Lazer Beams

Parshat Ki Tetze: Why the Discrimination?

A third-generation Egyptian convert is accepted into the Jewish People, but a tenth-generation male Moabite or Ammonian convert is not accepted. Why the discrimination? This week's mini-lesson on the Torah portion tells all about it. Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Rav Shalom Arush: "There's No Bad!"

Many of you have never seen my beloved rabbi and spiritual guide, Rav Shalom Arush, may Hashem bless him. Here's a 2-minute clip of some spontaneous singing at one of Rav Shalom's lectures in Israel. The Rav is singing, "I believe with a full and complete belief that there's no bad in the world." One of the foundations of our emuna is that everything Hashem does is for the very best, whether or not we understand how. Enjoy!

Sex, Religion, and the Middle East

I just completed a great read - provocative, stimulating, and fast moving. This is Dovber Halevi's new book, "Sex, Religion, and the Middle East."

This is a book on the positive effect of a sexually moral lifestyle by someone who transformed himself from a singles "player" to happily married man who now lives by teachings of "personal holiness." Dovber has been writing for Breslev Israel for the past three years. His book has personal stories, tons of history, and insights from Jewish Sages about the link between the safety of the Jewish People, our personal satisfaction in life, and our commitment to a sexually moral standard of conduct.

Dovber discusses how he hit rock bottom and what he needed to do in order to free himself from the chains of a cruel master. He illustrates the steps he took to clean himself up and reach heights in his life he never imagined possible. It was very insightful to discover how changes in pharmaceuticals, media, and culture – very recent changes, transformed the common attitude about sex from a special intimacy between husband and wife into an obsession that has entrapped our generation. It is inspiring to learn how this is also a pitfall that can be overcome.

Finally, he devotes an entire section to our guarding the covenant and the impact we make on events happening in the Middle East. This book is not judgmental. It starts with the conviction that we are all good people living in the most challenging times ever. It encourages us to rely on our strongest attributes to overcome lusts that are destroying everything we cherish most. We have it in our ability to elevate mankind to the next level and usher in an era of everlasting and eternal peace.

I highly recommend this book!

The Sounds of Geula

If you've been to Israel and you've been anywhere near an Arab town or village, you'll hear the muezzin calling the people to prayer from atop the minaret of the mosque, before each of the prescribed times of prayer. He calls out, Allah Hu akbar - Hashem is all-powerful.

When Moshiach comes, all of Israel will resound each morning 72 minutes before daybreak with the call of Shma Yisrael. Yaniv Madar, an outstanding vocalist, does this better than anyone I've ever heard. His Shma Yisrael is preceeded by the blowing of a Moroccan shofar, the type of which will herald the coming of Moshiach. These are surely the sounds of Geula, the full redemption of our people that's ever so close. And don't worry about our troubles - the labor pains are fiercest right before the joyous event of the birth. The Geula - redemption - is the rebirth of our people. May it be soon, amen!

Breaking the Bricks

Did you ever wonder how a little 105-pound Korean Karate specialist can break a whole stack of bricks? Our friend "Kim Wong" is intensely focused on his goal. His powers of concentration are immense. Nothing else is on his mind at the moment. Not only that, he's optimistic and goal-oriented. He has been training and preparing for years. He didn't learn this skill by watching a You-Tube movie yesterday.

Stick Kim Wong's hand in an x-ray machine, and you’ll find that his bones are larger and more dense than normal. This is the result of his year after year, day by day intense training.

Without Kim Wong's "perfect strike", the result of his long-term goal orientation, his desire, self-discipline and deeply intense concentration,  he'd shatter his hand and wrist on the first attempt at cracking a brick.

There's a lot to learn from Kim Wong's brick breaking.
 
Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches (see Likutei Moharan I:272) that a person must focus on the day and the hour at hand, and nothing more. This advice, guarantees Rebbe Nachman, is the secret of success both in material and spiritual endeavors.

If Rebbe Nachman and Rebbe Natan would have desired, they could have broken bricks too. In fact, they broke more than bricks. They shattered the steel-reinforced wall of darkness and heresy that the Evil Inclination uses to keep people away from Hashem. Their focus on the task on the at hand, their concentration, dedication and goal orientation would be exemplary even in the world of brick breakers.

Continue reading Breaking the Bricks in this week's stimulating edition of Breslev Israel web magazine.

Also featured this week:

Rabbi Shalom Arush: Honest with Yourself

Dr. Zev Ballen: Keep on Walking

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach: Prophecy and Joy

Rabbi Dovid Charlop: Parshat Ki Tetze - Three Culprits

Dovber Halevi: Don't Waste Time

Rivka Levy: Annoying People, Supermarket Sweep

Racheli Reckles: Innocent Victims

Menachem Zakai: The Shofar - Breaking Free

Don't forget this coming Sunday night, September 2, 2012 in Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph! You're invited to an evening of song and inspiration with Shlomo Katz and yours truly. Have a wonderful week!

The Judgment Trap

This weeks 34-minute emuna lesson just might save each of us from untold anguish in this world and the next, especially in the few days we have before Rosh Hashana:

Bright Beams blessings for a wonderful week!

Parshat Shoftim: Serving Hashem with Simplicity

What's behind the Torah's commandment to follow Hashem in a "wholehearted" manner? This is the key to our emotional health and freedom from anxiety and worry... 

You're welcome to download this week's Torah Portion Sheet . Have a splendid Shabbat!