Thursday, August 24, 2017

Happy birthday Rav Moshe Weinberger

In celebration of the 60th birthday of Rabbi Moshe Weinberger,  a few of us got together to surprise him for a special birthday present. Together with my brother Eitan, Chaim Dovid and Yosef Karduner we went into the studio to record a song, based on words from R’ Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook ZT”L, whose 82nd Yahrtzeit is tonight, the 3rd of Elul.

I had the privilege of composing the melody to this precious poem, a poem that was one of the first teachings which R’ Weinberger himself learned from the Torahs of R’ Kook.

We are honored and excited to be sharing this song with you, as we have begun to discover who we really are, during the month of Elul.

What will emerge from this year's discovery?

Within each and every one of us lies a special instrument, a violin, a guitar, a flute or a drum. Sometimes it takes a while until we learn how to play our own instrument, but from the moment one begins to swim into the sea of Teshuvah, a song begins to sprout forth from the depths of one's soul. It is this song which expresses our inner essence, and brings hope and inspiration to all who hear it.

Poet of tshuvah, Have you been born yet?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fYrT4_C5AvA

Monday, August 14, 2017

Inner Redemption By Rav Schwartz!


INNER REDEMPTION SERIES 1
בס"ד
Thank you for expressing an interest in this amazing opportunity to learn with Bilvavi author Rav Itamar Schwartz, Shlit”a in our upcoming INNER REDEMPTION SERIES.
This 4TH monthly phone chaburah, meets every first Sunday of every chodesh at 8:00 pm IST; 1:00 pm EST. Our first meeting will be September 17th. Class is always on Sunday. I always let everyone know a few days in advance to remind them of upcoming class.
Cost for the upcoming round of 12 classes is $180. ($15 per class)
» All classes will be recorded and are available via phone playback or mp3 recording for your listening convenience.
»
If you do not have access to internet, recordings will also be available on Kol Loshon’s phone service with a special access code for chaburah members only.
» Audio file w/ english translation will be posted within 1 day on the
www.bilvavi.net site.
» English transcript will be available within 3 days on the
www.bilvavi.net site.
» Hebrew only audio version will also be available within 3 days on the
www.bilvavi.net site.
This is a closed chaburah. Therefore, all recordings, mp3 links and access numbers are for the express review purposes of those registered for the chaburah and should not be forwarded to anyone who is not registered. Upon confirmation, you will receive the access numbers for the live classes to come and all recordings of classes you might have missed.
Please note: according to poskim, the cost of the chabura is 100% maaserable as the proceeds are going directly toward the publishing of the author's sefarim.
Format of the Class
The Rav will be speaking in hebrew accompanied by english translation throughout the course of the shiur. The Rav will speak on the topic for 45 minutes. Then we will open up the call to the women to ask the Rav questions for 30 minutes. Know in advance that your questions (via recording) will be made available to whoever registers. All questions should be focused and specific to the topic at hand and one minute only will be allotted to ask each question. Click here for a sample recording from our last INNER SILENCE chaburah with Rabbi Schwartz.

INNER REDEMPTION SERIES 2
To confirm your registration for the chaburah, please follow one of the payment options below
Online Payment
A Paypal account has been set up to receive registration. Anyone wanting to pay via Paypal/credit card should go to: www.paypal.com ; account name is: Robert@Aberman.net . Please make sure to save your Paypal receipt for future reference. Anyone paying via Paypal, add $8 to cover the extra processing costs that paypal automatically takes off the top of each payment. This should be done as one payment.
Payment by Check
Checks sent in the US are tax deductible should be made payable to: “Yeshivas Radin” and mailed to: c/o Rabbi Zvi Cohen, 14 N Crest Place, Lakewood, NJ 08701
Once you have put the check in the mail or paid via paypal, reply to DevorahYaffa@G-dDirectTorah.com. At this point you are considered “confirmed” and you will receive the recordings and access codes and dial-in information to be a part of this live and interactive opportunity to learn with Rabbi Schwartz. Register before September 1st and receive a FREE bonus ebook: “The Best of Bilvavi.”
If anyone has any questions that I did not address above, please email me at:
DevorahYaffa@G-dDirectTorah.com
If you did not register on the www.bilvavi.net site, then we need the following info: Last name: __________________________________________________
First name: __________________________________________________ Email: ______________________________________________________ Phone: _____________________________________________________

