Israel Celebrates 62 Despite War, Terrorism, Poverty, Obama.
A Link to a guest blog. this author has written some about some issues which demand our attention.
|
||||||
|
Editors Note: The following piece is an annotated compilation, using existing sources, which are sited as links from the world wide web. The authors intention is to weave the known information from some unrelated sources into one work to later explain how they connect to the current time period of Sepherot Omer, the counting of the Omer. In cases of conflict that author went the sources which he believed to be more credible as the information which had been given over to him by various teachers. In many cases the exact wording was used from the sources provided, it is not the author’s intention to pass of the writing as his own original work, even though there may have been some changes to the original phrases. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, aka The Arizal would spontaneously deliver his lectures on some of the deepest and most mystical ideas that are derived from extensive interpretations of Torah, as expounded in The Zohar, who’s authorship is attributed to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.Very little actual written work is known which had been written by the Ari himself, some kabbalistic poems were written in Aramaic for the Sabbath table. The person who was responsible for recording the Arizal’s was Rabbi Chaim Vital, who collected notes from the of the lectures of the Arizal’s students. Arizal.net, The Kabbalah Rabbi Yitchak Luria, was know to be able to read the holy spirits of the face, as explained in the Zohar volume 8. At one point, The Arizal knew that it would be his student Rabbi Chaim Vital, who would be the one who would later transmit his teachings. Thje Arizal realized that Chaim Vital was somehow not comprehending the more mystical elements of his teachings so he took him to Tiveria, to the spot where the water from Miriam’s well fed into the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and had Rabbi Chaim vital drink of this water, then Chaim Vital was able to understand.Miriam’s Well – Found in the Kinneret  be'er miriam 100 yrs ago Site of Miriam's Well NFC, National Archives Archaeologist Yossi Stepansky, found the long-lost site of Miriam’s Well About the age of twenty-two, he became engrossed in the study of The Zohar, a major work of the Kabbalah that had recently been printed for the first time, and he adopted the life of a recluse. He retreated to the banks of the Nile, and for seven years secluded himself in an isolated cottage, giving himself up entirely to meditation. arizal.net “Biography of The Arizal” In 1569, Arizal returned to the Land of Israel. After a short sojourn in Jerusalem, where his new kabalistic system seems to have met with little success, he settled in Tzfat. In Tzfat the Arizal met Rabbi Joseph Caro, who is the author of the Shulchan Aruch. Also there in Tzfat was Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, The Ramak who was a student of the renowned Rabbi Yosef Caro. The Ramak’s mystical classic “Pardes Rimonim” (Garden of Pomegranates), written when he was only 27, synthesizes all the major topics of mysticism in an orderly and relatively philosophical system. In Tzfat, Israel he opened an academy for the study of mysticism, where many of the greatest mystics of the age studied. Even the great Arizal studied with him and greatly honored him. At the young age of forty-eight, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero passed away in Safed. In his eulogy, the Arizal declared that Rabbi Moshe was so pure and saintly that his death could only be attributed to the sin of Adam. Rashbi.org Kupat Tzidkat Rashbi, Meor Chaim 6/31, Tzfat Israel The Ari z’l – Rebbi Yitzhak Luria (also known as the Ashkenazi Reb Yitzhak, hence the acronym (Ari)- was born in the old city of Jerusalem. He received his Jewish education in Egypt, where he married the daughter of a great Jewish sage, and spent his days and weeks immersed in Torah study… His main focus was to try to reach an understanding of a certain very esoteric section of the Zohar known as the Safra De’tzniyusa – the “book of modesty.” Through intense study, fasting, and ultimately revelation from Elijah the prophet, he arrived at a revolutionary new understanding of Kabbalah based on structures of sephirot (sephirot are G-dly emanations with which He controls and illuminates the creation). The early kabbalists had focused on individual sephirot, but by focusing upon how they act together, the Ari z’l was able to unlock the secrets of this most esoteric section of the Zohar.
