Lazer Beams

Don't Say You Didn't Know...

Many people have written and asked what was the third thing that Rabbi Yehuda Zev Lebowitz said before he died to Rav Shalom Arush. I didn't want to repeat it. But, this past week, Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi said the same thing in his weekly shiur in Hebrew; "There will be a sharp increase of shock in the world and severe hatred of the Jews!" The main points of the shiur are translated to English at Rivka's Bat Aliyah blog.

Meanwhile, if you don't plan to make aliya in the near future, do two things:

1. Start praying every day that you and your family will be able to make aliya;

2. Do what you can to spread emuna - that way, you are Hashem's shaliach (emissary) wherever you are.

Rav Lebowitz ob"m, Rav Nir Ben Artzi, and the autistics have all said the same thing. No one can say that they didn't know.

Strangling Stringencies

King David says (Psalm 119:99), “I learned from everyone that taught me.” If Hashem sends a person or event in our lives, then there's surely something to learn.

My high-school wrestling coach was an Irish coal-miner's son from the hills of Pennsylvania, a self-made man who ultimately earned a PhD in education. He had tons of worldly wisdom and much of what he taught me in life helped me at critical times, especially during my service in the military.

Our coach hung a sign on the ceiling of our training gym with a tongue-in-cheek message that said, “If you can read this sign, you're losing!” Understandably, anybody that's lying on his back on a wrestling mat is not in the process of winning the match...

The Torah commands us to be in simcha, to be in a state of joy. That means we should have a smile on our face and not a stern look of hellfire and brimstone. Therefore, when a person is happy, he's a winner in Judaism. But when he's not happy - “on his back” so to speak – he's losing...

Many observant people ask, “I perform mitzvas, but I'm not happy! How can the Torah command me to be happy?”
 
The answer is quite simple. The Torah commands us to be happy, because if we observe its commandments like we should, then we will be happy.

Lack of happiness in one's Torah learning, prayer, and/or mitzva performance usually stems from one of two problems, either a lack of emuna or an excess of stringency.

Continue reading Strangling Stringencies on this week's online edition of Breslev Israel magazine.

Also featured this week:

Rabbi Shalom Arush: The Haystack

Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook: Amalek's Assault

Rabbi Nissan Dovid Kivak: Pesky Thoughts

Rabbi Aryeh Goetz: The Engaging Shabbat Table

Rajel Hayyim: Family Planning and Emuna

Zev Ballen: Self-alignment

Yehudit Bell: Walking and Talking

Dovber HaLevi: Rewriting History

Rivka Levy: The ABC Club

Important Notice, Uman 5773: See the InnUman website for a special early-bird discount for those who register now. Last year, "Inn Uman" was completely sold out - ask those who attended what an unforgettable Rosh Hashana they had.

No Room for Anger

Today's emuna lesson is dedicated to Morrie Ludwig (Moshe ben Asher) of blessed memory from San Francisco, who left the physical world exactly 6 years ago on the 5th of Shvat, 5766. He was one of the very first supporters of Emuna Outreach. 

Anger is worse than almost any other violation of Torah. Anger and emuna are mutually exclusive. Anger is not only comparable to idolatry, a heinous insult to Hashem, but also leads to severe transgressions against our fellow man. Anger is something we all need to avoid, as we'll learn in the following vital 35-minute lesson:

Important Notice: Our Mac and Linux users have been having difficulties seeing the emuna lessons. A few of our PC users have only seen the 60-second promo before the lesson and not the lesson. Breslev Israel's tech crew is working on a dramatically new upgraded server and revolutionary new application so that soon, viewers will be provided with the best video stream on the web, very soon, G-d willing. Thanks for the patience and understanding.

Bright Beam Blessings for a wonderful anger-free week!

Parshat Bo: Educating our Children

This week's 8-minute mini-lesson on the Torah portion, Parshat Bo, explains what's written inside our tefillin and why. This Shabbat, the 4th of Shvat, is also the yahrtzeit of the holy Baba Sali of saintly and blessed memory. Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Ani Ma'amin: I Believe

The 12th of our 13 Principles of Faith is, "I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah. Even though he tarries, I will await him, any day he comes."

Here is my esteemed friend Cantor Itche-Meir Helfgot singing "Ani Ma'amin" - just listening to him is conducive to emuna. Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!

Rav Yehuda Zev's Legacy

Rav Yehuda Zev Lebowitz of saintly and blessed memory was a Kabbalist and hidden tzaddik as well as a Holocaust survivor. Little is known of him, for he lived his life far away from spotlights. Yet, his word carried tremendous weight in the Heavenly realm. What many don't know is that he was one of Rav Shalom Arush's principle spiritual guides. Rav Yehuda Zev, a holy man with the eyes of a sonogram, could not stomach anything other than absolute holiness. Many big rabbis were therefore afraid to approach him, for he could smell if they were the real deal or not. He loved Rav Shalom. He didn't leave much in the physical world, but he bequeathed his tefillin to Rav Shalom.

Before he died, he told Rav Shalom three things, the first two of which have materialized:

1. Uprisings and infighting will sweep through the Arab countries;

2. Bibi will not be able to attack Iran; Hashem will use other means as He did with Sadaam Hussein.

I don't want to repeat the third thing that Rav Yehuda Zev said, for it hasn't materialized yet. But, I urge our cherished brothers and sisters outside of Israel to start praying and planning to make Aliya, the sooner the better.

