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Going Beyond Our Previous Teshuva in This Time of Need

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In times of trouble, we are supposed to turn to Hashem in prayer. But it would seem from the Gemara that in times like today, Hashem also asks of us to do Teshuva, to show through our thought, speech and actions that we want to come closer to Him. Most people suggest small achievable goals such as:
1) Increasing Kavannah in one Bracha (Avodah)
2) Learning 10 minutes extra (Torah)
3) Thinking or saying something nice about another person (Gemillas Chasadim)

Maybe people have other ideas (which they might want to add in the comments), but I think that if the Beyond BT readership/community takes another step in the direction of Teshuva it can only serve to strengthen the entire Klal.

Rabbi Brody has been posting emails of steps people have been taking and he graciously permitted us to repost them here.

Please feel free to add any steps you are taking in the comments below (anonymously if you prefer).

As Rabbi Brody points out:

More mitzva commitments needed: This is no time to become lax. Please urge your family and friends to answer the Melitzer Rebbe’s call to strengthen one mitzva; tshuva doesn’t mean revolutionizing our lives – it means becoming a little bit better and getting a little closer to Hashem than we were yesterday. Am Yisroel needs your help!

*MM is enrolling in a yeshiva for Baalei Tshuva

*RT and SS have committed to purchasing and wearing tefillin

*MT promises to learn Torah for a half hour before praying in the morning

*Rick and his wife Susie have committed to refrain from shellfish and unkosher meat

*Janet and husband Rob will no longer eat in unkosher restaurants

*Budd G commits to mikva once a week

*3 people commit to learning Tanya every day

*5 more people commit to saying Tikkun Klali every day

*8 more people commit to guarding their tongue and learning the laws of Shmiras HaLashon

*Rivka and her study class of 8 women in Boro Park commit to loving every Jew

*Susan from the West Coast commits to covering her hair

*Jon from London commits to learning for two hours a week with a bedridden person

*Yuval and his wife Anat in Florida commit to bringing challas and wine to hospitalized Jews

*4 more people commit to daily Hitbodedut (Personal prayer sessions)

*W in Maryland and CF in Wahington DC bought sheitelach (hair covering) for the first time

*12 commit to saying Tikkun Klali daily

*4 will begin saying Tikkun Chatzot

*6 people promise to pray with more intent

*YC has bought an electric razor and has thrown away his straight razor

*5 more people commit to saying Perek Shira

*Ruth, Naomi, and Debbie commit to saying Mincha daily

*LH promises to pray in a minyan in the morning

*The Meyer family in California promises to move their three children into Jewish day schools

* Ilan from Argentina commits to saying Tikkun Chatzot, the powerful midnight lamentation of our holy Temple and the diaspora

*Matityahu from Argentina commits to immersing in mikva once a week and say Tikkun Klali every day

*Eliezer Shlomo from the USA commits to arriving at shul on time

*ES, RB, YB, YN, and HW commit to saying Psalms every day

*11 people have committed to saying Perek Shira for 40 days consecutively

*YK has committed to distributing 1000 books of Psalms to Israeli soldiers

*38 members of the M congregation in Brooklyn have committed not to chatter during prayer services – this is a very wonderful and cogent commitment.

*4 more women have committed to dress more modestly.

*Hair covering – AP, RS, and Anonymous in USA

*Tefillin – Andy in South Africa, Reuven in USA

*17 more people have committed to learn the laws of Improper speech and/or to refrain from Loshon Haro

*6 more women have committed to improving their modesty of dress

*3 more people have committed to opening their homes to guests

*2 people have committed to stop talking about the generation’s religious leaders

*4 more people have committed to praying in a minyan

*DR in Arkansas and SA in Alabama have accepted the 7 Noahide mitzvas and commit to strengthening their faith in Hashem

*JD, RB, and RS in Maryland, Colorado, and Kansas are now enlisting the commitments of their own community members

*MP commits to saying Tikkun Klali every day

*JB commits to helping crippled people put on tefillin every day

*Zecharia in Mexico has committed to learning the laws of Sabbath observance

*Ken B. has committed to overcome anger

*RB and KB have committed to saying Tikkun Chatzos

*Janet in California and Nechama in NYC have committed to organizing study groups for women

