Elementary School International Espionage Conference Dialogue

As heard from a reader in Yerushalayim:

Older intelligent child who considers himself quite worldly to a younger sibling in all seriousness: "I think I know who hacked into Iran's computers."

Younger child: "Really? Who?"

Older child: "I think it was Rebbe S. from the cheder. He knows everything there is to know about the office's computer system!"

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Please donate to my son's cheder by going to minivanraffle.org to buy a raffle ticket. The drawing for a new minivan, car, or $20,000 cash will be IY"H Chanukah time. $100 for 1 ticket. $360 for 5. Where the form says "Referred by," please write "Dixie Yid." Tizku l'mitzvos!

New Nachas Hashulchan Shiurim by Rabbi Micha Golshevsky!

Here is the next shiurim by Rabbi Micha Golshevsky in his series of shiurim on the sefer Nachas Hashulchan.

Nachas Hashulchan 1.8 parts ONE and TWO

Nachas Hashulchan 2.1 HERE - Continuation from 1.8

Picture courtesy of JewishSearch.com. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Nachas Hashulchan Shiur - Bedikas Chometz & Excessive Stringencies

Here is the fifth shiur in a new series of shiurim by Rabbi Micha Golshevsky, on the sefer Nachas Hashulchan. This is the last shiur covering the introduction on Likutei Moharan I:1. It also covers the Pesach seder, leil bedikas chometz, and the negative effects of chumros yeseiros even regarding Pesach.

Click here for more information on the shiur and the sefer Nachas Hashulchan.

CLICK HERE to get the shiur by either left clicking to listen now or right clicking and selecting "Save Target As" to download the shiur.

Picture courtesy of laura cowan.com. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

New Nachas Hashulchan Shiur by Rabbi Micha Golshevsky!

Here is the next shiur in a new series of shiurim by Rabbi Micha Golshevsky, on the sefer Nachas Hashulchan. This shiur covers the sefer Nachas Hashulchan 1:4.

Click here for more information on the shiur and the sefer Nachas Hashulchan.

CLICK HERE to get the shiur by either left clicking to listen now or right clicking and selecting "Save Target As" to download the shiur.

Update 3/14/10: The link to the shiur is fixed. So if you tried to get the shiur before and couldn't, you can try again now.

Picture courtesy of judaica art.com. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Shiur #3 on Sefer Nachas Hashulchan by R' Micha Golshevsky

Here is the third in a new series of shiurim by Rabbi Micha Golshevsky, on the sefer Nachas Hashulchan. This shiur covers the sefer Nachas Hashulchan 1:3, as well as Likutei Moharan I:1.

Click here for more information on the shiur and the sefer Nachas Hashulchan.

CLICK HERE to get the shiur by either left clicking to listen now or right clicking and selecting "Save Target As" to download the shiur.

Picture courtesy of Shoshana Bombacher c/o A Simple Jew. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Sefer Nachas Hashulchan - Shiur by R' Micha Golshevsky - Part 2

Rabbi Micha Golshevsky, who is a big talmid Chacham who I respect a great deal, has begun giving a shiur in the sefer Nachas Hashulchan. This shiur covers the sefer Nachas Hashulchan 1:2.

Click here for more information on the shiur and the sefer Nachas Hashulchan.


CLICK HERE to get the shiur by either left clicking to listen right away or right clicking and selecting "Save Target As" to download.

Picture courtesy of Tamar Finkelstein c/o A Simple Jew. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

First Shiur on Sefer Nachas Hashulchan by Rav Micha Golshevsky

Rabbi Micha Golshevsky, who is a big talmid Chacham who I respect a great deal, has begun giving a shiur in the sefer Nachas Hashulchan.