Weekly Emuna Live Broadcast

With Hashem's loving grace, our weekly emuna lesson and live broadcast will take place today (Wednesday) at 7:15 PM local time at our newly remodeled Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem, on the ground floor in the main sanctuary. Everyone is welcome, both men and women.

This week's lesson is entitled, "No Room for Anger" and as always is open to the public - both men and women are welcome. You can see today's lesson live right here at 9:15 AM in LA and the West Coast, 10:15 AM Denver, 11:15 AM Mexico and Central, 12:15 PM EST, 5:15 PM in the UK, or 7:15 PM Israel time. As soon as we can, G-d willing, we'll post a link to the lesson for all those who couldn't see it live.

Tonight in Bat Ayin

Immediately following our weekly emuna shiur, we'll be skipping down to the Midrashiya in Bat Ayin for our monthly women's shiur, G-d willing, at 8:45 PM. Since tonight is Rosh Chodesh Shvat, the shiur will tell how "Man is a Tree." Women from the entire area - Jerusalem, Betar, Gush Etzion. Hevron and Bet Shemesh - are cordially invited.

Negev Flash Floods

One of the first things a soldier or a hiker in the Negev desert learns is not to sleep in a wadi (dry river bed). It can rain dozens of miles away, but if water flows down from the mountains into the wadi, the wadi becomes a raging river that can flow as fast as 80 MPH. That means that if you're hiking in the area of Shivta or Avdat, and it rains on the Jordan border 40 miles away, a torrent of water will reach you in a mere 30 minutes. The flow of water can be strong enough to wash away a tank.

Thank G-d, we've enjoyed rain the past few days in the south of Israel. Here's a clip from last year that shows what we're talking about:

Rav Yitzchak Kadouri, zatza"l

Rav Yitzchak Kadouri of blessed and saintly memory, the Kabbalist leader of our generation, departed the physical world 6 years ago at the age of 110. Since today is his yahrtzeit, and it's a mitzva to see the face of a true tzaddik, so here is a rare clip with Iraqi Jewish music in the background, for the Rav was born in Baghdad. 

Starting at 6:30, you'll see his funeral in Jerusalem, where 300,000 attended. Also pictured are Rav Mordechai Eliahu ob"m, Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rav Biniahu Shmueli, Rav David Basri and other leading spiritual leaders of this generation. May Rav Kadouri's holy neshama intercede in our behalf, amen - we certainly need it!

Bright Beam Blessings to David Walker, for providing us with the video clip.

The Negev

The Negev desert is an amazing place for personal prayer. You can walk in the wadis or almost anywhere in the wilderness and feel that you're walking in the footsteps of Avraham Avinu, who roamed the Negev from north to south and from east to west. Here's a short clip that shares the feeling:

Rebbe Nachman's Chariot: A Tribute to Moshe Chaim (Mark) Fisher ob"m

I hope that my tears won't short-circuit my keyboard. There are many stories about dedication in spreading emuna, but few can compare with the story of Mark Fisher. A terminal illness was mercilessly and systematically gnawing away at Mark's body. All he cared about was encouraging the other oncology patients in the world famous Sloan-Kettering Medical Center in New York City. His heart's desire was to utilize every last moment on this earth to spread Rebbe Nachman's teachings – particularly the light of emuna – so that there wouldn't be a single patient in the hospital who didn't have the benefit of this medicine for the soul.

* * *

Elijah the prophet was walking and discussing Torah with his prime pupil and disciple, Elisha. Suddenly, a chariot of fire with horses of fire descended from the sky. The horses and chariot separated between the teacher and his pupil, then took Elijah in a storm skyward to the Heavenly abode (see Kings II, 2:11).

Elijah's exit from the physical world is one of the most dramatic accounts in the whole Tanach. Yet, we underestimate our own times, the threshold of the long-awaited Messianic age. Our generation has been blessed with hidden tzaddikim who also have left this world in a manner no less dramatic than Elijah in his chariot of fire. Let me tell you about one, whom Hashem gave me the privilege of knowing – Moshe Chaim (Mark) Fisher of saintly and blessed memory, from Flatbush in Brooklyn.

January, 2011

Mark's body was hit really hard with the nasty big “C”, the disease whose name we don't like to mention on our lips. Yet, his phenomenally optimistic emuna-filled mind and heart ruled his tormented body. In January of 2011, just a mere year ago, I saw Mark in the flesh for the last time. He had just gone through a stiff radiation treatment but he came directly from the hospital – chemo bag and all – to hear me speak that night in Flatbush.

Continue reading the moving continuation of Rebbe Nachman's Chariot in this week's stimulating issue of Breslev Israel web magazine in English.

Also featured this week:

Rabbi Shalom Arush: The Illuminated Mind

Rabbi Nissan Dovid Kivak: The Secrets of Torah

Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook: Egypt and the Mayflower

Zev Ballen: Just Relax

Dovber Halevi: Like A Fighter

Rivka Levy: Doctor of the Soul, Life of Brian

Yehoshua Goldstein: Don't Get Shot

Sandy Sasson: Time to Pray

The Beams and Breslev Israel wish you a fantastic week!