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This Bulletin has been Sponsored by The Akkad Family בס“ד 21 Cedar Street Lakewood פרשת אמור / Volume 2 Issue 23 Fri First Minyan 6:34 Parashat Emor Friday / Shabbat Morning / Shabbat Afternoon / 5:45 - הכלה רועיש 8:00 - תונברק 7:39 - החנמ / Minha 7:00 - החנמ 8:15 - ךלמ ’ה Candle Lighting - 7:44 8:04 - העיקש 8:30 - א”מ עמש 8:35 - החיש תובבלה תובוח רועיש 8:03 - העיקש / Shekiah Wasting Time - Elilim The Rambam tells us that in the earlier generations people believed in many different The sun, stars, the winds etc. In order for .ה‘ gods or powers in the world, aside from them to relate to them they formed images and statues and through them they would entreat their gods to achieve their desires. The Torah emphasizes that they are worthless אל תפנו אל האלילים ואל פי מסכה – and a waste of energy and thought put into them they are worthless – אל from the word אלילים They are called .(לא תעשו לכם (יט – ד – (Rashi). The Rambam in Halachot Aboda Zara (2-3) says: not only Aboda Zara is Assur to follow even in thought (one who believes in it alone even if he does not worship it, is Hayab Mita (death)). Besides Aboda Zara, there is also an Issur, that anything that will bring a person to stray away from the ways of the Torah, it is Issur to do. Rab Yeruchom Levovitz, the Mashgiyah of the Mir Yeshiva said, even though the Torah calls them worthless, once one believes in them, then they become Elahut (gods). The Sefer Hahinuch – Misvah (213) states the Sifra, even looking at these idols or objects is Issur, the reason for this is that one may be lured into follow them. Another reason is that one should not waste his valuable time in vain things since man’s purpose Wasting time is equivalent to .'ה in this world is to learn Torah and do Misvot to serve created man to serve Him and to earn 'ה .killing part of his life and is punishable for this is giving him life and energy and he is wasting it. The Mishna 'ה his Olam Haba. Here in Pirkei Abot (3-3) Rabi Harkenos ben Teradiyon said two people sitting together and they are not talking Dibrai Torah this is a Moshab Leizim. And in Tehilim (1) it says one cannot sit there. In this category lies many modern inventions and amusements that fall into this Issur. Moves, television, internet and almost all of its apps. Watching sports and shows which are not educational in Torah. The list goes on and on and frustrates (properly. They all divert (Continued on page 2 'ה the ability of any Frum person to serve To Sponsor a Bulletin Please Contact 732‐703‐4310 / Email [email protected] Page‐�1 This Bulletin has been Sponsored by The Akkad Family either with ideas or pictures undermining ,'ה Continued from page 1) their minds from) the Torah precepts. Also the thoughts and pictures engraved in the Neshamos which causes all kinds of Tumah to the person. Disabling one to pray with Kavanoh and learn Torah in purity, but also leads one to Mezalzel (lower) anything in Kedushah. An example – one who talks during prayers, he does not believe is listening to him or his prayers. He doesn’t even realize Kedushat Bet Hakenset 'ה that where the Shechina dwells. He will not take his Torah studies seriously, not realizing s precious gift to us. The usage of cell phones has become the’'ה that the Torah is number one Aboda Zara in our times – in schools in Batei Midrash during the day and Shabbat and Tom Tob. The experts (Goyim) have all agreed that they created a demon by all types of cell phones. Their list is longer than mine in all aspects of destroying the youth and elders in human decency. The Steipler Rebbi wrote years ago, how many of our youth, who are even learning Torah, are utterly confused in Yiddishkeit and in and His Hashgacha. Their conduct is beyond control – lack of respect 'ה believing in for elders, parents and Rabbis. He relates all of this to their reading magazines – looking at impure items, listening to irreligious people and newspapers – and today the internet. In order to root out all of this, we must have guidelines which are only be the Gedolei Torah – parents and children alike. Learning Mussar daily and removing from the home all traces of Tumah. This will bring a spirit of Tahara into the home and purify .B’kedusha 'ה our thoughts in order to serve Shabbat Shalom HaRav Ezra Zafrani Stories of Gedolim Rabbi Avigdor Miller was asked this question on one of his famous Thursday night classes,”Should someone pray for a desire for which he prayed many times without results?” קַוֵּה אֶל ה‘ חֲזַק .Rabbi Avigdor Miller answered. “Yes Hope to Hashem, be strong and - וְיַאֲמֵץ לִבֶּךָ וְקַוֵּה אֶל ה He will give your heart courage and hope to Hashem (Tehillim 27:14). Hope to Hashem, be strong and keep on hoping. Never give up hope. There are two benefits. First of all, by continually repeating your request, maybe HaKadosh Baruch Hu will consider you worthy because of your continued requests to Him. Maybe Hashem will consider you worthy and grant you your request. And even if chalilah, Hashem sees fit to ignore your requests, you have gained immensely, because prayer changes a man. When you call out to Hashem from the bottom of your heart, To Sponsor a Bulletin Please Contact 732‐703‐4310 / Email [email protected] Page‐�2 This Bulletin has been Sponsored by The Akkad Family נפלאות הבורא Hashems Amazing World BUFF-TAILED SICKLEBILL HUMMINGBIRDS & CENTROPOGON FLOWERS Buff-tailed sicklebill hummingbirds (Eutoxeres condamini) and Centropogon flowers can be found throughout the Amazon rainforests, from the lowland rainforests of Peru to the cloud forests of the Andes mountains, at about 2,500 feet, which run through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The hummingbird seeks out the Centropogon flower for its nectar. When the bird sticks its bill deep within the flower to collect the high-energy food, it inadvertently rubs against the brush- like anthers of the flower, collecting pollen on its head. As the bird continues to feed on other flowers, it pollinates as it goes, and the Centropogon anthers can eventually rub the feathers off the top of the bird’s head, leaving most sicklebills with a pronounced bald spot! This beak fits this flower perfectly- length & shape! A person who thinks clearly and logically will immediately conclude that this bird was created to pollinate this flower. However great and wise scientists say "The shape of this hummingbird’s bill has coevolved with the shape of the flower, as both species benefit from an exclusive plant- pollinator relationship." How foolish is this statement? If you say the bird evolved to fit the flower, why would it do so? Isn't there a much greater selection of flowers that can be accessed with a regular bill? If you say it prefers the taste of this particular nectar, how did it taste it before it evolved? Maybe the flower evolved for the bird, why would this flower do so, it has many more pollinators if it would be a normal shape? Why limit its pollination options? That's besides the fact it has no brains, and even if it did, how does it decide to change its shape?? The questions go on and on... We must train our minds to see the logical and clear proof, that this world was created with design and purpose by the Creator Hakadosh Baruch Hu! As for the foolish scientists, Someone is gonna have to pay for this bill! Rabbi Eliyahu Tobal you’re talking to Somebody, you become more Stories of Gedolim cont… aware that Hashem is standing in front of you and listening. That’s one of the greatest benefits you could ever gain - More Awareness of Hashem. That’s why praying to Hashem is so important. Amidah), he’s standing before the King. We) שְׁ ֹמונֶה עֶשְׂ ֵרה When a Jew stands up for You Are - כִּי אַתָּה שׁ ֹומֵעַ ,don’t see Him, but He sees us, He hears every word Listening To Your People and Your Listening With Compassion. When people pray and they pray very much, they should know that they’re learning a great lesson of believing in Hashem and there is nothing greater in life than coming to a true belief in Hashem. Therefore, if Hashem will listen to you and grant your prayers, good, and if He won’t, it’s also good.” (Tape #489) To Sponsor a Bulletin Please Contact 732‐703‐4310 / Email [email protected] Page‐�3 This Bulletin has been Sponsored by The Akkad Family הלכה למעשה Weekly Halachot The Laws of The Counting of Sefirat HaOmer Laws of Sefirat Haomer 5. If one forgets to count a complete day 1. It is a misvah to count the omer every he must continue to count without a night for 49 days, beginning on the beracha. sixteenth night of Nissan and ending 6. If one is uncertain if he counted the night before Shabuoth. properly he may continue counting 2. The proper time to count is at with a beracha. nightfall, approximately forty 7. Some say that if you write the day of minutes after sunset. Nevertheless if the omer it is considered as if you one is in a Minyan that is counting counted, therefore one should not after twenty minutes, one may count write it until you count with a with them.
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    Rav Leib Sarah's Zt”L

