Good Shabbos!

(No class until further notice- i am waiting to hear from everyone regarding times and days that are good for you- especially because i don't know if i will be recording this new series).


We discussed in class how the Pasuk in Parshas Vayeira states that Avraham "stood over them (the malachim/angels) and they ate"(18;8).  

We saw from the daily dose that in order for the malachim to partake in the physical world, to eat in this case, a human being has to raise the physical into the spiritual realm (kavana on the brachos before we eat, accomplishes this for food).    This actually creates malachim as well ( this concept is discussed in Rabbi Nivin's, Advanced chaburah class).

Look at the power Hashem has given us!

Furthermore, every moment in our lives is defined by our ability to bring our unique light, our connection to Hashem, into the world.  

How do we see this in this weeks Parsha? 

Avraham refused to take any spoils from the war he fought against S'dom to save Lot.  

Why?  

He knew who he was, what his unique light was - a man of chesed bringing constant kiddush Hashem into this world, and Avrohom didn't want to "cover up" his real self.  If he would have taken things from S'dom, the king could have said "I made Avraham rich" (Divrei Chaim from Shem m'Shmuel).   
Avrohom would have become covered up because where would the "kiddush Hashem from chesed" be achieved?

Sometimes, it's really hard to know who we really are and how to bring our light into the world.  Yet, if we each have some sort of Elul plan to look at, then we have an arrow that points us in the direction toward the light inside each of us.

The Parsha is teaching us, every action we take has power and go inward to know which action is the next one that should be taken.  May Hashem bless us with the clarity to know how to achieve both of these steps.

B'ahava, aviva rus

MAZAL TOV!

We have finished the sefer Da Es Atzmecha!  It has been so much fun learning with each of you.

All the classes have been recorded and saved(thank you Shira!).

In order to continue learning together, send me times and days that work for you.  

Rabbi Cable will be in Passaic on November 12th, speaking for women at 8 pm.  

If you can come, let me know and I will send you all the information.

Love, aviva rus

Good Shabbos!! Good Chodesh!!

I can't believe how much time has passed! It has been too long.

I am sorry for my absence, but I have not been near a computer in a long time.

It has been an amazing month of yom tov, couched between terrorist attacks and war on our people.  It is difficult to grasp mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, difficult to switch back and forth from emotion to emotion, and even more difficult to know what does Hashem want from us.

How are we supposed to react?

What are we supposed to do?

I saw this moments ago and wanted to share it with you.  There is a way out of this mess and we can do it together.

There are three approaches to dealing with this world: Some remain aloof as the sun. The world benefits from their light, but they stay far beyond it all. They invest little in this world and so have little to lose. Others wane and wax as the moon. They suffer the scars and bruises of life, delight in its offerings, thirst for its rewards and tremble at its horrors. They invest everything and risk losing it all. True tzadikim emulate their Creator. To them, every episode of life, no matter how minor, has meaning and purpose. And yet, they remain above it all. They are the sun and the moon at once. What is their secret? It is memory. Even as they invest themselves within the mundane, they remember they are not the body, but the soul. Yitro 5733:1. Based on letters and talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Schneerson     Let's discuss this on Monday, iyH, at 12- 1230 ny time.  We are up to the final chapter in our book and it is all about this concept!! looking forward, aviva rus

SHANA TOVA

May you be blessed with chiyus (vitality) from within and health.

May your year be filled with deveikus to Hashem.

May you be zoche to achieve the geulah from within and greet moshiach.

                                            Love, aviva rus

The last Thursday of the year...

Make it count!

Chazal say: Everything goes after the end- this Thursday can fix all the Thursdays of the past year, and so on until Rosh Hashana!

Take five minutes a day to practice teshuva (rabbi Nivin)- returning to who you really are- a pure neshama- and thereby returning to your relationship with Hashem (the point of Rosh Hashana!!).

Anyone who wants the yomim noraim derashos given by Rav Schwartz (translated  and compiled in pamphlet form), please email me and i will send you the packet via email- iy"H.

KESIVA VECHASIMA TOVA!!!

Love, Aviva Rus

UPDATE: Chaburah this Monday at 12 IY'H

HI!

There were just two of us on the call on Sunday night so I did not record it, and instead we did Elul introspection.  We have not learned together in two weeks!! yikes!

I hope the next chaburah will take place this Monday at 12 (ny time)- so we can finally get to chapter ten of the sefer and tie it in with Rosh Hashana.

I highly recommend the series Rav Moshe Weinberger is teaching, Constructing the Soul, Who am I? as a supplement or as a replacement!! to all that we are learning together.

You can download it off of the  yutorah.org website.

Looking Forward!

Tonight at ten- iYH- chapter ten of Da es Atzemcha

Shavua Tov!

I read this and thought it was perfect for deep introspection in Elul...

FOCUSING ON THE DESTINATION

 

 

At times when you must let go and you ask someone to push you, you must know where you want to be pushed. You must know your destination.

 

Rabbi Mendel Futerfas, who spent many years in a Siberian gulag, tells how he learned a great lesson from a tightrope walker who was also imprisoned there.

 

The rabbi asked the tightrope walker what is the secret to his art. "What does one need to master? Balance? Stamina? Concentration?"

 

The tightrope walker's answered surprised him: "The secret is always keeping your destination in focus. You have to keep your eyes on at the other end of the rope, and that's how you get there is a straight line, without wavering. But do you know what the hardest part is?"

 

"When you get to the middle?" the rabbi ventured.

 

"No," said the tightrope walker. "It's when you make the turn. Because for a fraction of a second, you lose sight of your destination. When you don't have sight of your destination that is when you are most likely to fall."

 

Life is something like a tightrope. To navigate it successfully you must have your destination in focus. You must know where you are going. When the time comes to make a turn, and for a moment you cannot see where you are headed, you have to have your destination in your mind's eye.

 

The ultimate destination—the final goal of all human efforts throughout history—is called geulah ("redemption"), when the world will realize its purpose and reach ultimate refinement. The Jewish people have always kept their eyes on this destination; it gave them the power and freedom to forge ahead, despite all difficulties.

 

Geulah is not a destination you can see by looking in front of you, you can only see it by looking inside you.

 

Real focus is not physical, it is transcendental. Real focus is your relationship with your Divine mission.  If it is well developed, it can guide you past the moments of danger, and keep you moving with confidence even in moments of greatest fear and darkness.

 

Ask yourself: Do you have a real focus in your life?  Do you have a larger goal?  

• Exercise for the day:
  - Identify your personal mission in life. What do you believe is your calling in this world?
  - If you have difficulty with this, identify the steps you must take to discover your mission.

 

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Excerpt from 60 Days: A Spiritual Guide to the High Holidays, by Simon Jacobson. ©Copyright The Meaningful Life Center, 2014. All rights reserved.www.meaningfullife.com.