The Rabbi Smith Bulletin: Week's Roundup - If your axe is not chopping, don't try chopping harder.
The Rabbi Smith Bulletin: Week's Roundup - If your axe is not chopping, don't try chopping harder.
Week's Roundup - If your axe is not chopping, don't try chopping harder (substack.com)
Week's Roundup - If your axe is not chopping, don't try chopping harder
Highlights from this week's learning and events; An eternal message from the Torah about how pausing to hear G-d Al-mighty's message will make you more effective in every aspect of life
Did you know that the Torah has an eternal Divine Message that applies to every single human being? Authentic Torah learning grounds us in reality, both what we can observe and what is beyond our observation, grasp and even understanding, and leads to practical positive action. Positive for us and positive for those around us. Torah reveals our Divine Innate Spiritual Compass and brings our Spiritual Backbone to the forefront of life.
If you have adopted some or all of Enlightenment thinking, learning Torah will challenge everything you believe and hold dear.
In each Week’s Roundup, you will find a special topic, links to this week’s learning, the Torah perspective on current events, upcoming learning and action suggestions. This week we embrace listening and relating. Learn, take hope and take action, and share.
First, on a personal note, thank G-d, my second oldest son just reached the milestone of putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) for the first time today. Tefillin contain handwritten parchments with four excerpts of Torah portions, the best known of which is “Hear O’Israel, the L-rd G-d Al-mighty our G-d, the L-rd G-d Al-mighty is One.” As the Chida taught, this is a verse that every human being who has separated himself from idolatry and any form of belief in a partnership with idolatry, should say every morning and every evening. A Jew is commanded to bind those portions of the Torah to his mind and his heart to be constantly concious that not only did G-d Al-mighty create the world, but that He directly intervenes in the conduct of the Creation in the minutest details.
Second, given that the Weeks’ Roundup did not issue last week, we have a double portion of learning links later on below, which I encourage you to watch, explore and learn.
The constant bombardment of the residents of the Holy Land lets us know that right around the corner the residents are going to be told that they have no choice but make a huge concession, G-d forbid. Terrorism is targeted at the living and intended to get the living to make different choices than they would make if they could think clearly. More on that in a future article, G-d Willing. (Check out this footnote on how clear thinking leads to security.
)But first, we have to really commit to clearing our thinking. To that end we learned this week from the Beis HaLevi in his Discourse on Absolute Certainty that G-d Al-mighty is taking care of us, has taken care of us and will take care of us. Watch what Ecclesiastes tells us about what happens when we throw all our energy at a problem based on what we already know and fail to “sharpen the iron.” The wise man, however, looks upstream at the spiritual root of the issue, and hears G-d Al-mighty’s message to us.
This lesson will guide is every aspect of lives: marriage, children, income, finances, matters of war and peace and even our own spiritual journey:
But it’s not enough to know the right answers - I, and each of us, need to be able to work with everyone else. That’s why in this week’s Torah portion, the census reminds us how essential each individual while at the same time, the whole people is essential:
Shoot your comments and questions below!
Shabbos is coming, a reminder for every human being that they are an intentional creation of G-d Al-mighty right now and a continuing beneficiary of His Love, His Joy and His Abundance! What an incredible moment to increase even more in joy!
Action: Use the link above to check Shabbos Candellighting times in your city around the world. Shabbos Candlelighting time in New York City this week (5/19/23) is 7:52 pm and Shabbos ends at 8:59 pm.
Here is some of the learning we did this week:
These videos are available in the content library at RabbiSmith.org (in parentheses) and also on YouTube by clicking the name of the learning. When you watch on YouTube please like, share and subscribe so the message of hope reaches more and more people. See below at the end of this article a list of upcoming classes both in person and on Zoom.
Check out our new YouTube shorts here. Make sure to subscribe while you are there so you get notified as new ones come out.
Sunday Learning
👉 2023-05-14: Mitzvos Hashem: Rabbi Steif #60: G-d's command to Abraham Be Wholehearted applies to you
👉2023-05-07: Mitzvos Hashem: Rabbi Steif #59: Scrap figuring out future, G-d can change any detail (Playlist - Mitzvos Hashem of Rabbi Steif for Bnai Noach).
Wednesday Learning
👉 Zecharia 8:23: Parshas Bamidbar - You are stuck with your compatriots
👉Zecharia 8:23: Parshas Behar-Bechukosai - Don't follow teachers going astray (Zecharia 8:23 Playlist).
