mitzrayim that preceded Yisrael's entry into Eretz Yisraeland, for that matter, all the exiles that have preceded the future geulah. Theyall represent the void that precedes the new state of existence, like thedarkness of night that precedes the light of day. Therefore, HKB”H subjectedYisrael to the galut in Mitzrayim—which constituted a process ofnullification—prior to taking them into Eretz Yisrael. Thisexplains very nicely the following passuk related to the galuts in Mitzrayim(Shemos 1, 12): 'וכאשר יענו אותו כן ירבה וכן יפרוץ'—but as much as they afflict it, so it will increase and so it will burst forth. Here theTorah teaches us that the suffering and affliction in Mitzrayim constituted thevoid that gave rise to Yisrael's renewal and rebirth. After the exodus, theyreceived the Torah at Har Sinai and entered Eretz Yisrael. That demonstratesfor us magnificently how all of the galuyot constitute the absence and voidthat is destined to produce the incredible renewal of the future geulah. Its difficult to read this and not think of the Holocaust andthe miracles of 1948 and 1967 RabbiPinchas of Koretz—defines the state of nullification and void as ' אַיִן', which always precedes the state of renewal, referred to as '.'יֵשׁ.' Hecompares this concept to seeds of wheat or other fruit and vegetation that isplanted in the ground. Their growth only starts after the seed decays intoalmost nothingness -אַיִן'- '. Only then, from this state of nearnothingness, the seed begins to grow and sprout and renew itself. As he writes in Imrei Pinchas (Tishah B'Av 384): When grainis planted in the ground, it cannot grow unless it first decays and actuallybecomes nothing. In that void, remains a tremendous potential that can producean entire stalk. This is a type of metamorphosis. At the precise moment that itis virtually nothing, it immediately takes shape. There is a Hasidic story of a couple who come to their Rebbefor a blessing for a child. He asks for an exorbitant pidyon. They return,unable to raise it. He tells them that he can't help. They leave dejected andoutside his home they realize they can only turn to hashem. When the rebbehears that he calls them in and tells them they will be blessed with a child. We havelearned an important principle in the Mishnah (Avos 6, כלמה שברא הקב'ה בעולמו לא בראו אלא לכבודו' :( 11 '—everything that HKB”H created in His world, He created solely for His honor.That being the case, why did HKB”H create the world in such a way that nothingcan be renewed or revitalized without first undergoing a process of void andnullification? How does this enhance His honor? RabbiYisrael of Ruzhin, zy”a, explains regarding the following statement from DavidHaMelech (Tehillim 13, 2): 'עד אנה תסתיר את פניך ממני,עד אנה אשית עצות בנפשי' —how long will You hide Your countenance from me?How long will I continue to seek counsel within my own spirit? Heexplains that David HaMelech wished to teach us a vital lesson regarding ouremunah and trust in Hashem. When a Jew wants to receive salvation from Hashem,he must first understand that he is totally helpless on his own; his salvationdepends solely on Hashem. As long as he believes that he has a solution of hisown, his emunah and trust in Hashem are lacking. So, DavidHaMelech asks: How long will You continue to conceal Your presence from Me? Heanswers his own question: So long as I delude myself into thinking that I amcapable of resolving dilemmas with my own counsel and devices, the “hesterpanim”—divine concealment—will continue; however, as soon as I recognize withcertainty that I in fact lack any such wisdom or ability, the “hester panim”will cease, and Hashem's salvation will arrive instantaneously. Only whenI accept that I don't have all the answers Thus, it appears that this explains why HKB”H created theworld such that every renewal—situation of ' יש '–must be preceded bya state of void and nullification—situation of אין' '. It is becausesuch a difficult transformation causes man to understand that he does not havethe wisdom or resources to emerge from the darkness and void alone withoutHashem's assistance. As soon as he says to himself: “How long will I continueto seek counsel within my own spirit?”