לרפואת אבי מורי ר' יצחק יונה בן חנה ויוכבד פייגע בת מיכל יהודית בתיה בתוך שח"י
On the morning of Rosh Hashanah, Rivka went into the bedroom to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready to go to Shul, to which he replied in a dull voice, 'I'm not going.'
'Why not?' Rivka demanded.
'l'll give you two good reasons Mommy,' he said. 'One, they don't like me, and two, I don't like them.'
"I will give you two good reasons why you MUST go" said his exasperated mother, "One, you are 54 years old. Two - you are the Rabbi".
SHAAAAAAAAAALOMMMMMMMMMM SWEEEETEST FRIENDSSSSSS!!!!
EXCIITIINGGGG!!!
We are on the cusp of a new year!!!! ,תשפ"ב - תהא שנת פרנסה בשפע!!! GOOD PARNA$$$$$$$A!!!!! Chazal tell us that normally when someone has a court case he is shaking in his boots [unless he is wearing crocs in which case he is shaking in them], grows his hair long and wears black clothing as a sign of distress [as opposed to guys like me who wear black as a sign that we are Charedi...]. But the Jewish people KNOW that Hashem will perform a miracle for them and they will be judged favorably so they get haircuts and wear white clothing. Things will be OOOOOO KKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!! Nada de que preocuparse [I went to high school in the Dominican Republic - in upper Manhattan]. Nothing to worry about!!!
But what makes us so confident? Is it a false narrative we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better so that we don't end up having to raise our daily dosage of anti-anxiety medicine???
NOOOO!!! We - as a nation - really have nothing to worry about. 5,000 bumpy years and not only are we still here but we are FLOURISHING!!! If our enemies are correct - we run the world's banks, control the geo-political situation, own Hollywood and the media etc. etc.
Rabbi Altmann and his secretary were sitting in a coffeehouse in Berlin in 1935. “Herr Altmann,” said his secretary, “I notice you’re reading Der Stürmer! I can’t understand why. A Nazi libel sheet! Are you some kind of masochist, or, God forbid, a self-hating Jew?”
“On the contrary, Frau Epstein. When I used to read the Jewish papers, all I learned about were pogroms, riots in Palestine, and assimilation in America. But now that I read Der Stürmer, I see so much more: that the Jews control all the banks, that we dominate in the arts, and that we’re on the verge of taking over the entire world. You know – it makes me feel a whole lot better!”
We are sure things will be fine b/c we are "playing" for Hashem's team. Chazal say that when the pasuk talks about the salvation of the Jewish people it says ישועת השם - the salvation of Hashem - b/c our salvation is HIS salvation.
That is the meaning of the pasuk [Yeshayahu 26-3]
יֵ֣צֶר סָמ֔וּךְ תִּצֹּ֖ר שָׁל֣וֹם ׀ שָׁל֑וֹם כִּ֥י בְךָ֖ בָּטֽוּחַ׃
The creature You guard in peace,
In peace because he trusts in You.
We trust in Hashem b/c we are on His team and we know that He desires to bestow chesed on us!!!
That is what we say in davening - זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בחיים וכתבנו בספר החיים למענך א-להים חיים. We ask for life "למענך", for Hashem's sake b/c he is חפץ חסד - desires to bestow kindness upon us!!
How AWE-SOME it is that the numerical value of the aforementioned words "כי בך בטוח" ["he trusts in you"] is [with the כולל - the added one that gematrias allow for] the same as "חסדי" - my kindness!!!
That would also explain what we repeat again and again in our liturgy on the High Holy days: ובכן ובכן - And so, and so. What is the ובכן all about?
Hashem created the world for the sake of chesed. He wanted to bestow his kindness on his creatures [one proof? ICE CREAM!!! Another? Pretty aromatic flowers! A third? The feeling we have when holding a newborn baby!!] So it says in the creation story that after Hashem would create "ויהי כן" - and so it was.
That is what we say in davening - זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בחיים וכתבנו בספר החיים למענך א-להים חיים. We ask for life "למענך", for Hashem's sake b/c he is חפץ חסד - desires to bestow kindness upon us!!
How AWE-SOME it is that the numerical value of the aforementioned words "כי בך בטוח" ["he trusts in you"] is [with the כולל - the added one that gematrias allow for] the same as "חסדי" - my kindness!!!
That would also explain what we repeat again and again in our liturgy on the High Holy days: ובכן ובכן - And so, and so. What is the ובכן all about?
Hashem created the world for the sake of chesed. He wanted to bestow his kindness on his creatures [one proof? ICE CREAM!!! Another? Pretty aromatic flowers! A third? The feeling we have when holding a newborn baby!!] So it says in the creation story that after Hashem would create "ויהי כן" - and so it was.
So in our davening we say "ובכן" which harks back to the original ויהי כן of creation. Just as Hashem created the world for chesed, He will continue this chesed by doing what we say after the בכן [e.g. צדיקים יראו וישמחו - the Tzadikim will see and rejoice].
Amazing how the numerical value of ובכן is חסדי!!!
[Based on the Torah of Rav Leibele Eiger ztz"l]
WOOWWW!!!