*Arlene in Virginia has committed to covering her hair

*The Goldman family of Southern USA has committed to stop swimming at mixed pools and beaches

*Marv L. commits to giving a full 10% of his net earnings to charity

*The Levy family of UK/Israel – Tikva (age 3) pledges to do nice things, Michal (age 5) promises to say Shma every night, dad Ray (34) will try to be more careful about saying his blessings, and mom Katrin is opening her home to guests from bombed areas

*Charlene from British Columbia commits not only to the 7 Noahide mitzvas, but to saying an entire book of Tehillim every day

*Amanda commits to 15 minutes of hisbodedus a day

*Craig from Ohio commits to guard his tongue from slander and gossip

*PW from Texas is switching from a staright razor to an electric razor, and will do his best to improve his Sabbath observance

*TS in London, MD in Bet Shemesh, and RU in Jerusalem have promised to improve their shmiras eynayim

*SL in Denver commits to learning Daf Yomi – a page a day of Gemorra

*MA in Silver Spring, Md. promises not to drive on Shabbos any more

*The Turner family in Long Island promises not to watch TV on Shabbos any more

*Ron in Toronto, Alan from Baltimore, and RT from New Jersey have committed to begin wearing tzitzis

* Ira from Rockville, Maryland promises not to eat any more pork

*Charlotte from Rhode Island pledges not to eat any more pork or shellfish

*JN and her husband RN pledge to observe the laws of mikva

*Eugene from South Africa pledges to avoid misleading his customers

*Donna from Colorado pledges to separate milk and meat in her kitchen

*Howard from LA pledges to give charity every day

*Marty and his wife Gloria from NYC promise to attend a Judaism seminar

*Heather from Colorado commits to an hour of personal prayer every day

*The Cohen family of Herzlia has committed to host at least four guests for Shabbos, particularly soldiers that don’t have families in Israel.

*The Rubin family of Bet Shemesh have committed to bake challas for at least three poor families.

*TS of London will do his best to say Birkas HaMazon with intent, and other blessings too.

*CR, MP, MZ, Yehudit Weiss, and RLieberman of the USA will be learning “Shmiras HaLashon” and organizing study groups among their friends and neighbors.

*YG’s father, Andrew S and TT of the UK have committed to tefillin, together with BD in North Carolina and Doug Furie in California

*ADP is a Noahide who will be mobilizing other Noahides in the strengthening of the 7 Noahide Mitzvas.

*ML, RB, SD, and EK of the USA will begin learning Mishnayos.

*Robert Solomon of Maryland will add 15 minutes a day Halacha learning to his schedule, and calls on everyone to eat 3 meals with bread on Shabbos, to be protected from the turmoil of Gog & Magog as promised by our sages.

*BL, ML, UC, YP, TR, and RL have committed to make a stronger effort to pray in a minyan.

*Marge in Dallas covered her hair for the first time today.

*Arthur in Atlanta has committed to learn The Trail to Tranquility and to work on destroying his anger.

*DL in Winnipeg, Canada will try his best to improve his shmiras eynayim.

*The Moore family, California (not Jewish) – have taken upon themselves the 7 Noahide mitzvas

*A.D. in London has agreed to begin shaving with an electric razor

*Breslever has agreed to distribute 500 emuna CDs in Western Canada: Rav Shalom Arush sends special blessings to Breslever as well as to the powerhouse commandos of London – YG and DD – who are bombarding the Yetzer with 1000 CD missiles with emuna warheads. Rav Shalom says that if a Katyusha can threaten lives, an emuna CD can save lives.

