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Rabbi Shimon Russell is a psychotherapist in private practice in Yerushalayim. Rabbi Russell has semicha from Beis Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, NJ, and holds a master's in Clinical Social Work. He is a popular author and speaker who has presented on parenting and mental-health-related topics worldwide. For over a decade, he was the clinical director of Our Place in Brooklyn and has spent over 30 years of research and talks on parenting, marriage, and education. Rabbi Russell's rich repository of foundational parenting psychology and practical down-to-earth guidance has helped innumerable people to create loving and enduring bonds with their children. Go and get the book at www.RaisingALovingFamily.com. It is also available in all Jewish bookstores and on Amazon, and as an audiobook on Audbile.com. This Episode is sponsored by the Newman Family L'zecher Nishmas Ruchama Perel Malka Leah Bat Aryeh Leib ____________________________________ Need Financial Planning and Life insurance? Call Moshe Alpert! Email: Moshe.alpert@nm.com for a free consultation, or head to Moshealpert.nm.com Or call 718-644-1594 _______________________________________ Join Iyun Halacha Today! Click here https://www.iyunhalacha.org for more information or call 973-878-0142 _______________________________________ For the best-looking and most comfortable dress shirts in the world.. Collarsandco.com Use promo code: MEANINGFUL for 15% off! _______________________________________ Subscribe to Meaningful Minute on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/15166687800?text=Please%20subscribe%20me%20to%20Meaningful%20Min Ute ____________________________________ Subscribe to our Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2WALuE2 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39bNGnO Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/MPPGooglePodcasts Or wherever Podcasts are available! Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/meaningfulpeoplepodcast Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/MPPonFB Follow us on Twitter:https://twitter.com/MeaningfuPplPod Editor: Sruly Saftlas Podcast created by: Meaningful Minute For more info and upcoming news check out: https://Meaningfulminute.org #jew #jewish #podcast #frum #rabbi #frumpodcast #meaningfulpeople #torah #mitzvah #hashem #jewishmusic #jewishpodcast #israel #kumzitz #nachigordon #jewishpod #Parenting #Shimon #Russell
In this shiur, delivered in the Jerusalem Gold Hotel in Yerushalayim to NCSY Summer advisors, Rav Burg addresses the topic of Chinuch and how it is an expression of our Avodas Hashem. The shiur was followed by a question and answer session about practical topics regarding dealing with NCSY'ers in the summer.
Recorded on Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day - a complicated day politically, celebrating the capture of Jerusalem in 1967 from Jordan. Inspired by the chorus of Naomi Shemer's song Yerushalayim shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold), I wrote a poem called "I am a Violin for all your Songs," read here. May we see peace in Jerusalem in our lifetime!
Join The Land of Israel Fellowship and gain access to all the Bible teachings from Judea and receive your personal invitation to join the exclusive live online gatherings with families around the world every week. To join go to: secured.israelgives.org/donate/Fellowship This is the audio recording of session 47 of The Land of Israel Fellowship recorded live on Sunday 10th of May 2021. Parsha Behar & Bechukotai
Achiyah meets up with Yeravam as he leaves Yerushalayim
The pasuk says in parashat Ki Tetzeh , כי ה' אלוקיך מתהלך בקרב מחניך להצילך מכל אויבך – That Hashem dwells amongst us and protects us from our enemies. But there is one condition – והיה מחניך קדוש – that our camp has to be holy, which is accomplished by adhering to the laws of modesty. The Maharal explains that modesty, which is an act of concealment and protection, brings a person protection mida kineged mida . The Midrash Tanchuma in parashat Vayishlach says that modesty brings kapara the same way offering korbanot on the mizbe'ach in the Bet HaMikdash did. On the last Yom Kippur of the Chofetz Chaim's life, in his weakened condition, he stood up and spoke for a full hour, in his shul, about the importance of modesty and told the people how much closeness it brings them to Hashem and how much atonement is provides for them. A young lady emailed that she had been struggling in the area of modesty and one morning recently, she gave herself a lot of chizuk and decided it was time that she started dressing the way that she knew she was supposed to. She was in a rush that morning to make an appointment and so she quickly got dressed and put on her jacket, and then, before she ran out, she made scrambled eggs for breakfast. While she was meeting with the client that day that she was trying to do business with, she raised her arm to point to the ceiling where a chandelier might look nice, and the woman she was speaking to asked her how she burnt her jacket. The young lady then looked at her sleeve and saw it was completely burnt. She knew for a fact that when she put it on that morning it was not like that. Must have been while she was cooking the eggs over the stove, her jacket sleeve caught on fire. She paused and thought about how easily her entire arm could have gotten burnt. Hashem stopped the fire without her even realizing that it was ever there. She felt Hashem's protection, right after she decided to dress more modestly. There is a daily email that goes out from an organization called Do'eihu . This organization sends out an email giving chizuk in halachot that pertain to being modest in the workplace. One of their subscribers sent them the following story. It's from a woman who contacted a lawyer to help her file a claim for an injury to her daughter that put her out of work for two months. The office of the lawyer who was recommended was located on the upper floor of a high rise building in central Yerushalayim . When they arrived at his office, the door automatically locked behind them. There was no one else present in the office at the time in which they were there, which meant they were in yichud (seclusion) with him. They told this Jewish lawyer they wanted the door to remain open to avoid violating the laws of yichud . He replied that he would not agree to leave his main door wide open because he had folders with his clients' files in one of the outer rooms and it would be irresponsible of him to leave the office open while they were in the inner room. The woman asked if she could sit on a chair in the entrance room next to the open door in the hallway to keep an eye on the files while her daughter would come into the inner room and give him the documents, while leaving that door open as well where she could see. He agreed to the plan and that is how their meeting went, all three times that they met. Sometime later, the lawyer called them and said he received a settlement that was three times larger than one that was typically expected in this type of case. They asked him why they received such an unusually large amount of money. He said, “My only explanation is the merit of your dedication to upholding your spirituality in our meetings.” They went out of their way during all three meetings to follow the halachot and they were rewarded with three times more money. Of course they were overjoyed with the results, but they were even more overjoyed at the kiddush Hashem that they had made by adhering to the laws of modesty.
In the regular way of the world, if a person has no way of obtaining something that he wants or needs, he will most probably just give up on it. For us, however, we know there is always a way. We have Hashem who can do anything and can give us everything we need in an instant. It is important to recognize this and do things in the spiritual realms to gain extra siyata d'Shamaya with what we need. I read a story that took place some years back about a man from Bnei Brak who took a cab one day and was charged 20 shekels for the ride. He handed the driver a 200-shekel bill and the driver started counting out the change. Accidentally, he gave the man 30 shekels too much. When the man went into his house, he counted the money and realized the error, but by then the driver was gone. The man was horrified. This money did not belong to him, and he knew the severity of having money that was owed to others. There was obviously no way for him to find this driver, and so he did what every Jew would do when he needs help, he prayed to Hashem. Every tefila after that, he prayed and poured out his heart, sincerely requesting the ability to pay that taxi driver back. A few days later, this man was walking down HaRav Shach Street in Bnei Brak when he heard someone asking him a question. He turned around and saw it was that taxi driver. The driver was asking him how to get to a certain street. Instead of answering, the man quickly pulled out 30 shekels from his pocket and paid the driver. He was so relieved, he thanked Hashem and then told the driver the story. The driver then said, “The fact that I am here right now is almost like a miracle. I don't live in Bnei Brak and I almost never come here. If you asked me how this happened, I couldn't even tell you.” We know why he was there, because of this man's tefilot . Hashem put it in the driver's heart to go there at that moment to be right next to him so that he could pay him back. We could always be helped, no matter what the circumstances are. Another man said he had been living in Yerushalayim for years, in the same apartment, and one day his landlord told him he had to leave because the building was sold. He searched and searched but did not find anything that fit what he was looking for. With just two days before he had to vacate, he had nowhere to go. Of course, he had been praying from the bottom of his heart for Hashem to help him, but now with so little time to go, his prayers intensified. When he left the shul, he noticed a newsletter that told a story of a Holocaust survivor and it gave him tremendous chizuk . The lesson of the story was to be happy with everything Hashem gives us and thank Him all the time for His kindness, and to even dance with joy and sing the praises of Hashem. He decided to attend a wedding that evening, and at that wedding he danced joyfully with everyone there, all the while thanking Hashem for everything He does for him. As he left the hall that night, he ran into his brother-in-law. While chatting with him, he mentioned that he had seen an ad for a suitable apartment being rented out cheaply. He went to see the apartment the next day. It was an apartment that he previously saw but the rent was way too high. It had just dropped the day before and he was able to sign the lease for it. Whatever we need, Hashem could always help us with. Our tefilot and appreciation of His chesed will go a very long way.
