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 |
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
9:00 - 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 Behaaloscha
| May 2010 |
Greetings!
Just in case you're new to receiving the newsletter, or need a friendly reminder of some newsletter
business I mentioned a while ago... Here's some basic info about "being in the know", electronically speaking, about what's happening in our community :
While there is a column in this newsletter with Upcoming Events listed, it is not the primary source of the most current/updated information for the Happy Minyan. That would be found on the Happy Minyan Website (www.HappyMinyan.org). However, if you want to have something
mentioned in this newsletter,
something that is directly related to our minyan,
(from Mazal Tov's to Melave Malka's and everything in between), please
email me that information as early as possible in the week to insure it makes it
into the newsletter of that week.
If
there is an event that you want people to know about right away, or it is outside of the minyan but is
probably of great interest to our minyan members
- that is what the yahoo group is great for! Be sure to sign up for the
happy minyan yahoo
group to send and receive messages to other happyminyan members. Signing up is really easy -
just go to the Happy Minyan
Yahoo Group and click on the blue tab on the right that says "Join
this group!" and go from there.
It is beyond the scope of this newsletter to list every community event outside of
our minyan - though I'll do my best to include
ones that are of particular interest to our minyan, as I have for this week
- so if you want a nice listing of LA Jewish community events
information sent to you via email, in addition to joining our yahoo
group - I highly recommend subscribing to:
1) the Hilly Gram, by
emailing a request to hilly@la-community.org and
2) Go to this site to
sign up for LA Jewish Events from Anshe Emes.
So... now you know it all! :)
Wishing One and All a
Shabbat Shalom!
Rachel Espana
PS - Though you can hit "reply" to this email and I will get your message, you can reach me personally via email - tikkunrachel@gmail.com - especially for
anything regarding the newsletter. |
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Happy Minyan News & Upcoming Events
*New Summer Schedule for Friday nights!
Baruch HaShem! We are the only Carlebach minyan in the world that has two minyanim for Friday Mincha / Kabbalat Shabbat in the summer. Both minyanim are at our regular davening location at the Karate Academy.
The early minyan will start at approximately 6:00pm and, the 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.
*Rabbi Chaim Kramer of the Breslov Research Institute:
Rabbi Kramer is coming next week!
The Pittsburgher Rebbe Shlita (My Son's Rebbe!):
The Pittsburgher Rebbe is in town for 2 weeks - for appointments to speak with him individually, please call 323-640-4081. Also, this Motzoai Shabbat there is a Melave Malka in the 'hood for men, where the Rebbe will speak and give brachos, etc.:
Segula: (You never know..)
*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 90209
* Happy Birthday Luke Ford, Nosson Kohn, Rebbetzin Rachel Trugman, Rabbi Shlomo Katz
* Refuah Shelaimah Shalom ben Elisheva (Sacha Shalom Louza), Yedidya ben Chana (Yedidya Blanton), Shaindel Feiga bat Baila Eeta (Sharon Asher) |
Parshas
Beha'aloscha - the Holiness of Aharon HaKohen from Reb Shlomo
- Rav Sholom Brodt, Rosh Yeshiva of Simchas Shlomo
"
L'hagid Sh'vacho
Sh'lo Sheenah." -
"...To praise him (Aharon) for not altering (the
service)."
In verse 2 at the opening of our parsha we
read, "AND AHARON DID JUST AS HASHEM HAD COMMANDED HIM." All the
commentators ask why is the Torah telling us this? Would anyone have
thought
that he would do otherwise? Rashi explains that the Torah is commending
Aharon
for doing everyday exactly as he was instructed to do, - "SH'LO
SHEENAH" - he did not make any changes. It seems like the question still
needs to be answered - why would you think that Aharon would make any
changes
in the performance of this great mitzvah?
The Mei Hashiloach explains "SH'LO
SHEENAH" - that he did not make any changes, as follows. It is common
experience that in our practice of our daily mitzvot, we often lose some
of our
excitement and joy in their performance. All too often we sink into an
autopilot mode, performing the mitzvot routinely without true excitement
and
joy. We become "old" and we fall asleep. [The word 'sheenah' is thus
related to the word 'shainah' - sleep.] The greatness of Aharon was that
each
day he would light the Menorah with the same joy and anticipation, as if
he was
doing for the first time.
