Our Parsha this Shabbos which is also Parashas Zachor ( just before Purim comes when we ' Zachor ' - ' Remember ' what Amalek did to us when we came out of Mitzrayim ) is Parashas Tetzaveh .In this Parsha, HaShem ' Tells Moshe to Command the Children of Israel to take Pure Pressed Olive Oil for Illumination , to kindle the lamp continually, where Aharon and his sons were to arrange it from evening until morning before HaShem as a continual decree for their generations from the Children of Israel.'
This Parsha continues and is mainly about the Kohanim and their holy vestments to be made and worn by them . This Parsha explains in detail, the vestments to be made for the holy Kohein Gadol and Kohanim , like the Breastplate (with its twelve stones representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel ) , The Ephod , The Robe , The Turban and The Sash , The Head-plate and The Tunic .The Parsha continues with the inauguration ceremony,the Tamid Offering and ends with the Incense Altar.
In the previous Parsha, instructions were given on how to build the Mishkan and here, it naturally follows about the Kohanim, who will serve in the Mishkan and so , explains what to make for the Kohanim and what they are to wear in the Mishkan.The Priests were expected to maintain a very high level of holiness and their vestments were to portray that , so they were to be holy inside and out.Holy within their hearts and souls and mind ,and that which was to be shown to the World was to be truthfully, what they were to be like within . What they portray to HaShem and others , in being holy and pure and moral , is what they are truly do be themselves within.This can teach us that what we do in private and how we are within, must always be the same as we are to others . We must never preach one thing to others , yet act in a different way ourselves.Being a good example of behavior to others, is the best teacher of morality. And this was the Kohanim , representing the people to G-D , that were to set this holy example, so that all those served by them , might learn that the Path to G-D and His Holiness, is to act and be and feel, the way we portray ourselves to others, always in a holy moral way. This is such an important lesson for today's leaders, for their statements to others, must always be what they say in truth and do . They as well as we must be emulate G-D and His Honest Truthful Ways .One of HaShem's Names is 'Emes,' - ' Truth .' We must always be true to others and true to ourselves,being the same 'Good, ' that we preach to others.
The name of the Parsha, as mentioned, is Parashas Teztaveh where the word 'Teztaveh ' means ' Will Command.' Our Rabbis have said that HaShem was so pleased with Moshe's humility and obedience to HaShem, that HaShem Gave Moshe the right to make this as if it was his Command. I feel that HaShem might have done this as HaShem Saw that Moshe was so in tune with HaShem's Wishes , that Moshe actually felt, HaShem's Command as if it were his own .To take my idea one step further, the word ' Tetzaveh ,' is in the future tense, as if to say 'Moshe will continue to Command ,' into the future, for Moshe's will remains with us, as if speaking to us and trying to ensure, through the generations that we continue to keep HaShem's Laws .
The Law here of using Olive Oil in the way mentioned in this Parsha, is so fitting to the ideal of keeping strict purity and holiness, for only the purest Olive Oil could be used to kindle here.This was like the Kohanim, who , like the Pure Olive Oil, had to remain so pure and holy . This is also a reminder to us to keep our Judaism and our Belief in HaShem,pure and free from any foreign beliefs and ways , Chas Ve Shalom , that are like sediment that HaShem forbids and has not Commanded, that are in anyway linked to Avodah Zorah or anything connected to it Chas Ve Shalom , that HaShem Commands the Whole of Creation not to do or follow . The only Pure Belief is HaShem and His Oneness and only what HaShem Commands in His Torah and Tanach and what HaShem Taught to Moshe . HaShem Instructed here, how to make sure this Olive Oil would remain pure, for usually when Olive Oil is made, the Olive is Crushed, but HaShem wanted it Pressed , for crushing it would have meant that some of the sediment would have remained, so HaShem Instructed it to be Pressed as then, it would be free of sediment. In order to get pure Olive Oil, from an Olive when Pressing, it would mean that only one single drop of Olive Oil would be able to be pressed from a single Olive and this really shows the Purity and depth of meaning of the love and effort for HaShem, that would go into making the Olive Oil, for it would take one whole Olive, just to get out , by Pressing, one single drop of pure Olive Oil. This shows even with how we are to act in our every day lives, that we must be pure from the beginning, putting every last effort into being totally holy. Even though under other circumstances, an Olive could have been crushed and the sediment filtered out afterwards in an every day general use for other things, but for the Oil for the Menorah, it had to be pure from the beginning , never having ever been tainted with sediment / impurity. So must we be. It is better not to make the Aveirah from which we need to clear and cleanse ourselves with, and rather remain holy and righteous and pure from the beginning.
Once made, the Oil had to be brought to Moshe to check , for Moshe so deserved this Kavod, for he was the mainstay of purity as a true leader and example of purity and holiness, the best kind of teacher and example to us all , who humbly worked only for HaShem and HaShem's Will.
This entire Parsha is a beautiful lesson of how we must all strive for utmost purity and holiness, keeping away from all forms of 'negative' sediment, pressing ourselves to the limit for HaShem, for each of us have that special drop of holiness within that can light up the World around us.
True Holiness does not come from what we want to do ourselves by our own wishes, but only from what G-D Tells us to do, for He Alone, Knows what we need to do to become totally pure and holy .
