This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Lech Lecha, 7 Cheshvan, 5779, October 16, 2018, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY.

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lech lecha

freedom

avraham avinu

sigmund freud

personal freedom

marx

choice

spinoza

free choice

avram

The First Commandment to the First Jew Was a Protest Against Human Victimhood

Lech Lecha Women's Class

4 Jews: Marx, Spinoza, & Freud -- and Abraham  

This class was presented Lech Lecha 5774 (October 2013) to seminary students of Beth Rivkah in Brooklyn, NY.&nbsp;What is the genesis of Judaism? How did our faith begin? What was the first conversation&nbsp;between G‐d and the first Jew, Abraham?
&ldquo;Go for yourself from your Land, from your Birthplace, and from your Father&rsquo;s House to the&nbsp;Land I will show you.&rdquo; But what a strange way of phrasing this eviction notice! If you had to pack&nbsp;up your bags and leave the Country, the realities of Geography dictate that you would have to&nbsp;first leave the house, then leave your birthplace, and only then could you leave your country. So&nbsp;why phrase this command in the reverse order?
By reversing the geographical order, the Torah reveals that G‐d is commanding far more than just Abraham's physical departure from his country. He was challenging Abraham to make a&nbsp;departure from his inner &ldquo;stories&rdquo; that might obstruct the full realization of his true &ldquo;I,&rdquo; of his&nbsp;true existence.

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avraham

abraham

psychology

teshuvah ilaah

Lech Lecha: Say Goodbye to the "Stories" that Obstruct the Real You 

I Am I Becaue I Am I

It is a uniquely enigmatic Midrash. Avraham says to his wife Sarah upon arriving to Egypt, &ldquo;Please Say That You Are My Sister!&rdquo; And the Midrash says: &ldquo;From here we deduce that one may slaughter an animal on the Shabbos for an ill person.&rdquo; What is the connection between the two?
The class explores three perspectives, the simple explanation; the insight by the Kesav Sofer; and a novel interpretation by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. It boils down to how Avraham analyzed the patterns of behavior that would be employed by the Egyptians, who would be willing to kill him but not to take a married woman.
The class concludes with the analysis of the story on a psychological and spiritual level, in our own marriages, and in our relationship with G-d.
This class was presented on Sunday morning Lech Lecha, 5 Cheshvan, 5777, November 10, 2016, at the Ohr Chaim shul in Monsey, NY. &nbsp;

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22_ac.pdf

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sibling

slaughtering on shabbos

spouse

intimacy

adultery

sarah

treating sick person on shabbos

Analyzing Avraham’s Request from a Halachik & Spiritual Perspective

"Tell Them You Are My Sister"

Already our Biblical forefathers in the desert, notwithstanding all of their rebellions and complaining, 
knew how to be generous. As a matter of fact sometimes they even gave blindly and to contradicting 
causes. The Talmud expresses this in amazement: “What is the peculiar nature of this people? When 
asked to contribute to the Golden Calf, they gave, and when asked to donate to the building of the 
Sanctuary they also gave!” Some people are compulsive gamblers, Jews are compulsive givers.
One of the most striking characteristics of the Jewish people is that by nature we give charity. 
This is not only a religious virtue and charity for religious institutions—Jews support endless 
organizations: Organizations devoted to world peace, to a greener environment, fighting cruelty to 
animals, saving the whales, the Democratic Party, the UN, and countless hospitals and universities.
Where did we get the genes to give so much charity? From our father Abraham, the quintessential man 
of love and kindness. Jacob gave us the talent to study Torah, Isaac—to work on ourselves, pray, and 
grow inwardly, but Abraham taught us how to love and give."
A Talmudic statement alludes to a fascinating fact: even at the end of days, as the generations progress 
and grow spiritually and intellectually weaker, Jews will continue to give. 
This class will explore how today—more than Isaac and Jacob—Jews are characterized most by the 
‘genetic’ influence of Abraham. This is also our modern mission more than anything else, to emulate his 
example and learn how to love and accept each other.


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22_lech_lecha_5771-1.pdf

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tzedakah

forefathers

charity

The Extraordinary Story of Jewish Philanthropy; Why Are Many Youths Leaving Judaism?

What Assimilation Could Not Destroy

This weekly women&#39;s class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday Parshas Lech Lecha, 12 Cheshvan, 5782, October 12, 2021

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cursing

blessing jews

 Those Who Curse Jews and Those Who Bless Them

Women's Class Parshas Lech Lecha

When Your Child Says Nasty Things

Why Didn&rsquo;t a Good G-d Provide for All Our Needs? And What Was It About the Labor Abaraham Observed in the Land of Canaan that Inspired His Love for the Country?

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work

labor

Why Didn’t a Good G-d Provide for All Our Needs? And What Was It About the Labor Abraham Observed in the Land of Canaan that Inspired His Love for the Country?

Why Do We Have To Work?

It would seem that Noah is the ideal forefather for the Jew; the man who, like Noah, will always be alone amongst the nations, and who lives life based on his own inspired standards and not based on popular trends.

