https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-is-a-jew-how-abraham-s-journey-reveals-the-meaning-of-jewish-identity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-4tyyWIcH_g/hqdefault.jpg What Is a Jew? How Abraham’s journey reveals the meaning of Jewish identity Rabbi Greenberg asks what makes a Jew. He argues that the world's singular hostility toward Jews points to something unique about them, and reads tributes from John Adams and Mark Twain, who asked the secret of Jewish immortality. He then tests six common definitions: a religion, a nationality, an ethnic or cultural group, a race, a language group, or a creation of antisemites. Each but the last holds a kernel of truth, yet none suffices: a Jew who sins is still a Jew, Jews lived mostly outside Israel and the land was named after the people, their cultures and languages differ widely, and converts of every race are fully Jewish. His definition comes from the Tanya: a Jew has a godly soul that is truly a part of God above, given for the mission of making the physical world a dwelling place for God, while all humanity is charged with basic decency. Anyone may convert, and conversion shows the person has that soul. From this follow other traits: an indestructible people, "stiff-necked" tenacity, and a nation both deeply united and quarrelsome. He then explains the Torah's names for the Jewish people. Ivri, first said of Abraham, is explained in the Midrash as one who stood on the other side from the whole world. Yaakov is the Jew in exile, Yisrael the Jew in mastery, and Yeshurun the upright Jew of the future. Yehudi, the word "Jew," applies to anyone who rejects idolatry, as the Talmud says of Mordechai, including subtler idols like money and ego, and recalls Leah's gratitude in naming Judah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-4tyyWIcH_g 4164 2026-10-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-do-we-make-a-bracha-on-a-guardrail/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rtXN8ADej2Y/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Do We Make a Bracha on a Guardrail? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Rambam rules that a blessing is said when building a ma'akeh, a guardrail on a roof, though no blessing is said on a mitzvah meant to prevent harm. The Rambam limits the mitzvah to a dwelling: a storehouse or a barn needs no guardrail, and neither does a house smaller than four by four cubits. That is hard to understand if the guardrail exists only to prevent danger. The Rebbe, in Likkutei Sichos, explains that the positive mitzvah to build a guardrail is independent of the prohibition "do not bring blood upon your house." He proves it from the Rambam's own rule in Sefer HaMitzvos that a reason the Torah gives for a mitzvah is not counted as a separate mitzvah, yet the Rambam counts both. The Pri Megadim says something similar. Since the positive mitzvah is not about danger, it applies only to a dwelling of four by four cubits, while where there is real danger the prohibition applies anyway. Rabbi Greenberg adds that the Minchas Chinuch's ruling that one must build the guardrail oneself or through an agent, and that a non-Jew's building does not fulfill the mitzvah, makes sense only if the mitzvah is independent of protection. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rtXN8ADej2Y 356 2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ethics-of-our-fathers-chapter-4-mishna-1-part-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ZMWZedqLFg/hqdefault.jpg ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS – CHAPTER 4 MISHNA 1 - Part III Rabbi Greenberg explains Ben Zoma's teaching in Pirkei Avos 4:1, "Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot." Citing the saying that one who has a hundred wants two hundred, and one who has two hundred wants four hundred, he shows that a wealthy person who keeps wanting more can lack more than a poor person. Yet Judaism does not ask a person to be poor. The Talmud says that Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi and Rabbi Akiva honored the wealthy; Rabbi Greenberg explains that they honored people who face the great test of wealth and have been given the strength to overcome it. That test is the danger of becoming blind to others. Rabbi Greenberg tells of the Chortkover Rebbe, who showed a once-generous follower that a window turns into a mirror once silver is put behind it, and he gives one explanation of washing the fingertips after a meal: once full, a person can lose sight of others' hunger. He then sets out six conditions for being both rich and happy, spelling WEALTH: knowing where wealth comes from, which is God; putting energy and emotions into what matters rather than into money; appreciating achievements, as on Shabbos; living with God, since gold was created for the Beis HaMikdash; tzedakah; and the happiness of the soul. Being satisfied with one's lot, he concludes, means fulfilling the portion of the world God gave each person to elevate. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ZMWZedqLFg 2475 2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/a-tzaddik-in-a-fur-coat-what-noach-got-wrong/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tFQ_XJzmbwc/hqdefault.jpg A Tzaddik in a Fur Coat: What Noach Got Wrong In a class on the Torah portion of Noach, Rabbi Greenberg explains why Noach, a perfectly righteous man, is still criticized as "a tzaddik in a fur coat." The Torah calls Noach perfect, but God, speaking to him directly, omits that word; Rashi explains that one praises a person fully only in his absence, so that he still sees room to grow. Citing the Rebbe and the Baal Shem Tov, he reads "enter the teivah," the ark, as "enter the word" of Torah and prayer, which is open both to those who feel righteous and to those who feel hopeless. A grandson of the Baal Shem Tov explains the ark's three levels as three levels of prayer. The prophet calls the flood "the waters of Noach" because, like a man who warms himself in a fur coat instead of heating the house, he did not save others. Noach did warn people during the 120 years he spent building the ark, but without empathy. Rabbi Greenberg explains that the world was not yet mature enough for that, comparing the stage to a child before bar mitzvah who lacks da'as; Abraham later pleaded even for Sodom. The flood generation's decisive sin was theft of amounts too small to matter, and Judaism holds that stealing is wrong in itself, not only because of its total harm. Noach's drinking after the flood is explained as depression, as celebrating alone rather than with others, and as a premature attempt to repair Adam's sin. Shem and Yefes walked backward and did not see their father's shame, teaching people to view others' faults as a challenge to help rather than to judge. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tFQ_XJzmbwc 2567 2026-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/genesis-the-stories-that-shaped-us-lech-lecha/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k7jQf0kXb6o/hqdefault.jpg Genesis: The Stories That Shaped Us - Lech Lecha Rabbi Greenberg explains what God meant when He told Abraham "Go for yourself" at the opening of the week's Torah portion, Lech Lecha, and how the events that follow shaped Abraham's mission. He first recounts the Midrash on Abraham's childhood: how he reasoned his way to one God, broke his father Terach's idols, and answered Nimrod's demand to worship fire, a chain of powers he connects to the Pesach song "Chad Gadya." Rashi reads "go for yourself" as "for your own benefit," which for Abraham meant children and the influence to carry on his teaching. A second reading is "go to yourself": look within and find your spiritual strength, since underestimating oneself is as much a delusion as grandiosity. Leaving land, birthplace and father's house is read as leaving one's desires, inborn traits and habits of thought. Rabbi Greenberg explains the promise "you will be a blessing" through the Midrash's reading of bracha as breicha, a pool: blessing flows from God as its source, and a person who purifies and helps others becomes a source of blessing himself. He links Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to kindness, prayer and Torah, and says kindness is the main emphasis of the era before Mashiach. On Abraham's descent to Egypt in the famine, he contrasts Nachmanides, who calls it a mistake, with Rashi, who sees it as the way God fulfilled His promises of fame, wealth and children. He draws the lesson that many small mitzvos, like frequent small donations, outweigh one large one, and closes by showing that Abraham's exile and return with gifts foreshadow the Jewish people's exile and redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/k7jQf0kXb6o 2455 2026-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-a-thief-can-teach-you-about-wisdom-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G6cavOCHo0Q/hqdefault.jpg What a Thief Can Teach You About Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg explains Ben Zoma's teaching that the wise person is the one who learns from every person, in a first class on the opening Mishnah of the fourth chapter of Pirkei Avos. He introduces Ben Zoma, a brilliant sage called by his father's name because he died young and unordained, who taught that the Exodus must be remembered at night as well as by day, and who was one of the four sages who entered the "garden" of mystical study. Ben Zoma redefines wisdom, strength, wealth and honor, which Rabbi Greenberg links to four stages of life: the strong conquer their own inclinations, the rich are happy with their portion, and the honored honor others. Focusing on wisdom, he shows that one can learn even from those who seem to have nothing to teach: an unlearned elder, for his life experience; a critic, as when the Rebbe took a court claim that Chabad was "inactive" as a call to do more; and a thief, from whom Reb Zusha drew seven lessons, while Reb Mendel Futerfas learned from fellow prisoners to check his own pockets before accusing others. Following the Baal Shem Tov, every experience is also a lesson. Rabbi Greenberg explains that openness to learning reflects healthy self-esteem, not insecurity, as God Himself consulted the angels before creating man; it makes room for a relationship with God, who cannot dwell with the arrogant; and it shows others they are valued. Citing the Rebbe, he adds that one must also learn from those far greater, rather than dismissing their example. https://www.youtube.com/embed/G6cavOCHo0Q 2344 2026-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-does-the-torah-start-with-beis-not-alef/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ca65Qawr-WQ/hqdefault.jpg Why Does the Torah Start With Beis, Not Alef? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah begins with beis rather than alef, focusing as the reading of the Torah begins anew on its first letter. Alef stands for one, the oneness of God, so it would seem the natural first letter. He brings the Midrash of the letters presenting themselves to begin the Torah, with alef reserved for the Ten Commandments, and the Jerusalem Talmud's answer that beis begins brachah, blessing, while alef begins arur, curse. Ibn Ezra objects that many positive words begin with alef. The Rebbe's answer, which Rabbi Greenberg heard him say, is that intellectual study of Torah must always be the second step. The first is accepting the Torah as divine and attaching oneself to the Giver, which is why on Simchas Torah we dance with the Torah closed. Study without that first step can turn from blessing into its opposite. He then explores the meanings of beis: two, since Torah has revealed and hidden levels; "in," meaning one must immerse oneself in Torah; "with," since God creates the world continuously through the Torah, its blueprint, so life can never truly contradict it; "because," since creation has a purpose, Torah and Israel; and bayis, house, since the purpose of creation is to make a home for God in this world. Finally he presents several of the Ohr HaChaim's reasons, including two levels of fear of God, Torah and the sword, justice and mercy, and the two tablets: obligations to God and to other people, neither complete without the other. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ca65Qawr-WQ 3415 2026-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ethics-of-our-fathers-chapter-4-mishna-1-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IgCNXnF7ZGc/hqdefault.jpg ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS – CHAPTER 4 MISHNA 1 Part II Rabbi Greenberg continues Ben Zoma's teaching at the start of the fourth chapter of Pirkei Avos, comparing three definitions of a wise person found in the words of the sages: one who learns from every person, one who sees the future, and one who knows his place. He connects wisdom to chochmah, the soul's power to be fully receptive to what is beyond oneself without the ego putting up barriers; evaluation comes only afterward, at the level of binah. One who does not know his place, whether through a superiority or an inferiority complex, cannot learn from those who know more or less, while one who knows his place can learn from everyone and then look to the consequences of his actions and to the ultimate future. He links the three definitions to world, year and soul, which Sefer Yetzirah names as the components of the universe and whose initials spell the Hebrew word for smoke; the Rebbe explains that the smoke at Sinai shows the Torah's purpose is to clear away what hides God in space, time and life. When elder Chassidim told the Rebbe "we need you," he replied, "I also need a Rebbe." A parable of a rich man and a poor wagon driver who each took the other's role teaches that people must use their own resources and talents. On "Who is strong? One who subdues his inclination," Rabbi Greenberg explains that self-mastery surpasses even the courage the world glorifies, and that the text says "inclination," not "evil inclination," because one must also push past the limits of one's good nature. The inner battle is harder because the evil inclination disguises sins as mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IgCNXnF7ZGc 2380 2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-five-payments-only-one-mitzvah-here-s-why/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2eIKvaTSAHI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Five Payments, Only ONE Mitzvah — Here’s Why Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's introduction to the laws of injury and damage, which lists a single positive mitzvah: the law of one who injures another person or damages his property. One who injures another owes five payments, for the damage, pain, medical costs, lost work and embarrassment, and Rav Saadia Gaon counts these as separate mitzvos. The Rambam follows his own rule that the details of a mitzvah are not counted separately, even when they are written in different places in the Torah. He then asks why damaging property belongs here rather than with damage done by one's ox, pit or fire. The Mitzvas HaMelech explains that liability for damage done by one's property is a decree of the Torah, since the owner did not act himself, which is why each kind has its own passage. Damage a person does himself, to a person or to property, rests on logic: one is responsible for one's actions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2eIKvaTSAHI 208 2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-egg-vs-fig-puzzle-why-a-tiny-scrap-blocks-tuma/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jknhBxEITi8/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Egg vs. Fig Puzzle – Why a Tiny Scrap Blocks Tuma Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling on a window between two rooms: tumah, ritual impurity, spreads through it unless the opening is less than a tefach, a handbreadth. If it is reduced with less than an olive's volume of a corpse's flesh or of a carcass, a bone smaller than a barley grain, or less than a lentil's volume of a sheretz (a creeping creature), these form a barrier, since they are pure and too insignificant for the owner to remove. The same applies to food smaller than an egg that cannot become impure. The Radziner Rebbe, in his Sidrei Taharos, asks why food smaller than an egg is insignificant here, while on Shabbos carrying a dried fig's volume, about half an egg, is a violation. He answers that no one troubles to clean less than an egg's worth of food soiled with earth and mortar in a window, while clean food matters at a smaller size. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jknhBxEITi8 321 2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-the-beis-hamikdash-was-divided-but-yerushalayim-wasn-t/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ARUab9NI7Co/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why the Beis HaMikdash Was Divided—But Yerushalayim Wasn't Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that houses in Jerusalem and outside the Land of Israel do not become impure through tzara'as (a discoloration affecting houses), since the Torah speaks of "a house in the land of your possession," and Jerusalem was not divided among the tribes. The Tosfos Yom Tov notes passages in Zevachim placing the Temple in Binyamin's portion and the Sanhedrin in Yehudah's. The Rambam explains in the Moreh Nevuchim that the Torah did not name the Temple's site to prevent strife among the tribes, which assumes it could belong to one. One answer is that only the Temple site was divided; the Rebbe objects that Jerusalem's status derives from the Temple. The Siach Yitzchak answers that the city was divided at first but this did not last, as the Sifri relates that Yehudah and Binyamin received land near Jericho instead, or that the tribes received only the right to use it, not full ownership. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ARUab9NI7Co 359 2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-a-thief-can-teach-you-about-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PVpNfXp27fI/hqdefault.jpg What a Thief Can Teach You About Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg begins the fourth chapter of Pirkei Avos with Ben Zoma's teaching, "Who is wise? One who learns from every person." He introduces Ben Zoma, called by his father's name because he died young before being ordained, and explains why he was harmed when four sages "entered the garden" of mystical experience: only Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and left in peace, because he knew the soul must rise and then return to this world to change it. Ben Zoma's four questions, about who is wise, strong, rich and honored, redefine qualities people misunderstand, and may correspond to four stages of life. Focusing on wisdom, Rabbi Greenberg shows that one can learn from everyone: from an elderly person's life experience, from a critic, as when the Rebbe took a court claim that Chabad was "inactive" as a call to do more, and even from a thief. He cites Reb Zusha's seven lessons from a thief, and Reb Mendel Futerfas's account of prisoners who hid their cards in the guard's own pocket, a reminder to check one's own pockets before accusing others. The Baal Shem Tov taught that one should learn from every experience, since God lets us witness it for a reason. Learning from others reflects security and healthy self-esteem, makes room for God, who cannot dwell with the arrogant, and shows others they are valued. The Rebbe added that one should also learn from those far greater, rather than using their greatness as an excuse to stay where one is. Rabbi Greenberg closes with two other Talmudic answers: one who foresees consequences, and one who knows his place. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PVpNfXp27fI 2344 2026-10-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-a-false-weight-is-forbidden-even-as-a-chamber-pot/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CbUgT7eVQbM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why a False Weight Is Forbidden Even as a Chamber Pot Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that keeping a defective weight or measure at home or in one's store violates a negative commandment even if it serves as a chamber pot, since someone unaware of the defect might use it in a sale; there are no lashes, since no action is involved. The Minchas Chinuch reads the chamber-pot case as a rabbinic decree, while the Alter Rebbe and other Rishonim treat it as Torah law. The Minchas Chinuch asks why buying a false weight, an action, carries no lashes, when buying chametz on Pesach does. The Or Same'ach answers that chametz is forbidden only when it is one's own, so acquiring it is part of the sin, while a false weight is a hazard whoever owns it; the Even HaEzel notes that buying one to destroy it is no violation. Rabbi Greenberg observes that here the Torah itself forbids one thing lest it lead to another. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CbUgT7eVQbM 413 2026-10-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-mishna-calls-gematria-dessert/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n62mlwt_kK8/hqdefault.jpg Why the Mishna Calls Gematria "Dessert" Rabbi Greenberg explains the closing Mishnah of the third chapter of Pirkei Avos, in which Rabbi Eliezer ben Chisma says that the laws of mixed bird offerings and of calculating menstrual days are the essentials of halacha, while astronomical calculations and gematria are the "desserts" of wisdom. He gives explanations of the name Chisma, linked to "strengthened" and "muzzled," and notes that Rabbi Eliezer studied under Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva and was known for his knowledge of nature. The two complex areas of law he names, which close two orders of the Mishnah, involve mathematics and probability yet are the core of Jewish law, while astronomy and gematria are not the substance of Torah but, like dessert, add enjoyment, or, by another translation, whet the appetite. He illustrates gematria, part of the level of hints in Torah study: Moshe Rabbeinu and the word mitzvos spelled out each equal 613, and the number of words in the first verse of each of the five books matches a feature of the menorah. He recounts a JetBlue flight on which the altitude read 613 and then 358, the numerical value of Mashiach, before an emergency landing, and how the Jewish student beside him later became religious. He also touches on letter codes in the Torah that allude to the Rambam. With Sukkos approaching, he shows that the word sukkah spelled out equals 248, the number of positive commandments, and that its letters reflect the laws of its walls. The sukkah, like the mikvah, envelops the whole person, and it is God's right hand embracing us, which is why Sukkos is called the season of our joy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/n62mlwt_kK8 2645 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-judaism-puts-doing-before-understanding/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z87euWBMD4k/hqdefault.jpg Why Judaism Puts Doing Before Understanding Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism treats action, not understanding, as the root of a person's commitment, studying Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah's teaching in Pirkei Avos that one whose wisdom exceeds his deeds is like a tree with many branches and few roots, which the wind uproots. If a person only does the mitzvos he understands, his observance will not last. One would expect wisdom to be the root, but the Mishnah makes deeds the root, reflecting na'aseh v'nishma, "we will do and we will hear"; even in daily life people follow a doctor or pilot without a lecture. He cites the Chassid Yavetz, who wrote that during the Spanish expulsion simple Jews gave their lives for their faith more often than intellectuals, and Rabbi Meir Lehmann's commentary, based on the Sefer HaChinuch's thesis that actions shape beliefs. Two stories illustrate it: the Rebbe advising an unsociable woman to bring water to her table, and the Alter Rebbe drawing out a miser's hidden kindness by thanking him for a rusty coin. The class closes with Yom Kippur. Holidays, he says, are not commemorations but times when the same spiritual energy returns, which is why Chanukah was established only a year later. Yom Kippur is the day Moses brought down the second tablets, showing that God had forgiven the golden calf. Its five prayers correspond to the five levels of the soul, and at Neilah even the yechida, the level most connected to God, can be revealed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/z87euWBMD4k 2420 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-a-cancer-researcher-can-still-smoke-binah-vs-da-as-explained/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K72dUfsV9oI/hqdefault.jpg Why a Cancer Researcher Can Still Smoke: Binah vs. Da'as Explained Rabbi Greenberg continues Pirkei Avos 3:17, explaining the pairs "if there is no wisdom there is no fear of God," "if there is no binah there is no da'as," and "if there is no flour there is no Torah." Yirah means not only fear but awe, respect, shame and self-surrender, and all of these require awareness of something greater; a basic humility is needed to acquire Torah wisdom, which in turn leads to a higher reverence than fear of punishment. He explains the three intellectual faculties that give Chabad its name. Chochmah is the spark of a new idea, binah develops and analyzes it, and da'as is owning the idea until it moves one's emotions. A cancer researcher who knows the harm of smoking yet smokes has binah without da'as. The Rebbe's story of an innkeeper who fainted when the teacher read him a letter about his father's death shows that knowledge only affects a person when it is his own; without da'as, understanding does not last. On flour, he offers several readings: a Torah scholar should not weaken his study through excessive fasting; simple flour, not luxury, is enough; the Maharal explains flour as planning for the near and medium term; and the Midrash of Moses appearing as Abraham, who fed the angels flour, teaches that kindness and hospitality make a person fit for Torah. Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, he explains through Hannah's prayer and a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov on hunger that praying for material needs is ultimately for spiritual ends. https://www.youtube.com/embed/K72dUfsV9oI 2545 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/stand-firm-or-keep-moving-the-paradox-of-nitzavim-vayeilech/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/deS9CsJtsh0/hqdefault.jpg Stand Firm or Keep Moving? The Paradox of Nitzavim-Vayeilech Rabbi Greenberg explains why the double portion of Nitzavim-Vayeilech carries two names that point in opposite directions, standing firm and moving on, and what each teaches before Rosh Hashanah. He begins with why the new month of Tishrei is not blessed on the preceding Shabbos: according to the Bnei Yissaschar, God Himself blesses it, and the blessing is the portion's opening words, "You are standing today." "Today" refers to Rosh Hashanah, and nitzavim, unlike ordinary standing, means standing firm and majestic, so that we stand unshaken in judgment. That strength comes from standing together, since God judges the community as a whole and, as Rashi explains, becomes king when the people are gathered as one. The covenant made that day made all Israel responsible for one another. Quoting the Alter Rebbe, the Rebbe explains how even the simplest Jew can be a guarantor for the greatest: like the feet that the head needs, each has something the others lack. Rabbi Greenberg then addresses the paradox of the two names. Nitzavim calls for standing firm in one's Judaism without fear of ridicule or pressure, while Vayeilech, "and he went," teaches never resting on one's achievements, as Moses went to study more on his last day. In some years the portions are read separately, to strengthen oneself before moving on, and this year they are joined, he says, because Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos. He closes with the Rebbe's analogy of an airplane and a rocket: in the days of Mashiach, challenges will come from moving between one good pursuit and the next rather than from the evil inclination. https://www.youtube.com/embed/deS9CsJtsh0 1835 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/same-torah-two-worlds-where-sephardic-and-ashkenazic-customs-split/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GzG4ZSZnQ5s/hqdefault.jpg Same Torah, Two Worlds: Where Sephardic & Ashkenazic Customs Split In the final class of his course on the history of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry, Rabbi Greenberg explains the role of minhag, custom, and surveys where the two communities' customs differ. Beyond biblical and rabbinic law stands custom, which many authorities treat like a vow once a community accepts it. Using a parable of a child who does more than his parents ask or even hint, he explains that customs express the closest relationship with God, which is why Simchas Torah, a custom, brings more joy than holidays the Torah commands. In law, Sephardim generally follow Rabbi Yosef Caro's Shulchan Aruch, the "set table," and Ashkenazim follow the glosses of the Rama, Rabbi Moshe Isserles, called the "tablecloth." He then compares customs: naming children after living grandparents, rice and legumes on Pesach, pronunciation and melodies, how the Torah scroll is held for reading, Chanukah lights, polygamy, levirate marriage, Selichos throughout Elul versus the Ashkenazic shofar blasts, Unesaneh Tokef, tashlich, the Ashkenazic custom of waving a chicken before Yom Kippur, and the Simchas Torah dances. Along the way he tells the Rebbe's advice to a rabbi traveling to Iran, "Don't lose your Jewish pride." In the questions he explains why women are the model of prayer, how a couple from different backgrounds chooses customs, and how the Arizal and the Chassidic movement blended Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GzG4ZSZnQ5s 3420 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-good-character-collapses-without-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yAlvZK96Ru4/hqdefault.jpg Why Good Character Collapses Without Torah Rabbi Greenberg teaches the opening of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah's teaching in Pirkei Avos: where there is no Torah there is no derech eretz, and where there is no derech eretz there is no Torah. He first tells how Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah became head of the Sanhedrin at 18, after Rabban Gamliel was removed, and was miraculously given a white beard, the background to his words in the Haggadah, "I am like a 70-year-old." Derech eretz has several meanings. As decent conduct, the Maharal explains that good character not rooted in Torah will not endure, since temperament changes; Rabbi Greenberg points to Germany, a nation known for ethics and etiquette that became the most depraved. Torah also teaches balance, such as when to use kindness and when discipline. Conversely, Torah without derech eretz is lacking, which is why Pirkei Avos is studied before Shavuos, the period in which Rabbi Akiva's students died for not treating each other with respect. Rabbi Greenberg links this to Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah opening the house of study to all, without lowering its standards of conduct. As earning a living and engaging the physical world, derech eretz reflects the Talmud's debate between Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Yishmael, and Moshe's answer to the angels: the Torah's commandments fit only people in a physical world. Finally, derech eretz equals tefillah, prayer, in numerical value, 515, teaching that alongside medical care a person must pray for health. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yAlvZK96Ru4 2190 2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/slavery-began-with-ingratitude/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lhlbswiK8Qw/hqdefault.jpg Slavery Began With Ingratitude Rabbi Greenberg explains how the mitzvah of bikurim, bringing the first fruits to the Beis HaMikdash, is tied to gratitude, joy and freedom, and why the Egyptian slavery began with ingratitude. He connects the end of the previous Torah portion, the command to remember Amalek, with this week's opening word, which the Midrash calls an expression of joy. Amalek attacked on the road, when people are unsettled; the inner Amalek is doubt, and the Hebrew words Amalek and safek, doubt, share the numerical value 240. Removing doubt is the greatest source of joy, which makes room for the joyful bringing of first fruits. Citing the Rebbe, he explains why bikurim began only after the land was conquered and divided: as the most dramatic, physical expression of gratitude it required complete joy, impossible while any Jew still lacked his share. The Haggadah retells the Exodus through the farmer's declaration because the slavery began when Pharaoh acted as if he did not know Joseph. Ingratitude is a prison of the self, so true freedom requires gratitude. He reads Laban's attempt to "destroy" as an effort to deny that Jacob would found a nation. Turning to the rebuke in the portion, he notes that one cause of the curses is serving without joy, and that the Zohar calls them blessings in disguise, illustrated by a story of the Alter Rebbe's son. He reads one curse as the longing that people will feel, in the time of Mashiach, for the struggles of exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lhlbswiK8Qw 2150 2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-more-they-crushed-us-the-more-we-learned-rashi-and-the-crusades/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XKN3MiZ4eI4/hqdefault.jpg The More They Crushed Us, the More We Learned: Rashi and the Crusades In the sixth lesson of his series on Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewry, Rabbi Greenberg addresses a paradox: Ashkenazi Torah scholarship flourished most in the very centuries when Ashkenazi Jews were persecuted most, like an olive that yields more oil the harder it is pressed. He traces the line from Rabbeinu Gershom, "the Light of the Exile," to Rashi, born in Troyes in 1040, who studied under Rabbeinu Gershom's disciples in Worms and Mainz and was known for his humility, in contrast to the Rambam's readiness to disagree with his predecessors. Rashi set out to give the plain meaning of the Torah together with the Midrash that fits it, and Rabbi Greenberg shows that his non-literal reading of Balaam's "from the mountaintops" as the patriarchs is actually closer to the plain meaning, since the Torah calls Balaam's words a parable. Rashi's line-by-line Talmud commentary is so concise that when his grandson the Rashbam completed a tractate Rashi left unfinished, he needed five lines for what Rashi said in one. Rashi's grandsons, the Rashbam and Rabbeinu Tam, led the Tosafists, who raised questions across the Talmud and sometimes disagreed with Rashi, most famously on the order of the passages in tefillin. The class then turns to the Crusades: the massacres of 1096 in Speyer, Worms and Mainz, where Ashkenazi Jews chose death over conversion, unlike the conversos of Spain; the blood libels beginning in Norwich in 1144; the York massacre of 1189; and the accusations during the Black Death. Yet, he says, Ashkenazi Jews never lost their faith, and their scholarship continued to grow. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XKN3MiZ4eI4 4525 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/god-s-store-runs-on-credit-who-pays/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DREd8e63tbw/hqdefault.jpg God's Store Runs on Credit. Who Pays? Rabbi Greenberg studies Rabbi Akiva's long Mishnah in Pirkei Avos: everything is given on pledge, a net is spread over all the living, the store is open and the storekeeper extends credit, the ledger is open and the hand writes, and the collectors make their rounds daily. Its message, he says, is that nothing we do goes unnoticed. Every blessing, from health to intelligence to wealth, is a loan from God meant for a higher purpose. With money, Jewish law requires giving at least 10 percent to tzedakah, preferably 20, and generally not more. With health, one repays God through constant gratitude and by "giving God good health": connecting God, the soul of the universe, to the world through mitzvos. He cites a Chassidic explanation that hakafos on Simchas Torah also means "credit," since God gives the year's blessings before we have earned them. The word for pledge relates to arev: responsible for one another, intermingled like ingredients in a pot of cholent, and sweet. He adds that Jews sometimes quarrel precisely because they are so close. Commentators read the net as the evil inclination. Rabbi Greenberg explains that God built resistance into every good choice, which is why Adam and Eve, with the holiest souls, could not resist one fruit, and that a challenge shows how much God values a person's choices. Citing the Baal Shem Tov, he teaches that a soul unknowingly passes judgment on itself by judging others. He closes on the two meanings of the World to Come, holding that the physical messianic era is higher than the soul's paradise. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DREd8e63tbw 2655 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ki-teitzei-the-torah-s-battle-plan-for-your-inner-war-this-elul/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E8vgIZJKA88/hqdefault.jpg Ki Teitzei: The Torah's Battle Plan for Your Inner War This Elul Rabbi Greenberg explains why Parshas Ki Teitzei, which contains 74 of the 613 mitzvos, about 12 percent of them, opens with "When you go out to war against your enemy." Beyond a physical battle, the war is the lifelong struggle with the evil inclination and with evil in the world, and the weapons for it are the mitzvos, which only God can supply. "Go out" teaches that a person must take the first step and God helps, as in the stories of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa's stone and of Rabbi Futerfas, who walked to the gate of his Siberian camp before sending a mental message to the previous Rebbe. It also teaches that war is not the Jew's natural state, while "against" (literally "over") your enemy means being certain of the justice of the cause. Spiritually, taking the captive means uncovering the positive source of the enemy, inner or outer, and turning it to good. The number 74, ayin-dalet, spells ed, "witness," and da, "know": through mitzvos a Jew bears witness to God. The mitzvah to build a fence on a new roof hints at restraining the ego, and at the "new house" of the era of Mashiach, when the mitzvos will still be kept. He closes with Elul, contrasting a view of the month as fearful with the Alter Rebbe's parable of the king in the field, when anyone may approach him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/E8vgIZJKA88 2525 2026-08-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-they-eat-the-korban-but-can-t-change-it-a-strange-kohen-rule/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g-ukcCC_kbc/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: They Eat the Korban But Can't Change It — A Strange Kohen Rule Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that kohanim cannot make temurah, transferring an offering's holiness to another animal, with a sin offering or guilt offering, even though they eat its meat once the service is complete, because they have no share in the animal while it is alive. The Sfas Emes asks why this reason is needed, since such an offering belongs to the whole priestly shift, and partners cannot make temurah anyway. He answers that partners who attempt temurah, though it does not take effect, still incur lashes, while kohanim with no share at all do not. The son-in-law of the Sfas Emes answers that the Rambam refers to a kohen's own offering given to another kohen to bring, which is not shared. The Devar Avraham distinguishes two kinds of partnership: shared atonement makes partners unable to make temurah, but the kohanim's right to eat the meat is not that kind of ownership. https://www.youtube.com/embed/g-ukcCC_kbc 246 2026-08-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/can-free-choice-exist-if-god-already-knows-the-future/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FAksMugsXag/hqdefault.jpg Can Free Choice Exist If God Already Knows the Future? Rabbi Greenberg explains Pirkei Avos 3:15, "Everything is foreseen, yet free choice is given; the world is judged with goodness, and all is according to the majority of deeds," through the Hebrew word tzafui, which can mean seen, foreseen, anticipated or covered. As "seen," following Rashi, God sees everything at once; the Torah punishes the stealthy thief more harshly because he fears people but not God. Since God is infinite, small and great are equal to Him, so no single mitzvah is insignificant. As "foreseen," God knew a person's abilities before assigning his mission. It also raises the classic question of how free choice can coexist with God's knowledge, which Maimonides raises without fully answering. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that God, who is beyond time, does not know the future in advance but sees all of time at once, while acknowledging that the paradox remains. He notes that the teaching goes back to Rabbi Akiva, whose father was a convert, and conversion is the purest act of free choice. Teshuvah requires owning one's choices without excuses. As "covered," God hides reality so that free choice can exist. The emphasis on deeds teaches that a person should do good even from mixed motives, and Maimonides prefers giving tzedakah in many small gifts. As "anticipated," everyone must direct his hopes toward redemption. God judges people as they are now, and credits them for joyfully anticipating good, as with the Rebbe's instruction to celebrate a gravely burned child's recovery in advance. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FAksMugsXag 3205 2026-08-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-tiny-halacha-that-reveals-rambam-s-systematic-genius/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gSMTQ7adIgY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Tiny Halacha That Reveals Rambam’s Systematic Genius! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that wine donated as an independent offering is salted and poured entirely into the shitin, the channels of the altar, like all wine libations. The Kesef Mishneh notes that elsewhere the Rambam rules, following the Talmud, that libation wine needs no salt, and answers that wine brought with an offering needs none while independent wine does. The Rebbe explains that wine brought with an offering is only an adjunct to it, while independent wine is itself the offering. The Lechem Mishneh asks that only what goes on the altar's fire needs salt, and the wine goes into the shitin either way. The Mikdash David answers that, according to Shmuel, independent wine is poured on the fire, and the Rambam rules otherwise only because it would inevitably extinguish the altar's fire. Since that reason is external, the wine in essence belongs on the fire and requires salt. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gSMTQ7adIgY 271 2026-08-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-just-speaking-gets-you-lashes-in-this-shocking-halacha/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T_dwDxejLWw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Just Speaking Gets You Lashes in This Shocking Halacha! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who consecrates a blemished animal for the altar violates a prohibition and receives lashes, based on the verse "anything that has a blemish you shall not offer," which the oral tradition applies to consecrating it. The Sefer HaChinuch asks why there are lashes, since a prohibition without an action carries none and consecrating is only speech. He answers that the Rambam compares it to temurah, an exception to that rule in which one also sanctifies an animal improperly, and concludes that we should accept the Rambam's words. The Lechem Mishneh, in the laws of the Sanhedrin, notes that the Rambam does not accept the Talmudic view that speech which produces a result counts as action. He explains that in temurah the sin is the attempted exchange, which achieves nothing, so it is a true exception, while here the speech itself creates the forbidden holiness and so counts as an act. https://www.youtube.com/embed/T_dwDxejLWw 380 2026-08-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-torah-says-we-won-t-need-police-in-the-messianic-era/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L_VyVBd4ABU/hqdefault.jpg Why the Torah Says We Won't Need Police in the Messianic Era Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Messianic era will need judges but no police, beginning with the opening command of Parshas Shoftim to appoint "judges and officers in all your gates." Judges rule on the law and officers enforce it, and both count as one mitzvah. Yet Isaiah's prophecy, echoed in the daily Shemoneh Esrei, speaks of restoring "our judges and our counselors," leaving out the officers. The Rebbe explains that police are needed only to make people obey, and in the days of Mashiach no one will be tempted to break the law. Counselors will remain, because they make the law accessible and beloved, which Rabbi Greenberg applies to teachers who must guide students as counselors and not only judge them. "Your gates" also means the eyes, ears, nose and mouth, and the mind must act as judge over what enters and leaves them. This is the work of Elul, which the Rebbe taught should be a joyful month of honest self-examination, uncovering both one's faults and one's strengths. Turning to the ban on bribery, Rabbi Greenberg explains that a bribe blinds even an honest judge, illustrated by the Shach, who lost a case to a ruling based on his own book after convincing himself he was right, and teaches that we may be generous in judging others but must not bribe ourselves. He offers several explanations of the repeated "Justice, justice shall you pursue," among them seeking the most expert court, pursuing justice only by just means rather than letting the end justify them, rising to ever higher levels of righteousness, and giving charity proactively and warmly. https://www.youtube.com/embed/L_VyVBd4ABU 2830 2026-08-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/were-ashkenazi-jews-really-khazars-busting-history-s-ugliest-myth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TIRo5uA22eo/hqdefault.jpg Were Ashkenazi Jews Really Khazars? Busting History's Ugliest Myth Rabbi Greenberg explains why the claim that Ashkenazi Jews descend from the Khazars is false, in the first class of his series devoted to Ashkenazic Jewry. He traces the name Ashkenaz to a grandson of Japheth in Genesis and to a Talmudic passage that some read as linking Ashkenaz's father, Gomer, with Germany; by Rashi's time Germany was called Ashkenaz. He calls the Khazar theory a product of antisemitism and hostility to Israel, meant to cast Ashkenazi Jews as illegitimate and without claim to the land. Even if it were true, he notes, converts are fully Jewish, but it is disproven by Yiddish, which shows no Turkic influence, by the documented migration of German Jews eastward, and by genetic evidence that Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews are closer to each other than to their host peoples. The class then follows Jewish settlement in the Carolingian lands, where Charlemagne and Louis the Pious welcomed Jews as traders and granted them rights, and Jewish communities gathered along the Rhine. Rabbi Greenberg contrasts the Sephardic engagement with philosophy and the sciences under Islam with the Ashkenazi focus on Bible and Talmud, and addresses the charge of usury. He stresses that communities flourished only with great rabbis, such as the Kalonymus family and Rabbi Leontin in Mainz, and above all Rabbeinu Gershom, who wrote one of the first running commentaries on the Talmud and issued decrees banning polygamy, divorcing a wife against her will, rejecting returning forced converts, and reading others' letters. He closes with an explanation of Rabbeinu Gershom's title, "Light of the Exile." https://www.youtube.com/embed/TIRo5uA22eo 3846 2026-08-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-an-invalid-maaser-beheima-can-still-become-holy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/udHupM4SLM0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why an Invalid Maaser Beheima Can Still Become Holy Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that animals born in one year may not be tithed for those of another year, just as produce may not be tithed from new for old or old for new, since the Torah links the animal tithe (maaser beheimah) to the produce tithe through a hekesh, a comparison. The Rambam adds his own view that such a tithe is valid after the fact, because of the stringency of kodshim (consecrated offerings), since the Torah does not state the rule for animals explicitly. Since a hekesh carries the force of an explicit verse, the question is why the animal tithe differs from the produce tithe. The Shittah Mekubetzes explains that it carries two separate laws, tithing and kodshim, since the tenth animal is holy like a peace offering; even when the tithing fails, the law of kodshim makes it holy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/udHupM4SLM0 154 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-chosen-people-explained-special-forces-not-superiority-recommended/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O9Y3Crv57Gc/hqdefault.jpg The 'Chosen People' Explained: Special Forces, Not Superiority (recommended) Rabbi Greenberg continues his study of Pirkei Avos 3:14, which describes three expressions of God's love: humanity is created in God's image, the Jewish people are called God's children, and they were given the Torah, the precious instrument with which the world was created. He uses the second part to explain what it means to be the chosen people. Every creation has a mission, he says, and like special forces in an army, the Jewish people were given a harder mission, to make the world holy through the mitzvos, along with a special soul to fulfill it. Anyone sincere may join through conversion, but it brings more obligations, suffering and little recognition. Chosenness is the opposite of a "master race": it obliges the strong to lift up the weak. He discusses Rabbi Akiva's reply to Turnus Rufus that the Jews remain God's children even when they misbehave, and why the Mishnah calls God "Makom," the One present everywhere. Since one should not offer full praise in a person's presence, God telling us we are His children means we are even more than He says, and after Sinai a Jew remains God's child even if he refuses. Finally, he links the Mishnah's three parts to three ways the Torah is received: acquired through the intellect, inherited as children, and given as a gift that grants power over the natural world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/O9Y3Crv57Gc 2810 2026-08-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-all-23-judges-voting-guilty-means-he-goes-free-parshas-re-eh/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/26wNyVmGerg/hqdefault.jpg Why All 23 Judges Voting Guilty Means He Goes Free | Parshas Re'eh Rabbi Greenberg explains why Parshas Re'eh opens with "see" rather than "hear" (Shema), and why a Jewish court acquits a defendant when all 23 judges vote guilty. A judge who witnessed a crime may not judge it, because sight leaves no room for doubt and a judge must remain open to innocence; a unanimous verdict shows that none of the judges considered it. Hearing spiritual truths can leave doubt, so Moses wanted the people to perceive God's reality as if seeing it, as at Sinai and as Mashiach will teach Torah. The Targum Jonathan renders "curse" here as "the opposite," which the Rebbe explains to mean that God gives only blessing and people can exchange it for its opposite. He then asks why the Torah never names Jerusalem: to prevent rivalry among the tribes, and because Jerusalem, read as complete reverence for God, is something a person must seek for himself. He reads "do not do so to God" as a warning against carrying a fighting spirit into Judaism itself. The meat and milk prohibition appears three times, which he links to a Jew's relationships with society, with God and with himself. Finally, the three names of a non-kosher bird depict three wrong ways of rising high: seeing only the negative, aloofness, and complacency. https://www.youtube.com/embed/26wNyVmGerg 2850 2026-08-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rabbi-who-saved-maimonides-twice-the-untold-ramban-story/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9hdzoqebJVI/hqdefault.jpg The Rabbi Who Saved Maimonides Twice: The Untold Ramban Story In the fourth and likely last class on Sephardic Jewry, Rabbi Greenberg traces the Jews of Spain under Christian rule during the Reconquista. Jews survived by serving the king as tax collectors and moneylenders and enjoyed communal autonomy, but this bred resentment, and by the end of the 13th century they wore distinguishing clothing and paid a disproportionate share of taxes. The central figure is Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, the Ramban (Nachmanides), born in 1194, whom Rabbi Greenberg calls the leading Jewish scholar of the 13th century. His Torah commentary was the first to bring Kabbalah to all readers; he wrote extensive Talmud commentaries and books defending the Rif, and through his teacher from Provence he bridged Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions. He was both a critic and the most effective defender of Maimonides. In the controversy over Maimonides' philosophical works, a ban was issued, informers went to the Christian authorities, and Maimonides' works were burned in Paris, followed in 1242 by 24 cartloads of the Talmud. The Ramban's cousin Rabbi Yonah, who had signed the ban, spent the rest of his life atoning. In 1263 the Ramban was forced to debate the apostate Pablo Christiani; after he published his account, his life was in danger, and he moved to the Land of Israel and rebuilt the Jewish community in Jerusalem. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the Rashba's compromise permitting philosophy only after age 25, the Inquisition's persecution of converts, the 1492 expulsion, and the lesson that Jews cannot escape antisemitism by abandoning their identity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9hdzoqebJVI 3529 2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-halacha-that-forbids-smelling-chametz-on-pesach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q7fyyIDxTrc/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Halacha That Forbids Smelling Chametz on Pesach! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one may not benefit from the sound, sight or fragrance of hekdesh (consecrated property); this is not me'ilah, the biblical violation of misusing hekdesh, but it is rabbinically forbidden. Many authorities apply this to other things forbidden for benefit, such as meat and milk and chametz on Pesach. The Pri Chadash forbids reading verses written on a chametz kernel, and the Maharam Shik forbids studying medicine from a stillborn's body. Support is brought from the Tur, citing Rabbeinu Yerucham, who forbids gazing at beautiful scenery associated with idolatry. The Marshag disagrees, holding that only what is meant to be looked at or smelled is forbidden, as with idolatrous art, and not, for example, a beautiful chametz cake. The Alter Rebbe, however, forbids smelling chametz on Pesach without that condition. Rabbi Greenberg concludes that this ruling can serve as a basis for forbidding every kind of benefit from anything forbidden for benefit. https://www.youtube.com/embed/q7fyyIDxTrc 329 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rabbi-akiva-on-ai-what-makes-humans-different-from-robots/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oL8Ygm_OT78/hqdefault.jpg Rabbi Akiva on AI: What Makes Humans Different From Robots Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Akiva's teaching in Pirkei Avos 3:14, "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image of God," and asks what separates a human being from an animal, an angel or an AI that can imitate human intelligence. He suggests that the mishnah's three parts, about humanity, the Jewish people and the Torah, mirror three stages in Rabbi Akiva's own life. People need to know their virtues as well as their faults, he says, and true self-esteem rests on the divine image. He offers several explanations of that image: a divine spark that lasts after the body is gone; independent intelligence that can recognize something higher; an intellectual soul that acts as a matchmaker between the godly soul and the animal soul, urging the animal soul to "taste and see that the Lord is good"; free choice, which lets a person overcome upbringing, as King Hezekiah, son of a wicked father, became righteous while his son Manasseh became the worst of kings; and the ability to hold opposites, create and grow, unlike angels, who are fixed in their programming. The ethical lessons are respect for every person, since murder denies the God in whose image man is made, as the first and sixth commandments stand side by side, and a sense of one's own dignity that makes wrongdoing beneath a person. Rabbi Akiva quotes the verse said to Noah, he explains, to show that the divine image survived even the generation of the Flood. Being human, he concludes, means being able to correct one's mistakes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/oL8Ygm_OT78 2730 2026-07-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-smallest-mitzvah-you-ignore-could-bring-moshiach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1TOYoDerLLc/hqdefault.jpg Why the Smallest Mitzvah You Ignore Could Bring Moshiach Rabbi Greenberg explains why the mitzvos people treat as trivial may matter most, drawing on the word eikev in the Torah portion Eikev. He opens with the Talmud's six reasons the 15th of Av is among the most joyful days of the year, including the end of the decree that the desert generation die, the lifting of the ban on marrying into the tribe of Benjamin, and permission to bury the dead of Betar; several involve overcoming division. Eikev, usually translated "because," can also refer to the end of days, the "heels of Mashiach," and to the heel, the lowest part of a person, so that listening to God must permeate even the heel. Rashi reads it as the mitzvos people trample with their heels. Rabbi Greenberg teaches that there is no unimportant mitzvah: as the Rambam writes, a person should see himself as evenly balanced, so one small mitzvah can tip the scale, and doing mitzvos that seem minor shows that one's relationship with God is not an exchange of favors. He also discusses the mezuzah, which the Rebbe's father interpreted as uniting masculine and feminine energies; cleaving to God by imitating Him, including creating with words that come from the heart; and the Midrash linking the manna to Shabbos candles. