There is this special bond between the Torah and the Jewish people in the very first words of the Torah,

" For the sake of the Torah which is called ראשית דרכו- the beginning of HaShem's way, and for the sake of Yisroel who are called " The first of HaShem's crop.

Matan Torah is literally the beginning, the Torah and the Jewish people, who were paired together at Har Sinai, as Rabbi Saadia Gaon once said,

" Our nation is a nation only on account of it's Torah"

Defining this statement within the words themselves, when addressing the Jewish people as they are about to enter the land of Canaan ( Israel ) Moshe says,

" On this day you have become a nation to HaShem, your G-d." 

There is a unique relationship between the Jewish people and the Torah, and it's expressed in the blessing we say each morning " Who chose us from among all the nation's and gave us His Torah."

We have this tradition that HaShem offered the Torah to all the nation's of the world, who refused to accept it, with only the Jewish people accepting it wholeheartely. If so, how come that HaShem chose us from all the nation's to give us the Torah? 

HaShem offered it to everyone, and we were the only ones who said yes! Therefore the answer is that in offering the Torah to the nation's, HaShem was not choosing them, but giving the Nation's an opportunity to chose Him.

The Jewish people alone were chosen by HaShem to receive the Torah. The " choosing " did not begin on Shavuos, it was a process which had it's roots in the lives of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, which continued in our experience during both the golus and in the redemption from Mitzrayim, and final stage of Har Sinai.

For the nation's accepting the Torah was a question of opportunity, for the Jewish people it was a matter of destiny. The neshama of each individual among the Jewish people is rooted and connected to a letter of the Torah, as we are literally one.

The " letter- neshama " connection expresses itself in the highest significance of every single Jew.

 

What is the effect of Torah study?

 

When we accepted the Torah at Har Sinai, with the words " We will do and we will listen" we did promise Na’aseh ve’nishma,

" We do - with the performance of the mitzvos                    We will listen - with the words of Torah."

The beneficial effect of Torah study extends well beyond the one who is studying it, and to get to some meaningful level of understanding as how to stufy Torah is to maintain Creation. Based on the teachings of our Sages, that the Torah is " The Blueprint " of Creation. As the Zohar states,

" The Holy One, Blessed be He, looked into the Torah and Created the World "

Every Jew has the opportunity which allows us to reach the most highest level of Torah study, with sincere intentions of the well- being of the world is the highest level of Lishmah.

There is a beautiful passage in Pirkei Avos

" Whoever engages in Torah study for it's own sake...the entire world is worthwhile for him. "

Isn't it an beautiful idea and a benevolent vision of the world that rests with someone who learns Torah lishmah. When we consider that Torah lishmah itself involves learning Torah to promote the well- being of the entire world.

 

Matan Torah 

In our entire history and that of the world was the revelation at Har Sinai, were HaShem appeared to give the mitzvos,

" Only guard yourself and protect your soul greatly, lest you forget the things that your eyes saw and lest you remove them from your heart, all the days of your life and make them known to your children and your children's children, the day you stood before HaShem, your G-d, at Chorev. - Devarim 4:9

The revelation at Har Sinai as the basis of our faith, to understand at the deepest level that it was not only witnessed by the Jewish people of that generation, but by all neshamos of future generations and this goes beyond  providing a basis for authenticating Matan Torah. The Torah is not only about HaShem's instructions of how we are to lead our lives, but it is the basis of our relationship with HaShem.

May Shavuos inspire us all to align our success and achievements in all aspects of our lfe with that of HaShem, and may it bring us closer to the the time of the second Shofar which will bring the Moshiach ben David, speedily in our days!

May we all be blessed to have a special and meaninhful relationship with HaShem and to receive the Torah b' simcha u'v pnimiyus.

 

What did we hear?

One of the most major events in our history and that of the world is the Revelation at Har Sinai, where HaShem came to us and given us the Ten Commandments. The Torah reminds us constantly, that will remember this event, which is preserved in our conscioneness and since that day 3,333 years ago we passed this on to our children, generation upon generation.

"Only guard yourself and protect your soul greatly, lest you forget the things that your eyes saw and lest you remove them from your heart al the days of your life: and make then known to your children and your children's children, the day you stood before HaShem, your G-d. "     Devarim 4:9

What was the goal of the Revelation and why was this necessary? If it was simply to give us certain commandments, could Moshe not have given the Torah commandments with the Ten Commandments?

Moshe was assigned by HaShem to communicate the mitzvos from HaShem to the Jewish people and this pas only possible in this role, the confirmation took place as HaShem appeared to the Jewish people and they witnessed His communication with Moshe, this was the authentication of Moshe's being HaShem's emissary with Matan Torah.

"HaShem said to Moshe : " Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of the cloud, in order that the Jewish people wil hear as I speak with you and they will also believe in you forever. 

Rambam in his famous dicussion of The Revelation, to the community in Jemen, Iggeres Teiman:

Remember the revelation at Har Sinai, which HaShem has commanded to remember constantly  " Only guard yourself and protect your soul greatly, lest you can forget, the day you stood before HaShem, your G-d, at Chorev."

" For inquire now regarding the early days that preceded you, from the day that HaShem created man on earth, and from one end of the heaven to the other end of heaven."  Has there ever been anything like this great thing or has anything like it be heard ? Has a people ever heard the voice of G-d speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard, and lived ?

The reason for this experience was in order to strengthen our faith to the degree that no force could ever change it. This truth was made known to us directly in order that our point of view to be firm and that we would not falter in times like these, where unrest and oppression is against us.

The Revelation of Har Sinai, as the basis for our faith can be understood at a deeper level. The Sages tell us that the Revelation was not only witnessed by the Jewish People of that time, but by the souls of all future generations. In truth the meaning of the Revelation goes beyond providing a basis for authenticating of Matan Torah. The most crucial ideas regarding the Torah is that it does not only presents HaShem's mitzvos for how we should lead our lives, but is the basis  of our relationship with HaShem.

Through performing mitzvos, we elevate ourselves and ultimately the world to a state of Godliness and to attach ourselves to HaShem.

In the relationship between learning Torah and keeping mitzvos,there are two realms of fulfilling HaShem's will, the idea of Torah study is a mitzvah that is by nature obligatory. For a person to study Torah and neglect to perform mitzvos that commands is not only violation of the mitzvos, but also a violation of learning Torah, as our relationship with the Torah would be fundamentally lacking.

" Whoever says, " I have only Torah" does not even posses Torah " ~ Yevamos 109b.

Serving Torah is greater than learning Torah  but why would serving Torah be greater than learning Torah?

The ultimate goal of Torah study is to elevate ourselves, the extent to which we are affected by the Torah is entirely dependent on a level of our regard for the Torah. Serving the Torah is a pratical expression of our regard for a Torah scholars and their knowlegde they possesses and develope this regard within us. All of this inceases the level to which we will be impacted by all we learn. And as this is the ultimate goal of learning Torah, we can undrstand how serving the Torah can be greater than studying Torah. ~ commentary Ein Ayah to Berachos.

What did Moshe receive at Har Sinai?

And I will give you the Tablets of Stone and the Torah and the Commandments that I have written to instruct them" ~ Shemos 24: 12.

•The Tablets of Stone ~ these are the Ten Commandments.

• The Torah ~ this is the Chumash

• The Commandments ~ this is the Mishnah

• That I have written ~ these are Nevi'im and Kesuvim

• To instruct them ~ this is Gemara

All these teachings were given to Moshe at Har Sinai.

The Torah exist in the forms of names of HaShem and this explains that initially the entire Torah was given in this form to Moshe at Har Sinai.

And to this we said " We will do and we will hear ". One of the most famous words in Judaism. This is what our ancestors said when they accepted the Torah at Sinai.