The Haggadah tells us that on one occasion there were five Tana'im in Bnei Brak speaking about Yetziat Mitzrayim the entire night of Lel HaSeder . The Aruch HaShulchan pointed out, the only one from that group who actually lived in Bnei Brak was Rabbi Akiva, and so he asked, why did the others specifically go to be with Rabbi Akiva on the night of the Seder? The Rabbi answered based on another episode which took place with some of those same Rabbis and Rabbi Akiva. They were once walking together in Yerushalayim when they passed by Har HaBayit and they saw a fox coming out of the ruins of the Beit HaMikdash where the Kodesh Kodeshim used to be. While the other Rabbis were crying, Rabbi Akiva began to laugh. Rabbi Akiva explained his actions saying, now that he saw the prophecy of Uriah being fulfilled about the fox coming out of the Kodesh Kodeshim , he knew the prophecy of Zecharia would also be fulfilled, which was connected to Uriah's. His prophecy was about the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash . Rabbi Akiva was able to look at the ruins and see the future magnificent edifice that would once again occupy that land, and the other Rabbis became consoled. The Gemara says that in every generation a person is obligated to see himself as if he is leaving Mitzrayim . This, homiletically, also means that everyone has to see himself as getting out of their own Mitzrayim . Everyone has their current struggles that they are going through. Some people are struggling with parnasa , some with health, some with shidduchim , and the list goes on. Every person has to look at his current situation, and although it may look like he is in ruins right now, he is supposed to imagine the bright future ahead and take consolation in the fact that Hashem is running his life. For this, those great Rabbis came to the expert, Rabbi Akiva, to help them fulfill that great avodah . For someone to be going through a tough time and be able to give himself this type of chizuk is a sign of greatness. One Erev Pesach in the labor camp of Bergen-Belsen, the Bluzhever Rebbe, Rav Yisrael Spira, asked for and received permission to bake matzot in the camp. While they were in the middle of it, a Nazi commander burst into the room, shouting wildly and swinging at everyone. When he saw the Rebbe, he beat him mercilessly. The next night, they sat down to a Seder in the Rebbe's barracks. The Rebbe was able to recite the Haggadah by heart. For wine, they were going to drink the slop that the Nazis called coffee. There was no shortage of maror with bitterness everywhere and the Rebbe let it be known that he was able to retrieve one small piece of matzah from their failed attempt at baking the previous night. When it came time to eat the matzah , the Rebbe looked around to see who would be the most appropriate person to eat it. A widow stood up and said, “Since on this night we are supposed to transmit our traditions to the next generation, I propose that my young son be the one to eat the matzah .” The Rebbe agreed and gave it to him. When they were liberated, this widow approached the Rebbe asking for his help. Someone had proposed a shidduch for her but she had no way of finding out about the man. She asked the Rebbe if he knew anything about Yisrael Spira. She obviously had no idea that this was the Rebbe himself. He replied he knew him well and felt it would be a good shidduch . They eventually married, and that little boy who ate the matzah became the Rebbe's son and eventual successor. When the Rebbe asked what he saw in that woman that led him to marry her, he said, “It was because when none of us knew if we were going to live for even one more minute, this woman believed in the eternity of Klal Yisrael and was worrying about the future generations.” This was the quality of the nashim tzidkaniot in Mitzrayim who persuaded their husbands to have more children because they believed in the future of Klal Yisrael . For someone to be in the most difficult of times and still see the bright future ahead is a quality of greatness. This is the quality of Rabbi Akiva and this quality is in the DNA of every single Jew.
The month of Nisan is auspicious for salvations. Our Chazal have told us, in this month of Nisan will come our ultimate salvation, the redemption from our current exile, which we hope will take place today. One of the great Rebbes once said, just like when Adar comes we increase our joy, when Nisan comes, we increase our emunah. No matter what problem a person is experiencing, he must believe that Hashem could rescue him in an instant. We say in the haggadah , כל דיכפין ייתי וייכל – whoever is hungry should come and eat. Now is the time for a person who has been struggling with parnasa to be zocheh to an abundance of blessing. We say כל דצריך ייתי ויפסח – whoever is in a time of difficulty and needs to get out of it should pass over his problem and merit a personal redemption. People feel chained in their problems and want to experience the wonderful feeling of freedom. B'ezrat Hashem now is the time. Singles who have been waiting years to get married would love to experience the joy of marriage. Everyone loves to hear of a good segula they could do to speed up the process, and there are segulot brought down regarding shidduchim . Some of them include accepting Shabbat early, helping others get married, saying Az Yashir with kavana , but the greatest segula of all is tefila with true emunah of Who we are speaking to and His exclusive ability to help us. We must never give up on tefila , no matter how long we have been praying for something. The longer we keep our hope, the more valuable the tefilot become. Anything done with great self-sacrifice is always a good segula for yeshua . Rabbi Chizkiyahu Mishkovski told a story about a family in Ramat Shlomo who had a widowed mother living alone for years. The children were able to take turns visiting her, making sure all of her needs were taken care of, but as she got older, she became much weaker and required care 24/7. She refused to have an aide in the house and she refused to go to a nursing home, which meant that the responsibility to care for her fell completely on her children. One of her boys lived in Bnei Brak. Each time he came in, it took him nearly two hours each way, having to use multiple buses. For him to come more than one day a week was going to be extremely hard. The same was true of some of the other children. The daughter who lived in Yerushalayim discussed the matter with her husband and, heroically, they said to the other family members that their own family will make sure to have someone there around the clock six days a week and the other children could just take turns coming in one day a week. They didn't do this begrudgingly. They told the others they were happy to have the zechut of doing this precious mitzvah. This family had three girls of marriageable age, all not married. One was 28, one was 26 and one was 21. After just one month of this family's self-sacrifice with their mother, the 28-year-old girl got engaged. A month after that the 26-year-old got engaged and, amazingly, a month after that, the 21-year-old got engaged. They told the Rabbi, “When our mother got weak and needed this care, we felt the extreme difficulty and pressure of having to take care of her all the time, but little did we know, this was going to be the ticket to our salvation. All of those years of difficulty trying to get our daughters married, and now in just three months all of them got engaged.” The opportunities we get in life to put forth self-sacrifice in the performance of mitzvot is a gift to us from Hashem for our own good. May everyone experience the glorious feelings of salvation in this wonderful month. Baruch Hashem, we are happy to announce the release of Living Emunah on the Topic of Shidduchim from Artscroll. It can be attained at any local sefarim store.
