Rejoicing with H-shem at the Geulah

I just saw this email from Praying with Passion - a beautiful series on the whole but these are such uplifting insights - and exactly focused on the topic of this blog that I had to share them:

PRAYING WITH PASSION- Issue #79
Tefillah Focus Of The Week:
הללוי-ה שירו לה'Rejoicing With Hashem

הללוי-ה, שירו לה' שיר חדש, תהלתו בקהל חסידים. ישמח ישראל בעשיו, בני ציון יגילו במלכם. יהללו שמו במחול...Meaning:(The simple translation of the prayer):
Hallelu-kah! Sing to Hashem a new song, let His praise be in the congregation of the devout. Let Israel exult in its Maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing...
Word to the Wise (Meaning within the word):
תהלתו בקהל חסידיםWho is the verse describing when it says, תהלתו בקהל חסידים, “Let his praise be in the congregation of the devout ones?” Sforno (Tehillim 50:5) explains that this refers to those who hold onto the Torah and mitzvos in exile. Upholding the Torah and mitzvos when we see Hashem’s open loving-kindness and compassion conforms to our sense of fairness and justice. However, in exile, Hashem’s loving “hand” is often times hidden. חסידים refers to those who preserve their bond with Hashem despite the hardship of exile, to those who have served Him and clung to Him for so long. To love Hashem in such a difficult situation is considered as going “above and beyond,” which is the definition of an act of piety.
One summer day in 1941, before the enemy took them all away to be killed, Rav Elchonon Wasserman addressed fellow townspeople in the courtyard of the home where he had been staying. Rav Elchonon spoke quietly and calmly as was his practice. Not even the sound of his voice was changed; on his face was his customary earnestness.
‘In Heaven it appears that they deem us to be righteous because our bodies have been chosen to atone for Jewry. Therefore, we must repent now, immediately. There is not much time. We must keep in mind that we will be better offerings if we repent. In this way, we will save the lives of our brothers and sisters in America. Let no thought enter our minds, G-d forbid, which is abominable and which renders a [sacrificial] offering unfit. We are now fulfilling the greatest mitzvah.’
Theme: (An essential concept of the prayer):
The Jewish people, who have been loyal to Hashem throughout the exile, will rejoice with Him when the times of Moshiach arrive.

Insight: (Deeper meanings of the theme):

In Hashem's PresenceThis mizmor, שירו לה’ שיר חדש refers to the future, when the final redemption comes. This is hinted with the word ישמח which contain the same letters as the word משיח (Siddur HaYavetz). As the verse testifies, when the final redemption is upon us, ישמח ישראל בעשיו, the Jewish people will rejoice with our Maker, just as a child delights with his father’s presence after a prolonged absence. The rejoicing will not come simply in response to the abundance and delicacies of the redeemed world, but rather, our joy will be in the revelation of Hashem’s presence and the establishment of His rule over the world.
Shlomo HaMelech (Koheles 7:2) teaches: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting (for that is the end of man) and the living should take it to heart.” The simple meaning of this statement is that this brush with mortality motivates the visitor to examine his priorities. However, there is a deeper, core lesson in the prayer one says upon departing from the mourner, “May God comfort you among the rest of the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”
In effect, one tells the mourner that his sadness is shared by the entire Jewish people. All Jews have lost the comfort and security of living in the presence of our Beloved One. From that loss, all other losses unfold. One who understands the deeper meaning of this prayer will indeed feel spurred to re-order his priorities, not only because life is so short, but more so because he will be motivated to do whatever is necessary to hasten the day when the Shechinah’s full presence is restored, the day when all sorrows will end, when we will rejoice with our Maker.

Visualize: (Images that bring the prayer to life):
Coming HomeA young father begins a new business that requires him to travel abroad for six weeks. Each day, the children ask their mother, “When is Daddy coming home?” She keeps assuring them that he will indeed return. They are too young to understand weeks and months, but she does her best to keep their hopes up.
Finally, the big day arrives. The children’s father walks through the door and his children leap into his arms. Soon, he is pulling a wide variety of fascinating gifts out of his bags – dolls, toys, candies and jewelry of every description. The children are nearly drunk with delight as they examine their new treasures. But when their father heads into the kitchen to get some refreshment, the children drop their toys and run after him. Now that they’ve got him back, there’s nothing they want more than to be near him.
In the same way, when the Jewish people are once again able to experience Hashem’s closeness, the physical bounty inherent in redemption will be only a side-benefit. Basking in Hashem’s presence will be our greatest joy. The peace and plenty we will enjoy will only exist to free us to expend all our energy in connecting to our Father in Heaven.

