After visiting Golan Winery
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When I asked how it could be that many Tzadikim don't seem to know hidden things about me, I didn't expect to find my answer in this past Shabbos' parsha! For those who didn't see the post, I quoted a ma'amar a commenter pointed out to me from the Mittler Lubavitcher Rebbe, which mentioned that it is well known that one's thoughts, deeds, and plans are revealed to Tzadikim. I pointed out that I have met with several Tzadikim, and while it was always a good experience, I still got the impression that they did not know more about me than I revealed to them or which was apparant from whatever I did say/do.Rav Goldberger here leads a Shabbos "rally" in Baltimore with some beautiful niggunim. As always, he has an amazing voice and they sing a number of beautiful niggunim, including the famous "Baltimore" niggun that Rav Goldberger himself composed, at the end. Enjoy.
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I read the quote below from the Mittler (2nd) Lubavitcher Rebbe's ma'amar, Kuntrus Hahishtatchus. A kind reader from this post on my visit to the Lubavitcher Rebbe's kever, pointed me toward this ma'amar: Similarly, when a person goes to the grave of a holy tzaddik, he can feel great shame and lose all sense of self concern, because he feels great embarrassment over all his deeds and thoughts which he performed until the present day, for they are all revealed before [the tzaddik]. For even in his lifetime, a tzaddik is aware of another person’s thoughts and designs, as is well known. Surely, this applies after the tzaddik’s passing, for then [his existence] is spiritual.
Adi Ran is crazy and I love this song. It is hilarious. In modern Hebrew, "dos" is a pejorative term for a religious Jew so this song is a very funny attempt to tell his parents and grandparents not be be angry with him for becoming religious. There are some really funny lines in there. He is a real character.
The funniest line is "!סבתא - נהייתי דוס, תוציא את השיניים מהכוס"
The person who put this video on Youtube put the lyrics so I'll post them below.
אבא - נהייתי דוס זה לא אומר שאתה צריך לכעוס
אמא - נהייתי דוס זה לא אומר שאת צריכה לכעוס
אומנם נולדתי לדור
שרוב פניו סביבו שחור
אבל גליתי ת'אמת
וכל השאר סתם תפל..
לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה...
לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה...
אאאבאאא - נהייתי דוס זה לא אומר שאתה צריך לכעוס
אאאמאאא - נהייתי דוס זה לא אומר שאת צריכה לכעוס
מחר תודיעו לכולם
שיש קדוש ברוך הוא בעולם
ומי שלא רוצה להתעדכן
רחמנא ליצלן מסכן מסכן
לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה...
לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה לה...
סבתאאא - נהייתי דוס תוציא את השיניים מהכוס
סבאאא - ועוד מעט תישברו פה כוס
לה לה לה לה לה פרו ורבו
לה לה לה לה לה פרו ורבו
לה לה לה לה לה פרו ורבו פרו ורבו פרו ורבו פרו ורבו...
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I'm doing some reading and contemplating how to try and prepare myself for going to Uman for the first time this Rosh Hashanah using some books and seforim. My friend Simcha, who's gone for two years so far and took most of these pictures, recommend that I read Through Fire and Water, Reb Noson's biography by Rav Chaim Kramer. So far I'm reading it over Shabbosim and I'm a little over halfway done. It's a very long book but very interesting. It's crazy what Reb Noson had to go through and the way that other Tzadikim and their thugish followers treated him and other Breslovers. The most amazing part of it, though, is just to truly learn from Reb Noson what it really means to attach one's self to a Tzadik totally and completely. He was the perfect talmid. My question from this book is how I can change to become a true talmid of Rav Moshe Weinberger...
A Simple Jew also recommended that I see two other books, which came in the mail last week. I plan to save at least one of them for the plane on the way to Uman. One is Against All Odds, about one person's mesirus Nefesh to be in Uman for Rosh Hashanah when it was still under Soviet control.
The other is Rebbe Nachman and the Knights of the Rosh Hashanah Table. It is a collection of essays from about 50 people, some of whom are pretty well known. They write about how they discovered and became connected to Rebbe Nachman, Breslov, and Uman.
My wife asked me to order Rav Ozer Bergman's guide to Hisbodedus, Where Heaven and Earth Kiss. It really is a great and practical book from the parts of it I've looked at. My wife's working on it now and IY"H, I will as well. Hisbodedus is such an ikar in Yiddishkeit and in what Rebbe Nachman teaches, so it's obviously something I need to work on and hopefully Reb Ozer's book will help with that.