*The R. family in Silver Spring, Maryland has committed to mikva and family purity

*The JL family of Atlanta has agreed not to drive any more on Shabbos, and to try their best to become full Shomrei Shabbos

*Karen of Kansas City and Lois of LA have committed to begin covering their hair

*Tens of people in Monsey, Brooklyn, and Toronto have consented to add to their Torah learning and/or to their daily prayers

*More than a dozen letters mentioned that they’ll try to do a full hour of hitbodedut

Updated

*12 more people have committed to saying Tehillim

*10 more people have committed to saying Tikkun Klali every day

*3 more families have committed to mikva and family purity

*2 families have committed to discontinuing birth control

*7 more people pledge to pray with more intent

*GG and GI pledge to spread hundreds of Emuna CDs in the NYC area

*AJ promises to be more patient with her husband

*HOT! 35 more children pledge to say Shma at night (according to their parents)

*Uri pledges to eat kosher food

*Vladimir from Brooklyn, born in Russia and never had a circumcision, now pledges to have a bris

*17 more people pledge to increase their Torah learning

*DO and ES pledge tyo strengthen their shmiras eynayim

*5 more people pledge to say Tikkun Chatzot daily

*8 more people pledge to say Perek Shira daily

*4 more people pledge to spend at least 30 minutes daily in personal prayer (hisbodedus)

*The R. family from Haifa plans to kosher their kitchen and to give 10% of their salary to charity every month

*YJ, GF, and ED pledge to wear tzitzis

*5 more people have promised to wear tefillin daily

*MR in Miami pledges to cover her hair

*7 people pledge to start their own mitzva commitment campaigns within their communities

*Don from Richmond pledges to give more respect to his inlaws

*Alex pledges to cherish and respect his wife more

*The Rosenthal children from the UK pledge to respect their parents more

Updated 7/19

*Vera from Denver writes, “I promise not to yell at my husband; for me, that’s harder than fasting for three days in a row. Anything for Israel…”

*Eliezer promises to learn Chumash 2 mikra/ 1 targum every week

*Kenton, a Cherokee Indian from Oklahoma, accepts the 7 Noahide mitzvas and promises to say Tehillim and Perek Shira every day

*Gil, USA – Tikkun Chatzot

*PG, RS, DW – Shmiras Eynaim

*MC from Toronto pledges to approach 3 Jews a week about tefillin, and to beef up his learning and davening, including Psalms, Rambam, Tanya, and Chumash

*Yaakov from USA is offering free Shabbos candles to everyone that commits – contact yaakovshalom(at)comcast.net

*Telephone 718-301-5940 is giving out free copies of Tikkun Klali (in Israel call 02-622-2603)

* www.briskodesh.org is giving out free ebooks for shmiras habris

*Mordechai and Yosef pledge to clean up their room every day to help mommy

*2 year-old Efraim pledges to eat more cake for Israel

*16 pre-Bat mitzva girls pledge to say Tehillim

*DD, HP, and YB pledge to do as much hisbodedus as they can

*The Turner family of the USA pledges to observe the Sabbath

*GK pledges to teach his young children “Modeh Ani”

*GV in Dallas pledges to give a tithe to charity and to deal honestly in business

*MR in Tulsa and GV in Dallas pledge to treat others nicely

*Rochelle in Long Island pledges to wear knee-highs and to lower the length of her skirts

*Jackie in Baton Rouge pledges to refrain from cursing

*Robert in Illinois pledges to learn more Torah and surf less internet

*Anonymous pledges to go cold turkey on pornography and to try and make tshuva

*TG plans to eat only kosher meat

*Sora Aviva is shortening the length of her shaitels

*ES commits to Tehillim, Shma, learning Torah, patience, loving fellow man, and eating kosher meat

KM – will participate in public fasts and pledges to wear tefillin every day

*BA from Southfield, Mi. pledges to judge others fairly

*Lawrence is strengthening his intent in prayer

*SJ commits to learning the laws of the Beis HaMikdash

*AN commits to daily hitbodedut

*DB pledges to say Tikkun Klali every day

*SA pledges to pray 15 minutes a day for the safety of Israel’s soldiers, and another 15 minutes a day for Hashem to redeem the people of Israel

*Shosh plans to strengthen her shmiras halashon

*Ilana from Minneapolis is putting together a study group to strengthen emuna

*Randy from Texas pledges to pray in a minyan at least on Shabbas, and he’ll try in the middle of the week