Above courtesy of: Jerusalemconnection.org Holy Burial Places – Tzfat Ari Hakadosh, “The Holy Arizal”, Tzfat – Yahrtzeit, 5 Av Kupat Tzidkat Rashbi, Meor Chaim 6/31, Tzfat Israel Tel: 03-9786240 (718) 971-5901  In the last year of Ramak’s life, the Arizal comes to Tzfat and becomes his student. Ramak penned many influential Kabbalistic works and was one of the greatest disseminators of mysticism. His sublime personality and prolific literary output reached far and wide, changing the landscape of life everywhere.“…Rabbi Moshe Cordovero was counted amongst the great students of the ‘Beit Yosef’, and even though he was one of the youngest, he was worthy to rise to being one of his most prominent student. Published Writings: Special Thanks to Meaningfullife.com The Ramak The core of the Ramak’s system consisted of a detailed description of how God created reality through the ten sefirot – channels of Divine energy. Understanding these ten forces is key in the study of Kabbalah today.Source above: SimpleToRemember.com In the 16th century, the mountaintop town of Tzfat became the center of Jewish mysticism – the Kabbalah. The Ten Sefirot are: Keter – crown, Above courtesy of Aish.com: A Kabbalistic concept explaining the multiplicity of God’s manifestations in the world helps us see how God is truly One. by Rabbi Shimon Leiberman The Ari’s system was different from that of the Ramak in that, rather than seeing the sefirot as one-dimensional points, he saw them as dynamically interacting partzufim, “personae,” each with a symbolically human-like character.In his understanding, human actions can impact on the sefirot —which channel Divine energy into the world – and can either facilitate or impede the advancement of creation toward its intended state of perfection.The Ari also advanced the study of reincarnation, which he explained in Sha’ar He Gilgulim “The Gate of Reincarnation.” During this period of time, many people came to study Kabbalah in Tzfat and legends are told of the Kabbalists, all dressed in white, walking out in the fields on the evening of Shabbat, singing the song welcoming the Shabbat Queen: Lecha Dodi Likrat Kallah, “Come My Beloved to Greet the Bride.” (This famous song/poem was written in the 16th century by Rabbi Solomon HaLevi Alkabetz.) The Kabbalat Shabbat service to welcome the Shabbat on Friday evening was created in Tzfat in the 16th century. A short compilation of some major people who learned and taught in Tzfat in the early 16th century at the time of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, The Ari Hokodesh.A compilation such as this must include some information on Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who was a student of Rabbi Akiva. Shimon bar Yochai was pursued by the Romans. He and his son, Rabbi Elazar ben Shimon, took refuge in a cave, where they remained for thirteen years. During those years, Rabbi Shimon studied Torah with his son, the Revealed Torah and the Hidden, or Secret, TorahLag BaOmer means the thirty-third day in the Count of the Omer. In Israel, at Meron, the burial place of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar b’Rabbi Shimon, tens of thousands of Jews gather to celebrate on the “Yahrtzeit,” the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.Ou.org “Celebration of Lag BaOmer”
Rabbi Akiva had a famous academy with twenty-four thousand students. Yet his students did not treat each other with the respect due from the students of Rabbi Akiva. During the period between Passover and Shavuot, during a thirty-three day period, all twenty-four thousand students died. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai was one of the greatest disciples of Rabbi Akiba. JewishMag.co.il “Connecting Rabbi Akiva and Lag B’Omer” The story of Lag B’omer becomes complex when one tries to understand that there was one day in the counting of the Omer where none of the students of Rabbi Akiva died. That day is Lag B’Omer which literally means the 33rd day of the Omer. One needs to understand that at the time during 33 days of the Omer (and it is not know exactly which of the 33 days the Omer the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva died in a plague) that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, was not yet a student of Rabbi Akiva, and had not yet gone into hiding in cave for thirteen years. He did not die with the rest of these students (actually he became a student of Rabbi Akiva when Rabbi Akiva renewed his efforts after having lost all of his students in the plague. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai died on Lab B’Omer, the thirty-third day of the counting of the omer. It is known in chassidic teachings Why Did G-d Use a Strong Hand, and an Outstretched Arm to Redeem His Chosen People?Any one who has ever attended a passover seder would definitely hear the explanation of a strong hand and an outstretched arm as an essential part of the story of G-d’s redemption of His chosen people, the nation of Israel.Many people might be familiar with various mathematical explanations regarding how many plagues were brought down upon Pharoh and all Egypt. Certainly everyone would agree that there are ten main plagues. During the last two days I heard some mathematical explanations which use the numeric values of specific Hebrew letters to make some interesting inferences in relation to the specific Parsha (portion of Torah which is read in synagogue) of this week; Vayeira. A shiur (lecture) on the Parsha that I attended last night pointed out the significance of the number 14. One source for obtaining this number was from a Mishna