A journey which began with Avraham, when he broke his father's idols, seeing other people worshipping the sun, moon and the stars and asked: " but who created them?" Avraham was alone in believing HaShem was One- Ein Od Milvado.

Avraham and Sarah walked into the unknow, when HaShem made the "Covenant of Bris Bein HaBitarim" with Avraham and he became our first Patriarch.

From Mitzrayim via Yam Suf, arriving at Har Sinai. The Jewish people alone were chosen by HaShem to receive the Torah. Accepting the Torah was not simply optional-- available to us -- it was a necessity. For the nation's of the world accepting the Torah would be an opportunity, for us it was a destiny.

Being chosen meant that the Jewish people at Har Sinai said yes to the covenant with the words : "Na'aseh v' Nishma -We will do and we will hear. " We have a responsibility to follow the 613 mitzvos, a higher spiritual obligation. The covenant is eternal and bind us and all future generations who are born into this obligation. There is no need for consent or comfirmation; Jews do not become Jews. We are Jewish by birth, not only by faith.

The day our journey began we knew that our strength would not lie in numbers; our history reflects HaShem's plan. The relationship between HaShem and the Jewish people was often strained, but never broken.

Being chosen did not begin on Shavuos; it was a process, which has it roots in our Patriachs and Matriarchs, and during both golus -exile - geulah -redemption from Mitzrayim - Egypt . Our mission is to be spiritual and a ethical guide for the world by realising Torah values, rather than just preaching them.

Yeshayahu - Isaiah speaks of the Jewish people as " a nation of priests," bringing awareness of HaShem into the world, a " Light unto the nations. " To understand our mission, is to recognize that all human beings are created in the image of HaShem. The Midrash states :

" Call upon heaven and earth that the holiness of Divine inspiration is with all of us. " Whether we are Jews or gentile, man or woman, observant or non- observant.  Whatever our profession, or bank balance. 

Every human being has an opportunity to connect to HaShem, maybe not in the same way as the Jewish people, but most people choose not to connect to HaShem, they created their own modern-day idols of worship. The world has order, and therefore a creator. Sadly to say, the world is full of disorder, evil, violence and injustice. A failed society needs a scapegoat.

Being chosen is not a designation of privilege or superiority, but an acceptance of a obligation and responsibility. The acceptance of the Torah, the 613 mitzvos, is a higher standard rather than a higher status. The purpose of why we are chosen is to serve HaShem and to be a " Light unto the nations. "

It was not by accident, but by Divine decree, that the Jewish people has been scattered across the world for most of our history, to spread Torah values and morality. Judaism doesn't encourage conversion; it is not proselytizing. 

Every day of our lives we dedicate to Torah learning, davening three times a day, keeping the mitzvos, giving tzedakah -charity, giving chesed- kindness, not only to our fellow Jew, but to everyone who is in need of some kindness.

Most people today do not consciously feeling lonely, but the experience when we meet someone with whom we genuinely connect makes people realize how incomplete they really are. People are so distracted by life that they hardly notice the emptiness, and when they do, they are often disturbed by it.

In every dimension of our life-- in marriage, or in relationships with others, in connection to reality - the situation is the same. Most people pass their time in isolation while being in a room full of people. In the way we connect to people, is how we connect to our source- HaShem. Relationships that do not involve an deeper aspect will inevitably fail. When this happen to us, we turn to HaShem for guidance.

Being Jewish and being chosen makes most people  uncomfortable. Many do not understand who we really are and what being chosen really means.

Small in numbers, between15 at most 16 million Jews out of the 8 billion people, but the only nation who gets all the attention. Questions with no anwsers. The difference between a Jew and a gentile is that the Jewish soul is different from the gentile soul. Gentiles are not requiered to be Jewish to be holy or righteous. Their path is following the seven Noahide Laws.

We are proud of who we are; so should every gentile be proud of who they are. We enjoy our rich tradition, I always Wondered if there are people who love their books as much as we love the Torah. When Shabbos ends we prepare for next weeks Shabbos. Pesach via the Sefiras Omer to Shavuos is a time we count step by step to improve our inner - lives, our morality.

Rosh Hashanah, Yamim Noraim- the days of Awe- Yom Kippur the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. With Sukkos we built a Sukkah a dwelling place for HaShem to be with us - we treasure our Yontif.

Simchas Torah when we dance with the Torah - hakafos -and the completion of the reading cycle, to start again with Bereshis - Genesis. We celebrate life, sing and dance, raising our children with Torah values; no television or movies means no distraction and violence. This is not arrogance; this is protecting our children from harming their soul. 

 

Tznuis-  modesty is not only how we dress; it is also how we behave, the way we interact with other people. Modesty does not mean hiding ourselves, or a denial of self; it is rather that in dress, behavior, and speech we act appropriately.

Three times a day we daven -pray, Hitbodedus -in personal prayer, we daven for sick person and needy people who could do with an helping hand.

Hundred brachos - blessings a day we recite to show our gratitude to HaShem and not take anything for granted.

Judaism is an challenged faith that has not once but many times been challenged. For us, it is obvious why Avraham believed in one G-d- HaShem, or why Moshe fought against the enslavement of his people, or why our Sages battled against corruption in every day life. We see the world through their eyes, and we find it hard to understand how it could not have been otherwise. We won a series of moral victories. Centries of Western thought gave us the idea that when we choose how to live, we are on our own. 

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ז"ל writes in his book A letter in the scroll, that against this whole complex of ideas, Jewish life is a sustained countervoice. "To be a Jew is to know that this cannot be the full story of who I am. A melody is more than a sequence of disconnected notes. A painting is something other than a random set of brushstrokes. The part has meaning in terms of its place within the whole, so that if history has a meaning, then the lives that make it up must in some way be joined to one another characters in a narrative, figures in an unfolding drama. Without this it would be impossible to speak about meaning; and Judaism is the insistence that history does have a meaning."

There is a difference between pride and arrogance. Arrogance is the belief that you are better than others. There are other cultures, civilizations, people different from each other, and other faiths. Each and everyone of us contribute something unique.

But Judaism is ours; this is our faith, our people, an inheritage we share. By loving our own people, we learn to love humanity. When you have peace with yourself, you find peace with the world.

I am proud to be Jewish and passionate about my faith, which has never left it idea's or dreams, but expresses  them in deeds that we call mitzvos, and a way of life, which we call halacha - Jewish Law. The Torah the voice of heaven as it is heard on earth, the Word that gives light to the world.

We have no desire to rule the world; we leave this to HaShem.

A letter in the scroll, a missing note makes a song incomplete. When one letter in the scroll is missing, or damaged chas v' shalom, it is incomplete.

We are here for a reason, chosen by HaShem, to be part of His plan. It is not a privilege, but a responsibility to make a broken world whole again. 

To be part of HaShem's plan we have to have bitachon and emunah, a choice to make the song complete, and not to be a missing letter.

It is a world of difference when we enter Shabbos, leaving the world behind. The Shabbos candles flickering, the table inviting, we are not to touch the light switch, careful to take the meat of the bone, not the other way around. Being vigilant to use the cold water fauset on the right side of the sink, not using our phones, writing, or driving the car, to name some. 

Prohibitions are essential and part of Shabbos, but it allows us to achieve the serentity, the kedusha in time, elevation and dignity that are necessary to experience Shabbos. The prohibitions exists to serve the positive obligation to rest.

On the deepest level HaShem controls everything, Shabbos is a time to come closer to the creator of it all, and any act, even something as small as a touch of a light switch contradicts that testamony, the covenant we have with HaShem.

It is the choice to be, the mirror of our inclinations. We were formed by HaShem as unfinished beings to give  us the opportunity to create ourselves. Before we were born our neshama has no association with the physical world, we were free of physical limitations, experiencing only the connection to our Infinte Divine source.