Many have asked our Rabbonim in the past, why, if our HaShem is the Eternal Light ,why do we still need to light a light of our own, and their answer to those who tried desperately to hurt us, was that we too owe HaShem our own thanks for the Light He Gives.I feel that even though HaShem Gives us Light and our small light that we give may appear insignificant, compared to HaShem's Light, HaShem Made this World for us and we are to always show our reciprocation in thanks to what HaShem Gives us by giving and showing to Him , every bit of love to Him that we can. The physical comparable size of our thanks is not what is the issue. The love and effort and caring,that we put into it from our heart and soul is.We are each to light up our part of the World around us and help it rise and reach for HaShem .
This Light was to be continual, a light we were to keep lit eternally, so as our fervor , service and love for HaShem must always be eternal.We remember this in our Synagogues, by many Synagogues keeping a little light burning all the time, called a 'Ner Tamid,' 'An Eternal Light,' like the 'Ner Tamid' mentioned in this Parsha.
So must we always keep our Soul burning for HaShem, and ourselves pure and holy and following HaShem's Commandments only.
Each of us must keep a pure and holy life, learning from the Laws of the Kohanim and the Olive Oil, to remain pure always and keep our soul like the eternal burning flame, always reaching ever Heavenward in closeness with HaShem.
I wish HaShem with Love, a Special Sweet Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with Love and to all, a special sweet beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love.
Friday, 23 February 2018
Friday, 16 February 2018
Parashas Terumah
Our Parsha this Shabbos is Parashas Terumah.
In this Parasha, HaShem Tells Moshe to speak to the Children of Israel,'Vayik'chu Li Terumah,' - ' And Let them Take for Me ( HaShem ) , a Portion ,' - 'Mei'eit Kol Ish Asher Yidvenu Libo Tik'chu Et Terumati ,' - 'From Every Man whose heart motivates him you shall take My portion.'
So HaShem Tells Moshe to tell the people to make their own contribution,by their choice from the heart,not by force, but only by free-choice and free-will giving , so it would be a complete form of giving from the heart, for the project of building and setting up the Mishkan Tabernacle and all that is within,including the Holy Ark of the Covenant,(into which the Two Stone Tablets were to be placed),the Cover atop the Ark, (with the two Cherubim having wings spreading out over the Ark and also having child's faces,that would look toward each other when we did good and away from each other, when bad was done and HaShem was upset with us Chas Ve Shalom). Also,the Shulchan- Table was to be built,onto which the Shew-bread would be put. Also the Menorah that was made out of one hammered out piece of Gold , just as HaShem had shown Moshe on the Mountain , as well as the Cover and the walls of the Tabernacle and the Partition and then the Altar and Courtyard.
The way is which HaShem Asks us to contribute to this holy project can show many things.HaShem Teaches us here some very deep lessons.
HaShem Tells us , 'Ve 'Yik'chu Li,' - 'Take for Me.' Usually, the term when asking for something would be to 'Give, ' from oneself,not 'Take,' from oneself, so why does HaShem Use the word 'Take?' HaShem Tells us to contribute from the heart, from every man's heart that motivates him, which shows that a person's basic physical instinct is to keep for oneself, for the Yetzer Horah works on the person, so they don't give.Thus , we must overcome our Yetzer Horah by forceful means ,overcoming its natural physical tendency to serve the self , and thus literally 'Take' from that which it tries to hold back.Thus HaShem is asking of us , when giving, to give from the heart that overcomes the Yetzer Horah, doing all in our power to take the offering and selflessly present it for the cause.The way to overcome this Yetzer Horah is by our personal choice , as a weapon ,we thus can overcome it,by our free 'Choice of the Heart,' to win against it.
We also notice that in the first two verses of this Sedra, the words 'Li' and 'Ti' appear , first, with the word' Vayik'chu Li,' and further on with the word 'Terumati,' where the 'I' sound at the end of 'Vayik'chu Li 'refers to 'Take for ME' and 'Terumati ' refers to ' My portion.' The repetition of the 'Me/My' in this verse shows something very definite being taught here. Everything in Torah has a reason, especially when it appears twice in one or two verses following each other.Here, the first 'Take for Me,' shows that , though we are giving for a cause,we are actually receiving more reward then the one being given that which we are giving . This is Tzeddakah - Charity,for to give Charity is in reality ,actually 'receiving' spiritually more than we are giving .HaShem rewards selfless giving.Many have the idea that when giving charity,the receiver gets more out of it, as they are receiving the physical charity, but it is actually the opposite of how it looks, for the giver, is so spiritually rewarded and given this opportunity to spiritually climb, that the giver receives so much more that the receiver receives.Giving Charity, is so much deeper a concept than we can imagine, bestowing spiritual goodness on the giver too, so by giving, we are also (as the verse in the Parsha here says) 'VeYik'chu Li,' - 'Receiving ourselves , Taking for Me.' Not that this should be a reason to give charity, but the spiritual Blessings for giving Charity, far outweigh what one can possibly imagine.
The second 'Ti,' (at the end of the word 'Terumati,') that I mentioned above for 'My Portion,' is an important reminder of Whose articles or Things we are Giving from, for everything in this World is HaShem's. All of Creation does not belong to us, but Belongs to HaShem .Thus when we give what we think is our Portion, in reality , we are not giving our portion, but as HaShem Quietly and Humbly Says within the word , 'Terumati,' - 'My Portion ,' as King David himself said, that we are to give to HaShem from what is actually HaShem's, for all is HaShem's and we are the custodians of this World and thus are to treat Creation with love and respect and kindness and return all things Spiritually to HaShem in the same condition as we are given them.This is one of the reasons why we make Brochas.So we can get permission from HaShem to use and enjoy what is actually HaShem's , thus spiritually returning it to HaShem .