When a person makes any type of hishtadlut, he will usually put in his best efforts even if that would require hours and days of his time. If the results are important enough to him, money would be no object either. When someone wants something, he is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. The Chazon Ish wrote in a letter, if someone prays properly, begging Hashem for help, that will accomplish far more than any hishtadlut he could possibly make. It is the prayers which determine if the hishtadlut will work. And therefore, a person should put in at least as much effort into his prayers as he does for the other hishtadluts that he makes. This understanding, and the understanding that Hashem could help in the blink of an eye, no matter how unlikely success appears to be, will make the tefila infinitely greater. Hashem has unlimited ways of helping people and, as we've seen time and time again, the help comes from places that we could have never imagined. Rabbi Tzvi Nakar told a story about a man, who we'll call Yehuda, who had a wine store for nearly 30 years. A few years ago, a gentile opened a very large wine store just two blocks away from him. He carried all the same kosher wines as Yehuda plus much more. Over the next few months, Yehuda saw his customers becoming less and less and he was infuriated. To make matters worse, the landlord, from whom Yehuda rented his store, sold the building and the new owner wanted him out. Yehuda needed a salvation desperately, but it seemed highly unlikely to come. One day, Yehuda was walking down the block where the other wine store was and saw a for sale sign in the window. He inquired of the owner as to why he was selling. The owner said he was too old to run such a big store. Although it was doing excellent, he wasn't able to handle it. Yehuda made a meeting with him to discuss the purchase of that store and he got an excellent deal on it. When he took over the store he saw his profits increasing tremendously. He had all of his old customers plus all of the new ones that this store attracted. Instead of Yehuda being left out on the street when his landlord kicked him out, Hashem was preparing a whole new store for him with even more customers, something he could have never imagined. Sometimes a person has a source of help and that source is no longer available. In such a situation, his initial reaction may be one of desperation, but if he realizes that source of help was not really a source, it was just one of the ways that Hashem was using to help him, then he wouldn't feel desperate at all, he would just go and ask the same Source, that has been helping him all along, to continue, just in a new way. A man from Yerushalayim, who we'll call Binyamin, said that for the first four bar-mitzvahs that he made for his boys, his mother helped him with all the expenses, from the tefillin all the way to the party. But by the time his fifth son was turning 13, his mother had passed away, and he did not have the funds to pay for those expenses. One day, he went to pray mincha and met a friend of his at shul. His friend mentioned to him one of his acquaintances had passed away, leaving one son. He wanted to be extra sure that every Kaddish throughout the entire year would be said l'ilui nishmato, and so he left a very nice sum of money for someone who would take on that responsibility and say Kaddish for him as a backup. He was asking Binyamin if he knew of someone who would want to do it. Binyamin immediately understood, this was Hashem's way of helping him, and so he gladly accepted that responsibility. The money that he got was, indeed, just what he needed to pay for all the bar-mitzvah expenses. הרבה שלוחים למקום -Hashem has many way of helping and He is our only source of help. Hishtadlut is necessary, but only after we put in the best effort into the most important hishtadlut of all, our tefilot.
Rabeinu gives additional understanding to lesson 275, which discusses the idea that the mitzvot a person performs creates candles that allow him to search the treasury of the King once he leaves this world. We also study a manuscript which Rabeinu wrote explaining how pride makes a person fall into heresy, confounding a person from his faith in G-d. Rabeinu teaches us how to rectify this, how to expand/greaten our faith, how to rebuild Yerushalayim, and restore our superiority over the Goyim etc…
Tes-Vov Adar - Shushan Purim (21:17)
Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe was born in Yerushalayim and raised in New York. Rabbi Wolbe has been active in Jewish outreach since 1996 across the globe, including the US, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Canada, and Israel. Rabbi Wolbe's passion for Mussar started at a young age while developing a close relationship with his legendary and illustrious grandfather Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe. Rabbi Wolbe lives with his wife, Zehava, and their children in Houston, Texas. They've been working with TORCH - The Houston Kollel, Houston's premier resource for meaningful Jewish education, since 2005. He is the producer and host of many popular Judaism podcasts. **SPONSORS** The WhatsApp status that's there for your mental health
With many struggling in business at this time, people are asking what they could do spiritually to improve their financial status. We know the Sefer Hachinuch writes in mitzva 430 that whoever is careful to say Birkat Hamazon properly will have his sustenance given to him in a dignified manner for his entire life. The Sefer Ta'ameh Haminhagim u'Mekoreh Hadinim writes that saying Birkat Hamazon out loud with joy is a segula for wealth. A rabbi from Yerushalayim related that this past year he has had a lot of struggles in parnasa and Baruch Hashem, his daughter got engaged, which meant a lot more expenses. His friend encouraged him to start eating bread every single day and utilize the wondrous segula of saying Birkat Hamazon . The rabbi told this friend that his diet only allowed him to eat bread one day a week on Shabbat. But the friend insisted that the segula has been tried and tested and told him to eat just the bare minimum necessary to say Birkat Hamazon on a daily basis. Later that day, the rabbi went to the Kotel to pray Arbit and there he saw a Hashgacha Peratit newsletter. On the first page was a writeup from Rabbi Pinchas Shafer about a man who was struggling with parnasa, who began saying Birkat Hamazon and saw amazing yeshuot . The rabbi was convinced and he and his rebbetzin both accepted upon themselves to start eating bread every single day. The first thing the rabbi said was how much he enjoyed saying Birkat Hamazon and truly concentrating when thanking Hashem. Less than two weeks since they started, a wealthy friend of his came over to him one day and said, "I want to help with the upcoming wedding of your daughter. And then he handed him an envelope with 10,000 shekels inside. The rabbi became emotional, seeing how Hashem had just helped him in such an open way. That Friday, he told all of his children of the recent developments and asked them to each begin saying Birkat Hamazon with kavana from a siddur . He also told them that we don't do mitzvot just for a segula and proceeded to tell them what a zechut it was to thank Hashem properly for all of His goodness and chesed, especially during the mitzvat aseh of Birkat Hamazon . That Shabbat, they were all inspired to say Birkat Hamazon the right way. During that upcoming week, the rebbetzin who had been unemployed found an easy and pleasant job. The rabbi who learned during the day and had a job at night, seeing all of the Heavenly help with parnasa, decided to ask for a raise at his job. The very next day, he was told that the raise was approved. Furthermore, one of his children needed a new pair of shoes and went to the store to buy them. When he picked out the shoes he wanted, the salesman said, "Those are free." He explained that someone returned them after wearing them for an hour. He told that customer they couldn't take them back after they were worn. And so the person said, "No problem, just give them to someone who needs them." He put a mark on the box and that was the pair that this boy picked out. Another one of the rabbi's children needed a new suit, and he heard there was a sale at a popular store. The regular price of a suit is about a thousand shekels. On the outside of the store, it said some suits were as much as 50% off, but when he saw the selection, he did not like any of those suits. He took the suit he liked to the register, and there he was told that on that suit there were two sales and the price came out to only 360 shekels. Those are the stories that happened to them in just the last two months. The rabbi said the greatest gift he got from all of this is a new appreciation for saying Birkat Hamazon and thanking Hashem in general. We could all benefit from saying Birkat Hamazon the right way, and truly thanking Hashem the way we are supposed to.
Twenty years ago, Roy (Yisroel) and Leah (Linda) Neuberger electrified the Jewish world with Roy's book, From Central Park to Sinai, sharing the story of their return to Torah and Jewish life. Now, in the riveting From Sinai to Yerushalayim, bestselling author Rabbi Nachman Seltzer joins them on their fascinating journey, revealing new and unusual parts of the Neubergers' lives, both before they became observant and in the two decades since they shared their story and became world-traveling ambassadors of Torah. In this fascinating Inside ArtScroll interview, Roy and Leah describe how they were born to wealth and privilege, and educated in the most prestigious schools. Roy and Leah should have been contented and happy, and yet something was missing, always missing ... until they found Torah. In this interview, and in the new page-turner of a book, prepare to discover an adventure-filled life, full of surprises and inspiration. [Purchase the new book HERE.]
