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Moses prayed 515 times to God that He rescind His decree of banning Moses from entering Israel. After this relentless prayer assault Moses ceased praying. Why would Moses stop after 515 and not continue and what does that teach us about the effectiveness of prayer?
*Shalom Cypress, April 15, 2015
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What is foretold about man even before conception, and what is significant about that?
The Talmud declares that a child studies the entire Torah in utero and as it enters the world an angel strikes it’s mouth and the child forgets it all. What can this possibly mean?
What is the nature of the oath administered to a fetus upon entry to the world?
Why do we have a mitzvah to circumcise young boys?
What happens after we die?
These are but some of the very interesting elements of the Jewish timeline of Pre-Life – Life – Post-Life. In this class we dig in and investigate the various points of interest in a Jewish life and outline the meaning behind the practices associated with these milestones.
TORCH Bar and Bat Mitzvah Program – 2015
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Jews are obligated to pray to the Almighty 3 times daily and prayer is named by the Mishna as one of the three pillars that uphold the world. Yet the very principle of prayer is somewhat troubling. For example, when someone is sick the Jewish response is to beseech to God to provide a healing for the ill; Yet the source of the illness is none other than the Almighty Himself. If so, why are mortal and narrow minded humans trying to intercede, intervene and intermediate in matters that are more suited for the Almighty to decide? After all, He knows what is best for His subjects and Judaism teaches that all that all that the Almighty does is for the best? These questions among others are discussed in this class, and additionally a practical approach to getting our prayers answered is outlined.
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The experience of pain and suffering is ubiquitous across all spectrum of human life. All of us, in some capacity, experience difficulties and challenges. Any measure of human suffering creates a dilemma for believers in a just God: How can a just God supervise over injustice? Why do bad things happen to good people? This problem has been the subject of much grappling in classical Jewish Literature for centuries. When examining and dissecting the various sources several interesting patterns emerge.
Sources discussed:
1. Menachos 29b: When Moses ascended to Heaven he found the Almighty sitting and tying crowns atop letters. Moses asked: Who is obstructing your way? God responded: There is a man who will be in the future after several generations and his name is Akiva Ben Yosef who will derive piles and piles of laws from every tick and Mark [of the letters] . [Moses] said “show him to me”. He said: Go back! He went and he sat at the end of eight rows and he did not know what they were saying and he became dejected. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at a certain matter, his students questioned from where do you know this law? He said to them “It is a Law to Moses from Sinai”, and Moses was placated. He returned and stood before the Almighty and said: “Master of the world, you a man such as this and you give the Torah via me?” He said: “Silence! So it was deemed in my mind.” [Moses] said: “Master of the world, you showed me his Torah now show me his reward.” He said: “Go back!” He went and he saw that they were flaying his skin with combs. He said [to God] “Master of the world, this is Torah and this is the reward?” God responded: “Silence! So it was deemed in my mind.”
2. Berachos 7a: And Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosi: Three things Moses asked from the Almighty and he gave him…He asked to know the ways of God and he gave him, as Scripture states (Exodus 33) “Inform me of your ways”, [Moses] said to God: “Why is there a righteous person and it is good for him; a righteous person and it is bad for him; a wicked person and it is good for him; a wicked person and it is bad for him?” So [God] responded: a righteous person and it is good for him – a completely righteous person; a righteous person and it is bad for him – a partially righteous person; a wicked person and it is good for him – a partially wicked person; a wicked person and it is bad for him – a completely wicked person.
3. Sanhedrin 101a: When Rabbi Eliezer was sick, his students came to visit him. Rabbi Eliezer said: “there is a great fury in the world”! The student began to cry and Rabbi Akiva laughed. They asked him why are you laughing? Rabbi Akiva: “Why are you crying”? They said to him: Is it possible that a Torah scroll is in pain and we will not cry”? He said to them “that is precisely why I am laughing. For all the time I saw our teacher’s wine not ferment, his flax not smitten and his oil not spoil I said perhaps God forbid our teacher received his reward in this world, and now that I see him in pain I am happy.
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שלשה מעין עוה”ב, אלו הן: שבת, שמש, ותשמיש. תשמיש דמאי, אילימא תשמיש התטה, הא מכחש כחיש, אלא תשמיש נקבים (ברכות דף נז:)
The Talmud does not dispense secrets like gumballs. Therefore the Aggadic secrets of the Talmud are masked in parables, fantastic stories, allusions and the like and only after much toil can one uncover their true meaning and gain insight into the wisdom contained within. In this class we learn a lot about the Sabbath, the eternality of the Soul and the interplay of humanity’s body-soul makeup from examining, investigating and analyzing a brief and seemingly obscure, confounding and befuddling Talmudic statement.
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Yom Kippur is a day unlike any other. Every other day of the year our spiritual growth is limited to small steps; like climbing a ladder – we cannot skip any rungs. Yom Kippur is a spiritual cornucopia – 24 hours to make meteoric spiritual ascensions before this golden opportunity expires. In this class we learn how to maximize Yom Kippur and make it memorable, marvelous and meaningful.
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Tikkun Olam, fixing the world, has been the rallying cry of the Jewish national mission for millenia. We live in a flawed and broken world and our people were entrusted with the sacrosanct and vital responsibility of fixing it. In this presentation we discuss where the world’s flaws lie, and, taking a lesson out of Abraham’s playbook, we outline a roadmap to go about fixing it.
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“I created a yetzer ra (evil inclination) and I created the Torah as an antidote” – (Talmud Kiddushin 30b)
The essence of man is his capacity for free will; to make moral decisions; to favor his mind and intellect or to favor his bodily instinct – and the world is the playground where these decisions are made. To make it fair and balanced, God embedded within us a certain force called the yetzer ra, evil inclination, that entices us to sin. Battling with this force is the paramount challenge of our life. In this class we cite several Talmudic sources that outline the nature of this epic foe, and outline methods, strategies and tactics that we can use to be victorious in these crucial conflicts.
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Jewish law makes a strange distinction regarding the prohibition of envy: Envy of someone else’s physical, material and intellectual gifts and successes is prohibited, while envy of another’s spiritual achievements are permitted and encouraged. What is the rationale for that distinction and why does it mirror the prohibition of arrogance? We also learn that of the fine pattern strung through the Ten Commandments, why some always wear ties when praying and several interesting Heavenly proclamations made before a child is even born.