    Issue (# 18) A Tzaddik, or righteous person makes everyone else appear righteous before Hashem by advocating for them and finding their merits. (Kedushas Levi, Parshas Noach; Sefer Bereishis 7:1) Parshas Terumah Kedushas Ha'Levi'im THE MISHKAN AND MAN: MICROCOSMS OF THE UNIVERSE In the rings of the Ark the staves shall remain; they may not be removed from it. You shall place in the Ark the testimonial tablets that I will give you... (Shemos 25:15–16) The holy Berditchever asked in Kedushas Levi: Why is there an extra warning against removing the staves from the Ark, unlike any other precaution regarding the holy vessels? To make the answer to this question clear, the Berditchever tells us that he must give a bit of a lengthy explanation. He says that it is well known that man is called an “olam katan,” a small world, and that he is a microcosm of the universe, and that his 248 limbs correspond spiritually to the 248 positive commandments, and that his 365 sinews correspond spiritually to the 365 negative commandments. Similarly, explains the Berditchever, the Mishkan and all of its vessels correspond to the spiritual forces behind the mitzvos, each vessel alluding to a different mitzvah. [For example: The Zohar II 152b-153b teaches that the Shulchan corresponds to the mitzvah of Birkas haMazon, just as the shulchan draws down blessings and sustenance to the whole world so does the grace after meals which we recite.] The Kedushas Levi reminds us that there are several mitzvos that man is obligated to always have in mind and remember constantly, at every moment.
  • Ohev Yisroel Parshas Ki Sisa