When our neshama joins our body before birth, it becomes part of the restrictions and limitations of a physical being, and we can no longer maintain full intergration with the divine infinite reality. The neshama feels a sense of constriction, and even suffocation and feeling at loss, with a natural yearning to return to HaShem.

Our energy, identity and intellect are a physical aspect of our personality, and have a expression in the physical world. Our essential self is not physical, and has only an expression in the world through these physical aspects.

The physical energy, are allowing us to exist as beings separate from HaShem. Through the mitzvos we perform, we are able to reach beyond the limitations of our understanding in connection to the spiritual realm. Through our sense of autonomous identity, we act upon, which determine our own environment and give us a quality of Malchus, and allows us to connect to HaShem. This is the aspect through which we experience free will.

This alone does not define who we are, for without our root connection to HaShem, we would have not free will, or our individuality.

As an individual, having to fulfill the entire mission by ourselves, can be overwelming, and we do have a tendency of giving up, when the task seems impossible. When it comes to the Torah and the mitzvos, it is crucial to know we are all in this together. No Jew can perform all 613 mitzvos by himself. It takes team effort, kohanim, Leviim and Yisroel, men and women, in unity.

 

Why do we need unity?

 

We are all constantly searching for connection, through objects and forces around us, when we are not a unity, we can not achieve a single thing. We all are searching for meaning, what we really means is to create order out of disorder, to gain insight in the unknown and to determine movement and behavior.

 

Why are we so drawn to unity?

 

Life itself is a search for unity, to a higher end, searching for HaShem is the ultimate unity. Unity is often confused with being together, forming a group of people with the same thoughts and acts the same, we believe that we could live in perfect harmony. In reality unity is a process, where forming a group like- minded is a state of being. Unity is the harmony in diversity.

The challenge of unity is to recognize the strength of different elements that brings us together, and without annihilating anyone's individuality.

When there is love between two people, each person is willing to bond, while respecting each others individuality. This is what HaShem intended when He created us. He provided our reality with an independent existence that masks HaShem's reality, with a distinct objective to use our free will to access our desire to unite with G-dliness.

When we gain more knowledge about our physical reality, we begin to understand and see that there is a Divine Unity, that underlies and gives meaning to everything we do.

So when our neshama unites with our body, it is empowered to carry out its mission in the physical world. Each element in our universe reflects another shade of the Divine, and we united body and soul to create a unity that will begin to spread throughout the entire world.

This is the challenge that we face, to re- unite with HaShem, by first recognizing our neshama within ourselves, by recognizing that HaShem is above and beyond us, by intergrating HaShem into our lives.

 

Do we ever wonder how heaven meets earth?

 

The entire process of creation was meant to challlenge us to fulfill this mission, with creating a bridge between our reality and HaShem's reality. By creating a unity, we create a ripple throughout the entire world, uniting all who are fighting each other for thousands of years.

When we all fulfill our mission in unity, we may be zoche to see the coming of the Moshiach!

With dedicating ourselves to  "Learning Torah" and recognizing that the study of Torah itself is one of the 613 Mitzvos of Torah. We might see learning Torah a means through which to know how to keep Mitzvos, but not as a Mitzvah itself.  The practical Mitzvos are a fulfillment of HaShem's command in the realm action, Torah study is a fulfillment of His command in the realm of thought and speech.

With recognition of Torah study as its own Mitzvah, is the most important part of the way in which we accepted Torah at Har Sinai. As we should conprehen, that it is not possible to do a Mitzvos without listening first and finding out what they are. With this it would make more sense to say ' We will listen and we will ( then )do".

The following explanation from Zohar:

" We shall do~ with performance of Mitzvos, and we shall listen~ with the words of Torah.

The awareness of learning Torah as a Mitzvah defines the concept of Torah Lishmah.

Now how do we learn Torah as a individual? What does Torah for us and what the Torah requires from us?

The most important thing which we gain from Torah study is a Divine connection, which is the spiritual influence of Torah. The study of Torah is necessary since without, we could never come to observance of the Mitzvos. When we do not study Torah, how do we know what is commanded to do? But apart from this, study of Torah fulfills a huge role in perfecting ourselves.

A fundamental concept regarding learning Torah, is that although the Torah takes the form of words and statements, the essence of Torah is the divine influence within Torah. Our mind is the means how we processes Torah, elevate through Torah and resides within us. Learning Torah is not about information, but about how we can transform ourselves. 

Through involement and stuying Torah we become attached to HaShem's Word and Will~ and He and His word and Will are one.

" If a person acquires an object, can he also acquire it's owner? Yet the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave the Torah to Israel and said to them, " You have, so to speak, acquired Me well" - The Sages.

Having described the unity with HaShem which we attains through learning, Tanya states that the intent of attaining this unity is what defines the concept of Torah Lishmah- for it's own sake.

Recognizing that this is crucial in learning Torah and a element of connecting with HaShem that comes through Torah study. When we are mindful of the role of Torah study, in performing connection with HaShem's Will and through this with HaShem Himself. We will come to see this in a different light, awareness that our achievement in Torah are measured.

From our own experience in learning Torah, we can see the difference between our understanding and where we did not. A deep level of understanding of Torah, does not rest on the surface, but lies at the core and requires investment in Torah study.

The words of the Sages are defined by Mishnah in Pirkei Avos:

" And all their words are like coals of fire ".

The effort in learning Torah and it's succes, doesn't mean that we are reaching a point where we have to put no effort in Torah study. Succes in Torah means that we reach a point where we can invest in a higher level. Torah study is never completely done, it is a cycle which  pursuing our own Torah connection

What are the effects of learning Torah has on the individual?

The effect of learning Torah relates to the spiritual connention. The study of Torah is necessary, since without a person could never come to practical observance of the Mitzvos, as he wouldn't know what he has been commanded to do, but aside from this the study of Torah fulfills a major role in perfecting us. Among forms of Divine influence by HaShem, there is the essence which is more precious and elevated than anything else that exist, to which we can contain on aspect of HaShem's true existence.

The one who HaShem attacted this influence is the Torah, and is created for the this purpose. HaShem has formed these words and statements. So that when spoken and through comprehending, the fundamental concept regarding learning Torah, the essence of Torah is the Devinie infuence within the words and thoughts and contains godliness.

A person's mind is the means through which he processes Torah, but the ultimate respository of Torah is in the person who beccomes elevated through Torah that resides within himself.

Learning Torah is not about imformation, it is about transformation.

In spiritual effect of learning.

Whenever a person prepares himself to learn Torah, the mind should be attach itself with all the energies to HaShem's Word- Halacha- and through this we become attached to HaShem Himself. For He and His Will are one.

The unity with HaShem which we get through Torah learning, the Baal HaTanya states that the intent of getting this unity is what defines the concept of Torah Lishmah.

The concept of Lishmah refers to learning, in order to attach our soul to HaShem through the process of understanding Torah, each person in their own abilities and levels of comprehension.

Torah Lishmah refers to the intent to developing and elevated spiritual connection with HaShem.

 

The Rabbis emphasize that the study of Torah is the only guarantee of the future of the Jewish people. With the loss of the political autonomy  in 70 CE, and even the national territory, Jews became totally dependented upon the Torah and it's interpretations for their survival.

In context of the persecution under Rome in the second century, when the study of Torah was forbidden by Law, by the Emperor Hadrian. The Rabbis emphasized that the Torah was the lifeblood of the Jewish people.

We can find an example of this in Talmud Bavli, commenting on the Tractate B'rachos of the Mishnah. This passage can be found on page 61b, and is one of the many wisdoms of Rabbi Akiva and the most famous of Tannaim. Rabbi Akiva taught this at the time of the Hadrianic persecutions in the third and fourth decades of the second centuary, two generations after the destruction of the second Beis HaMikdash.

