BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Maggid Maggid - Retelling the Passover Story Raise the tray with the matzot and say: This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and conduct the Seder of Passover. This year [we are] here; next year in the land of Israel. This year [we are] slaves; next year [we will be] free people. The tray with the matzot is moved aside, and the second cup is POURED.(Do not drink it yet). Now the child asks "Mah Nishtana?" What makes this night different from all [other] nights? On all nights we need not dip even once, on this night we do so twice! On all nights we eat chametz or matzah, and on this night only matzah. On all nights we eat any kind of vegetables, and on this night maror! On all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline! The tray is restored to its place with the matzah partly uncovered. Now we say "We were slave...

The Meaning of Tu'Bav Our Sages explain: Yom Kippur symbolizes God's forgiving Israel for the sin of the Golden Calf in the desert, for it was on that day that He finally accepted Moses' plea for forgiveness of the nation, and on that same day Moses came down from the mountain with the new set of tablets. Just as Yom Kippur symbolizes the atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf, Tu B'Av signifies the atonement for the sin of the Spies, where ten came bearing such negative reports which reduced the entire nation to panic. As a result of that sin, it was decreed by God that the nation would remain in the desert for 40 years, and that no person 20 or older would be allowed to enter Israel. On each Tisha B'Av of those 40 years, those who had reached the age of 60 that year died -- 15,000 each Tisha B'Av. This plague finally ended on Tu B'Av. Six positive events occurred on Tu B'Av: Event #1) As noted above, the plague that had accompanied the Jews in t...

I was raised by my father, of blessed memory - to be truthful. Being scrupulously truthful has caused me a lot of problems. People either don't want to hear it or are frightened by it coming out (and often attack you for telling it.) But I am raising my own children to cling to truth. It will set you free. By Berel Wein The Torah extols the value of truth as an absolute virtue. It teaches us to stand firmly away from falsehood. Even though the technical application of this value in Halacha is apparently limited to legal and evidentiary matters, the value of truth in Judaism as a general axiom is unquestioned. Yet the Torah itself allows for the situations when ultimate truth can be harmful and counterproductive to family harmony and social amity. The Lord Himself, so to speak, does not tell Abraham the entire statement of disbelief of his wife Sarah when the angel informs her of the coming birth of her son Isaac. She wonders aloud how she will become youthfully rejuvenate...

by Rabbi Michael Berg In this week’s portion, we read about the uprising led by Korach and his follwers against Moshe. They were, as the Torah makes extremely clear, committing a grievous mistake. One of their contentions was against the priests headed by Aharon. Korach, who was a member of the Levite family just as Aharon, questioned why it was Aharon, Moshe’s brother, and Aharon’s family who were chosen to be the priests. Moshe decides on a way to show the entire nation that Korach and his 250 followers are mistaken: All that Moshe had done was only by Hashem’s command. “Moshe said to Korach, ‘You and your entire assembly come before Hashem, you and them and Aharon, tomorrow. Each one of you should take a fire-pan, and place on it incense, and you should bring it before Hashem, each person his fire-pan and you and Aharon should each bring a fire-pan. They each took their fire-pan, placed incense on it, and they stood at the opening of the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle), with Moshe ...

These last few years I've been sorting life out... again. Whether its because of midlife crisis, pulling myself back together after a severe personal trauma or finding my balance after losing myself in motherhood, its been hard and rewarding. I realized that I will never arrive at a point where I'm done. Life and understanding will be an ongoing process of self-examining and the folding and unfolding of circumstance. I've also now become a parentless child. Death has claimed my parents, who had me when they were 'older.' And the contents of their home now sits in boxes in mine. I sort through it when I have energy but more importantly, when I can mentally & emotionally handle it. Being 'top dog' in the family now as freed me to feel. Feel the rage and anger at the cruel parenting I received. But sometimes I can't. My conditioning is so thorough that I have a hard time getting angry and staying angry at things I should. I will become incensed...

'scuse Moses while he kisses the sky' For those of us who went through the 70s and came out in one piece -- we can see some of the validity in this. Native Americans have used hallucinogens to enhance the meditative or spiritual experience for 100s of years. Anyone like me, who read Carlos Castaneda knows this experience through Castaneda's writings. It can be as transformative as you see it to be. But to suggest the 10 Commandments was the result of a hallucinogenic trip devalues God and devalues Moses' experience and work. High? Maybe. The product of a 'trip'? No way. Study suggests Israelites may have eaten hallucinogenics, but scholars scoff When Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, he may have been high on a hallucinogenic plant, according to a new study by an Israeli psychology professor. Writing in the British philosophy journal Time and Mind, Benny Shanon of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University said two plants in the Sinai desert conta...

Maimonides' theological principles were never unanimously embraced. By Daniel Septimus The following is largely based on Marc Shapiro's "Maimonides' Thirteen Principles: The Last Word in Jewish Theology?" published in The Torah U-Madda Journal, volume 4 (1993). Maimonides wrote his Thirteen Principles of Faith in his introduction to the tenth chapter of Talmud Sanhedrin. According to Maimonides, anyone who denies--or even doubts--any of these principles is a heretic with no place in the World to Come. Yet, these principles were hardly undisputed. Many scholars who preceded and succeeded Maimonides held contrary beliefs. Below, is a list of the Thirteen Principles with references to some of these divergent beliefs. Unless otherwise noted, all the scholars mentioned are medieval authorities. The Principles Principle 1 God exists; God is perfect in every way, eternal, and the cause of all that exists. All other beings depend upon God for their existence. Objections S...

ENGAGE YOUR BRAIN I get these emails from the Chabad every day. I read them but, this one really struck me because of the question it asks "What was Balaam thinking?" How many times has someone we know, a family member or something we see on the news made us say "what the heck were they THINKING?" The answer is - they weren't thinking, they were reacting. Hashem however is pro-acting. Hashem being thought itself and giving us the power of cognition hopes we do think. But so often we don't. And to those friends of mine who tell me I think too much - I say thinking brings me closer to Hashem and to making the best choice for my children and those I care about. Engage your brain. THE SHOWDOWN By Lazer Gurkow --------------- They stood arrayed against each other; the best either nation had to offer. On one side stood Moses, who will be remembered as the greatest prophet of all time. On the other side was Balaam, the far-famed soothsayer, whose curses were regar...