Search Results for: Pollard

Parsha Vayeira 5767: Today’s Lessons of Sodom…

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Parsha Vayeira 5767: Today’s Lessons of Sodom

By Moshe Burt

Our Parsha opens with Hashem, as we understand, visiting Avraham Aveinu on the 3rd day after Bris Milah, when Avraham was at the height of his pain following the circumcision, as Rashi indicates, “to inquire about his welfare.” (Metsuda Linear Chumash rendering of Rashi on Perek 18, posuk 1)

It’s not like Hashem needed to pay a visit to ascertain Avraham’s actual condition for, Hashem is the Creator, The Master, The Ruler over the world who knows and is aware of everything. And so we learn and gain insight from this first posuk as to the Mitzvah of Bikur Cholim; showing, caring, giving strength and encouragement to the ill by visiting and caring about them. read more

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Parsha Lech Lecha 5767: Aliyah — Ascending to the Real World…

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Parsha Lech Lecha 5767: Aliyah — Ascending to the Real World…

By Moshe Burt

“Hashem said to Avram, Go for yourself from your land … to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation…” (Breish’t, Perek 12, posukim 1 & 2) Lech Lecha, the “Aliyah Parsha.”

Rashi writes on the posukim, “For your benefit and good. It is there that I will make you a great nation …” (Rashi on Breish’t, Perek 12, posuk 1) read more

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Parsha Noach 5767: Contrasting Noach and Avraham Avinu…

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Parsha Noach 5767: Contrasting Noach and Avraham Avinu

By Moshe Burt

We read in our parsha that “These are the generations of No’ach: No’ach was a righteous man and perfect in his generations, and No’ach walked with G’d.” (Sefer Breish’t, Perek 6, posuk 9.) The Imrei Shefer comments on the Midrash regarding the words; “These are the generations of No’ach …” that the flood was directly attributable to No’ach’s behavior. According to the Midrash, “he [No’ach]… caused the flood by not protesting against the corrupt actions of the members of his generation.” (Torah Gems, Aharon Yaakov Greenberg, Sefer Breish’t, page 56) read more

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Parsha Breish’t 5767: Post-Simchat Torah Rain; Lessons for the Jews…

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Parsha Breish’t 5767: Post-Simchat Torah Rain; Lessons for the Jews…

By Moshe Burt

This author has, in years past, taken a vacation from compiling a vort, a Parsha HaShevua for Parsha Breish’t. Somehow, not being rabbinic or a Talmud Chacham, it has always seemed difficult to put true and deep meaning of Hashem’s creation to words.

This year however, it rained in Eretz Yisrael on Isru Chag, the Simchat Torah of Chutz L’Aretz. And it didn’t just rain a few sprinkles, it poured on Yom Rishon. The weather reports promise more on Yom Sheini. And the Israeli weatherman is rarely, if ever wrong. read more

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Soros Moves on Israel: MoveOn.com and Resurrection of the Leftist “Victim’s Syndrome”

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Column One: Soros Moves on to Israel, by Caroline Glick (Jerusalem Post)

“To rebuild American political support for Israel and to enhance the US-Israel alliance, it is imperative that Israel be capable of understanding the nature of this support. This understanding begins by making distinctions between our many friends and our foes and acting on these distinctions. Not all of our friends are Jews and not all Jews are our friends.”

Excerpts;

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s speech at the American Task Force for Palestine’s inaugural dinner in Washington on Wednesday evening was but the latest sign that America’s alliance with Israel is weakening. read more

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Simchat Torah 5767: The Annual Full-Circle…

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Simchat Torah 5767: The Annual Full-Circle

By Moshe Burt

Back in Philadelphia, in the “Old Country”, Rabbi Moshe Ungar would equate Simchat Torah, the final day of the Chag Succot (8 days in Chutz L’Aretz with the final Day referred to as Shemini Atzeret) as the day when, after all of the Tefillot and Teshuva, after all of the Simchat Beit HaShoevot, after we daven for sufficient rain to raise our crops and to provide sufficient drinking water and after we daven for the 7O nations, Hashem asks his people, his most-favored nation to remain one more day, just we and HaKadosh Borchu — a private visitation. read more

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Succot 5767 — The Promise of Redemption and it’s Fulfillment…

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Succot 5767 — The Promise of Redemption and it’s Fulfillment…

By Moshe Burt

Having emerged from Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and, hopefully we have all been inscribed and sealed for a happy, healthy, successful and meaningful year and years ahead, we find ourselves in the midst of Succot.

During Succot, the B’nai Yisrael, as an Am Segula (a nation apart and unique from the other nations), as Hashem’s special, chosen people, visit, bond, and celebrate our special and unique relationship with HaKodosh Borchu. read more

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Yom Kippur 5767: Unity, Brachot and the Jews; Kohanim to Mankind — Revisited…

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Yom Kippur 5767: Unity, Brachot and the Jews; Kohanim to Mankind — Revisited

By Moshe Burt

The Mussaf portion of any prayers; Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, Shabbos represent the essence, the main point of that day.

On Yom Kippur, the essence of the service, the ikar is the avodah of the Kohen Godol. So much so is this the case that the Mussaf service centers around the order of the Kohen Godol’s service in the Kodosh Kodoshim (the Holy of Holies in the Beit HaMikdash). The service includes all of the preparations which the Kohen Godol makes prior to the service, the clothing he must wear at each step of the avodah, the number of times that the Kohen must bathe himself prior to each change of clothing and before each step of his service, the drawing of lots determining which goat is for Hashem and which for The Mountain of Azazel (the goat designated by lot to bear the burden of death to rectify B’nai Yisrael’s sins) and more. And by virtue of our being Hashem’s “most favored nation”, The Kohen Godol is to the Jews a paradigm of Hashem’s blueprint of what the Jews are to represent to the other nations of Mankind. read more

Ongoing Nightmare at Kever Rachel: Is it Easier to Get to Uman than to the 3600 Year Old Jewish Holy site, Rachel’s Tomb, in Israel?

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This is a crucial question and the perspective is a personal one, and so this blog will dispense with the usual third-person convention — “this author.” I’ve agonized on this ongoing story for months, out of concern for the welfare of those involved at the Kever Rachel complex, so as to not further jeopardize what is already a problematic situation with the regime and out of concern for the future of the various planned outreach progams to teach Israelis about what Ima Rachel means to the Jewish people. read more

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Rosh Hashana 5767: Unesaneh Tokef; Withstanding and Defying a Gezeira Rah…

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Rosh Hashana 5767: Unesaneh Tokef; Withstanding and Defying a Gezeira Rah

By Moshe Burt

Each Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we daven the Unesaneh Tokef as part of the Mussaf tefillah.

The story behind the Unesaneh Tokef tefillah (expressing the seriousness of the day): relates the Gezeira Rah (evil decree) faced by R’ Amnon of Mainz and his Kehilla of forced conversion to Christianity dating back about 1,000 years.

R’ Amnon who, with his Kehilla, faced dread coersion as well as mortal, imminent threat of death, gave the perception of consideration of possible compliance with the demand to convert to Christianity and, as a result, became distraught at even having given the impression that he could betray Hashem. read more

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