Chag sameach

Daily Dose Dedicate an email Expect Wonder Nissan 14, 5776 · April 22, 2016 Based on letters and talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Schneerson Print this Page   |   Read Online On the night of Passover, the Ari taught, you must enter your home for the Seder with great joy. On this night, all the portals of heaven are opened. On this night, G‑d pours down His deepest love upon every Jew. On this night, we were liberated at midnight. On this night, expect wonder. Print   |   Post a Comment   |   Read Online   |    Based on letters and talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Schneerson    More articles...  |    From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. Subscribe and get your dose daily. Or order Rabbi Freeman’s book, Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, click here.             Follow Us:       Be a Part of it  Enjoyed this email? Please help us continue to share the study of Torah and Jewish traditions: • Dedicate or sponsor an email to mark a special occasion • Make a donation to Chabad.org. Subscription Options: • Subscribe to more chabad.org email lists • Subscription Management • Going on vacation? • Unsubscribe Your subscribed email address is: aviva@aberman.net Change email address. Important Tip: To guarantee that your subscription emails continue to be delivered to you, please add subscriptions@chabad.org to your address book, or "whitelist" it in any filters or antispam programs you may have. © Copyright Chabad.org, all rights reserved.   Privacy Policy

from last year and some new added thoughts- seder night:

Ahavas Yisrael is the secret of the final redemption. 

Ahavas Yisrael is really when your soul has a redemption – when you leave yourself!! 

In other words, there is a kind of personal redemption in which you leave your inner imprisonment, and then there is another kind of redemption – when you leave your “I”. This is when you leave your ego for the sake of integrating with the rest of the Jewish people.

Thus, the beginning of redemption is to redeem our feelings. We need to first leave the materialism – the “bricks and mortar” – and enter the world of spirituality. 

The second part of our redemption, which is the purpose, is to reach our masculine kind of daas – the revelation of unity on the world; in other words, to nullify your “I.” (Bilvavi)

Zohar: Matzoh is the food of healing - it's vitamins that fill us with emunah. Matzoh has the power to erase any doubts(Rav Aharon Weinberg, nesivos;pesach)- 

It is a night of above nature nissim.  We are above malachim on this night! It is the Rosh Hashana for emunah! Avnei Nezer says that if a person has the teshuka (desire) to change on this night, Hashem makes it happen. (Rav Aharon weinberg)

Sfat Emet says in the name of Maharal "anyone who acts k'ilu- as though- on this night will have his/her 'as though' become their reality" (Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi)

----have a clear idea of what your 'as though' looks like =something that you want to be redeemed from...so that you can feel and sense Hashem with deep emunah.

Our greatest feelings of pleasure come from this sensation of emunah coursing through our souls and body, unifying the two to serve Hashem and thereby, express our love back to Him, as a refelction of His love for us.

Chag Kasher Vesameach
Love, aviva rus

(I don't know where all the information below is taken from- some is from Rabbanit Mizrachi and Orit Ritter)

    While preparing the seder plate talk to Hashem and pray to Him:

–           Marror: Hashem may it be Your will that we will be surrounded by sweetness

–           Egg: may it be Your will that we will have wonderful simchas to celebrate

–           Zaroa: save me with Your kind hand from harm

–           Charoset: sweeten the sorrows and sadness

•          While preparing the table, ask for parnassa.

•          There is a segula to say the special tefillah of Rebbi Shimshon M’Astropoli ztk’l on erev Pesach which is found in the Pesach siddur.  Those that say this special prayer will be saved from 10 harsh decrees this year, r”l.

•          During Kiddush at the seder the Chofetz Chaim zt’l brings down that all of your deceased relatives come to hear Kiddush with you.  Feel their closeness and presence.  This is a special time to ask for your soulmate.

•          First cup of wine represents Sarah Imeinu, second cup represents Rivkah, third cup represents Rachel Imeinu ask for parnassa and fourth cup represents Leah.

•          While eating the celery think about the hatred that still lies within our own nation.  Sinas chinam (baseless hatred) was the main cause that lead our nation into slavery, because of Yoseph’s brothers’ hatred and jealousy.

•          מה נשתנה:

during this time ask Hashem for something that has gone unanswered in the past.  Beseech Hashem’s blessing in a way of a story not a request, “Hashem why is this night different from other nights??  I thought that this night I would have be married, I would have…..  I sway from place to place and nothing has changed.”

•          יחץ: 

ask Hashem to complete that which is missing in your life

•          

Say the hagaddah out loud and each word; this repairs the lashon hara that we’ve spoken.

•          רחצה: 

we ask Hashem that we and our daughters should serve Him with purity and keep all of the laws of purity/ taharat hamishpacha.

•          Matzah: 

it is the bread of refuah.  We ask Hashem to heal us mentally and physically.  “Hashem please remove any sickness within me.”

•          מרור כורך: 

we ask Hashem to surround our bitterness with sweetness.  Even though we feel bitterness through trials and tribulations, “Hashem allow me to feel your everlasting kindness and good.”

•          צפון:  we ask, “Hashem please grant me presents that I never imagined I will ever receive…” Specify.

•          ברך: “May it be Your will Hashem that I should always have the zechut to thank you and recognize all of the good that you do for me.  Just as I request from you parnassa, may I merit to thank you in the same way that I ask you to give me.”

•          חצות הלילה, chatzot halayla, usually around 12:41 am on the evening of the seder and also on the last evening of Pesach.  

These are very special times, where the gates of heaven are open and many bad decrees can be annulled and prayers can be answered more readily.

