B"H
Friday, Menachem Av 15, 5776 / August 19, 2016 - Hakhel year
Today is the 15th day in the month Menachem Av. In contrast to the first nine days of the month, today is a very joyous day. During the time of the Holy Temple it was one of the happiest days of the year.
The 15th of Av was “matchmaking” day in Israel. The Talmudic sage, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, said: “There were no greater festive days for Israel than the 15th of Av.” On this day the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards and they would say, "Young man, raise your eyes and see what you select for yourself.” It was a day of matchmaking which led to weddings.
The Talmud lists several joyous events which occurred on the 15th day of Av:
1) The dying of the generation of the Exodus ceased. Because they refused to go into the Promised Land, G-d decreed that all men between 20 and 60, who came out of Egypt, would die in the desert, only their children would enter the land. After 40 years in the desert, on the 15th of Av, the dying ended.
2) In order to ensure the orderly division of the Holy Land between the twelve tribes of Israel, restrictions had been placed on marriages between members of two different tribes. This restriction was binding only on the generation that conquered and settled the Holy Land. The restriction was lifted on the 15th of Av. As a result, the 15th of Av became a day of celebration and festivity.
3) The 15th of Av was the day on which the tribe of Benjamin, which had been excommunicated for a particular indecent behavior (as related in Judges 19-21), was readmitted into the community of Israel.
4) Upon the division of the Holy Land into two kingdoms following the death of King Solomon, Jeroboam ben Nebat, ruler of the breakaway Northern Kingdom of Israel, set up roadblocks to prevent his citizens from making the three yearly pilgrimages to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. They were removed more than 200 years later, on the 15th of Av, by Hosea ben Eilah, the last king of the Northern Kingdom.
5) The fortress of Betar was the last holdout of the Bar Kochba rebellion. When Betar fell, many tens of thousands of Jews were killed. The Romans massacred the survivors of the battle with great cruelty and would not allow the Jews to bury their dead. They were finally brought to burial on the 15th of Av.
Shabbat we read Parshat Va’etchanan. One of the highlights of this Parsha is the Ten Commandments. They are recorded twice in the Torah; in the Book of Exodus and again in this Parsha.
This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Nachmu” – “Shabbat of Comfort.” The reason is because it is the first Shabbat after the 9th of Av, the day in which the Temples were destroyed. From this Shabbat to Rosh Hashana there are seven weeks of comfort, when we read prophecies of comfort about the coming of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Temple. May it be speedily in our days. Amen.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montrealcandle lighting time: 7:36 / Shabbat ends: 8:40
B"H
Tuesday, Menachem Av 12, 5776 / August 16, 2016 - Hakhel year
This Shabbat, which will be the first Shabbat after the fast of Tisha B'Av, we will read Parshat Va'etchanan, in the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy).
In this Parsha we find the "Shema" - "Hear O' Israel the L-rd is Our G-d the L-rd is one. And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
The Shema prayer is recited three times daily; In the morning and evening prayers and before going to sleep. With the Shema, we affirm our belief in G-d and proclaim our love for Him.
The words "B'chol M'odecha" - "with all your might," can also be translated, "with every measure." Our sages explain this to mean that not only should we love G-d when things go good for us, but even if G-d acts with us in a measure that we may not deem as good, we must love Him just the same.
Indeed, our sages say that, "One must bless G-d for the bad just as for the good!" For, whether experiencing good and happiness which shows G-d's kindness to us in a revealing way; or when one, G-d forbid, experiences suffering, one's love for G-d must not waiver.
Our sages explain that although we may not see the good in certain situations, it is only because we have limitedvision. From G-d's perspective there is a reason for everything. In the end, whatever G-d does is for the good.
Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Nachmanides) was a great sage, scholar, Kabbalist and physician. Once he visited one of his students who was very sick. Rabbi Moshe realized that the student's days were numbered.
He said to his student, "I have many questions as to the sufferings of our people. When your soul goes up to heaven I want you to go before the heavenly court and ask them where is justice? Why do such terrible thing happening to our people? Then you must come to me in a dream and reveal to me the answers to these questions."
Rabbi Moshe wrote down the questions and instructed that the paper be placed in the coffin, which they did when the student passed away. A while later, the student appeared to him.
"Did you ask the questions from the heavenly court? Did you bring me the answers to the questions?" Rabbi Moshe inquired from his student.