MISHNAH PESACHIM, CHAPTER 1 Rabbi Shmuel Kessin gave a shiur last night January 13, 2010 at an apartment on the upper east side, of Manhattan. Rabbi Shmuel Kessin pointed out that the use of the Hebrew word Or, which means light, or the evening of the 14th day may have some meaning which is only hinted at the Hebrew word. Remez, is the Hebrew word which is used when one is seeking to explain or derive an inner meaning which is only alluded to within a given word, or phrase from the Torah or Mishnah. Another technique which often helps offers insights into subtle meanings is the use of gematrias. In addition to having a specific sound, the Hebrew letters also have a specific numerical value based in their sequence in the Aleph-Beis. For example the 1st letter of the Hebrew Aleph_Beis is Aleph, which has a numerical value of 1. The tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is is Yud, which has a numeric value of 10. Insight and spiritual inspiration may be gained when learning deep concepts by referencing something as seemingly superficial as the numeric value of a given Hebrew word.Rabbi Shmuel Kessin had used the nuance of meaning and the numerical value from the Mishnah referenced above to point out that we learn of the birth of Pinchas in the current Torah portion of Vayeira. Pinchas is an important personality in the Torah because he will later zealously take up the defense of Hashem by spearing a prince of the Hebrews who publicly disgraces Hashem, with his illicit actions. In so doing Pinchas had brought an end to a plague that had already claimed the lives of 24,000 Jews. In his typical yet subtle manner of deriving and subsequently revealing a remez of meaning, Rabbi Shmuel Kessin pointed out that it could be Pinchas, who is the “light” of the 14th. Vaeira, the name of the 14th Parsha of Torah, is from the root for Or which is light, and is translated as the word appear. Therefore in the current Parsha, Vaeira (the 14th Parsha of the Torah) of the week one of the important personalities to appear is Pinchas.
The Torah Spring In the shiur someone also explained that in addition to being present at all bris milah, and of course stopping by for a glass of wine on Passover, Eliahu Hanavi-
Above clip, courtesy thirtysix.org As part of my daily weekday routine I attend a semi-formal learning in Chumash (Torah) Chevurah (group of friends) in a local Yeshivah Passaic Torah Institute:
I pointed out that today was the 14 the day of January, while Yitzchak pointed out that it was the 28th of Teves. Another interesting thing about the gematria of Yad (Yud-Daled) being 14 is that as Yitzchak Drai pointed out that each of the fingers of our hands has three segments while the thumb only has two. Therefore there are total of 14 segments, when we add up the total number of segments of our fingers, which again corresponds with the gematria of 14. Getting back to some of the ideas presented at the shiur given on the Upper East Side of Manhattan by Rabbi Shmuel Kessin was that there are seven Hebrew words which make up the very first sentence of the Torah in Genesis. As part of our faith we believe with all our heart that G-d is involved in the day to day activities of daily life. The creation of the World, Universe and everything in it is also believed to be part of the ongoing will of Hashem. If Hashem would withdraw his will for at any moment the World as we know would simply cease to exist. Rabbi Shmuel Kessin pointed out that the earthquake in Haiti, on January 12, 2010 measure a 7.0 on the Richter Scale.  Hait 7.0 Richter Scale earthquake. Editors Note: This article was originally published on this site on January 14, 2010 with a small typo in the title, after several attempts to repair the permalink and correct the title, eventually the the entire post was pulled off the site and reposted in its original form with the typo fixed in the title. This version represents the final attempt to repost this article on TheWritersCafe.org. Futher complications will require a reposting to an entirely different side. There is a concept in some of the deepest most esoteric area of Torah understanding which has been explained by using the term Partzufim. The term which means lesser face of G-d or Zeir Anpin. Naturally like all things in Kabbalah, the concept is very deep and also possibly difficult to explain.