Reb Shlomo zt"l provides a very
dramatic explanation of "SH'LO SHEENAH." [L'ma'an Achai V'reyai p.56]
Aharon haKohen was an extraordinarily holy man. Most people imagine a
holy
person as someone who keeps himself at a distance from the ordinary folk
and
remains aloof from their day-to-day life, protecting him or herself from
the
assumed ungodliness of the street.
The problem with such descriptions of
holy people is that we then see them as so beyond us that we can never
imagine
ourselves as being holy. When I used to teach in high school and
elementary
school, I had many opportunities to learn parshas Kedoshim [Va'yikra 19]
with
my students. In that parsha we are commanded to be holy. I would ask my
students to close their eyes and visualize a holy person. After doing
this,
they would open their eyes again and I would then ask them the following
two
questions: 1] Was the holy person you 'saw', male or female? 2] What did
they look
like and how were they dressed? As you may have imagined, most of the
'holy
people' were males and they [both the holyu males and females] were
dressed
quite differently from us. Sadly, this illustrates that most of us have a
difficult time of perceiving ourselves as being connected to holiness,
or ever
being holy ourselves.
But Aharon haKohen was not like that at
all. Reb Shlomo describes our first High Priest in a very different
manner.
Aharon haKohen was indeed very holy, and at the same time very
accessible.
Aharon haKohen was the first Kohen and
the first Kohen Gadol ever. All Kohanim until Moshiach is coming are his
descendants and their sanctity stems from him. One would imagine that he
surely
spent all his time in the sanctuary, offering sacrifices, studying
Torah,
praying and meditating. He was so holy that the entire Yom Kippur
service was
done by him; he was the only one to enter into the Holy of Holies once a
year
on Yom Kippur on behalf of the entire nation, and only he pronounced the
"Shem Hameforash," the unutterable Divine Name of G-d. All this is
true, yet at the same time he was able to be very close to his people -
not
despite his holiness, but, because he was so holy!
What does it mean on a daily basis, that
Aharon haKohen pronounced Hashem's Holy Name in the Holy of Holies? What
did it
mean to Aharon and what did it mean to us on a daily basis? What does it
mean
to us today?
Reb Shlomo explains that these very same
lips that uttered Hashem's Name, were making peace between people! The
Mishnah
in Pirkei Avot [Chap. 1] instructs us to be among the students of
Aharon,
loving peace and pursuing peace, loving the people and bringing them
close to
the Torah. It is explained that Aharon did not merely give lip service
to
peace. Instead of spending most of his time isolated in the protected
holiness
of the Sanctuary, he was among the people, talking with them, listening
to them
and actively helping them live in peace. He would make peace between
husband
and wife, between business partners, between parents and children,
between
friends, etc. The holiness of Hashem's Name was on Aharon's lips every
single
day. A holy person speaks holy; a holy person speaks healing words of
comfort,
reconciliation and peace. Because he was so holy, the Oneness of G-d was
so
very real to him. Because he was so close to Hashem he was so he could
not
tolerate people hurting one another. His holiness would not allow him to
do the
services in the Sanctuary, unless he gave it full expression in the
street.
When Aharon would meet someone who was
'off' in his religious practice, he did not tell him "Listen brother,
you're off, you are a mess and you better change." Aharon haKohen saw
with
'Mashiach eyes'. He saw the depths of each person. He saw that people
are truly
holy on the inside. He actively loved them by being with them, by seeing
and
focusing on their good points and their inner holiness, by speaking with
them
lovingly, by helping them get along in peace, their Divine souls were
aroused
and strengthened. Then they would on their own, realize how holy they
were and
how connected they were. In his presence they became aware of the
'natural'
holy fire that is aflame in their hearts.
"Sh'lo sheenah" - he did not
change - means he did not try to make the other person change, says Reb
Shlomo.
This was the greatness of Aharon haKohen. Aharon actively loved
everyone. When
you see someone who is 'off', you need Moshiach eyes to love him and
help him.
You don't learn to love from 'outside', it is a matter of the 'inside'.
As he
would light the Menorah he connected all of Israel with the 'or ganuz',
and thus inspired
all of us to do intimate Teshuvah.
