I returned to Van Cortland Park today for the first time since the winter began. A four and half mile walk is, well, a walk in the park compared to an hour on a treadmill. (On My Terms) It’s not simply that I can fool myself into believing that I burned more calories when there is no monitor measuring my progress. I am far more comfortable in the park. There are all sorts of people, not just muscle men and people far thinner than am I. There are old people and young, men and women, fat and thin, fast walkers and slow. The people in the gym are nice. Many refer to me as Miracle Man because they remember how I first arrived in the gym using a walker. Others call me String Man in honor of my Tzitzit. They are helpful and warm, but they are generally in far better physical condition. I fit in better with the other park walkers.

But the main difference is not the people; it’s the location. I remember a real estate agent telling me that it’s all about “Location, location, location!” She was right. The location makes all the difference in the world. I am outside in middle of nature. I have a sense of freedom that isn’t there in the gym. I think well. I come up with ideas for the blog and lectures, which doesn’t often happen in the gym. I relax and consider the time productive. My time on the treadmill is a burden. Location matters when I walk, as it does when I learn, pray, or eat.

The Children of Israel did not really have a place in Egypt. They did not belong to society. Yet, out they go, into the desert, again without a sense of place. They may have been in a camp, in their own tents, but I imagine they felt displaced all those years in the desert, never knowing when the cloud would rise and they would have to pick up and move yet again.

It’s not surprising that the verse does not describe God dancing, or passing over, the people; it says that God danced over their Homes, their place, as if God was nurturing a sense of place for them, even as their bags were placed and they were dressed for travel, knowing that they would soon be traveling. They were creating a place for themselves when they placed the blood on their doorposts and lintels. No wonder they were not allowed to move outside of their homes while eating their Pesach Offering. It’s all about location.

They learned that a person does not need to have something permanent in order to have a sense of a place all their own. This is why the Sages teach that we create a space of four cubits around ourselves when we pray or study Torah. We can create a place for ourselves wherever we go.

No wonder we refer to God as Hamakom – The Omnipresent – in the Haggadah! We gained the ability to create our own special locations for ourselves wherever we go as part of gaining freedom. We can move around and make that special “location,” with everything we do.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

Nemesis is lame; but she is of colossal stature, like the gods, and sometimes, while her sword is not yet unsheathed, she stretches out her huge left arm and grasps her victim.

The mighty hand is invisible, but the victim totters under the dire clutch.

[George Eliot; Scenes of Clerical Life]
I’ve always been struck by the choice of words, “sword not yet unsheathed,” “huge left arm,” and, “mighty hand,” all phrases we use in the Haggadah to describe God striking the Egyptians. We could say that God was their Nemesis.

However, in the story Reverend Amos Burton, a pious man but unpopular parson, “sadly unsuited to the practice of his profession,” loses his wife in childbirth, and receives notice that he has lost his position. All has fallen apart; he feels that life is his nemesis. But it is not life, but he, who is his own nemesis, something I wonder whether he ever understands, even when, at the story’s end, twenty years later, he stands at Milly’s grave.

I picture the moment when the Egyptians are carried by their horses and chariots into the Sea, as their moment of realization that they are being carried by their own decisions, that they are their own nemesis. God’s Sword, Arm, and Hand, were released by them, not Moshe, not even God.

This would explain why Dayeinu immediately follows the counting of the miracles at the Sea; We address our role as our own nemesis with our lack of gratitude. (See “The Haggadah of Breaking Our Anger II.”)

We are so careful with all the laws of Pesach because we want to obey the law, but we can easily forget to perform the Mitzvot with gratitude, and as God’s way of saying Thank You to us (“Infectious Gratitude”).

The Egyptians too began their process of becoming their own nemesis with a lack of gratitude (Listen to, “Shemot-Thanks”).

We can celebrate the entire Seder as an expression of Gratitude:

Fifteen Steps: Thank You for providing the structure within which we can be creative and act with free choice. (“Fifteen Steps-Shelah,” “The Creative Impulse,” “Order! Order!”).

Kadeish: Thank You for empowering us to Sanctify this world, our actions, and connect all to You. (“The Conference of the Birds,” “Family Discussion.”)

Urchatz: Thank You for creating us in Your Image, which we honor by washing our hands. (“Haggadah-Urchatz-Rachtza”).

Yachatz: Thank You for giving us enough to set aside food for the future. (“Broken Matzah-Broken Hallel,” “What Does God Really Want,” “Breaking The Middle Matzah”).