Thursday Learning
👉 Emunah (Faith) in Action 50: Beis HaLevi 36: When your ax isn't cutting it, don't hit harder
👉Emunah (Faith) in Action 49: Beis HaLevi 35: INCREDIBLE! Jacob sure G-d provides even with no means (Emuna (Faith) in Action Playlist)
👉🌟🌟🌟Parshas Bamidbar - Infinite Compassion for an Infinite Number of People
👉🌟🌟🌟Parshas Behar Bechukosai - Make space in your mind to hear G-d and you will dwell securely. (Torah Lessons Playlist).
Additional Learning
👉 The Hidden Truth of the Erev Rav and how it affects you
👉Deep Relationships 101 - Is it possible to elevate the resistance to connection?
On Substack this week:
On Substack, I write about the practical implications of Torah learning, and how to keep our thinking clear, grounded in honesty and common sense. Here’s The Rabbi Smith Bulletin for this week: A lot of great activity on Notes. Check them out on my Substack Profile
or at the The Rabbi Smith Bulletin.A Torah perspective on the world around us…
Ask in the comments below about topics and news you would like the Torah perspective on.
A peek ahead…
Shavuous
Restarting the Rambam Mishnah Torah
A thought in concluding for now…
Thank G-d, we live in the most inspiring and incredible times in the history of the world. We have a great and beautiful mission before us. The need in the people is great, time is of the essence and the undertaking is massive, but eminently doable with the help of G-d Al-mighty. Please consider a generous gift to bring this message of hope to thousands more people, by clicking here.
May G-d Al-mighty bless you and Gut Shabbos!
See more actions further down. Torah learning and positive actions are the key to our future.
Upcoming Learning:
All learning uses the following Zoom link: https://bit.ly/BeisMedrash. Sponsor learning in honor or memory of a loved one.
👉Yeshiva Shem V'Ever
Shabbos Afternoon (Saturday) 4 pm Eastern
We will be learning Torah relevant to non-Jews with Jews and non-Jews.
Tanya: Sha'ar Hayichud v'HaEmunah - the Gate of Oneness and Faith
In person in Passaic, New Jersey, only.
👉Rabbi Steif Mitzvos Hashem
SUNDAY 7 am Eastern (1 pm Germany time)
Rabbi Steif wrote this holy book to avert the Holocaust by making sure that both Jews and non-Jews should know clearly G-d Al-mighty's rules for non-Jews.
👉Zecharia 8:23 - Weekly Torah Portion, Prayer and Talmud
WEDNESDAY 8:00 pm Eastern
Learn the week's Torah Portion (parsha) as it is relevant to every man, Prayer for every man and portions of the Talmud that are relevant to non-Jews
👉Emunah (Faith) in Action
THURSDAY 10 am Eastern
Only with tranquility of the soul can we hear G-d Al-Mighty's voice clearly, know what to do and have the strength to do it effectively
👉Gate of Oneness
Words on the Torah Portion
The Torah Experience - Life Fully Lived
THURSDAY 8:00 pm Eastern - Not this coming week due to Shavuous
Study the Gate of Oneness (Sha'ar HaYichud) by the Mittler Rebbe which teaches us how to think clearly. Delivered by Rabbi Shimon Chyrek. Rabbi Smith speaks on the weekly Torah portion at the end of the class.
Actions:
What are chopping at and trying harder and harder but not making progress? What is the upstream issue that if you listen for the answer you will sharpen the iron?
This message of Hope can and must reach even more people, with you help. Please gift generously to propel this message to more people. Time is of the essence. The mission is monumental, but with G-d Al-mighty’s help it eminently possible. May G-d Al-mighty bless you for your generosity.
Share this post and click below to gift a subscription to three other people. Thank you!
👉Dedicate a future edition of the Week’s Roundup by clicking here.
The Torah verse, in Deuteronomy 28:10 states:
וְרָאוּ֙ כׇּל־עַמֵּ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָ֖ה נִקְרָ֣א עָלֶ֑יךָ וְיָֽרְא֖וּ מִמֶּֽךָּ׃
And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the L-rd G-d Al-mighty’s Name is proclaimed over you, and they shall stand in fear of you.
How do the people see the Name proclaimed over the Jewish People - by seeing the Jew wearing the Tefillin (Talmud Berachos 6a).
The word ‘fear’ in the Holy Tongue is the same word as ‘seeing’ as in ‘vision’, seeing G-d Al-mighty’s vision. So the last phrase of the verse means, “they will see the Divine Vision through you” ie. on account of you wearing Tefillin. Therefore, when the peoples of the earth will see the Jew wearing Tefillin, they too will see the Unity of G-d Al-mighty and how the entire Creation is to proclaim and reveal that.
Here’s what we need to do to live in security:
Click on the ‘Notes’ tab in the Latest Section next to ‘Posts.’
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