*Moshe from Brooklyn pledges to say Kaddish for one whole year, for all those deceased souls that don’t have anyone saying Kaddish for them

*Genya Forman commits to the mitzva of baking challas

*Jim in Kansas commits to giving more charity

*Mordechai Hillel Grant (7) commits to saying Tehillim with his tatty every day

*Yankele and his wife (London, UK) commit to learning halacha together every day

*BA has just given up Jews for J and commits to attending an Aish HaTora seminar

*Mike K in DC commits to less sleep and more Torah learning

Updated 7/22/06

RZ, Silver Spring, Md. – shmiras eynaim

*GJ, New Jersey – daf yomi

*TH, Michigan; Shapiro family, Ontario – Tikkun Klali

*Dome family, London – have organized a shiur in Likutei Moharan in their home

*Yona from Tel Aviv is changing her wardrobe and making complete tshuva including Shabbos and Kashrus

*Dan from LA will give more charity

*HC from Australia has enrolled in a Yeshiva for BT’s

*The OU and Young Israel are organizing round-the-clock Torah learning – this is wonderful news!

*Gwen Davis, Alabama – Krias Shma and Tehillim

*Folke Holtz, Sweden – praying Amida every day

*Eliezer B, USA – will learn halacha every day

*Rodney and Cinthia, USA – koshering their kitchen

*Susie S, Canada – will begin covering her hair

*Howard S, Canada – will begin praying in a minyan every morning

*Dr. Mark B. will now close his dental clinic on Shabbat

*The Golman family is transferring their 2 youngest children into Torah schools

*Zvi F will say Shir Hashirim every Fri. afternoon before Shabbat

*June F. in Wahington State commits to lighting Shabbat candles

*Arnold C. commits to daily prayer with tefillin

*AV and PV from Upstate NY commit to daily hisbodedus

What Can We Do To Help

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The Jewish People are under attack and as Rabbi Brody has said repeatedly, the call of the day is to increase our Emuna and do Teshuva.

Emuna goes beyond believing in G-d, but acting in accordance with that belief. Although we are all probably checking the Israeli news sites multiple times a day to see how the Israeli military is faring, emuna means seeing clearly that the outcome of this crisis is totally in Hashem’s hands and acting on that belief.

Although most of the people reading this site have undertaken a significant committment to Teshuva, as Rabbi Lam reminded us at the last Beyond BT Melave Malka, this is just the first step. Teshuva is a continual process and now seems like the right time to take some next steps.

Here are some simple ideas, but please add your own suggestions in the comments:

1) Say one shehakol a day with more kavana.
2) Pause before Bonei Yerushaliyim in the Shomenah Esrai and say it with more intent.
3) Before reading another news article on the net, say Shir Hamalos for the Matzav in Eretz Yisroel.
4) Commit to learning or relearning a new sefer, 5 minutes extra a day.
5) Fulfill the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel by:
a) Saying something nice about a fellow Jew
b) Helping a fellow Jew with there phyisical needs
c) Honoring a fellow Jew

Increasing our observance of mitzvos in some small way shows that our emuna is not just an intellectual excercise, but that we have committed our lives to serving Hashem. Let’s all reach deep into our hearts and minds and do what we can to help the Jewish People.

If you want to make a Bli Neder small committment in the comments either by name or anonomously it would be helpful.

Getting It About “Getting It”

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If you’ve listened to the Life After Teshuva tapes, you know they contain a wealth of valuable advice and information. At $75 for the 15 tape series, they are a true bargain.

There is however one recurring theme throughout the tapes that bothers me and that is the constant refrain that those presenting at the conference “get it”, with the implication that many others don’t “get it”.

Now I think that all the presenters had a lot to offer. However, our experience at Beyond BT has shown us that nobody “gets it” all the time when it comes to BT issues (or probably any issue for that matter). The wise person will follow the advice from Pirkei Avos and try to learn from every person and not assume that they already “get it”.

Next week we will begin the three week period of mourning the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash. We know that the second Mikdash was destroyed because of Sinas Chinam (baseless hatred). We plan to run a few pieces on Achdus in this period including a series by Rebbetzin Heller titled “Antidote for Baseless Hatred”.