So when HaShem Asks us to give from those whose Heart motivates them, it is HaShem's Portion from which , we are actually giving back to HaShem , and thus emulating HaShem as HaShem Instructed us to Emulate Him , by giving from the heart, the place wherein HaShem can Reside in each and every one of us. For in this very Parasha in the Eighth verse, HaShem Says ,' Ve' Asu Li Mikdash Ve Shachanti B' Tocham ,' - ' They Shall Make a Sanctuary for Me - so that I may dwell among them ,' this does not just refer to the Physical Sanctuary that was built but HaShem is Saying that we must make ourselves holy like a Sanctuary, so that HaShem can dwell within each one of us deep within our hearts and souls .
We are in this World to lift the physical up to the level of the Spiritual and , in giving HaShem a 'Terumah ' , in giving HaShem , ourselves as a 'Portion ' by free choice from the heart, we uplift the Physical to Spiritual heights unimaginable.
We see this idea in the word 'Terumah- which has within it, the word, 'Rumah,' which means ' High and Lofty,' showing us that in giving HaShem a 'Terumah' - ourselves as ' a Portion' by the beautiful free choice of our heart, we are lifting ourselves to Spiritually 'Lofty Heights,' climbing toward HaShem . This is the same with everything we do for HaShem, but especially when we do HaShem's Mitzvos with love from our heart and soul .
Every Mitzvah we do for HaShem, is our act of love for all HaShem Does and with every Law of HaShem we keep, we bring this World closer to Him. In so doing, in also giving HaShem the offering of ourselves as total 'Terumah' - as our total 'Portion ,' we make for HaShem , of ourselves , a place for HaShem to Dwell within us all , in total love.
I wish HaShem with Love , a Totally Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with Love , and to all, a totally beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love .
In this Parasha, HaShem Tells Moshe to speak to the Children of Israel,'Vayik'chu Li Terumah,' - ' And Let them Take for Me ( HaShem ) , a Portion ,' - 'Mei'eit Kol Ish Asher Yidvenu Libo Tik'chu Et Terumati ,' - 'From Every Man whose heart motivates him you shall take My portion.'
So HaShem Tells Moshe to tell the people to make their own contribution,by their choice from the heart,not by force, but only by free-choice and free-will giving , so it would be a complete form of giving from the heart, for the project of building and setting up the Mishkan Tabernacle and all that is within,including the Holy Ark of the Covenant,(into which the Two Stone Tablets were to be placed),the Cover atop the Ark, (with the two Cherubim having wings spreading out over the Ark and also having child's faces,that would look toward each other when we did good and away from each other, when bad was done and HaShem was upset with us Chas Ve Shalom). Also,the Shulchan- Table was to be built,onto which the Shew-bread would be put. Also the Menorah that was made out of one hammered out piece of Gold , just as HaShem had shown Moshe on the Mountain , as well as the Cover and the walls of the Tabernacle and the Partition and then the Altar and Courtyard.
The way is which HaShem Asks us to contribute to this holy project can show many things.HaShem Teaches us here some very deep lessons.
HaShem Tells us , 'Ve 'Yik'chu Li,' - 'Take for Me.' Usually, the term when asking for something would be to 'Give, ' from oneself,not 'Take,' from oneself, so why does HaShem Use the word 'Take?' HaShem Tells us to contribute from the heart, from every man's heart that motivates him, which shows that a person's basic physical instinct is to keep for oneself, for the Yetzer Horah works on the person, so they don't give.Thus , we must overcome our Yetzer Horah by forceful means ,overcoming its natural physical tendency to serve the self , and thus literally 'Take' from that which it tries to hold back.Thus HaShem is asking of us , when giving, to give from the heart that overcomes the Yetzer Horah, doing all in our power to take the offering and selflessly present it for the cause.The way to overcome this Yetzer Horah is by our personal choice , as a weapon ,we thus can overcome it,by our free 'Choice of the Heart,' to win against it.
We also notice that in the first two verses of this Sedra, the words 'Li' and 'Ti' appear , first, with the word' Vayik'chu Li,' and further on with the word 'Terumati,' where the 'I' sound at the end of 'Vayik'chu Li 'refers to 'Take for ME' and 'Terumati ' refers to ' My portion.' The repetition of the 'Me/My' in this verse shows something very definite being taught here. Everything in Torah has a reason, especially when it appears twice in one or two verses following each other.Here, the first 'Take for Me,' shows that , though we are giving for a cause,we are actually receiving more reward then the one being given that which we are giving . This is Tzeddakah - Charity,for to give Charity is in reality ,actually 'receiving' spiritually more than we are giving .HaShem rewards selfless giving.Many have the idea that when giving charity,the receiver gets more out of it, as they are receiving the physical charity, but it is actually the opposite of how it looks, for the giver, is so spiritually rewarded and given this opportunity to spiritually climb, that the giver receives so much more that the receiver receives.Giving Charity, is so much deeper a concept than we can imagine, bestowing spiritual goodness on the giver too, so by giving, we are also (as the verse in the Parsha here says) 'VeYik'chu Li,' - 'Receiving ourselves , Taking for Me.' Not that this should be a reason to give charity, but the spiritual Blessings for giving Charity, far outweigh what one can possibly imagine.