Try This:
Imagine that everything you need for your physical well-being and happiness is right at your fingertips, and that you do not take it for granted. Each and every gift is a constant source of delight and gratitude to Hashem. Imagine that full, contented feeling – the feeling of living in a redeemed world – when you say the words: ישמח ישראל בעשיו.

Geulah through Kiddush H-shem

From today's Hakhel email:

Special Note Three: The following is an extremely important excerpt from the Sefer Geulah B’Rachamim by Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Shlita. For further information on how to obtain this special Sefer, one may contact www.thirtysix.org

“The Jewish people are on a mission and it can be summed up in two words: Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify the Name of Hashem. This is not just something we do on the side, something that is supposed to result from everything we do, whether alone or in public. Rav Papa asked Abaye, ‘Why is it that for the former generations miracles were performed and for us miracles are not performed? It cannot be because of their learning, because in the years of Rav Yehudah, their learning was confined to Nezikin, and we learn all six orders. And yet, when Rav Yehudah took off one shoe [during a drought on a fast day], rain used to come. We torment ourselves and cry loudly, and no one pays attention to us!’ He answered, ‘The former generations used to sacrifice themselves for Kiddush Hashem; we do not sacrifice ourselves for Kiddush Hashem’ (Brochos 20a). What does it mean to sanctify the Name of Hashem? There are many ways to do it, but they all result in the same thing: more of Hashem’s Presence in Creation. The opposite term, ‘Chillul Hashem,’ the profanation of Hashem’s Name, comes from the word ‘challal,’ which means a ‘void.’ Something that profanes Hashem’s Name has the impact of making Creation somewhat void of the Presence of Hashem, the extent to which depends upon the severity of the Chillul Hashem. Kiddush Hashem has the opposite effect, by drawing more Divine Light into Creation, thereby making the Presence of Hashem more pronounced. That’s why a Kiddush Hashem can occur even when a person is alone, and no one else is around to witness it; it will still impact Creation in a positive way. The longer the Jewish people remain in exile, the more we begin to mimic the host nations amongst whom we live, blurring the distinction between Jew and gentile. Eventually, our actions, even as Torah Jews, may fall into the category of those which are acceptable by world standards, but not by Torah standards, resulting in a Chillul Hashem, and sometimes, severe ones. This is very dangerous for everyone. Reducing the Shechinah in Creation, L’havdil, is like not keeping up sanitary conditions in a hospital--unhealthy stuff fills the void, endangering the lives of everyone. The more Creation becomes void of the Presence of Hashem, the more spiritual impurity fills the void, corrupting man and Creation, a situation that Heaven will put up with for only so long. We’ve seen what results when we cross that line. As the Gemora says, doing that which sanctifies the Name of Hashem brings special Divine Providence, anything from success in business to good relationships, to, perhaps, personal salvation from a life-threatening circumstance. Aside from being a Torah mitzvah, it is a wise step in the direction of the Final Redemption.”

As we continue through this auspicious time, let us purposefully do all that we can…to bring us to that Final Redemption!

Tisha B'Av Post

I had wanted to post this but didn't - I thought it had some very powerful messages. Not to dwell on negativity - I know Tisha B'Av is over and we are approaching Tu B'Av - I still wanted to share these with anyone interested from the Erev Tisha B'Av Hakhel email:


As we sadly noted last year, if we have to sit down this Tisha B’Av, we should take the time out to go over in our mind some of the difficult concepts that we tend to ignore, or at least avoid, during the rest of the year—the churbonos and the tzaros that have accompanied us through the ages and into our day.