—he will succeed in emerging from thevoid to a state of renewal. In perekShirah Everythingin nature has a song And thesong sung by the wheat in Perek Shirah (Chapter 3): 'שיבולת חיטים אומרת שירהמעלות ממעמקים קראתיך ה'' —the stalk of wheat says (Tehillim 130, 1):“From the depths, I call to You, Hashem.” It isimportant to recognize that the term “lechem”—bread—encompasses all of man'sfood and nourishment. This is evident from the prayer of Yaakov Avinu(Bereishis 28, 20): 'ונתן לי לחם לאכול'—and He will give me bread to eat. Similarly, another passuk says (ibid. 47,12): 'ויכלכל יוסף את אביו ואת אחיו ואת כל בית אביו לחם לפי הטף'—Yosef provided his father and his brother and all of his father's householdwith food (“lechem”) according to the children. It is precisely for this reasonthat the berachah “hamotzi,” which is recited over bread, covers all the foodthat one consumes during a meal; it is because all other food is consideredsecondary to the bread. Weexplained above, that we learn from the growth of the wheat, from which breadis made, the vital principle that nothing can grow or be renewed without firstundergoing a stage of nullification—i.e. nullification of its current state.Therefore, only after the seeds of wheat decay and achieve a virtual state ofnothingness--' אין '—do they begin to grow and develop into a newentity. At that very moment, when they are in the ground and achieve the stateof » אין «, they pray to Hashem from the depths of the earth not to decaycompletely, to survive and grow into a new stalk of grain in the field above. We cannow appreciate and comprehend the song of the stalk of wheat. It recalls thechesed Hashem performed on its behalf whilst it was still deep in the ground ina state of decay. To express its gratitude to Hashem, it sings: 'שיר המעלותממעמקים קראתיך ה'' —thanking Hashem for hearing and responding to its pleafrom the depths of the earth. This iswhy David HaMelech instituted this psalm; so that we would join the stalk ofwheat in expressing gratitude to Hashem. For, we recognize all the kindness Heperforms on our behalf when we are in states of nothingness and helplessness.For instance, after every night of sleep, He returns our neshamos to usrevitalized. Itappears that we can suggest another reason that every situation of renewalrequires a prior state of nothingness. TheYosher Divrei Emet cites his Rav, the Maggid of Mezritsch, zy”a. He explainsthat this principle applies to spiritual matters as well. A person who wants torenew and revitalize his service of Hashem must first nullify his presentcircumstances—his ' יש '. This is accomplished by recognizing how farhe still has to go to serve Hashem properly. Through humility, submission andrecognition of his unworthiness, he will succeed in serving Hashem on a muchhigher level. Until he acknowledges his shortcomings in the service of Hashem,he will be unable to renew his spiritual self. We nowhave cause to rejoice! This illuminates for us the insight provided by theChiddushei HaRim, zy”a, concerning the name אלו'ל . As explained, itcombines the two spellings of the word “lo”-- ל'א and ל'ו . Thus, thename Elul reminds us that we must recognize that we have acted improperly andare not truly worthy of being Hashem's people--' .'ולא אנחנו עמו As aresult of this recognition and by mending our ways and attitudescorrespondingly, we will once again be deserving of the status of ' ולו אנחנועמו '. Let us explain this process in terms of our current discussion. Atthe end of the year, during the month of Elul, it is incumbent upon us to pushour personal reset buttons, so to speak. In order to create ourselves anewprior to Rosh HaShanah, we must nullify our old selves during the month ofElul. By recognizing that we are unworthy to be called His people--' ולא אנחנועמו '—we will succeed in transforming ourselves and taking on a newpersona in the new year consistent with the depiction--' .'ולו אנחנו עמו Followingthis glorious path, let us now address the opening pesukim of this week'sparsha discussing the mitzvah of bikkurim: “It will be when you enter the landthat Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance, and you take possession ofit, and dwell in it, that you shall take of the first of every fruit of theearth that you bring in from your land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you, andyou shall put it in a basket and go to the place that Hashem, your G-d, willchoose, to make His name rest there.” The KliYakar provides a rationale for this mitzvah. After conquering the new land,Yisrael were liable to become arrogant and attribute the conquest to their ownpowers and strategies. In particular, after