City: _______________________________________________________ Country: ____________________________________________________ How did you hear of this series? _________________________________
This can be faxed to: +972 3-548-0529 | or in Israel to 03-548-0529 Additional info: USA 973.484.9396 | Israel 02-930-9965 

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Good Shabbos



chabad.org
בְּחוֹרֶף תרנ"ב כַּאֲשֶׁר אַאַמוּ"ר לָמַד עִמִּי בְּסֵפֶר הַתַּנְיָא "וְנֶפֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִית בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל הִיא חֵלֶק אֱלֹקַהּ מִמַּעַל מַמָּשׁ", הִסְבִּיר כִּי הַנּוֹשְׂאִים בְּתֵּיבַת מִמַּעַל וּבְתֵיבַת מַמָּשׁ הֵם הֲפָכִים. מִמַּעַל תּוֹאֲרוֹ רוּחָנִיּוּת שֶׁבְּרוּחָנִיוּת וּמַמָּשׁ תּוֹאֲרוֹ גַּשְׁמִיוּת שֶׁבְּגַשְׁמִיוּת. וַיְבַאֵר כִּי זֶהוּ מַעֲלַת נֶפֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִית, שֶׁעִם הֱיוֹתָה רוּחָנִיוּת שֶׁבְּרוּחָנִיוּת פּוֹעֶלֶת בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת שֶׁבְּגַשְׁמִיוּת.
In the winter of 5652 (1891),1 my revered father, the Rebbe [Rashab], taught me the statement in Tanya2 that “the second soul3 of a Jew is an actual part of G‑d Above.” He pointed out that the terms “actual” (mamash4 ) and “from above” (mimaal) are contradictory. “From above” alludes to the very highest levels of spirituality,5 whereas “actual” denotes the most palpable physicality.6
This, he explained, is the unique gift of the Divine soul.7 Though it is sheer ethereal spirituality, it impacts physicality at its most palpable.8

A Story with an Echo
A certain middle-aged American Jew was relocating in a new city. He had been attending Friday evening meals at the local Chabad House for several weeks, and soon began attending classes. His questions were intelligent and relevant, and while he enjoyed any subject that was meaty and intellectual, he was particularly drawn to Chassidus.
Suddenly he stopped attending not only classes, but even the convivial Friday evening meal. He had not left a phone number, and the Chabad House rabbis were unable to locate him.

Three weeks later he reappeared. He was wearing a kippah, his beard had begun to surface, and he enquired where he could purchase mezuzos, how he could kasher his home, and the like. When asked about this development, he explained that in the last class he had attended, he had learned something that made him feel challenged — the concept of the Jewish soul’s being “an actual part of G‑d.” If it was true, he sensed, he would have to develop an entirely different sense of identity from the one he had grown up with in secular America. He had had to wrestle with this issue — and do so alone.

Ultimately, he decided to identify with the Tanya’s image of a Jew. Having made that decision, the beard, the mezuzos, kashrus, and all the other mitzvos, came naturally. When the Torah became the source of his identity, the totality of Jewish observance followed as a natural consequence.
Footnotes
1.
When the Rebbe Rayatz was eleven-and-a-half years old.
2.
Ch. 2. See also the entry for 13 Kislev.
3.
I.e., the nefesh Elokis — the Divine soul.
4.
Mamash is related to mishush (“touching something palpable”) and to mamashus (“substantiality”). Cf. Rashi on Shmos 10:21.
5.
In the original, ruchniyus sheberuchniyus.
6.
In the original, gashmiyus shebegashmiyus.
7.
In the original, “the second soul.”
8.
Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe Rayatz, letter #1056, Heb. Vol. 4, p. 404.