Finding Hashem in the Darkness

A Jewish king’s task is to personify G-d’s majesty in this world. I would like to suggest that through the rulership of Yosef and Moshe, Hashem’s glory was manifested on two different levels. Yosef was the embodiment of the divine characteristic of revelation. Like a king, Yosef displayed royalty. He wore the brilliant kasones pasim [...]

The Heart Really Matters

Why do we read the Book of Ruth on Shevuos? One answer is that Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David who was born on Shevuos and 70 years later died on Shevuos. Still, what does King David have to do with Shevuos in particular? Our sages tell us that “the king is the heart [...]

Sefiras Ha’Omer: the BT Nemesis?

YY Bar-Chaiim The typical Baal Teshuva is driven by a burning search for meaning. This often finds satisfaction within the plethora of thrilling spiritual experiences to be discovered within Torah life. But what happens when such a BT encounters one of those supremely thrilless rituals like Omer Counting? Granted, in some communities there are spiritually [...]

Divrei Torah To Warm The Jewish Soul

Rabbi Moshe Zionce Vayigash means to approach. Yehuda approaches Yosef. The deeper wisdom explains that each of the 7 shepperds (Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aaron, Yosef and Dovid) have their own persona. Yosef¹s distinct characteristic is to bring close and to join. This week¹s parsha begins with Yehuda coming close to Yosef. There are many [...]

Worlds Collide – A Chassidic Rebbe in a Web-Based Address

The Melitzer Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Naftali Moscowitz, the Rebbe of Rabbi Lazer Brody agreed to Rabbi Brody’s request to directly address the internet public. So, join in this “internet first” by taking a moment to listen to the Melitzer Rebbe’s divrei torah and bracha.

The Torah Teminah on “In the Place that Baalei Teshuva Stand…”

Today’s Daf Yomi from the gemorra in Taanis (27) says that the Anshei Maamad shouldn’t fast on Sundays because after eating on Shabbos fasting is too severe. R’ Moshe Schwerd, a Kew Gardens Hills Daf Yomi Maggid Shiur, brought down the Torah Teminah from his Sefer Tosefes Beracha. He says this is the reason that [...]

And Straight Again!

I stumbled upon a list of aphorisms and one-liners from one of the premier Baalei Musar-Masters of Ethical Teachings, Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, also known as the Alter from Kelm. One phrase made me chuckle at first but I realized it wasn’t and couldn’t be a joke so I highlighted it and parked it in [...]

R’ Moshe Schwerd on “How Can We Survive the Year Without the Shofar?”

R’ Moshe Schwerd on “How Can We Survive the Year Without the Shofar?” can be downloaded here.

Tekias Shofar – From the Gemorra, Through the Rishonim and Poskim

Here’s an mp3 shiur from Rabbi Welcher tracing the halachos of Tekias Shofar – from the Gemorra, through the Rishonim and the Poskim.

The Blessed Present

See I place before you today blessing and curse… (Devarim 11:26) All the days of the impoverished (of the mind) are bad while the one with a good heart- (mind) is always drinking. (Mishle’ 15:15) Why is it often so hard to see the blessing? Why do we tend to obsess with -“what’s wrong with [...]

Cherishing the Shards: A 17th of Tamuz Meditation

By Rabbi Dovid Schwartz Imagine this heartrending scene: You come to visit a frail old man, he is your father, grandfather or uncle. His mind is so addled and ravaged by Alzheimer’s that he doesn’t recognize his visitors, sadder still; the disease has so deleted or distorted his memory that he doesn’t “recognize” himself. For [...]

Shabbos Links

Here is a powerful clip about the importance of recognizing individuality when raising children titled Animal School from RaisingSmallSouls. Rabbi Nosson Weisz has a great article on The Power of a Curse. The Weekly Internet Parshat can be retrieved here.

Some Torah Links

It’s week one for Pirkei Avos and you can download an English translation here. Over at Aish there are a lot of great pieces on Pirkei Avos authored by Beyond BT contributors Yaakov Astor and Yonason Goldson. You can download Chaim Shulman’s Internet Parsha Sheet. We offer our condolences to Rabbi Berel Wein on the [...]

The Brilliant Bekiyus of Rav Daniel Feldman of YU

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 [...]

The World Stands Upon Three Things

Yossie from New Jersey Al Sh’losha d’varim ha-olam omeid: al ha-Torah, v’al ha-Avodah, v’al Gemitut Chasadim The world stands upon three things: on Torah, and on Divine Service, and on acts of kindness. (Avot 1:2) There is an amazing Maharal on this Mishna, in his brilliant commentary to Pirkei Avos, Derech Chaim. He writes that [...]

Popular Posts

• Sefiras Ha'Omer: the BT Nemesis?
• Divrei Torah To Warm The Jewish Soul
• Cherishing the Shards: A 17th of Tamuz Meditation
• The Brilliant Bekiyus of Rav Daniel Feldman of YU
• The Blessed Present
• And Straight Again!
• The World Stands Upon Three Things
• Shabbos Links