Weekday Shiur on
Likutei Moharan -
presented by
Reb Yedidyah Blanton
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Our own Reb Yedidyah Blanton teaches lessons from Likutei Moharan,
the teachings of
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
Every Sunday night
8:00pm - 9:30pm
at Reb Shalom Yakov /
Jeff Mann's home:
1037 South Sherbourne Dr.
LA 90035
(between Olympic & Whitworth)
(There's no charge for this class!)
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Awesome Phone Shiur
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Listen to the deepest Torahs and stories from the teachings of Reb Shlomo Carlebach and the Izshbitzer, from the book "Lev HaShamayim" - given over by Rabbi Nossen and Rebbetzin Channah Schafer in Boston
Live: Sunday Night
9 pm - 10:00 pm EST
Call (641) 715-3300
Conf code: 818022#.
Recorded: Listen anytime! Each class is recorded and available until the next shiur, which will replace it.
Playback Number: (641) 715-3412
Access Code: 818022#
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Happy Minyan Newsletter - Kol Sasson
Parshas Tazria-Metzora
| April 2010 |
Greetings!
Yesterday was the first of the month of Iyar. As such, I offer some words about this month:
 Thoughts on the
New Month of
Iyar
This month, Iyar, is
spelled Alef, Yud, Yud, Reish. According to the mystical
tradition, the letters are an acronym. The Alef stands for
"Ani", the 2 Yuds are G-d's name, and the Reish stands for
"Rofecha". Put it all together, and you get a verse
from Parshat BeShalach, "Ani HaShem Rofecha - I am G-d Your
Healer."
Historically, it is in this month that the Jews
in the desert first completely relied on G-d for everything,
including sustenance - it is when the manna first began to fall.
The
connection
between these two ideas seems to be the idea that
everything comes from One Source. It is important to seek
healing when we need to, but the idea is that the doctor is only the
messenger - G-d is the Healer. Also, we are sustained daily by
miraculous events that are in there own way as amazing as food
falling from heaven. The key is to recognize that daily
miracles are just that - miracles. Divine Intervention.
This
month is also called Chodesh Ha Ziv - the month of shine - since it
is now that the sun begins to fully shine on us.
May we be
blessed to have G-d's love and grace shine on us, and let us all have
healing on every level we need.
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Iyar Tov,
Rachel |
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Happy Minyan News & Upcoming Events
*New Summer Schedule for Friday nights!
Beginning next Shabbos, we will have two minyanim for Mincha / Kabbalat Shabbat at
our regular davening location.
Anearly minyanwill
start at approximately 6:00pm and, a later minyan
(after candle-lighting) will start at approximately 7:15pm.
The times will change every week or two according to candle-lighting times. Early minyan'ers should
please be sure to be on time so
that the second minyan is not delayed.
* LA Community
Event for Israel Independence Day:
Bnei Akiva Los Angeles
Invites You to Join In A
Community Yom HaZikaron Commemoration
&
62nd Yom HaAtzmaut Celebration
Tuesday, April 19th, 6:00 p.m.
At Beth Jacob Cong. 9030 W. Olympic Blvd.
Program Includes: Yom HaZikaron Memorial,
Yom HaAtzmaut Tefilla, Chagiga Celebration
Outside in Jacob's Garden with Music, Dancing and
Food for purchase; Admission - Free!
*Become a Member of the Happy Minyan!:
It's not too late to pay
for Happy Minyan Membership!
(In fact, it's NEVER too late to make a contribution and support our minyan! Be sure to pay for membership if you haven't yet! And please also be sure to send in your pledges from Yom Kippur and Simchas Torah. You can also make arrangements to pay in installments if that will help you give back to the minyan that is so happy to give to you!)
 To pay via Paypal, click here:
Or mail your checks to:
P.O. Box 16002, Beverly Hills, CA 9020 |
 Iyar: Thoughts in Your Heart, Issachar in the Moment, and the Letter
Vav is Truth and Beauty
Words on the Month of Iyar
by Reb Shlomo CarlebachEvery month has its own letter of the Aleph Bet, its
corresponding tribe, and its specific fixing. According to the
Ishbitzer, the
letter of Iyar is Vav, the tribe is Yissachar and what we have to fix is
"hirhur" - "thinking".
In Hebrew there are two words for thinking - "machshava" and "hirhur".
Machshava means what I'm thinking with my head. Hirur, the Gemara says,
is what
I'm thinking in my heart. In my head, my thoughts change every split
second,
and even if I think the same thing, I don't think of it the same way.
Then
there's "hirhur be libo" - the thoughts in your heart. You know I can
walk around
with one thought in my heart my whole life, and the more real I am, the
less it
changes. And this is so deep.
Now let's talk about the tribe of Issachar - they are the ones who know
what to
do in the moment. This is very important. A lot of people know what they
have
to do always - but what do you have to do in this moment? We were
learning it
at Purim - why is the megillah called a book and a letter? If I love
someone
very much, do I send them my book? A book is for the whole world ... but
a
letter - this is from my heart. Remember what Amalek (who the enemy of
Purim,
Haman, comes from) said to us just after we left Egypt?
His vibrations made us so cold; and then only 40 days since the miracles
of Egypt
and we were so cut off that we made the Golden Calf. Amalek says to you,
"Yeah,
religion's beautiful, G-d's beautiful, the 'always' you have, but the
moment...
not so much." I know what G-d is telling to all the Jews, to the whole
world,
but what is He saying to me? The truth is the Ribbono Shel Olam is
sending each
of us a letter every moment but you've got to know how to read it. And
this is
Issachar. Somebody says, "I don't know what to do." Watch the signs. How
do you
know how close you are to somebody? It's how well they read your signs.
Issachar, the tribe that's learning Torah all day and night, Issachar
knows how
to read the signs.