Karpas: Thank You for teaching us the difference between eating as an instinct and eating as royalty (“Rav Kook-Yachatz I”)

Maggid: Thank You for having experiences to share (“Teaching Our Children”), stories to tell (“Owning Our Slippers”), wisdom to convey (“Four Songs of the Four Portions”) and the opportunity (“The Story-Teller and The Maggid”) and means (“Chidah-Fourth Level of Sippur”)to so do. (“Ma Nishtana in the Warsaw Ghetto.”)

Rachtza: Thank You for constantly allowing us to wash our hands each time we rise after we fall (Walking With A Flute VIII”), so we can move ahead.

Motzi: Thank You for our creative spirit that allows us to make bread from wheat (“Finding”).

Matzah: Thank You for the humility necessary for relationships, especially with You (Pesach, Matzah, u’Maror”).

Maror: Thank You for the gifts of empathy (“Connecting The Story”) and patience (“The Maror of Patience”).

Koreich: Thank You for empowering us to share different approaches in our service of You (“Fighting The Fire IX”).

Tzafun: Thank You for empowering us to live with a sense of how much more there is to discover (“Hidden No More”).

Bareich: Thank You for the ability to transform the physical into spiritual (“Moshe and The Burning Bush,” “Ohr Chadash,” and, “Higher Eating”).

Hallel: Thank You for the ability to create eternal realities with our words(“The Blessing of Being Able to Sing”).”

Nirtzah: Thank You for the opportunity to give You Nachas (“A Blessing For God”).

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

No longer forward nor behind

I look in hope or fear,

But, grateful, take the good I find,

The best of now and here.

John Greenleaf Whittier 1859

These words struck me as I was reflecting on the Haggadah. Much of the Pesach Seder is either looking forward or behind. We look forward as we prepare for Pesach; even when we search for Chametz, we place it aside till the morrow to be burned. (Countdown to Pesach 15)

We look behind as we burn, for we are taught that this is a process of spiritual cleansing as well.

We spend the day preparing for the Seder, looking forward with hope, and perhaps a little bit of fear as we wonder how well everything will run.

We look forward as we make Kiddush over “the first of four cups of wine.” We wash our hands to prepare for what comes next, Karpas, something difficult to define, that does not, without some creative mental and homiletical gymnastics, address the now and here.

We break the middle matzah placing half away for the future. My experience is that it is difficult to be fully present in Ha Lachma Anya, especially when the younger children are chomping at the bit to demonstrate their Ma Nishtana skills. Questions look to the future; the answers.

We spend a great deal of time speaking of the past, and some, dreaming of the future, but where is the now and here?

I first thought it was in the charge that each of us see ourselves as if we went out of Egypt, but there is that past tense again; “went out!”

The meal is great but we must look forward and save some space for the Afikoman.

I experience Hallel as the preparation for the next stage of life; forward.

The closing section, Nirtzah, although it honors what we have done in the past, is that moment of here and now; we are experiencing the state of accomplishment, in which we celebrate that God found pleasure in our Seder.

But…

It’s an official moment; everyone does it. It’s standard. How do we know that we actually exist in a state of Nirtzah?

Do we examine and evaluate what we have done?

Do we wait to see what happens next to be certain that Nirtzah; it was accepted?

Nirtzah, this here and now moment, cannot depend on another, even God; it is a celebration of our own state of mind: can we allow ourselves to experience an unquestioned state of Nirtzah?

You know what?

Such acceptance demands a great deal of personal freedom…

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

Based on the Kavanot for Rosh Chodesh Shevat:  Teshuva: We begin our Returning in Love by: “Give thanks to God Who is good, for His kindness is forever!

Let Israel declare that His Kindness is forever!

Let the House of Aaron declare that His kindness is forever!

Let those who are in awe of God declare that His kindness is forever!”

The Impact of Our Choices: We begin our celebration of the power of our choices by honoring the power of prayer:

“I called to the Creator of Heaven and Earth from a tight spot, and He answered me broadly. God is with me, I have no fear; what can people do to me? God is with me to help me, so I can confront my enemies. It is better to depend in God than to trust people. It is better to depend on God than to trust people in power. All the nations surrounded me but I survived them in God’s Name. They surrounded and encircled me but I survived them in God’s Name. Though they surrounded me like a swarm of bees, they were snuffed out like burnt thorns. I survived them in God’s Name. I was pushed to fall but God helped me. The Creator of Heaven and Earth is my Help and my Hammer, and became my Savior.”