The second 'Ti,' (at the end of the word 'Terumati,') that I mentioned above for 'My Portion,' is an important reminder of Whose articles or Things we are Giving from, for everything in this World is HaShem's. All of Creation does not belong to us, but Belongs to HaShem .Thus when we give what we think is our Portion, in reality , we are not giving our portion, but as HaShem Quietly and Humbly Says within the word , 'Terumati,' - 'My Portion ,' as King David himself said, that we are to give to HaShem from what is actually HaShem's, for all is HaShem's and we are the custodians of this World and thus are to treat Creation with love and respect and kindness and return all things Spiritually to HaShem in the same condition as we are given them.This is one of the reasons why we make Brochas.So we can get permission from HaShem to use and enjoy what is actually HaShem's , thus spiritually returning it to HaShem .
So when HaShem Asks us to give from those whose Heart motivates them, it is HaShem's Portion from which , we are actually giving back to HaShem , and thus emulating HaShem as HaShem Instructed us to Emulate Him , by giving from the heart, the place wherein HaShem can Reside in each and every one of us. For in this very Parasha in the Eighth verse, HaShem Says ,' Ve' Asu Li Mikdash Ve Shachanti B' Tocham ,' - ' They Shall Make a Sanctuary for Me - so that I may dwell among them ,' this does not just refer to the Physical Sanctuary that was built but HaShem is Saying that we must make ourselves holy like a Sanctuary, so that HaShem can dwell within each one of us deep within our hearts and souls .
We are in this World to lift the physical up to the level of the Spiritual and , in giving HaShem a 'Terumah ' , in giving HaShem , ourselves as a 'Portion ' by free choice from the heart, we uplift the Physical to Spiritual heights unimaginable.
We see this idea in the word 'Terumah- which has within it, the word, 'Rumah,' which means ' High and Lofty,' showing us that in giving HaShem a 'Terumah' - ourselves as ' a Portion' by the beautiful free choice of our heart, we are lifting ourselves to Spiritually 'Lofty Heights,' climbing toward HaShem . This is the same with everything we do for HaShem, but especially when we do HaShem's Mitzvos with love from our heart and soul .
Every Mitzvah we do for HaShem, is our act of love for all HaShem Does and with every Law of HaShem we keep, we bring this World closer to Him. In so doing, in also giving HaShem the offering of ourselves as total 'Terumah' - as our total 'Portion ,' we make for HaShem , of ourselves , a place for HaShem to Dwell within us all , in total love.
I wish HaShem with Love , a Totally Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with Love , and to all, a totally beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love .
Friday, 9 February 2018
Parashas Mishpatim
Our Parsha this Shabbos is Parashas Mishpatim.
This Parsha deals a lot with the Laws . The very fact that this Parsha starts with a 'Ve' - 'And,' shows the connection between this Parsha and the previous one of Yisro. For where the previous Parsha took place at Har Sinai, so did the Laws in this Parsha Mishpatim , get given by HaShem at Har Sinai.
The first Mishpat discussed , is the Law of the Jewish bondsman.Then Murder and manslaughter is discussed and the killing of a slave,penalty for bodily injury,death caused by an animal,a Pit,an animal damaging property and one who steals livestock, which HaShem does not allow.The Laws of the borrower and also the Laws of wrongly secluding and seducing a young female then are mentioned.This Parsha then goes on to forbid a sorceress to live,and the Law against bringing offerings to false deities Chas Ve Shalom .The Torah also tells us here not to cohabit with an Animal .HaShem then warns us not to oppress a Ger, a Widow or an Orphan.Torah then mentions the Mishpat of free loans,never to revile HaShem Chas Ve Shalom and never to curse a leader of our people.The Parsha then mentions not to eat the limb of an animal torn in the field,
HaShem then Discusses the Judges and witnesses and how they must be honest and also be Torah observers .Here in this Pasha is given the criteria for choosing an honest trustworthy Judge.
HaShem then Commands us concerning the fields that they are to have a Sabbath rest.HaShem also discusses how we are to keep Shabbos.
The Parsha instructs then on the Three Pilgrimage Festivals Pesach, Shavuot and Succot.
HaShem Tells us how He Sends His Angel before us and HaShem reminds us not to follow Avodah Zorah.Our Israel borders are then discussed.
The Parsha completes with a vision of HaShem and the people saying , 'We will do we will obey - the eternal beauty of the Jew, who accepted HaShem's Torah and Laws , in full trust and faith without needing to see first what was in it, unlike others who, when offered it , wanted to know what was within or found things they couldn't do in it and thus said no to receiving it.So ends the Parsha.
Parashas Mishpatim is filled with so many Holy Laws from HaShem. HaShem's Laws are not there to make us feel closed in and controlled, but on the contrary , to free us from our own Yetzer Horah that threatens constantly to pull us down from Holiness. HaShem in His Wisdom Gives us many Commandments, so we can be free from Gehinnom and be free to climb higher to HaShem .HaShem's Laws free us from the physical bonds of the physical World and help us reach for Heaven.
We all long for the sweetness of Gan Eiden , but that has to be Earned . HaShem Gave us many Mitzvos to fulfill,and with the many Mitzvos,are many opportunities to earn Heaven, thus giving us a way to Heaven .
But keeping HaShem's Commandments , starts with humility and a trust and faith in HaShem , to follow G-D and all that He Says implicitly, for only HaShem Knows all.To follow HaShem's Commandments, starts with our humility and trust and this comes by giving ourselves so totally to G-D , just like a bondsman gives himself over to his master.
