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The Shunamite woman (known from the famous story with Elisha the Prophet) had prepared a place for the prophet Elisha to stay in when he would travel through her city.
Continue reading “Learn Talmud – Berachot – Lesson 29 – Daf 10b Part 3 (Koren Talmud Bavli) – How to Pray”Rabbi Eli Mansour speaks about the importance of stopping the talking in shul. Be a part of accepting a pledge not to talk during shul and may it be a merit to us all that we merit to find ourselves being about to pray in our shuls again with proper Minyanim in a place of real prayer – a palace for God.
The Talmud teaches us that the rewards given for various Mitzvot are often not the Mitzvot themselves, but rather something else that is hidden behind the scenes within the Mitzvah we perform. For example, the reward for attending a wedding is not the attendance of the wedding itself, but rather, reward is given only when one brings happiness to the bride and the groom.
Continue reading “Learn Talmud – Berachot – Lesson 16 Daf 6b (Koren Talmud Bavli) – Importance of the 3 Daily Prayers”
The Rema in the Shulchan Aruch – Orach Chaim 1:2-3 brings down as Halachah the importance of awakening at midnight in order to mourn the destruction of the Temple. Amazingly, though this is brought down at the very beginning of the Shulchan Aruch, most people will only really glance through it quickly to get through it in order to get to learn “real” Halachah.
Of course, this Halachah is just as equally as important as all the rest. In fact in terms of making a beginning to one’s day and one’s life, it is perhaps the most important thing one can do. Perhaps it is neglected because many don’t understand it well enough or perhaps because life in today’s times moves too fast to allow for people to get to bed early enough to awaken early enough to do the midnight prayers.
Continue reading “Teachings of The Arizal – Awaken at Chatzot to Study Torah”
Rabbi Chaim Vital in the introduction to Shaar HaKavanot speaks about the issue of the manner of prayer. Here, Rabbi Chaim Vital introduces us to a vital area of our lives – the world of prayer. Those who daven with a Minyan regularly know well the challenges encountered. One most usually finds that everyone has something to say – and that doesn’t mean their prayer to God – it often means their approach to prayer which takes on outward signs of righteousness as opposed to inner calm and connection with the Divine. This – let alone the often unpleasant unnecessary noise of needless conversation, but that is for another time…
Continue reading “Teachings of the Arizal – The Importance of Praying Quietly”
In the beginning of Shaar Hakavanot – the teachings of the Arizal regarding the intentions of should have during prayer, as codified by his main disciple Rabbi Chaim Vital, the Arizal teaches us a golden rule about prayer. While many enter a shul (or stay in their private room for prayer) and begin praying for their own selves, the Arizal teaches us a lesson which we must implement in our every day lives. Even if we aren’t striving to become the next outstanding Mekubal (kabbalist) of the generation, it is something which applies to each of us.
Continue reading “Teachings of the Arizal – Love Your Fellow as Yourself Everyday”
If you own a smartphone, you’ll want to put some Jewish apps onto it. Below, I have listed some apps which I hope you will find useful. Some of these apps will allow you to study Torah on-the-go and having used them myself, I can really say that they are outstanding.
By פארוק (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Yesterday, I found myself near the main cemetery in Sanhedria in Jerusalem. Sadly – many are not aware of the nature of this cemetery and the people who are buried there. For the most part, almost every person buried there is a Tzadik – a righteous individual! The cemetery came to prominence in about the year 1948 – that year when a serious war was taking place which would lead to the proclaiming of a country where the Jewish people would feel safe in – a country of their own… but that idea was already in the making more than three thousand years before!
Continue reading “Issues and Benefits of Davening at the Graves of Tzadikim”