Transformation: (Based on Hallel in History, Part Two.”)

This is the song of Samuel the Prophet, King David, his father, Yishai, and his brothers, celebrating David’s Transformation from a hated and resented shepherd boy into the greatest king of Israel:



“Song and victory sound in the tents of the just. God’s Hand makes victory. God’s Hand is supreme. God’s Hand makes victory! I will not die but live, and tell of the doings of the Creator of Heaven and Earth. The Creator afflicted me to direct me but did not destroy me. Open the gates of justice for me, I will enter and thank the Creator. This is the gate to God, the just may enter here. I thank You for answering me, You became my salvation. The stone rejected by the builders became the cornerstone. This happened because of God; it is wondrous in our eyes. This is the day God made; let us sing and be happy with it. Please God; Save us! Please God; Make us successful! Bless those who come in God’s Name; we bless you from God’s House. God  is The Power and gave us Light. Wave your holiday branches up to the corners of the altar. You are my Power and I thank You, My Lord and I will exalt You. Give thanks to God Who is good, for His kindness is forever!”

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“All you nations; Praise God!

Sing compliments, all you peoples!

For His kindness overpowers us, and God’s Truth is forever.

Hallelukah!”



Based on Kavanot for Rosh Chodesh Shevat

The Impact of Our Choices: Our expression of gratitude in the Amida in the 18^th blessing – Modim – is immediately followed by a universal expression of thanks: “v’chol ha’chaim.” The second paragraph of Benching – Grace After Meals – begins with Israel’s gratitude – Nodeh – and is followed by a common expression of appreciation: “Befi kol Chai”. The measure of a proper Thank You is its effect on those who hear it: Are they inspired to thank God?

Kavana: “We will act this month in such ways that our actions will inspire others to connect with You.

Transformation: Kavana: We pray for a world transformed, a world in which all nations will join us in praising God.

Teshuva: Kavana: We aspire to a love of God that reflects, “For His kindness overpowers us,” and leads to Teshuva from love. (See, “Reflections on Free Choice, Part One, and Two.”)

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“What can I respond to God for all the good He has given to make me independent?

I will lift up the cup of salvation and I will call out in God’s Name.

I will fulfill my promises to God in front of all His nation.

Death to His pious ones is precious in God’s eyes.

Please God, allow me to be Your servant.

I am Your worker, the son of Your maidservant,

You unlocked my chains.

I will bring an offering of thanks to You, and I will call out in the Name of God.

I will fulfill my promises to God in front of all His nation.

In the courtyards of God’s House, in the center of Jerusalem.

Hallelukah!”

Based on the Kavanot for Rosh Chodesh Shevat:

Teshuva: I am not only at a loss of words of praise; I do not even know how to thank God for all the good in my life: How can I thank God for all His kindness to me?”

Impact of Our Choices: I will publicly acknowledge my gratitude in a way that will inspire others to do the same: “I will raise the cup of salvations and I will invoke the Name of God. I will pay my vows to God in the presence of His entire people.”

Transformation: I thrill to be Your servant because it grants me a life of infinite possibilities: “Please, God – for I am Your servant – You have released my bonds.”

All Three Kavanot: The more I experience the freedom I gain through serving You, the more I want to thank you, so, I say again: “To You I will sacrifice thanksgiving offerings and I will invoke the Name of God. I will pay my vows to God in the presence, now, of His entire people.”



The feelings of gratitude, expectation and love are so powerful that I want to step into a different realm in order to feel that I can express all that I am feeling: “In the courtyards of the House of God, in your midst, O Jerusalem.”

“God remembered us and will bless – Bless the House of Israel – Bless the House of Aaron – Bless those who are in awe of God, the insignificant with the great.

God will enhance you – you and your children.

You are blessed to God Who made the heavens and the earth.

The heavens are God’s, while the earth has been given to people.

The dead do not praise the Creator of Worlds, nor do those who go down to their doom. But we – we praise the Creator of Worlds – From now and forever –

Hallelukah!”

Two of the Kavanot for Rosh Chodesh Shevat are Transformation, The Impact of Our Choices:

God blesses us with the ability to make the world our own through expanding His Presence in Creation: “The heavens are God’s, but the earth He has given to mankind.”



