Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Putting it all Together

We have learned so much together BH. Now let's see how it all fits.

Shabbos Hagadol is coming. It is the first Shabbos we ever spent with Hashem (Sfat Emet). We deliberately set ourselves apart from the Mitzrim by taking one of their gods (lamb) and binding it in front of them. In that moment, we amplified our belief in Hashem.  


This past week we have been cleaning ourselves from the chometz that is holding us back from being able to experience a constant relationship with Hashem (Rabbi Cable and Rabbi Nivin chaburohs).  We have taken a small step in these 72 days of chesed in the hopes that Hashem will pull us the rest of the way.


On Seder night, He actually pulls us the whole way up to the highest height we can achieve.  Sarah Yehudit Schneider writes that at "three moments of ingesting matzah, maror, and Afikomen, the channels from heaven to earth are perfectly aligned and the possibility of transformation is maximal.  The root impurity in every soul...gets zapped by the healing light of the Seder's holy eating."


What do we need to do to tap into the power in these upcoming days?


1. continue cleaning out the chometz; physically and spiritually speaking


2. Keep this Shabbos with the same emunah we kept the first one; total devotion to Hashem


3. erev Pesach burn the chometz and the piece of paper that has your chometz written on it (Rav Nivin)


4. later in the day, recite korban pesach (if that's your minhag- Rav Nivin)


5. for the seder- pre-write and articulate a prayer: "to silently recite while eating the matzah, maror, and Afikomen (with your eyes closed for the greatest concentration)...it could be a life goal (ie marriage)..a character development goal (ie, becoming patient)...or a meditation on a pasuk... or for healing oneself or loved one...(also a propitious time to pray for relief from a literal eating disorder)."(S.Y. Schneider)


6. at the end of the Seder, recite Shir Hashirim (Yehudis Golshevsky), (if that is your minhag) to bring the Seder full circle to meet with the geulah- when we will once again amplify our belief in Hashem as we did on that first Shabbos Hagadol.


Sarah Yehudit Schneider ends (her article on Aish.com) : 

"Whatever you choose (to pray for), its seeds will be planted in your deepest depths...The Seder is the only opportunity throughout the whole year to bring healing lights down into direct contact with this most primal level of the soul."

May this Seder bring the redemption in each of us that we long for with all of our hearts, so that the movement within us can awaken those around us, so that this Seder can herald the geulah.


Chag Kasher Vesameach.


Love, aviva rus


(Thank you Reitza Sarah for sending me SY Schneider article)











Thursday, March 14, 2013

Good Shabbos

Sometimes, when there is so much to say, I find myself at a loss for words.

Here we are, approaching Pesach, in the month of Nisan already!  Revealed miracles and redemption.

Rav Cable's class yesterday gave us deep insight into how we can achieve the redemption from inside of us on leil seder.  Click on this link to hear his shiur and other inspiring shiurim; 
G-dDirectTorah.com

In this week's parsha, Vayikra, we are taught about the korbonos.  Nowadays, we have our tefilos, prayers, to take the place of sacrifices.  

Nisan, from the first until leil seder, is for "being very careful with your speech" (Rabbanit Yemima) because "Nisan is the time when our nation was born".  Every day until leil seder our words have much power to reveal who we are and how our whole year that follows will look (each of the 12 days between correspond to our twelve months). 

Maybe I am just afraid to speak.  

After all, like you, I truly desire a year filled with connection to Hashem through ways we perceive as good.

There will be no chaburah until after Pesach.  There are so many great shiurim to listen to and things to do, that it would be redundant to repeat what is being said all over the place!

If we haven't met in Eretz Yisrael for the geulah before then, I will send out blog two weeks after Pesach about what is next in our avodah of uncovering who we really are and how to live from that space with deep connection to Hashem.

I will miss you!

Chag Kasher Vesameach,  

May we be zoche to uproot the chometz inside of us, burn the bad, and transform the remainder into a korban to Hashem,

B'ahava, aviva rus


Monday, March 11, 2013

Inner Preparation for Pesach: Free Pre Pesach shiur given by:



Rav Cable (Rabbi Cable is a close talmid of Rav Yitzchak Berkowitz and Rav Yirmiyahu Kaganoff and has been running Yeshivat Aish HaTorah’s Smicha program for over 11 years.)

He will iyH,  discuss the ways to prepare for Pesach on a personal and internal level; i.e., reviewing each of the mitzvos of Pesach (ie. Biur Chametz, Achilas Matzah, Sipur Yetziyas Mitzrayim) with an understanding of the deeper significance of these mitzvos, as well as how to elevate our entire Pesach experience to a new level.

Join  this fantastic learning opportunity, this coming Wednesday, March 13th at 11:00am EST, 5:00pm IST and dial:

(from the U.S.) :
1 209 255 1000      

Access code 154322
(or from Israel):

076-599-0060 
(same access code as above)

Looking forward to hearing you on the call!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Hi! and Good Shabbos!

I am sorry for the delay in posting, and hope this reaches you  before Shabbos.

Amazing idea I heard about this weeks parshios= Vayakhel and Pekudei, they are all about the mishkan and bigdei kehuna....exactly what Terumah and Tetzaveh were about.


How odd.


Yet, in between Terumah and Tetzaveh, comes Ki Sisa, (cheit haegel- yikes!), so it must be that we learn something new in Ki Sisa that allows a shift to take place in how we view this weeks parshios.


I heard Rav Cable say that Terumah and Tetzaveh are when we learn about what to do and Vayakhel and Pekudei we start to actually do.


So how does Ki Sisa teach us how to do?  It's one thing to discuss, and another to follow through.


I recommend going back to my favorite phrase: Mi l'Hashem Elai: Whoever is to Hashem, come to me, - meaning, if in every moment that we are in, we pause and re-connect to Hashem, we will be able to follow through and LIVE a life of connection to Hashem.(There's also the idea that we need to fall, experience the darkness, so that we can return to Hashem and surrender to having Him show us what we need to do.)


Pick the pasuk or phrase that means something to you and use it over and over, while cleaning for Pesach, especially.


More on Pesach, to follow, IyH (with the phone number to dial in- how about if we meet next motzai Shabbos, instead of this one...)


Love, aviva rus

Sunday, March 3, 2013

IyH lets meet one final time before Pesach

stay tuned for time and day.

What's our plan for Pesach?  How are each of us going to be redeemed and from what?

Start thinking of one thing that inspires you about Pesach to share on the call.

We will IYH have a live performance as well.

Love, aviva rus.

ps, my last post has gone missing, but i saw something on Shuli's lvracha website about nissim and how we have to work extra hard to feel connected to Hashem after one happens for us, because a special yetzer hara is designed to make us feel disconnected after the neis,
 lvracha.com/2013/03/03/hashem-echad---an-open-miracle-for-rabbi-brevda-how-does-knowing-there-is-gd-translate-into-control-over-my-own-happiness.aspx

So keep at it, and you will feel even closer than ever to Hashem, iyH.