working the land and growingvarious produce and fruit, they might think to themselves (Devarim 8, 17):' כוחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה '—my strength and the might of myhand have generated this wealth for me. To eliminate this false belief, HKB”Hcommanded Yisrael to take the first of every fruit of the land, to take it upto the kohen in Yerushalayim and to recite an explicit expression of gratitudeto Hashem for giving us this land. This procedure was designed to fortify ouremunah in Hashem. Let usinterject a spicy tidbit. It is written (Tehillim 37, 11): וענוים יירשו ארץ''—the humble will inherit the earth. This passuk clearly implies that thequality of humility is propitious for inheriting Eretz Yisrael. For, we knowthat the kedushah of Eretz Yisrael is due to the presence of the Shechinah.This was especially true when the Beis HaMikdash was extant and operational. Asit is written (Shemos 25, 8): 'ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם' —they shallmake Me a sanctuary (Mikdash), so that I may dwell among them. Now, weknow that a prerequisite for the presence of the Shechinah is the midah ofhumility. In the words of the Gemara (Sotah 5a): 'לעולם ילמד אדם מדעת קונו,שהרי הקב'ה הניח כל הרים וגבעות והשרה שכינתו על הר סיני' —a personshould always learn from the good sense of his Creator—for behold, when HKB”Hgave the Torah, He abandoned all the great mountains and hills and insteadrested His Shechinah on Har Sinai (a lowly, unimpressive mountain). Additionally,they taught (ibid.): 'כל אדם שיש בו גסות הרוח, אמר הקב'ה אין אני והוא יכולים לדורבעולם' —concerning any person who possesses a haughtiness of spirit, HKB”Hsays: I and he cannot dwell together in the world. Therefore, HKB”H commandedthat upon entering the land, Yisrael would bring the bikkurim “to the placethat Hashem, your G-d, will choose, to make His name rest there.” This wouldinculcate in them the knowledge that HKB”H only rests His name in Eretz Yisraelin the merit of the midah of humility. Asexplained, the mitzvah of bikkurim is designed to shatter the klipah of “mystrength and the might of my hand have generated this wealth for me.” We willnow endeavor to explain why HKB”H used this mitzvah to hint to us theimportance of the midah of humility; for, this is the vital lesson we aresupposed to learn from the first fruit if we want to enter the land, keep itand endure in it. וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹאאֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ ה אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּבָּֽהּ׃ וְלָקַחְתָּ֞מֵרֵאשִׁ֣ית ׀ כׇּל־פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר תָּבִ֧יא מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֛ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהֹוָ֧האֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָ֖ךְ וְשַׂמְתָּ֣ בַטֶּ֑נֶא וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֙ אֶל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ריִבְחַר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לְשַׁכֵּ֥ן שְׁמ֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃ “It willbe when you enter the land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance,and you take possession of it, and dwell in it, that you shall take of thefirst of every fruit of the earth that you bring in from your land that Hashem,your G-d, gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place thatHashem, your G-d, will choose, to make His name rest there.” HKB”Hinstructs Yisrael: 'ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה אשר תביא מארצך' . Letus expound: ' ולקחת '—you must learn a vital lesson— “lekach”—fromthe “first” yield of “every fruit of the earth.” When those fruits were yetseeds deep in the earth; they could not grow or sprout until they decayed intoa state of virtual nothingness— ״אין״ . In similar fashion, if you wish toremain in EretzYisrael, you must constantly humble yourselves, which is a type ofnullification and expression of nothingness. You must acknowledge how far youare still from serving Hashem properly. Only then will you be able to startanew, serving Hashem properly in His royal palace in Eretz Yisrael. Let usadd a valuable detail. When Moshe Rabeinu sent the meraglim to survey the land,he said to them (Bamidbar 13, 20): והתחזקתם ולקחתם מפרי הארץ' '—youshall strengthen yourselves and take from the fruit of the land. According tothe Zohar hakadosh (Shelach 158a), the meraglim did not want to enter the land,because they perceived that they would not maintain their elite status asprinces and leaders in Eretz Yisrael. This motivated them to speak ill of EretzYisrael, so that they would maintain thestatus of princes that they held in the midbar. In other words, the meraglim'sfailure is attributable to the klipah of arrogance— “ga'avah”; they feared thatthey would lose their prominence. Thus, itseems that this is what Moshe was hinting to the meraglim: ' והתחזקתם'—fortify yourselves against the yetzer of “ga'avah” that instills in youthe fear of losing authority and control; ' ולקחתם '—learn a vitallesson (“lekach”); ' —'מפרי הארץ from the fruit whose seeds cannotgrow and produce within the depths of the earth until they decay and achieve astate of nothingness. You, too,must fortify yourselves by achieving a state of virtual nothingness by totallyrelinquishing your prominent status as princes. By doing so, you will achieveyour complete tikun in Olam HaZeh and rise higher and higher in the service ofHashem. We cannow suggest the following. After the original generation of the midbar alldied—who were influenced by the meraglim, failing to learn the lessonconcerning the midah of humility from the fruit of the land—Moshe announced totheir children who were about to enter the land: “It will be when you enter theland that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance, and you takepossession of it, and dwell in it.” He waswarning them that if they intend to enter the land and to prosper and survivein it, and not to suffer the fate of their fathers, who were not allowed toenter the land: 'ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה' —be sure to learn thislesson (“lekach”) from the first yields of the fruits of the land—in contrastto their fathers who neglected to heed Moshe's warning: 'והתחזקתם ולקחתם מפריהארץ' —fortify yourselves and take (learn a lesson) from the fruit of theland. Thelesson relates to the avodah of the month of אלו'ל , whose name is formedby the two spellings of the word “lo”-- ל'א and ל'ו . As wehave explained, it is incumbent upon us to achieve a state of nothingnessthrough the midah of humility; we must acknowledge that due to our behavior, weare the embodiment of ' ולא אנחנו עמו '—we do not truly deserve to beHis people. Yet, withthis acknowledgment, we are able to renew ourselves through total teshuvah andreclaim the status of ' ולו אנחנו עמו '. In this merit, we willfinally deserve to be redeemed from the trials and tribulations of galus; aswe've learned, galus is the void and nothingness that must precede theflourishing growth of the future geulah—swiftly, in our times! Amen.

R' Chaim Kramer Torah 73 Shiur 1In this episode, the speaker explores Lesson 73 from Likutei Moharan, focusing on the importance of Tehillim (Psalms) in the process of doing Tshuva (repentance). Rabbi Nachman teaches that Tshuva involves returning to Hashem by bringing spiritual awareness into every aspect of daily life. The lesson explains the significance of the 50 Gates of Tshuva, with 49 gates attainable by humans and the 50th gate representing Hashem's divine aid. The speaker emphasizes the unique spiritual potency of Tehillim, authored by King David, as a means to access divine spirit and overcome obstacles in the Tshuva process. Practical advice is given on incorporating Tehillim into daily practice, especially during the month of Elul, to achieve closer intimacy with Hashem and ultimately, bring about personal and communal redemption.Kollel Toras Chaim was established to learn Rebbe Nachman torah in depth and to live with his torah for several months with chaburas in various cities learning together. Download our learning pamphlet here, our special English version here feel free to reach out to us by email or by WhatsApp. Subscribe to our WhatsApp status for exclusive updates, short clips and more. We are also available on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Lesson 7300:32 Understanding Theshuvah and Its Importance03:06 The Concept of the 50 Gates of Teshuva04:40 Challenges to Teshuvah07:15 The Power of Tehillim in Achieving Teshuvah14:46 The Significance of Tehillim During Elul16:45 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