In this week's Parasha, Bo, Hashem tells Moshe that He hardened Pharaoh's heart in order to bring more plagues on the Mitzrim and in order that we should tell our children how Hashem made a mockery of the Egyptians and brought all the plagues upon them. The sefer Chesed L'Alafim writes, the main purpose of the makot was not to get Pharaoh to agree to let the Jewish People go. Hashem could have done that easily, but rather it was to show us for the future generations that we should never despair from having our geula . We should never doubt that Hashem is going to perform miracles for us, just like He did for them. In fact, the pasuk says in Yirmiyah , “Days are coming when we are no longer going to be saying ‘Hashem who took us out of Mitzrayim ,' but rather ‘Hashem who took us out of this exile.'” Although we live in a world that seems to be a little chaotic right now, anxiety levels are rising and the future seems to be very unstable, we have to know everything is going exactly according to plan and Hashem is going to bring about the greatest geula in ways we could never have imagined. Hashem is constantly showing us, in our everyday lives, that He's here, and He is helping us, and He gives us solutions to our problems when we can't figure out how. Our job is to pray to Him, to connect to Him and to follow Torah and mitzvot. He'll take care of the rest. We should use the everyday hashgacha pratit stories to give us chizuk that Hashem is with us and He's trustworthy to give us the ultimate hashgacha with the geula . A young man learning in kollel in Israel told Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein the following story which happened to him a few years ago. Unable to afford a car, he and his wife were accustomed to using mass transportation. When the man's wife was in her late months of pregnancy, and it was difficult for her to move around, he really needed a car for her. He couldn't afford a lease, and surely not to buy a car, so he prayed every day that Hashem should give him a car without having to pay. As the need became more pressing, the more heartfelt his tefilot became. He prayed for a full month every tefila with all his emotions. He said he was very interested to find out how Hashem was going to give him a car without any money to pay for it. On a day when it seemed he couldn't continue on without a car, he received a phone call from his brother in Yerushalayim who told him, as part of his new job, he gets to drive a brand-new company car. He was going to put his current car up for sale but in the meantime, he said to himself, why shouldn't someone benefit from it? So he told his brother he's more than welcome to come to Yerushalayim to pick up the car and use it. This man was so excited - the free car that he has been praying for. After a few weeks, his brother called to tell him his car is now being advertised for sale and he is going to send the potential buyers to him to look at it. In the interim, this man's wife had a baby and the car was such a big help. After she gave birth, they went to stay by her parents for a few weeks and this man needed the car to go back and forth to his kollel each day. Throughout that time, potential buyers came but not one of them wanted to buy it. On the day the couple returned back home with their new baby, within two hours, a buyer came and took the car. The man told Rabbi Zilberstein, “It was amazing how Hashem gave me a car, without me having to pay anything, for the exact amount of time that I needed it.” We don't need to know exactly how our help will come, Hashem could figure that part out. We have to have emunah in Him that He is here with us constantly and that everything is happening the way He wants it to happen. And when the time is right, He's going to bring about the ultimate Geula in the most wondrous fashion. Shabbat Shalom.
Is there a mitzvah for a childless couple to adopt? Are you מקיים פריה ורביה with adoption? Is there an obligation of חיוב כיבוד אב ואם towards an adopted parent? Balancing obligations to the natural parents VS the adoptive parents Does an adopted child say Kaddish for his adopted parents? How is an adoptive child called up to the Torah? Adopting non-Jewish children VS Jewish children Is there an Issur Yichud with adoptive parents? Hugging & kissing? Do you have to reveal they are adopted? with Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer– Rov, Maggid Shiur and Dayan in Yerushalayim – 13:25 with Dr. Zelig Schur – Founder, Jewish Children Adoption Network – 38:38 with Mr. Chaim Krausz – Expert on Frum Adoptions – 58:52 מראי מקומות
What preparation is necessary to leave yeshiva/kollel and start working? What skills do yeshiva graduates say would be helpful? What should a yeshiva consider as its goals and responsibilities towards it's talmidim? How do you decide on an occupation? Should you study a trade or go straight into business? What are the primary challenges we need to be ready for nowadays? ***Guest Hosted by Ari Wasserman *** Author of "Making it Work", "Making it ALL Work" (for women) and 10 other Seforim, Maggid Shiur, Yerushalayim with Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky – Rosh Yeshivah and Noted Author – 12:55 with Rabbi Binyamin Rappaport – Career Guidance Counselor – 35:53 with Rabbi Zevulun Schwartzman – Rosh Kollel, Yerushalayim – 1:02:55 מראי מקומות
Join our BIG campaign! Announcing the NEW APP from iTorah.com https://itorah.com/campaigns/special The parasha this week begins with the words יעקב בארץ מצרים Y ויחי-Yaakov lived in Mitzrayim . The sefer Moshcheni Acharecha asks why the Torah needed to tell us that here, that Yaakov was living in Mitzrayim. After all, it just said previously that Yaakov had come down to Mitzrayim . The Rabbi answered, perhaps the Torah is stressing to us that Yaakov had true life, which is a life of Torah and mitzvot, although he was forced to live in a place of tumah – Mitzrayim . This teaches us that a person should never say, “If only I was living in Yerushalayim or Bnei Brak, then I would be able to be fully religious, but where I am, the tests are too hard. If, for whatever reason, a person has to be in an environment that threatens to compromise his adherence to Torah and mitzvot, it is never an excuse to let his guard down. Just the opposite; he needs to fight even harder because if he really wants to succeed and tries his best, Hashem will help him in wondrous ways. A man who has to travel a long distance every day to his kollel in Israel takes a specific bus with the same driver every single day. He accepted upon himself to always sit in the first seat behind the driver in order to guard his eyes, without having to search the bus for an empty seat or possibly have someone in front of him dressed immodestly. One day, when he sat down, the driver raised his voice and said, “Please explain this to me already. How do you get that seat every single day? I've been driving this bus for years and you always sit in the seat right behind me. Do you think no one else ever sits there? Every time you get on the bus, the person who was sitting there either gets off or moves to another place.” The man couldn't believe what he was hearing. It never occurred to him that Hashem was performing a miracle for him every day to help him stay pure in a potentially compromising environment. A woman related, after putting in much effort, she finally became a registered nurse, after being out of work for 12 long years. A short while later, she found her dream job in a maternity ward and the pay and hours were perfect. She went for orientation on a Thursday and, at the end of the day, all the nurses were given their schedules for the week. Her heart sank when she saw her first day of work was scheduled for Shabbat. She called her husband and asked him what to do. He said she should go to the director and tell her she is not allowed to work on Shabbat. She sat down first with a Tehillim and poured out her heart to Hashem. Then she went to the director, but she was nowhere to be found. She decided to just wait outside her office and, while there, the assistant manager saw her and asked her what she needed. When she explained her situation, the assistant manager said she was very familiar with that, being that she has a Jewish friend. She added, she knew working on Fridays was also an issue, and then asked the woman what schedule she preferred. The woman said she would be happy to work on Sundays and holidays and do her fair share, she just couldn't work on Friday nights and Shabbats. Right then and there, the assistant manager changed her schedule. A few days later, the director approached her after finding out about the schedule change and she said, “Everyone must stick to their schedule, there are no exceptions.” The woman prayed to Hashem to help her once again and when the time came the following week to create the next schedule, again the director was no where to be found, so she asked the assistant manager for help, which she provided. When the third week came along, again the director wasn't there, but this time one of the employees told her the director just resigned and took a job in another hospital. This woman needed help regarding Shabbat in a tough environment. She asked Hashem for help, which He provided in an amazing way. If we have a strong will to follow Torah and mitzvot, we can accomplish it in any circumstance we find ourselves in. Hashem wants to help us. All we have to do is ask Him for help and try our hardest. Shabbat Shalom
Bonus Episode: Commemorating the 6th Yahrzeit of Hagaon HaRav Moshe Shapiro zt'l Guest: Rabbi Yechezkel Hartman Rabbi Hartman has been delivering Shiurim and lectures on a variety of Torah Topics for the past 15 years. He studied in Yeshivas Chevron in Yerushalayim, and was a close Talmid of Rav Moshe Shapira zt'l. Rabbi Hartman's Shiurim include a daily Daf Yomi and Short Machshava on the Daf, and a weekly Practical halacha shiur, Parsha B'Iyun shiur, as well as his renowned Machshava on the Parsha/Yom Tov Shiur, based on the teachings of his Rebbi. Rabbi Hartman is the author of Sefer Ma'ane Yechezkel on Chumash and (soon to be published) Shiurei Rav Moshe Shapira on Agados of Raba Bar Bar Chanah, as well as several periodic publications. He holds an MBA from Columbia University and works in real estate. In this episode: 1) Meeting R' Moshe as a child 2) Seeing the Forest from the Trees 3) My Father's Rebbe 4) Shidduchim Insights 5) Sharing Torah with one & all 6) Desiring/Asking for Greatness from one & all 7) See What Others Don't See/Being Wise and so much more!