According to Rabbi Golshevsky, Nachas Hashulchan is a concise work which connects every siman of the first three sections of Shulchan Aruch to the first Torah in Likutei Moharan. It's stated purpose is to show the great breadth of Likutei Moharan, which literally can enhance any aspect of Torah and divine service. He chose the first three sections of Shulchan Aruch since they all relate to our relationship with Hashem, (Choshen Mishpat is bein adam l'chaverio.)

He hopes to expand and share the beauty of this inspiring work, which is filled with chizuk and chidushim. It is very significent that in a few words he also explains b'kizur the relevant teachings of the Arizal regarding each halacha, also b'remez.

The first shiur was an intro to the sefer in general and and some of the first Torah of Likutei Moharan in particular.

CLICK HERE to get the shiur by either left clicking to listen right away or right clicking and selecting "Save Target As" to download.

Picture courtesy of breslovkollelonline.com. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Interesting Discussion on the Inner Unity Behind Great Jewish Disputes

For an interesting back-and-forth discussion between R' Micha Berger & R' Micha Golshevsky regarding the inner unity behind the major machlokes'n in history, see the comment thread at A Simple Jew's Post, The Essence of Emunah.

Picture courtesy of gilkalai.wordpress.com. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

How Baking Challah Can Bring A Bring a Woman to High Levels

Yesterday, on my post Where do Women "Fit" Into Avodas Hashem Anyway?, Leah Shaindel commented that she was told by the Koidinover Rebbe that a woman can reach very high levels through making Challah, but that she didn't know the explanation. I passed her question on to Rabbi Micha Golshevsky, who I thought might know the answer. Here was his response to the question:

[E]verything depends on what we think. A woman who remembers that she is doing a mitzvah of Chesed when taking care of the house or kids, fulfills the mitzvah of v'ahavtah l'rayacha kamocha. She has many other ways to directly elevate her house.

For example she can focus on fulfiling the mitzvah of chinuch while she spends time with her kids. She should also remember that every instant she is fulfilling the many mitzvos of tznius, being careful how she speaks, etc etc.
(Spirit of the Law, 72:6)

A universal custom among the Jewish people involves baking challah in honor of Shabbos... Even if bread baked by a Jew is available, each household should bake so that the woman of the house can take challah from the dough, etc.

Rav Nosson explains one of the deeper reasons behind lighting candles and taking challah in honor of Shabbos, as well as why the performance of these mitzvos is the woman's perogative.

Rebbe Nachman explained the verse, "Hashem is close to all who call...to Him in truth," in a novel way. No matter where you have fallen, if you will just call to the Creator in truth on your own level, He will surely reveal Himself to you since He is close to any who call in truth. Even if all you can do is say, "please help me," this will also reveal the portals that lead out of spiritual darkness to the illuminationof true connection.

Shabbos candles represent the light of truth that cuts through the deepest darkness and illuminates the path back to holiness, since Shabbos represents the next world which is the ultimate truth. Speaking even one word in truth illuminates the most mundane situation and brings closeness to Hashem, much as Shabbos imbues the mundane with sanctity.

The truth was easily discernible before Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When they ate, "the light of the world was extinguished." This means that before they ate, they existed in a more enlightened state and could easily tell the difference between right and wrong. After they ate, evil went from being external and noticeable to internal and difficult to discern.

Their intention when eating was to intensify their challenges so that they could ultimately afford Hashem more pleasure when they toiled to choose good over evil. Their mistake was that they should have done what Hashem said regardless of what they understood to be more beneficial spiritually. Hashem had said not to eat from the fruit; they should not have eaten.

Challah is set aside for a kohein, a direct male descendant of Aharon who is referred to as the "man of truth" in the verse. The kohein is the paradigm of the tzaddik who has more connection to the truth than the average person. By giving him the challah, he demonstrates how we can connect even our bread to the ultimate Source, the absolute truth of all creation.

Forging a connection with a kohein galvanizes a person to redouble his efforts in his quest for truth and holiness.