The story which said to be taken place near the end of Rabbi Akiva's life.

Here is an opening phrase of this passage. The text comes from the Tannaim, but was not included in the Mishnah.

 

 "Once the wicked government of Rome issued a degree forbidden the Jews to study and observe the Torah. Pappus b. Judah came and found Rabbi Akiva publicly gathering people to study Torah with him.Pappus said to him: " Akiva, are you not afraid of the government?" He replied: " I will explain it to you with a meshalim: A fox was once walking alongside a river, and he saw fish moving in swarms to and from. He said to them: From what are you fleeing? They replied: From the nets cast for us by men. He said to them: Do you want to come up on dry land so that you and I can live together in peace, in the way that my ancestors  lived with yours? They replied: You are not clever but floolish. If we are afraid in the element in which we live, how much more so should we be afraid in the element in which we would die! This the same with us. If this is our condition when we sit and study Torah, of which it is written, ' For that is your life and the length of your days' - Devarim 30:20, if we go and neglect it, how much worse off will we be?"

This simple story tells the importance of the study of Torah. Meshalim, which appears frequently in Midrash and parts of Talmud. This Meshalim is also known in other cultures, but in this story the fish presents the Jewish people, who live in water, symbolizing the Torah, water of life( mayim chayim) and who fear being removed from the source of existing.

The Romans, who are the fishermen, attempt to trap the fish in their nets, and the fox is Pappus  b. Judah, who portrayed himself as a kind person who wants his fellow Jews live in peace with the Roman power, and asks them to come on dry land in order to escape their predators. On the surface, it seems reasonable, If they abandon  the Torah they will escape Roman persecution. Little does he know, that abandoning the Torah will not guarantee survival.

In fact,  even when the Rabbis like Rabbi Akiva were persecuted  and killed by the Roman's for disobeying the prohibition, they still saw the Torah as guarantee of their furure. 

The Torah is " Your life and the length of your days " meaning that even though you may be persecuted in this world, you will be rewarded in the world to come. As a result of Torah study and observance, the Jewish people as a whole will always survive.

 

Mitzvos temidiyos, the two most foundational of these are Emunah( faith) and Yiras HaShem which means awareness of HaShem.

The first Aseres HaDibros, is the one we heard directly from HaShem as a nation, commanded us,אני ה' אלוקיך ,I am HaShem, you G-d.  The knowledge of HaShem, having faith in Him as the creator of the world, is the foundation of all of Torah and Yiddishkeit. This applies to all times, during our walking hours and also when we sleep. From the moment we are born, until the moment we leave this world.

We must keep emunah in HaShem. As the Gemara teaches, we can learn from the pasuk, צדיק בשמך יחיה,the righteous person shall live through faith. 

Yiras HaShem is the core of our lives,Shlomo HaMelech teaches,G-d has acted so that man should stand in awe of Him. Everything in this world is intended to bring us to a greater awareness of HaShem.

Paying to the smallest attention, to the world around us, should create awareness of HaShem. All we have to do is open our eyes and we will see, open our ears and we will hear and when we listen very closely, we will hear and see.

Dovid HaMelech states, ראשית חכמה יראת חי, the beginning of wisdom is fear of HaShem.,the pasuk warns us, take care lest you forget HaShem, your G-d.

How often should we be thinking of HaShem?

Rambam states most powerfully; Until it happens that his soul is so bound up in love of HaShem, that he dwells on it all the time. Rambam quotes the pasuk; For I am sick with love, love of HaShem, thinking about HaShem, living with HaShem.

Rambam teaches that one of the main reasons the Chamchamim established 100 daily brachos, so that we remember HaShem always.

But how do we keep HaShem constantly in our awareness?

First, by learning Torah, which is fundamentally HaShem speaking to us, and secondly by davening to HaShem, this is talking us to Him. Both should be done all of the time. All of our waking hours, when we sleep in our bed, when we walking the streets. Which is a awesome oppertunity to think in learning, or to daven to HaShem is our mammeh Lashon, or in appreation of the beauty of the world He created.

Every Mitzvah that we do, from Chesed to shaking the Lulav, gives us the oppotunity to come close to HaShem.

When we go out to the Sukkah, the Sukkah is called " The shade of Emunah " the idea is that a person is to go out of his home to live outside, under the shade of his Emunah in HaShem. Just as Klal Yisroel in the midbar lived with Emunah in HaShem, so do we to relive that experience as we leave our homes with Sukkos.

Makkos 24a,

Hilchos Teshuvah 10:3, 

Hilchos Berachos 1:3-4

" We are the seventh generation, the one that will realize HaShem's reality on this earth " - The Rebbe

The Rebbe began his leadership in 1950, just as America began feeling the not- so- gentle stirrings of a new awareness. This would develop into a revolution, with young people raging against the conformity and hypocrisy of their parents, the pursuit of materialism, which might have satisfied previous generations, was simply insufficient.

The Rebbe's leadership would extend over four decades-- forty turbulent years that saw unprecedented and radical change. In this respect, the Rebbe was as prepared as a leader could be, rooted in religious tradition yet thoroughly educated in secular matters. He was a visionary leader. Throughout these tumultuous decades, he anticipated changes on both personal and social levels, consistently offering enlightment and encouragement towards handling the challenges of these rather daunting times.

Above all, the Rebbe saw this generation as one of final redemption. In his first discourse upon assuming leadership, the Rebbe said: " Our sages explain that Moshe was the seventh generation from Avraham. In that generation, the world experienced at Sinai an unprecedented revelation of G-dliness. So, too, our generation is the seventh of Rebbes, we have the responsibility coupled with the ability to finish the process of making this world a G-dly place. " - Toward a Meaningful Life.

To understand ourselves and the time we are living in, can be more difficult then we think. Because we are so fully absorbed in our daily lives, that it seems difficult to take a step back and see beyond the confusion and chaos in this world.

With the technical advances, which unite the world more than ever before, but on a personal level there is a disunity. When there is a imbalance of conflicting forces in our lives, the inner tension begins to rise. We live in a world that is split between materilism and spirituality.

As we are well aware of the changes which has taken place in the world, not only recently, but for generations. Materialism has become the magnet of our moral compass. Often we explain this as an evil force. Darkness is not the enemy; it is absence of light.

Many generations has abused their freedom, taking advantage of it for personal gain and selfish reasons. We have been challenged  to introduce to the world a freedom that does not challenge the sovereignty of HaShem and none of us are excluded from the responsibility of Torah learning and teaching what HaShem wants of us and our generation.

We must recognize that we live in an amazing time, nothing that happens is random, but all decreed by HaShem. The Chovos Halevavos writes that if we understand that it is only HaShem who determines whether we gain or lose, we would no longer be a slave of our own Mitzrayim.

The Thirteen Tenets of Emunah by the Rambam, is the belief that HaShem governs all created beings. One of the ten minimum requirements for Jews is that we have to realize that whenever we receive anything from another person, that this comes directly from HaShem.

" All matters in the world - whether good or bad - are a test " - Mesilas Yesharim, perek 1

Anything that happens to us, in any situation we find ourselves in, is a personal test handpicked by HaShem. The purpose of these tests are not meant as a punishment, but elevation. To connect to HaShem and place our worries in His hands allows us to serve HaShem with joy. A Jew is required Ivdu et HaShem b'Simcha ( Tehillim 100: 2). Talking to HaShem in our davening helps us strengthen our Emunah and Bitachon, and expressing Hakaras HaTov for all HaShem is doing for us.

HaShem hides behind everything we experience, to allow us free will. We have free will to view everything that happens as a coincidence or by Divine decreed.