Parshas Vayigash - Delivered to the avreichim in Kollel Nefesh HaChaim in Yerushalayim
One of the great sources of enjoyment in this world comes when a person's efforts are recognized and rewarded. There is a great feeling of satisfaction when a person sees the fruits of his labor. And it is an even greater feeling when he gets honored as a result of them. This is why acting privately, l'shem Shamayim is very difficult. It means the person has to try to hide all of his good deeds and not get honor from them, and thereby give up all of that potential satisfaction that he could have gotten. The greatest satisfaction that a person can possibly get will come in the form of rewards in the Next World. There, the person will see how much Hashem took notice and appreciated every last effort that he ever made. The less honor a person gets here, the more honor he gets there. Even in this world, sometimes Hashem orchestrates events in ways that show us how much He really does appreciate everything we do. And when that happens, we become overjoyed. This gives us a very small glimpse into how much joy we are going to have when Hashem shows us how much He recognized every single good deed that we ever did. I read a story which took place in the earlier half of the 1900's when a medical complication known as RH incompatibility was not yet understood. A certain family in Yerushalayim had this condition and child after child born to them passed away within mere hours of birth. No one could figure out the problem and they were suffering tremendously from it. Eventually, the case came to an eminent European professor who concluded that the blood types of the mother and baby were incompatible. And he was convinced that the only hope of saving a baby born in that situation would be if it received an immediate blood transfusion right after birth. At that time, there were no blood banks with blood available like we have today. A blood transfusion required the donor to be present to give the blood at the time of the transfusion. This meant they needed to find someone with the blood type that the doctor specified who would be willing to give a substantial quantity of blood at the time when their next baby was born. The couple advertised in newspapers in Israel and abroad until, finally, a man from America who matched the blood type agreed to give his blood to save a life. Finally, that long anticipated day arrived when this mother went into labor and that man had already come after making the long, difficult journey to Israel. The transfusion was made on the spot and was a success. The parents' joy knew no bounds. When they celebrated their first brit milah , they honored their benefactor at the milah and showered him with gifts and heartfelt thanks, as did their extended family and friends. The man dismissed all the fanfare, modestly explaining that what he did was something any Jew would do. They named the baby Moshe and little Moshe developed into a fine Ben Torah. On every one of his birthdays and every time he reached a milestone, his parents would write a heartfelt letter of gratitude to the donor and enclose pictures of their son so that he could rejoice with them. When Moshe turned three, they sent pictures of him getting his first haircut. They did the same when Moshe got his first siddur at his siddur party. As well when he started learning Mishnayot , and then when he had his first Siyum Masechet . Every happy occasion was shared with the donor. The donor even made a special trip to Israel to celebrate Moshe's bar-mitzvah in person. Eventually, Moshe was accepted into one of the most renowned yeshivot in all of Israel and was one of the best boys in the entire yeshiva. When the time came for him to get married, his Rosh Yeshiva suggested a shidduch for his prize student – an American gvir(wealthy man) who was looking for an outstanding b achur for his daughter. As soon as the names were mentioned, both families were in awe. It was none other than the daughter of this man who donated blood to save Moshe's life. That boy became his son-in-law. It was then that he saw the amazing hashgacha that Hashem brought about to show him how much his efforts were appreciated. Besides the joy in having such a great son-in-law, the man was overjoyed with the knowledge that Hashem appreciated and rewarded his efforts. He had such satisfaction from this episode. The satisfaction that is awaiting each person in the Next World for every one of their good deeds will far surpass any satisfaction they could possibly get in this world.
Prof. Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published ground-breaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. He studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchak Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. Dr. Juni is a board member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in cutting-edge research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psychodynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed the NYU Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the professional journals where Professor Juni has published 120 theoretical articles and his research findings (many are available online): Journal of Forensic Psychology; Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma; International Review of Victimology; The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease; International Forum of Psychoanalysis; Journal of Personality Assessment; Journal of Abnormal Psychology; Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology; Psychophysiology; Psychology and Human Development; Journal of Sex Research; Journal of Psychology and Judaism; Contemporary Family Therapy; American Journal on Addictions; Journal of Criminal Psychology; Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate
Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap (1882-1951) was an important rabbinical leader in Yerushalayim during the first half of the 20th century. A product of the Old Yishuv, he was a student of Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, Rav Hirsh Mechel Shapiro and several others before becoming a lifelong close student of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook. He served as the founding rabbi of the Shaarei Chesed and Rechavia neighborhoods, as well as rosh yeshiva of Merkaz Harav and his own yeshiva Bais Zevul in Shaarei Chesed. For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at: yehuda@yehudageberer.com Subscribe To Our Podcast on: PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
The story of Eisav teaches us to look beyond externalities.
In this week's parsha, Chayeh Sara, we read about Eliezer the servant of Avraham being sent to find a wife for Yitzchak. Chazal tell us the journey from where Eliezer was sent, from Kiryat Arba to his destination, Haran, should have taken 17 days, yet Hashem gave him kefitzat haderech , and he arrived in just three hours. The Pirkeh D'rabi Eliezer adds he was only there for three hours, and Hashem made another miracle for him that he got back three hours later the very same day while Yitzchak was praying Mincha. This is an astonishing miracle which took place twice in the same day. The question has been asked, "For what reason did Hashem make these open miracles?" Some explain it was because the time had arrived for Yitzchak and Rivka to be married that day, and once the time arrived Hashem made it happen without delay. This is a lesson for us in general in shidduchim. People may have had to wait a long time to get married, but they should know when their time arrives it's going to happen very quickly. Furthermore, Hashem has given us ways to speed up the process and bring about that time earlier than it's supposed to come. A woman said she had a friend who was not even thinking about marriage when her future husband began a 40-day tefilah campaign at the Kotel. He had been trying very hard to get married for five years but did not come even a little close to finding his zivug . During the course of his 40-day heartfelt tefilot, his future wife's life changed dramatically, and by the end of the 40 days she was ready to get married. They met a week later and were married less than three months later. There are so many things that we could do as a zechut to help other people speed up the process. When friends and family come together and take upon themselves improvements in Torah and mitzvot in the zechut of another person, it is a great act of chesed, and they are helping themselves as well. It is never one-size-fits-all. Everyone is different, and everyone could use improvements in different areas. Rabbi Shlomo Levenstein was once invited to speak in a girls' seminary in Yerushalayim. After the speech the principal showed him a poster with an illustration of a pair of socks hanging on the wall and explained its meaning. A few months before this, while they were traveling by bus back from a trip, the principal took the opportunity to speak to the girls, using the bus's microphone. She said, "Our dear secretary is getting older and still not married. Maybe we could take something upon ourselves in her merit." The response was enthusiastic, and after much back and forth they decided as an added stringency in modesty they would be careful to always wear socks outside the house. A week later, one of the girls called the principal late at night and told her, "My mother just asked me to take out the garbage. Just as I was leaving the house, I remembered I wasn't wearing socks. Although my robe reached all the way to the ground I thought, 'Maybe that's not good enough,' and I didn't want to be responsible for breaking our resolution, so I went up to my room, got my socks, and then went to take out the garbage." "One month later," the principal concluded, "our secretary was engaged and the girls made this poster as a reminder." Our deeds are very precious and our tefilot are very valuable. We could use these vehicles to help others and give them the kefitzat haderech that they are hoping for. Shabbat Shalom
The pasuk says ואהבת לרעך כמוך. Simply meant, we are to love our friends like we love ourselves. And it ends with the wordsאני ה . The sefer balivanon yisgeh gives a homiletical explanation to this pasuk. ואהבת לרעך Love the bad רע - that comes לך to you. A person is supposed to accept with love when something seemingly bad happens to him because כמוך, no matter how we act, אני ה', Hashem always acts with mercy towards us. The name Hashem in that pasuk is yud kay vav kay , which connotes Hashem's midat harachamim . The Zohar Hakadosh writes, the main emunah that a person has to have in life is to believe that everything that happens to him is pure good, even the difficult yessurin. It's very difficult to feel that way when a person is in pain, but the rewards for it are unimaginable. Even though the way things appear to be happening, it may not seem good at all, but that is where we have to trust that it is good. Sometimes it helps to use our imaginations to try to think of reasons why something may be good. Most of the time we don't get to see the full picture. However, hearing stories about how things appeared to be getting worse and worse and then seeing how they were actually getting better will help us to have the proper emunah, even when it's very hard to. A man who owns a watch store in Yerushalayim told about the financial struggles he had been going through. He and his wife worked together in the store and they earned just enough to get by. They outgrew their apartment and were in great need of buying a house. They found something reasonable and had to borrow money to make the down payment. Shortly after that, their eldest son got engaged and they were going to be obligated to contribute a large sum of money to help the newlyweds start out their marriage. This, besides for all the expenses involved in actually making the wedding. The man said they were very overwhelmed, to say the least. Moving into their new home was also going to cost a lot of money. Several days before the move, his wife called him asking if it was okay for the painters to start. That was going to be another few thousand dollar expense, which he didn't have the money to pay for. That night, he went to sleep anxious and worried, praying for siyata dishmaya. The next morning, he woke up with excruciating pain in one of his teeth. He went to the dentist and was told he needed a root canal and a crown. If it wasn't enough already, having to pay for all the wedding expenses and the new housing expenses, now he had to pay for a root canal and a crown. He didn't really have a choice in the matter, as the pain was only getting worse. After his tooth was removed, he asked the dentist what he did with all the gold crowns that he removed from teeth pulled out. The dentist then opened adrawer and took out a plastic box filled with gold crowns. He said, "I have a large amount of them, but they can't be reused and the gold isn't pure enough to be worth that much either." He laughed and said, "If you want to try and sell them, I'll split the profits with you." This man sprang into action. He called his friend, who also owned a watch store asking him for advice. The friend said he had a special machine that could melt down the material and leave back only the pure gold. He went there and they did this procedure, and afterward, the man took the pure gold to a jeweler who weighed it out and then paid him thousands and thousands of dollars for it. Even after giving the dentist his share, this man was able to pay back his debts as well as everything he needed to cover his moving expenses. Not only that, he even had leftovers to give more than he intended to the newlywed couple. What appeared to be putting this man in further debt turned out to be his salvation. Everything that happens is good for us. Sometimes we see how, and most of the time we don't. But if we could trust Hashem and accept everything with love, we will become so elevated.