A simple example to help illustrate the idea is that when one attempts to explain an idea that a person simply is not understanding, they often need to explain it utilizing several different examples. For example if someone wanted to explain the concept of how the energy contained in fossil fuel original came from the sun, they might begin by explaining how during the process photosynthesis CO2 and H2O is converted by green plants into another form of energy known as carbohydrates. The carbohydrates were then consumed by large carnivores, when these large carnivores died and later decomposed producing the the fossil fuel known as oil. When we put gas in our car, we are burning a derivative of these fossil fuels, and in the process releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.
The specific quality of Partzufim, is that the entire packet, becomes manifest at once.  Massada Ramp Counting thenSefirat HaOmer, an introduction. I have seen a book which attempts to explain the exact nature of each of the days which are counted, during the period of time which we are in right now which is called Sefirat HaOmer. I have not tried to use this source, but rather have tried to use my own limited understanding of the Kabbalah of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, aka The Ari, or The Arizal-zichrona L‘bracha (may his name be remembered for blessing). In taking on this endeavor I hope to further my understanding of what is viewed as an extremely deep and esoteric and yes even mystical explanation of some of the innermost meanings which are derived from the Torah and the Holy Zohar. As Torah observant Jews we begin to count the days between Peysach where we are taken out of slavery and bondage in Mitzrayem (Egypt) to become Eved Hashem (an eternal servant of G-d). On the surface the idea of becoming an eternal servant of G-d may not seem particularly glamorous or even enviable, however I feel secure enough in stating that becoming an Eved of Hashem is the goal of every frum (orthodox) yid (Jew).
During the counting of the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer) we as Torah observant Jews are unfortunately in a semi-period of mourning due to this time period coinciding with a plague which killed 12,000 pairs of the most advanced of Torah scholars of the day who were Talmidim (students) of one of the great Rabbis, Rabbi Akiva- zichrona L‘bracha (may his name be remembered for blessing). Rabbi Akiva himself was a Baal Teshuva becoming a Torah observant Jew at the ripe old age of 40 years old. (to be continued) The final Sefirot or energy level that the light reaches as it descends and unfolds is the Tenth Sefirot which is known as Malchut (Kingdom). It is at this level that the original thought or idea which emanated from it source gets expressed in the real world of action. There is a concept that attempts to explain such esoteric concepts as the descent of the soul from is place in the spiritual world. According to this idea, there is something similar to a funnel (or well or souls) where neshomas (souls) come down from the spiritual world into vessels (or bodies). As a Jewish nation we are commanded by G-d to be fruitful and multiply. It has been explained that the most exalted or elevated souls sort of float on the upper level of the funnel (well of souls). While the crudest, or most lowly of the souls are to be found towards the bottom of the well of souls. The souls descend from their highest level (vessels or sefirot) to fall down to their lowest level, the Sefirot Malchut, which is what we understand to be the human body, here in this world. It has been explained that the lowest of the souls must fall to their appointed vessels before the highest of souls can be drawn down from Shemayim (the spiritual world). This in effect creates the sort of vacuum which may be necessary to draw down the highest level of souls which may be understandably reluctant to come down to this limited and finite world. The idea explains that this is an instance where the exalted, must wait for the lowly, in order to achieve their final descent from the supernal world to this finite world of ends or action. AhMbDvd, April 8, 2010 The ninth emanation in the system of the Ten Sefirot is called Yesod and is translated as foundation. Perhaps the simplest of metaphors which I have heard used to explain the system of the Sefirot comes from biology. The lesson which I had learned sought to explain how the “light” which emanates from G-d. goes through a series of changes as it descends or unfolds from its original source. Our teacher was explaining; at 6:15 am one weekday morning, in front of less than a a dozen students in a living room in Queens NY, was that in order to become the Sefirot Binah, the emanation had to give up being, the Sefirot Chochmah.