We acquire the earth through the same “Blessing” with which God showers us: “He will bless the House of Israel.” “But we will bless God from this time and forever.”

Our blessings matter because they are an expression of Free Choice – Our highest connection to God. We experience real life through our choices, which matter enough to make the earth ours: Neither the dead can praise God, nor any who descend into silence.”



Kavana: I can make the world mine by using my Free Choice to expand His Presence in Creation.

Another of the Kavanot for Shevat is Teshuva:

“The dead do not praise the Creator of Worlds, nor do those who go down to their doom. But we – we praise the Creator of Worlds.” The wicked are often described as spiritually “dead.” We use this Hallel, and the special Teshuva opportunity afforded by Shevat, to celebrate that by connecting to God by singing His praises, gives us new life, as we pray God will do on the Rosh Hashanah of Tu Bishvat.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“When Israel left Egypt, Jacob’s family from among a people who spoke a strange language, Judah became God’s Holy Place, Israel, His realm.

The Sea saw it and ran away. The Jordan River reversed course. The mountains danced like deer, the hills like lambs.

What’s with you, Sea, that you flee? With the Jordan, that you turn around? With the Mountains, that you dance like deer? With the hills, like lambs?

Quake, you Land, before your Master, before the Lord of Jacob!

Who turned the rock into a pool of water. Pebbles into a source of water.”

One of the Kavanot for Rosh Chodesh Shevat is Transformation:

We focus on the Name of God that is hidden within this verse with a prayer that, this spring, we will merit to transform every aspect of our physical lives into eternal spiritual existence, and that we will merit to experience the eternal joy that is so potent in spiritual existence.

How did a nation of slaves, which did not even speak the same language as their new Master, become God’s sanctuary and dominion?

They learned an entirely new vocabulary as they watched the sea flee and the mountains dance before God. The laws of nature, as they knew them, were suspended before God, and they discovered an entirely new level of existence. That discovery was enough to transform them into God’s sanctuary and dominion.

*Kavana: “I am transformed when I realize that there is a higher vocabulary to existence.”

Another of the Kavanot for Shevat is Teshuva:

A new year begins in Shevat; Tu Bishvat. It is an opportunity for Teshuva, for waking up. We focus on this Appellation as a prayer that God will empower our Teshuva and help us return to Him, and begin the New Year with blessing and joy.

“Quake, you Land, before your Master, before the Lord of Jacob!

Who turned the rock into a pool of water. Pebbles into a source of water.”

“Quake,” as in Tremble with Excitement, over the opportunity to emulate God and “turn rocks,” cold and hard hearts and service of God, into pools of water.

The Third of the Kavanot for Shevat is The Impact of Our Choices: We focus on this Divine Appellation in order to remind ourselves of this great Divine gift, the ability to shed one level of existence for another. We pray that God empower us to use this gift for good so that we can blossom anew with fresh perspectives and new strengths.

“Judah became God’s Holy Place, Israel, His realm.” We celebrate that the ability to make choices that can create a reality of our being God’s Holy Place, and, His realm.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“Hallelukah!

Praise, you who serve God! Praise the Name of God.

Let the Name of God be blessed from now and forever.

From sunrise to sundown, the Name of God is praised.

God is above all the nations. His Glory is beyond the sky.

Who is like God, our Lord, Who lives up high, but drops down to see what happens (to us) in the (lower) heaven and earth?

Who lifts up the lowly from the dust, raises the destitute from the garbage dumps to be seated with leaders, the leaders of their people.

Who Makes a home for the childless woman and joy for the mother of children. Hallelukah!”

One of the Kavanot for Rosh Chodesh Shevat is Transformation:

We focus on the Name of God that is hidden within this verse with a prayer that, this spring, we will merit to transform every aspect of our physical lives into eternal spiritual existence, and that we will merit to experience the eternal joy that is so potent in spiritual existence.

We sing this paragraph of Hallel rejoicing in the opportunity to be transformed into people who can transform themselves, just as “Those who serve God,” the newly freed slaves, were blessed through the process of the Exodus.

Another of the Kavanot for Shevat is Teshuva:

A new year begins in Shevat; Tu Bishvat. It is an opportunity for Teshuva, for waking up. We focus on this Appellation as a prayer that God will empower our Teshuva and help us return to Him, and begin the New Year with blessing and joy.