Bitachon is close related to emunah, and we know that everything that HaShem does is good. The true meaning of Bitachon is that we place our trust in HaShem, which is beyond having faith in Him. We only have control over our own lives, through surrendering and trusting HaShem. 

We do function much better with Bitachon, and leaves us free to serve HaShem with all of our heart and soul. Through millennia of challenges, we have withstand every storm. We are challenged to belief and trust HaShem's plan.

May we be zoche to see the coming of the Moshiach and trust that the Moshiach will come with unwavering certainty, speedily in our days.

Lucos is a expression of Oneness of the Torah and in connection with HaShem. 

Rashi explaines that the Aseres HaDibros include the rest of the Mitzvos.The ten commandments are the fundamental root of the Mitzvos and the remaing 603 Mitzvos orginate from the ten root categories.

Why are the Dibros split into separate categories?

Why separating the ultimate Oneness into two categories?

 

The two catergories of Mitzvos.

There is a right and a left side, and while the Mitzvos on the right side  of the Luchos are bein adam laMakom - the commandments between man and HaShem. The Mitzvos on the left side are bein adam la’chaveiro.

There are so many meanings behind  this division. fundamentally to both it means love your fellow Jew and serve HaShem.

Hokhma - a personification of wisdom - is the truth we discover, the Torah is the truth we inherit. Hokhma is a shared heritage of all people, the Torah in particular heritage of the Jewish people. Hokhma is the world of " is " of fact, Torah is the world of " ought " of command. Hokhma  is where we encounter HaShem through creation, the Torah is how we hear HaShem through revelation.

 

The two are not egal in their significance to Jews- the aTorah is holy in a way Hokhma cannot be- yet both are significant, for it apply Torah to the world, therefore we must understand the world to which it applies. There must be an ongoing conversation between the two otherwise the Torah will remain a closed system with no grip, no purpose and no influence on the world its walls.

 

For centuries in which Jews and Judaism had no dialogue with the outside world, its not invevitable nor is it desirable now. We need the confidence to recover our voice in conversation with the other nation's, in orde to bring our truths to the public domain. When we do this we discover new levels of meaning in the Torah. We discover that the Torah, especially the Exodus story had played a larger role than we suspected in guiding the west to create a free society.

 

The relationship between Pesach and Jewish indentity, Jewish history, and on the otherside about Pesach and its place in Western political imagination. The story of Pesach and what it meant to the Jewish people, what it means to me, this is the story of Stories.

 

Learning from our history, we didn't own buildings like royality. We are not that kind of people. But we do own something, which is no less majestic. The Jewish history is not about bricks and morter or stones, but of words. It has been preserved across centuries, handed  from generation to generation, from parents to children, to their children and generations to come. It is not a building, but it is like a home you can live in. More than it belongs to us, we belong to it. We have no buildings but something else, we have a story.

 

It is the story of Pesach, the story we all been told on the night of the Seder. A story , a message that still has the capacity to inspire. To be a Jew is to be part of a history touched, in a mysterious way by the the hand of the Providence. The Jewry is not a mere secular people, an ethnic group, one of the myriad cultures. Had that been all there is to the Jewish identity, then there would be no more Jews today. There is no ethnic  group that survived for two thousand years of dispersion and minority status. The Jewish people in ancient times if had not been moved by a religion vision, had not carried the Torah with them into Israel, they might have won their independence, but they would be today be numbered along with the Canaanites,Jebusites, Perizites and all other people of ancient history.

 

We are who we are because of our faith and a people touched by the Divine Presence. Most of the time we are too little aware of majesty and uniqueness of Jewish heritage. As Moshe once said " It is not up in heaven, nor is it beyond the sea, the world is very close to you; it is in your mouth and in you heart, waiting to be done "  - Devarim 30:12-14.

 

Insight in Judaism is truth in Torah. It is there in the beauty of the Jewish home, the resonance of our rituals, the drama and sweep of Jewish history, the sheer persitence of our people, and the determination of generation after generation of Jews to live their faith and hand it down to their children when they might so easily have done otherwise.

 

And it began on Pesach, when a much- afflicted people began their long journey in response to a Divine call. We Jews show ourselves and to others what it is to bring the Divine Presence into ordinary lives, human relationships, marriage, families, homes and communities. To begin to build a society that honors the " image of G-d "  in mankind, a society free in the deepest and the most generous sense of the word. On Pesach, as we trace our own route from the bread of oppression to the wine of freedom, we become part of that journey. Making it our own, we are drawn into a story at once intimate and vast, just like the Seder service itself. This is our people and our story. 

 

Challenging then, it is no less now!

 

 

Haggadah 5784

Judaism has a body and soul; the two are in harmony and find expression through embracing the body, which comes alive through merging with the soul. The body and soul in Judaism are halacha. Halacha means “The Way” --the way we live, the way we do things, or don’t do things.

The soul of Judaism is Kabbalah, the hidden wisdom and inner dimension of Torah. Jewish spirituality is deeply rooted in our past, in the revelation at Har Sinai, our purpose, and demonstrates our roots in the Written Torah and in the Oral Tradition of Torah.

Spirituality is not something we have all to ourselves, but a purpose for which we are created. Everything has meaning; nothing happens without a reason. The inner dimension of Torah has the purpose of getting to know HaShem --that He is so much more than just “The Infinite,” which simply doesn’t refer to His essence.

Spirituality is aiming toward the ultimate perfection in our relationship with HaShem, to bring heaven down to earth. Do we need spirituality, or can we just follow halacha without a soul? And when we follow halacha without a soul, how do we pass this on to others or to the next generation? Are we not missing something?

Knowing HaShem is expressing His Oneness, loving Him, having emunah and bitachon in HaShem; these are all important elements of halacha, the body of Torah. But a body alone cannot function; therefore we need a soul. Without a soul, we may have the light, but we are missing the essence of HaShem. The unity of body and soul are darkness and light, heaven and earth, matter and spirituality. They are the essence of everything in true life.

The inner dimension of Torah is the soul of Torah, the essence of our relationship with HaShem.

Mitzvos temidiyos, the two most fundamental of these six mitzvos are Emunah and Yiras HaShem which  means faith ( loyalty )and awareness of HaShem.

The first Aseres HaDibros, is the one we heard directly from HaShem as a nation, commanded us, אני השם אלוקיך;

"l am HaShem, you G-d."  The knowledge of HaShem, having faith in Him as the creator of the world, is the foundation of all of Torah and Yiddishkeit. This applies to all times, during our waking hours, as well when we are sleep. From the moment we are born, until the moment we leave this world.

Having emunah in HaShem, as the Gemara teaches us,  from the pasuk, צדיק בשמך יחיה, "the righteous person shall live through faith."

Yiras HaShem is the core of our lives, Shlomo HaMelech teaches ; HaShem has given this to us, so that we should stand in awe of Him. Everything in this world is intended to bring us to a greater awareness of HaShem.

When we pay attention to the world around us, we should create awareness of HaShem. All we have to do is open our eyes and we will see, open our ears and we will hear and when we listen very closely, we will hear and see.

 

Dovid HaMelech states, ראשית חכמה יראת חי, the beginning of wisdom is fear of HaShem, the pasuk warns us, take care that you don't forget HaShem, your G-d!

How often should we be thinking of HaShem?

Rambam states most powerfully; Until it happens that his soul is so bound up in love of HaShem, that he dwells on it all the time. Rambam quotes the pasuk; "For I am sick with love, love of HaShem, thinking about HaShem, living with HaShem."

Rambam teaches that one of the main reasons the Chachamim established 100 daily brachos, so that we remember HaShem always.

But how do we keep HaShem constantly in our awareness?