En 'Luz de Sefarad' ofresemos un programa kon versiones komparadas de romanses sefardíes a kapela i sus versiones modernas. Sentimos dos enshemplos, el primo en su versión orijinal a kapela, se trata de un romanse de lutio (endecha) de ermoza melodía "Alabanzas a Jerusalem" interpretado por la kantadera sefardí de Turquía Bienvenida Aguado, la temátika mos yeva a la sivdad de Yerushalayim onde la musher kere deshar i ofreser sus demandas i orasiones. Dempués sentimos su versión moderna interpretada por el Grupo Sirma kon titoló "Irme quiero". Los romanses son konservados en la memoria de los sefardim. Escuchar audio
Rabbi Orlofsky reflects on 4 years of the show, and on how to make great plans at the very start.
Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits is an American-born Rav, Rosh Yeshiva, Rosh Kollel, and Posek in Israel. In 2001, he founded The Jerusalem Kollel, a rabbinic ordination and training program that prepares students for kiruv positions worldwide. In 2019, he was appointed rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Aish HaTorah in Yerushalayim. He also serves as Rosh Kollel of an international network of evening Kollelim in Israel and the United States, which spread awareness of the laws of bein adam lechaveiro. ____________________________________ Subscribe to Meaningful Minute on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/15166687800?text=Please%20subscribe%20me%20to%20Meaningful%20Min Ute ____________________________________ Subscribe to our Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2WALuE2 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39bNGnO Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/MPPGooglePodcasts Or wherever Podcasts are available! Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/meaningfulpeoplepodcast Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/MPPonFB Follow us on Twitter:https://twitter.com/MeaningfuPplPod Editor: Sruly Saftlas Podcast created by: Meaningful Minute For more info and upcoming news check out: https://MeaningfulPeoplePodcast.com #jew #jewish #podcast #frum #rabbi #frumpodcast #meaningfulpeople #torah #mitzvah #hashem #jewishmusic #jewishpodcast #israel #kumzitz #nachigordon #jewishpod
Rabbi Eitiel Goldwicht is the founder of Aish Israel, the Israeli division of Aish Hatorah, and the Associate Rabbi of Beit Knesset Hanassi in Yerushalayim. His deep understanding and passion for the Jewish people fuel his work across the religious spectrum. Tens of thousands visit the Aish World Center yearly and have experienced Rabbi Goldwicht's dynamic and engaging classes and programs. He currently lectures both in Hebrew and English, constantly expanding the scope of his audience through radio appearances, video presentations, and social media. ____________________________________ Re-Imagine Your Key Relationships with Rabbi Dovid M. Cohen's transformational new book. Available at rabbidovidmcohen.com, Amazon & bookstores. ____________________________________ This episode is brought to you by Touro University! To learn more about how you can excel at Touro University, Visit Touro.edu/more ____________________________________ Enter to win a $1,000,000 apartment in the heart of Jerusalem! Use code MPP for discounted tickets! thedreamraffle.com ____________________________________ Subscribe to Meaningful Minute on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/15166687800?text=Please%20subscribe%20me%20to%20Meaningful%20Min Ute ____________________________________ Subscribe to our Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2WALuE2 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39bNGnO Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/MPPGooglePodcasts Or wherever Podcasts are available! Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/meaningfulpeoplepodcast Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/MPPonFB Follow us on Twitter:https://twitter.com/MeaningfuPplPod Editor: Sruly Saftlas Podcast created by: Meaningful Minute For more info and upcoming news check out: https://Meaningfulminute.org #jew #jewish #podcast #frum #rabbi #frumpodcast #meaningfulpeople #torah #mitzvah #hashem #jewishmusic #jewishpodcast #israel #kumzitz #nachigordon #jewishpod
Join The Whatsapp Discssion Group: This week's link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/D3UOpyi9DRG27d3eAMyXCo Volunteer to share your personal story on the Franciska Show - email: franciskakay@gmail.com About Our Guest: Chanale is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, and performer whose melodic and moving songs open the hearts and touch the spirits of women in communities all across the globe. Her powerful performances excite and inspire all-female crowds in places as far as China, South America, Alaska, Colombia, Australia, South Africa and Israel. Her career began in 1999 when she was invited to sing for “Women in Song” ,a concert that featured performances from talented female musicians from all over the country. Her music reflects her strong Jewish heritage and embraces her contemporary musical taste. A powerful performer, Chanale charms her audience with her charisma, upbeat attitude and warm smile creating a unique bond with listeners. With 7 albums of her own, she is also the creator of the Bella Bracha series, and the composer of Parshatime from Toveedo. Her lyrics and melodies can be found on “Watching Over Me” by Michoel Pruzansky, “Sunshine-Levi Cohen”, “Gali's Song” from The Brooklyn Girls Choir, “Mimmy & Simmy-The Musical”, and most recently “Orthodoxed”. Chanale works with some of the top names in Jewish music and her interviews with music legends Yossi Green, Abie Rotenberg, and Country Yossi can be found on her Youtube channel. An ambassador for Nefesh B'Nefesh and DailyGiving, Chanale travels around Israel inspiring Aliyah and charity amongst her large social media following on Facebook and Instagram. Whether behind the piano, guitar, or mixing desk, Chanale remains the leading voice in the Jewish female music scene following the release of B'siyata D'Shmaya, Crown of Creation and Yerushalayim that she performed with her all-female band. Her highly anticipated Kumzits concert and re-release of Shabbos Queen are all more feather's in Chanale's musical hat, one she wears proudly. Chanale is also the host of the weekly squeeze podcast. Follow Chanale: https://www.instagram.com/chanalemusic/ Listen to the Weekly Squeeze: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-squeeze-with-chanale/id1614568206 The Podcast DIY Launch Course: https://www.franciskakosman.com/courselaunch If you'd like to book a consult session with Franciska, click here: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/5BECR8D49NYV3/checkout/FVSNPB7HVW36LOYAR3L7SJMU If you'd like to sponsor an episode, click here: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/5BECR8D49NYV3/checkout/6KYMG7OGFR4Y63C43RREZ5MV Check out: www.JewishCoffeeHouse.com for more Jewish Podcasts on our network. Email Franciska - franciskakay@gmail.com
The Shulchan Aruch writes in the laws of Rosh Hashanah that on this great day we are supposed to eat and drink and be happy. However we should not eat to complete satiation so that we don't come to a light headed state of mind, but rather, keep the fear of Hashem upon us. The Mishnah Berura writes that although Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment, there is still a mitzvah to be happy on the holiday. The sefer Vaveh HaAmudim asked, seemingly these two emotions, fear and happiness, are contradictory. How can we be expected to have both at the same time? The Rabbi explained with a mashal. Imagine, in Yerushalayim we discovered a hidden tzaddik who is a master of every facet of Torah. Very quickly, all of Klal Yisrael begins looking to him for guidance. But not only is he a gadol b'Torah and righteous in all of his deeds, he also has ruach hakodesh and can see on a person's face every deed that he ever did, both good and bad. Not only that, he also has a special power of beracha . Whenever he gives a person a blessing, it always comes true. Every day, hundreds of people get on line to try to get one minute with this great tzaddik . For sure, if a person knows he is about to go in, he will make teshuva for all of his sins, not wanting the rabbi to see what he did. He will also come prepared with his words carefully, not wanting to waste time with unimportant things. And when he actually walks in to where the Gadol is, on one hand he is going to be afraid, knowing whose presence he is in, but at the same time he is going to be so happy, knowing that the answer to all of his problems is just one blessing away. All year long, Hashem is our loving Father and on Rosh Hashanah we begin calling Him Avinu Malkenu , Our Father and Our King. On Rosh Hashanah, Hashem sits on His Throne of Judgment and analyzes and scrutinizes every single deed that we did. When we stand before Him, everything about us is revealed. But Hashem also sits on His Throne of Mercy and wants to give us the happiest, most blessed year. So on one hand, we are afraid of whose presence we are going to be standing in, but at the same time we are so happy that the judge is also our loving Father who could help us with every problem we have. Today, before our deeds are scrutinized, we still have a chance to repent so that we could enter the King's chambers looking beautiful. On one hand, Rosh Hashanah is a very serious day, but at the same time it is such a happy day because we are so excited to be together with Hashem. Chazal tell us, during the entire Aseret Yameh Teshuva , beginning with Rosh Hashanah, Hashem is closer to us than He is during the rest of the year. It's as if He is personally coming into our homes to be with us. Let us prepare properly to greet the Melech and b'ezrat Hashem He will bless everyone with kol tuv v'tov. Amen. Tizku l'shanim rabot and Shabbat Shalom.
