Intimate Knowledge of G‑d
Compassion Toward People
Splendor in Mind and Heart
Avodah
His answer: ?The Rav had many minhagim of tefillah, some quite unique, and while we follow some in our shul (e.g., my rabbi reinstituted saying all the selichot on YK [...]
I am surprised (this is a rhetorical figure, I am not) that no one in this conversation has yet mentioned that Ashkenazim are not fit to do birkath kohanim on [...]
Since we?ve been discussing duchaning, simcha, and attempting to reinstitute duchaning every day in chutz la-aretz, I thought that as a kohen I?d add my two bits. First, I never [...]
On Wed, Oct 30, 2024 at 02:34:16PM EDT, I replied to RJR: >> Interesting new book: The Priceless Treasure of Bircas Kohanim by Naftali >> Weinberger. ... >> he recounts [...]
We often discussed emunah, how rishonim took the central role of proofs for granted but modern philosphy wouldn't, whether emunah is an idea or an experience, etc... A translation of [...]
On Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 02:10:32PM +1100, isaac--- via Avodah wrote: > On 31 Oct 2024, at 1:12PM, R' Micha Berger wrote: > > One could have taken this [...]
On 31 Oct 2024, at 1:12PM, R' Micha Berger wrote: > One could have taken this far broader: > The Gra's and RCV's motive was fundamentally based on the relative [...]
On Tue, Oct 22, 2024 at 11:54:58AM -0400, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote: ... > What emerges from this - in MY mind - is a very different story than [...]
Blogs
- YGB - יג"ב
- Aspaqlaria
- Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
- | Modern Uberdox
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Davening and serving Hashem by habit and rote vs. with novelty and renewal. Second of two unfinished pieces on bursting out of constriction into broad expanses. Supplemented with material from [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Rischa D'Araisa Season 10 Episode 6:וַיִּ֤פֶן כֹּה֙ וָכֹ֔ה וַיַּ֖רְא כִּ֣י אֵ֣ין אִ֑ישׁElection Special:Looking Back and Forthhttps://jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/89827 [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
History and the Future should impact the Present, not vice versa. First of two unfinished pieces on bursting out of constriction into broad expanses.Podcast format at https://jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/89930https://www.aishdas.org/raek/2shehein1.pdf beginning on p. [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Iggeres D'Rav Sherira Gaon, part 5: Two Versions, Two Opinions as to When the Mishnah Was WrittenThe major difference between two versions of the letter: Was the Mishnah written by [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Atzvus and Simcha(Sadness and Happiness) Go Together[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPc7ZMhQMTs?si=U_qs7qxpT8yXrGzh]A talk at the Leil Hoshannah Rabbah Simchas Beis HaSho'eivah of Cong. Anshei Palisades about how to approach Simchas Torah 5785 in light of [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
The Remarkable Gemara About Sasson and SimchahSukkah 48b[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFnzALoaUh0?si=1WTx6Wb2aoE1LIyO]The text and translation of the passage from Sefaria:הָנְהוּ תְּרֵי מִינֵי, חַד שְׁמֵיהּ שָׂשׂוֹן וְחַד שְׁמֵיהּ שִׂמְחָה. אֲמַר לֵיהּ שָׂשׂוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה: אֲנָא עֲדִיפְנָא [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Rischa D'Araisa Season 10 Episode 5:Nurturing The Essence on Yom Kippur:The Chesed of Realistic Teshuvahhttps://jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/89145APlease click on this link to contribute whatever you can to keep this podcast on the air: https://thechesedfund.com/yeshivaofnewarkpodcast/keeping-the-ark-afloat With [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