This week’s portion, Vaeira, is a lesson in Teshuva – See, “Reflections on Free Choice, Part One, and Two.” We use the joy of the coming spring, the expectations of Tu Bishvat, to be filled with Love for God, allowing us to use the month to reconnect and repair our relationship with God, a renewed relationship: “Who lifts up the lowly from the dust, raises the destitute from the garbage dumps to be seated with leaders, the leaders of their people.”

The Third of the Kavanot for Shevat is The Impact of Our Choices: We focus on this Divine Appellation in order to remind ourselves of this great Divine gift, the ability to shed one level of existence for another. We pray that God empower us to use this gift for good so that we can blossom anew with fresh perspectives and new strengths.

“Who Makes a home for the childless woman,” we celebrate how God empowers us, gives us the greatest gift of life in Free Choice. We sing over this gift, nurturing our awareness of the constant opportunity to make self-defining choices, that will bless us, even those who feel “childless,” that our efforts are in vain, with the gift of the fruit of our actions; the real message of Tu Bishvat, when the trees and their fruit are blessed for the year.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

We derive the appellation for God’s Name, used in the Rosh Chodesh Mussaf – Additional Prayer – from the combination of letters and vowels of the following verse: “He shall not distinguish between good and bad and he should not substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall be holy.” – Vihay Hu Utemurato Yiheye.” (Leviticus 27:33)

Rashi, based on the Talmud (Bechorot 14a) explains: Even if the tenth animal is bad, in that it has a blemish that disqualifies it from use as an offering, it is Ma’aser nonetheless. It may be used only for food but not for work or shearing.

I. Transformation

The Imrei Tzaddikim quotes the Maggid of Mezeritch as explaining that, “Vahaya,” is a term that is used to express joy. When a person succeeds in making both the holy and its substitute – the mundane – holy, even that which goes against holiness, the person himself will become holy and will rejoice in his holiness.

Shevat is the month in which we begin to look forward to the spring and its rejuvenation of life. The physical world begins to awaken from its summer sleep. The physical world is neutral. It challenges us to choose how to use the mundane, whether to sanctify it, or whether we will limit ourselves by living a purely physical existence.

We focus on the Name of God that is hidden within this verse with a prayer that, this spring, we will merit to transform every aspect of our physical lives into eternal spiritual existence, and that we will merit to experience the eternal joy that is so potent in spiritual existence.

II. Teshuva

Rabbi Chaim Meir of Fishnets explains that a person has the capacity to transform even sins into Mitzvot through Teshuva, and thus, all becomes holy.

The world awakening from its winter sleep is a representation of the ability of people who have fallen asleep; people who perform Mitzvot, pray, and study Torah, without awareness, and out of habit, as if they were sleep walking through their spiritual lives, to wake up and inject new spirit into their spiritual lives. This awakening from sleep is Teshuva, “Awaken sleepers from your slumber!”

A new year begins in Shevat; Tu Bishvat. It is an opportunity for Teshuva, for waking up. We focus on this Appellation as a prayer that God will empower our Teshuva and help us return to Him, and begin the New Year with blessing and joy.

III. The Impact of Our Choices

The Shiva Einayim reflects on how much of our world depends on the idea of exchange, “Chalipin”. We exchange money for goods, one favor for another, and we exchange greetings. The world is filled with give and take.

There is a higher level of exchange, Temurah, with which we shed an outer garment in order to clothe ourselves in something holier. For example, the 600,000 letters of the Torah represent the 600,000 Root Souls of Israel, and 600,000 Ministering Angels. We begin with a basic letter and then we can shed its physical garment – form – and use each letter of the Torah to connect with the Roots of our Souls and the Highest Angels.

When we pay attention to each letter of the Torah and stop and reflect on it as having a higher message from God, the letter reaches beyond its physical form. When we are able to come up with a new insight because of that letter, we connect with the Root of our Soul. When we act on that insight, we touch the world of the Ministering Angels. We have performed Temurah on that letter. We “switched” or “exchanged” on level of existence for another.

We also have the capacity to take the ethereal and limit it to a basic physical form. When we recite a blessing without thought or awareness, we have “switched” the holy into a simple physical act. Even when we perform a “Temurah” from the higher level to the lower, we are accessing the holiest power we have been granted: Our ability to step from one world to another. We use the gift of making choices and acting in a manner that can change worlds.

We focus on this Divine Appellation in order to remind ourselves of this great Divine gift, the ability to shed one level of existence for another. We pray that God empower us to use this gift for good so that we can blossom anew with fresh perspectives and new strengths.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.