Nowadays the challah is not given to a kohein, but it is burned. The very fact that we separate a small amount of dough and yearn to give it to a kohein and attain the lofty connection this brings connects us to the higher aspect of striving for truth. It has the required effect as though we had given the challah to a kohein.
Women as a whole were affected by Chava's sin to a great extent. (This is in accordance with the relevant verses as well as Midrashic, Talmudic, and Kabbalistic teachings on them. The subject is a very broad one that will be addressed later on in the series.) The rectification of this is that women work to restore the truth to the world by lighting Shabbos candles and increasing their levels of truth by giving challah. This explains a little of why we separate challah before Shabbos and why women have the especial perogative to fulfill the mitzvah.

May Hashem fill us with the truth and the light of Shabbos!

Picture courtesy of chgs.umn.edu. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Silencing the Philosopher Within - By Rabbi Micha Golshevsky

The halacha is that if something treif (or milk in meat etc.) falls into a pot of kosher food, it is permitted if there are 60 times the amount of kosher food relative to whatever treif food fell into the pot. If 1 oz fell into the pot and there are 60 oz in the pot, it's kosher. If a second oz. of the same material fell in, we do not say that if there are 60 oz. relative to the new trief oz. alone, that both are nullified. Rather, there needs to be at least 120 oz of kosher in the pot since "matzah min es mino." The 2nd treif element combines with the earlier oz and exudes taste in the food unless there is enough in the pot to nullify the taste of 2oz of treif.

The same holds true for engaging in sophistry, philosophy or other spiritually negative endeavors. We all have some of these attributes in us already, however. According to Rav Avraham ben Rebbe Nachman, we have a built in philosopher who feels that we need not do anything except what our baser elements dictate.

If we study heretical writings or talk to people who are ruled by their inner philosopher, (each person in his own way) we need to be very vigilant that this not effect us negatively.

Rebbe Nachman says gives an antidote for such negativity (negative fire) in Likutei Moharan. He wries that through the fire of judging oneself in hisbodedus, one burns off the negativity that inevitably rubs off on him when trying to draw people who are distant to Torah closer to Hashem.

We negate the bad influences which pull us down spiritually through fiery prayer and distilling out the proper way to act in each element of our lives and asking for assistance to act the way we should. (For example: Since Hashem, our loving Father, is right there with us always, is it proper to act in such and such a way? Please help me change this etc.)

Hashem should help us truly do hisbodedus to remove the "philosopher within!"

(Picture courtesy of Wikipedia)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

High School for Teen Girls at Risk Needs Assistance

I received the following e-mail from Rabbi and Rebbetzin Micha and Yehudis Golshevsky, who have known Basy and Raviv Shaked, the founders and heads of Tzofiah High School, for years. With their word about the importance and credibility of this organization, I know for sure that it is extremely worthy. Please read the e-mail below and consider donating online or mailing a check to one of the addresses below.

Q. Who is helping young girls from frum families in crisis? Girls abandoned, orphaned or raised in extremely dysfunctional homes, who turn to drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, petty theft, self-mutilation & eating disorders?

A. Tzofiah High School in Ramat Beit Shemesh, founded by Rabbi Raviv & Basy Shaked.

Tzofiah's students, girls from "glatt kosher" homes…

Meet Malki, the youngest of eight children from NY. One Friday night, when Malki was ten years old, her parents got into an argument. Huddled outside the bedroom, she & her twin brother were petrified by their mother's screams. Peeking through a crack in the doorway, they watched their father beat their mother until she was no longer screaming. While their father sat in prison for murder, Malki lived with a single relative who expected her to help with expenses by stealing from local supermarkets. By the time she got to Tzofiah, Malki was full of rage, tearful, distrustful & almost incapable of engaging in any form of relationship. To make matters worse, her life skills were non-existent & she was reading at the level of a second grader.

After two very challenging years at Tzofiah, Malki was able to say: "I don't do stupid things anymore because I love myself too much! I never thought I'd be able to read & now I'm getting A's just like all my friends! I have a job & it doesn't overwhelm me. I can't believe this is me!"

