Meir Elkabas – Parshat Behar-Bechukotai,Chaim Kramer
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Why Is Prayer So Difficult? written by Meir Elkabas | October 16, 2017 Why does daily prayer feel like a burden? How should we understand the challenges of davening? If you are inspired by the teachings of Rebbe Nachman, please share this video! Meir Elkabas – Parshat Behar- Bechukotai written by Meir Elkabas | October 16, 2017 In this week’s video about the Torah portion, Meir Elkabas discusses the meaning of the Kabbalistic sefira, malchut, keter, the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee, the 50th Gate, a deeper level of emunah, charging interest and views towards money, following torah through mitzvah observance, curses, being joyful, and more. Like this video? Please LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE. Chaim Kramer – Parshat Ki Tisa – Part II written by Chaim Kramer | October 16, 2017 In Part II of Chaim Kramer’s video class on the Torah portion of Ki Tisa, he speaks about Shabbat, the Golden Calf, the evil inclination, Moses, the 13 Attributes of Mercy, evidence of God’s Mercy, levels of perfection and more. Like this video? Then please, LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE! Chaim Kramer – Parshat Shemot written by Chaim Kramer | October 16, 2017 .In this week’s Torah video, Reb Chaim Kramer talks about the importance of names (including yours); how the Torah is ongoing throughout history, including the current situation with Israel, the UN, and the Palestinian Arabs, Jerusalem and the West Bank; the Egyptian exile and the bitter oppression the Jewish people endured; how we deal with our difficulties; how to cope with burning questions; our desires are a type of bondage; who was Moses on a deeper level; how Hashem helps us, and so much more, all in Chaim Kramer’s unique style. Like this video? Then please, LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE! How Breslovers Learn Torah written by Meir Elkabas | October 16, 2017 Meir Elkabas shares Rebbe Nachman’s advice on how to learn & study the wealth of wisdom across the entire spectrum of the Torah as well as the outcome of proper learning, which is enhanced emunah. The Golden Nights written by Meir Elkabas | October 16, 2017 The month of Cheshvan is the “imprint” of the light of Tishrei. What should we be doing with this special time? Meir Elkabas explains that now we are preparing for the light of Chanukah. Here’s how to do it. The Kabbalah of Music written by Meir Elkabas | October 16, 2017 Who Should Learn Kabbalah? written by Meir Elkabas | October 16, 2017 See You in Meron! written by Yossi Katz | October 16, 2017 Bon voyage! As I write these words, I am preparing to leave my home in Lakewood, New Jersey, for the Holy Land. Why, you ask? Well, besides the privilege and mitzvah of walking dalet amos in Eretz Yisrael, I am traveling in order to join the pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron. We know that the Jewish calendar is not a series of popular “holidays,” but a timeline for spiritual growth. Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer counting (this coming Sunday), is the day that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, author of the Zohar, passed away. It is a day of great celebration with music and dancing, the lighting of bonfires, and the first haircut for many three-year-old boys. Why is Rabbi Shimon’s yahrtzeit a cause for celebration? Shouldn’t we be mourning the death of a tzaddik? It’s true that on this day, Rabbi Akiva’s disciples stopped dying – but after the holiday, they continued to perish once again. What is the secret of this day? Rabbi Shimon was once overheard criticizing the Roman governors of Israel. The Romans decided to punish him with death, so he fled and lived in a cave for 12 years with his son, Rabbi Elazar. During this period, the two did nothing but study Torah day and night. Finally, the caesar died and the decree was cancelled. But after being secluded with the Torah for so many years, the mundane world that they encountered upon their re-emergence from the cave seemed so vain. When they saw men tending the earth, they asked, “Are these people crazy? They are trading Torah, which is eternal, for something of fleeting importance.” Anger blazed from their eyes and consumed the vanities of this world. A Heavenly voice called out, “Have you come to destroy my world? Go back to your cave!” They were forced to spend another 12 months in the cave before coming out again. Now, as the sun was setting at the onset of Shabbat, they saw an old man running with two bundles of hadasim. They asked him why he needed