Rabbi’s Corner – Parshat Vayikra

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner-  וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ. שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם. And it is this that has stood for our ancestors and for us; since it is not [only] one [person or nation] that has stood [against] us to destroy us, but rather in each generation, they stand [against] us to destroy us, but the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hand. We lovingly and joyously sing the "Vehi Sheamdah", cups aloft,  as part of the Maggid section of the Haggadah- telling the story of the Exodus. But is the "it is this" that has stood by us.- in Hebrew "Vehi"? The simple meaning is that it refers back to God's promise recited in the previous paragraph which quotes the Torah text of the special covenant God made with Abraham. "Blessed be the One who keeps His promise to Israel, blessed be He; since the Holy One, blessed be He, calculated the...
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Rabbi’s Corner – Parshat Vayakhel – Pekudei & Hachodesh

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner - Parshat Vayakhel - Pekudei & Hachodesh The Journey of the Seder   Based on a Shiur given by Rabbi YY Jacobson. As Pesach is around the corner I thought I would dedicate the next few essays on the Haggadah. The 5th section of the Haggadah is called Maggid which means "to relate" the story of the Exodus. The very name Haggadah is taken from this section Maggid. The rest of the Seder is a framework through which tell the story over in a way that we can truly experience freedom on a spiritual level. As the Mishna states which again we recite on Seder night  "In every generation a person must see himself/herself as if they came out of Egypt". The word Maggid derives from the central verse commanding us to tell over the story which is itself quoted a few times in the Haggadah "And you shall tell (Vehiggadeta) to your child on that day, 'for the sake of this, Hashem did for...
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Rabbi’s Corner – Parshat Ki Tissa

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner - Parshat Ki Tissa  This week we read of the smashing of the Tablets by Moses after he finds the Jewish people have betrayed God and worshipped the golden calf. The opening of the portion of Ki Tissa begins with the verses describing the commandment to take a half shekel when counting the Jewish people. According to Rashi although this text comes prior to the episode of the Golden Calf it is out of chronological sequence and occurred after the sin and was a form of atonement for the people. The Vila Gaon* has a fascinating idea: He notes that the story of the Golden calf is both preceded and succeeded by the commandment to keep Shabbat. First in the ten commandments; the fourth commandment and then in the aftermath of the sin. He sees this hinted at in the command to count the people "Ki Tissa Es Rosh" - literally "when you lift the head" Head in Hebrew is Rosh. Lifting the head ca be...
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Rabbi’s Corner – Parshat Tetzaveh

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner - Parshat Tetzaveh Parshat Tetzaveh is always read around the festival of Purim. We are taught by the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz  (1555-1630 Tiberius Israel).that there is special divine providence to when we read the Parsha of the week. So what could be the relationship between Purim and Parshat Tetzaveh? Parshat Tetzaveh deals in part with the special clothing of the High priest. He wore 8 special garments. There are many ideas and lofty spiritual concepts symbolised by every aspect of the clothing but the overall purpose of the clothes the Torah itself states as  "Lekavod uletiferet"- for honour and glory. In other words the kohen's clothing elevates him to a higher spiritual plane so that he can properly serve Hashem and be a conduit for his blessings. In fact the service is invalidated were he not to wear the clothes. The Purim story contains numerous references to clothing: 1) "To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, to...
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“Lifting up our lives”

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner - Parshat Terumah- "Lifting up our lives" One of the greatest challenges in life is to live consistently with higher meaning and purpose. We are caught up today in consumerism where it would seem that our "very wellbeing and happiness depend fundamentally on obtaining consumer goods and material possessions" (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/consumerism.asp). The ever sophisticated marketing and promotions we are exposed to are clearly underpinned by this consumerist belief.  I can not think of any marketing campaign today that does not link material goods to a higher meaning. Tag lines such as "this is where life happens", "passion for life" and of course I can't miss out the Disneyland tag line "The happiest place on earth". We all know that life's higher purpose (for those who believe there is one) is not truly captured by physical things. We understand that it is the quality of our relationships and connections that make life truly meaningful. We also know that happiness can not be bought as...
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Rabbi’s Corner – Parshat Mishpatim