This Parsha of Mishpatim,starts first with the Jewish bondsman, for this also reminds us, that to receive HaShem and His Commandments , we have to know how to humble ourselves and put our own wishes aside ,just like a bondsman Oved,puts his own wishes aside for his master and humbles himself.
Thus the first step to keeping HaShem's Mishpatim, is to be like a humble faithful bondsman, to HaShem , always ready to listen and with humility, serve HaShem, and so , possibly , HaShem chose to start the Parsha of His Mishpatim , with this first Mishpat in this Parsha, about the Bondsman,so as to teach us that to reach HaShem , we need to learn to be humble to HaShem and we need to learn to serve HaShem only and wholeheartedly . This Law also reminds us that it is only to Hashem we should want to serve and so, the bondsman who does not wish to go free from his human master, is reminded of our freedom from Mitzrayim Egypt and the sign on our doors then,by having his ear connect with the door via an awl and thus only then goes free on the Yovel.It is only HaShem we should want to serve and it is only to HaShem that we should bow to and follow.
Within the word 'Mishpatim, is the word 'Shofet' which means 'Judge,' for HaShem Wants us to be our own Judge of ourselves, alert at all times , in keeping HaShem's Mitzvos .
These are HaShem's Mishpatim , directly from HaShem and that is also shown in the first two words of this Parsha , which are , ' Ve' Eileh Ha Mishpatim,' - which directly translates as , ' 'And these are the ordinances,' but if we look closer , the 'Ha,' before the word Mishpatim , also represents what our deep sages call the sound of the breath of HaShem When HaShem Spoke at Creation, and the letter 'Hei' is also one of the letters of HaShem's Name In Torah in the Tetragrammaton (appearing twice) , and putting this into the two first words of this Parsha, we get ' and these are HaShem's Ordinances.'
Keeping HaShem's Mishpatim , can usher in the Messianic Era . We even see this in the word 'HaMishpatim,' which in Gematriah comes to 5+40+300+80+9+10+40 = 484 where 4+8+4 = 16 , where 16 is 1+6=7, the number of Moshiach .This shows that HaShem's Mishpatim, are very closely related to bringing Mashiach and the Era of Mashiach.
HaShem's Laws are a precious gift and can earn us our sweet place in Heaven and most importantly , a place with HaShem .
I wish HaShem With Love a Beautiful Special Shabbos Kodesh with Love and to all , a beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love .
This Parsha deals a lot with the Laws . The very fact that this Parsha starts with a 'Ve' - 'And,' shows the connection between this Parsha and the previous one of Yisro. For where the previous Parsha took place at Har Sinai, so did the Laws in this Parsha Mishpatim , get given by HaShem at Har Sinai.
The first Mishpat discussed , is the Law of the Jewish bondsman.Then Murder and manslaughter is discussed and the killing of a slave,penalty for bodily injury,death caused by an animal,a Pit,an animal damaging property and one who steals livestock, which HaShem does not allow.The Laws of the borrower and also the Laws of wrongly secluding and seducing a young female then are mentioned.This Parsha then goes on to forbid a sorceress to live,and the Law against bringing offerings to false deities Chas Ve Shalom .The Torah also tells us here not to cohabit with an Animal .HaShem then warns us not to oppress a Ger, a Widow or an Orphan.Torah then mentions the Mishpat of free loans,never to revile HaShem Chas Ve Shalom and never to curse a leader of our people.The Parsha then mentions not to eat the limb of an animal torn in the field,
HaShem then Discusses the Judges and witnesses and how they must be honest and also be Torah observers .Here in this Pasha is given the criteria for choosing an honest trustworthy Judge.
HaShem then Commands us concerning the fields that they are to have a Sabbath rest.HaShem also discusses how we are to keep Shabbos.
The Parsha instructs then on the Three Pilgrimage Festivals Pesach, Shavuot and Succot.
HaShem Tells us how He Sends His Angel before us and HaShem reminds us not to follow Avodah Zorah.Our Israel borders are then discussed.
The Parsha completes with a vision of HaShem and the people saying , 'We will do we will obey - the eternal beauty of the Jew, who accepted HaShem's Torah and Laws , in full trust and faith without needing to see first what was in it, unlike others who, when offered it , wanted to know what was within or found things they couldn't do in it and thus said no to receiving it.So ends the Parsha.
Parashas Mishpatim is filled with so many Holy Laws from HaShem. HaShem's Laws are not there to make us feel closed in and controlled, but on the contrary , to free us from our own Yetzer Horah that threatens constantly to pull us down from Holiness. HaShem in His Wisdom Gives us many Commandments, so we can be free from Gehinnom and be free to climb higher to HaShem .HaShem's Laws free us from the physical bonds of the physical World and help us reach for Heaven.
We all long for the sweetness of Gan Eiden , but that has to be Earned . HaShem Gave us many Mitzvos to fulfill,and with the many Mitzvos,are many opportunities to earn Heaven, thus giving us a way to Heaven .
But keeping HaShem's Commandments , starts with humility and a trust and faith in HaShem , to follow G-D and all that He Says implicitly, for only HaShem Knows all.To follow HaShem's Commandments, starts with our humility and trust and this comes by giving ourselves so totally to G-D , just like a bondsman gives himself over to his master.
This Parsha of Mishpatim,starts first with the Jewish bondsman, for this also reminds us, that to receive HaShem and His Commandments , we have to know how to humble ourselves and put our own wishes aside ,just like a bondsman Oved,puts his own wishes aside for his master and humbles himself.
