​Leilu Nishmas Reb&nbsp;Eliyahu Tzion&nbsp;ben Reb&nbsp;Chananya Niasoff&nbsp;ז״ל 
And in the merit of our partner in Torah,&nbsp;Yigal Yisroel&nbsp;ben&nbsp;Sofia,&nbsp;שיחי׳​

As the World Broke, I Can’t See in One Letter the Whole Truth

Tzafnas Panaach Behaaloscha Class

Like Children Running Away From School: The Rogatchover's Perspective

<span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">The commentators are perplexed. What was the point of the 72 bells handing from the hem of the High Priest&rsquo;s coat, generating racket and rumpus commotion? Elijah perceived G-d in &ldquo;the subtle, still voice;&rdquo; why, then, did the Kohen Gadol constantly generate the loud rattling, clattering voice of seventy-two jingling bells hanging on the hem of his coat?
<span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">This class offers four divergent perspectives, and then offers a fifth perspective, which gets to the core of the human struggle to make peace with itself and with G-d. Do we experience truth in the silence of sound or in the sound of silence?

The Meaning of Aaron’s Noisy Robe

For Whom the Bell Tolls

There is only one portion in Torah, Tetzaveh, where Moshe&rsquo;s name is not mentioned. Why?

King David dispatched three worriers to obtain information from the Sanhedrin, yet he refused to associate this halacha with their name. Why?

A sword was etched in the study hall and as a result, nobody could dispute the eighteen edicts issues forth on that day. Why? And why will the Megilah of Esther never be nullified?&nbsp;&nbsp;

The story of the Cantonists dancing on Simchas Torah with their shirts removed captures the truth that there are some people whose very I becomes aligned with the Divine I. They don&rsquo;t teach Torah; they are Torah.

The Day that Moshe and Torah Became One

Class Tetzaveh/Sisa/Purim

Why Was Moshe’s Name Deleted from Tetzaveh?

In this class we explore how Jewish law mirrors the theological resolution for the conflict between Divine omniscience and human free choice. We journey through the teachings of two 19th century giants, Rabbi Yosef Engel, and the Rogatchover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rozen. If the law is that only a Jew can circumcise a gentile to facilitate his conversion, who was there to circumcise Abraham, the first Jew? We consider the teaching of the Sages that G-d himself "sent forth his hand" and circumcised Abraham. But what does that really mean? Here we come to a seemingly incomprehensible principle of Talmudic law known as the law of "two as one." Namely, two mutually exclusive realities can exist at once.
We turn to dissecting how divorce works in Jewish law and where the principle of "two as one" comes through in every divorce; we further dissect the laws of emancipating a slave, of sanctifying the altar in the Tabernacle, of sanctifying the utensils in the Tabernacle, for in all these laws we discover the synthesis of paradoxes at play. Why these fields of law and no others? We finally discover the true meaning and power of Teshuvah in Jewish thought, where past and future merge into a seamless flow of oneness.

Where Halacha and Metaphysics Converge: When the Effect Precedes Its Cause

Do We Have Free Choice? Part 2

For well over a millennia, Jewish spiritual life revolved around the myriads of ritualistic services conducted in the Tabernacle, and later, in the Temple. The Torah describes in minute detail each item, artifact, garment, service and sacrifice that was part of Temple worship." "Today, many of these methods of worship seem foreign, ceremonial, and outdated.
Yet nothing can be further from the truth. In Jewish tradition, the heart of man is the Temple of G-d; every rite and ritual performed in the Temple exactly parallels a spiritual journey in the psyche of the human being. In this class, we will analyze the cleaning of the Menorah, the daily animal sacrifice, and the burning of incense, and discover the profound spiritual and psychological implications of a Talmudic debate regarding their order in the daily service of the Temple.

A Talmudic Debate on the Daily Schedule in the Temple and its Psychological Application

When You Need to Borrow Your Father

Linking the apron and the breastplate

There is an intriguing mitzvah (commandment) recorded in this week’s Torah portion: “And they shall bind the&nbsp;choshen&nbsp;(breastplate) by its rings to the rings of the ephod (apron) ... so that the&nbsp;choshen&nbsp;shall not budge from the ephod<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>.”

The meaning of these words is this:&nbsp;The&nbsp;choshen&nbsp;(breastplate) and the ephod (apron) were two of the eight special garments worn by the High Priest (Kohen&nbsp;Gadol) while performing the services in the Tabernacle. The&nbsp;choshen&nbsp;was a breastplate set with twelve precious stones, each inscribed with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was worn on the breast, over the heart. The ephod was an apron-like garment, covering the lower back of the body, from the waist to the ankles, with a belt that tied in the front<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a>.

Two gold rings sewn on the ephod’s belt lined up with two gold rings sewn to the bottom corners of the&nbsp;choshen; these were bound together with ribbons of blue wool. It is of vital importance, the Torah stresses, that the two should remain securely fastened at all times that the priestly garments are worn. “The&nbsp;choshen&nbsp;shall not budge from the ephod.”

But why? Why the insistence that the breastplate and apron must be tightly linked at all times? Why bother if they are disconnected or only loosely connected?

A tale of two garments

One answer, presented in the commentators, is moving.