One of our main jobs on Rosh Hashanah is to recognize that Hashem is our King and He is the only One who runs the world. It does not matter what people say they are going to do, only what Hashem wants to happen is going to happen. Sometimes people speak with such conviction about certain actions they are going to take which inspire fear into their listeners. We never have to fear anyone other than Hashem. Our main goal in everything we do is to fulfill His will. That's our job and Hashem takes care of everything else. We always get exactly what Hashem wants us to get and, sometimes, He makes it very clear that He and only He is the boss. A woman born a non-Jew grew up in a very wealthy neighborhood in a family of extreme wealth. She had all the luxuries she could ever want, but the day came when she felt she had lost her taste for life. Everything was just about clothing, cars and who had a bigger house. She ended up meeting some Jewish girls and was enchanted by their middot and refinement. Eventually, she wanted to convert and although the Rabbanim she met with discouraged her from doing so, she had such a strong will to become Jewish, eventually she did. When she told her father about her decision to convert, he sent her for psychological help and tried many other ways to stop her, but saw he wasn't going to win. Finally he said to her, “I'm worth millions of dollars, but I will make one thing clear. If you convert, I will disinherit you. You won't receive even one cent. No food, no clothes, no money, nothing.” Despite his threat, she was still willing to give it all up and she became Jewish. She enrolled in a seminary in Israel. The school's principal was concerned she wouldn't be able to manage, coming from such a wealthy home. Now, suddenly, she didn't even have enough money to buy a bottle of water or some bread. So he decided to set her up with a family who would adopt her and with whom she could live, providing her with support and care. The family was not well to do, as the husband spent his days learning in a kollel while his wife worked. The first Shabbat she spent with them, they couldn't help but be impressed by her superlative middot and refined behavior. After Shabbat, they said to her, “From now on, our house is your house. You will be like our daughter.” And from that day forward, they truly treated her like a daughter. When she started dating, a fine shidduch was suggested to her, a boy learning in Yerushalayim and, after several dates, they became engaged. But their joy was mixed with worry and stress. She didn't have any money to get married with, nor did the family who took her in. They calculated what the couple would need for the wedding and all the other expenses, including an apartment, and the boy's parents agreed to contribute a certain sum. The girl's side had to contribute the hefty sum of $50,000. The father of this family who took her in went to consult with one of the Gedoleh Yisrael . He told the Rabbi about the girl's self-sacrifice and how she had given up a life of wealth and luxury to become a Jew and dedicate her life to Hashem. The Gadol advised him to go to America and collect for her. He also gave him the number of a person who would tell him where to go to find potential donors. He called the man and got several addresses of wealthy people who might be willing to donate generously for hachnasat kallah . When his plane finally landed in America, he immediately grabbed a taxi, but because he didn't know English that well, he mistakenly told the driver the wrong address. They arrived at a neighborhood with large, fancy homes. When he went to the door of the address he was given, he saw it had a different name. He went across the street but the name on that mailbox was also different. He didn't know what to do. It was very cold outside and snow had started to fall. He started to walk up the street and look for a house with a mezuza . A man dressed in a cashmere coat and dress shoes, talking on a cellphone and walking his vicious dog, passed by him. The dog sensed the avrech's fear and started barking at him. And then, all of a sudden, the dog jumped on him and bit him. Fortunately, he was dressed in many layers and the dog only managed to tear his clothing. The dog owner shouted at the dog, trying to rescue this poor man. “Please don't call the police,” the dog owner pleaded. “If you call them they are going to take him away. This dog is like a member of my family. I'll give you anything if you just walk away.” The avrech responded in his broken English, “I don't live here. I came to raise $50,000 for my daughter's wedding.” The wealthy man pulled out his checkbook on the spot and wrote out a check for the full amount. The avrech couldn't believe his eyes. He took a taxi right back to the airport to wait for the next flight home. When he returned, he told his family about the amazing experience he had. The kallah then asked if she could see the name and address on the check. When she saw it, she turned pale. The name on that check was none other than her own father. She said, “My father told me he wouldn't give me a cent if I converted to Judaism and here he paid for all of my wedding expenses without even knowing it.” Hashem runs the world. It does not matter what people try or say they are going to do. Whatever Hashem wants to happen is going to happen.