Try to sing שיר השירים at this time it is a time of great love and connection to Hashem.   On the last day of Pesach, at this time pray for shidduchim, parnassa, and health from sickness.  They are likened to kriat yam suf (the opening of the Sea of Reeds) this is the exact time when Hashem split the sea.

Beautiful shiur I just listened to-

Rabbanit Amit Yaghoubi called Pesach: Crying Waters - What to Think About When Eating Matzah

Pesach Inspiration....

Below are two beautiful ideas to inspire our Pesach in a shiur given by Rav Doniel Katz:  two short excerpts from last Sundays webinar "The Hidden Structure of The Pesach Seder". The full video is out tomorrow. Enjoy and share! Doniel EXCERPT ONE: G-d Is In The Details https://vimeo.com/162678139 EXCERPT TWO: Don't Panic, Everything Will Be B'Seder https://vimeo.com/162679815 Here is something to inspire us every moment of our lives: Thank you, Daniella, for sending this! Hello everybody and welcome to Inspiration Daily.  I just heard an incredibly beautiful story that I want to share with you. As many of you know, there were two young ladies that went missing on Shabbos. B"H they were found. But on Motzei Shabbos there was a group of men who set out from Boca Raton to go to Orlando to help in the search for these two young ladies. Someone rented a very large van, and a bunch of people pull up at three o'clock in the morning so they can help find these girls. All of a sudden, a fellow in a wheelchair comes to the search van along with everyone else. The driver of the van looks at him and says, "I am so sorry. I don't have a handicap van. I can't take you along on the search". He said, "I know that". The driver said, "You know that?" And he said, "Yeah. But I said to myself, I have to do whatever I can. And I can come up to the van. That is what I can do. Maybe I cannot get on to the van, and maybe I can't even help with the search. But I have to do what I can do. And so I came here because that's as far as I can go". The fellow, the driver of the van told over the story, as he was crying and overwhelmed with emotion to see such mesiras nefesh; such unbelievable devotion and dedication from one Jew to another. It needs to serve as a mussar haskil for all of us. We need to do whatever we can. There are no excuses in this world for not trying. There is no doubt in my mind, that it is partially because of his mesiras nefesh that these girls were found. It is because he did his utmost that the Ribono Shel Olam says, "You know what? I'll take over from here. I'll make the rest happen". And B"H the two girls were saved. There are a lot of people to help. There are many Jews who need help, and we can't do everything for everyone. But we can do the most that we can do. No more excuses. Let's get to it. Have a great day and a great rest of your week. "Inspiration Daily" is a short audio shiur via email. Topics include: Torah, Tefilla, Happiness, Faith, & Hashkafa.

I love this one :)

Do you want to make miracles? It’s not so hard.

Let’s say you see someone’s faults and you truly want to help—whether it be a friend, a spouse, your child or even your nemesis. 

Don’t say a word about what you have found wrong. Instead, find something wondrous about that person, perhaps something that nobody ever mentions. Talk about it—to yourself, and to those who will listen and sympathize.

In very little time, you will see such a new person, you will believe you are a maker of wonders.

Indeed, we all are.

Taken from Chabad-Rabbi Freeman

From Tzipora Harris: What to have in mind at the Seder

1. Matza-  Matza is just flour and water. Nothing else mixed in. It represents your soul which wants nothing other than to do the right thing and live out G-d’s incredible plan for your life. When you eat the matza, you can have this in mind:

More than anything, I yearn to live as a soul, I want to do what’s right, I want to make the greatest contribution I possibly can, live the vision You have for me, G-d and draw close to You! and I know I don’t need to know how- You have infinite ways to get me there! I’m just YEARNING TO BE SOUL DRIVEN in my life from this point on!

2. Maror- (bitter herbs)-  Maror is a reminder that even though it’s easy to get pulled by your lower drives, like beating yourself up, losing your temper, letting feelings of anxiety or despair about your circumstances overtake you; or that ice cream at 12am, you end up feeling horrible afterwards. Letting yourself be driven by lower forces is bitter. When you eat the maror, you can have this in mind:

I recognize that in some ways I let my lower self run my life at times in the past and I see that living as a lower self is BITTER. I don’t want it. Please help me rise above it, again and again. I don’t know exactly how- I trust You will guide me.

3.        Korech- (sandwich)-  The Matza-Maror-Matza sandwich focuses you on the goal of channeling your lower drives (maror) to help fulfill G-d’s amazing vision for your soul (matza) and thereby drawing closer to Him, which is our ultimate purpose in this world.

Help me remember that in Your eyes I am always beloved, possessing infinite worth, I am Your exalted and precious child and You are with me forever. Every aspect of my life is exactly what I need to fulfil my unique mission. That will help me see my lower self voices and my struggles for what they really are- the perfect training and development program wired into my life by the Ultimate Coach. Help me see the blessing in my struggles. And use them as stepping stone to elevation. I don’t know how, I just know You, G-d, can help me.

Amazing example of unity in klal yisrael

http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/the-entire-jewish-world-just-came-together-to-sing-a-song-for-one-man/

Thank you, Yehudit, for sending to us!

We will be meeting at 6:30 am Wednesday morning (NY time) IYH to continue our avoda. 

Remember, we are in the 72 days of chesed- stick to the one small action you chose, to achieve your Shavuous vision.  


This week we discussed how to balance out the egotistic part of our yetzer. In the weeks of sefira,we will Iy'H continue with the other six primary emotions and learn how to create balance in all of them. 

Looking forward:)
AR