Once during a television interview Reb
Shlomo zt"l was asked what was the secret of his great success in
'kiruv'
- in bringing so many thousands of Jews back to their roots, did he have
some
kind of formula? [Kiruv - is the widely used term by those doing
religious
outreach work. It means, bringing close.] Reb Shlomo zt"l said two
things.
First, he said that he doesn't use the word 'kiruv' because who is to
say that
he is closer to G-d than the person that he connecting with - maybe this
person
who is seemingly less observant, is actually closer to G-d? Secondly, he
said,
that he does not have any formula at all. He just prays each time that
Hashem
should put the right words in his mouth and that these words should
reach the
heart.
This Shabbos, may
we all be blessed to
kindle and to see each other's Divine light, to see the reflection of
Hashem's light in each other, to help one another in kindling our
Menorahs.
Wishing you kol tuv b'ahavah ubivracha
Sholom
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Tikkun Rachel" - Divrei Torah by Rachel Espana
 Coming or
Going in Beha'alotcha
There are two verses in this parsha that are so powerful that the Sages
say
they could comprise a book of their own in the Torah. We say these
verses every week, one when we take the Torah out of the ark and the
other when
we put it back in:
"And it was when the Ark traveled that Moshe said 'Rise, HaShem,
and Your enemies shall disperse, and those who hate You shall flee from
You.
'Rest, HaShem, among the tens of thousands and thousands of Israel.'"
(Shemot 10:35-36)
Moshe called out the first verse upon departure from wherever they were
encamped, and the second when they arrived at their next destination in
the
desert. Both are prayers. Moshe asked that the path should be safe
as we journey, and that G-d should dwell with us wherever we go.
The Ark traveled in front of the Children of Israel. We can learn from
this to put our
beliefs in front of us, G-d's Word in front our own plans for journey.
Looking a bit deeper, we also discover that these two verses serve an
important
purpose.
One way it is derived that these verses are a book of the Torah unto
themselves
is that they are enclosed by two inverted "nun's", much like brackets
or parenthesis. Rashi, quoting the Gemara, explains that this unusual
demarcation indicates that the verses don't actually belong there, but
are
placed there to break up the narrative. These verses of prayer serve to
interrupt a list of the troubles caused by the Children of Israel in the
desert.
The obvious mistakes we made come after these verses, in chapter 11.
There, the Children of Israel begin complaining. (Nudging is apparently
an ancient Jewish practice.) Then they are overwhelmed with a desire
for
meat. (Another ancient custom - Jews craving deli cuisine.)
What is not obvious is the trouble we caused just prior to the insertion
of the
two verses of prayer. According to the Ramban, the trouble is alluded
to
in the verse "And they traveled from the Mountain of G-d (Mount
Sinai)." (Shemot 10:33) Perhaps the trouble is seen in
the word "from"...
If you ask me on Shabbos morning "Where are you going?" - I'll tell
you I'm going *to* shul. If you ask me after a long day at work
"Where are you going?" - I'll tell you I'm going as far away *from*
there as possible. If we're going somewhere we want to be, we'll say
where we're going *to*. If we're leaving somewhere we don't want to be,
we'll say where we're going *from*.
The Ramban cites a Midrash that says the Children of Israel fled from
Mount
Sinai like a child running out from school - presumably the child wants
to run
away before the teacher can give the child more homework. So too the
Jews
were worried that G-d would continue giving them commandments.
Something
shifted and the commandments stopped being a gift, a way to connect to
HaShem,
and rather seemed to be a burden.
Maybe the prayerful verses are in response to this shift. Moshe asks
HaShem to rise up - which some translate as "establish Your Divine
Presence" - let us feel close to G-d as we travel in life. And then
Moshe asks that HaShem rest among us. How could we feel that mitzvot
are
a burden when G-d is right there with us? Each commandment is a way to
communicate and connect with G-d, which is so much easier for us when we
feel
HaShem's Presence.
May we be blessed to experience G-d in our lives. May we appreciate the
gift we have of all the various ways to connect to the Divine. May we
never run from responsibility, but rather run towards holiness.
Good Shabbos! 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.
Life At The Top
 Dear Friends,
After we got the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Rabbis teach that we reached
the level of Adam and Eve before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge.
The question is, why didn't the final fixing happen then and there? To
answer, we revisit what went on in the Garden of Eden before the snake
showed up, and what that has to do with our lives today.
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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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