First, by learning Torah, which is fundamentally HaShem speaking to us, and secondly by davening to HaShem, this is talking us to Him. Both should be done all of the time. All of our waking hours, when we sleep in our bed, when we walking the streets. Which is a awesome oppertunity to think in learning, or to daven to HaShem is our Mameh Lashon, or in appreation of the beauty of the world He created.

Every Mitzvah we are doing, gives us the opportunity to be close to HaShem.

What are the effects of learning Torah has on the individual?

Whenever a person prepares himself to learn Torah, the mind should be attach itself with all the energies to HaShem's Word- Torah - and through this we become attached to HaShem Himself. For He and His Will are one.

The unity with HaShem which we get through Torah learning, the Baal HaTanya states that the intent of getting this unity is what defines the concept of Torah Lishmah.

The concept of Lishmah refers to learning, in order to attach our soul to HaShem through the process of understanding Torah, each person in their own abilities and levels of comprehension.

Emes and Emunah

Emunah is translated as faith, which is not totally true. The concept of emunah is the foundation of Jewish life, and the definition is; " Me'eman " which means "loyalty" or " faithfullness " to HaShem and the Principles of faith we pratice since Matan Torah.

Emunah is a deeper expression of faith, which upholds the basis of our beliefs in HaShem, as our ancestors did. Emunah is the basis of an neshama relationship to spirituality and to HaShem. Emes is the solid basis for emunah, without it, it would collaps.

Without Emunah, we would lose the meaning of life, as it is naturally for our neshama to connect to HaShem.

Having Emunah is how we respond to good time as well as to the " bad times." The bad times, as we call them are the good times, when we see what lies beyond our challenges. Everything comes from HaShem, and everything thing He gives us is only good as HaShem is only good in Loving kindness.

We proclaim emunah when we are saying the Shema.

"All of the mitzvos are emunah" -- Tehillim 119. An expression of our faith which we translate in observing the mitzvos.

Emunah is simply having enough Love for HaShem, to say " We will do, and we will hear. "

Bereshis begins with HaShem's act of tzimtzum, where the Infinite Divine Light, Ein Sof, makes room for the world to be created, followed by the Ten Sefiros filled with light. The world was created broken, so that we could elevate, and repairing the world through performing mitzvos and kind deeds in a state of Divine connection.

Accourding to Kabbalah, there are five Intelligence what we as humans are capabel of practicing. Each of these Intelligence reveals a dimension of reality, these dimension  are called " The Five Worlds."  In Hebrew they are called; Assiyah, Yetzirah, Beriah, Atzilut en Adam Kadmon. From our perspective we understand these dimensions as; physical, emotional, Intellectical, social and spiritual. Each of these dimensions are Divine Light- Ein Sof.

 

These Intelligence has also their own Intelligence, they are ;  Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya and Yechidah, or body, heart, mind, soul and spirit.

 

The Soul

When we learn Torah, it is the way of HaShem' Will, but also they way we connect to HaShem. In every dimension of our experiences, like in our relationship with others, we connect in this reality and our self - awareness. In a relationship there are many facets, just like in our personality. When we say something nice, or act upon it, are two different things.

The power of performing mitzvos is elevating life through action, and is shaping our reality spiritually. Within halacha we have two categories; positive mitzvos ( mitzvos aseh ) and negative mitzvos ( mitzvos ta'aseh ). The positive mitzvos require action, like observing Shabbos, giving tzedakah, and davening. But how do we know what actions we can accomplish, when our spiritual - self lies beyond our consicious reach?

We turn to the Torah for guidance, as the Torah has an understanding of reality, which is deep beyond measures, the Torah command us to action, by performing mitzvos. It is both the Torah and the mitzvos that bind us spiritual to the root of our awareness as physical beings, in relationship to HaShem.

The 613 mitzvos, which we can only perform 369 mitzvos in golus ( exile), containing 126 positive ( do's ) mitzvos and 243 negative ( don'ts) are obligations in our relationship with HaShem.

The goal of creation is the desire of HaShem to give the greatest possible good, but to receive the greatest good, is for us to recognize His existence, to understand the world and the purpose of creation. The greatest good was Matan Torah, a part of Himself and a way to connect to Him.

Why then, is HaShem hidden from us? And given us a world of suffering?

HaShem wants us to use our free will, to make the choice to serve Him. But this still doesn't answer the question why free will is necessary, since HaShem's ultimate goal is giving all that is good. Why is free will so important?

When HaShem's goal is to " give", the gift which gives us a relationship with Him. But in order to receive this gift, we need to make an consicions choice to strengthen this relationship, HaShem is  offering us. The reason HaShem is hiding, so that we make the effort to find Him.

Walking in the ways of HaShem, means we have to find a way to increase the good within ourselves, which we can achieve through HaShem's hiddeness, and to outweight the suffering of history.

To intensify our connection with HaShem, we need emunah and bitachon. Trust HaShem with all of our heart and all of our soul. When we are sincere about a close relationship with HaShem, there is trust. When we are walking the ways of HaShem, HaShem is walking our path with us.

Trust is something that we feel, but doesn't tell us the truth. Our mind demand logic, were the heart want to trust our emotions, but it is our neshama we turn to when we want truth. Our neshama, Chelek Elokah Mimaal, means our neshama is a little piece of HaShem. When we listen to our neshama, we find relevance in HaShem.

We all experience, good times and bad times, no matter what our circumstances are, to recognize and to understand that good and bad, is all part of His Divine Plan. Walking the ways of HaShem is getting to know HaShem, through learning Torah, learn to understand the mitzvos, and by filfilling the mitzvos is a way to relate to Him. 

When we understand that HaShem want a relationship  with us, out of love, and that trusting HaShem's Providence is crucial, to engage in davening and in other moments of Divine connection. We have an eternal covenant with HaShem, our neshama a piece of Him, which create this eternal bond. A sincere davening, Torah learning and doing mitzvahs, will never go un-notice by HaShem.

When this is all new to you and you don't no how to go forward, just do one mitzvah at the time. A mitzvah you will feel comfortable with. HaShem want a relationship with us, not perfection. When you take on step towards HaShem, He will turn to you.

HaShem controls the world, He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, a day of rest, and of trust. When we rest on the seventh day, and leave everything un- touched for 25 hours, it is a declaration of trust, a spiritual declaration " We are not in control, HaShem is!"

Chazal teaches us, that the 70- years of golus ( exile ), between the two Beis HaMikdash, came from neglecting Shemitah for 450 years, but golus is not a punishment, it is a creation of a broken relationship. This relationship we can restore, when we are sincere in davening,  when Torah is more than just imformation, we Torah is our inspiration. When the will is there, but not our neshama it remains broken. Please, let this not happen!.

Geulah, the redemption, begins when we choose to have a sincere relationship with HaShem. When we keep Shabbos, when observing the mitzvos. Then we are doing it out of love, and actually saying; HaShem You matter!"

Learn Torah as you are connecting to HaShem. Daven like you are talking to HaShem. HaShem is not just listening but responding, maybe not in ways you may not see straight away.

This is Geulah and HaShem is waiting. When we take it upon ourselves to follow HaShem and His mitzvos, we will start to walk on the right path, walking the ways of HaShem.

 

May we all be Zocheh, to merit the coming of the Moshiach every soon.

We say each and everyday..

שמע ישראל, השם אלהינו השם אחד - " Sh'ma Yisroel, HaShem Eloheinu, HaShem Echad."

We cover our eyes while reciting this pasuk, to tell HaShem " Eventhough we cannot see it, we believe that everything You do is an expression of love and mercy. "

When we do experience HaShem's mercy in our daily lives we express gratitude, and when we do experience challenges we must believe that this, too, is an expression of HaShem's compassion.