On our responsibility, attitude and relationships with non-Jews. On the hierarchy of the Seven Noahide Laws. Conclusion of the unfinished essay.Podcast format at https://jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/89147 https://www.aishdas.org/raek/2shehein1.pdf beginning on p. 39[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsfqXqb2FOk?si=S7HyVAoxg1YcJ4PW] [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8_r_YB9AVc?si=QudVVEzFEt0T-4Or]This is a brief synopsis of the chiddush of my Shabbos Shuvah Drosho. The Drosho was given at Cong. Anshei Palisades on Shabbos Shuvah 5785 and the synopsis was [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Rischa D'Araisa Season 10 Episode 4:לִפְקֹד עַל צְבָא מָרוֹם בַּדִּיןJustifying Resistance (theirs and ours)Before the Highest Courthttps://jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/88806Please click on this link to contribute whatever you can to keep this podcast on [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
May a congregation eliminate piyutim? From RSZA zt"l. Shalmei Moe'd vol. 1 p. 33A recording for the BHP daily Halachic Whatsapp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gz8rrxqRcfy9rMOXRLG6GS[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvyE3OTbUY8?si=B8arOhtqQeFtaKCH] [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
An Introduction to ימי הרחמים והסליחותדברי התעוררות at Cong. Anshei Palisades, First Selichos before Rosh HaShanah 5785[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_G-WnPoGsA?si=FY87d4owkBIsK02B]The six points from the Sefer HaBris, slightly abridged:ספר הברית - חלק ב [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
On our responsibility, attitude and relationships with non-Jews.https://www.aishdas.org/raek/2shehein1.pdf page 37[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1PHcIYTCgA?si=ayjpiv9yuPLfzmla]Podcast format at https://jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/88892 [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Rischa D'Araisa Season 10 Episode 3:Za'akas HaGolah:A failed Asifah reveals the difficulty of escaping ideological strait-jackets.With Rav Meyer Schillerhttps://jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/87130Please click on this link to contribute whatever you can to keep this [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
If you haven't joined us yet, this is a good time to join us, as this is the first clip on the Zohar proper (until now we have been doing [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iggeret_of_Rabbi_Sherira_Gaon):Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: אגרת רב שרירא גאון), also known as the Letter of Rav Sherira Gaon, and the Epistle of Rav Sherira Gaon, is a responsum penned in the late 10th [...]
- admin
Rav Dovid Lifshitz zt”l (whose 31st yahrzeit is today) often spoke about the connection between shaleim as wholeness, and that of another conjugation, “shalom“, peace. Shalom is not simply a cessation of violence. That [...]
- admin
Parashas Behar is a list of mitzvos. The first section is all about shemittah and yovel. A family’s ancestral land cannot be sold into perpetuity. Instead, if someone is forced [...]
- Micha Berger
This week I’d like to discuss three seemingly unrelated questions about the words of the tephillah: The focus of Shabbos Mussaf davening is the paragraph that begins “Tiqanta Shabbos…” What [...]
- Micha Berger
Here’s my theory about the origin of this minhag. My point here is not really about advocating for the minhag. I just feel a need to push back when people [...]
- admin
והיה רגיל להוכיח אותי על שראה שאינני משתתף בצערא דאחרינא. וכה היה דברו אלי תמיד שזה כל האדם. לא לעצמו נברא רק להועיל לאחריני ככל אשר ימצא בכחו לעשות. [My [...]
- Rabbi Seth Mandel PhD zt"l
Micha’s note: The following was a post written to the Mesorah email list by Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel zt”l, a rebbe-chaver of mine (more: a rebbe who insisted on treating [...]
- Micha Berger
(I put these thoughts together for a reply for my daughter Gavi, who pointed me to a medrash that “everyone in her neighborhood” were talking about, but I then was [...]
- Micha Berger
“Poteach et Yadekha“, oil on canvasHaim Masliach, 2021 A comment by Ilana Elzafun* brought this Seforno to my attention. This week’s parashah (Lekh Likha), Bereishis 16:13, describes Hagar’s prayer to [...]
