Yearly Archives: ‍‍ 5768 / 5769 - 2008

Small Jugs

Posted on ‍‍28 Kislev 5769 - December 25, 2008 by micha

In the beginning, or a few days later, Hashem created the sun and the moon. In Bereishis (1:16) the Torah says: “And G-d made the two large luminaries – the large luminary to rule the day and the small luminary … Continue reading →

Posted in 1- Bereishis, Holidays | 1 Comment

A Tzadiq Will Flower Like a Date-Palm

Posted on ‍‍26 Kislev 5769 - December 23, 2008 by micha

I had this thought while saying Qabbalas Shabbos this week. It’s a “Chassidishe Vort” in style, intentionally stretching the meaning of a quote in order to create a mnemonic for an important point — but with a mussar message. צַ֭דִּיק … Continue reading →

Posted in Dei`os | 2 Comments

The True Hero of Chanukah

Posted on ‍‍26 Kislev 5769 - December 23, 2008 by micha

No, the title of this post doesn’t refer to HQBH, although clearly it could. (Or can it: Can we define “heroism” with respect to One for Whom there are no risks to take?) Nor Yehudah haMakabi, nor Matisyahu, nor Chana … Continue reading →

Posted in Bitachon, Holidays | 1 Comment

Chanukah: Never Give Up

Posted on ‍‍21 Kislev 5769 - December 18, 2008 by micha

Chanukah tells us to never give up, no matter how formidable the challenge. When the Hasmonian family realized that they had no choice other than to confront the Greeks and attempt the impossible, they linked up with a force beyond … Continue reading →

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A Castle in the Air

Posted on ‍‍15 Kislev 5769 - December 12, 2008 by micha

(A continuation of my two Bilvavi posts [part 1, part 2]. The basic notion is the Maharal’s, that there are three aspects of the human soul, each living in a different universe: heaven, earth and the world between the person’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Naran | Leave a comment

Like one person, with one heart

Posted on ‍‍1 Kislev 5769 - November 28, 2008 by micha

For the past day and a half, all Jewish eyes were on Mumbai, formerly known to us in the west as Bombay, named for two Hindu godesses. Nine popular tourist sites were attacked, locations that attracted many American and British … Continue reading →

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Bilvavi, part II

Posted on ‍‍29 Marcheshvan 5769 - November 26, 2008 by micha

To summarize part I: I opened by raising the question why such a significant portion of the book of Shemos is dedicated to the building of the mishkan. The rest of the post didn’t seem to address that question, but … Continue reading →

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Bilvavi, part I

Posted on ‍‍21 Marcheshvan 5769 - November 19, 2008 by micha

בלבבי משכן אבנה להדר כבודו, ובמשכן מזבח אקים לקרני הודו, ולנר תמיד אקח לי את אש העקידה, ולקרבן אקריב לו את נפשי היחידה. In my heart I will build a mishkan to the magnificence of His honor, In this mishkan … Continue reading →

Posted in Naran | 3 Comments

More on Finance and Bitachon

Posted on ‍‍1 Marcheshvan 5769 - October 30, 2008 by micha

In an earlier post, I mentioned R’ Elchanan Wasserman’s essay on the Great Depression. ) Despite the past couple of days looking promising, it is still too early to rest comfortably. The markets are still volatile, meaning there is too … Continue reading →

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Mitzvos of Sukkos

Posted on ‍‍11 Tishrei 5769 - October 10, 2008 by micha

(Copied from Sukkos 5766. -micha) There are many mitzvos that are specific to Succos. Aside from the mitzvos we can observe today, Succah, Hakafos, and the Four Species, there are also a number that can only be kept in the … Continue reading →

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