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner - Parshat Mishpatim The Baal Shem Tov Lights a Fire! When Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, saw that the Jewish people were threatened by tragedy, he would go to a particular place in the forest where he lit a fire, recited a particular prayer, and asked for a miracle to save the Jews from the threat. Because of the Holy Fire and faithfulness of the prayer, the miracle was accomplished, averting the tragedy. Later, when the Baal Shem Tov’s disciple, the Maggid of Mezerich, had to intervene with heaven for the same reason, he went to the same place in the forest where he told the Master of the Universe that while he did not know how to light the fire, he could still recite the prayer, and again, the miracle was accomplished. Later still, Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sasov, in turn a disciple of a disciple of the Maggid of Mezerich (via Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg) , went...
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Parshat Yisro – Inner transformation

By Glen BerdNo Comments
RABBIS CORNER Parshat Yisro - Inner transformation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx4Bal5z0kE&feature=youtu.be   We were very proud with a turnout of over 200 people at our recent talk by Dr Bernd Wollschlaeger "My father was a Nazi". It is now uploaded on YouTube (see link above) - for you to playback and share this intriguing inspiring and moving story that speaks to all human souls. Behind this extraordinary story with an immense number of details to absorb is the deeply personal spiritual journey. A Journey that speaks to all souls about our life journey; How to embrace ourselves; that we must not amputate parts of our self or relegate our traumas into a box which we seal never to be opened. Instead we are invited to find the inner strength and courage and willpower and determination to make peace with our entire selves. The Story of Bernd Wollschlaeger is one that begins with the curiosity of child looking for answers only to uncover more disturbing questions.  Bernd is  led to...
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Shabbat Shira

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Custom Corner Shabbat Shira (The Sabbath of the song commemorating the splitting of the sea) -There is an interesting custom to put out food for the birds on Erev Shabbat Shirah. A number of reasons are given. Here are just two: On Shabbat Shirah, when we read about the manna that Hashem provided for the Jewish people, it is customary to put out food for the birds on Erev Shabbat as a reward for the Kiddush Hashem they brought about. - Rabbi Meir of Premishlan [Chassidic Master (1703–1773), a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) and a descendant of Hillel the Elder (110BCE-10CE!] The Maharal of Prague (1520-1609  Yehudah Loew Ben Betzalel  Poland) would instruct the teachers of young children to gather their students in the shul yard on Shabbat Shira and relate to them the story of Kriat Yam Suf — the splitting of the sea. They would also to tell the children that at that time Hashem performed a miracle and trees with beautiful fruit grew in the sea (see Midrash Rabbah 22:1). When the Jews sang the Shirah, the birds sang and danced. The Jewish children picked fruits...
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Vaera- Misalignment from self

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner Vaera- Misalignment from self "Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel, but they did not hearken to Moses because of [their] shortness of breath and because of [their] hard labour." Exodus 6:9 This week’s parsha continues where we left off in Parshat Shemot - the story of the Israelites excruciating bondage in Egypt. In Shemot, Moses had been chosen by God for the mission of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. As with many great missions it begins with a major setback which was perceived by the people and even Moses as failure. Moses had come before Pharoah to request that he release the people (to worship God in the desert) and the result is tragic. Pharoah not only refuses to allow the people a break to worship their God (he in fact rejects the notion of a unified source of Creation known to us by the special 4 letter name of God)- he even harshens the conditions of their bondage by demanding...
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Shemot – Freedom of thought

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Rabbi's Corner Shemot  - Freedom of thought Disclaimer: This article does not contradict the Halachic imperative to listen to sound medical advice and to follow the law of the land. It aims to promote intellectually honest debate, to be unafraid to ask hard questions and the notion that we are free to think for ourselves. This week Talk Radio was "deplatformed" by YouTube for 12 hours. This effectively removed the ability for this mainstream Radio station from streaming its content on YouTube during that period. YouTube have acted unilaterally because they believe that Talk Radio has broadcast information and ideas that are contrary to the consensus on Covid and therefore constitutes medical misinformation. All this despite the fact that Talk Radio are governed by Ofcom which is considered to be an excellent  regulator who have not found Talk Radio in breach of its broadcast code. The problem is that Talk Radio have not put on air any conspiracy theories or Covid deniers. What they are "guilty"...
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