The student replied, "When my soul went up to heaven I went to ask the questions so that I can bring you the answer as promised. However, when I entered the heavenly court I suddenly realized that in the heavenly spheres there were no questions. Up there everything looked just and perfect!"
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Thursday, Menachem Av 7, 5776 / August 11, 2016 - Hakhel year
This Shabbat is Tisha B’Av – the 9th day of Av.
When Tisha B’Av falls during the week it is a fast day. But when it falls on Shabbat, as this year, the fast is pushed of to the next day. Thus, this year the fast of Tisha B’Av will begin Saturday night and continue until Sunday night.
The Torah reading this Shabbat is Parshat Devarim, which begins the fifth book of the Torah (Deuteronomy). In the Parsha we find Moshe reprimanding the Jewish people for all their mistakes during their forty years in the desert. The reason they spent forty years in the desert is because of their refusal to go into the Promised Land.
This story happened on the day of Tisha B’Av over 1000 years before the destruction of the First Temple. On the 9th of Av, the spies, whom Moshe sent to scout the Promised Land, came back with a negative report. The Torah tells us that, after hearing the report, the Jewish people, "cried on that night" (Numbers 14:1) and refused to go to Israel.
"That night" was the night of Tisha B'Av. G-d then decreed that the Jewish people shall spend forty years in the desert until everyone over the age of twenty would die in the desert and not inherit the Land. This night became a night of "crying" for future generations with the destruction of the Temples.
Also, on Tisha B’Av, years later, the Romans decreed that the holy site where the Holy Temple stood should be plowed and desecrated.
Another tragic event: The city of Betar, from where Bar Kochba fiercely fought the Romans, fell on Tisha B’av. Many hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed in the city of Betar.
On the 9th of Av in the year 1290, Jews were deported from England.
On this day in 1492 Jews were expelled from Spain.
Jews were deported from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp on Tisha B’Av.
The Talmud says, "Whoever mourns for Jerusalem and the Temples will ultimately merit to see and partake in its rejoicing!" May we merit the coming of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Temple. May it be speedily in our days. Amen.
For two thousand years we believed that deep within the embers and ruins of destruction, G-d planted the seeds of our salvation. Jews never lost hope and faith, even against all odds. Two thousand years of Jewish history is proof of how true this is. No matter how many times various nations tried to destroy us, even in our generation, in the end we not only survived, but came out stronger than before.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
b"h
Wednesday, Menachem Av 6, 5776 / August 10, 2016 - Hakhel year
We are now in the nine day period, which began on Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av and extends until after the fast of Tisha B’Av. These are nine days of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temples.
There are various customs associated with these nine days, which express our grieving over our great loss. Although it is more than 2,000 years since the destruction of the Temples, we still grieve over them and pray each day for the re-building of the Holy Temple.
One of the mitzvot we try to do more of during these nine days, is the mitzvah of Tzedakah – giving extra charity and helping the needy. Through expressing our care and mercy for others, we pray that G-d will invoke His care and mercy for us.
The Torah commandment for giving charity is expressed with the word, Venatnu - ונתנו– which in Hebrew can be read forward and backward as the same word. Our sages say that this teaches us that when we give charity, it invokes G-d’s blessings which in turn come back to us.
“There is a Yiddish folk proverb which says that a fool gives while a wise person takes. Rabbi Israel of Rushin would say that this proverb can be said about charity. “A person who gives charity and thinks that he is givingis a fool. But a wise person knows that when he gives charity he is really taking. He is getting much more in return.”
A poor man once came to the Rebbe of Riminov and poured out his heart to the Rebbe. He told him of his many troubles and that he was in great need of financial help and that he didn’t even have the money to buy the very basic needs for his large family.
The Rebbe was very touched by the man’s plea and gave him a nice sum of money. After the man left, the Rebbe asked that he be called back. Upon his return, the Rebbe gave him an additional sum of money.
The people who were there asked: “Rebbe, why did you call him back to give him a second donation?”
The Rebbe answered: “When the poor man came the first time and cried to me about all his difficulties, I was very distressed and I gave him money because I couldn’t bear to see his suffering. But then I thought that that was not charity.. It was to help alleviate MYpain and stress.
“I therefore called him back in order to fulfill the mitzvah of Tzedakah for the sake of Tzedakah. the second time I gave him to fulfill the commandment of giving charity.
The true translation of the Hebrew word, “Tzedakah,” is not charity, but “justice.” According to the Torah the act of giving and helping is not a charitable act, but a justact. It is an obligationrather than a mere act of kindness.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
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