In that piece Rebbetzin Heller, brings a Gemora which says that before Mashiach comes, truth will be such that every group is like a little flock. And within each flock will be sub-flocks. The fragmentation of truth will be enormous. That basically means that no group will totally “Get it”.

So let’s keep striving for our personal understanding of truth while, at the same time, listening, hearing and understanding the truths that others bring to the table. Then, collectively we can piece together the truth that will result in the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash in our time.

While You Walk on the Way – Why Not Get an MP3 Player

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Technology today, particularly mp3 players give us a wonderful opportunity to learn when we are on our way, wherever we are. I’ve been listening to Torah Tapes via walkman for a long time but the mp3 player is quite superior due to it’s small size, higher capacity and better fidelity.

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein of Cross-Currents fame, wrote an excellent article in a recent edition of the OU’s Jewish Action which covers many of the basics of mp3 usage. Here are some of the key points from the article with some of my comments.

Rabbi Adlerstein purchased a small capacity IRiver for around one hundred dollars which holds about twenty hours of material, and runs on a single AA battery. Although it doesn’t have the coolness factor of the IPod, I also highly recommend the IRiver line for those who favor price and function over form. And as Rabbi Adlerstein points out you can easily record live shiurim if you purchase a model with the voice recording option.
Read more While You Walk on the Way – Why Not Get an MP3 Player ›

The Shidduchim Process – Marrying Off Your Children – Rabbi Yaakov Haber – Mp3

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Today we’re posting an audio file from the Life After Teshuva conference, by Rabbi Yaakov Haber titled “The Shidduchim Process – Marrying Off Your Children”. (Click on the link to listen or to download the audio file to your computer, click with the right mouse button on the link and select Save Target As.)

One of the insights that Rabbi Haber offers is that in the FFB world, there was a “business deal” aspect to Shidduchim. I know from friends who recently married off children that the financial arrangements for the beginning years of marriage are a major issue, especially if the boy is learning and the girl is finishing school, and it makes sense that we should be aware of this reality.

But the major point that Rabbi Haber makes in this audio is his suggestion that due to culture similiarities, he feels that the best matches are a BT to BT, or a child of a BT to a child of a BT. He brings support for his position and acknowledges that it caused much controversy when he presented it at an Agudah convention in about 1986, but at the time of this talk in 2001, he still stuck firmly by his position.

We all know of many BT-FFB and other cross-cultural success stories, Rabbi Haber makes it clear that he isn’t saying that it can’t work, just that it makes the most sense to keep cultural differences to a minimum when searching for shidduchim.

Give the audio a listen and let us know what you think.

Beach Blanket Bingo and Us Crazy Charedim

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David and I were entering my Shul to learn last Sunday and, hurray for us, we actually avoided Bitul Zman with Beyond BT stuff. In the front window there was a sign from a kid’s event that morning titled “Beach Blanket Bingo”. David gave me a quizzical look and I replied, “You know us crazy Charedim”.

That’s a rap we sometimes get at Beyond BT – we’re too Charedi. Does that mean that we take our Judaism seriously? Does that mean that we’re not happy that our concentration in davening is not always so great? Does that mean that we feel that we should be learning more? Does that mean that we’re constanly examining our performance of mitzvos? Does that mean that we’re trying to become more chesed-oriented? Does that mean that we’re working hard on judging people favorably? If that’s what is meant by Charedi, please count us in.

But if you’ll look into the matter more deeply you might find: if you’re reading this site, then you also take your Judaism seriously; that you’re also interested in becoming a better Jew; that you also want to develop a better relationship with the Master of the Universe; that you also want to make this world a better place. So maybe you’re Charedi too.
Read more Beach Blanket Bingo and Us Crazy Charedim ›

The Most Popular Shmuz – Understanding Life Settings

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I exchanged emails with Rabbi Shafier of the Shmuz after his return from a Tiferes Bnei Torah Shabbaton, where Rabbi Horowitz joined Rabbi Shafier in inspiring the participants.