Thus the first step to keeping HaShem's Mishpatim, is to be like a humble faithful bondsman, to HaShem , always ready to listen and with humility, serve HaShem, and so , possibly , HaShem chose to start the Parsha of His Mishpatim , with this first Mishpat in this Parsha, about the Bondsman,so as to teach us that to reach HaShem , we need to learn to be humble to HaShem and we need to learn to serve HaShem only and wholeheartedly . This Law also reminds us that it is only to Hashem we should want to serve and so, the bondsman who does not wish to go free from his human master, is reminded of our freedom from Mitzrayim Egypt and the sign on our doors then,by having his ear connect with the door via an awl and thus only then goes free on the Yovel.It is only HaShem we should want to serve and it is only to HaShem that we should bow to and follow.
Within the word 'Mishpatim, is the word 'Shofet' which means 'Judge,' for HaShem Wants us to be our own Judge of ourselves, alert at all times , in keeping HaShem's Mitzvos .
These are HaShem's Mishpatim , directly from HaShem and that is also shown in the first two words of this Parsha , which are , ' Ve' Eileh Ha Mishpatim,' - which directly translates as , ' 'And these are the ordinances,' but if we look closer , the 'Ha,' before the word Mishpatim , also represents what our deep sages call the sound of the breath of HaShem When HaShem Spoke at Creation, and the letter 'Hei' is also one of the letters of HaShem's Name In Torah in the Tetragrammaton (appearing twice) , and putting this into the two first words of this Parsha, we get ' and these are HaShem's Ordinances.'
Keeping HaShem's Mishpatim , can usher in the Messianic Era . We even see this in the word 'HaMishpatim,' which in Gematriah comes to 5+40+300+80+9+10+40 = 484 where 4+8+4 = 16 , where 16 is 1+6=7, the number of Moshiach .This shows that HaShem's Mishpatim, are very closely related to bringing Mashiach and the Era of Mashiach.
HaShem's Laws are a precious gift and can earn us our sweet place in Heaven and most importantly , a place with HaShem .
I wish HaShem With Love a Beautiful Special Shabbos Kodesh with Love and to all , a beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love .
Friday, 2 February 2018
Parashas Yisro
Our Parsha this Shabbos is Parashas Yisro.
In this Parsha, Yisro, Moshe's Father-In-Law becomes the first Ger Tzeddek-Righteous Convert to Judaism.This is a beautiful Kiddush HaShem - Sanctification of HaShem's Name , for here was a man who had tried every religion and cult there was, not finding the right path and truth, until finally he came to the True Creator HaShem.This showed all the people at the time , how all the other beliefs were false and only HaShem and His Torah and Yiddishkeit,were True.
It is a beautiful honour that the 'Aseret ha - Dibrot ,' the 'Ten Commandments or Pronouncements' features in this Parsha with Yisro's name,showing how precious to HaShem , His Creation is, when it comes to him (Yisro),finally acknowledging HaShem as The Only True G-D and Truth.HaShem Has us prepare ourselves in purity,to meet HaShem, for the Greatest Revelation ever , HaShem Chooses to Meet us on Har Sinai, a Humble Mountain,for only with humility can we put our wants aside and truly serve HaShem and do His Commandments.
This Revelation was witnessed by 600 000 men between a certain age plus women and males of youth and above the certain age. No other belief can claim such a mass revelation of Truth, for other false beliefs claim a meeting by only one or a few people,but with us Jews, it was hundreds of thousands.
The Miracle in the giving of the Ten Commandments ,where the first five were between HaShem and man and the last five, were between man and his fellow man,went beyond anything ever before,except like the Creation of Creation, which was also by Ten Pronouncements (where the Ten Commandments was like a renewing of Creation), for HaShem,in Giving the Ten Commandments,Said each Commandment in a way that every person there, would be able to comprehend and understand it with the same meaning as every other person there,even though each person has their own capacity for comprehension , different from every other person.When HaShem first Said the Ten Commandments, HaShem Did Something beyond Physical possibility,for HaShem First Said all Ten Commandments in the same moment in time at the same time, something only HaShem Can Do, for normally each word would have taken up its own period and second in time, but HaShem Was able to Say it all at the same instant in time ,all at once . When HaShem First Started to Give the First Two Commandments, HaShem Gave it directly to the people there, and HaShem's Voice was so Powerful, that the souls of the people, literally left their bodies, and HaShem Had to Revive them.This is why it says as it does in Shemos 20:15-28.
HaShem's Voice is so Powerful that nothing, not even solid rock can contain it , and so, HaShem's Voice ,When He Speaks, Continues for Eternity, as nothing can contain It or stop Its Waves of Sound, and thus HaShem's Voice doesn't have an echo, for echoes are made by sound waves that are stopped by a solid, and seeing as nothing can stop HaShem's Voice from penetrating it,HaShem's Voice has no echo, but continues on to Eternity.
At the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, not only those who were Jews then were present, but all Jewish Neshomas were there, those past and even those Jews still to be born and also those who would convert in the future to Judaism.When HaShem was Giving Speaking to us on Har Sinai, the World shook, and when the other people for the nations of the World went to Bilaam and asked him what was happening, he said that HaShem is Giving His Torah to His People.
