Sunday, April 28, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Good Shabbos! Parshas Emor
Remember last week?
We learned about what is going to be different in the time of geulah.
We are going to see the Kedusha in every single thing, rather than seeing things on a surface level.
This weeks parsha hones in specifically on the Kedusha of a Kohen, and special kedusha in a Kohen gadol, and lastly the kedusha found in time.
YES... TIME! ( Shabbos, Rosh Chodesh, the Chagim, sefira, etc!)
But let's not stop with specific days and months. Let's examine every single moment and see the kedusha in it. Remember, Hashem is giving us this breath right now, therefore, there is kedusha in it and us.
Furthermore, in this special time of sefira, every moment is an opportunity to grow. Not only that, but these days are also called the days of chesed, everything we want, we just have to take a step and Hashem pulls us the rest of the way.
The only question that remains is, what do we really want?
If the answer is to see kedusha in every moment, person, creation, then the solution is to elevate your thoughts, speech, emotions, and actions to kedusha and then.... well...stay tuned for next week's parsha to tell us what happens then....;)
Love, aviva rus
ps: the phone call number for us to meet up and review on May 6th at 2 pm, IYH two days before the shiur by Rav Schwartz is:
209-255-1000 (US)
61-1300-051-796 (Australia)
559-670-1000 (Canada)
972-76-599-0060 (Israel)
27-87-825-0150 (South Africa)
44-0-784-843-2913 (United Kingdom)
access code; 535021#
If you can, please have your seforim and/or notes, and any questions that you want to submit.
:)
We learned about what is going to be different in the time of geulah.
We are going to see the Kedusha in every single thing, rather than seeing things on a surface level.
This weeks parsha hones in specifically on the Kedusha of a Kohen, and special kedusha in a Kohen gadol, and lastly the kedusha found in time.
YES... TIME! ( Shabbos, Rosh Chodesh, the Chagim, sefira, etc!)
But let's not stop with specific days and months. Let's examine every single moment and see the kedusha in it. Remember, Hashem is giving us this breath right now, therefore, there is kedusha in it and us.
Furthermore, in this special time of sefira, every moment is an opportunity to grow. Not only that, but these days are also called the days of chesed, everything we want, we just have to take a step and Hashem pulls us the rest of the way.
The only question that remains is, what do we really want?
If the answer is to see kedusha in every moment, person, creation, then the solution is to elevate your thoughts, speech, emotions, and actions to kedusha and then.... well...stay tuned for next week's parsha to tell us what happens then....;)
Love, aviva rus
ps: the phone call number for us to meet up and review on May 6th at 2 pm, IYH two days before the shiur by Rav Schwartz is:
209-255-1000 (US)
61-1300-051-796 (Australia)
559-670-1000 (Canada)
972-76-599-0060 (Israel)
27-87-825-0150 (South Africa)
44-0-784-843-2913 (United Kingdom)
access code; 535021#
If you can, please have your seforim and/or notes, and any questions that you want to submit.
:)
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Hello!! Achrei Mos and Kedoshim
It's been over a month since we last learned together.
To be honest, I thought we would be meeting in Eretz Yisrael with the geulah on Pesach! ( I was there, where were you?!?!)
During the seder, I wondered, how will I know when the geulah is here? Will I feel different?
Today, I heard an answer.
Rambam says that when Moshiach is here the world will be exactly the same.
Yet, in this same world, we will see a revelation of all that is hidden.
Every difficulty we have, all the small bothersome moments to the tremendously painful ones, will be revealed as what they really are; Hashem's kedusha.
In this week's parshios, I counted how many times it says "I am Hashem", and how many times it says "I am Hashem, your Gd".
Guess what? Ten times each! Can it be related to the ten Sefiros that we are counting right now- leading up to Shavuous, receiving the Torah.
The final culmination of these 20, is the 21st time (Vayikra 21:26)
"kadosh, I am Hashem".
Coincidence? No such thing;)
Here we stand, in acharis yamim, readying ourselves for matan Torah, coming closer to the geulah every moment, while counting the ten sefiros, ten sayings Hashem introduced to create this world we see, but what really lies beneathe the suface is:
"I am Hashem
I am Hashem, your Gd
Kadosh, I am Hashem"
In the time of moshiach, we will see that there is only one Hashem, our Gd, and everything all around is filled with His kedusha.
Have a kadosh Shabbos!
aviva rus
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)
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
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.
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
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
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