I suggested that perhaps we could provide a Shmuz here at Beyond BT, so people can more easily sample it. Rabbi Shafier suggested Shmuz #24, Understanding Life Situations which you can download here.

Here is the description:
It almost seems as if some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, while others are destined to suffer. Why is it is that some people are born with amazing capacity, and others are created so simple? Why is there autism in the world? Why Down Syndrome? If in fact God is just, why not mete out talents and abilities in an equal manner to all people?

Using the backdrop of a famous event brought in the Talmud; this Shmuz focuses us on some of the big picture issues of life, helping us understand “life settings”, as they apply to each person.

1. • Why are some people blessed with success and others not?
2. • Is there a reason for suffering in the world?
3. • What about pain?
4. • What about death?

The Shmuz: Great Free Torah Audio on The Web

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My wife and I listen to a lot of Torah Tapes and mp3s. This past year we’ve been introduced to one of the best, practical hashkafa speakers around, Rabbi Barry Shafier at TheShmuz.com. And it’s not just us, many people have told us how much they enjoy and learn by listening to Rabbi Shafier.

Here are some reasons why the Shmuz is a terrific listen:

1) Every shiur starts with one or more questions based on a saying of Chazal or a quote from a Rishon
2) There is lots of well researched supporting material from the disciplines of science, history, sociology, etc..
3) Practical advice on how to apply the lessons learned are always provided
4) Rabbi Shafier uses humor and emotion to captivate his audience
5) The shiur is a good length (45 minutes) and never drags
6) All of the Shmuzim are available for free for download as mp3s or podcasts

Here is a sample write-up of one of the more popular Shmuzim

#10 Questioning G-d: Finding and keeping your Bashert.
Since the time we were little children we were schooled in the idea that, “You’re not allowed to ask questions on G-d”. But is that true? Is it true that a person isn’t allowed to have questions about the way Hashem runs the world?

In this Shmuz we are introduced to the fact that no less than Avrohom Avinu, himself had questions on HASHEM, yet he wasn’t considered a heretic. Understanding what our role is, and what HASHEM’s role is, helps us to understand what is and what isn’t a legitimate question about the way that HASHEM does things.

So check out The Shmuz and let us know what you think.

A list of available Shmuzim follows
Read more The Shmuz: Great Free Torah Audio on The Web ›

All You Need is Love, But What Exactly is It

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A friend who had read Rabbi Brody’s latest post, thought it was Covey-esque. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey describes a situation where a person was complaining that he was growing apart from his wife and Covey kept on insisting, well then “Just Love Her”. Covey’s point was that love is a verb and it’s totally within our power to increase our love for another person.

Rabbi Noach Weinberg gives the following definition of Love: “The pleasure of identifying people with their virtues.” This identification leads to connection and since everyone has virtues, it is possible to increase our love and connect with every person.

As I kept on rereading Rabbi Brody’s post, I saw more and more the wisdom of the advice he was giving. I was focusing on the good advice, that improvement of Dennis situation was greatly dependent on him improving his attitude and actions, and less focused on whether I shared his exact views on the value of outside counseling.
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The Jewish Folk of Norfolk

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Hamodia started a new series this week in which they plan to feature in-depth looks at kiruv organizations around the world. The goal is to get people involved by informing their cousins, co-workers, neighbors and friends of the events going on in their area.

This week they spotlighted the Norfolk Area Community Kollel and their Director of Programming & Community Relations, Rabbi Gershon Litt, who became observant himself at the University of Texas under the guidance of Rabbi Yehoshua Sauer.

Norfolk is home to 11,000 Jews (about 5% of the total population), 120 of whom attend Shabbos services on a weekly basis at the Orthodox Shul, Bnai Israel Congregation under the guidance of Rabbi Chaim Silver.

Rabbi Litt advises us to heed the words of Harav Moshe Feinstein who enjoined us to maaser (tithe) our time and resources to Klal Yisroel. We should be constantly looking for opportunities to draw people closer. It’s a very timely problem, especially in a place like Norfolk where the intermarriage rate is 93%.

