New BRI Promo!

Get a FREE Book Sale!

The Breslov Research Institute - the organization headed by Rabbi Chaim Kramer that is primarily responsible for translating and disseminating the Torah of Breslov chassidus to the English speaking world (not to mention several other languages) is having a sale. If you buy their coffee-table edition Breslov Pirkei Avot, you can get a free book.

The BRI is a boon to those who wish to make an entrance into the world of Rebbe Nachman and Breslov thought; their various writers work tirelessly to advocate the study of chassidus and the nurturing of a close and personal relationship with HaShem.

This Shabbos, many in the Jewish world have the custom of baking a challah either in the shape of a key or with an actual key stuck into the loaf (a shlissel challah; shlissel is Yiddish for "key"). As this is the beginning of the season for planting, sowing and harvesting, we reinforce our prayers to God for material and spiritual sustenance. The key in the Shabbos challah demonstrates our desire and willingness to make our own efforts toward this goal, elevating our physical input through the sanctity of Shabbos, which nourishes the whole week; in this way, we hope to unlock the heavenly gates of sustenance.

A fresh home-baked shlissel challah, courtesy of my rebbetzin:

It is You, God, Who nourishes the largest to the smallest of creatures. No angel or minister has the ability to provide nourishment, sustenance, or support, but You, as it is written by Your servant David "The eyes of all look eagerly to You, and You give them their food in its proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." It is also written "He gives food to all flesh, for his kindness endures forever."
The key (to sustenance) is in Your hand, in order to refine and purify people, by causing them to rely on You and to know that there is no Savior but You. - Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz (this version appears in the sefer Reishis Chochma; a lengthier version is available in the siddur of Rabbi Shabbatai Sofer)

May we all merit be able to provide for our families and loved ones!

The YU Seforim Sale is ON!

I always get excited this time of year in anticipation of the seforim sale held by Yeshiva University, which started yesterday and will continue until Sunday, the 27th of February.

The famed sale is packed with Jews of all stripes, seeking out a sefer that they've been meaning to buy for quite some time, or looking for something new to catch their fancy. The prices are extremely low, and the money is going to a good cause.

For more information and an inventory catalogue, click here.

What Is The Tikkun Leil Shavuos?

In a recent post, I mentioned that I planned on learning the Tikkun Leil Shavuos. A reader contacted me and requested that I give a more detailed explanation of what the Tikkun is, so that people may better understand it, and - if possible - offer an explanation for what it is meant to accomplish.

The original Tikkun was established by the ARI HaKadosh (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria; "ARI" is an acronym for "Ashkenazi Reb Yitzchak"), and is basically an abridged version of the entire Torah. It includes excerpts from all 24 books of the TaNaCh (The Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings), taking several verses from each individual section and entire pieces of significant events in the Pentateuch (e.g. Creation, the Exodus, the Revelation at Mount Sinai, etc.). The Tikkun continues into the Oral Torah, with excerpts from each tractate in the Mishna (here's where things get a little confusing: I've heard that the Tikkun of the ARI doesn't contain any Mishna, only the Tikkun of the SheLaH Hakadosh has anything from the Mishna - I don't know, but I use the Tikkun of the SheLaH myself, and there is indeed Mishna there...), and then focuses on the esoteric sources, quoting Sefer Yetzirah (an ancient book that is attributed to the patriarch Abraham and contains secrets about Creation utilizing the power of the Aleph-Beis) and the Zohar. The Tikkun ends with the enumeration of the 613 commandments as compiled by the RaMBaM and the recitation of the entire Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs).

Reb Shimshon Pincus, OBM, gave a fascinating shiur in which he discussed the Tikkun at length, describing it and relating a famous story that occured between the Vilna Gaon and the Maggid of Dubno:

The Maggid once visited the Gaon for Shavuos, and they went to the shul to learn. The Gaon pulled out a Tikkun Leil Shavuos and began reciting it, while the Maggid pulled a gemara (a volume of the Talmud) from the shelf and started studying. When the Gaon asked him why he wasn't saying the Tikkun, the Maggid replied with a parable, likening the Gaon to a merchant who has a massive storehouse of goods, replete with every imaginable product, and the Tikkun that he was reciting as the small display of samples that he uses to advertise to the world. For such a merchant, the sample box is fine, because he has a storehouse from which he can summon any product - but for a merchant who has nothing in his storehouse (i.e. the Maggid, in characteristic humility), what good is a sample box? Better to just advertise what he does have.

Rav Eliyahu Kitov suggest the possibility that just like the general custom of learning the whole night of Shavuos is meant to serve as a rectification to the B'nei Yisrael's sleeping in on the morning of the Revelation, so too, the Tikkun serves the same purpose. It is our way of showing that we are eager to receive the wonderful gift that God is about to bestow upon us, by previewing everything that it contains...

The Kav HaYashar (the "Just Measure" or "Straight Line", by Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover) has some powerful words to say about the Tikkun (end of Chapter 93):

And on the fiftieth day Israel became cleansed of their filth and entered the last of the fifty gates of understanding, all of which are pure. The fiftieth day was holy and pure and on that very day Israel was granted freedom from the Angel of Death and the enslavement of the nations.

Therefore, it is fitting for everyone who fears HaShem and trembles at His word to study all night long on the Yom Tov (holiday) of Shavuos, reciting the Tikkun composed by the disciples of the ARI. And to toil in the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, the Mishna, and selected passages from the Zohar.