An unusual story? Unfortunately I can easily tell you sixty more tales of severe crisis in the Jewish community.

Tzofiah…pikuach nefesh, every day…

Tzofiah, a dormitory school, founded in 2000 for English-speaking girls from the US , Israel and other countries, addresses their mental health needs as well as offering them a high school diploma, a certified vocation & an opportunity to re-explore Judaism & become productive members of society.

Thank G-d, our success rate is astounding, with happily-married alumni raising healthy children in Jewish communities around the world, alumni who have graduated college with degrees in psychology, education & business, alumni who have moved on to nursing school & other Masters programs.

It's hard to believe that these successful, put-together young women were once loud, red-eyed, pierced & hooded angry teens, hanging out at street corners till the wee hours of the night.

Most of the presently-enrolled girls are planning to return for a 2nd year of growth & support. Indeed, many feel that Tzofiah is a 2nd home & the Shakeds & other staff members are like family.

Why am I writing this?

Because the Shakeds face a serious dilemma:

After a year of building trust & telling the girls that finally someone is there for them, can Tzofiah refuse them for a 2nd year due to lack of funds?

Can they say: "Yes, we care about you but only if you can foot the bill."?

Must love come with a price tag???

And what about the many girls praying to begin in Tzofiah next year? Girls holding on by sheer will to survive a summer of neglect & abuse, until they can get to Israel?

Caring for these needy teens is a costly effort for Tzofiah & the debts are mounting. But what is the alternative? To send these precious Jewish souls back to the streets? To lawlessness & violence? It is time for all caring Jews to help the Shakeds shoulder this burden.

Rabbi Shaked will be happy to contact you & tell you more about this special school. Please see this as the emergency it is & do your part for Klal Yisroel.

You May Mail Your Tax-Deductible Donation (Specify at Bottom of Check "Student Scholarships") To:

American Friends of Tzofiah
874 East 9th St.
Brooklyn, NY, 11230 USA
718-258-8659 - 917-846-1941 (cell)

In Israel (only $ checks are tax-deductible):

Tzofiah-Machon Rivkah
13/1 Nachal Micha
Ramat Beit Shemesh 99000 Israel
02-999-8096

Sincerely:
Shoshana Lepon
Ramat Beit Shemesh
054-747-1188

For more information about Tzofiah, please visit our website.

-Dixie Yid

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

How to Tap Into Deveikus - At ASJ Featuring R' Micha Golshevsky

A Simple Jew: Question & Answer With Rabbi Micha Golshevsky - Tapping Into Deveykus

-Dixie Yid

(Picture courtesy of Vortlach)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

Should One Foucus on Understanding His Yetzer Hara?

In preperation for this post regarding the yetzer hara, I recently asked Rabbi Micha Golshevsky, the author of the weekly translations of Rav Itchie Mayer Morgenstern's Torahs, the following question:

I remember reading recently, and I can't remember if it was from you, something about not focusing too much on understanding the yetzer hara, even if it is for the good reason of trying to understand it better in order to beat it. Whatever I read said that this could be dangerous because it will just bring you down, despite the good intentions.

I can't remember who i heard/read this from, or what the person's source was. Do you know where this idea is from?

Below is his response to me, collected from several e-mails in our e-conversation:

In terms of your question, virtually all of mussar and much of chasidus is a study of the yetzer hara, meant to insulate and protect us from its insidious methods. For example, it often causes one not to notice the bad tendencies and spiritual weaknesses within. This way we won't even know to do teshuvah. How can you correct a problem you don't know exists? Another method of the yetzer is rationalization. It is even possible to convince one that what is really a sin is a mitzvah in a particular situation.