- Micha Berger
Dear R Dr Broyde (Cc: Avodah), Over Shabbos, I read your article about getting ChatGPT to discuss whether a kohein in a same-sex marriage may go up to duchen. I [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Nephesh Hachaim 1:13 1. T The things we say can also link celestial worlds, rectify this one, and interconnect with the upper worlds, as we’ll now see. After all, we’re [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Da’at Tevunot 3:7 (¶ 118 [middle]) 1. We’d do well to take something into consideration, Ramchal adds here. It’s that just because something or someone is imperfect doesn’t mean [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
The Way of G-d 2:6:4 1. G-d allowed for a prosecutor in His court, famously known as satan 1. His role is to argue against the accused, which them enables [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Nephesh Hachaim 1:12 1. R. Chaim already spoke 1 of the fact that we could only link celestial worlds, rectify this one, and interconnect with those upper worlds after we’d [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Da’at Tevunot 3:6 (¶ 118 [beginning]) 1. Ramchal reiterates here 1 that wrong is a created entity 2 that was only designed to last for as long as G-d wanted [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
The Way of G-d 2:6:3 1. Given the above, the fact is that G-d doesn’t judge the world according to His foreknowledge but rather according to the way He wants [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Nephesh Hachaim 1:11 1. Following up on the thought offered in the last chapter that despite our being connected to physicality we’re nevertheless superior to angels, R’ Chaim now [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Da’at Tevunot 3:5 (¶s 116 [end] – 117) 1. Ramchal says that he’s going to expand upon things he’d said above 1 and reveal things that are “deep” about [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
The Way of G-d 2:6:2 1. G-d appears in each Sanhedrin and court, influences it, and sees to it that justice is served 1. Now, in some instances [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Nephesh Hachaim 1:10 1. Given all of the above concerning our makeup and capacities, it’s reasonable to wonder whether angels are loftier than we are or we’re loftier than they. [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Da’at Tevunot 3:4 (¶ 116 [beg.]) 1. Ramchal is about to offer something that will serve as a prelude to what’s to follow 1. It’s that even though G-d [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Derech Hashem 2:6:1 In the course of His interactions with the world 1, G-d arranged it so that phenomena that affect both the things that humankind brings about 2 and [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Nephesh Hachaim 1:9 1. Following through on the discussion of the previous chapter, R’ Chaim contrasts the situation of the generation that dwelt in the Sinai Desert 1 with that [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Da’at Tevunot 3:3 (¶’s 103- 115) 1. It seems logical, doesn’t it, that goodness would be a product of something that emanates goodness while wrongfulness would be a product of [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Da’atTevunot 3:2 (# 98 – 102) 1. Ramchal starts to explain the role of wrong and injustice in the world with a proposition derived from Rambam1. It’s that when G-d [...]
- 68ae324f7fa7d37a4fc5ffd2006fc91b
Nephesh Hachaim 1:8 1. R’ Chaim offers a rather complex discussion here about the positioning of the Cherubs in the Tabernacle and Holy Temple in order to illustrate his point [...]
- Neil Harris
The website 18FORTY has a fantastic and thoughtful multimedia post on OTD that is worth watching, reading, and listening to. If you are reading this then you know I don’t [...]
- Neil Harris
Spoiler, there isn’t much substance to I what have to say. Also, I am spoiling the end of the Skywalker saga. After reading an excellent essay by Rabbi Harry Maryles [...]
- Neil Harris
I checked my recent writing history today and the last legit post of mine was really 3.5 years ago. For some that’s a long chunk of time. In that time [...]
- Neil Harris
My wife’s comment on Simchas Torah pretty much summed it up, “I feel like this is the biggest tease for you.” You see, my mom a”h was niftar right before [...]
- Neil Harris
When today comes around I usually think about things my father missed since he has been gone. I decided that this year I’ll attempt to list a number of things [...]
- Neil Harris
Walking out of shul, the morning after Yom Kippur, a follow early Sunday morning riser casually said to me, “Back to normal, right?” I was taken off guard (and also [...]
- Neil Harris
I have started this post about 2 dozen times over the past 3 years and I never seem to get more than about 300 words written about why I stopped [...]
- Neil Harris
I want to share something that Rav Efraim Twerski said at his Shabbos HaGadol drasha. After starting off with 10 questions Rav Twerski said over an amazing Torah from Rav [...]
- Neil Harris
So, tonight’s the 6th yahrtzeit for my dad, Avraham ben Zorach a”h (Al, of blessed memory). Like everyone else that has lost a parent I lit my 24 hour yahrzeit [...]
- Neil Harris
“WARMED BY THE FIRE OF THE AISH KODESH– Torah from the Hilulas of Reb Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piaseczna” by Rav Moshe Weinberger and adapted by Binyomin Wolf is more [...]