The Sefirot of Yesod (Foundation, the 9th emanation) was explained to be a vessel which received all the other Sefirot above it it prior to manifesting itself in the final Sefiort, Malchut, the world of action. Each time the “light” descends from it’s original source on high it is changed, or transformed. One might focus on it becoming quantitatively different in this has an element of truth because the previous sefirot above it retains some of the light, because not 100% of it light is transmitted to the sefirot below it.
The seed itself serves as a very effective metaphor for just about any stage of what is collectively known as the Ten Luminous Emanations. The Ten Luminous Emanations is a system of understanding some of the deepest and most esoteric concepts of Kabbalah, developed by Issac Luria, the Arizal. Pesach cleaning and income tax, two things that are both similar and different. The first thing we know is that these things can not be avoided.
When we clean for Pesach, there is no doubt that we are in for a certain amount of stress. If this were not true then why would our Rabbonim be spending so much time talking about shalom bayis (household harmony). The obvious similarity is that these things always come up around the same time of the year.
 Pesach Cleaning and Taxes, two of three things you can't avoid. Correct! Which brings me to my next and extremely important point. You can not use the excuse of needing enough time to clean for Pesach as a valid reason for not filing you tax return on time. Nor would you easily be able to find any legitimate orthodox Rabbi who would give you special dispensation or a heter, to allow you to delay your Pesach cleaning until after you file your taxes. Pesach cleaning is just one of those facts of life for Jews who keep the Halacha (laws) of Pesach. Now dont get me wrong, Pesach is one of the great, if not greatest of the Jewish holidays. Indeed the Pesach seder has it all.
Pesach cleaning and income tax? How could one dare to think these two thoughts at once. Would we enjoy the Pesach seder as much had we not gone through this arduous task known as Pesach cleaning? Okay, don’t answer that yet…not now either. Yet we as a people, a stiff necked people, as Hashem has called us, seem to love doing these difficult mitzvahs. We might not love them at this very moment, as we are doing them. Yet we can rest assured, that by the time the Pesach table is set, and we get ready to re-enact Yetzias Mitzrayim (getting out of Egypt) we certainly will no longer even be having a second thought about if all that Pesach cleaning was worth it.  http://www.sxc.hu/profile/porah
Same thing with taxes, ”Oh, I filed my taxes yesterday” As I sit there thinking gee where did I put that W2? When people tell me that they have turned over their kitchen I always have this image of the kitchen table being turned upside down. I have this thought because one of my friends, who has since made Aliyah, told me that he actually does turn his table top over. One side is stam (regular) and one side is Pesadik.
As you may have guessed by now, I have not been frum (orthodox) my entire life. As a matter of fact it is worthwhile to note that my inability to attend our normal family seder (because my mom was in Florida) was a significant event which ended up with both my daughter and myself becoming orthodox. I guess there is a little humor and irony in that idea as well. Just about anyone might say that a non frum Jew has much more simple ritual associated with the holiday of Passover (Pesach). Once my daughter and I were free to celebrate Passover any which way we chose, and now we get to do Pesach cleaning! So you see the Pesach cleaning seems to be an essential aspect to the entire Pesach festival. After rolling up our sleeves and crawling on our hands and knees to retrieve tiny morsels of food, only to throw them away. We can truly appreciate the great abundance and freedom that our creator bestowed upon us when we the stiff necked people were made into a holy nation. Stephen (Aharon Moshe) Sanders March 24, 2010 Yud (10th of) Nissan 5770 I have gotten back to one of my earliest hobbies, when I was 5 old when I found an old camera (Brownie?) in the garage. The camera actually used 120 roll film (yes I did say film, cameras used to require file, and pictures were sent away for processing) and I still remember the thrill when my images finally arrived! So now I want to edit many 1000’s of digital photos, as well as scan many more 1000’s of prints, negatives and slides.  A Tree Fell In Passaic NJ, a man with his child have a look. |
||||||
|
Copyright © 2010 TheWritersCafe.org - All Rights Reserved |
||||||