The Brilliant Bekiyus of Rav Daniel Feldman of YU

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Many Baalei Teshuva unfortunately did not have the good fortune of sitting and learning for years in a single Yeshiva. But the benefit of this is that we feel free to partake of Torah in the many different forms that we find it. In Kew Gardens Hills we particularly reap the benefits of the tremendous Iyun (depth) of the Chofetz Chaim style of learning and the amazing Bekiyas (breadth) of the many Yeshiva University rebbeim and alumni who live here.

This morning the Vaad L’Chizuk HaTorah (of which Steve Brizel is an active participant) sponsored a shiur by Rabbi Daniel Feldman, a Rosh Yeshiva at YU (but not a KGH resident) on the Shesh Zichiros (Six Rememberances). With no notes, Rav Feldman covered an amazing amount of material in 75 minutes and at the end recapped the 50 or so points he made. Everybody in attendance was in awe of his tremendous mastery of the material and I thought some of the people here at Beyond BT might benefit from this great shiur.

You can download the shiur here.

You can purchase Rav Feldman’s recent sefer here.

The Love That’s Due to Every Jew

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There are no coincidences. In Rabbi Welcher’s Shabbos drasha he brought down the The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 24:7) which relates:

Rabbi Akiva said, “Love your neighbor as yourself – this is a great rule in Torah.” Ben Azzai said, “This is the book of the generations of man … in the image of God was man fashioned” is a greater rule, for one should not say, ‘Since I was shamed, so, too, should my friend be shamed with me. Since I was cursed, so, too, let my friend be cursed with me.’ “

Rabbi Welcher pointed out that although “Love your neighbor as yourself” is a great principal, there is an aspect of self focus implied in the words “as yourself”. Ben Azzai goes further and says that our love of our neighbor is based on the fact that he was fashioned in the image of G-d regardless of our personal view.

Later on Shabbos day I was learning Pirkei Avos with my son, which we are going through for his Bar Mitvah, and we came to Mishna 1.7:

Nittai of Arbel said, distance yourself from a bad neighbor, do not befriend a wicked person, and do not despair of punishment.

Read more The Love That’s Due to Every Jew ›

Yasher Koach to David & Sandy Linn

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Yasher Koach to David & Sandy Linn on their being honored at the Jewish Heritage Center Dinner tonight. I’ll let you know how the speech went later, I’m sure it will be great.

Update: Back from the dinner. It was an amazing event. David spoke beautifully, but was too modest to plug Beyond BT. Rabbi Dovid Schwartz said a lot of very nice things about the Beyond BT community in the journal.

Yasher Koach to the entire JHC organization for all the wonderful things they do for the BT community.

Pirkei Avos for the Baalei Teshuva

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There are two sayings of Pirkei Avos that come to mind this week to give us guidance, support and strength as we face the trials and tribulations of the Baalei Teshuva.

The first is that of Yehuda ben Taima, who said, “Be bold as a leopard…”, meaning that we have to be bold to do the right thing, to do what the Torah requires in every situation. It’s often difficult in that we face pressures both from where we came and from our current environment. But we have to go through the process of determining what the right thing is and then be bold and do it, no matter what the challenges. I give thanks to one of my first Rebbeim, Rabbi Tzvi Kramer, for reiterating this lesson time and again.

The second saying is that of Ben Hai Hai who said, “According to the effort is the reward.” For the Baal Teshuva many things that may be relatively easy for those born into observant homes are a real struggle. But the key to Torah Judaism is to constantly grow through our struggle. Every obstacle we face, every effort we make contributes to us fulfilling the purpose for which Hashem put us in this world. This world is one of struggle and the effort we make overcoming challenges, enables us to build our own eternity.

The entire text from Perek 5 is down below.

Here is the link for an English Translation of all six Perakim culled from Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld’s translation and commentary at Torah.org.

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A Rockin’ Blog D’Omer in Kew Gardens Hills

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I was driving home from The Shmuz (more on that in the coming weeks) last night where the topic was how chesed done by humans always has some aspect of self interest, but Hashem’s love and chesed towards us is totally pure and unbounding.