I'm also trying to go through and review some of the major pieces in Likutei Moharan like Azamra, Ayeh, and Tinyana 48. It is amazingly deep and the connections are hard to grasp sometimes. But I do find that after the second or third time through, I pick up a few more things. Though it is like that when learning anything deep.
My in-laws brought over some supplies yesterday for a barbecue for all of us, plus my father-in-law's da'ati sister from Netanya and her husband. Having just come in from Israel, one of the first things they wanted to do was to go to the Lubavitcher Rebbe's z"l's kever. So I agreed to go drive my wife, her family from Israel, her aunt, and my 7 year old daughter and 5 year old son over there.
I took my Tehilim and went in with my 5 year old son to the Ohel. I said one kepitel Tehillim with him and then he watched everyone else while I continued saying some Tehillim. He asked me why people were ripping up their papers so I told him what they were doing with their k'vitelach. He told me he wanted to do it to. Sigh. The best laid plans of mice and men...
... And I am very excited!
Every year that I've consistently posted my friends' updates from their Uman trips, I have wanted to go. But law school and work have gotten in my way. But this year, I have already graduated and my post-law-school-job will not yet have started. It is my last perfect chance to go. B"H, the Rebbetzin gave me reshus so IY"H I am on my way! IY"H it should be l'toeles to help em draw closer to the Borei Olam!!!
Uman Uman Rosh Hashanah!!!
P.S. I'll be riding for a day and a half before reaching Uman with Leon (think "Alexi") in the green cab you see here visiting a few Kivrei Tzadikim on the way to Uman...
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My wife really likes this video. And since I just saw it now on Raisin' Soul, I realized that I hadn't shared it before. Enjoy!
Possible Kol Isha note: At one point, there is a large group of people singing, including some women. If you don't rely on "trei kalei lo mishtamei," you might not want to watch the video, or at least you might want to be ready to turn the sound down at that point. Kol tuv.
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Shmuel, over at the Tikun! blog, has a great story told to him by the Giores wife in a young couple who ate by him Friday night. She grew up in a Catholic home in the Philipines. In her story, she told of seeing someone's private successful battle against the yetzer hara. The story's a big chizuk to us.She couldn't believe it! To be sure, she turned around to see if he would maybe turn back after they had passed each other and sneak a peek, but as far as she could tell, he kept going on his way without stopping.Give it a read to read the whole story.
In a place where everyone is looking to satisfy their urges, could such a thing be possible? Who was that boy? Upon returning to her apartment, her roommate informed her that the boy she had seen on the street was a Jew. Until that point, she had never seen a Jew, didn't know what a Jew was or looked like, knew nothing about Jews at all.
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Check out THIS POST by Rabbi Yaakov Haber. Great one. Here's an excerpt: Now, I live in Ramat Beit Shemesh where new pashkevil were just plastered around the city regarding a new Yeshivah for boys, that in the opinion of the plasterer, does not conform to the ‘long standing’ traditions of Ramat Beit Shemesh. (Ramat Beit Shemesh was founded in 1998).Rabbi Haber has links to PDFs of his "pashkevil" in both Hebrew and the English translation. Definitely check this out.
Pashkevil’s are anonymous. Although they carry the signatures of great Rabbis, these signatures are dubious at best and have seldom been proven to be authentic. To my observation, they seldom accomplish anything positive, while they serve the purpose of promoting division and hate amongst Jews.
This is what the Chofetz Chaim said about Pashkevil’s:“I must speak out my heart about the manner of conflict taking place among the Jewish people... All of Israel is burning like a fire as each side places more and more ads condemning their opposition... I don’t know who permitted all of these terrible sins. Everyone is sure that he is saying the truth and it is the other opinion that is creating the argument. This is a grave error, because even if both are right, they have no right to violate the Torah. So many mitzvos are being violated. No good can possibly come out of this. Right or wrong, they are creating a chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d’s Name). Twenty-four thousand students of Rabbi Akiva died in one month, not because they argued, but because they argued improperly and caused a chilul Hashem. Certainly each one of these giants felt that he was right.”So, with the help of my esteemed congregation, Kehilas Shivtei Yeshurun in Ramat Beit Shemesh, I designed a pashkevil of my own. The pashkevil is a verbatim letter of the Chofetz Chaim, signed by the Chofetz Chaim. We will cover every Pashkevil we can find with our pashkevil.
This is the pashkevil to end all pashkevil!
If you’d like to participate in our campaign or for your own copy of the “Chofetz Chaim Pashkevil” – please contact me.
Here is the next shiurim by Rabbi Micha Golshevsky in his series of shiurim on the sefer Nachas Hashulchan.