However, the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (in Parshas Achrei Mos, Vayikra, First one in perek 18) says something a little similar to what you wrote. Interestingly Rebbi Nachman says the same thing in Sefer Hamidos, Niuf I #10. He says that you should never get into a claim and counter claim situation (Toen v' nitan) with your tempter. This will make you all the more likely to fail in your challenge, since thinking about it when sorely tempted--even why you should reject it-- evokes the feelings for it from within. Every instant one spends explaining his rejection to the tempter within only serves to weaken his resolve.

Although the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh and Rebbe Nachman, discuss arayos specifically, it seems to me that "toen v'nitan" will not be helpful in other areas of temptation as well. For example: when a person sees a delectable dish, if he debates with himself whether to take an extra helping this will often cause him to overeat. Immediately afterwards he will bemoan, "There goes my diet." or words to that effect. (Sometimes he will bemoan this before he takes the extra cake!)

One needs to break out of the mochin dikatnus, "forgetfulness" of the bad effects of the indulgence, not debate the tempter. We have all heard about the chain-smoking doctor exhorting others of the dangers of smoking. He knows it's wrong intellectually and can even argue and debate the whys and wherefores but this doesn't help him one bit. When the cigarette "calls him," he lights up.

What will work to overcome a nisayon? Passionate prayer often helps. Another method that works (for me) is to pull out a powerful sefer that discusses the problem, open up to a potent piece and "go with it" by yearning for holiness and purity through the inspiration it affords. Sometimes the only thing that will work is to leave the place of temptation as quickly as possible.

On a deeper level, Rebe Nachman teaches that while one experiences a nisayon one loses one's da'as regarding the test. This is the definition of a nisayon, since if one were to retain da'as there would be no nisayon! Why would anyone overeat if he had true da'as and felt the bad feelings of overeating before indulging?

The time to prepare for a nisayon is beforehand. One method to build tools to enable one to refuse to do what is wrong as quickly as possible is studying the methods of the yezter and preparing counter-strategies. It is well known that the Ba'aley Mussar would say that the Chovos Halevavos understood the yetzer hara very intimately, and study of it enables one to understand and resist the yetzer. The "Chovos Hatalmidim" comes to mind as an example of a Chassidic Sefer that discusses understanding the yetzer and how to resist it at length.

Perhaps you also meant that you need to find the correct time to work on the yetzer since if you work on it immediately after a fall, you can fall to depression. This is illustrated in the following story:

Rav Noach of Lechvitch zt"l once said, "If a Jew succumbs to temptation or manifests a character defect, he must not allow himself to fall into the trap of self-absorbed despondency, but must do teshuvah instead.

"This could be compared to two servants of the king who were sent to war, one wise and the other foolish. During the battle, the wise one took a hit, but he decided that the middle of a battlefield is no place to attend to a minor wound. The foolish servant also sustained a minor injury, but he decided to immediately attend to it. He stopped shooting, became an easy target, and was killed immediately.

"Similarly, one who sustains a 'flesh wound' while fighting his inclination could easy fall into depression. But this will destroy his ability to focus on prayer or Torah study, his main weapons in the war! This leaves him completely vulnerable. Every soul is rooted in the olam hata'anug, the supernal world of delight, and anyone who does not feel pleasure in serving Hashem is automatically drawn after material pleasures. The only solution is to immediately change direction by doing teshuvah. This simply means resolving not to do the sin again!"

Rav Nosson discusses at great length a concept first brought in the Ramban in Iyov. Iyov said, "I feared a fear and it came upon me." This teaches a very profound lesson: one who fears literally draws this into one's life. One who focuses on the good and kindnesses in his life will draw even more kindness into his life. The mind is very powerful and the power of visualization is well documented. What we think affects us and those around us. We must think good, positive thoughts and forget the difficulties in our lives. It is enough to deal with them as they crop up. Let us remember the famous Chassidic adage: "Where your mind is, that is where you are!"

Hashem should help us overcome our unique spiritual challenges, each person in his own way!

-Dixie Yid

(Picture courtesy of rome's world)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.