It is customary to conclude the Selihot service with "Kaddish Titkabal," the Kaddish which is normally recited after the repetition of the Amida. This Kaddish includes the phrase, "Titkabal Selot'hon U'ba'ut'hon De'chol Bet Yisrael," in which we ask the Almighty to accept the prayers we had just recited. It is therefore normally reserved for after the Hazzan's repetition of the Amida, and the question arises as to why we recite it following the Selihot service. The Lebush (Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, 1530-1612) suggests that "Kaddish Titkabal" is indeed an appropriate conclusion to the Selihot service because this service is structured in a manner resembling the normal prayer service. We introduce Selihot with "Ashreh," and some communities add other chapters from Tehilim, as well. This introductory section of Selihot thus parallels "Pesukeh De'zimra," the series of chapters from Tehilim which we recite as the first stage of our daily prayer service. The main body of the Selihot service is the recitation of the "Yag Midot," or thirteen attributes of divine compassion, which, according to the Lebush, parallels the Amida prayer. Thereafter, we recite "Le'David," just as we do following the Amida prayer. Thus, since the Selihot service was structured in this manner, it is only fitting to conclude Selihot with "Kaddish Titkabal," just as we conclude the regular prayer service with this Kaddish. Divergent customs exist concerning the recitation of "Va'ya'abor" and the thirteen attributes of divine mercy in the Selihot service. The practice in the Bet-El Yeshiva in Israel, based on the teachings of Kabbala, is to recite this section four times during the Selihot service, corresponding with the four letters in the Divine Name of "Havaya." We, however, follow the custom to recite this section five times, corresponding with the five books of the Humash. We recite during the Selihot service, "Re'eh Be'oni Amecha Yisrael, Refa Kol Holeh Amecha Yisrael" – "Behold the destitution of Your nation Israel; heal all the ill of Your nation Israel." What connection is there between these two clauses – "the destitution of Your nation Israel," and the request that God "heal all the ill of Your nation Israel"? Rabbi Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1869) explained the connection based on a comment in Masechet Derech Eretz that if one does not give money to charity, then he will ultimately be forced to give money to a physician. The money that a person failed to give to charity, the Sages teach, will be given to cover extra medical costs, Heaven forbid. Accordingly, we cry to the Almighty to "behold the destitution of Your nation Israel," to look upon the charitable donations that we have made. In that merit, we beseech Him to "heal all the ill of Your nation Israel," as the great merit of Sedaka has the power to save us from illness. Summary: It is customary to recite "Kaddish Titkabal" at the conclusion of the Selihot service, since Selihot is structured just like the daily prayer service, in which "Kadidsh Titkabal" is recited after the Amida. The custom in our community is to recite the section of "Va'ya'abor" and the thirteen attributes of mercy five times over the course of the Selihot service.

Podcast Jajam Shlomo (Sally) Zaed Segulá del Tehilim 27 para estos días Conferencia

Teshuva & Hisbodedus - Elul 5784 Nachman Fried - Shiur 1Awakening Through Tehillim: Overcoming Spiritual DisconnectionIn this meaningful episode, the discussion focuses on the power of Tehillim (Psalms) as a spiritual remedy, particularly for those feeling disconnected from Hashem (God). The speaker emphasizes that even in moments of despair and distance from faith, reciting Tehillim can spark an awakening and help one return to spirituality and Teshuvah (repentance). The lecture sheds light on the benefits of consistent prayer and the teachings of Rav Nachman, who promises spiritual renewal and guidance both in this life and the next. Listeners are encouraged to incorporate daily recitation of Tehillim as a step towards overcoming their spiritual struggles and finding their way back to their true, devout selves.Subscribe to our WhatsApp status for exclusive updates, short clips and more. We are also available on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Tehillim and Teshuva01:28 The Power of Tehillim in Awakening Teshuva02:38 Overcoming Disconnection and Addiction05:31 Practical Steps for Daily Teshuva08:44 The Role of Rebbe Nachman in Spiritual Healing12:29 Embracing the Journey of Self-Improvement