The more we let HaShem into our lives, the more we connect to Him, the more peaceful our lives will be.

Recognize your blessings, everything HaShem does is good but sometimes we wonder why He makes a situation look bad. HaShem gives the opportunity to trust Him, trusting HaShem elevates us to great spiritual heights and brings us blessings and salvation.

" Take it upon youself to be always satisfied with your lot, and content with the way HaShem is dealing with you in all matters." - The Baal Shem Tov 

When we trust HaShem, and know that He is in charge and direct our lives, it is the highest level of avodas HaShem.

Just Remember HaShem thinks about your problems more than you do. When you are in despair, and when it seems that your davening is not working,and you begin to have doubts..this is the moment when you should feel great encouragement and hope. It is especially at this time, the most promising time for salvation.

Dovid HaMelech says in Tehillim 27:14- " Hope for HaShem, be strong and He will give your heart courage, and hope for HaShem."

Just place your trust and faith in HaShem, and when it seems like He is not listening and you are driven to despair, that is the time you need to strengthen your emunah and trust. HaShem is always there to listen to our every Davening.

 

Just don't lose hope!

We all have a path to follow, a mission to fulfill, obstacles to overcome, challenges to let us grow, in all we can find HaShem. Having emunah is how we relate to good times, but also to what we call the " bad times."  

When we look at the world, the distraction, the chaos and the immorality, life seems to be one big challenge. In reality life is good, it is the world that needs fixing. To make a change we fight our battles with Light, in unity.

Achdus is a fundamental principle which teaches us that we are all interconnected, one neshama, many bodies, and this is essential for our ultimate purpose in life, " Who is like Your people Yisroel, one nation on earth" - Shmuel 7:23.

The Torah teaches our responsibilty for one another, every Jew to make an effort to be a unity. What one Jew does has an effect on all others, individual behavior influences the destiny of all Jews.

When we work together, act in unity in serving HaShem, teaching each other all we know, sharing our knowledge, whatever our level of observance.

The oneness of the Jewish people is the work of One G-d, HaShem.

As one people, with one neshama, we are chosen for a special mission in HaShem's plan. The need for unity in a mundane dimension is essential for the well- being of all of us. United we stand, says the Mishna 14, perek 4.

HaShem's says in the Torah, that as long as we are united, nothing will stop us from reaching our goal. - Bereshis 11:6. The Torah continues that the power of unity is where we are unified, treat each other with respect and loving your fellow Jew, loving the Torah and loving HaShem. Then nothing can or will stop us!

" Five of you will persue a hundred, and a hundred of you will persue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you."- Vayikra 26:8.

Shemos 19:6 tells us that we are a " A Kingdom of priests,a holy nation," but do we know this,? When there is no unity, we are left with a forgotten mission, without a purpose.

Let us increase the Light, by working together to serve HaShem, to bring the Moshiach. Instead of working individually, we could be a team, an online community of Jews spreading the Light of Torah, in unity.

 

Click on this link #TeamMoshiach , and watch this amazing and inspiring video, made by Laivi Shor from Sweet & Good Torah

 

A piece of paper full of thoughts. A covenant, a people, and a land, a complicated story and a journey full of obstacles.

HaShem took us out of Mitzrayim ( Egypt ), led by Moshe in challenging times. The many times Pharaoh changed his mind, and harden his heart. It took ten plagues for Pharaoh to relent, to let the Jewish people finally go. After they collected the gold, packed up, the dough not even risen, and with the bones of Yosef, they left.

Yet again pharaoh had a change of heart, with his army he chased after the Jewish people. HaShem, however, had a different plan, he told Moshe to guide the nation through Yam Suf ( The Sea of Reeds ). While closed in by mountains on either side, a sea in front of them and a quick approaching Pharaoh they were trembling, wanting to turn around, and go back to all they had ever known. It only took one man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, with bitachon and courage he step into the sea and the rest followed him. With the miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea, the mixed multitude traveling along side with the Jewish people, is where it all began.

At the foot of Har Sinai, HaShem mentioned the mixed multitude, a group of corrupted and damaged souls, not fully converted. Moshe refused to sent them away, wanting to give them a chance.

While Moshe was away, at Har Sinai, the people began to feel restless. It was a small group among the Jewish people who came up with this great idea to built their own god. The gold collected, a problem created which was the start of many troubles and chaos to come for the Jewish people.

The gold was melted, the Golden Calf was born. The sin of Aharon, the complaining of the Jewish people or was it the mixed multitude? It was not only Moshe's anger that made him smash the two Luchos or Aseres Ha'Dibros ( Ten Utterances ), it was the fury of HaShem.

The greatest sin against the Torah was commited, and HaShem wanting to destroy the Jewish people. Moshe pleaded with HaShem not to destroy His people, and once again Moshe went up Har Sinai to receive a new set of Luchos.

The journey for some reason took longer than just a few months, it took ultimately 40 years full of complains, challenges and obstacles. On the end of the 40 year journey they finally stood outside the walls of Canaan, the promised land. The sin of the spies, taking by force the land, something that was prohibited by HaShem. In Moshe farwell speech, he told the Jewish people the prohibition, warned them not to get too comfortable as they would be exiled from the land into all four corners of the world, in the land of the other nations.

After Matan Torah ( giving of the Torah ), leaving for the promised land, with the promise " We will do and we will hear, " the 40 years journey in the wildernis wasn't a smooth path, and many time a certain group complained and created problems.

The West & Eretz Yisroel

Edom ( Esav) the western world, Israel ( Yaakov ) en the mixed multitude today. In every generation since being taken out of Mitzrayim this group caused huge problems. In our time, today, what does this mean, and who are the descendants of these mixed multitude?

The Erev Rav, Hebrew for mixed multitude, first time appeared in the Torah in Parsha Bo..

" The children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succos, approximately  6000.000 on foot, the men  besides the children. A great mixed mulitude went up with them, and flocks, herds, and cattle, very much livestock. ~ Shemos 12:37

Who is the Erev Rav? The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, at the beginning of Parsha Shelach says that they were the spies, and sent by Pharaoh to intimidate and weaken the fleeing Jewish people, eventhough he was told by Moshe that they would leave Mitzrayim for only three days.

The Talmud states - Eruvin 18b, that there is a connection between the damaged souls and Adam HaRishon, created from his teshuvah. Only the Erev Rav came into existence some 2000 years later. The journey through history gives the answer.

 All of the Shedim (demons ) and  Ruchin, ( evil spirits ) that were created in the 130 years that Adam was separated from Chava, this were elevated and holy souls from the level of Da'as (knowledge ). Accourding to Arizal, the Erev Rav is in gematria to the word Da'as- Etz Chaim, Shaar 32, Perek 2. These souls were mixed together with the Klipos  (concealment of Divine light), which are the impure spiritual force, as result of this, It would require many reincarnations to refine them.

This is why the Jewish people didn't came into being until the time of Yaakov. There has been many reincarnations from generation upon generation in refining this process. The rectification didn't begin until yaakov, he was The Chosen one who rectify Adam HaRishson. This was the moment when the sons  began their Tikun, throughout the Mitzrayim golus ( exile).

Has any god performed miracles to come and take him a nation from the midst of another nation ? ~ Devarim 4:34

Its says " A nation out from within a nation, it didn't say a people within a nation, because all of this happened within the midst of the Klipos in Mitzrayim, and they were a nation.

The beginning of their reincarnation was in the generation of the flood. " HaShem regretted that He created man on the land " ~ Bereshis 6:7

Next was the reincarnation of the generation of the Dispersion, who were evil, just like their fathers were. Bereshis 11:5 says, that HaShem went down to the city and the power that the son of man built. The son of man, litterally means Adam HaRishon, they were his sons.

The third reincarnation were the people of Sodom.