The two garments – the breastplate seated atop the heart and the apron hanging on the lower back – represent the “upper” and “lower” dimensions of life, or the&nbsp;“forward” and “backward” aspects of human existence. The breast-plate represented those individuals whose hearts were aflame with spiritual passion and ecstasy, while the apron symbolized the people who struggled with backward temptations, the crass and lowly impulses and dispositions<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a>.

This is not merely a distinction between two types of people; it is rather a distinction between two aspects existing in each of our lives.

Few are the people who can be defined as “breastplates” or “aprons” exclusively. Most of us vacillate between backward and frontward tendencies, between lower and higher aspirations. We celebrate moments of light but we must also quarrel with darkness, trauma, addiction, and emotional prisons. At times life is a cruise through a tranquil seabed, yet at other times it consists of navigation through turbulent waves, battle fields and war zones. There are moments we sense our calling, yet at other times we yearn to discover our true selves, we struggle to find our place in the world. Crudeness, superficiality and lowliness may&nbsp;at any moment consume our multi-dimensional personalities.

Hence, the Torah instructs us to tightly link the breastplate to the apron, “so that the&nbsp;choshen&nbsp;shall not budge from the ephod.” We must learn to integrate the two parts of the self, without escaping into either element. Do not retreat, the Torah is saying, into your “higher” self and forget about your “lower” self, for when the lower self re-surfaces you might fall hard. On the other hand, do not allow yourself to be swept away by your lower self and ignore your transcendental aspirations, for such a life is likely to leave you deeply empty, thirsty and anxious.

You must learn the art of integration. You must come to terms with the truth that the “breastplate” and the “apron” together constitute the very objective of existence, to confront darkness and transform it into light, to create harmony out of the building blocks of diversity.

Do you have holes in your life?

A story is told about an elderly Chinese woman who owned two large pots. Each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried every day on her shoulders to fill with water from the stream located at the end of the village. One of the pots was complete and always delivered a full portion of water; the other pot was cracked and arrived home each day only half full.

Of course, the complete pot was proud of its accomplishments. It felt really good about itself. The poor cracked pot, on the other hand, was ashamed of its own imperfections; it was miserable that it could only do half of what&nbsp;it had been made to do.

After six years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, the humbled broken pot finally opened its heart to the woman at the stream.  "I hate myself,” the cracked pot cried, “I am so useless and valueless. What purpose does my existence have when each day I leak out half of my water? I am such a loser!”

The old woman smiled and&nbsp;said,”Did&nbsp;you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? I have always known about your flaw, so I planted&nbsp;flower seeds on your side of the path.  Every day while we walk back from the stream, you have the opportunity to water them.

"For six years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate our home.  Without you being just the way you are, we&nbsp;would have never created this beauty together."<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref4')">[4]</a>).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a>Exodus 28:28. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> See&nbsp;Rashi&nbsp;to Exodus 28:6&nbsp; 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a> This distinction is clearly indicated in the acronyms of the terms. The Acronym of the word ephod is “Alamda&nbsp;phoseim&nbsp;derachecah&nbsp;v’chataim&nbsp;(alecah&nbsp;yashovo),” which means: “I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners (will return to you)” (Psalms 51:15), while the acronym of&nbsp;choshen&nbsp;is “shomer&nbsp;nafshos&nbsp;chasiduv” (Psalms 97:11), which means, “He guards the lives of His devout ones.” The two garments represent two very different types of individuals, the&nbsp;tzaddik&nbsp;and the&nbsp;baal-teshuvah, the spiritually devout and pious human being and the struggler who returns to G-d after stumbling and falling (Emrei&nbsp;Noam to&nbsp;Parshas&nbsp;Tetzaveh).&nbsp; 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn4')">[4]</a> ) This essay is based on Panim Yafos, Or Hatorah, Divrei&nbsp;Yechezkel&nbsp;and&nbsp;Emrei&nbsp;Noam to&nbsp;Parshas&nbsp;Tetzaveh; and an address by the&nbsp;Lubavitcher&nbsp;Rebbe, Adar 21, 5748, March 10, 1988, published in&nbsp;Sefer&nbsp;Hasichos&nbsp;5748 vol. 1 p. 314 and references noted there.  &nbsp;

A Tale of Two Pots - Dealing with the Tension of the Human Personality

Dealing with the Tension of the Human Personality

A Tale of Two Pots

This class, presented to women, explores the meaning behind the unique mitxvah of linking the apron to the breast-plate, the afod to the choshen.&nbsp;

Linking the Breast Plate & the Apron; the Lunar and Solar Personalities

Peace Between My Stable and Unstable Self

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breast plate

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leap year

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Category with classes

The Jewish "leap year", which occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle, has 13 months instead of the regular year's 12. The two months of Adar are Adar I and Adar II. Purim Katan is a semi-festive day on 14 Adar I, which corresponds to the date Purim is celebrated on during a leap year, 14 Adar II.

Peace Between My Stable and Unstable Self

Linking the Breast Plate & the Apron; the Lunar and Solar Personalities

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אנא עזרו לנו להמשיך בפעילותנו

הרשמה לקבלת תוכן (באנגלית) עדכני מאת הרב יוסף יצחק ג'ייקובסון

לקבלת תוכן ועדכונים מאת הרב יוסף יצחק ג'ייקובסון