Resources
Exclusively designed for The Foundation Stone Hand Crafted Metal Lace Thank You Machine
To order yours please contact
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Prayer Skills-Ramban-A Gift of Love
The 11th of Nisan is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Moshe ben Nachman, the Ramban: in my opinion, “seek...
Prayer Skills-On Time-Maggid Meisharim
The 13th of Nisan is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Yosef Karo: The Maggid warned Rabbi Yosef Caro to c...
Prayer Skills-Tzav-Rambam
It was ordained that the number of daily services should equal the number of daily sacrifices...
Prayer Skills-Shabbat HaGadol-The Rise to Greatness
It is written, "And the Living Angels ran and returned (Ezekiel 1:14)." The Baal Shem Tov exp...
Prayer Skills-All Of Us-Zlotchov
The 5th of Nisan is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Moshe Rokeach, Kiev-Zlotchover Rebbe. The Zlotchove...
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Morning Blessings-Pesach-Not A Slave
A pious Jew in the Kovno ghetto, compelled to do forced labor by the Nazis, asked Rabbi Oshry...
Morning Blessings-Elokai, Neshama-Pesach
We read in Pirkei Avot, "Know from where you came (3:1)." These words are addressed to the so...
Morning Blessings-Shabbat HaGadol-Fills The World
God's Essence and Being, which is called the Ein Sof, literally fills all the world, with res...
Morning Blessings-Shabbat HaGadol-Reaching for Greatness
An important rule in serving God, a secret that is known, is that one must “come in and leave...
Morning Blessings-Korbanot-Tzav-Koretz
The Koretzer taught: It is written, “This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meal offer...
Morning Blessings-Tzav-The Fire on the Altar-Apt
Rabbi Feibush of Hobnover was possessed of a burning desire to serve God. Once he slept in th...
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Tefillah Notes-Pesukei d’Zimrah-Shabbat HaGadol-96
On Shabbat morning I focused on Vayivarech David at the end of Pesukei D'Zimrah. He represent...
Pesukei d’Zimrah-Shabbat HaGadol-Holy Speech
The 4th of Nisan is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel of Mezhibuzh-Tanipol (1943)...
Peuskei d’Zimrah-Nisan-Ata Hu-Part Three
Likewise, in my humble opinion, all of the selections that Jews are unable to complete, durin...
Peuskei d’Zimrah-Nisan-Ata Hu-Part Two
But what of the foods prohibited to us by the Torah, such as the forbidden species of cattle,...
Pesukei d’Zimrah-Nisan-Ata Hu-B'nei Yisaschar
When the Messiah comes, the Holy One will accept gifts from all the kingdoms except Edom, bec...
- 0
- 1
- 2
Shema-Pesach-True Service
Rabbi Safra was reciting the Shema when a man offered him a sum of money for something he wis...
Shema-Pesach-With Love
The Tzanzer Rebbe once broke down in tears. “It is known that a man may study the Torah,” he ...
Shema-Shabbat HaGadol-Hidden Changes Within
It is written in the Haftarah for Shabbat HaGadol, “I am God, I do not change (Malachi 3:6).”...
Taking It With You-Tzav-Eternal Fire
The Baal Shem Tov taught, the Torah commands us, “Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar c...
| Haftarah: Eikev: Confrontation |
 |
 |
 Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3: This Haftarah affords us an opportunity to listen to a conversation between Israel and God: “And Zion said: God has forsaken me. My Master has forgotten me.” (49:14)
God responds: “Can a woman forget her nursling, withdraw from feeling compassion for the child of her womb? Even were these to forget, I will not forget you.” There is nothing you can do to erase the connection, the umbilical cord. You are attached whether you like it or not. So do not worry. I am going to lift you up. I am going to bring you back to me. You are going to be dressed in the most beautiful clothes. (49:18) I am going to take care of all of those people who bothered you. “So says the L-rd, ‘I will lift up my hand to the nations, and I am going to take care of everything that happens.” “I am going to save you. You say this, I am in chains in a dungeon, and G-d says, “I am going to save you, everything is going to be great.” Israel speaks again: “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? Or the captives of the victorious be delivered?” How are You going to get us out the hands of the Babylonians? Excuse me, but if You had all this power, we would not be here in the first place. How are You going to get us out? G-d says, “Thus says the Lord, even the captains of the mighty shall be taken away and the terrible shall be delivered and I will contend with him that contends with you and I will save my children.” The Talmud (Sanhedrin, 105) tells the following story based on the next steps of the conversation: Ten men came and sat in front of Isaiah. The prophet said to them, “Repent!” They said to Isaiah, “If you have a woman, who was driven from her home by her husband yelling, “Get out! Get out!” How would she respond if, all of the sudden, he says, “Listen, can you do my laundry for me?” So you are telling me to do Teshuva? You just chased me out of the house like a man chases his wife out of the house. And now you are telling me of please, do the laundry? Do Teshuva? The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to the prophet, “Go and say to them. I never divorced you. Where is the divorce document? Where is it? Why did you let it happen in the first place? Why did you chase me out?” “Excuse me. I did not chase you out. Where is the divorce document?” You are sold with your own sins. It was for your transgressions that your mother was sent away. It is your fault. I did not send you away, you sent yourselves away. We are reading the Haftarot of Consolation and yet we find confrontation. Part of the true reconciliation demands that there be confrontation. Part of Nechama is to have confrontation over the things that went wrong. It is confrontation for the sake of reconciliation. Consolation is not possible without this stage of confrontation. Teshuva – Repairing our relationship with God – is a process of Consolation. This means that as we prepare to do Teshuva, we must be prepared for a certain degree of confrontation. One of the reasons that we are doing Teshuva is because there is a confrontation in which God says to us, “Many of the things that happened to you, and things that you would like to have that you do not, are results of your own actions.” We must be prepared for that confrontation. We have to be willing to say to G-d, “I do not understand. You want me to accomplish x, y, and z, so why do you not give me what I need to accomplish x, y, and z?” This Haftarah of Confrontation for the sake of Consolation teaches us that it is possible to say to God, “I understand there is a system and I understand that I cannot comprehend all the details of the system and it is beyond my comprehension I understand, but You also said that You relate to me on my level. I am doing this, I have worked on this, I am learning, I am trying to be a better person, and more sensitive. I am davening, I am doing what You want me to do, and this is what I need to do in order to fulfill my mission in life.”  |
Latest News
- Hallel: Chol HaMoed Pesach: The Hallel of The Journey
- Hallel-First Day(s) Pesach-Walking With A Flute
- Pesach Mitzvot Links
- Hallel As Shirah – Last Day(s) Pesach-Links
- Hallel-Ma’ariv-Consecration-Links
- Seder Hallel Links
- Orach L'Chaim: Vaeira
- Morning Blessings: Adon Olam: Beginnings
- Kitzot Hachoshen: Blessings of the Torah
- Blessing of the Children: Introduction
Subscribe