" The people of Sodom were very evil and sinful against HaShem. " ~ Bereshis 13:13.

The fact that they were evil was a result of damaged seed of Adam, after these three reincarnations, over three generations, they returned a fourth time in Mitzrayim, in the midst of Klal Yisroel, born into a generation of that of golus. That was when their tikun began.

Accourding to Arizal, the Erev Rav who left with the Jewish people, were not the spies. They were called  " unfinished Jews " which meant they needed at least one more reincarnation to complete their journey into Klal Yisroel.

Moshe told HaShem that this whole process would take too long, and giving them the chance to join the Jewish people on their journey was necessary for the final redemption.

The worse part was that the final redemption was delayed, and that they were a great problem for the final redemption. Our real battle is to break the strength of the Erev Rav. To do this, we need to know who they are. The Arizal did explain that they would come back at the End of Days.

The Erev Rav delay the redemption much more than all the nations of the world” ~ Zohar Ra’aya Me’heimna

Who is the erev rav? It could be Jews trying to make peace with the whole world, or maybe Jews who changes Jewish tradition? Could it also be some who consider whether the driving force is Torah or the Erev Rav.

The generation in the footsteps of the Moshiach will have the face of a dog~ Sanhedrin 97a

The Erev Rav, a group of saboteurs of Judaism and to understand their relevance in our time. The Golden calf is one of the Torah's worse betrayal. Although the people involved was just a small group, the Torah does give some important lessons.

The Jewish people often take the blame for these events, but the Torah mention in relation to the events the mixed multitude, the Erev Rav.

The Erev Rav has the ability to stir up antisemitism and hatred against the Jewish people, through their actions. They represent a force of evil, which we must resist and guard ourselves against whoever want to distort our mission, our partnership in HaShem's plan. Whether this is through idolatry in the desert or through corruption in our time.

The Erev Rav imposes themselves as Jewish leaders, but one that leads the Jews astray, and inspire us to transgress or to misinterpret the Torah. We find these people among political, social and religious spectrums.

Rabbi Chaim Vital, a student of the Arizal, says that the Erev Rav has a " honorable position " in the Jewish religious world, and makes a point of doing mitvos in order to gain recognition from others.

Relating to Israel under the Erev Rav and the modern Israeli leaders.

The Zohar, uses the term Erev Rav, meaning the people opposing the Torah Scholars in Pesachim 49a -b. These people were hostile towards the Torah, not just ignorant, but hostile!

In Ra'aya Me'heimna 124a, the Zohar, associates the Erev Rav with the difficulties before the coming of the Moshiach. There is this idea that the leader of the Jewish people in the final generation will be from the Erev Rav. Are we talking here about religious or secular leaders? And what does this mean for Israel? 

In order to fight evil, we have to know who is this evil.

We have five types of Erev Rav

1. Nefilim ~ Prideful leader, who desires honor.

2. Anakim ~ Those who mock Torah leaders.

3. Refaim ~ Those who abandon mitzvos and discourage others.

4. Giborim ~ Violent oppressors and enforcers.

5. Amalekim ~ Those who spread hatred among the Jewish people and deny HaShem.

The Zohar teaches us that before the coming of the Moshiach, the Erev Rav will rise to positions of leadership among the Jewish people, but their actions will lead the Jews away from the Torah and HaShem.

" In the End of Days, the leader of my people will come from the Erev Rav" ~ Zohar 111, 124b.

These are people who may appear Jewish in Lineage or title, but whose hashkafos and influence promote secularism, division, and rebellion against the Torah.

The Vilna Gaon, did also voiced danger;

" One of the main task before the coming of the Moshiach is to separate the Erev Rav from Klal Yisroel" ~ Kol Ha Tor, perek 2.

Many Gedolim ( great Rabbis ) throughout recent history sees the Erev Rav as a ideology, representatives witin Klal Yisroel, who attempts to replace Torah Law with secularism.

In the time of the coming of the Moshiach, many Jews will unknowingly follow the Erev Rav, because their argument would be wrapped up in nationalism, progressive beliefs, and social justice, and this would ultimately lead the Jews away from HaShem.

Their goal is to replace the Torah with secular courts, and demiss the authority of Chachmei HaTorah ( Sages), in favor of democracy. To seek to assimilate the Jewish identity into one of Western culture, and view the state of Israel or IDF as spiritual ideals instead of physical need.

Our response towards this is not with hatred, but with awareness. Stay true to the Torah, and avoid unity with ideologies that weaken Torah and mitzvos observance.

Have true achdus, not in politics or nationalism, but in bitachon and with emunah.

When it is dark we spread light, when it is not working, we spread more light. 

Judaism isn't just about you or me; it is about us. A covenant HaShem didn’t make only with Avraham and Moshe. It was made with all of us, the Jewish people.

Our holy Temple, the Beis HaMikdash, was destroyed, and the Jewish people were scattered around the world. But our faith didn’t stop there. We built schools, yeshivas, kollels, shuls, and mikvehs. Three times a day, men show up in shul to daven, to connect to HaShem.

The Torah isn’t just a scroll; it’s a blueprint for how to live, the Talmud a 1,500-year-old debate and record of disagreements. Many other nations have faded and no longer exist. We, the Jewish people, survived--but not just that, we adapted, and above all, we remembered who we are.

Judaism isn’t about crusades, forced conversions, or wanting to build empires. Judaism is about the Torah, the mitzvos, halacha, mezuzahs, Pesach, shiurim, and davening.

Whether we are Ashkenazi or Sephardi, observant or non-observant, Baal Teshuvah or a convert ‐‐ whether we stay or leave the fold--we all have different backgrounds; we all have our struggles; we all share the same fears and anxieties through uncertainties.

We are a people with whom HaShem made a covenant. We are a people so strong, resilient, but often divided by our differences in the communities we grew up in--the rules and regulations, the level of observance, or non-observance at all. We argue over little things, sometimes over political issues among ourselves; sometimes we just don’t hear each other.

The Torah teaches us our responsibilities in partnership with HaShem. Engaging in Torah learning is fighting spiritually to protect the nation. The Torah protects us, shields us, and saves us as much as the IDF and the Iron Dome do. Our mission is to be a light unto the nations. Together, in unity, we will shine so bright that darkness is, in reality, the brightest light to be revealed.

There was always a part of us who were fighting when needed and a part of us who were davening and learning. While Yehoshua was fighting, Moshe was praying. They prevailed through Moshe lifting his hands up toward heaven while Yehoshua’s men were fighting. It was working together that made them stronger.

Learning and davening--through action, body, and soul-is walking in the ways of HaShem.

The Baal Teshuvah writes his or her own story, building life from the inside out--excessively devout but always sincere. They need to be guided, to take one mitzvah at a time. Welcome the Baal Teshuvah into Klal Yisroel. Guide them, learn Torah with them, teach halacha and mitzvos. Don’t forget that they may have no knowledge of our customs, rules, and regulations.

A convert who has observed the mitzvos for some years--invited to Shabbos and Yontif, learning Torah--but still, a life of Torah observance 24/7 is no comparison to the life they lived before. The challenge they create for themselves is a long path full of obstacles, ups and downs, falling and getting up again. Finally, they stand before Beis Din, the mikveh, and paperwork signed and sealed. From that moment, life as a Jew begins--but it isn’t that simple. Want to know why? 

HaShem chose us, gave us His Torah, which we accepted as the only nation among all nations--a covenant HaShem made with us. He gave us 613 mitzvos. A mitzvah to love our fellow Jew is one of them.

Our love for the Torah and our love for HaShem are incomplete when we don’t have love for our fellow Jew.

All our actions are meant to be done for HaShem. When we treat each other with chesed and help one another with our inner struggles, that is Avodas HaShem.