Some recite the Tikkun on both nights of Shavuos, and fortunate is the one who does so. For through the arousal from below one arouses a unification on high, resulting in a tremendous outpouring of holiness. In this merit may the Holy One Blessed is He pour down upon us a new light and may we all merit its illumination, Amen.

The author alludes to some Kabbalistic forces at work during the recitation of the Tikkun that are beyond my capacity for explanation. However, we do see that there is enormous significance to the saying of the Tikkun, and that it is more than just a "nice thing to do".

I'm not necessarily endorsing it (it certainly doesn't need my endorsement, either), but I can explain why I chose to begin saying it a few years ago, and what it accomplishes for me. It was first introduced to me many years ago by my good friend, Reb Y. while we were in yeshiva for Shavuos. Back then, I would learn, but it was a struggle to have a real good night, filled with quality learning - there were the inevitable coffee breaks, which led into brief bull sessions in the coffee room and eventually stepping out for a cigarette (which turned out to be a more complicated halachic matter than I was led to believe. But I digress..). I wanted more, I wanted to have a night that was completely immersed in the Torah, without the myriad distractions that tug at you in the wee hours of the morning.

I found that in the Tikkun. As a matter of fact, once I start, I can't take a break or pause for more than a few seconds if a want to actually finish it, because of the sheer volume of material that I am trying to cover. Some might sniff at the seeming "ease" of the recitation, especially when compared to in depth pilpul (talmudic dialectic and analysis), but this is what works for me.

I've never tried it on both nights; after seeing the Kav HaYashar, though, I'm tempted to try this year.

The Tikkun Leil Shavuos can be found in any Jewish bookstore.

Back in my old stomping grounds...

So, most of my fans are probably ready to kill me by this time, as I haven't posted in who knows how long. So, let's bring everybody back up to speed.

I am back in my pre Israel yeshiva in central Jersey, and thank God every day that I didn't go to Baltimore. Mind you, I have nothing against Baltimore, but to be honest, the day I went for my interview was a cold dark damp morning, I wasn't feeling well, and i just overall didn't have a good vibe from the place.

The yeshiva there is large (not on the Mir scale, but still...), and not one guy came over to me to say hello or ask my name. In preparation to even be allowed to come for an interview, I had to do a whole song and dance when speaking with the head honcho in charge of screening applicants over the phone. I have respect for people whom respect is required, but this kind of thing really goes against my entire ethos. Whatever. I get there, and the guy tells me to prepare a page of gemara with all the relevant commentaries. After a short time, he calls me into his office and proceeds to grill me on it. Once we're done with that, he starts asking me all kinds of seemingly irrelevant questions, and I just couldn't get the nagging sensation out of my head that maybe I was making a mistake in even taking an interview.

I returned home that night, and the whole next day, the honcho kept stringing me along, telling me to call back later, he still hasn't decided yet. My parents are by now getting nervous, getting on my case about not having a back up plan if I don't get in, etc. I myself felt at a loss.

Many people were telling me not to go back to my old yeshiva because I would have the wrong attitude about returning. That is, I would expect the place to have stayed the same, and meanwhile not only had I changed, but the yeshiva had as well. To a degree, I shared the same concerns as them. Until someone I trust and respect called me up and told me to stop being ridiculous, and go back to my rebbe. He warned about having the right attitude, but told that 100%, I should go.

I'm glad I listened to him.

It feels great to be back in a place that has such fond memories; a lot of guys who I was here with originally have also come back, and I think that the new group of guys are good ones. Hearing people tell me that they were so excited to hear that I was coming back has been totally amazing, and I'm even enjoying the responsibilty of being an older guy. Don't worry- I'm not one of those holier than thou types, either.

Anyhoo, that's what's been going on. I decided with my parents that I won't start dating til around Chanuka time, which gives me time to reestablish myself into the yeshiva structure. After that? Lock your doors!

On a side - but no less important - note, I'd like to call everybodies' attention to a new book that should be hitting stores near you soon. The title of the book is "Wisdom From The Batcave" and it's written by a close personal friend of mine, Cary A. Friedman. An orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Friedman has been a prison chaplain in North Carolina ( he was study partners with Jonathan Pollard for a while), and worked as an outreach rabbi in Duke University. After moving to New Jersey, he took the pulpit in an Orthodox shul, and also began lecturing for the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit's Moral and Ethics course in the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia. he's the author of several judaism and religious themed books, including two on marriage and one on spiritual survival in law enforcement.

Without giving too much away, Rabbi Friedman grew up with an obsession with Batman, which extended into the amassing of all kinds of paraphenalia. When studying for his rabbinical ordination, he had the epiphany that a lot of things he was learning regarding values and morality he'd already gleaned - sometimes on a subliminal level, sometimes overtly - from the pages of Batman comics. Later, as an outreach rabbi and a lecturer, he found that incorporating his knowledge and love for the Batman into his work helped him make connections to people who would otherwise be less receptive.

"Wisdom From The Batcave" goes through the mythology of the Batman, taking out profound lessons from a seemingly ( especially to any philistine who never read a comic book) unlikely source. Even if you've never heard of the Batman ( perish the thought), this book is a wonderful read, with anecdotes and powerful lessons. I should know; I contributed to it after reading the original manuscript.

So, go to his website at www.batwisdom.com and check it out. You can order it online, or request it at your local bookstore. But please, try it out. You won't be sorry after reading it....

Originally posted Tuesday, 7 November 2006