I turn the corner, and there were a bunch of police cars and a lot of people down the block from where I live. I parked the car and walked down the block and there was a bonfire, live music and people dancing in celebration of L’ag B’Omer. I danced, talked to a lot of my friends and neighbors and thought how fortunate we are to have a life like this, Hashem’s love truly has no bounds. We need to stand back on a regular basis and appreciate all the wonderful things we have.

I ran home to get my camera and there was Rabbi Lam on the answering machine wishing us a wonderful Blog D’Omer and giving a brocha that the blog should catch on fire this year.
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Who Is Wise, Strong, Rich and Honored – Pirkei Avos Week 4

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This week is the fourth Perek for Pirkei Avos which includes:

1. “Ben (the son of) Zoma said, who is wise? He who learns from all people…Who is strong? He who conquers his evil inclination…Who is rich? He who is satisfied with his lot…Who is honored? He who honors others…
20. “Rabbi Yaakov said, this world is like an entrance chamber before the World to Come. Prepare yourself in the entrance chamber so that you may enter the banquet hall.”
27. “Rabbi Elazar HaKappar said, jealousy, lust and the [pursuit of] honor remove a person from the world.”

The entire text from Perek 4 is down below.

Here is the link for an English Translation of all six Perakim culled from Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld’s translation and commentary at Torah.org. Torah.org also has some of the Maharal’s commentary for Pirkei Avos. And Aish has lot’s of good articles on Pirkei Avos penned by two Beyond BT contributors Rabbi Yonsason Goldson and Yaakov Astor.

The full text in Hebrew can be found here.

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Inspiring the Inspired

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Gil Student recently gave a presentation at the Rabbinical Counsel of America (RCA) convention about What a Rabbi Needs to Know about Blogs. Gil has also posted the Power Point from his presentation.

In his section on What Blogs a Rabbi Must Follow, Gil was kind enough to include Beyond BT in the Inspirational Section along with two of our contributors Rabbi Brody at Lazer Beams and A Simple Jew.

I think this supports a thought I had after seeing Aish’s Inspired movie, which is that every BT has a story worthy of being in that movie. This is mainly due to the fact that going from a me-focused existence to a Hashem-focused existence is the biggest change a person can make in their life and that story can’t be anything less than awe-inspiring.
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An Hour in the Life of the Local Bais Yaakov

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The financial stress in the frum community, primarily caused by the tuition situation is a serious problem felt by the vast majority of the residents of most communities. But as we search for solutions it makes sense to focus on some of the beautiful aspects of our schools.

I happened to be at the local Bais Yaakov when it was my 3rd grade daughter’s birthday last week, so I came to the class party. This was not one of these heavily practiced siddur plays, just the normal half hour party that each of the 25 girls in the glass would enjoy on her special day. Mrs. S. graciously sat us in the front of the room and conducted the class as usual.
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This Week in Pirkei Avos

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This week is the third Perek for Pirkei Avos. Here is the link for an English Translation of all six Perakim culled from Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld’s translation and commentary at Torah.org. Torah.org also has some of the Maharal’s commentary for Pirkei Avos, which happens to be my personal favorite which you can purchase here.

The full text in Hebrew can be found here.

Frequent BeyondBT contributor, Rabbi Yonason Goldson has great pieces on Mishna 3.1 – “…consider three things and you will not come to sin…” and Mishna 3.2 – “…Pray for the welfare of the government, for without the fear of it, man would swallow his fellow alive…”.

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Remembering Israel’s Fallen Heroes

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Today is Yom HaZikiron which is the day on which we honor Israel’s fallen heroes.

Rabbi Lazer Brody has a good post which opens with:

Today is Israel’s Memorial Day; for some, it’s theoretical. For many of us, it’s a day of opening up old wounds and 24 hours of tears in the eyes.

Please read the whole thing to also honor those who have survived but constantly are giving up their lives through their suffering with PTSD – Post Trauma Stress Disorder.

Aish has a true story for Israel Remembrance Day called The Rabbi and the Professor.

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