Libi BaMizrach

I don't have any original thoughts to share in this essay.  It is not a Torah thought, or a social commentary or a rant.  It is just a thought that may help others in the prayers we are all saying. I am quite sure that everyone is adding to their prayers since Simchas Torah, each in their own way.  I try to have some more concentration (Kavana) in the prayers for healing the sick, and releasing those in bondage, and silencing the slanderers, and in general in hearing our prayers.  In addition, I have been saying the daily Tehillim, such that one finishes the whole book once a month. A very small effort on my part, I should be doing much more, but (unlike my holy wife), that is where I am at. Reciting the whole book of Tehillim has made me reflect.  In the many public prayers I have seen, it seems that they always recite certain famous ones.  Psalms 20, 121,130, and 142 are always the ones on the menu, and they are all beautiful and inspiring. However, when ...

The Haftarah we read this past Shabbos, Parshas Miketz, is rarely read.  The last time was two years ago,  but not for twenty years before that. It will not be read again for another seventeen years. Nevertheless, it is one of the most well-known stories in Tanach. Two women came to Shlomo HaMelech to decide who the mother of the live baby was.  He famously decreed, "Bring a sword and split the baby in two!" causing the real mother to beg him to spare the life of the child.  The other said, "Well enough, neither you nor I will have a son".  Disregarding the well-known aside regarding the two potential mothers-in-law, this was held up as an example of Shlomo's great wisdom, which the whole nation marveled at. A dear friend commented that he did not understand how this was such a "Groiser Chochma". As he put it, many a difficult Tosfos he struggled with in high school seemed to contain far more wisdom! I answered him with an insight that I heard y...

I have read many Divrei Torah published over the last two months, in which – again and again – it was noted that the Parshiyot Hashavua stories in Bereishis were particularly and poignantly applicable to our current struggle against the accursed Hamas. Whether it was the destruction of the world in the Flood, Avraham and the Five Kings, the story of Yishmael, the struggle against Eisav, and so on. Now we've arrived at the last part of Sefer Bereishis, the thrilling drama of Yoseph and his brothers. Is some aspect of this story particularly important for us this year? One connection is the historical precedent, in which Yoseph needs to be a king before the ascendancy of Yehuda. This foretells what our Sages tell us about the End of Days, when Mashiach ben Yoseph will precede the arrival of Mashiach ben David. I am about to complete writing a book on the Thirteen Principles of Faith based on the Shiurim of my esteemed Rebbe, Rav Michel Twerski שליט"א. In that book, a chapter is...

We have arrived at Chanuka, believe it or not. The last two months have been other-worldly. It is hard to believe that the Yamim Noraim was two months ago – it feels like years to me almost another lifetime – prior to Simchas Torah. But arrived we have, and it is vital to take strength and lessons from Chanukah to help us gain from this incredible time we are going through.  We are used to viewing Chanukah in rather simple terms. "The Greeks persecuted us, we fought against them and won, went to reinaugurate the Temple, only to find that there was only one flask of pure oil left. We lit it, and it lasted for eight days. Now let us party, eat latkes, and spin dreidels." In more yeshivish circles, the focus is on Chanuka’s character as the Yom Tov of the Torah SheBa'al Peh (the Oral Torah), which was threatened and then renewed and is therefore a time to rededicate ourselves to learning Torah. However, that alone does not explain why the Rambam refers to the mitzvah of...

War is a special time to be in Israel. It seems in so many ways like a different universe from the way things were just a little over a week ago.  I don’t need to inform my readers of the awful events that we have seen and the very real threats we still face.  I live less than five miles from the largest Air Force base in the North, and the incessant sound of planes coming and going is scary (but also music to my ears, as I appreciate how much the IDF is doing to protect us).  I also don’t need to make you aware of the incredible coming together that most (see below) of the country is experiencing, in contrast to the terrible hatred and arguments that were tearing us apart till so recently.  The outpouring of Chessed and helping and aid from all parts of the Jewish world, both within Israel and coming in from abroad, the great increase in Tefilla and Torah in solidarity with the soldiers makes one proud to be part of this timeless people. For all of us, life will n...

Preparing this morning to go to shul for Simchas Torah in Beitar Ilit, there were a few muffled explosions, but I didn't think much of it – one often hears such noises.  But then, the air raid siren went off, and I began to worry as I entered the Mamad (Secure room).   Eventually, I decided to venture out to shul.  The non-Jewish security guard said there had been a terror incident in Bet Shemesh, (information that turned out to be false).  But then, in the middle of Shacharis, the siren went off again – and we all crowded into the bomb shelter.  We ventured out, skipped Hakafos , said Yizkor, and then another siren before Geshem and Mussaf.  And another.  Eight sirens in all over the next few hours.  I never made it to  Hakafos , although things seemed to settle down towards the afternoon.  Waiting to hear the news at the end of Yom Tov, my mind wandered to another Simchas Torah, 21 years ago. It was 2002, during the terrible secon...

My sister is annoyed with me. She feels that I am too critical of the Haredim, and in this Tisha B’Av season, I should focus more on loving other Jews and not on finding fault. She is, of course, correct that Ahavat Chinam (Baseless Love) is the call of the hour. But write I must, nevertheless, specifically out of love for Klal Yisrael and particularly the religious community – and frustration with how they are causing so much unneeded hatred. Those not living in Israel today might not be aware of the extent of anger, hostility, and hatred now going on between the pro-current government and anti-current government forces. The level of passion is unprecedented; Hundreds of thousands come out regularly to demonstrate, block roads, stop access to the airport, close shopping centers and medical clinics, and make life miserable for millions.  Large groups of reserve soldiers have announced they will not serve, doctors have walked out on strike, and some are leaving the country; essentia...

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote an essay describing what is happening in Israel.  I maintained that the mass protests were not really about "Standing up for Democracy" or protesting the Judicial reform but rather about the anger of the Left that they lost the elections, were out of power, and were likely to stay that way.  Since then, the mobs have been whipped up into ever greater frenzies by their leaders, and the country is now at a frightening level of division and hate, and many fear that a real civil war will soon explode.  The leaders of the Left have no bounds of responsibility for what they are causing in their self-righteous hypocrisy, with former Prime Ministers Lapid, Barak, and Olmert, together with many of their leaders, literally calling for War against the current government, while continuing to spout lies and distortion about their true aims. The truth is, as I argued in that essay – and as anyone examining the proposals of Judicial Reform may plainly se...

משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה !  The month of Adar ushers in a time of happiness and joy . . . but it sure does not feel like it this year.  There have been too many tragedies and difficulties have occurred in the Jewish world in the past few weeks.  Three sets of brothers – Paley in Yerushalayim, Yaniv in the Shomron, and Boyer in Phoenix – perished in terrible ways.  Moreover, in Israel, storm clouds continue to gather as we face a dangerous split in society that is threatening to tear apart the country as never before, with their ideological counterparts in the Diaspora joining the fracas with the New Israel Fund is pouring millions of dollars into the well-funded protests. ...   I don't know what Heavenly message was communicated when three sets of brothers perished one after the other, but it seems plain to me that we are being told something about not valuing our brotherhood enough.  At the time of Esther's Purim message — "Gather all the Jews together...