Rav Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky (1867-1948) was the rabbi of the Eidah Chareidis community in Yerushalayim & headed the branch of Agudas Yisrael in that country for 15 crucial and tumultuous years. Having grown up in Hungary, he had previously served as rabbi of Galanta and Chust (Slovakia) for four decades. In Yerushalayim he oversaw the sweeping changes which were taking place in the Yishuv with immigration, the Great Arab Revolt, the policies of the British Mandatory government, World War II, the Holocaust, the UN Partition Resolution and the founding of the State of Israel. As a responsible and outspoken leader, Rav Dushinsky courageously led his community through this unique era, and aside from his rabbinical duties - along with his position as rosh yeshiva in the yeshiva which he founded - he took an active political role as well. Ultimately the changing demographics due to the immigration of more moderate Agudists from Poland in Germany led to a split between the Eidah Chareidis and Agudas Yisrael, which was overseen by Rav Dushinsky and remains to this very day. Following his passing in 1948 he was succeeded by his only son Rav Yisroel Moshe Dushinsky (1921-2003), who built the Dushinsky community around the yeshiva and transformed it from an Ashkenaz Oberland community into a full Chassidic court. For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at: yehuda@yehudageberer.com Subscribe To Our Podcast on: PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Rav Moshe Feinstein, zatzal , writes in his sefer Igrot Moshe , the same way we have an obligation to give ten percent of our earnings to charity, so too a Torah scholar is obligated to dedicate ten percent of his learning to teaching and helping others. When someone takes away from his own learning to help other people, in the natural way of the world, presumably, he will not be able to accomplish as much as he could have had he used all that time for himself. However, when it comes to avodat Hashem, it does not matter what seems natural. Just like when a person gives away his money to tzedaka , Hashem blesses him with more, so too when a person takes away time from himself and gives it to others. Hashem gives that person extra siyata d'Shamaya in his own life and in his own learning. Rav Moshe Feinstein was known to be available for anyone who needed, especially when it came to giving piskei halacha . He attended weddings almost every night, sometimes several times in one night. Yet, he was still able to master every facet of Torah and become the Gadol HaDor . His sensitivity towards other people's needs only gave him more siyata d'Shamaya in his learning. On one occasion, Rav Moshe was meeting with Rav Aharon Kotler and Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky behind closed doors while distinguished rabbis were waiting outside to find out the outcome of the deliberations of these great Gedolim . There were many weighty she'elot that they were deliberating over. Suddenly, in the middle of the meeting, Rav Moshe apologized to his colleagues and stood up to leave. He said he had an important wedding he needed to attend and he dashed out to the car in which his student was waiting to take him there. When Rav Moshe arrived at the wedding, the excitement in the hall rose to a pitch. The posek hador had arrived. Everyone gathered to greet the Rabbi, including the chatan's father. Rav Moshe shook his hand and explained that he came on behalf of the kallah's side. “You merited a truly precious treasure,” Rav Moshe told the beaming chatan . “A wonderful kallah she is, make sure you value her.” Normally, Rav Moshe would wish the people at a wedding mazal tov and then leave, but this time he deviated from his usual custom. He remained there for a long time, giving berachot to all those who waited on the line to shake his hand. Afterwards he danced with the chatan and then praised the kallah with more accolades to him. Just before he left, the Rabbi asked for the kallah to come over to him. He wished her a mazal tov and added his heartfelt berachot . When Rav Moshe and his student returned to the car, the student asked whose wedding was so important that the Rav felt it necessary to leave an emergency meeting with the other Rabbanim to attend. Rav Moshe smiled and went on to relate the story behind it. A few days earlier, a young girl had knocked on the Feinstein's door, pale and hesitant. As soon as she entered the room, she broke out crying, asking if she could speak to Rav Moshe. When she was sitting before the Rabbi, she explained that she had grown up in a poor family from Yerushalayim and had gotten engaged to a boy from America. The wedding was going to be in New York and her family couldn't afford to fly in. They managed just to purchase one ticket for her. “I'm all alone,” she cried. “I have no family here. The chatan's side is going to wonder what's wrong with me. They may even think that my family rejected me.” Then she made a bold request. “Maybe the Rav would attend my wedding? Then no one would care about the absence of my relatives.” Rav Moshe's eyes lit up. “Of course, I'll be happy to come by,” he said. The talmid was impressed by Rav Moshe's kindness. Then he asked why the rabbi stayed and felt the need to personally bless the kallah . The rabbi replied, “I knew after the wedding she would find out that I came. But during the wedding, she may have been troubled the whole time, wondering if I did come, so I decided to reassure her so that she would be happy during the entire wedding.” Look at the sensitivity of the Gadol . Rav Moshe taught us to give some of our time away to helping others, especially when it comes to helping in Torah study. He himself exemplified this principle. We never lose by giving, we only gain more.
We have all experienced times in our lives when we have clearly seen Hashem helping us exactly the way we needed to be helped. There are also times when we wished we were helped but we weren't. At those times, we may think to ourselves, why didn't Hashem help me? Doesn't He want to help me? Doesn't He love me? We must remember, during the times we are helped, to remind ourselves that Hashem loves to help us and if it's good for us to be helped, He most certainly will. The only reason we are not helped on other occasions is because that is what is best for us. A man told me he has been out of a job for over two years. A couple of weeks ago, on a Shabbat morning, he was walking out of the early minyan at about 8:00 am when he bumped into a friend of his that he hadn't seen in a very long time. As they were catching up, he mentioned he has been out of work for the last two years. And this friend said he would like to speak to him more about that after Shabbat. That night, the friend called him and said he has been looking for a controller for his business for a very long time and knows that he would do very well at it; he offered him the job. The man was ecstatic. He couldn't believe he finally got a job, and a great job too. He told his friend it was such hashgacha that he saw him that morning. His friend said, “You don't know the extent of it. I have been going to the 9:00 minyan in this shul for the past 20 years. This morning, my daughter woke me up telling me I'm going to be late. So I rushed to shul, only to find that she made a mistake and I got there a few minutes after 8:00 instead of a few minutes after 9:00. That is when I saw you coming out of the 6:00 minyan .” The man was in awe of how Hashem helped him. This very well could have taken place at any given week over the last two years. But for whatever reason, Hashem knew that only now was the right time for this man to be helped. And when the time came, He made it very clear that He was the one helping. Another man, who lives in Israel, told me these days it's difficult to find a money changer or bank that will cash a check. In the entire Yerushalayim, there are only one or two places that will do it and they are both at least a 30-minute drive from his house. The money changer he uses is usually open until 6:30 pm. His wife had to cash a much-needed check one day and so she made the trip there, leaving her house at 4:45. There was a lot of traffic, and she didn't get there until 5:30. She parked the car, went to the store, but to her surprise, it was already closed. She couldn't believe it. She had just driven for 45 minutes and really needed the money, and now the store was closed. She called her husband and asked him what to do. He told her, “Try knocking, perhaps the man is in the back room, and he'll come and open the door for you.” She knocked and knocked and knocked again, but there was no answer. Then, while her husband was still on the phone with her, he got a call-waiting from none other than this money changer. He called to say the check that his wife cashed last week was not endorsed and he needed her to come and sign it. The man told the money changer his wife was right outside his store, and she needs a check to be cashed very badly right now. The money changer said, “Okay, I'm still in the back room.” The husband then said, “What do you mean? She's been knocking and no one answered. The money changer replied, “Many people knock after closing but I never answer after hours. However, since I need her signature, I'll come out and cash her check as well.” The siyata d'Shamaya here was amazing. I'm sure there have been many times in this woman's life that she has traveled somewhere and was not able to accomplish what she set out to do. This episode shows, Hashem helps and can easily do so at any time. Obviously when He doesn't give us the help we are looking for, it's only because that's what is best for us. If we can accept this each time we are not given the help we want, it is a great avodat Hashem and will raise our level tremendously.
Should we be bringing up Reb Nachman to Eretz Yisroel? [The Halachic analysis of exhuming remains] According to Reb Nosson and other Gedolei Breslov it's better to stay in Eretz Yisroel than to go to Uman!!! Do we really know which Kever is the Kever of Reb Nachman? with Rabbi Ari Enkin – Rov, Maggid Shiur & Mechaber Seforim from Beit Shemesh – 13:24 Is it permissible to go to Uman this year due to the war in Ukraine? Is it a dangerous place? Hear from boots on the ground with Rabbi Moshe Azman – Chief Rabbi of Ukraine – 26:57 What is the mesorah in Breslov regarding bringing up Reb Nachman? What did Reb Moshe Feinstein say about bringing Reb Nachman to Eretz Yisroel? with Rabbi Nosson Maimon - Worldwide Breslover Mashpia – 35:44 Hear fascinating history about bringing up Gedolim to Eretz Yisroel with Rabbi Yechiel Goldhabr – Historian and Mechaber Seforim – 1:04:16 מראי מקומות
Originally from New York, Rabbi Gavriel Friedman has spent the last 2 decades teaching and learning in Eretz Yisrael. He is currently teaching at Aish HaTorah, where his lectures highlight the entire gamut of Aish programs. A star of the Jewish speaking circuit, Rav Gav has lectured in dozens of cities around the globe. His infectious energy and humor captivates audiences of all ages and inspires men and women across the Jewish spectrum. His unique ability to present Torah concepts in a deep yet entertaining fashion leaves his audiences thirsting for more. Rav Gav lives in the French Hill neighborhood of Yerushalayim with his family. _______________________________________________________ This episode is brought to you by Touro University! To learn more about how you can excel at Touro University, Visit Touro.edu/more _______________________________________________________ This episode is also brought to you by Bridge Credit Solutions! If you're looking for a reputable credit repair company that can clean your credit within 6-60 days or your money back, Bridge Credit Solutions is your choice. Serious Inquiries Only https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=12126602991&text=Hi,%20Im%20interested%20in%20more%20information.%20Saw%20on%20MM%20 _______________________________________________________ Subscribe to our Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2WALuE2 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39bNGnO Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/MPPGooglePodcasts Or wherever Podcasts are available! Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/meaningfulpeoplepodcast Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdoXMHMG/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/MPPonFB Follow us on Twitter:https://twitter.com/MeaningfuPplPod Editor: Sruly Saftlas Podcast created by: Meaningful Minute For more info and upcoming news check out: https://MeaningfulPeoplePodcast.com #jew #jewish #podcast #frum #rabbi #frumpodcast #meaningfulpeople #torah #mitzvah #hashem #jewishmusic #jewishpodcast #israel #kumzitz #nachigordon #jewishpod