At the beginning of the Parsha, Yisro advises Moshe, not to handle the Judging alone, but to delegate and the Parsha ends with HaShem's Instruction, of building an Altar, but not to use Iron/Sword hewn stones where , as Rashi says 'Cherev' - 'Sword' is like the word 'Churban' - 'Destruction,' which (the sword) shortens life , whereas the Altar gives the opportunity for atonement and thus the lengthening of life, and also mentioned at the end of this Parsha, is that the Altar should not to be built with steps going up to the Altar, but only a ramp, for modesty.
In the Parsha before, it ended with the attack and defeat of Amalek, and this Parsha starts with Yisro and how he comes to the Truth of HaShem.
Here , is a very important point. Here are two nations of men,Yisro from Midyan and Amalek, descended from Eisav's son Elifaz, whose son was Amalek.These two nations were actually allies, but here, Yisro went against his own nation and chose the path of truth- the path of HaShem, unlike Amalek,who chose the path away from HaShem.
Where Yisro and Amalek had both heard of the Miracles that HaShem had done for His People, where Yisro chose to let this Truth, bring him higher spiritually and closer to the Truth - To HaShem, Amalek , chose to try and destroy what is good and thus remained unaffected by these great Miracles that HaShem had Done.
Where Yisro had , after the beating of Amalek , by us with HaShem's Help Only, chosen to let these events , including the Plagues of Egypt and the Splitting of the Sea and Yisro being Egypt's Adviser, effect him is such a way as to allow himself to grow by them, Amalek on the other hand, chose the opposite path , away from HaShem's Path and turned away from HaShem.
Where the love of HaShem for His People, had brought Yisro and Moshe's wife and two boys to the border of the Clouds of Glory, where Yisro shot an arrow into the Clouds of Glory so as to send a message to Moshe to admit him and HaShem had Moshe Admit him as a Righteous Convert.Amalek on the other hand, used their swords and arrows to attack the Children of Israel and try to destroy us Chas Ve Shalom, but they will always be unsuccessful, till their final day of destruction - May it come soon in our days .
Moshe and Aharon and the Elders of Israel went out to meet Yisro and Moshe told Yisro all the Wonderful things HaShem Had Done for us and Yisro became the first Ger Tzeddek- Righteous Convert and took a knife himself and circumcised himself.
In honour of this, HaShem Made a Miracle for him, for while Yisro was sitting at the table, HaShem Let Drop a Piece of Manna , just for Yisro.
How different was Yisro, from Amalek.
We too have a special lesson to learn here among so many others in Torah. We all have a choice to make,at every moment HaShem Gives us Breath.
We can continue like Amalek Chas Ve Shalom , and remain unaffected by the Beauty of HaShem and Creation and our path in life,and what we have to do and all that HaShem Does for us, and end up getting no-where,or we can choose to be a loyal follower of HaShem and follow His Mitzvos and Torah and take each moment we breathe, as an opportunity to grow higher and higher and come closer to HaShem and His Truth and take every opportunity to follow HaShem's Laws.
HaShem Gives us a Choice. It is up to us. The road of turning away from HaShem and Torah, leads with Amalek to no-where, but the road toward HaShem, that Yisro chose, leads to G-D and Shamaim.
This Parsha of Yisro starts out with the secret to it all, for the first word of this Parsha, is the Word , 'Vayishma,' which means 'And he heard,' in reference to Yisro, but this is the secret for us all, for all we need to do, is open up our Souls and ears and mind and eyes and 'Hear,' that HaShem is Calling us all the time and if we stop with ourselves and 'Vayishma,' - ' Hear,' we will hear HaShem Calling us all to Him and His Commandments. For HaShem is always there. We just need to turn to Him and 'Hear,' and His Voice from Creation , that never ends , and Speaks to us and Calls to us all the time,from Har Sinai, will Light up our Souls, and bring us to Him in His Love.
I wish HaShem with Love , a Beautiful Sweet Shabbos Kodesh with Love and to all with love, a beautiful sweet Shabbos Kodesh with love.
In this Parsha, Yisro, Moshe's Father-In-Law becomes the first Ger Tzeddek-Righteous Convert to Judaism.This is a beautiful Kiddush HaShem - Sanctification of HaShem's Name , for here was a man who had tried every religion and cult there was, not finding the right path and truth, until finally he came to the True Creator HaShem.This showed all the people at the time , how all the other beliefs were false and only HaShem and His Torah and Yiddishkeit,were True.
It is a beautiful honour that the 'Aseret ha - Dibrot ,' the 'Ten Commandments or Pronouncements' features in this Parsha with Yisro's name,showing how precious to HaShem , His Creation is, when it comes to him (Yisro),finally acknowledging HaShem as The Only True G-D and Truth.HaShem Has us prepare ourselves in purity,to meet HaShem, for the Greatest Revelation ever , HaShem Chooses to Meet us on Har Sinai, a Humble Mountain,for only with humility can we put our wants aside and truly serve HaShem and do His Commandments.
This Revelation was witnessed by 600 000 men between a certain age plus women and males of youth and above the certain age. No other belief can claim such a mass revelation of Truth, for other false beliefs claim a meeting by only one or a few people,but with us Jews, it was hundreds of thousands.