Can we not shed a tear over:
The pain of the Shechina over the chillul Hashem of the Galus (the Father’s pain is greater than the child’s)
The void left by the Beis Hamikdosh that is not with us and the concomitant void of sanctity within us (we could be closer to angels, and not closer to animals)
The honor of Klal Yisroel that has been cast to the ground and trampled upon
The hundreds of thousands of Russian Jews who have been numbed by Communism
The sorry hatred of secular Jews to Torah Jews
The Shapiros and Horowitzes of the world who are not Jewish
The Crusades
The Pogroms
The 1648-1649 Massacres
The Holocaust
The Sbarros bombing, the bombing of Bus Number 2, the Leil HaSeder Attack, the drive-by murders, the tractor terror, the Mosad HaRav murders, the hundreds of other terrorist attacks, the murders and maimings, the mortars and bombs, the soldiers and the children all under attack
All of the unnecessary sickness and suffering for 2000 years (multiplied by each second of pain)
The desolation and ruination of the Har Habayis, Har Hazeisim, Chevron, Teveria…
Sinas Chinam—smiling at the mishap of another, failing to properly rejoice at another’s simcha, and finding it hard to accept another's honor and success
The Jews who do not even know that Tisha B’Av exists
The Jews who know that Tisha B’Av exists and do not grow in their resolve to do something to end this Churban as soon as possible
The Navi (Yeshaya 1:3, which we read as part of last week’s Haftora) teaches “Ami Lo Hisbonan--My nation did not consider.”
Rashi adds that the people knew they were acting improperly but “tread with their heels” on this knowledge, and simply “did not take it to heart.”
We all know too well the desperate straits we are in at this time, in which we deal with the Churban of Eretz Yisroel and Yerushalayim--the defiling of a land and of a people on the one hand; and the turmoil in Eretz Yisroel today--upon which the nations of the world have heaped additional disgrace and scorn, on the other.
Haven’t we yet reached a point where we will, as the Navi asks, at least “consider”? It is not, it cannot, and should not, be beyond us to go off into a room--our bedroom, dining room, study, or even the floor somewhere, to sit down and cry: “Oh, what has befallen us! A nation in ruins, the holiest people on Earth berated by the lowest nations on Earth. What makes us better today than the captives of Judea taken by the Romans more than 1940 years ago. We cannot allow ourselves to be fooled by the amenities, luxuries, or even just the relative comfort in which we live. We have been in exile far too long, and the longer we are here, the worse off we are.
L’Maaseh, living with reality and practically speaking, we are walking about badly wounded in this bitter exile. Even in Eretz Yisroel itself, the very Holy Land, an estimated 40,000 Russian-manufactured missiles, many of which possess long-range capability, are said to be available in Lebanon alone (without even including what the murderers have in Gaza).
We cannot be ashamed to cry. Ashamed?!--Why, and from whom?! Why can we not pour out our hearts to Hashem, as Yirmiyahu HaNavi cries out (Eicha 2:19) “Shifchi Kamayim Libeich--pour out your heart [to Hashem] like water.”
At least today, on the eve of Tisha B’Av, and no less certainly tomorrow itself, on the day of pain and mourning over the Chilul Hashem that exists in the world today, over Hashem’s pain which is infinitely greater than ours, over a world that has been lowered to the bottom of the bottom-most depths, over all the individual and communal pain and anguish, over these and much more, we must cry real, very real, tears.
Yirmiyahu HaNavi further teaches (31:14), “A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rochel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children, for they are not.” On this Pasuk, the Mahari Kara (in the Mikraos Gedolos) writes that Rochel Imeinu represents K’lal Yisroel, and that our weeping in exile is heard by Hashem’s ears.
So, as much as we would not like to, we must cry--really cry. We must realize that we are in the nadir of our exile. The Tay-Sachs test, when originally developed, required a person to shed a tear, which was then tested. One had to think of something sad to shed that tear. Is it such a great challenge to cry unabashedly over an unfulfilled world, over the world’s most precious possessions disgraced and derided, over all the unnecessary anguish, unnecessary suffering, destruction, and death that we are currently experiencing?
If, for some reason you cannot cry--at least cry out--as our forefathers did in Mitzrayim. Remember, the gates of tears--and the gates of ruchniyus--are never closed. If we have to sit on the floor in a few hours, it should do more than cause us some temporary physical pain. Plead to Hashem as Dovid HaMelech does: “El Dimosi Al Techerash--Do not be silent to my tears!” (Tehillim 39:13) Hashem, I will not find comfort with the few pleasures I have when the Heavens and the Earth writhe in pain!
Please join with your brothers this Tisha B’Av, as our sincere tears and cries reach the Heavens.
May these tears and cries turn into overflowing sounds of salvation for each and every one of us, as we join together to witness the comforting of our people and the ultimate final and glee-filled redemption--speedily and in our days.

MAY WE BE ZOCHE TO NECHOMAS TZION VEYERUSHALAYIM THIS TISHA B'AV. ALL WHO MOURN OVER YERUSHALAYIM WILL BE ZOCHE TO SEE ITS REBUILDING!