    Ohev Yisroel Parshas Ki Sisa

    LIGHTS OF OUR RIGHTEOUS TZADDIKIM בעזרת ה ' יתבר A Tzaddik, or righteous person , makes everyone else appear righteous before Hashem by advocating for them and finding their merits. Kedushas Levi, Parshas Noach (Bereishis 7:1) TE TZAVEH _ CHASSIDUS ON THE PARSHA + Dvar Torah An Incense Offering The Mizbei’ach HaZohov (Golden Altar), on which the ketores (incense) was burned, was among the furniture and vessels of the Mishkon . However, although almost all the furniture and vessels of the Mishkon are described in Parshas Teruma , the making of the Mizbei’ach HaZohov is described only in Parshas Tetzaveh , in which the clothing of the Kohanim are depicted. Why is this so? The time would come, explains Rav Levi Yitzchok, when Korach and his cohorts would challenge Aharon’s rights to the position of Kohen Godol . At that time, Moshe would use the ketores as the litmus test. Both Aharon and the challengers would bring pans of ketores . Aharon’s would be accepted, while the disputers would perish in the attempt. Therefore, in the context of the priestly vestments described in Parshas Tetzaveh , which enabled Aharon to perform his duties in the Mishkon , the Torah also describes the Mizbei’a ch HaZohov that would one day authenticate Aharon’s claims to the high office of Kohen Godol . n Story The following story, often told by Rav Sholom Schwadron, took place in a small town 1 Tet zaveh / [email protected] in the Ukraine. It involves a kind-hearted, wealthy man named Zalman, who gave generously to poor people and other charitable causes.
  • Pirchei Agudas Yisroel of America a Respected Rav in Town Was Niftar