The Miracle in the giving of the Ten Commandments ,where the first five were between HaShem and man and the last five, were between man and his fellow man,went beyond anything ever before,except like the Creation of Creation, which was also by Ten Pronouncements (where the Ten Commandments was like a renewing of Creation), for HaShem,in Giving the Ten Commandments,Said each Commandment in a way that every person there, would be able to comprehend and understand it with the same meaning as every other person there,even though each person has their own capacity for comprehension , different from every other person.When HaShem first Said the Ten Commandments, HaShem Did Something beyond Physical possibility,for HaShem First Said all Ten Commandments in the same moment in time at the same time, something only HaShem Can Do, for normally each word would have taken up its own period and second in time, but HaShem Was able to Say it all at the same instant in time ,all at once . When HaShem First Started to Give the First Two Commandments, HaShem Gave it directly to the people there, and HaShem's Voice was so Powerful, that the souls of the people, literally left their bodies, and HaShem Had to Revive them.This is why it says as it does in Shemos 20:15-28.
HaShem's Voice is so Powerful that nothing, not even solid rock can contain it , and so, HaShem's Voice ,When He Speaks, Continues for Eternity, as nothing can contain It or stop Its Waves of Sound, and thus HaShem's Voice doesn't have an echo, for echoes are made by sound waves that are stopped by a solid, and seeing as nothing can stop HaShem's Voice from penetrating it,HaShem's Voice has no echo, but continues on to Eternity.
At the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, not only those who were Jews then were present, but all Jewish Neshomas were there, those past and even those Jews still to be born and also those who would convert in the future to Judaism.When HaShem was Giving Speaking to us on Har Sinai, the World shook, and when the other people for the nations of the World went to Bilaam and asked him what was happening, he said that HaShem is Giving His Torah to His People.
At the beginning of the Parsha, Yisro advises Moshe, not to handle the Judging alone, but to delegate and the Parsha ends with HaShem's Instruction, of building an Altar, but not to use Iron/Sword hewn stones where , as Rashi says 'Cherev' - 'Sword' is like the word 'Churban' - 'Destruction,' which (the sword) shortens life , whereas the Altar gives the opportunity for atonement and thus the lengthening of life, and also mentioned at the end of this Parsha, is that the Altar should not to be built with steps going up to the Altar, but only a ramp, for modesty.
In the Parsha before, it ended with the attack and defeat of Amalek, and this Parsha starts with Yisro and how he comes to the Truth of HaShem.
Here , is a very important point. Here are two nations of men,Yisro from Midyan and Amalek, descended from Eisav's son Elifaz, whose son was Amalek.These two nations were actually allies, but here, Yisro went against his own nation and chose the path of truth- the path of HaShem, unlike Amalek,who chose the path away from HaShem.
Where Yisro and Amalek had both heard of the Miracles that HaShem had done for His People, where Yisro chose to let this Truth, bring him higher spiritually and closer to the Truth - To HaShem, Amalek , chose to try and destroy what is good and thus remained unaffected by these great Miracles that HaShem had Done.
Where Yisro had , after the beating of Amalek , by us with HaShem's Help Only, chosen to let these events , including the Plagues of Egypt and the Splitting of the Sea and Yisro being Egypt's Adviser, effect him is such a way as to allow himself to grow by them, Amalek on the other hand, chose the opposite path , away from HaShem's Path and turned away from HaShem.
Where the love of HaShem for His People, had brought Yisro and Moshe's wife and two boys to the border of the Clouds of Glory, where Yisro shot an arrow into the Clouds of Glory so as to send a message to Moshe to admit him and HaShem had Moshe Admit him as a Righteous Convert.Amalek on the other hand, used their swords and arrows to attack the Children of Israel and try to destroy us Chas Ve Shalom, but they will always be unsuccessful, till their final day of destruction - May it come soon in our days .
Moshe and Aharon and the Elders of Israel went out to meet Yisro and Moshe told Yisro all the Wonderful things HaShem Had Done for us and Yisro became the first Ger Tzeddek- Righteous Convert and took a knife himself and circumcised himself.
In honour of this, HaShem Made a Miracle for him, for while Yisro was sitting at the table, HaShem Let Drop a Piece of Manna , just for Yisro.
How different was Yisro, from Amalek.
We too have a special lesson to learn here among so many others in Torah. We all have a choice to make,at every moment HaShem Gives us Breath.
We can continue like Amalek Chas Ve Shalom , and remain unaffected by the Beauty of HaShem and Creation and our path in life,and what we have to do and all that HaShem Does for us, and end up getting no-where,or we can choose to be a loyal follower of HaShem and follow His Mitzvos and Torah and take each moment we breathe, as an opportunity to grow higher and higher and come closer to HaShem and His Truth and take every opportunity to follow HaShem's Laws.
HaShem Gives us a Choice. It is up to us. The road of turning away from HaShem and Torah, leads with Amalek to no-where, but the road toward HaShem, that Yisro chose, leads to G-D and Shamaim.
This Parsha of Yisro starts out with the secret to it all, for the first word of this Parsha, is the Word , 'Vayishma,' which means 'And he heard,' in reference to Yisro, but this is the secret for us all, for all we need to do, is open up our Souls and ears and mind and eyes and 'Hear,' that HaShem is Calling us all the time and if we stop with ourselves and 'Vayishma,' - ' Hear,' we will hear HaShem Calling us all to Him and His Commandments. For HaShem is always there. We just need to turn to Him and 'Hear,' and His Voice from Creation , that never ends , and Speaks to us and Calls to us all the time,from Har Sinai, will Light up our Souls, and bring us to Him in His Love.
I wish HaShem with Love , a Beautiful Sweet Shabbos Kodesh with Love and to all with love, a beautiful sweet Shabbos Kodesh with love.
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