them. He replied that he wanted their fragrance for the honor of Shabbat. But why two? they wondered. He explained that one was for the positive commandment of zakhor (remember the Shabbat) and the other for the negative commandment of shamor (guard the Shabbat). The simple actions of the old man taught Rabbi Shimon the essence of a Jew and his eternal love and connection to God and Torah. The story of Rabbi Shimon alludes to his great mission. While he was able to probe the depths of the Torah and its secrets, he also learned not to judge the world negatively from his elevated level. His mission was to reveal that the most hidden and elevated Torah teaches that a Jew is always connected to God, no matter who he is and what he may have done. Rabbi Akiva also mastered the secrets of the Torah, so much so that even Moses couldn’t understand why the Torah wasn’t given through him (see Menachot 29b). But Rabbi Akiva’s Torah remained in its lofty, remote state. It was for this reason that Rabbi Akiva’s students did not treat each other with the necessary degree of respect. Rabbi Shimon was the tikkun for this. He was able to reveal that the essence and source of Torah is the unity and bond between God and each Jew. The greatest secrets teach us that we can always connect and discover the Godliness within every place and every Jew. This is the essence of the Zohar and the life of Rabbi Shimon. And this is why Jews travel from around the world to be with Rabbi Shimon on his yahrtzeit. On a yahrtzeit, the tzaddik ascends to an even higher place in Heaven – and, as Rabbi Shimon teaches, the tzaddik is now able to reveal more than ever that God is with us always, no matter where we may be. Based on Likutey Halakhot, Geviyat Chov MeiHaYesomim 3 Rebbe Nachman of Guadeloupe written by Yossi Katz | October 16, 2017 Walter Hilliger lives on a Caribbean island called Guadeloupe. Recently, he became interested in Rebbe Nachman and has begun studying Likutey Moharan. He was kind enough to allow us to interview him about what Rebbe Nachman’s teachings mean to him in this distant land. Where is Guadaloupe? Guadeloupe comprises two Caribbean islands in the Lesser Antilles. It is an overseas department of France and has a population of about 400,000. The colony was built up over generations by immigration from Europe, Africa and Asia. As a result, it is one of the most diverse regions of the European Union, given its colorful range of peoples and its paradise like landscape. For example, it boasts the highest waterfalls in the Lesser Antilles. What kind of Jewish life is on the islands? A Mizrahi community affiliated with the Consistoire de France is located on the northern island of Grand-Terre. This community was formed in the 80’s by Jewish families who came to France via Morocco and Algeria. Last Pesach they shared with us some Algerian-style, orange-and-wine-infused matzos, and for Purim we received a rabbi’s visit with their Megillah. I have also come in contact with the rabbi of Chabad Martinique, who has helped me with my Daf Yomi cycle. He has had an uninterrupted presence on the neighboring island at the request of the Chief Rabbi of New York. There is neither a synagogue nor a rabbi on our southern island of Basse-Terre. A historic reason for the absence of Jewish communities was the edict of expulsion in the 17th century. The Code Noir (Black Code) banned Jews from the colonies of the Catholic monarchy. Those who stayed had their goods and their persons confiscated, meaning they became slaves who were prevented from Jewish learning. Nonetheless, in the words of the historian Abraham Cahen, “The children from the union between Ashkenazim, Portuguese Sephardim and Kushim were raised as Jews even if the law didn’t recognize their Jewishness.” Proof of this can be found in the archives of 1840, which shows hundreds of Jewish names among the locals, like Sinai, Eliezer, Levi, Maimon and Breslau. The latter comes from a family of bakers in Basse-Terre, whose bakeries still produce pain natté, a traditional sweet egg bread that has the texture of challah. After the second abolition of slavery in 1840, some Cochin Jews arrived from the Indian subcontinent under contract to work on the sugar plantations. They didn’t have much choice as to what they could bring in a small baggage, so they brought the seeds of what they loved the most, tropical fruits and veggies. Today, in their merit, we have an awesome diversity of fruits and vegetables. When the Cochin Jews proved to be good workers, the landlords burned their contracts and they never went back to Asia. In fact, they still have no papers to return to India, much less to Israel.