    Pirchei Agudas Yisroel of America a Respected Rav in Town Was Niftar

    בס״ד בס״ד Learning from our Leaders Pirchei Agudas Yisroel of America a respected Rav in town was niftar. Later that afternoon... Kel This is Rabbi Sternhell. May PIRCHEI malei This is Moshe; I’m rachamim… I please speak to Agudas Yisroel of America Vol: 7 Issue: 28 - י"ד סיון , תש"פ - the owner of the the owner of the June 6, 2020 bakery? bakery. How can I assist the Rabbi? פרשה: נשא הפטרה: ויהי איש אחד... ושמו מנוח ואשתו עקרה... )שפטים יג:ב-כה( אבות פרק א' דף יומי: שבת צ״ב מצות עשה: 7 מצות לא תעשה: 11 TorahThoughts s stature, all it takes to make a’ רָּׁ ב in his deeds. For someone of הַ שֵׁ ם … אִישׁאוֹאִשָּׁהכִ ייַעֲשׂוּ מִ כָּׁל חַ טֹּאת הָּׁאָּׁדָּׁ ם לִמְ עֹּלמַ עַל בַה׳ וְאָּׁשְׁמָּׁ ההַ נֶּפֶּשׁ הַהִ וא. … a man or a woman who commits one of the sins of mankind to be is a small thing like paying a bill late. People measure all Jews חִ לּ וּ ל הַ שֵׁ ם ,Reb Moshe .( בַ מִ דְ בָּׁ ר ה : ו) Reb Moshe, since I wonder if this very faithless to G-d, that person shall bear guilt today was the levayah I would like by the behavior of their great leaders. For this reason, the greater the ,גֵ ר is really Rabbi His voice Stealing from any person is forbidden. Stealing from a s honor’ד׳ .of the Rav who gave your to take over the person, the greater the responsibility to act with great care Sternhell? definitely sounds .that the depends on what such a person does (סִפְרִ י ה:י״ג) tell us חֲ זַ ״ל .bakery’s hashgachah, previous rav’s however, is an especially shameful sin like Rabbi Sternhell, but .ד׳ considers someone who does such thing to be very faithless to תּוֹ רָּׁ ה I have a business hashgachah! My writes that not only a (הִ לְכוֹת יְסוֹדֵ יהַ תּוֹרָּׁ ה ה:י״א) רַ מְ ַ ב ״ ם this just seems a little The involves an גֵר explains that stealing from a סְ פּוֹרְ נוֹ ?proposition.

  • Me'oros Ha'tzaddikim

    Issue (# 11) A Tzaddik, or righteous person makes everyone else appear righteous before G-d by advocating for them and finding their merits. (Kedushas Levi, Noach Bereishis 7:1) Parshas Vayechi Kedushas Ha'Levi'im THE RIGHT ADDRESS Yehudah, you your brothers shall praise... (Bereishis 49:8) The Holy Berditchever asks us to study the prayer of Eliyahu (found in Tikunei Zohar, Introduction 17a), which says “Leis machshavah tefisah bach klal — No thought can grasp You at all.” The Kedushas Levi says that you might ask yourself, how then can we possibly say “Blessed are You,” using the familiar second person, when reciting a blessing? [If we can’t know Him, how can we address Him in such a familiar manner?] The Berditchever cites the Mishnas Chassidim which explains that the souls of Bnei Yisrael are able to grasp Hashem’s attribute of malchus, kingship, through the mitzvos and good deeds that they perform. It is incumbent on us then to serve Hashem with fear and awe in order that His kingship will be apparent to us. Therefore it says that regarding Yehudah, who symbolizes malchus [since the royal family of King David descended from Yehudah], which the souls of Bnei Yisrael can grasp [as opposed to Hashem’s essence, which is impossible to grasp], we say, “Yehudah , you” — atah, using the familiar second person — “your brothers shall praise.” [In other words, it is the attribute of kingship, which we do have the ability to grasp, that we are referring to in the second person in our blessings.] THE REWARD FOR OVERCOMING THE PHYSICAL Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey crouching between the boundaries.
  • Learning to Live with Covid-19: Panel Discussion

    Learning to Live with Covid-19: Panel Discussion

    BS”D January 29, 2021 Potomac Torah Study Center Vol. 8 #16, January 29, 2021; Beshalach 5781 NOTE: Devrei Torah presented weekly in Loving Memory of Rabbi Leonard S. Cahan z”l, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Har Shalom, who started me on my road to learning almost 50 years ago and was our family Rebbe and close friend until his recent untimely death. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Devrei Torah are now Available for Download (normally by noon on Fridays) from www.PotomacTorah.org. Thanks to Bill Landau for hosting the Devrei Torah. __________________________________________________________________________________ LEARNING TO LIVE WITH COVID-19: PANEL DISCUSSION Should be available soon as rebroadcast from web site of Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington. ________________________________________________________________________________ What is the first thing that comes to your mind when mentioning Beshalach? For me, the main theme of the parsha is emunah, or faith. I consider the events in the parsha to be a university level course in destroying an Egyptian overview and developing faith in God. “As you have seen Egypt today, you shall not see them ever again (14:13).” Events in the parsha show a defeated and humiliated Egypt and contrast with a loving God who listens to the concerns and complaints of the Jewish people and cares for each of them. After leaving Egypt, the people arrive at Mara, where there is plenty of water, but it is too bitter to drink. God directs Moshe to put a certain tree in the water, and the water becomes sweet (15L22-26). Their next stop is Midbar Sin, where they run out of food.