Strange. I write this from Shaarei Tzadek hospital in the geriatric ward. I am not here for myself. I am getting OLLLDD but not old enough for geriatry. But old enough that I retired almost a decade ago!!! [Or better, they retired me..... "Find a short pier and take a long walk
They were right and I was and am OVER THE HILL!!]. In this place one sees the most disheartening sights. Old sick people connected to pipes and machines, some who cry incessantly for relief and help. Once strong, vibrant active individuals who are now unable to do even the most basic of actions for themselves.
Is this the chesed of Hashem, I asked myself as I wrote this? Hashem LOVES honestly and DESPISES falsehood. So let's be REAL.
Fortunately, this question has been asked by GREAT PEOPLE [such as Moshe Rabbeinu] from time immemorial! I am not the first!! A WHOLE book in Tanach is dedicated to theodicy - Iyov, the book of Job [one has more time to learn it if he doesn't have a "Job"]. The bottom line of all of the explanations is that YES - this IS chesed Hashem.
How?
ONE DAY we will find out. In the meantime we hold fiercely to our true and tried faith that Hashem is with us all the way and all of the suffering that EACH AND EVERYONE ONE OF US experiences is leading us and the world to a MUCH BETTER PLACE. Yes, in our times החושך יכסה ארץ - so much darkness!!! But we know that as the pasuk continues - ועליך יזרח השם, very soon we will see the Light of Hashem upon us and all of the nations will walk in that Light.
SWEETEST FRIENDS!!!! The BEEEESSSSTTT way to make the chesed of Hashem REVEALED [and not hidden as it sometimes is now] is by revealing to Hashem OUR chesed. When we perform acts of chesed, give tzedaka etc. etc. we open up a window of tzdaka and chesed from Shomayim!!!
I will use this as an opportunity to thank all of those sweet Jews who have done chesed for me this year [and in the past]. You know who you are!!! I don't forget and Hashem doesn't forget.
May we enter this Rosh Hashana in our clean [white] clothing, well groomed, with joy and gladness knowing that YES - the chesed will continue. May it be not be only a שנה טובה - a good year, but also מתוקה - sweet. Medicine is good but often not sweet. Root canal is good but not sweet. [Based on the Lubavitcher Rebbe] May this year be beyond sweet with chesed in the most revealed and open ways!!!!
If you send me your names I will be happy to daven for you and your families from my holy abode in the Land of Israel [I got in b/c I have a first degree relative who is a citizen - ME!!! ] on Rosh Hashana and beyond.
Much love and blessings to all!!!
WOOWWW!!!
Strange. I write this from Shaarei Tzadek hospital in the geriatric ward. I am not here for myself. I am getting OLLLDD but not old enough for geriatry. But old enough that I retired almost a decade ago!!! [Or better, they retired me..... "Find a short pier and take a long walk
They were right and I was and am OVER THE HILL!!]. In this place one sees the most disheartening sights. Old sick people connected to pipes and machines, some who cry incessantly for relief and help. Once strong, vibrant active individuals who are now unable to do even the most basic of actions for themselves. Is this the chesed of Hashem, I asked myself as I wrote this? Hashem LOVES honestly and DESPISES falsehood. So let's be REAL.
Fortunately, this question has been asked by GREAT PEOPLE [such as Moshe Rabbeinu] from time immemorial! I am not the first!! A WHOLE book in Tanach is dedicated to theodicy - Iyov, the book of Job [one has more time to learn it if he doesn't have a "Job"]. The bottom line of all of the explanations is that YES - this IS chesed Hashem.
How?
ONE DAY we will find out. In the meantime we hold fiercely to our true and tried faith that Hashem is with us all the way and all of the suffering that EACH AND EVERYONE ONE OF US experiences is leading us and the world to a MUCH BETTER PLACE. Yes, in our times החושך יכסה ארץ - so much darkness!!! But we know that as the pasuk continues - ועליך יזרח השם, very soon we will see the Light of Hashem upon us and all of the nations will walk in that Light.
SWEETEST FRIENDS!!!! The BEEEESSSSTTT way to make the chesed of Hashem REVEALED [and not hidden as it sometimes is now] is by revealing to Hashem OUR chesed. When we perform acts of chesed, give tzedaka etc. etc. we open up a window of tzdaka and chesed from Shomayim!!!
I will use this as an opportunity to thank all of those sweet Jews who have done chesed for me this year [and in the past]. You know who you are!!! I don't forget and Hashem doesn't forget.
May we enter this Rosh Hashana in our clean [white] clothing, well groomed, with joy and gladness knowing that YES - the chesed will continue. May it be not be only a שנה טובה - a good year, but also מתוקה - sweet. Medicine is good but often not sweet. Root canal is good but not sweet. [Based on the Lubavitcher Rebbe] May this year be beyond sweet with chesed in the most revealed and open ways!!!!
If you send me your names I will be happy to daven for you and your families from my holy abode in the Land of Israel [I got in b/c I have a first degree relative who is a citizen - ME!!!
] on Rosh Hashana and beyond. Much love and blessings to all!!!