But no. Noah is clearly not Jewish. As a matter of fact, all non-Jews are called by the Torah &lsquo;the children of Noah&rsquo;. Only Abraham who is born ten generations later will be chosen as the &lsquo;first Jew.&rsquo; Why?

Noah is a hard man to understand. On the one hand he is paid the highest of compliments, and is the only man that the Torah itself explicitly coins as a &ldquo;A Tzadik (righteous man), perfect in his time.&rdquo; He saved civilization, and every human alive today is one of his descendants.&nbsp; Notwithstanding the ridicule of his neighbors and acquaintances, he trusts G-d implicitly and singlehandedly builds an enormous ark that takes him 120 years! He is a lonely man of faith who rejects world opinion and peer pressure, and retains his integrity despite living in the most morally depraved generation in the history of humanity.

The defining difference between Abraham and Noah is not found in their own levels of faith and piety, rather it is found in how much of that piety they influenced upon others. The hallmark of the Jew is not only that he believes, but that he inspires others to believe. It is not only that he is good, but that he infuses his surroundings with goodness. And that is where Noah failed.

This class will explore the essential meaning of what it means to be a Jew, and why only Abraham and not Noah had what it takes to become the father of the Jewish faith.

We will also learn the history of the name &lsquo;Jerusalem&rsquo;: Who named the city? When? Why? And what does the name even mean? And what does this have to do with Noah?

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yerushalayim

torah

shavuos

noahs ark

noah

noach

jerusalem

shem

monotheism

Civilization Was Saved Because of Him. But Only Abraham Became the Father of Judaism. This Teaches Us the Essence of Judaism

Why Was Noach Not the First Jew?

This text-based class, in Likkutei Sichos vol. 15 Parshas Lecha Lecha, explores the four stages of spiritual development from Adam to Noach, to Avraham, to Moshe.&nbsp;
The Rebbe Rashab once said: &ldquo;The portion of Bereishit, is a happy portion. G-d is creating universes and creatures and is satisfied that &lsquo;it is good.&rsquo; Its ending, however is not so pleasant. Still in all, it is generally a happy Torah portion and in all Jewish communities there is joy and delight - we have begun the Torah anew. With the next week's reading, Noah, comes the Flood. It is a depressing week, but with a happy ending - Abraham our father is born. But the truly joyous week is Lech-Lecha. Every day of the week we live with Abraham Our Father.&nbsp;
An obvious question comes to mind: indeed, why are these weekly readings so divided? Why mar the &ldquo;happy portion&rdquo; of Bereishit with its depressing ending, especially since these last few verses actually begin the story of the Flood, the central theme of the next week's reading? A similar thing happens at the end of Noah: after a detailed description of Noah's life and the events of the Flood and the Tower of Babel, the portion concludes with a brief account of the birth and early life of Abraham, whose life is to fill, with rich detail, the next three Torah portions.&nbsp;Surely, a far more natural division would have been for Noah to begin with the final eight verses of Bereishit, and for Lech Lecha to open with Abraham's birth, a scant seven verses before the end of Noah!
The class takes us on an incredible journey to discvoer four levels of one's spiritual and emotional develpment, expressed in how we view ourselves, others, and the world around us. We discover a tale of four loves.

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20_sicha.pdf

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shlichus

love

moses

moshe

likkutei sichos lech lecha

sedom

emunah

outreach

A Spiritual Drama in Four Acts: Adam, Noach, Avraham and Moshe

Likkutei Sichos Lech Lecha: A Tale of Four Loves

This class, presented to women in Lech Lecha 5770 (October 2010), explores a strange verse: "And G-d took Abraham outside, and He said, 'Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So will be your children.'"
What do these words mean? Do they mean that the Jews will be uncountable, just like the stars? Well this interpretation is contradicted by the reality of history. In every generation, the members of the Jewish nation could be counted. Before the Holocaust we were 18 million; today we are around 14 million. Yet there are far more than 14 million stars!
&nbsp;

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stars

jewish history

limitations

To Count the Impossible Count 

To Dream the Impossible Dream 

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.

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laws of get

rogatchover gaon

bris milah

effect

time

yosef rosen

conversion

result

past present future

yosef rozen

geirus

sibah mesuvav

g-d's knowledge

tetzaveh

geto veyado baeim kiechad

halacha and philosophy

avraham's bris

yosef engel

tzafnas panaach

cause

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

Do We Have Free Choice? Part 2

A zoom lecture for the Chicago Jewish community celebrating the 75th birthday of Michael Levy. This presentation took place on Sunday, 8 Nissan, 5781, March 21, 2021. It was arranged by Michael&#39;s wife, Stepheny, and hosted by the spiritual leader of&nbsp;Chabad of Northbrook,&nbsp;Rabbi Meir Moskowitz.&nbsp;

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I Never Asked to Be Born, Nor Did I Choose My Genes; It Is G-d Who Somehow Needs Me

A Journey to Self Discovery

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