The Izbitzer asks," What's the letter Vav?" Most of the
letters need other letters to pronounce their name - aleph is made up of
aleph-lamed-peh,
gimmel is gimmel-mem-lamed. Vav is the one letter that I only need the
same letter
to pronounce it as a word. This means that nothing foreign gets to the
inside
of my heart.
The two Vavs represent Emmet (truth) and Tifferet (beauty).
The Vav starts up in Heaven and comes straight down, non-stop, because
the
truth is non-stop. We have to know the truth in our heart and know the
beauty
in our hearts. But did you ever see anything uglier than someone talking
about
their own beauty? How do you make somebody else beautiful, by giving
them
honor, right? Kavod (honor) knows no words, it comes from the heart.
[Rachel's
note - kavod and lev have the same gemmatria!] When the students of
Rabbi Akiva
couldn't make each other beautiful, so to speak, couldn't find the honor
for
one another in their hearts, the month itself couldn't bear it. That's
where
the mourning in Sefiras HaOmer is coming from. We have to work our whole
life
on this one letter - the Vav - truth and beauty. Pesach and the
redemption from
Mitzrayim is G-d's revelation. Sefiras HaOmer means, what am I doing
with it?
Everybody has to count in order to fix his own neshammah. In one way, I
am
waiting for G-d's message, His revelation, and in another I have to
search and
trust my own heart in the deepest way. Iyar is the fixing of the heart.
Nissan
is the fixing of the head - a slave is listening only to his head. What
does it
mean to be in exile? It's being so petty. So we have to fix our hearts,
our
hirhurim, and really honor each other. Excerpted from a transcript originally published in Kehilat
Jacob News New York, Iyar 5746.
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"Tikkun Rachel" - Divrei Torah by Rachel Espana
 Giving Your Word in
Tazria-Metzora
There's so much to say
about this week's double parsha, especially about the power of
speech.
Both Tazria
and Metzora discuss the punishment
of "Tzaras" for one who speaks "Lashon Hara".
Tzaras being an affliction that appears as white sunken-in blotches
on the skin, but oddly enough can also appear on one's clothing or
even the walls of one's home. (We don't have cases of this
anymore.) Lashon Hara is generally a term for gossip,
bad-mouthing, tale-bearing, and all other negative speech.
Specifically, it is saying something true, but the only purpose of
saying it is to hurt another.
Rather than
getting into the
specifics of Tzaras, I want to focus on the severity of the situation
that causes a person to be stricken with it. The Talmud
actually lists 7 sins for which a person can be punished with
Tzaras. The Midrash lists 10. So besides Lashon Hara, the
list of grave sins punishable with Tzaras include murder, adultery
and stealing. Still, only Lashon Hara is punished immediately
with Tzaras. It is considered more serious than the other
sins. How can this be? How can any words be worse than
murder, adultery or stealing?
Well,
consider that it's a
reflection of the enormous power of speech. It is with
words that G-d created the world. ("And G-d said 'Let
there be light,' and there was light.") Being made in the
image of G-d, we too have the power to create our world with our
words. The unfortunate other side of this power is that with
words, one can also destroy worlds, G-d forbid.
Why are
words so powerful? Language, according to the Maharal of
Prague, is the one bridge between the spiritual world and the
physical - it is an expression of the mind (spiritual) that is
carried by breath and heard by others (physical). Words
make thoughts real. So with a word, a person can kill off
another, cheat on another, and steal from another. That's why
it's so serious. In a moment, so much harm can be done just by
speaking in a destructive manner.
Fortunately, the opposite is
true. Just one good word can make all the difference. It
can give someone their life back. It can restore another's
faith. It can help someone become successful.
And
if you aren't convinced of the power your words have yet, just think
about the difference between thinking about doing something good, and
telling someone you will. You feel far more obligated to do
something once you've said it to another.
So, let's first of
all use our power of speech to bless and thank G-d for all the
kindnesses He bestows upon us. I say, Baruch HaShem for it
all! Next, let me tell you how great you are - you are special
to me and make a difference in my life. And now, think about
who else you can say a good word to, and get to it! By saying
it, we can really make it so.
May we only
use our words to
heal and help.
Good Shabbos,
Rachel
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 David Sacks
teaches every Shabbos morning
at 8:30am at the Happy Minyan,
and every Sunday morning
at 10:30 am at Cong. Mogen David,
9717 W. Pico Blvd.
You can also listen to David Sacks online anytime by down- loading his Torah on iTunes, or you can read some of his best articles - check out his fantastic site Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World.
Freedom
and Forgiveness
 Dear Friends,
For most of us, waiting is the hardest part. And yet when we look at our
lives, so much of it is filled with waiting. Or is it? Sometimes,
maybe even often, we confuse waiting with living. During this time of
the year, between Passover and receiving the Torah, we have a special
mitzvah not just to count the days until we get to our destination, but
to actually bless the waiting! How do we do that? We discuss it in this
week's talk.
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About Happy Minyan - Los Angeles
Please join us for davening every Shabbat!
Friday night: Mincha begins around 10 minutes after candle-lighting time, followed by Kabballat Shabbat and Maariv.
Saturday morning: David Sacks' class begins at 8:30am, followed by Shacharit at 9am, then Torah reading and Musaf. There is a Kiddush after davening at around 12pm.
Saturday afternoon:
Mincha and Seudah Shlishit are usually around 20 minutes before candle-lighting time and followed by Maariv and Havdallah at the conclusion of
Shabbat.
We also meet for davening on all major Jewish holidays.
The Happy Minyan is located at
the Karate Academy
9218 West Pico Blvd (at Glenville)
Los Angeles, California90035
Good Shabbos! Good Shabbos!
The Happy Minyan
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