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1TOYoDerLLc 2665 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-refugee-who-became-judaism-s-greatest-mind-maimonides-story/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oNLYhm-XBjM/hqdefault.jpg The Refugee Who Became Judaism's Greatest Mind: Maimonides' Story In the third lesson of his course on the birth of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry, Rabbi Greenberg tells how Spain's Jewish golden age ended and how Maimonides, the Rambam, rose out of it. The corrupt Almoravids could be bribed, but the fanatical Almohads gave Jews and Christians a choice of Islam, exile or death. He introduces the great figures of the era: the Ri Migash, whom Maimonides praised above all; the poet and scholar Moshe ibn Ezra; Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi, whose Kuzari argues that God revealed Himself to millions at Sinai; and the Bible commentator Avraham ibn Ezra. The Rambam, born in 1135, wandered with his family for seventeen years, through Spain and North Africa, spent about half a year in the Land of Israel, and settled in Egypt. After his brother David, who supported him, drowned in the Indian Ocean, he fell into a year of grief and became a physician, serving Saladin. Rabbi Greenberg surveys his works: the Commentary on the Mishnah with the thirteen principles of faith, the Book of Commandments, the Mishneh Torah, and the Guide for the Perplexed. His letter to the forced converts first defended them with love and only then told them they must leave Spain, a model of rebuke. He closes with the controversies Maimonides faced, from writing the Mishneh Torah without citing sources to bringing Greek philosophy into Judaism, and explains that with his passing the golden age of Spanish Jewry came to an end. https://www.youtube.com/embed/oNLYhm-XBjM 4180 2026-07-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-a-humble-rabbi-not-the-villain-destroyed-the-second-temple/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V1rHk9_4fn8/hqdefault.jpg Why a Humble Rabbi—Not the Villain—Destroyed the Second Temple Rabbi Greenberg, speaking the day before Tisha B'Av, explains the five tragedies the Mishnah assigns to that day and why the Talmud blames the destruction of the Second Temple on causeless hatred. Retelling the story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa, he notes that of all its villains the Talmud singles out Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas, whose humility kept him from acting firmly. Causeless hatred, he explains, is hatred with no reason beyond the other person's existence, as with the host who refused Bar Kamsa's offers to pay; the Rebbe taught that it must be countered with causeless love. He then ties all five teachings of Rabbi Akiva's Mishnah in Pirkei Avos, now in its third class, to this season: reducing joy, the Oral Torah and tzedakah as means of redemption, vows, and silence. A vow invokes God's backing for a commitment, so breaking one doubles the wrong, which is why people say "bli neder." Annulment by three rabbis reveals the person's deeper, more mature will, the same mechanism as teshuvah, which can change the past and, when done from love, turn past wrongs into something positive. The silence that is a fence for wisdom means being receptive to others, the opposite of the ego that breeds causeless hatred, illustrated by two Chassidim who sat a whole night in wordless connection. He closes by noting that the collapse of the Soviet Union, which the Rebbe foresaw, shows that the coming of Mashiach is as possible as any change. https://www.youtube.com/embed/V1rHk9_4fn8 3110 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-did-moses-blame-the-people-the-real-reason-he-struck-the-rock/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PMgooD6hGo0/hqdefault.jpg Why Did Moses Blame the People? The Real Reason He Struck the Rock On the eve of Tisha B'Av, Rabbi Greenberg asks why, in Parshas Va'etchanan, Moses tells the people that God was angry with him "because of you," when the Torah says he was kept out of the Land for striking the rock. He traces the tragedies of Tisha B'Av back to the night the people wept over the spies' report. The Abarbanel holds that Moses was faulted for agreeing to send the spies, but the Torah gives the rock as the reason, and Rabbi Greenberg explains how the two connect. Forty years earlier God had told Moses to strike a rock, the right approach for a hardened generation of former slaves, who needed tough love. The new generation needed gentle words, and Moses' angry striking showed that he belonged to the earlier generation and should remain with them; Joshua, likened to the moon, was the leader for the new one. Had Moses entered the Land, he says, the Temple would never have been destroyed. He also explains that Moses' 515 prayers match the numerical value of words for prayer, combining humility and joy, both of which a large ego prevents. The ban on adding to the mitzvos is linked to idolatry, illustrated with the Maggid of Dubno's parable of the borrowed silver. The Rebbe explains why God's voice at Sinai had no echo. Finally, both Temples fell through ego: idolatry, including treating an ideology as infallible, and baseless hatred. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PMgooD6hGo0 2580 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-most-powerful-jew-in-medieval-spain-that-nobody-remembers/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G0TBH8CwFpg/hqdefault.jpg The Most Powerful Jew in Medieval Spain That Nobody Remembers Rabbi Greenberg explains how Spain became a center of Torah during its Golden Age, and why its most powerful Jew, Hasdai ibn Shaprut, is far less remembered today than the Rif, a rabbi with no political role. In this second lesson on Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry, he divides Sephardic history into four periods and describes the Golden Age under Muslim rule, from 711 to about 1150: Jews were tolerated as people of Scripture under restrictions and special taxes, and as linguists, traders and doctors they combined Jewish and secular learning and built bridges between Muslims and Christians. Hasdai ibn Shaprut was a translator, physician to the ruler, head of customs, a diplomat and the political head of the Jewish community, who wrote to the Jewish king of the Khazars still calling himself a Jew in exile. His greatest contribution, Rabbi Greenberg says, was making Spain independent of Babylonia in Torah learning by ransoming Rabbi Moshe, who founded an academy in Cordoba. The class covers the grammarians Menachem ben Saruk and Dunash ben Labrat, Shmuel HaNagid, a rabbi who was also a general, Ibn Gabirol, and Bachya ibn Pakuda's "Duties of the Hearts." It ends with the Rif, Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi, who fled to Spain at 75 and condensed the Talmud into its final rulings. Rabbi Greenberg notes that nearly every yeshiva student knows the Rif, whose work became one of the three pillars of the Shulchan Aruch, while few have heard of Hasdai. https://www.youtube.com/embed/G0TBH8CwFpg 3459 2026-07-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-books-are-the-worst-way-to-preserve-the-torah-says-the-talmud/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aR_Slg0ugUw/hqdefault.jpg Why Books Are the WORST Way to Preserve the Torah, Says the Talmud Rabbi Greenberg continues Rabbi Akiva's Mishnah in Pirkei Avos on the fences a person needs, focusing on two: tradition is a fence for the Torah, and tithes are a fence for wealth. Speaking on Rosh Chodesh Av, the day Aaron passed away, he recalls Rabbi Akiva laughing at the Temple ruins because the fulfilled prophecy of destruction assured the prophecy of rebuilding, and stresses Aaron's love for every person as the answer to the causeless hatred that destroyed the Second Temple. One reading of tradition refers to the careful transmission of every letter of the Torah scroll, where one missing letter invalidates the whole, just as every Jew is indispensable. Another refers to the Oral Torah, which, Rabbi Greenberg explains, survived precisely because it was oral: a written text can be read in many ways, especially without vowels, as with the Hebrew word for milk, which could be read as fat. Like music, Torah must be heard from a living master to keep its soul. Giving a tenth protects wealth: the Talmud reads "aser te'aser" as "give a tenth so that you become rich." Rabbi Greenberg cites the Arizal's teaching that giving a coin to a poor person forms the letters of God's name, tells how the Rebbe asked his father to give ten times his check and his father earned that much more that year, and notes the Alter Rebbe's teaching that helping others refines the mind. In answer to questions, he explains that the community should restore someone who lost his wealth to his former standard of living. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aR_Slg0ugUw 3410 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/nine-places-in-the-torah-that-don-t-exist-here-s-why/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IUktx4G13V4/hqdefault.jpg Nine Places in the Torah That Don't Exist — Here's Why Rabbi Greenberg opens the Book of Devarim by explaining why its first verse lists nine places where Moshe spoke, when, as Rashi notes, several of them are not real locations. He first explains why Devarim is also called Mishneh Torah: the first four books are God's words transmitted through Moshe, while in the fifth Moshe taught in his own words. The Rebbe teaches that this makes Devarim in a sense more important, since it brings the transcendent teachings of the first four books within reach. Rashi reads the place names as gentle hints of the people's sins: the complaints in the wilderness, Baal Peor on the plains of Moab, the Red Sea, the manna, the spies, Korach and the golden calf. Rabbi Greenberg links this to the Rambam's ruling that rebuke should begin gently, both out of respect and because it works better. The Rebbe adds that Moshe was also defending the people, pointing to the circumstances behind each sin. Rabbi Greenberg then reads all nine names as allusions to Mashiach, including smell, humility, Jewish unity and longing for the redemption. The class closes with Shabbos Chazon, the Sabbath of vision, and a parable of a father who keeps a third garment in the closet and shows it to his son: so God shows each Jew the third Beis HaMikdash. Even if we do not see it, our soul does, as in the Talmud's account of Daniel's companions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IUktx4G13V4 2370 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-are-yemenite-and-iraqi-jews-called-sephardic/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cA56TxcdBcs/hqdefault.jpg Why Are Yemenite & Iraqi Jews Called "Sephardic"? Rabbi Greenberg opens a six-week series on how Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry developed, starting with why Jews study history: to see the hand of God in events, while recognizing that human choice matters and that Jewish history moves from suffering toward redemption. Ashkenazim are the Jews of Germany and France who later moved east; Sephardim, from Sefarad, Spain, are the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula. Jews of Iraq, Iran and Yemen have no connection to Spain yet are grouped as Sephardic. Asked why by the King of Spain, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef answered that these communities follow the Rambam, who was born in Cordoba and signed himself "Moshe ben Maimon the Sephardi"; Rabbi Greenberg adds that they also share a culture shaped by life in Muslim lands. He outlines differences between the traditions, including Yiddish versus Ladino and Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew pronunciation, and Sephardic openness to philosophy, science and poetry. He then traces Torah leadership from the Land of Israel to Babylonia and the era of the Geonim, when scattered communities sent questions in writing, beginning the literature of responsa. Turning to Spain, he describes Jews living there by the destruction of the Second Temple, forced baptism after the Visigothic king converted to Catholicism, and better conditions under Muslim rule from 711. Spanish Jews depended on the Babylonian scholars until, according to the story of four captive rabbis, one was ransomed in Cordoba and established Spain as an independent center of Torah learning. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cA56TxcdBcs 3615 2026-07-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-rabbi-akiva-laughed-while-everyone-else-wept-at-the-ruins/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZvkVZ2Ip8so/hqdefault.jpg Why Rabbi Akiva Laughed While Everyone Else Wept at the Ruins Rabbi Greenberg introduces Rabbi Akiva, first quoted in Pirkei Avos in chapter 3, Mishnah 13, and recounts his life: the son of converts, unlearned until 40, a shepherd for the wealthy Kalba Savua, whose daughter married him on condition that he study Torah. He studied for 24 years, lost his 24,000 students in a plague, raised five new disciples through whom Judaism continued, and was martyred by the Romans for teaching Torah, reciting the Shema. Rabbi Akiva's teaching that laughter and levity lead a person to immorality follows Rabbi Yishmael's call to be easygoing with a superior, since a humble, easygoing person can be swayed, as Moses feared for Joshua when he sent the spies. Joy breaks barriers, like a king who may break through a fence: it can dissolve grudges and release hidden emotions, but it can also remove boundaries that should stay. Rabbi Greenberg distinguishes true happiness, gratitude for one's gifts and a sense of purpose, from passing fun, and says that in a prosperous but depressed age, on the threshold of the Messianic era, more joy and even laughter are needed, within limits. He explains why Rabbi Akiva laughed when a fox ran from the site of the Holy of Holies: the complete fulfillment of the prophecy of destruction assured the prophecy of rebuilding. Cynical mockery, however, is dangerous. Finally, tradition is a fence for the Torah, because Judaism depends on a living chain of teachers, as the Rebbe showed when he said, "I need a Rebbe too." https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZvkVZ2Ip8so 2320 2026-07-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rights-vs-obligations-the-torah-s-fix-for-a-very-modern-problem/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GJpaGTUNtIE/hqdefault.jpg Rights vs. Obligations: The Torah's Fix for a Very Modern Problem Rabbi Greenberg explains why the names of the double portion Matos-Masei seem to be opposites. Matos, staffs, stand for firmness and inflexibility; Masei, journeys, for constant movement. Most people apply them backwards, unbending about their own rights and flexible about other people's. The Torah's model is the reverse: obligations come before rights, there is no compromise on values and ethics, and a person must stay flexible and keep moving in spiritual growth. Citing the Rebbe on the two words for tribe, shevet, a branch still full of sap, and mateh, a hardened staff, he compares the time of the Beis HaMikdash, when its spiritual energy could be felt, to the exile, when we hold on to Judaism with stubborn persistence even without that feeling. Turning to vows, he explains that three rabbis can annul a vow when a person would not have made it had he known its consequences, and the annulment works retroactively. This, he says, is the model for teshuvah, which erases the past by revealing that a sin did not reflect the person's true will, as with the Rambam's ruling on a coerced divorce. He gives two reasons Yom Kippur opens with Kol Nidrei, one from Rabbi Yosef Rosen about affirming the Oral Torah. Finally, Aaron is the only righteous figure whose date of death, the first of the fifth month, the Torah records, and it is read during the Nine Days. His love for every person models the senseless love that cures the senseless hatred behind the Temple's destruction. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GJpaGTUNtIE 2795 2026-07-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/judaism-already-debated-ai-the-golem-the-maharal-and-the-soul/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iFxEyIPXEyw/hqdefault.jpg Judaism Already Debated AI: The Golem, the Maharal, and the Soul Rabbi Greenberg examines artificial intelligence from the Torah's perspective, treating technology as a tool rather than a goal. Pirkei Avos teaches that everything God created was created for His glory, so a technology is measured by whether it makes the world more godly, and the Zohar predicted an explosion of heavenly and earthly knowledge in preparation for the messianic era. AI frees the mind from searching for information so it can understand and create, but it can make people lazy, its answers cannot be trusted without checking sources, and a rabbi may not base a ruling in Jewish law on it, since halachah is passed from teacher to student and requires human perception. Judaism, he says, already considered artificial beings in the golem. The Talmud tells that Rava created a man and sent it to Rabbi Zeira, who, finding that it could not speak, told it to return to its dust. The Chacham Tzvi, whose grandfather Rabbi Eliyahu of Chelm made a golem, ruled that such a being cannot be counted in a minyan, which Rabbi Greenberg takes as proof that AI can never be considered human. He then explores what being created in the image of God means: a divine soul, the free choice to go against one's own nature, the power to conceive new ideas and internalize them, speech that expresses inner feeling, holding opposing emotions at once, and turning intellect into good deeds. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iFxEyIPXEyw 3425 2026-07-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-holy-people-sometimes-act-like-fools/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hf02OfdoOE0/hqdefault.jpg Why Holy People Sometimes Act Like Fools Rabbi Greenberg explains Pirkei Avos 3:12, in which Rabbi Yishmael teaches how to relate to three kinds of people: be yielding to a superior, be pleasant to the young, and receive every person with joy. He first discusses the name Yishmael, common among the sages because Abraham's son Ishmael repented at the end of his life. Toward a leader, one should accept authority easily and even make oneself "light," as King David danced before the Ark despite Michal's protest; acting the fool before something holy is a positive kind of folly, and the Rebbe gave the same answer when criticized for singing and whistling at his gatherings. Joshua succeeded Moses, Rabbi Greenberg says, because he never left Moses' tent, and the Talmud says serving Torah scholars is greater than learning from them. Toward the young one should be pleasant without deferring to them, and the Talmud defines an elder by acquired wisdom, not age alone. He cites Rabbi Yishmael's own submission to the sages after adjusting a lamp on Shabbos, and Rabbi Yehoshua's deference to Rabban Gamliel over the date of Yom Kippur. Receiving everyone with joy goes beyond Shammai's "pleasant face" to real inner happiness. Read inwardly, the Mishnah says to obey the intellect, be gentle with the emotions, and embrace the body with joy, as the Baal Shem Tov's parable of a captive who got his guards drunk so he could dance illustrates. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hf02OfdoOE0 2930 2026-07-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-the-or-hachaim-knew-about-inherited-trauma-300-years-before-therapy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WT3gnwiUcd4/hqdefault.jpg What the Or HaChaim Knew About Inherited Trauma — 300 Years Before Therapy On the yahrzeit of Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, the Or HaChaim, on the 15th of Tammuz, Rabbi Greenberg tells how the Baal Shem Tov, who never met him, sensed his passing at the third Shabbos meal, and turns to the weekly Torah portion that opens with Pinchas's reward. Why does the Torah repeat that Pinchas was the son of Elazar, son of Aaron? Rashi says the tribes mocked him as a descendant of Yisro, who fattened calves for idolatry. The Rebbe explains that the insult was cruelty, not idolatry: beliefs are not inherited, but character traits can be, so the Torah traces Pinchas to Aaron, the man of peace, to show he acted out of love. The Or HaChaim instead says Pinchas's act removed the stain left on Aaron by the Golden Calf. Pinchas had not been made a kohen, and Rabbi Greenberg explains the halachic difference between waiving a claim and giving a gift, showing how the priesthood was granted to Pinchas as a gift that still passes to his descendants. The Zohar identifies Pinchas with Eliyahu, whom God rebuked for speaking against His children. Zimri is named only after his death and called an Israelite, because a Jew never loses his identity. The Or HaChaim reads Judah's sons as hints of the two Temples, exile and Mashiach. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the daily Tamid offerings as consistency, and as the two constants with which the Shulchan Aruch's Orach Chaim opens and closes: always setting God before oneself, and always being joyful. https://www.youtube.com/embed/WT3gnwiUcd4 2880 2026-06-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/one-mitzvah-can-change-the-world-the-rebbe-s-vision-of-history/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OaPeteMAzKE/hqdefault.jpg One Mitzvah Can Change the World — The Rebbe's Vision of History Rabbi Greenberg presents the Rebbe's "state of the universe": why the world was created, where history is going, and why a single mitzvah matters. Speaking on 13 Tammuz, the anniversary of the Previous Rebbe's release from Soviet imprisonment, he begins from the mishnah "know what is above you," which the Maggid of Mezritch and the Alter Rebbe read as "know that what is above depends on you." The premise is the Midrash that God desired a dwelling place in the lowest world. Chabad teaching, especially the Rebbe's, builds a whole philosophy on these few words: the physical world is not a mistake, a burden or merely a corridor to paradise, but the goal itself. God hides in it, like a father playing hide-and-seek, so that we can find Him and bring light out of darkness by free choice. A dollar given to charity, a Shabbos table or a kosher purchase turns ordinary life into a home for God, though evil acts can never be made holy. The Rebbe also encouraged using technology and secular expertise to serve God. History, in this view, moves toward redemption like a ship, even when people on deck walk backward. Evil dissipates through repentance or suffering, while every mitzvah lasts forever and accumulates. Following the Rambam, one should see the world as evenly balanced, so one mitzvah can tip it. Rabbi Greenberg illustrates with Yosef's concern for two prisoners, the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that a soul may descend to do one favor for one person, and the Rebbe's reply to a rabbi whose class drew one woman: Moshe had only one mother. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OaPeteMAzKE 3575 2026-06-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-shabbos-makes-the-untrustworthy-trustworthy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1x8kBIiW8m0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Shabbos Makes the Untrustworthy Trustworthy Rabbi Greenberg studies the Rambam's ruling on produce bought from someone not trusted to tithe, which must be tithed again as demai (produce of doubtful tithing status). If the buyer forgot to tithe it and Shabbos or Yom Tov arrived, when tithing is not possible, he may ask the seller, or even another unreliable person, and if told it was tithed, he may eat it on that Shabbos; whatever is left afterward remains forbidden. The Beis Yosef asks why the testimony is not accepted after Shabbos as well, since the Rambam rules that a person suspect in a matter is believed about others, because people do not sin when they gain nothing. The Lechem Mishneh answers that the witness may simply assume the seller tithes as he does. The Chasam Sofer explains that the presumption follows the majority, while for demai the Sages were concerned about the minority who do not tithe, unlike the rest of halachah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1x8kBIiW8m0 395 2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-two-mitzvos-for-one-donkey-ancient-logic-that-sharpens-your-mind/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CujEtSfn0F4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Two Mitzvos for One Donkey? Ancient Logic That Sharpens Your Mind! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that redeeming a firstborn donkey with a lamb, which goes to a kohen, is a positive commandment, and that if the owner does not redeem it, breaking its neck is a second positive commandment, with redemption taking precedence. The Rambam counts these as two mitzvos, despite his own rule against counting variations of one mitzvah, because the Gemara speaks of "the mitzvah of redemption" preceding "the mitzvah of breaking the neck." Rav Daniel HaBavli asks why that Gemara does not refute the rule, and Rabbi Yerucham Fishel Perla notes that the Gemara calls even parts of one mitzvah "mitzvah." One answer is that the Rambam infers from the precedence itself: redemption has two components, an independent mitzvah to redeem, shown by a kohen's duty to redeem a donkey he owns, and the gift to the kohen. Redeeming fulfills both, breaking the neck only one. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CujEtSfn0F4 464 2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/5-heresies-that-cost-you-the-world-to-come/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DuvRrkhQhrI/hqdefault.jpg 5 Heresies That Cost You the World to Come Rabbi Greenberg explains Pirkei Avos 3:11, in which Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in lists five people who lose their share in the World to Come even if they have Torah and good deeds: one who profanes sacred things, one who disgraces the festivals, one who publicly shames another, one who nullifies the covenant of Abraham, and one who treats the Torah with contempt. He notes that these concern beliefs and attitudes, showing that principles of faith predate the Rambam, and recounts how Rabbi Elazar, Bar Kochba's uncle, whose prayers protected Betar, was killed by Bar Kochba after a Samaritan's ruse, leading to the city's fall. He reads the five as heresies: denying spirituality and a God beyond the world; believing God does not intervene, which empties festivals that commemorate miracles; denying the divine image in every person, since shaming someone treats him as no better than an animal; being ashamed of Jewish identity, as Hellenized Jews hid their circumcision; and treating the Torah as mere culture or rejecting the Oral Torah, without which mezuzah, "an eye for an eye" and Rosh Hashanah cannot be understood. Citing the Rebbe, he says all five share the idea that people create holiness: consecrating objects, sanctifying the festivals through the calendar, and deciding Jewish law, as in the story of Rabbi Eliezer and "the Torah is not in heaven." He closes with examples of avoiding shame, including the Rebbe changing how he prayed so a disfigured visitor would not feel slighted. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DuvRrkhQhrI 3115 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/red-cow-and-bilaam-transcending-rationality-in-torah-chukat-and-balak/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jh8FakV6Ryc/hqdefault.jpg Red Cow & Bilaam: Transcending Rationality in Torah (Chukat & Balak) On the double Torah portion of Chukat and Balak, Rabbi Greenberg explains the role of commandments beyond reason, through the red cow, and why spiritual power without humility fails, through Bilaam. He explains the three categories of mitzvos: mishpatim, rational laws; edos, testimonies that recall events and ideas; and chukim, decrees with no stated reason, such as the red cow, whose reason even King Solomon could not grasp. Citing the Rebbe, he explains that chukim enable a Jew to sacrifice everything for God's will, illustrated by a rabbi's explanation of why Ashkenazi Jews more readily gave their lives during persecution than Spanish Jews steeped in philosophy. The three categories correspond to morality imposed from above, coming from within, and arising from society's need to preserve itself; Judaism needs all three. Rashi explains the red cow as a mother cleaning up her calf's mess, the golden calf, and the Maggid of Mezritch explains that the reason is supra-rational because teshuvah itself transcends nature. Citing the Rebbe's last talk on Parshas Korach, he contrasts Korach, who separated the spiritual from the physical, with chukas, whose final letter tav signifies carrying the highest ideals through to action, culminating in the resurrection of the dead. Bilaam was a great prophet but an evil man, showing the nations that prophecy without morality does not help. Being "blind in one eye," he had the eye that perceives God but lacked the eye that sees one's own smallness. His blessing "How goodly are your tents" praised the Jews' respect for each other's privacy, and his prophecy of Mashiach shows that Mashiach will transform even such forces into holiness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jh8FakV6Ryc 2985 2026-06-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbe-s-revolutionary-legacy-dedication-providence-and-lessons-for-every-jew/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BDr6IeNdW-w/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe’s Revolutionary Legacy: Dedication, Providence & Lessons for Every Jew Marking the 3rd of Tammuz, Rabbi Greenberg describes what made the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, stand out as a leader and thinker. He notes that more than 250 volumes of the Rebbe's teachings have been published, that he wrote an estimated 100,000 letters, met people through the night without ever taking a vacation, and stood for hours at his father-in-law's resting place praying for those who asked for blessings. Born just before Pesach, the Rebbe "passed over" convention and limitation, as when he climbed a locked gate on Rosh Hashanah and told Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who wanted to drop one of four jobs, that he had a fifth for him, while keeping everything rooted in Torah law. Rabbi Greenberg traces how the Rebbe turned Judaism outward through mitzvah tanks, public menorahs and children's parades; believed in every person's godly core, writing that "there is no such thing as a small Jew"; stressed joy and love over sadness and fear; and sent couples as emissaries for life to create a demand for Judaism rather than fill one, teaching that every Jew is an emissary. He lists the ten mitzvah campaigns, women's Torah study, Tzivos Hashem, the use of technology, outreach to non-Jews through the seven Noahide laws, and preparation for Mashiach while transforming the here and now. He closes with the Rebbe's teaching that every encounter is divine providence, illustrated by the Rebbetzin paying a family's rent when a detour led her past their eviction. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BDr6IeNdW-w 3401 2026-06-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/idle-idol-ancient-warning-that-transforms-how-you-use-time/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7-roMP9Ga3Q/hqdefault.jpg IDLE = IDOL: Ancient Warning That Transforms How You Use Time Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas's teaching in Pirkei Avos that morning sleep, midday wine, children's chatter and sitting in gatherings of the ignorant "put a person out of the world," which the commentaries take to mean losing the World to Come. None of these is bad in itself; the danger is a pattern of idleness, and Rabbi Greenberg notes that "idle" and "idol" share the same letters in English: an idol has no substance, and an idle person is empty. He traces the value of productive work to the Torah's words after the Flood, to the Midrash that Abraham chose Canaan because its people, though immoral, worked, and to Jacob's complaint about the idle shepherds at the well. The three habits, he explains, negate the three things on which the world stands: oversleeping costs morning prayers, drink prevents acts of kindness, and idle talk displaces Torah study. Some commentaries read them as three phases of life: a youth that does not appreciate time, a middle age spent chasing entertainment, and a retirement without intellectual challenge. Citing the Talmud on the Jews of Babylon who lived long because they came early to the synagogue and stayed late, he says God gives more time to those who value it. He closes with a positive reading: sleep lets the soul touch a spiritual place and is compared to prophecy, wine reveals hidden forces of the soul, and children carry a purity and innocence that adults should recapture. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7-roMP9Ga3Q 2945 2026-06-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-torah-named-a-portion-after-korach-the-hidden-spiritual-paradox/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l8qjFTdCE-U/hqdefault.jpg Why the Torah Named a Portion After Korach: The Hidden Spiritual Paradox Rabbi Greenberg asks why a Torah portion is named after Korach, a rebel, when the other portions named for people, such as Noach, Chayei Sarah and Yisro, honor righteous figures. He reviews the story: Korach, Moses' first cousin and a distinguished Levite, gathered Dathan, Aviram and 250 leaders and protested that the whole congregation is holy, so Moses and Aaron had no right to place themselves above it. Rabbi Greenberg describes a paradox in Judaism: the person who puts ideas into practice in the world does more to fulfill God's purpose than one who stays in the spiritual realm, yet everyone must keep aspiring to the spiritual. The 250 men who offered incense knew they might die, as Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu had, yet longed for that closeness. He cites the Talmud that Korach's company in Gehinnom declare that Moses and his Torah are true, and explains that consistency comes from binding oneself to the Torah, as the Rebbe answered a man who asked how he remained so consistent. He ends with the Rebbe's comment on a wealthy man who chose a taste of paradise over regaining the fortune he had spent ransoming captives: a follower of the Baal Shem Tov would have chosen the wealth, which could help others. https://www.youtube.com/embed/l8qjFTdCE-U 2850 2026-06-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-king-s-table-secret-that-explains-why-even-kohanim-can-t-eat-tevel/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FgiLE1atd2I/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The King's Table Secret That Explains Why Even Kohanim Can't Eat Tevel! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that kohanim (priests) may not seize terumah and maaser, gifts from produce, or even ask for them, but must take them with dignity, because they eat from God's table: the gifts belong to God, who apportioned them to the kohanim. As with a korban (offering), which no one may benefit from until its service is done, they are like guests eating the King's food. Rabbi Yosef Engel uses this to answer Tosafos's question on Rashi, who holds that tevel (untithed produce) is forbidden because terumah is mixed within it: if so, a kohen should be allowed to eat it. Before tithing, the terumah is still on God's table and has not been served to him. He shows from the Rambam's definition of tevel that the Rambam holds like Rashi, and explains that eating "from the table of the Most High" can mean permission only to eat, or a gift to use freely. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FgiLE1atd2I 462 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pleasing-people-pleases-god-rabbi-chanina-ben-dosa-s-wisdo/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UmoC0laihgM/hqdefault.jpg Pleasing People Pleases God: Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa’s Wisdo In this Ethics of the Fathers class, Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah in which Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa says that one with whom people are pleased, God is pleased. He reads it as the culmination of Rabbi Chanina's previous teachings: fear of sin comes first, then wisdom, then deeds, and finally the effect on others. The two tablets, one for duties to God and one for duties to people, were carried side by side, and Yom Kippur does not atone for wrongs against others until they are set right. The Mishnah calls God HaMakom, the One who fills all space, because God wants His presence revealed through how we treat others, while misconduct by a religious person causes chillul Hashem, a desecration that empties a place of God. As a teaching of piety beyond the letter of the law, the Mishnah asks that one help others pleasantly, even those without evident merit, and care for their spiritual needs as well. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UmoC0laihgM 2500 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-god-created-an-imperfect-world-and-made-you-responsible/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XO7dddEu5oU/hqdefault.jpg Why God Created an Imperfect World (And Made YOU Responsible) Rabbi Greenberg explains why the spies in Parshas Shlach feared entering the land, and what the portion teaches about God's intentionally imperfect world. Fear of the unknown lies behind many wrong choices, he notes, and Abraham's first recorded test was leaving his home. But following the Rebbe, he explains that the spies were spiritual people who feared losing the life of Torah and meditation they had in the desert, fed by manna, once they had to conquer, plow and harvest the land. The portion's next topics answer them. The mitzvah of challah, separating a portion of dough, teaches that engaging and elevating the physical world matters more than spirituality alone, and that sustenance comes from God, since crediting success to oneself is a subtle form of idolatry. The warning about unintentional idolatry follows to keep the pendulum from swinging to worshipping the physical, as in glorifying nature. Rabbi Greenberg develops a teaching of Rabbi Kluger on why the spies checked whether cities were round, as Onkelos translates. Round shapes stand for nature, which the spies saw as fixed and unchangeable, while Judaism places round things in square frames, as with the parchments in tefillin and the strings on a tallis, to show that people can transform nature. Kabbalah teaches that sparks of holiness are trapped in the physical world, and the last are hardest to free. The spies also rejected a land whose vines gave juice, because it reminded them that God created an imperfect world on purpose, so that people would be His partners in perfecting it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XO7dddEu5oU 2526 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-divine-bond-israel-s-soul-and-jewish-destiny-from-creation-to-today/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qFkaUJPchQM/hqdefault.jpg The Divine Bond: Israel's Soul & Jewish Destiny – From Creation to Today In the final class of his series on Israel, the land and the soul, Rabbi Greenberg traces the spiritual history of the Jewish people's bond with the Land of Israel in twenty stages, from creation to Mashiach. Like the moon, that bond waxes and wanes. God designed the land for the Jewish people at creation; it was promised to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov to the exclusion of their other children, made holy at Sinai and through Yehoshua's conquest, and reached its fullness under David and Shlomo. He stresses that the people's hold on the land depends on their unity and their faithfulness to Torah, as the division of the kingdom, the exiles and the two destructions show. Later stages include the Mishnah, the Jerusalem Talmud, the 16th-century attempt to renew rabbinic ordination, the Kabbalists Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and the Ari, the Chassidim and students of the Vilna Gaon who settled in the land, and 1948. He then surveys secular and religious Zionism and four religious attitudes to the modern state: rejection, pragmatic participation, seeing it as a miracle but not the redemption, and seeing it as the beginning of redemption. The Rebbe opposed calling the state the beginning of redemption, which must come through Mashiach, but called its miracles a taste of the future, like tasting Shabbos food on Friday. On giving up land, the Rebbe based his opposition on the halachah that a town threatened by an enemy seeking even its produce must defend itself, even on Shabbos, because surrendering territory endangers lives. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the Rebbe's call to look for common ground and stop demonizing other Jews even amid strong disagreement. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qFkaUJPchQM 4865 2026-06-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-gizbar-s-hidden-power-that-could-change-your-tzedakah-forever/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uhIPszqyyrA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Gizbar's Hidden Power That Could Change Your Tzedakah Forever! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who takes pe'ah, the corner of the field left for the poor, on behalf of a particular poor person acquires it for him only if he is poor himself, since he could take it for himself; a wealthy person cannot, and must give it to the first poor person who comes. The Tzemach Tzedek applies this to a charity treasurer who intended money for a poor person in another city and then wanted to give it to his own town's poor. The Tzemach Tzedek cites the Shach, who holds that a hired worker, whose hand is like his employer's, is stronger than an agent and may acquire for another even where this harms others, while the Tumim and Nesivos disagree. The Tzemach Tzedek adds, with proof from the Tumim, that a treasurer is stronger still, but since this treasurer was appointed for his own town, the question remains open. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uhIPszqyyrA 281 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-smartest-people-are-the-most-dangerous-a-torah-warning/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bsrDSulbvvs/hqdefault.jpg Why the Smartest People Are the Most Dangerous — A Torah Warning Rabbi Greenberg continues the Mishnah of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa in Pirkei Avos: one whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom endures, and one whose deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom endures. He opens with a story told by his teacher Rabbi Yoel Kahn about a brilliant yeshiva student who saw no need for Chassidic teachings. The Rebbe told him that when colleagues failed to admire his brilliance he would be hurt and drift away, which happened, until he returned years later. He also retells the Talmud's account of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, who called Rabbi Chanina a servant with constant access to the king, while he himself was like a minister. In other fields, knowledge and behavior can be separate, but Torah study that does not lead to practice is deficient. Rabbi Greenberg warns that intellect cut off from action is dangerous, pointing to intellectuals behind evil movements, from Pharaoh's "let us be wise" to the Nazis. Commentaries explain the first clause as avoiding the prohibitions and the second as doing the positive mitzvos, and he adds that fear of sin also means fearing to miss one's unique mission. He gives three explanations of deeds "exceeding" wisdom: accepting everything in advance, as at Sinai with "we will do and we will hear"; adding beauty beyond the minimum, as with Chanukah candles; and keeping mitzvos one does not understand. Practical Torah is passed down as dynasties and is understood more deeply, as the Noda BeYehuda maintained. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bsrDSulbvvs 2914 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/does-jewish-law-actually-require-you-to-live-in-israel-the-surprising-answer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BI62jNw9qx0/hqdefault.jpg Does Jewish Law Actually Require You to Live in Israel? The Surprising Answer Rabbi Greenberg examines what Jewish law says about the obligation to live in Israel, in the third class of his series Israel, the Land and the Soul. He begins with the Rambam, who lists the 613 commandments at least four times without including a mitzvah to live in Israel, and who rules that a Jew may live anywhere except Egypt. Rabbi Greenberg surveys explanations of the omission: the Megillas Esther says the obligation will apply only in the Messianic era, citing the Talmud's three oaths; the Avnei Nezer says it is included in the mitzvah to conquer the land; the Rebbe Rashab calls the land a gift rather than an obligation; and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein treats it as a mitzvah one fulfills without being obligated. Nachmanides reads "you shall inherit the land and dwell in it" as an outright command, while Rashi reads it as a promise, and Rabbi Chaim Cohen, cited in Tosafos, holds there is no such mitzvah in exile. Rabbi Greenberg explains that settling the land means a permanent, stable presence, and suggests it is a mitzvah that depends on circumstances, like marriage, noting that Nachmanides himself moved to Israel only at 72. Everyone agrees that living in Israel is virtuous, he concludes, but the land exists for the people. The Rebbe did not move to Israel or send all his followers there because strong diaspora communities are needed to keep Jews from being lost to assimilation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BI62jNw9qx0 3205 2026-05-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-nazir-vs-kohein-who-has-greater-kedushah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/icY0O-Tp9AY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Nazir vs. Kohein — Who Has Greater Kedushah? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that when a nazir and a kohen come upon a meis mitzvah, an unattended corpse with no one else to bury it, the nazir should become impure to bury it, even though he loses his days of nezirus and must bring an offering, since his holiness is temporary and a kohen's is permanent. The Rambam applies this even to a lifelong nazir. The Lechem Mishneh explains that nezirus is fundamentally a thirty-day vow, begins only with the vow, and can be annulled; the Rashash says a kohen's holiness passes to his children. The Shaar HaMelech asks that, according to the Ra'avad, several prohibitions outweigh one severe one, and a nazir has four. Answers include his own distinction between one act and repeated acts, and the Achiezer's view that nezirus is a single status. The Ran holds that for a meis mitzvah the prohibition is removed entirely, so their number is irrelevant. https://www.youtube.com/embed/icY0O-Tp9AY 514 2026-05-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/sin-doesn-t-mean-breaking-rules-it-means-missing-your-purpose/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RGnSz6WWM5I/hqdefault.jpg Sin Doesn't Mean Breaking Rules — It Means Missing Your Purpose Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa's teaching in Pirkei Avos: anyone whose fear of sin comes before his wisdom, his wisdom will endure, but anyone whose wisdom comes before his fear of sin, his wisdom will not endure. He first recounts Talmudic stories of Rabbi Chanina, for whom miracles were as natural as nature: the poisonous snake that died after biting him, vinegar that burned like oil for his daughter's Shabbos lights, and his prayers for the sick. Most people cannot change nature, he says, but anyone can perform the "miracle" of letting awareness that God runs the world shape all their actions. Chet, usually translated "sin," literally means missing the mark, so fear of sin is fear of falling short of one's purpose. The Bartenura reads "before" as setting this goal before beginning to study, just as the end of an action comes first in thought, like a house planned before it is built. The Midrash Shmuel reads it as precedence: if one had to choose, fear of sin outranks scholarship. Rabbi Greenberg applies this to education, arguing that children must first learn that there is a God and a purpose, and tells how his father, held at gunpoint, turned a boy away by asking what his minister would think. To reconcile this with the Mishnah that an ignorant person cannot fear sin, he distinguishes two levels of yirah: fear of consequences, which must come first, and reverence and awe, which only Torah study brings. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RGnSz6WWM5I 2570 2026-05-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-doctors-vs-sages-on-treifah-why-animals-differ-from-humans/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J5oKUAQUoFg/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Doctors vs. Sages on Treifah – Why Animals Differ from Humans Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that an animal is a treifah, fatally defective and not kosher, only in the cases the sages listed, even if doctors say it can survive. Yet in the laws of murder the Rambam relies on doctors who say a victim's illness was incurable, making him a treifah, so that his killer is not executed. One answer is that the animal treifos are a law given to Moshe at Sinai; Rav Shlomo Heiman and the Tchebiner Rav cite Rabbeinu Tam that a person has mazal, protective fortune, and is less vulnerable. Rabbi Greenberg finds both difficult. He prefers the Maharam Schick's approach that doctors' opinions create a doubt, which calls for stringency where life is at risk and prevents an execution. Citing the Ibn Ezra, who limits doctors' license to heal to external wounds, he speculates that modern testing may give medical opinion more certainty, stressing that no one should rule on that basis. https://www.youtube.com/embed/J5oKUAQUoFg 463 2026-05-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/let-my-people-know-why-judaism-is-neither-pro-life-nor-pro-choice/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zij-viSAtJU/hqdefault.jpg Let My People Know: Why Judaism Is Neither Pro-Life Nor Pro-Choice In this episode of Let My People Know, interviewed by Ellen Bernstein, Rabbi Greenberg explains the Jewish view of abortion and why it does not fit the labels pro-life or pro-choice. Judaism regards abortion as a tragedy, permitted to save the mother's life according to the majority view, and according to a respected minority also for serious threats to her physical or mental health. He explains Maimonides' reasoning that the fetus is treated as a rodef, a pursuer threatening the mother's life, even though it has no intent. Most authorities consider the prohibition biblical, describing it in various ways, such as assault or the destruction of potential life. Before 40 days the Talmud calls the fetus "mere fluid," and authorities are somewhat more lenient then, but abortion is still forbidden. He discusses prenatal testing, noting that according to the majority view a diagnosis of a disease such as Tay-Sachs would not permit an abortion. The medical team determines the facts, and an expert in Jewish medical law then rules. In Jewish law no one owns his own body; it is entrusted by God, so personal choice is not the deciding factor. Rabbi Greenberg dislikes the politicized labels, since nearly everyone values life. He holds that society may express that abortion is wrong, in line with the Noahide laws, but that education about the purpose of life will reduce abortions more than condemnation. Judaism frames the issue in terms of obligations rather than rights. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zij-viSAtJU 1559 2026-05-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/israel-divine-gift-homeland-hope-and-holy-land/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aKrfgUQ0S-4/hqdefault.jpg Israel: Divine Gift, Homeland, Hope & Holy Land Rabbi Greenberg, in the second class of his series Israel, the Land and the Soul, argues that every secular argument for the Jewish claim to the land can be challenged, while the claim that God gave the land cannot. The Talmud lists Israel among three gifts given through suffering, between the Torah and the World to Come. He organizes the class around three themes: homeland, hope and holy land. Every nation needs a homeland as a base for its mission, which for all humanity means the seven Noahide commandments and for the Jewish people making the world godly through the 613 mitzvos. A home is where a person's essence can be expressed, and Israel is where God reveals His essence, and therefore where the Jewish people's essence shines; its strength lies not in its military alone but in Jews keeping the Torah. In exile, Israel is the land of hope. Following the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that a person is where his thoughts are, a Jew who yearns for Israel is there, and the word tikvah, hope, is related to a rope that connects and to mikvah, immersion. As the holy land, Israel shows that even physical earth can be made holy. Chassidic teaching compares it to Rosh Hashanah, the brain of the year, so Israel is the brain of the universe. Exile has given Jews the mission of making the places where they live holy, preparing for the Messianic age, when Israel's holiness will spread to the whole world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aKrfgUQ0S-4 3440 2026-05-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-if-your-memory-problems-are-actually-a-spiritual-problem/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/34-7Mk2XAyw/hqdefault.jpg What If Your Memory Problems Are Actually a Spiritual Problem? Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos in which Rabbi Dostai son of Rabbi Yannai, in the name of Rabbi Meir, says that one who forgets a single word of his learning is considered mortally guilty, unless the forgetting comes from age or difficulty rather than neglect. A minority of commentaries apply it to rabbis, whose main role is to rule on Jewish law; most apply it to everyone who learns. Rabbi Greenberg explains that this is not a punishment: Torah is the Jewish people's lifeblood, and forgetting it is like forgetting a life-saving medication. He suggests that Rabbi Meir, known for his sharp mind, stressed memory because the Talmud prefers the scholar with encyclopedic knowledge, called "Sinai," over the brilliant "uprooter of mountains." He identifies three causes of forgetting Torah: distraction; indulgence in physical pleasures, illustrated by the Talmud's account of Rabbi Elazar ben Arach losing his learning; and an inflated ego, which is why the Torah was given in the desert, a symbol of humility. The remedies include review beyond the norm, since the Hebrew words for remembering (227) and forgetting (328) differ by 101, and studying aloud with the whole body, as Bruriah, Rabbi Meir's wife, told a student who studied silently. Finally, memory requires divine help and an appreciation of Torah as divine wisdom. The Talmud links scholars whose children do not become scholars, and the loss of the Land of Israel, to not saying the blessing on the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/34-7Mk2XAyw 2725 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-judaism-says-the-body-matters-more-than-the-soul/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kF2NHU97FrI/hqdefault.jpg Why Judaism Says the Body Matters More Than the Soul Rabbi Greenberg concludes his series on the Ten Statements, or Ten Commandments, with statements seven through ten, reading each alongside its parallel on the first tablet. The prohibition of adultery parallels the prohibition of worshipping the gods of others: both betray an exclusive relationship. It teaches that some people, a spouse, family and one's own community, deserve special love and precedence, a balance between treating everyone as unequal in worth and treating everyone the same. The prohibition of stealing, which the Talmud says refers to kidnapping, parallels not taking God's name in vain, since both show disrespect. Here Rabbi Greenberg explains that in Judaism the body is in a sense the main thing: the soul is like a teacher and the body like the student the school exists for. Each soul is sent to refine its own body and, by extension, its property, so theft denies another person his God-given mission. This is also his answer to being spiritual but not religious. False testimony parallels Shabbos, which testifies that God created the world. Since Isaiah calls the Jewish people God's witnesses, a Jew who acts against his true godly identity gives false testimony, as the fourth Chabad Rebbe told a Chassid who thought his business clothes were the real him. Coveting parallels honoring parents, since both concern respecting boundaries. Ibn Ezra explains that one can stop coveting what one knows is entirely out of bounds, and Rabbi Greenberg adds that the Rambam's promise of no jealousy in the days of Mashiach will come when we value what we own for its purpose, like an heirloom. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kF2NHU97FrI 3020 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/israel-the-land-and-the-soul-lesson-one-why-every-argument-for-israel-is-wrong-except-one/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PJFfCYsnSQA/hqdefault.jpg ISRAEL: The Land and the Soul - Lesson One Why Every Argument For Israel Is WRONG (Except One) In the first lesson of a four-part series on Israel, Rabbi Greenberg examines the arguments for the Jewish people's right to the land and argues that only the biblical one stands. He sets out six common claims: international recognition, from the Balfour Declaration to the UN partition plan and Israel's admission to the UN; conquest and acquisition, from Abraham's purchase of the Cave of Machpelah to King David's purchase of the Temple Mount; possession; the right to self-determination; the need for a haven from persecution; and an unbroken historical connection. Each has a weakness. What the international community gives it can take away, conquest can be reversed, demographics can change, the Kurds show that self-determination is not granted to every nation, and historical claims can be matched by others or simply denied. The one argument that holds is God's promise of the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as an everlasting possession. Even if others reject the Bible, Rabbi Greenberg says, Jews must be convinced of it themselves, because outside challenges begin with inner doubts, and truth itself has power. He shows that the accusation of theft is old, citing the Talmud's account of Geviha ben Pesisa answering the Canaanites and Ishmaelites before Alexander the Great, and Rashi's first comment on the Torah: God created the world and gives each land to whom He wishes. Following a talk of the Rebbe, he explains why the world singles out the Jewish conquest: it is absolute and permanent, and the land is suited to no other people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PJFfCYsnSQA 3710 2026-05-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/let-my-people-know-you-ve-been-resting-wrong-your-whole-life-torah-explains-why/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GbT45yTjdjk/hqdefault.jpg Let My People Know: You've Been Resting Wrong Your Whole Life — Torah Explains Why In this third program on Shabbos in the Let My People Know television series, Rabbi Greenberg and host Ellen Bernstein describe what Jews do and refrain from doing on the Sabbath. Rabbi Greenberg walks through the Friday night meal with wine, challah, fish, soup, meat and kugel, songs and words of Torah, and the three Shabbos meals, which he derives from the Torah's three mentions of the manna in connection with Shabbos. He explains the Musaf prayer, cholent as the way to eat hot food without cooking, the blech, and keeping lights on or using timers. He explains that the melacha forbidden on Shabbos is defined by the juxtaposition of the Sabbath with building the Tabernacle, yielding 39 categories: food preparation, making clothing, building and writing, lighting fires, and carrying. The rabbis added that one does not even handle items such as money or a pen. Danger to life suspends these laws, and he suggests that people who find full observance hard take it on gradually and try a fully observed Shabbos. Rabbi Greenberg argues that the restrictions liberate rather than confine. At Havdalah, spices revive a person who feels faint at losing Shabbos, and the multi-wicked candle recalls the fire Adam made on the first Saturday night. Rearranged, the letters of Shabbos spell "return": a return to one's inner godly self. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GbT45yTjdjk 1614 2026-05-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-looking-at-a-beautiful-tree-could-be-judaism-s-worst-sin/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z9NFYdcjQgE/hqdefault.jpg Why Looking at a Beautiful Tree Could Be Judaism's Worst Sin Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Jacob's teaching in Pirkei Avos that one who is studying while walking on the road and interrupts to say "How beautiful is this tree, how beautiful is this plowed field" is regarded by Scripture as if he were mortally guilty. One reading targets pantheism, admiring nature as if it were independent of God. Rabbi Greenberg distinguishes pantheism, which equates God with nature, and deism, which places God wholly above it, from panentheism, the Jewish view that God both transcends and permeates nature. Praising God for His handiwork is fine; glorifying the glove and forgetting the hand inside it is not. Since Pirkei Avos addresses people on a high level, he offers further readings. Meditating on nature is a way to love God, as Maimonides teaches, but Torah study is like a loved one arriving in person, and one should not keep reading the letter. Nachmanides, on Psalm 19, explains that the Torah is higher than the heavens declaring God's glory, because it also restores the soul and teaches how to live. Another commentary faults dwelling on the interruption instead of longing to return to Torah. Travel, he adds, is dangerous and needs the protection Torah study provides. An opposite reading holds that recognizing God in nature is itself Torah, so the error is treating it as an interruption. Allegorically, the tree is the Tree of Knowledge and the plowed field a new "ism" that draws a Jew away from Torah, as happened to many Jews in the 19th century. https://www.youtube.com/embed/z9NFYdcjQgE 2635 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-adam-s-second-sin-is-more-dangerous-than-the-first/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z_4KHNaJwTE/hqdefault.jpg Why Adam's SECOND Sin Is More Dangerous Than the First Rabbi Greenberg explains the commandment to honor one's father and mother and why the Torah places it as the last statement on the first tablet, with the commandments between people and God. Honoring parents bridges both tablets: the Talmud says a person has three partners, father, mother and God, so honoring parents honors God, while the Chinuch explains the mitzvah as gratitude. Because it is also between people, one must ask a parent's forgiveness. He tells the Talmud's story of Dama ben Nesina, who would not wake his father to sell a jewel and was rewarded with a red heifer, and how the Rebbe never turned his back to his mother. He traces today's generation gap to two attitudes, rejecting authority and entitlement, and finds them in the first two sins: eating from the tree defied God's authority, and Adam's blaming "the woman You gave me" was ingratitude. Both come from letting emotions overrule the intellect; Chochmah and Binah are a person's inner father and mother, and the emotions are their children. Turning to "Do not murder," he explains that it parallels "I am God your God," since murder denies the divine image in every person, and that the Talmud counts publicly embarrassing someone as bloodshed. In exile people fail to see each other's inner worth; preparing for the Messianic age means learning to look at others that way. https://www.youtube.com/embed/z_4KHNaJwTE 2935 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-most-loving-people-sometimes-cause-the-most-harm/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QKAjhkQNJxo/hqdefault.jpg Why the Most Loving People Sometimes Cause the Most Harm During the Sefirah period, Rabbi Greenberg asks how Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students, who the Talmud says died in a plague because they did not treat one another with respect, could fail at the very value their teacher considered the great principle of the Torah: "Love your fellow as yourself." Their deaths were mourned like the destruction of the Temple because Rabbi Akiva had rekindled the light that the destruction extinguished. He presents three answers from the Rebbe. Each student felt the others did not love enough. More deeply, their love was so intense that each could not tolerate a friend he loved being wrong, so love without respect for difference produced conflict. In Kabbalistic terms, their souls stemmed from the world of Tohu, chaos, where powerful energies such as kindness and discipline cannot coexist. The Torah balances advance and retreat, as Rabbi Akiva did when he alone entered and left the "orchard" in peace. Lag BaOmer falls in the week of hod, submission, the humility needed for that balance. Rabbi Greenberg explains today's polarization as Tohu-like energy before Mashiach, who will fuse great light with vessels to contain it. He also discusses Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of Rabbi Akiva's five later students, who revealed hidden teachings on the day he passed away and asked that it be a day of joy. The class closes with the Rebbe's warm relationship with a writer who opposed his views, showing that love does not depend on agreement. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QKAjhkQNJxo 2960 2026-05-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-hidden-reasons-why-non-jewish-milk-remains-forbidden/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hr_6mPuGCyY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Hidden Reasons Why Non-Jewish Milk Remains Forbidden Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that milk in a non-Jew's possession is forbidden, lest he mixed in milk of a non-kosher animal. The Pri Chadash permits it where no non-kosher milk is available or where it costs more, but many authorities disagree. The Aruch HaShulchan holds that milk milked without a Jew present is forbidden regardless, since the sages' decrees have hidden reasons besides the revealed ones. Rav Chaim of Sanz cites a tradition of a hidden reason going back to Moshe Rabbeinu, and the Rebbe quotes the Previous Rebbe that such milk harms one's faith. Rav Moshe Feinstein held that where government regulation deters mixing, a strong presumption counts as seeing the milking. Rav Yaakov Breisch, author of the Chelkas Yaakov, disputes this, citing the ruling that milk milked for cheese, which non-kosher milk would not curdle, is still forbidden. Rav Moshe himself writes that a conscientious person should be stringent. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hr_6mPuGCyY 508 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-rabbi-gave-everything-away-and-got-it-all-back/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e_QYOCF5X2w/hqdefault.jpg This Rabbi Gave EVERYTHING Away — And Got It All Back Rabbi Greenberg studies the teaching of Rabbi Elazar of Bartosa in Pirkei Avos: "Give to Him of that which is His, for you and that which is yours are His," with King David's words, "For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand have we given You." He suggests Rabbi Elazar is called "the man of Bartosa" because he shaped his city. The Talmud relates that charity collectors avoided him, knowing he would give all he had. Once he gave away the money meant for his daughter's wedding to marry off two orphans, and a small amount of wheat he left in an empty granary miraculously filled it. Rabbi Greenberg asks how he could put strangers before his own family and exceed the 20 percent limit on tzedakah. One answer is that the orphans' need was urgent; he adds that a family educated to want the giving is not being slighted. The limit is waived for the very wealthy, for an immediate need in front of you, and when one gives for spiritual refinement, which is no less important than physical health. God keeps the poor's money with us in trust, which explains why, when it is uncertain whether money is owed to a poor person, the burden of proof falls on the holder. Citing a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, he compares the wealthy to an heir named as executor. The Rebbe explains that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi honored the rich for the trust God placed in them, wealth being a greater test than poverty. Teaching Torah is also tzedakah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/e_QYOCF5X2w 2432 2026-05-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-saying-oh-my-g-d-is-worse-than-idol-worship/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NGk-OogqdmI/hqdefault.jpg Why Saying 'Oh My G-d' Is Worse Than Idol Worship In the second class of his series on the Ten Statements, Rabbi Greenberg explains why taking God's name in vain is in one respect more serious than idol worship, and what the Sabbath means. Following the Sefer HaChinuch, an oath in vain is one that denies an obvious fact, affirms the obvious, swears to break a commandment, or swears to do the impossible, and Maimonides extends the prohibition to mentioning God's name needlessly. The Torah says God will not forgive this sin, and the Talmud says the world trembled when it was spoken. Rabbi Greenberg's own explanation is that other sins ignore or defy God, while a false or frivolous oath makes God an accomplice to the transgression. In the Messianic age, he says, the verse will read that God's name will no longer be compromised, since exile hides God's consistency. Turning to "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," he explains that Shabbos is remembered all week, as Shammai saved the best food for it, and that it is the last, first and central day of the week. During the week people are God's partners in creation; on Shabbos God creates through thought rather than speech, and a Jew is a guest at the King's table. Knowing where one comes from and where one is going, he says, makes Shabbos a cure for anxiety. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGk-OogqdmI 2996 2026-05-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/let-my-people-know-the-torah-secret-behind-israel-that-most-jews-don-t-know/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LwxsIFW7BTg/hqdefault.jpg Let My People Know: The Torah Secret Behind Israel That Most Jews Don't Know Rabbi Greenberg, in a Let My People Know conversation, explains the Jewish view of the Land of Israel, arguing that its significance today cannot be separated from its significance in the Bible. God chose the land, gave it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, and made it a place where His presence is felt more palpably. The mission the Jewish people received at Sinai required a home base, so Israel is more than a homeland for a people with nowhere else to go: it defines Jewish identity, which is why proposals for a Jewish homeland elsewhere, such as Grand Island or Uganda, were set aside. He addresses Jews who accept the land's holiness but not the legitimacy of the state, answering their argument from the Talmud's oath not to take the land by force with the parallel oath that the nations would not persecute the Jews. Criticism of an Israeli policy, he says, should be made constructively, as one would correct a parent, not in public. He praises Israel's policy of accepting every Jew, including Ethiopian Jews and Jews from the former Soviet Union. Aliyah means going up, and Israel's greatest influence, he says, has been to awaken Jews to their identity, as after the Six-Day War. Holidays have one day fewer in Israel, which he explains spiritually: the land's holiness means fewer days are needed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LwxsIFW7BTg 1634 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-battle-behind-counting-the-omer-that-nobody-teaches/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eHrsue1gyhs/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Battle Behind Counting the Omer That Nobody Teaches Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Sefirah, the counting of the Omer, and the debate between the Sages and the Sadducees over when the count begins. He first outlines Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the count, which marks a respite in the plague that killed Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students and the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who asked that the day be celebrated. The count links Pesach to Shavuos, since freedom without the responsibility of Torah does not last; this is why the Torah dates Shavuos only by counting from Pesach. The Sadducees read "the day after the Sabbath" as Sunday, making Shavuos always fall on a Sunday, while the oral tradition reads it as the day after Pesach. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that the Sadducees, influenced by Greek culture, valued external symmetry, while Judaism values inner beauty. He illustrates this with Rabbi Yehoshua's answer to the princess about wine kept in plain vessels, the water libation the Sadducees rejected, the crowd pelting a Sadducee high priest with esrogim, and Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai's reply that real love makes life meaningful, not merely convenient. He gives further meanings of the count: the people's yearning for the Torah, which defines a human being, and the hope that Haman saw in children discussing the Omer; preparation, since refining one's character precedes Torah; and, citing the Alter Rebbe in Likutei Torah, refining the animal soul, which is why the Omer is a barley offering, animal fodder. The Omer measure also recalls the manna: effort is only the vessel, and the blessing comes from God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eHrsue1gyhs 3012 2026-05-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/they-re-not-the-ten-commandments-here-s-what-they-really-are/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o9GGC586rG8/hqdefault.jpg They're NOT the Ten Commandments — Here's What They Really Are In the first class of a series on the Ten Statements, Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah calls them "statements" rather than commandments. The passage actually contains about 14 commandments, and a statement declares a fact rather than a command a person may accept or decline. At Sinai, he teaches, God gave the Jewish people a new nature that resists evil, so that sin became a rebellion against oneself; the Talmud says no one sins unless a spirit of insanity enters him. He also reviews features of the revelation: it was given to an entire nation, phrased in the singular to address each individual, had no echo, and the people "saw the sounds," which the Rebbe explains as spiritual things becoming as vivid as things seen. On the first statement, Rabbi Greenberg presents Maimonides' view that it is a commandment, Nachmanides' challenge, and the Abarbanel's answer that it teaches God's absolute existence. He offers his own rendering: God's essence and transcendence will permeate your consciousness, liberating you. True freedom is not doing whatever one wants but living by one's inner, Godly self. On the second statement, he renders it as a promise that the "gods of others" will vanish because all will be in God's presence, and links the Hebrew words for idols and depression: depression comes from worshipping one's own efforts and letting the body cover the soul, though medical help remains appropriate. https://www.youtube.com/embed/o9GGC586rG8 2570 2026-05-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-shocking-halachic-secret-hidden-in-one-verse/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MqTftFIcgNY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Shocking Halachic Secret Hidden in One Verse Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that the warning a husband must give before his wife can become a sotah, a wife suspected of adultery, cannot be given to a woman who cannot hear, based on the verse "and he shall say to the woman." He presents a question sent to the Maharsham about a husband away from home who wrote forbidding his wife to host a certain unscrupulous man, and whether a written warning counts. Many hold that an oath in writing is invalid because the Torah requires uttering it with the lips, while Rabbi Akiva Eiger allows counting the Omer in writing. The Maharsham proves from the Rambam that a written warning is valid, since a verse would not be needed to exclude a deaf woman unless writing could otherwise serve. The warning's purpose is to convey the husband's wish, and he cites a Midrash on Yisro's message to Moshe as further support. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MqTftFIcgNY 342 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-god-is-between-torah-learners-not-just-with-them/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gXhaut3xr5g/hqdefault.jpg Why God Is "Between" Torah Learners — Not Just "With" Them Rabbi Greenberg teaches Pirkei Avos 3:6, where Rabbi Chalafta ben Dosa says that when ten sit and occupy themselves with Torah, the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, rests among them, and that the same is true of five, three, two and even one, each proven from a verse. "Occupy themselves" uses the language of business: Torah should absorb a person the way a business absorbs its owner. The proof that ten make a congregation comes from the ten spies, whom the Torah calls an evil congregation, which teaches that even people on a low level should study Torah, since its light will bring them back. Since God is present everywhere, Rabbi Greenberg explains that the mishnah speaks of how palpably His presence is felt, which grows with the number studying. Ten is ideal because ten Jews represent the whole Jewish people. He suggests why the Talmud says the Shechinah is "with" ten who pray but "between" ten who learn: in prayer each person asks for his own needs, while in study all absorb the same divine wisdom, which binds them together, as water binds flour into dough. He also proposes, as his own suggestion, that the sage is identified by his town because Torah study uplifts not only the learner but his whole town, noting that the Hebrew word nes, miracle, means something raised up. Five, three and two each carry Torah symbolism, and the Alter Rebbe reads "one nation on earth" as the nation that brings God's oneness into the world. The class closes with the blessing over Torah study, which shows appreciation for the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gXhaut3xr5g 2735 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moshiach-on-the-threshold-deprogramming-exile-mentality/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mKbVWyPzVqY/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach on the Threshold: Deprogramming Exile Mentality Rabbi Greenberg explains the Rebbe's teaching that Mashiach is on the threshold, and why we must deprogram ourselves from an exile mentality to bring him in. The Malbim compares the journey to redemption to a trip on which one asks about the destination only near the end; the Rebbe went further, saying Mashiach stands at the door and the Messianic feast is already on the table, so we need only open our eyes. Long exile has desensitized us like fumes, and we have come to identify with it, as in Stockholm syndrome. A parable of a contestant who recovers in a cottage on the way to the king's palace shows how the Jewish people, beaten in the Holocaust, were given America and the Land of Israel to regain strength, though these are not the final redemption. Preparing for Mashiach resembles counting the Omer, which counts up rather than down because each day already draws in some of the coming revelation, just as Jacob's seven years seemed like a few days. Living with Mashiach means behaving now as we would in a perfected world and working on the seven attributes of the Omer, such as kindness, which the Rebbe told CNN was what is needed. The Rebbe said the most direct way to bring redemption is studying the parts of Torah that deal with it: this corrects non-Jewish ideas of Mashiach, who is a human leader, not God, and Torah can change our mindset. As the Rebbe said, exile is the dream and Mashiach is the norm. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mKbVWyPzVqY 3213 2026-04-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-husband-s-get-shliach-can-delegate-but-wife-s-can-t/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ray28_-6m8w/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Husband’s Get Shliach Can Delegate… But Wife’s Can’t! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that an agent for a get may appoint another agent. The Maggid Mishneh cites the Ramban and others who limit this to the husband's agent, who delivers the get, and exclude the wife's agent, who receives it on her behalf. The reason is the Gemara's rule that mere words cannot be handed on to another agent: the husband's agent passes on the get itself, while the wife's agent would pass on only the right to act for her. The Tzemach Tzedek asks that even the husband's agent conveys words, since the get must be given with the statement "this is your get." He answers that the essence of the agency is handing over the get, and the statement is secondary: a get given without it while the couple was discussing the divorce is valid, so, as Rabbi Greenberg understands him, the words only show the purpose and the get itself does everything. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ray28_-6m8w 236 2026-04-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-yoke-that-sets-you-free-ancient-secret-to-eliminating-anxiety/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HZjqIRqDwbo/hqdefault.jpg The Yoke That Sets You Free: Ancient Secret to Eliminating Anxiety Rabbi Greenberg teaches Pirkei Avos 3:5, where Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakana says that whoever accepts the yoke of Torah is freed from the yoke of government and of worldly concerns, while whoever casts it off has those yokes placed upon him. He introduces Rabbi Nechunya as a disciple of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, a Kabbalist known for the Sefer HaBahir, who attributed his long life to never gaining honor at another's expense and never going to bed with ill feelings toward others. Accepting the yoke means studying Torah because God commands it, not only when it is enjoyable. Rabbi Greenberg gives three reasons: it gets a beginner started, it carries a person through spiritual lows, and it pushes even an accomplished scholar beyond his comfort zone, as in the story of the Alter Rebbe's grandson who declined a gift of understanding from his grandfather and later regretted it. Since a person is born to toil, he suggests the mishnah is saying that the anxiety that comes with hardship is worse than the hardship itself, and that toiling in Torah lifts that anxiety. He cites Rabbi Soloveitchik's explanation that fearing God removes all other fears, and the Chofetz Chaim's parable of a passenger who keeps holding his load on the wagon. He adds that earthly government reflects God's rule, so one should trust its Source. Historical examples follow: the tribe of Levi was not enslaved in Egypt, the generation that ate the manna did not work for food, and Chizkiyahu's Torah-filled kingdom was saved from Sancheriv. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HZjqIRqDwbo 2852 2026-04-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-king-hezekiah-lost-his-chance-to-be-mashiach-and-what-it-teaches-us/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PRwubH0o3B8/hqdefault.jpg Why King Hezekiah Lost His Chance to Be Mashiach – And What It Teaches Us Rabbi Greenberg explains what the Jewish people are waiting for in the coming of Mashiach and how to prepare for it. He shows that the belief is central to Judaism: Maimonides counts it among the 13 principles of faith, and several blessings of the Shmoneh Esrei ask for redemption. The Talmud calls a human being "maveh," a seeker, because people are defined by their aspirations, and it teaches that the world was created only for Mashiach. He sets out three views of the Messianic age: a utopia, a reward for good deeds, or the fulfillment of the purpose of creation. On the third view, everything in that age depends on our mitzvos. Since Sinai, each mitzvah changes the physical world irreversibly, even when we cannot see it, like money deposited in a bank, and Maimonides teaches that a single mitzvah can tip the scales for the whole world. Rabbi Greenberg then lists ways to bring the redemption: yearning and praying for it, tzedakah, Torah study, Shabbos candles and Shabbos, teshuvah, bringing children into the world, quoting sources, senseless love, joy, finding new Torah insights, and gratitude for miracles. The Talmud says King Hezekiah could have been Mashiach but lost the chance because he did not express gratitude for the miracle that saved Jerusalem from the Assyrian army. He closes by teaching that we now live in a Messianic environment, yet remain free to breathe in the "fumes" of exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PRwubH0o3B8 3199 2026-04-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-pre-matan-torah-secret-that-proves-simchas-can-t-mix/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G4XBNkt9bYM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Pre-Matan Torah Secret That Proves Simchas CAN’T Mix Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling in the laws of marriage that one may not marry even on the intermediate days of a festival, because "we do not mix one rejoicing with another," as Lavan told Yaakov to complete Leah's wedding week before marrying Rachel. Since halachah is not derived from events before the giving of the Torah, the Rebbe explains that this verse decides between two logical arguments: one rejoicing might enhance another or stand in its way, and the verse shows that the second prevails. In the laws of Yom Tov the Rambam states the same ruling without the verse, giving a different reason: so that the joy of marriage does not displace the joy of the festival. Rabbi Greenberg explains that a law the Rambam repeats usually has two sources: there the concern is the festival's own joy, while here it is a restriction within the mitzvah of marriage itself. https://www.youtube.com/embed/G4XBNkt9bYM 369 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-your-mind-must-never-be-idle-rabbi-chanina-s-torah-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GUXyWw2KdgA/hqdefault.jpg Why Your Mind Must Never Be Idle: Rabbi Chanina’s Torah Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos in which Rabbi Chanina ben Chakhinai teaches that one who wakes at night, or travels alone, and turns his heart to idle matters is mortally guilty. He first describes Rabbi Chanina, one of the Ten Martyrs, from accounts in the Talmud: he fasted from age 12 to 95, left Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's wedding celebration early to return to his study, and stayed away studying with Rabbi Akiva for 12 years. He was executed on a Friday while reciting Kiddush, at the words "and He sanctified." On one reading, Rabbi Chanina asks for Torah study even at times least suited to it, going beyond the earlier Mishnayos. Rabbi Greenberg explains that a few people must be extreme so that everyone else does not slip down a rung, like a boiler room that must be hot so the building stays warm. Rabbenu Yonah reads it the opposite way: these are times free of distraction, so wasting them shows a lack of passion for Torah. The Me'iri reads it as practical advice about sleep, safety and idleness, and another commentary reads night as old age and traveling alone as a life kept to oneself. A Chassidic interpretation sees a tzaddik who cannot rest in the night of exile, illustrated by the Rebbe praying for days at his father-in-law's resting place for an injured woman. Rabbi Greenberg concludes that while mitzvos rest mainly on obligation, Torah study must be driven by love to endure. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GUXyWw2KdgA 2560 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-does-the-rambam-hold-you-don-t-wear-tefillin-on-chol-hamoed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q_AfvN0sBmI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Does the Rambam Hold You Don't Wear Tefillin on Chol HaMoed? Rabbi Greenberg examines the Rambam's ruling that writing is forbidden on Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of the festivals, with two exceptions: a person may write tefillin for himself, and one who has nothing to eat may write and sell enough for his sustenance. The Kesef Mishneh infers that the Rambam holds tefillin are not worn on Chol HaMoed, which raises the question of why one may write tefillin for himself; the explanation given is that he will need them right after the festival. Yet in Hilchos Tefillin the Kesef Mishneh reads the same permission as implying that tefillin are worn on Chol HaMoed. Rabbi Greenberg discusses attempts to reconcile the two readings, and the Binyan Shlomo's explanation of why the permission does not cover a mezuzah, which is needed during the festival itself. He also addresses the Zohar's statement that tefillin are not worn on Chol HaMoed, and whether the Rambam was aware of it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q_AfvN0sBmI 374 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-even-sinners-get-rest-on-shabbos-here-s-what-that-really-means/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r6L6VBzxof4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Even SINNERS Get Rest on Shabbos — Here's What That Really Means! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that courts do not carry out punishments on Shabbos: although punishing a convicted sinner is a positive mitzvah, it does not override Shabbos, so neither lashes nor the death penalty nor other punishments are administered. The Magen Avraham notes that the Rambam adds lashes, which the Talmud does not mention, and lists them first. Since lashes involve no forbidden labor, except perhaps by causing a wound, and the Rambam includes other punishments without qualification, he evidently forbids every punishment on Shabbos. The Sefer HaChinuch, which usually follows the Rambam, rules that judges may not even issue a sentence on Shabbos, so that even sinners have rest. Rabbi Yerucham Fishel Perla cites this as the Rambam's source and explains that the prohibition concerns the court's act of punishing, even by ruling alone, which is why the Rambam lists lashes first, though he does not say so explicitly. https://www.youtube.com/embed/r6L6VBzxof4 407 2026-03-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-can-you-bless-food-you-don-t-want-to-eat-the-answer-will-shock-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gl63bCeqHA0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Can You Bless Food You DON'T Want to Eat? (The Answer Will Shock You!) Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who has already fulfilled his obligation may still recite a blessing for others, since all Jews are responsible for one another. The exception is birchos hanehenin, blessings over food and other benefit, which he may recite for others only if he is eating too, unless the benefit is part of a mitzvah, such as eating matzah on Pesach night or drinking wine for Kiddush. The Ma'aseh HaMelech asks why one forced to eat matzah fulfills the mitzvah while one forced to eat food recites no blessing, and the Magen Avraham finds the same contradiction in the Rama. Rabbi Greenberg presents the Alter Rebbe's answer: a healthy person forced by bandits to eat does not bless, since one cannot thank God for food he does not want, while a sick person forced to eat for healing does. Forced eating still involves benefit, and that benefit is part of the mitzvah of matzah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gl63bCeqHA0 397 2026-03-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-the-rambam-says-al-hanisim-differently-for-purim-and-chanukah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0sHmO3iVjag/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why the Rambam Says Al Hanisim Differently for Purim and Chanukah! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's text of Al HaNisim, the thanksgiving added to the prayers on Chanukah and Purim. For Chanukah it includes "and for the wars" and "for the redemption and deliverance," while the Purim text has neither. He explains that redemption means freedom from subjugation to foreign rule, which, the Rambam rules, is the only difference between exile and the days of Moshiach. After Purim the Jews remained subjects of Achashverosh, as the Gemara in Megillah says in explaining why Hallel is not said, so Purim was a salvation but not a redemption, while Chanukah ended foreign rule. Yet on Purim everyone had to fight, which, the Rebbe explains, is why only Queen Esther could fast and the fast bears her name. Rabbi Greenberg answers that Al HaNisim speaks of open miracles: on Chanukah the victory of the many delivered into the hands of the few was itself the miracle, while Purim's miracle was clothed in nature. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0sHmO3iVjag 280 2026-03-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/he-stood-8-hours-in-freezing-cold-at-88-the-rebbe-s-incredible-story/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YgihAwMruUI/hqdefault.jpg He Stood 8 Hours in Freezing Cold at 88 — The Rebbe's Incredible Story Rabbi Greenberg surveys the life, character and achievements of the Rebbe. A child prodigy taught at home by his father, the Rebbe married the daughter of the previous Rebbe, studied in Berlin and Paris, earned a degree in electrical engineering, and worked for the U.S. Navy after arriving in America in 1941. After the previous Rebbe passed away in 1950, the Rebbe refused the leadership for a full year and accepted it only when his wife told him her father's work would otherwise be lost. He always called his father-in-law "the Rebbe," and stood at his resting place for hours in summer heat and winter cold, praying for those who had asked for blessings, eventually twice a week in his late 80s. Rabbi Greenberg describes the Rebbe's traits: simple faith alongside wide scientific and secular knowledge, faith in the Jewish people and in the power of a single mitzvah, insistence on positive language, and humility combined with firmness on Torah principles and Jewish security. He left close to 300 volumes of teachings, often speaking for hours without notes. He then outlines how the Rebbe moved Jewish life after the Holocaust from defense to offense: emissaries around the world, mitzvah campaigns, public menorahs, distinct roles for women, children and senior citizens, and spreading the seven Noahide laws among non-Jews. Quoting Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, he notes that where Hitler sought out every Jew with hatred, the Rebbe sought out every Jew with love, and that great leaders produce leaders. He closes with how he himself was asked to go to Australia as a young emissary. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YgihAwMruUI 3404 2026-03-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/they-jailed-this-rabbi-for-revealing-these-torah-secrets/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gUTbvIkT0FE/hqdefault.jpg They Jailed This Rabbi for Revealing These Torah Secrets In the fifth class of his series on revolutions of the soul, Rabbi Greenberg explains the Chassidic revolution: what it is, why it was needed, and why it met opposition. A legitimate revolution in Judaism, he says, changes nothing but reveals a deeper dimension of Torah that was always there, and the test is whether it strengthens observance. Every new spiritual light also provokes opposition from above, as the Alter Rebbe learned in prison, when the Maggid of Mezritch and the Baal Shem Tov told him the charges against him came from on high but that he could keep teaching. Unlike Kabbalah, which used physical imagery, was taught to the spiritual elite and was joined to fasting and self-denial, Chassidus strips away the imagery, opens these teachings to everyone and involves the body in serving God with joy. Kabbalah is the map, he says, while Chassidus drives the car. It came after the massacres of 1648 and 1649, the false messiah Shabbetai Zevi, and a split between learned Jews and simple Jews who were made to feel worthless. Rabbi Greenberg tells the Baal Shem Tov's story: orphaned young, he joined the hidden tzaddikim, learned from Elijah that simple Jews' sincere praise stirs the heavens more than the mystics' meditations, and was told by the prophet Achiyah to go public. He outlines the Maggid's spread of the movement, the opposition of the Vilna Gaon fed by false reports, and the Baal Shem Tov's teachings on Divine immanence, Divine providence, joy and love of every Jew. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gUTbvIkT0FE 3748 2026-03-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/jacob-is-standing-behind-you-and-here-s-why-that-matters/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iZDYR2tpaKQ/hqdefault.jpg Jacob Is Standing Behind You — And Here's Why That Matters Rabbi Greenberg begins chapter 3 of Pirkei Avos with the Mishnah of Akavia ben Mahalalel: reflect on three things and you will not come into the hands of sin, namely where you came from, where you are going, and before whom you will give an accounting. After a note on Shushan Purim, he explains why the earliest sages carry no title, and recounts Akavia's refusal to change his rulings even for a high position and his deathbed instruction to his sons to follow the majority. He explains "the hands of sin" as traits that lead to sin, or sins that come to hand without planning, and teaches that a sin creates a destructive force that holds a person hostage, though free choice always allows one to break free. He then presents the Rebbe's reading that the Mishnah's three clauses address three audiences: the righteous, who need only reflect on basic principles; those who struggle, who must know their soul comes from Heaven, returns there and will be judged fairly by God; and those at the bottom, who need the jolt of the putrid drop and the worms. Finally, he links the three questions to those Esau's men would ask Jacob's servants, answering that every Jew has a pedigree, that a poor person's offering brings his soul, and that with Jacob behind us we stand on the shoulders of the great and will finish their work. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iZDYR2tpaKQ 2529 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-jewish-secret-too-dangerous-to-teach-until-now/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MX7TuW8M5ho/hqdefault.jpg The Jewish Secret Too Dangerous to Teach — Until Now In the fourth class of his series on revolutions of the soul, Rabbi Greenberg explains what Kabbalah is, why it was kept secret for centuries, and why it spread in sixteenth-century Safed. Judaism, he says, is both rational and mystical: Jewish law is the body of Torah and Kabbalah its soul, and every great Kabbalist was also a great Talmudic scholar. Unlike Talmudic insight, Kabbalah must be received, from Elijah the prophet or from an earlier master. He traces its texts from Sefer Yetzirah to the Zohar, attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Kabbalah was guarded because its physical imagery could lead people to imagine God has a body, its ideas could be distorted or mixed with foreign beliefs, its powers could be abused, and spirituality could be cut off from observance. It opened up, he explains, because the Jewish people, weakened by exile and the Spanish expulsion, needed reviving like smelling salts, and because the approaching Messianic age requires a revelation of Torah's inner wisdom. He then presents the Ramak, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, who systematized earlier Kabbalah in Pardes Rimmonim and wrote the ethical work Tomer Devorah, and the Arizal, who in two and a half years in Safed transformed Kabbalah, teaching mainly through Rabbi Chaim Vital. He outlines the Arizal's doctrine of tzimtzum, God's withdrawal of His light to make room for the worlds, and in the questions explains why most Kabbalists frowned on practical Kabbalah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MX7TuW8M5ho 4389 2026-03-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-rambam-contradiction-that-stumped-scholars-for-centuries-solved/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S4Xhhv6nbi4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Rambam Contradiction That Stumped Scholars for Centuries – SOLVED! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a synagogue may not be demolished to build another until the new one is built, but if its foundations have given way or its walls are about to fall, it is demolished at once and rebuilt quickly, by day and by night. This is difficult, since a synagogue resembles the Temple in many laws, and the Temple may not be built at night. Suggested answers include treating the emergency as after the fact and holding that a synagogue's holiness is rabbinic. Rabbi Greenberg answers from the Rebbe's distinction between the mitzvah to build a sanctuary and the sanctuary's holiness. The Rambam may hold that building at night does not affect the mitzvah but diminishes the Temple's holiness, since night is a secondary time for the Temple service; this explains why preparations may be done at night. A synagogue's lesser holiness is not affected, so it may be built at night. https://www.youtube.com/embed/S4Xhhv6nbi4 361 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/you-don-t-have-to-finish-but-you-can-t-give-up/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rbUNPkZADnQ/hqdefault.jpg You Don't Have to Finish — But You Can't Give Up Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Tarfon's teaching at the end of the second chapter of Pirkei Avos: it is not your duty to finish the work, but you are not free to neglect it. Following Rabbi Tarfon's previous teaching that the day is short and the work great, it answers both the person who despairs of starting and the one who, freed from finishing, would take his time. Moses designated three cities of refuge east of the Jordan although they would not take effect until the other three were designated in the Land, and although the Talmud says credit goes to the one who completes a mitzvah. Pharaoh's daughter stretched out her arm for a basket beyond her reach, and a Chassid imprisoned in Siberia walked to the camp gates to send the previous Rebbe a letter in his mind, saying he had to do his part. Rabbi Greenberg describes two opposite traits of the Rebbe: he was cheered by a child's letter about praying before boarding the school bus, yet asked authors when volume two was coming. He adds that a Jew is not free to run from Judaism, since true freedom is doing what the soul really wants. The Mishnah calls the reward both a gift and a payment: we are paid for our work, but the full gift can only be received in the World to Come, as in the Chofetz Chaim's parable of a check too large for a small-town bank. Earlier generations started the work toward Mashiach; this generation, standing on their shoulders, must try to complete it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rbUNPkZADnQ 2560 2026-02-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/psychology-confirms-3-000-year-torah-secret-about-pain/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hMZa-6vokT8/hqdefault.jpg Psychology Confirms 3,000-Year Torah Secret About Pain In the eighth class of his Exodus series, Rabbi Greenberg explains the plagues of darkness and the firstborn, both as punishments and as stages of a therapy for leaving one's own Egypt. He asks why darkness, which harmed no one physically, comes between the two deadliest plagues. One answer is that for a human being fear and emotional pain can be more destructive than physical pain, which he illustrates with a psychology experiment he considered unethical. A Chassidic reading adds that "a man saw not his fellow" describes blindness to others, the slavery of narcissism, shown in a story about a generous man whom wealth turned into a miser. Following Rashi, he explains that the darkness hid the burial of Israelites who did not want to leave Egypt and let the people see the Egyptians' treasures. In the therapy, this means burying the subconscious attachment to Egypt, which he compares to Stockholm syndrome, and recovering hidden treasures, including those found in suffering, which should never be sought but should be valued once endured. He links this to the ninth commandment: Jews are to be God's witnesses in hard times as well as good. Citing the Tzemach Tzedek, he explains that the plague of the firstborn came at midnight, the point that unites and transcends justice and kindness, since the Jews then were hardly distinguishable from the Egyptians. The firstborn represents continuity and ego; the destruction of Egypt's elite established the immortality and healthy ego of the Jewish people. He links this to the tenth commandment against coveting and to the essence of the soul that Mashiach will reveal. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMZa-6vokT8 2477 2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-1-000-year-old-jewish-answer-to-why-do-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YESJwgCgDtI/hqdefault.jpg The 1,000-Year-Old Jewish Answer to 'Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People' Rabbi Greenberg's third class on revolutions of the soul covers the medieval intellectual revolution, when Jewish faith met the challenge of philosophy. He opens with the idea that teachings come into the world when the world is ready for them, then describes the backdrop: Jews under the Abbasid caliphate encountering Islamic philosophy built on translated Greek works, a shift from farms to cities, and the Karaite schism begun by Anan ben David, which rejected the Oral Torah. Rabbi Saadia Gaon, born in Egypt, rose to lead Babylonian Jewry after resolving a calendar dispute between the rabbis of Israel and Babylonia. His Book of Beliefs and Opinions was the first systematic presentation of Judaism as a rational system: pure reasoning reaches the Torah's central beliefs, while revelation supplies the details. He argued that the world was created, read the Torah's physical descriptions of God as metaphors, offered four explanations for the suffering of the righteous, and rejected reincarnation. Rabbi Bachya ibn Pakuda turned inward with Duties of the Heart, stressing feelings and attitudes alongside action. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi's Kuzari grounded faith in the national revelation at Sinai rather than philosophical proofs, and gave the Land of Israel a central place. Maimonides taught that God can only be described by what He is not, that the world's eternity can be neither proved nor disproved, and that many mitzvos distance us from idolatry. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YESJwgCgDtI 4057 2026-02-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-did-he-write-both-beis-hamikdash-and-mizbeach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a63pjE4k-2w/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Did He Write BOTH Beis HaMikdash AND Mizbeach? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's statement that nowadays, when the Beis HaMikdash is not standing and we have no altar of atonement, offerings cannot be brought and only teshuvah, repentance, remains. Since every word of the Rambam is precise, he asks why the Rambam mentions both the Beis HaMikdash and the altar. He explains that the Rambam rules in Hilchos Beis HaBechirah that offerings may be brought on the Temple site even without the building, since the original sanctification of the site was for its own time and for the future. Mentioning only the missing Beis HaMikdash would therefore not explain why offerings cannot be brought; the reason is that an altar is still required. Rabbi Greenberg notes a novel view that some offerings need the Beis HaMikdash but not an altar, which others reject and which the Rambam does not seem to hold, so the question of why he mentions the Beis HaMikdash remains. https://www.youtube.com/embed/a63pjE4k-2w 200 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/i-was-wrong-about-procrastination-for-20-years-rabbi-reveals-why/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mAOwLQvAEoY/hqdefault.jpg I Was WRONG About Procrastination For 20 Years - Rabbi Reveals Why Rabbi Greenberg teaches the mishnah in Pirkei Avos in which Rabbi Tarfon says: the day is short, the work is plentiful, the laborers are lazy, the reward is great, and the master of the house is pressing. He first introduces Rabbi Tarfon: a kohen who served in the second Beis HaMikdash, a disciple of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, wealthy and exceedingly charitable, devoted to his mother, and humble. During a famine he betrothed 300 women so that they could legally eat terumah, the kohen's portion. One commentator lists five excuses for procrastination, and Rabbi Tarfon's words refute each. The Bartenura explains that life is short and Torah is vast. "The day is short" may also mean that in a time of suffering after the destruction there is little light, which makes every task feel heavier. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter advised imagining that you are the only person in the world, that this is your only chance to do the mitzvah, and that today is your last day. Rabbi Greenberg explains that the more important something is, the more resistance we feel to it, illustrated by a Chassid who stayed up every Thursday night with ease until the Previous Rebbe advised him to do so. Because Pirkei Avos speaks to those who want to go beyond the letter of the law, Rabbi Tarfon is telling people who already learn diligently not to be content with their level. Judaism means always moving, since staying in one place is a kind of prison. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mAOwLQvAEoY 2433 2026-02-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-fire-and-ice-miracle-that-changes-everything-about-freedom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xSYyqljOEkI/hqdefault.jpg The Fire & Ice Miracle That Changes Everything About Freedom In the seventh class of his Exodus series, Rabbi Greenberg reviews the first six plagues as stages of an educational process and then explains the lessons of the seventh and eighth plagues, hail and locusts. The hail was the first deadly plague and the first whose miracle could be seen constantly: fire inside ice. Citing the Rebbe, he explains that it combined opposites: fire and water at peace, harsh judgment together with the compassion of a warning to stay indoors, and the timeless four-letter Name acting at a precise moment marked on the wall. The lesson is that slavery reduces a person to one dimension, while freedom means living in many directions, intellectual, emotional and practical, without being torn apart. The command to bring everything inside teaches that one overarching purpose, God's oneness, unifies all of a person's activity, while staying outside exposes him to destructive passion (fire) and cold indifference (ice). He links this to the seventh commandment against adultery and to refuting the pagan belief in many gods. On the locusts, he discusses why God told Moses to go to Pharaoh because He had hardened his heart, including the view of a Chassidic master that Moses envied Pharaoh's tenacity, and his own reading that God was relieving the humble Moses of blame. The locusts covering "the eye of the land" represent seeing the world from the inside out, like Shabbos as the first day of the week, and he links this to the eighth commandment against theft. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xSYyqljOEkI 2441 2026-02-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-2-types-of-people-you-must-call-out-and-how/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EfZav0uPdvA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The 2 Types of People You MUST Call Out (And How!) Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who sees his fellow sinning, or going on a path that is not good, must bring him back and tell him he is harming himself, as the Torah says, "You shall surely rebuke your fellow." He asks what the second category adds. The Turei Even says sinning means violating a prohibition and a bad path means neglecting a positive mitzvah. Others cite Eli's rebuke of Chana, whom he thought was drunk, from which the Talmud requires rebuking improper conduct that, as Tosafos notes, is not an outright prohibition. Rabbi Greenberg finds both difficult. He offers two approaches. The Rambam's laws of teshuvah (repentance) require repenting from attitudes such as anger, hatred and jealousy, so a bad path may mean such inner faults. Alternatively, following the Rebbe on Pirkei Avos, it means permitted desires that lead to sin, which fits the Sefer HaMitzvos, where the Rambam requires rebuke even before one sins. https://www.youtube.com/embed/EfZav0uPdvA 346 2026-02-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-rabbi-lost-everything-when-he-went-on-vacation-the-lesson-will-change-your-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rZRR9v7xV6I/hqdefault.jpg This Rabbi Lost Everything When He Went On Vacation (The Lesson Will Change Your Life) Rabbi Greenberg studies the teaching of Rabbi Elazar ben Arach in Pirkei Avos: be diligent in Torah study, know how to answer an apikores (a heretic), and know before whom you toil, for your employer will pay your reward. Rabbi Elazar was the greatest of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's five students, yet he is the least quoted in the Talmud. One commentator explains that he left his colleagues for a place of comfort and luxury and forgot his learning, so he was the right person to urge diligence. Rabbi Greenberg adds that a vacation taken to return refreshed is fine, but rest as an end in itself is a decline. On the apikores, he brings several readings: know the answers but do not debate a mocker; answer the rebellious, "free-for-all" part inside every person; and answer with humility, since nothing reaches a person whose ego is closed. He argues there is no true atheist, only the uneducated or those angry at a God they say they do not believe in. On reward, he explains that God, unlike an employer, values the effort more than the results. A devoted person may want reward so that God's justice is seen, which will be complete only with Mashiach. He cites Maimonides that the Torah's material promises are means to keep doing good, and a story of the Rebbe Rashab, who insisted his son accept travel expenses so the animal soul would not steer him toward the cheaper, lesser path. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rZRR9v7xV6I 2479 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-tefillin-is-two-mitzvot-not-one-the-answer-will-surprise-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N10aJfD8t4c/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Tefillin is TWO Mitzvot (Not One!) - The Answer Will Surprise You Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's counting of the tefillin of the head and the tefillin of the arm as two separate positive commandments. The Rambam himself rules that parts serving one objective count as a single mitzvah even when each can be fulfilled without the other, which is why the white and blue threads of tzitzis are one mitzvah, and the Ramban asks why tefillin are not treated the same way. The Rivash answers that tzitzis involve one action, wearing the garment, while the two tefillin are put on in separate actions. But the Rambam counts reading the Shema morning and evening as one mitzvah, since it is one function repeated. The Rebbe, based on the Rogatchover, explains that the two tefillin have separate functions: the mitzvah of the head tefillin is that they be on the head, a continuing state, while the mitzvah of the arm tefillin is the act of binding them. https://www.youtube.com/embed/N10aJfD8t4c 234 2026-02-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-being-god-fearing-can-make-you-evil-torah-s-shocking-truth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yC7AMcSLH9Q/hqdefault.jpg Why Being God-Fearing Can Make You EVIL (Torah's Shocking Truth) Rabbi Greenberg explains the fifth and sixth plagues in the sixth class of his series on the Exodus, which treats the plagues both as an education about God and as steps for freeing ourselves from our own Egypt, whose Hebrew name means confinement. After reviewing the first four plagues, which discredited Egypt's idol intellectually and emotionally, showed that God is found in the small and that change must be gradual, and revealed God's unique bond with Israel, he notes that the plagues grow steadily harsher. That progression teaches that rebuke must begin gently, as the Rambam explains, and the previous Rebbe compared effective rebuke to a bathhouse, where a person is first raised up and warmed. The fifth plague killed only the Egyptians' animals, teaching that the animal soul must also be refined and brought along; jealousy, pursuit of honor and pursuit of pleasure can be channeled for good, and loving God "with all your heart" includes both inclinations. It parallels the fifth commandment, honoring parents, which gives order to the non-spiritual side of life. The sixth plague, boils, struck the Egyptians' bodies and broke down their whole mindset, and it parallels "Do not murder." Rashi explains that the animals afflicted were those brought indoors by Egyptians who heeded Moses' warning, and Rabbi Greenberg draws from this that people can fear God and still enslave and murder; read side by side, the two tablets link belief in God with not murdering. After this plague God hardened Pharaoh's heart. The Rambam sees this as punishment for his earlier choices, while the Rebbe teaches that Pharaoh could still have overcome it, since God never takes away a person's ability to change. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yC7AMcSLH9Q 2620 2026-02-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-2-000-year-old-jewish-secret-just-changed-everything-about-prayer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Sjto4kyhJCw/hqdefault.jpg This 2,000-Year-Old Jewish Secret Just Changed EVERYTHING About Prayer Rabbi Greenberg opens a series on revolutions in Jewish history with the Men of the Great Assembly, about 120 leaders centered on Ezra, including the last prophets, Mordechai and Daniel, who guided the Jewish people through the transition from the era of prophecy to the era of the sages early in the Second Temple period. He sets out principles of Jewish history, including divine providence and the link between the people's physical security and their spiritual integrity, then traces the background: the decline at the end of the First Temple era, the Babylonian exile, the limited return under Zerubbabel, and Ezra, who stayed in Babylon to complete his studies under Baruch ben Neriah and later led a revival with Nehemiah. In the First Temple era God spoke through prophets and holiness was overt, but idolatry flourished as a counterforce. The Second Temple lacked five things the First had, so spirituality had to come from the people's own efforts. The Men of the Great Assembly prayed for the removal of the desire for idolatry, closed the 24 books of the Bible, instituted the Aramaic translation, systematized the Oral Torah, and composed the Shemoneh Esrei, blessings and Kiddush, giving people a framework for prayer. The Talmud says they earned their name by restoring the praise of God as great, mighty and awesome. Rabbi Greenberg explains their three teachings in Pirkei Avos, to be deliberate in judgment, raise many students and make a fence for the Torah, as responses to a spiritually diminished age, and draws modern lessons: a shared liturgy unites Jews across time and place, personal "fences" protect what we value, and Jewish identity is earned through one's own learning. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sjto4kyhJCw 3794 2026-02-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-one-mistake-that-made-judaism-s-greatest-scholar-forget-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lWXMRyD9Zhw/hqdefault.jpg The ONE Mistake That Made Judaism's Greatest Scholar Forget EVERYTHING Rabbi Greenberg begins Pirkei Avos 2:14, the teachings of Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, the last of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai's five disciples: be diligent in Torah study, know how to answer an apikores (a heretic), and know before whom you toil. He explains that Torah study is preeminent because it leads to the mitzvos, yet one must interrupt study to help someone when no one else can. Diligence means continuing to study no matter how much one knows, as the Rogatchover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosen, and Rabbi Hirschprung of Montreal, who knew the Talmud by heart, never stopped reviewing. Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, praised as a gushing fountain of new insight, needed this more than most, since creative thinkers can drift from their sources. Rabbi Greenberg suggests the teaching was addressed to himself: after he went off to enjoy a place of pleasures, the Talmud relates that he forgot his learning and misread a verse about the new month, until his colleagues prayed for him. The Hebrew words for forgetting (328) and remembering (227) differ by 101, recalling the 101st review that goes beyond the norm. Answering a heretic requires knowledge; Rabbi Greenberg links the word apikores to hefker, ownerless, describing someone with no standards. One responds to defend the honor of Judaism, but only with real knowledge, and the Rebbe discouraged religious debates with Christians. Rabbi Moshe of Sassov taught that even heresy has a positive use: when someone needs help, act as though no one else, not even God, will do it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lWXMRyD9Zhw 2346 2026-02-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-jewish-wisdom-that-solves-the-problem-of-unanswered-prayer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jp9CMYzuuds/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Jewish Wisdom That Solves the Problem of Unanswered Prayer In this fifth class of a series on the Exodus, Rabbi Greenberg explains the second, third and fourth plagues as stages in refining the world and educating Egypt and Israel. The blood showed the Nile was no god; the frogs made it repulsive, breaking the emotional attachment to it. The Talmud says Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah learned self-sacrifice from the frogs that entered the ovens. Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah disagree whether one frog multiplied or summoned the rest; Rabbi Greenberg relates this to how redemption comes, both through a leader and his emissaries and through the spark of redemption already within every Jew. Pharaoh asked Moses to pray that the frogs stop "tomorrow" so that the people would doubt God when prayer is not answered at once, a question many people ask when their own prayers seem delayed. The lice, which the magicians could not copy because their power did not extend to anything smaller than a barley grain, showed "the finger of God": unlike the pagan view that God is too great to care about small things, for the infinite God big and small are alike, and one mitzvah outweighs the universe. The wild animals, which spared the Israelites, showed Israel's distinct identity, paralleling Shabbos, and the need to know when to unite and when to stay separate. Marking the completion of the yearly study of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah, he reads its last two paragraphs: the sages longed for Mashiach not for power or pleasure but to be free to study Torah, in a world filled with the knowledge of God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jp9CMYzuuds 3671 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/maimonides-shocking-truth-moshiach-does-not-need-miracles/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e-EZSJM2n5Q/hqdefault.jpg Maimonides' Shocking Truth: Moshiach Does NOT Need Miracles Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Rambam rules that Mashiach does not have to perform miracles to establish who he is, studying the last two chapters of the Mishneh Torah, which the Rambam calls the laws of Mashiach, as the daily Rambam study cycle instituted by the Rebbe reaches its conclusion. The Rambam writes that the Messianic king will restore the Davidic dynasty over all twelve tribes, build the Beis HaMikdash and gather the dispersed of Israel, after which the commandments that cannot be kept today, such as sacrifices and the Jubilee year, will return. Following the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg explains that this is why belief in Mashiach is a fundamental principle: without him, Torah observance remains incomplete. The Rambam cites the Torah's promise of the ingathering, Bilaam's prophecy of two anointed kings, David and Mashiach, and the command to add three cities of refuge. He then states that Mashiach need not work wonders, proving it from Rabbi Akiva, who considered Bar Kochba the Messianic king without asking for signs. The Rebbe explains that the purpose of the Messianic age is to make the natural world a dwelling place for God, not to overwhelm it. Rabbi Greenberg walks through the criteria: a leader from the house of David, steeped in Torah, observant, who leads Israel in the Torah's ways and fights the wars of God is presumed to be Mashiach, and is certainly Mashiach once he builds the Temple in its place and gathers the exiles. He closes with the Rambam's picture of an era without famine, war or envy, when the whole world's occupation will be to know God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/e-EZSJM2n5Q 4134 2026-02-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-leaving-the-holy-land-is-actually-required-the-answer-will-shock-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QFuT4Ipchjc/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Leaving The Holy Land Is Actually REQUIRED! (The Answer Will Shock You) Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one may never leave the Land of Israel for the Diaspora except to study Torah or to marry; authorities dispute whether these are examples of mitzvos that permit leaving or the only exceptions. The question is raised that the Talmud tells of a sage who left the Land to greet his mother, yet the Rambam does not list honoring parents. The Rebbe answers that leaving the Land means going for some purpose other than the Land itself, such as business or a visit. One who goes out to escort his parents into the Land is going for its sake, so it is not considered leaving. The Rebbe supports this from Rashi, who says the angels of the Land of Israel went out to escort Yaakov back, although Rashi explains earlier that those angels do not leave the Land. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QFuT4Ipchjc 171 2026-01-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-meaning-in-pharaoh-s-name-that-changes-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Si_KMSE-ePg/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Meaning in Pharaoh's Name That Changes Everything Rabbi Greenberg asks why Pharaoh, mentioned more often than Moses in the Exodus story, is never named. Rearranging the letters of "Pharaoh" gives "oref," the nape of the neck, the opposite of the face, which in Hebrew reveals a person's inner self. Pharaoh had no face: he was indifferent and unimpressed even after nine plagues, which Rabbi Greenberg calls worse than evil, since a person without feeling is open to any negative influence. He also explains why Moses repeated his complaint about his speech, and why miracles came only once the people could no longer express their faith. The main part of the class presents the ten plagues as an educational process, which he calls "ten plague therapy," for Pharaoh, the Egyptians and the Jewish people alike. The plagues come in increasing stages and link the ten utterances of creation to the Ten Commandments. He reviews explanations of Rabbi Yehuda's mnemonic grouping of the plagues, and explains that Aaron, not Moses, struck the water and earth because they had saved Moses, a lesson in gratitude even toward inanimate things. The plague of blood struck the Nile, the Egyptians' god, refuting their ideology intellectually; the frogs then made it emotionally repulsive. Both parallel the first two of the Ten Commandments. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Si_KMSE-ePg 2876 2026-01-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-isaac-s-prayer-worked-but-rebecca-s-didn-t-shocking-answer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DebJ5Cw9PR0/hqdefault.jpg Why Isaac's Prayer Worked But Rebecca's Didn't (Shocking Answer) Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Shimon's teaching in Pirkei Avos: be careful with the Shema and prayer; do not make your prayer fixed and routine, but a plea for compassion before God; and do not be wicked in your own esteem. The Mishnah says Rabbi Shimon "says" in the present tense, he suggests, because the sages' words are still being spoken. Praying daily can turn into routine, yet regular practice is what teaches a person to pray when it matters. He contrasts the Rambam, who holds there is a biblical obligation to pray daily, with Nachmanides, who holds prayer is biblical only when a person feels a need, so a heartfelt plea raises prayer to a higher status. A disciple of the Baal Shem Tov taught that one who cannot feel such passion should attach himself to spiritual people, while the Maggid of Mezritch taught that the ideal prayer centers on ending God's own exile, a master key that opens every lock. Prayer replaces the sacrifices, he explains, and draws the animal soul close to God. "Do not be wicked in your own esteem" warns against despair, since depression weakens a person's defenses. The Alter Rebbe distinguishes this from the Talmud's instruction to see oneself "like" a wicked person, meaning one must keep struggling. Praying as part of the community adds power. Finally, Rabbi Greenberg suggests why God answered Isaac's prayer for children rather than Rebecca's: a righteous person never claims his own merit, but Isaac could invoke the merit of his parents, Abraham and Sarah, while Rebecca's father was wicked. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DebJ5Cw9PR0 2892 2026-01-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-ancient-kings-were-above-the-law/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zBlhbn5Tqhk/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Ancient Kings Were ABOVE THE LAW! Rabbi Greenberg examines the Rambam's ruling that the kings of Israel, kings not descended from David, neither testify nor are testified against, because they are presumed to be men of power who do not submit to the judges. A commentator asks why he gives this reason, when the exemption seems to stem from the verse about appointing a king, which teaches that a king must be revered and not demeaned by testifying. One explanation distinguishes exemption from disqualification: an exemption based on honor only means a king cannot be compelled, so if he waives his honor his testimony is accepted, while the decree about kings who do not submit to the judges disqualifies them. A second explanation compares a king to a witness greater in wisdom than the judges, who is exempt in monetary cases but must testify to prevent a transgression or where life is at stake; the kings of Israel do not testify even then. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zBlhbn5Tqhk 309 2026-01-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/7-generations-later-why-you-were-chosen-for-this-mission/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xvN0kfaFEfM/hqdefault.jpg 7 Generations Later: Why YOU Were Chosen for This Mission Rabbi Greenberg explains why the generation led by the Rebbe is called the seventh generation and what its mission is, in a class given before the 10th of Shevat, the anniversary of the passing of the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, in 1950 and of the Rebbe's acceptance of leadership a year later. He first surveys the previous Rebbe's life of self-sacrifice: his first arrest at age 11 for trying to free a Jew from a Tsarist policeman, a mission as a young man to annul an anti-Jewish decree at the interior ministry, his fight against the Jewish section of the Communist Party, a death sentence in 1927 that was later commuted, and his arrival in America in 1940, where he insisted that America is not different and founded schools across the Northeast. He then turns to the previous Rebbe's last discourse, Basi LeGani, "I have come to my garden." The Midrash teaches that the Divine Presence was at home in the world at creation, withdrew to the seventh heaven through seven sins, and was brought back down by seven generations from Abraham to Moses, the seventh, who built the Mishkan, the sanctuary. Since all sevens are beloved, the seventh generation is charged with completing that work and bringing the final redemption. The discourse teaches that suppressing evil, and ultimately transforming it, draws down a divine light beyond any world. A sacrifice means bringing the animal within oneself close to God, and the Mishkan's wood and boards hint at turning the world's folly and falsehood into a dwelling for God. As soldiers of God, this generation has been given the King's treasures to finish the battle. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xvN0kfaFEfM 3047 2026-01-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-burning-bush-secret-why-jews-are-indestructible/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7Ha86aAHAv0/hqdefault.jpg The Burning Bush Secret: Why Jews Are Indestructible Rabbi Greenberg explains what the burning bush taught Moses about the Jewish people's survival, in a class on Parshas Shemos that follows Moses from his flight to Midian through his first meeting with Pharaoh. God appeared in a thorn bush to show that He suffers together with His people, and, as the Midrash says, a bush that burns without being consumed showed Moses that Egypt could not destroy Israel; citing Rabbeinu Nissim that God does not perform miracles needlessly, he says the Jewish people survive by a miracle where other cultures disappeared. The Baal Shem Tov taught that the bush represents the simple Jew, whose yearning for God is never satisfied, and that this humbled Moses. Moses' humility was itself the sign that he was the right leader, and Aaron, though older, rejoiced in his heart that his brother was chosen. Rabbi Greenberg traces how women, Yocheved, Miriam, Batya and Tzipporah, repeatedly saved Moses, tied to the Exodus as the birth of the Jewish people. He explains why Moses asked Pharaoh only for a three-day festival, and repeats the Rebbe's point that "Let my people go" must be completed with "that they may serve Me." When Moses' first attempt made things worse, the test of faith was greater, since a reversal after hope is harder than suffering without hope. Prayer, he says, is a legitimate complaint to God. The four cups at the Seder correspond to four expressions of redemption, which he explains as four stages from torture to receiving the Torah, and the fifth cup, of Elijah, stands for the redemption still to come. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Ha86aAHAv0 2865 2026-01-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-torah-secret-that-saved-iranian-jews-from-khomeini/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pecARvzxbN8/hqdefault.jpg The Torah Secret That Saved Iranian Jews From Khomeini Rabbi Greenberg opens this class on the Tanya with a story from Tehran. Copies of the Tanya, printed there at the Rebbe's request just before the revolution, were still piled on the floor of the Jewish community's library when two inspectors from Khomeini's government came looking for remnants of the Shah's era. They asked the rabbi to read from a copy, heard the Tanya's teaching that God continually brings the world into being, and left without inspecting. He also tells how the chief rabbi of Mexico, following the Rebbe's advice not to lose his Jewish pride, refused to bow at a prayer gathering led by Khomeini. The class then reviews chapter 1: the oath given before birth to be righteous and not wicked, which the Alter Rebbe explains through the three categories of tzaddik, beinoni and rasha, and the beinoni's ongoing struggle. Chapter 2 introduces the Godly soul, "literally a part of God above." It comes from God's thought, not His speech, which makes the relationship essential, like a parent's love for a child. All souls stem from one source but differ like the organs of a body, and the "garment" given by parents determines how well the Godly soul communicates with the animal soul. Chapter 3 divides the soul into intellect (chochmah, binah, daas) and emotions, with meditation producing love and awe of God. Chapter 4 teaches that thought, speech and action in Torah and mitzvos are the soul's garments, and that a mitzvah in this world connects a person to God beyond anything in paradise. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pecARvzxbN8 4009 2026-01-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-a-judge-s-life-is-on-the-line/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y507PjQ4w54/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When a Judge's Life is on the Line! Rabbi Greenberg studies the Rambam's ruling that a judge facing an easygoing litigant and a difficult one may decline the case before hearing the arguments, or before he can tell which way it will go, for fear the difficult litigant will harass him. Once he knows the outcome he may not withdraw, as the Torah says, "You shall not fear any man," even if he fears the litigant may kill his son or destroy his property, and a judge appointed by the community must hear the case in any event. The Bach asks how a judge can be obligated where life is in danger, and limits the rule to harassment. The Tumim and others hold he is obligated, which Rabbi Greenberg explains by the principle that those doing a mitzvah are not harmed, unless harm is likely. He compares the Shevet HaLevi's ruling that a doctor must treat contagious patients, and a soldier's duty, since justice protects society. https://www.youtube.com/embed/y507PjQ4w54 412 2026-01-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/3-types-of-jews-which-one-are-you-ancient-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hSV8WarRXDQ/hqdefault.jpg 3 Types of Jews: Which One Are You? (Ancient Wisdom) Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Yosi's teaching in Pirkei Avos 2:12, "Prepare yourself for the study of Torah, for it is not an inheritance," and how it fits with the verse saying that Moses commanded us the Torah "as an inheritance." One answer is that the Torah belongs to the whole people, not to any one person; another reads the word as "betrothed," making the Torah a marriage that must be cultivated. More deeply, the Torah is described as an inheritance, a purchase and a gift. As an inheritance, it belongs equally to every Jew, as fully as to Moses, which is why even a Jew who cannot read it dances on Simchas Torah. In the previous Rebbe's words, a Jew's letter in the Torah is engraved, not written in ink, so it can gather dust but can never be erased. Hence there are three kinds of Jews: those who know of their treasure and use it, those who know but do not use it, and those who do not know they have it. Effort is the purchase: what a person gains depends on the work invested, and one who toils "finds" more than expected. The gift is God's own perspective on the Torah, to be fully received in the era of Mashiach. Preparing oneself also means refining one's character, and not relying only on supporting others' Torah study. He then explains the mishnah's next teaching, "Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven," and the higher level, "Know Him in all your ways," in which eating or sleeping itself becomes a way of connecting to God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hSV8WarRXDQ 2576 2026-01-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-women-who-saved-moses-ancient-wisdom-for-modern-times/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GrnaHbqvrgw/hqdefault.jpg The Women Who Saved Moses: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times Rabbi Greenberg explains how, at each step of the Exodus story in parshas Shemos, women were the ones who preserved Jewish life. He begins with the new Pharaoh who "did not know Joseph": Pharaoh knew him only as Tzafnas Paneach, the revealer of hidden forces, a pagan idea, but not as Yosef, "to add," which points to one transcendent God who controls all forces. Following Rashi, Pharaoh tried to outsmart God, choosing drowning because God had promised no more floods. Rashi identifies the midwives Shifra and Puah as Yocheved and Miriam, who not only let the boys live but cared for them. Why did Pharaoh enlist Jewish midwives and target boys? Rabbi Greenberg suggests Pharaoh wanted to turn the women's power of life and freedom against the Jews, since the Talmud says the Exodus came in the merit of the women. The Maharsha suggests Pharaoh feared retribution and wanted the killing done before birth. Miriam then persuaded her father Amram to remarry Yocheved, and Moses was born, filling the house with light. Placing Moses in the Nile showed that a leader shares his people's suffering, as in a Baal Shem Tov story. Pharaoh's daughter, Bitya, reached for the basket beyond her reach and her arm miraculously stretched; the Rebbe teaches that we must do our part and the miracle follows. Rabbi Greenberg closes with Moses striking the taskmaster, citing Rabbi YY Jacobson's reading of fist, shovel and God's name as three ways Jews survive: defense, building and prayer. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GrnaHbqvrgw 2730 2026-01-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-two-souls-inside-you-ancient-jewish-psychology-explained/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VW6ncu9eFlw/hqdefault.jpg The Two Souls Inside You: Ancient Jewish Psychology Explained Rabbi Greenberg introduces the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, and his Tanya, in a class given before the Alter Rebbe's yahrtzeit. He explains that the Baal Shem Tov had the child named Schneur, "two lights," because he would illuminate the world through both his Code of Jewish Law and his mystical teachings, and that he was a "new soul," born in 1745 on the Baal Shem Tov's birthday. He traces the Alter Rebbe's path: mastering the Talmud by 15, traveling to the Maggid of Mezritch because, he said, he knew how to learn but not how to pray, being chosen to rewrite the Code of Jewish Law, publishing the Tanya in 1797 after forged copies spread, a 53-day imprisonment that ended on the 19th of Kislev, and his passing in 1812 while fleeing Napoleon. The Alter Rebbe's distinctive approach was that, however much a tzaddik inspires, each person must reach spirituality through his own study and meditation; as the Talmud notes, a person prefers one measure of his own work to nine of someone else's. Rabbi Greenberg explains the book's three names and the title page's "long and short way": the inspiration of being near a Rebbe comes quickly but fades, while the Chabad path takes longer but becomes one's own. Turning to chapter 1, he shows from Rava's statement "I am a beinoni" that the intermediate person of the Tanya commits no sins, so the difference from a tzaddik lies within. Each person has two souls; the animal soul is not evil but self-focused, producing negative traits linked to fire, water, wind and earth, as well as natural kindness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/VW6ncu9eFlw 4146 2026-01-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-500-year-rabbinic-controversy-that-could-change-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2eQjb3kDQME/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The 500-Year Rabbinic Controversy That Could Change Everything! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one person with true semichah, ordination in an unbroken chain from Moshe, could ordain others and form a Great Sanhedrin, and the Rambam's suggestion that if all the sages of the Land of Israel agreed to appoint judges, they would be ordained and could impose the Torah's fines. The Rambam concludes that the matter requires further study, though in his commentary on the Mishnah he argues that semichah must be restorable, since the prophet foretells the return of judges. About 500 years ago Rabbi Yaakov Beirav of Safed relied on this and ordained several sages, including Rabbi Yosef Karo, but the Ralbach of Jerusalem opposed it in three treatises, holding that the Rambam was uncertain and that Eliyahu the prophet will restore semichah. Rabbi Greenberg explains that the sages' agreement may carry the Sanhedrin's dual authority, representing the Torah and the consent of the Jewish people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2eQjb3kDQME 547 2026-01-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-righteous-people-value-money-more-than-their-lives/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qRKkRQ98agw/hqdefault.jpg Why Righteous People Value Money MORE Than Their Lives Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos in which Rabbi Yosi, one of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai's five disciples, teaches: let your fellow's property be as dear to you as your own, prepare yourself to study Torah, for it is not yours by inheritance, and let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven. Rabbi Yosi was called a chassid, one who goes beyond the letter of the law while still keeping it, and he named being a good neighbor as the ideal path. The three teachings parallel Shimon HaTzaddik's three pillars, Torah, service of God and acts of kindness, in reverse order. Jewish law already obliges a person to prevent loss to another's property, but a chassid treats it exactly like his own, unlike the post office workers who told Rabbi Greenberg's student to slow down. Likewise, one may not rely on Torah as an inheritance but must exert oneself and refine one's character, and must connect every act to a higher purpose. Addressing the Talmud's statement that the righteous value their money more than their bodies, Rabbi Greenberg explains that everything God gives has a purpose. Today we value things relatively, as in the Midrash's parable of the merchant on an island where diamonds were worthless and onions precious, but in the time of Mashiach the intrinsic, spiritual value of everything will be seen. Property is a means of doing mitzvos, which is why Jacob went back alone for small items and ended up wrestling the angel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qRKkRQ98agw 2415 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-jews-remember-slavery-every-day-and-what-it-teaches-us/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bcOltxZCn7k/hqdefault.jpg Why Jews Remember Slavery Every Day (& What It Teaches Us) In the first class of a series on the Exodus, Rabbi Greenberg explains why Jews remember the Exodus every day and every night. Remembering, he says, is not nostalgia but reliving the forces that brought it about; the Hebrew name for Egypt comes from a root meaning constraints, and each person must leave his own constraints, such as addiction to technology. He discusses why the Ten Commandments open with "who took you out of Egypt" rather than "who created heaven and earth," citing answers from Ibn Ezra and Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. He explains that the seder dwells on the bondage because freedom cannot be appreciated without knowing its absence, and that the slavery refined the people to receive the Torah while exposing them to both persecution and assimilation. The book is called Shemos, "Names," because the Jews kept their names and identity in Egypt; without an identity a person absorbs every passing influence and cannot be free, receive the Torah or build a sanctuary. He also names low birth rate as a third threat to Jewish survival. Finally he describes how the slavery began through deception: Pharaoh himself worked with bricks, the Jews joined willingly, and they were then held to a daily quota. Romaine lettuce, sweet at first and bitter later, recalls this, while the useless labor and reversed work were psychological torture. The hard-boiled egg shows that the Jewish people grow harder under oppression. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bcOltxZCn7k 2427 2026-01-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-jewish-wisdom-that-explains-israel-s-survival/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iKWYZWbONRQ/hqdefault.jpg The Jewish Wisdom That Explains Israel's Survival Rabbi Greenberg teaches what Judaism says about miracles and whether they still happen. After playing a recorded talk by another rabbi describing recent events in Israel's wars as miracles, he adds that the survival of the Jewish people through history is itself the greatest miracle. Yet God cherishes nature. The Rambam rules that Mashiach need not perform miracles, since his purpose is to make the natural world holy, not to override it. Rabbi Greenberg explains that nature is no less godly than a miracle: the Hebrew teva also means submerged, because God's presence is hidden in it, and the name Elohim equals hateva, nature, in numerical value. Nature is even greater, since it is constant creation from nothing, but because it never stops we take it for granted, just as a child born in the desert would find the manna ordinary. The Rebbe therefore preferred that miracles come cloaked in nature, often sending people to a particular doctor, and he taught that every person can perform a miracle by changing his own nature. Rabbi Greenberg outlines kinds of miracles, from those wholly beyond nature, like the Ark that took up no space, to Chanukah, Purim and miracles we never learn of. He describes three channels, prayer, blessing and Torah study, and explains that miracles do not come every time we want them because that would remove free choice. The class includes stories of the Rebbe, among them Hurricane Andrew, and a recorded testimony of a child's recovery from a coma after the Rebbe's blessings. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iKWYZWbONRQ 5033 2026-01-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-possession-is-9-10ths-of-jewish-law/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lKjMrLz8g7Q/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Possession Is 9/10ths of Jewish Law! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that movable property is presumed to belong to whoever holds it. Even if a claimant brings witnesses that it was once his and says he lent it, the holder, who says it was sold or given to him, keeps it with only a rabbinic oath. The question is whether this chazakah, or presumption, is merely a default or actual evidence. The Noda BiYehudah holds that it is stronger than the presumption that a married woman remains married, since it outweighs a migo, the argument that one could have made a better claim, so it is a form of verification. Another authority proves this from the fact that one who seizes an object from its holder is considered a thief. The Chasam Sofer distinguishes presumptions based on how things appear from those that merely leave things as they were, placing possession in the second, and the Tzemach Tzedek seems to agree with him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lKjMrLz8g7Q 362 2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/i-survived-a-terror-attack-with-my-4-sons-a-father-s-miracle-story-with-rabbi-chaim-munitz/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YT_EM0RHsWw/hqdefault.jpg I Survived a Terror Attack With My 4 Sons: A Father's Miracle Story with Rabbi Chaim Munitz Rabbi Greenberg introduces Rabbi Chaim Munitz, who grew up in Buffalo and now teaches in Sydney, Australia, to tell how he and his four sons survived the terror attack at a Chanukah event at Bondi Beach. Rabbi Munitz describes a chain of small miracles: his wife stayed home with the two youngest girls when the toddler fell asleep, and seconds before the shooting his younger boys insisted on leaving the balloon line, near where the shooting began, for the far end of the field. His older sons ran in the right direction, he found all four, and they sheltered in a surf club for about an hour with a young student he had taken along. He recounts the people who confronted the attackers or shielded others, including a teenage girl who was shot while covering a mother's children, and explains how he helped his sons process the trauma by talking, writing and drawing, and by telling the story with a clear ending in which they are safe. He describes the community's response, including a station by the beach for tefillin and Shabbos candles. Answering a listener frustrated with calls to "spread light," Rabbi Greenberg says that self-defense is a mitzvah and Judaism is not pacifist, but force is not foolproof; ultimately only God and the light of mitzvos will prevail. On why some are saved and others are not, he cites Holocaust survivor Rabbi Nissen Mangel and the Rebbe: we are not meant to understand suffering, so that we will feel compelled to end it, while still recognizing the miracles. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YT_EM0RHsWw 2292 2025-12-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/do-jews-believe-in-angels-the-answer-will-surprise-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mb9PZ6MLiKU/hqdefault.jpg Do Jews Believe in Angels? The Answer Will Surprise You Rabbi Greenberg explains what Judaism teaches about angels. Belief in angels is not among the Rambam's thirteen principles of faith, since Judaism could exist without them, but a Jew must believe in them because they appear in the Torah, more than a hundred times in the 24 biblical books. The Hebrew word malach means messenger: an angel is a spiritual being with no physical body and no free choice, though it can take on human form when God sends it, as with the three visitors to Abraham. Satan, meaning obstacle, is an angel God created to challenge us, not a rival to God; belief in an independent rival force would be idolatry. He describes the angels' functions: channels that bring divine energy into a fragmented world; models of prayer, advancing and retreating, like the angels on Jacob's ladder; the spiritual source of our animal soul, which is why our prayers describe their devotion; polishers of our prayers; and protectors, since every mitzvah creates an angel. Michael, the angel of kindness, and Gabriel, the angel of judgment, coexist peacefully because they stand in God's presence. Humans, he concludes, are higher than angels. Angels "stand," while humans "go," able to leap to a new level and to live in the spiritual and physical worlds at once, as Adam showed when he named the creatures. One may not pray to an angel as an independent power. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mb9PZ6MLiKU 4079 2025-12-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-hanukkah-is-judaism-s-most-powerful-holiday-not-minor/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CW8jaHYNVAs/hqdefault.jpg Why Hanukkah Is Judaism's Most Powerful Holiday (Not Minor!) In the final class of his series on purpose, Rabbi Greenberg explains why Chanukah, often called a minor holiday, holds the power to bring the world to its ultimate purpose, the Messianic age. The class opens with a recorded story told by another storyteller: a rabbi in Israel rescued a toddler from a waterfall, received a dollar from the Rebbe in thanks, and took it as a sign to devote himself to struggling students; years later the toddler married one of them. Rabbi Greenberg then reads the Mishnah of Akavia ben Mahalalel, "where do you come from, where are you going, before whom will you give an accounting," alongside Esau's three questions to Jacob's servants. He presents them as voices telling us we lack pedigree, cannot go far, and will be dwarfed by earlier giants. The answers: every Jew descends from the Patriarchs, and the Rambam wrote to a convert that he connects directly to God; the Torah calls a poor person's modest offering his soul; and we stand on the shoulders of earlier generations, while, as the Rebbe wrote, a mitzvah is credited to the one who completes it. He explains the dreidel's four letters as the four exiles' attacks on soul, body, intellect and everything, adding up to 358, the numerical value of Mashiach. Chanukah's eight days reflect the number that transcends the sevens of nature, and it is called minor only because it has fewer restrictions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CW8jaHYNVAs 4248 2025-12-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-can-you-sell-someone-else-s-property/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6GFrBNdKd5M/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Can You SELL Someone Else's Property?! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one holding another's chametz as a deposit sells it in the market from the fifth hour of the fourteenth of Nissan, since he is restoring a lost object to its owner. The simple explanation is that one may act for another's benefit without his knowledge, as if appointed his agent. The Ketzos HaChoshen limits this to giving someone a benefit, not taking something from him, while the Tzemach Tzedek holds that since we are certain the owner would appoint him, it works either way. The Be'er Yitzchak answers the Ketzos from the Talmud's rule that a guardian who chooses to pay for a stolen object acquires it from the start, so here too the guardian acquires the chametz and sells it as his own. Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg cites a special law of returning lost objects. The class concludes that most authorities, and the Rambam himself, treat this as agency. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6GFrBNdKd5M 335 2025-12-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/3-ancient-evils-that-destroy-your-life-and-how-to-fight-them/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qQm520QmH4M/hqdefault.jpg 3 Ancient Evils That Destroy Your Life (And How to Fight Them) Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Yehoshua's teaching in Pirkei Avos that an evil eye, the evil inclination and hatred of people "put a person out of the world," and how to counter each. Following some commentators, he pairs them with Shimon HaTzaddik's three pillars of the world: Torah gives the right perspective against the evil eye, prayer, as a process of self-judgment and refinement, works on the evil inclination, and acts of kindness condition a person out of hatred. Because Pirkei Avos addresses those who want to go beyond the law, he also reads the Mishnah as a warning against focusing on the negative even for good reasons. Beis Hillel's custom of adding a Chanukah light each night reflects emphasizing light rather than fighting darkness. Scouring oneself over the evil inclination, as the previous Rebbe compared to scrubbing a pot with steel wool, can do damage, and even tough love should be rare. He then describes three levels of evil: overt hatred, drives beneath the surface, and evil hidden in the essence of the soul, which is why, as the Rebbe explained, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai, who had no time for introspection, wept on his deathbed. Before Mashiach both hidden good and hidden evil come into the open; a person should cultivate the unexpected good and seek help from a kind, humble person for the hidden faults. The Chanukah menorah, lit at night, on the left and facing the street, unlike the Temple menorah, brings light into all three realms of negativity, and its light links past, present and future. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qQm520QmH4M 2741 2025-12-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-3-000-year-old-secret-to-finding-your-purpose-after-tragedy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tb2JdQop-SM/hqdefault.jpg The 3,000-Year-Old Secret to Finding Your Purpose After Tragedy Rabbi Greenberg dedicates this class on finding one's purpose to the victims of the terrorist attack at a Chanukah celebration in Sydney, Australia. Anger and sadness are natural but not productive, he says; most people cannot fight evil directly, so the response is to add light through Torah and mitzvos. The Rebbe explains that light was created on the first day, before anyone could use it, because it sets the purpose of creation: that Godly light should fill the world. Everything happens by divine providence, but people still choose whether to bring light. He shares two stories of providence: a cancelled speaking trip that put Rabbi Jacobson on the stairs in time to stop a suicidal teenager, and his own JetBlue flight with jammed landing gear, where his singing during a crash landing led a Jewish student to become observant. He warns against reading providence as license to do wrong, as with Potiphar's wife, and teaches that each person should serve God with his own talents. Rabbi Greenberg then takes up four questions: who am I, what is my purpose, what have I accomplished, and where am I going. Every person is an indispensable part of creation, including someone who can only receive help and so gives others a mitzvah. Diamond stories about the Rebbe Rashab and the Rebbe illustrate the worth of every soul. Purpose means connecting to God by refining the body and animal soul. He closes with the Rebbe's reading of Akavya ben Mahalalel's teaching in Pirkei Avos as addressed to the righteous person, the beinoni and the wicked. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tb2JdQop-SM 3627 2025-12-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-hidden-law-of-borrowing-a-sefer-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3UJxBagkPOw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Hidden Law of Borrowing a Sefer Torah Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's opening rule that a borrower is liable even for unavoidable accidents, since, as the Talmud explains, he has all the benefit of the object while the lender has none. The Ran, in a responsum, discusses a borrowed sefer (holy book) that was damaged. Since lending a sefer is a mitzvah, the lender is exempt meanwhile from other mitzvos, such as giving to a poor person, so he gains something and the borrower loses his full liability. The Machaneh Ephraim disagrees, inferring from the Rambam's statement that everyone who reads a Sefer Torah does a mitzvah that only the reader has the mitzvah, while the lender is not engaged in anything as the borrower learns. The Ketzos argues that the borrower has no benefit either, since mitzvos were not given for pleasure, though this principle might be limited to vows. The Nesivos disagrees, holding that Torah study is an exception. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3UJxBagkPOw 307 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-evil-eye-exposed-3-ancient-jewish-warnings-about-jealousy-desire-and-modern-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s94vjDVmP3A/hqdefault.jpg The Evil Eye Exposed: 3 Ancient Jewish Warnings About Jealousy, Desire & Modern Life Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Yehoshua's teaching in Pirkei Avos that an evil eye, the evil inclination and hatred of people drive a person out of the world. One reading of the evil eye is a person never satisfied, as in the Talmud's story of Alexander the Great, whose gold and silver could not outweigh a human eyeball until it was covered with dirt. Another is jealousy, which breeds hatred, as with Joseph's brothers. The evil inclination is pursuit of desires; it is like a fly that keeps returning and breaks its promises, and even Torah study must be joined with humility to defeat it. Unlike envy, desire can be turned to loving God. All three, he says, lead to senseless hatred, hating others simply because they exist, which the Talmud blames for the destruction of the Second Temple. Since Pirkei Avos is meant for those seeking piety, he offers a reading for them as well: do not focus on the faults of others even when trying to help them; do not over-dwell on your own evil inclination but do good, which dispels darkness like a Chanukah candle; and use harsh words, as Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai once did, only as a rare last resort. He also ties the evil eye to Chanukah, a holiday centered on sight, and explains that what a person sees can undo the good influence of a friend. https://www.youtube.com/embed/s94vjDVmP3A 2972 2025-12-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rabbi-who-changed-victor-frankl-s-life-with-one-message/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rgDmBRAxKxM/hqdefault.jpg The Rabbi Who Changed Victor Frankl's Life With One Message Rabbi Greenberg explains how to discover one's purpose by reading divine providence correctly. After a recorded story about three Holocaust survivors reunited through a Chabad House in Beijing, he teaches that providence is not a free-for-all: its lessons must be filtered through Torah values. Pirkei Avos says the world stands on Torah, prayer and acts of kindness, which he applies as direction and balance from a divine source, feelings awakened through prayer, and action, which is the essential thing. Leaving out any one of the three leads a person astray. He adds three supports from Pirkei Avos: a teacher who is knowledgeable, objective, humble and caring, who uplifts before correcting, as in the previous Rebbe's parable of the bathhouse; a friend who gives love and honest criticism; and judging everyone, including oneself, favorably. He warns against self-serving readings of providence, such as treating a found wallet as a gift rather than a chance to return it. As for focus, a person should seize whatever mitzvah comes along, think globally but act locally, and notice the mitzvah that excites him or the one that is strangely hard for him, since either may be his soul's mission. Talents are given for a higher purpose. He closes with stories of the Rebbe encouraging people to use their gifts, including the message the Rebbe sent Viktor Frankl, urging him not to give up his work, which reached him just as he was ready to abandon it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rgDmBRAxKxM 3973 2025-12-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-did-the-rambam-omit-aba-shaul-s-opinion/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FXn8-qW_AQY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Did the Rambam Omit Aba Shaul's Opinion? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that trees must be planted at least 25 cubits from a city, and carob and fig trees 50 cubits, for the city's beauty. The Gemara in Bava Basra cites the Tanna Abba Shaul, who requires 50 cubits for an ilan srak, a tree that bears no fruit. The Rambam follows him in his Mishnah commentary but omits the law in the Mishneh Torah. The Chasam Sofer explains that the Rambam records laws for the days of Moshiach, but not this one, since the Gemara says such trees will then bear fruit. Rabbi Galinsky asks that, as the Rebbe explains the Rambam, nature will not change in the first period of Moshiach's days, and answers with the Rebbe's distinction: barren trees will bear fruit first in Eretz Yisrael and later everywhere. Since the Rambam implies that even this will not happen at first, Rabbi Greenberg concludes that the Rambam later reversed his ruling. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FXn8-qW_AQY 332 2025-12-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-2-000-year-old-anger-management-secret-that-changes-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ToIIuuHuycw/hqdefault.jpg The 2,000-Year-Old Anger Management Secret That Changes Everything Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabbi Eliezer the Great's teachings in Pirkei Avos: "Do not be easily provoked to anger," "Repent one day before your death," and "Warm yourself by the fire of the wise." He begins with the Talmud's story of Rabbi Eliezer's excommunication, after which his grief brought harm to the crops and to Rabban Gamliel, showing the power of holy people's pain even when the ruling against them was justified. Anger, he says, damages even when justified, as Moses lost his knowledge when he grew angry. One who considers that he will later regret his anger, or that an insult may hold a truth worth correcting, as Rabbi Zevin felt toward a poor man who spoke ill of him, will not be easily provoked. Since no one knows his last day, one must repent every day. A parable of a brother lured to a wedding in his pajamas teaches that it is better to prepare for Mashiach than to arrive unready, and a grieving rabbi's words show the value of even one day. "One day" also recalls the first day of creation, a day of oneness, the deepest teshuvah. Forgiving everyone before sleep keeps a person whole, and love shown even to an informant can be reflected back. The sages carry the fire of Sinai, and closeness to them purifies, as Rabbi Greenberg felt in his private audiences with the Rebbe. Yet fire can burn, so leaders must not use their power to harm, and spiritual passion must be balanced with the physical world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ToIIuuHuycw 2634 2025-12-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/small-actions-massive-impact-the-torah-s-chain-reaction-secret/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kdzCkGhQWx8/hqdefault.jpg Small Actions, Massive Impact: The Torah's Chain Reaction Secret Rabbi Greenberg explains why small actions matter, teaching that no one is ever "stuck" and that a minor gesture can set off a chain of events that changes the world. He begins with the Rebbe's response to Chabad women stranded at the Detroit airport: a Jew is never stuck, because God put him there with a mission. The Rebbe told prisoners the same thing, and he valued small gestures, such as a ten-year-old who woke early to pray before the school bus, or a fifty-cent Purim gift that the Rebbetzin set aside for him to see. Rabbi Greenberg then turns to the shalsheles, a chain-shaped cantillation note that appears only four times in the Torah. Each time it marks a seemingly small act with vast results: Lot's lingering in Sodom, which led to Moab, Ruth and King David; Eliezer's words before choosing Rebecca, which led to the Jewish nation; Joseph's refusal of Potiphar's wife, which led to prison, his rise and the Exodus; and Moses' final sacrifice in dedicating the Mishkan. Following the Rambam, a person should see the world as evenly balanced, so that one act can tip the scales, as Joseph's concern for two depressed prisoners eventually saved the world from famine. The class closes with stories of divine providence, from a converso saved by a delayed execution to a video in which a rabbi tells how a Chabad Chanukah event at an empty mall kept a grieving father from ending his life. Rabbi Greenberg concludes with the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that everything a person sees or hears is a lesson in serving God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kdzCkGhQWx8 4355 2025-11-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-who-violates-shabbos-when-giving-a-gift/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oKFOwbVIwoY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Who Violates Shabbos When Giving a Gift? Rabbi Greenberg studies the final halachah of Hilchos Mechirah, where the Rambam rules that a sale or gift made on Shabbos or Yom Tov is valid, although the person receives rabbinic lashes for violating the prohibition. He asks whether that prohibition falls on the giver or the recipient. The Makneh places it on the recipient, another authority on the giver; the Maharsham challenges the Makneh from this Rambam, which punishes the one who gives. The Pischei Choshen distinguishes between a kinyan in which the giver takes part and one where he only gives permission. Rabbi Greenberg considers whether the giver's prohibition could stem from aiding another's transgression, and discusses a practical case: a visitor to the Land of Israel who keeps the second day of Yom Tov giving a gift to a resident who does not. He concludes that the Rambam places the prohibition on the giver, while the Alter Rebbe holds it applies to both. https://www.youtube.com/embed/oKFOwbVIwoY 403 2025-11-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-jews-don-t-search-for-meaning-they-do-this-instead/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ADJBEDqrgnU/hqdefault.jpg Why Jews Don't Search for Meaning (They Do This Instead) Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism focuses on purpose rather than meaning, in the second class of a series on one's life mission. A short video draws the distinction: meaning starts with the self and is subjective, while purpose is a mission that precedes a person's existence, and success is measured by whether the need one was created for was met. He then sets out the theological basis for purpose: belief in a Creator who has revealed what He wants, through the seven Noahide commandments and then the Torah at Sinai. He rejects pantheism and natural law as moral guides, since nature also teaches that might makes right, as social Darwinism showed; idolatry, which he describes as self-worship; and deism, which leaves God uninvolved and people unaccountable. Judaism holds that God is master of the world as well as its Creator. In the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, now universally accepted, every detail, even a leaf blown by the wind, is directed by divine providence and affects the whole design of creation. God continuously creates everything, and He is not diminished by small things. In practice there is no coincidence: wherever a person ends up, God placed him there for a mission, though moral choices remain free. The Torah and the oral tradition give general guidance, while prophets and righteous people can sometimes guide specific decisions. Rabbi Greenberg illustrates with his own detour to a gas station where a stranded colleague needed a ride, the Rebbetzin paying a family's rent after a road detour, and the Rebbe's reply to women stranded at an airport: "What does stuck mean?" https://www.youtube.com/embed/ADJBEDqrgnU 3419 2025-11-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-ancient-curse-that-makes-you-keep-your-word/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4IiESbGhGIM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Ancient Curse That Makes You Keep Your Word! Rabbi Greenberg studies the Rambam's ruling that when a buyer has paid for movable goods but has not yet pulled them, the act that completes the purchase, either side may legally back out, but whoever does so has not acted as a Jew should and must accept the curse called mi shepara: he is told that the One who punished the generation of the Flood, the Tower of Babel, Sodom and the Egyptians will punish one who does not keep his word. The Rambam requires a beis din to pronounce it; the Mordechai lets the person say it himself, or the communal prayer leader. Following the Mishnas Yaavetz, he links this to a dispute over whether mi shepara applies where there was no kinyan at all. If the curse stems from a financial obligation created by the payment, it belongs in court, as the Rambam holds; if it addresses only a broken promise, it is a personal matter. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4IiESbGhGIM 430 2025-11-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-your-casual-friends-are-more-dangerous-than-your-enemies/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wPZs1jdWbSE/hqdefault.jpg Why Your 'Casual Friends' Are More Dangerous Than Your Enemies Rabbi Greenberg concludes the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos where Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai's students name the evil path a person should shun, focusing on the bad neighbor, the borrower who does not repay, and the evil heart. A "neighbor" here means someone with whom one has a casual relationship. Such a person can be more dangerous than a bad friend, because with a close friend one knows his faults and sets up defenses, while a casual influence works unnoticed. Values absorbed from the surrounding culture, even without watching the media directly, work the same way, and he cites the Rambam on avoiding places with bad influences. Rabbeinu Bachya calls the body the soul's bad neighbor, but the Baal Shem Tov, reading the verse about helping an enemy's fallen donkey as referring to one's own body, teaches that the body is to be elevated, not punished. The real bad neighbor is the evil inclination, an outgrowth of the self-centered animal soul, which can be shown that Torah and mitzvos are more pleasurable than physical indulgence. One who borrows and does not repay lacks foresight, but more deeply, everything is lent by God and repaid through mitzvos; Simchas Torah's hakafos also mean credit. A society focused on rights rather than obligations breeds conflict. He tells the story of Choni the circle drawer and of a supposed miser whose funeral Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev attended. Rabban Yochanan favored the evil heart, the inclusive term, because virtues that stay in the mind and never reach the feelings do not transform a person. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wPZs1jdWbSE 2344 2025-11-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-death-penalty-vs-money-the-shocking-answer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K39ZRp50CDk/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Death Penalty vs. Money - The Shocking Answer! Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that one who informs on another's property, causing it to be seized by a lawless person, must repay him from his best property. The Pnei Yehoshua asks why, since one who incurs the death penalty and a monetary obligation through one act receives only the harsher penalty, and the Rambam rules that an informer who, despite warning, insists on informing may be killed beforehand, even today. The Or Sameach answers that the rule applies to two separate offenses committed together, such as theft while violating Shabbos, whereas here the capital offense is the loss of money itself, and exempting him from payment would let him succeed in what he set out to do. The Yachin uBoaz answers that the two liabilities never coincide: the informer may be killed only before he informs, and once the money has been taken, the Rambam rules that he may not be killed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/K39ZRp50CDk 234 2025-11-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-evil-eye-ancient-jewish-wisdom-on-negativity-jealousy-and-bad-friends/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sLPM8_llRf0/hqdefault.jpg The Evil Eye: Ancient Jewish Wisdom on Negativity, Jealousy & Bad Friends Rabbi Greenberg continues Pirkei Avos with Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's instruction to his five students to go out and see which evil path a person should shun, the reverse of the good paths they named earlier. He explains "go out" as a call to leave the sheltered world of the study hall, and the Temple era, and to relate Torah values to people in exile without watering them down. The evil path needed to be stated separately, he says, because people immersed in holiness may not understand evil, and because true love of the good includes strong aversion to its opposite, as the Tanya describes the complete tzaddik. Rabbi Eliezer's "evil eye" receives several meanings: seeing only the negative, like a vulture that spots a carcass from afar, or Bilaam, who asked to see only part of the people; jealousy and never being satisfied, the root of coveting, as with Cain, whose name means acquisition; pessimism and loss of hope; looking at what one should not see, whether harmful or too holy, as with Aaron's sons at Sinai; and a crooked, distorted view. Rabbi Yehoshua's "evil companion" includes the media that shapes people's opinions, friends whose influence corrupts, as Dasan and Aviram did to Korach, a friend without empathy, the evil inclination posing as a friend, and someone who is good in general but not good for you. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sLPM8_llRf0 2596 2025-11-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-a-good-heart-beats-intelligence-every-time-torah-proof/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DErqLzuj0f4/hqdefault.jpg Why a 'Good Heart' Beats Intelligence Every Time (Torah Proof) Rabbi Greenberg explains why, in Pirkei Avos, Rabbi Elazar's "good heart" was preferred over the qualities named by his fellow disciples, beginning with Rabbi Shimon's "one who sees what is born." Citing the Rebbe, he says the Mishnah speaks of seeing rather than understanding because knowledge alone rarely changes behavior and logic can argue either side, while what a person sees brings certainty. He gives four readings of Rabbi Shimon's teaching: seeing the consequences of one's actions; seeing that every mitzvah creates an angel, a positive spiritual force; seeing the divine energy that brings everything into being at every moment, so the world cannot truly conflict with the Torah and darkness is a call to turn on the light; and seeing the future, the era of Mashiach, which he calls the most logical belief, and beginning to live that way now. Pairing the five disciples with the sukkah and the four species, he links the good heart to the esrog. A good eye and the other qualities are means; a good heart is the experience of goodness itself, and it includes them all. A person not born with a good heart can develop it through upbringing, as the Alter Rebbe showed by praising a known miser until he gave the whole sum needed to ransom a family. Further allusions in the esrog point to humility and to perfection. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DErqLzuj0f4 2553 2025-11-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-abraham-told-god-to-wait-the-jewish-hospitality-secret/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yqy_CIKoXJM/hqdefault.jpg Why Abraham Told God to Wait: The Jewish Hospitality Secret Rabbi Greenberg explains the Jewish view of hospitality through Abraham's welcome of three travelers in Parshas Vayeira. The Jewish home, he says, is the most important institution in Jewish life, and hospitality in the strict sense means taking in travelers who have no home, as Abraham did for strangers he took to be idol worshippers. The Rambam roots the mitzvah in loving one's fellow as oneself and walking in God's ways. The Talmud learns from Abraham, who turned from God's visit to greet his guests, that welcoming guests is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence. Beyond the simple reason that God wants the mitzvah done, Rabbi Greenberg shares his father's explanation: God created the world because He wanted a home in it, and a person without a home is not fully human. Giving someone a home restores his humanity, making the host God's partner rather than only a recipient. He adds that hospitality pays dividends in this world while its main reward remains for the next. A host must provide food, drink and lodging and escort the guest on leaving. Building on the Rebbe's teaching that every act of kindness has two elements, he explains that in charity the main thing is meeting the need, while in hospitality the host's attitude is part of the mitzvah, so he must greet guests cheerfully, as Shammai taught, serve quickly and share even his last bread. Abraham's eagerness despite the heat and his recent circumcision, his offer of just bread followed by a full meal, and his involving his son model the mitzvah. Guests, for their part, should do whatever the host asks. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yqy_CIKoXJM 3064 2025-11-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-this-rabbi-gave-charity-twice-maimonides-golden-mean/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M4AWizApP94/hqdefault.jpg Why This Rabbi Gave Charity Twice: Maimonides' Golden Mean Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Rambam grounds the middle path, the "golden mean," in the commandment "You shall walk in His ways." The wise person keeps to the middle, while the pious person tilts beyond it, going beyond the letter of the law. Unusually, the Rambam describes these traits before naming the commandment; Rabbi Greenberg suggests this is because a person must first develop good attitudes within himself, and the commandment then takes him to the next level. Citing the Rebbe, he explains that walking in God's ways is counted as a separate mitzvah because it requires doing good in order to emulate God and become godly. The middle path does not mean being lukewarm: one may hold an extreme attitude, such as wanting to give everything away, while acting with moderation. The Rambam teaches that one acquires a trait by repeating its actions until they become part of one's personality, which is why he prefers giving charity in many small installments over one lump sum. Rabbi Greenberg illustrates this with a rabbi who gratefully accepted a miser's single copper coin until the man gave the whole sum, and with the Rebbe's advice to a lonely woman to offer others water. Humans, unlike angels, are "travelers" who can leap between levels. Da'as, the power of discernment, lets a person know when each trait applies. A rabbi in Jerusalem gave twice because, he said, the first gift eased his own pain and only the second was truly for the poor person. https://www.youtube.com/embed/M4AWizApP94 2584 2025-10-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-this-300-lemon-holds-the-secret-to-jewish-ethics/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfHcS3HWqkQ/hqdefault.jpg Why This $300 Lemon Holds the Secret to Jewish Ethics Rabbi Greenberg explains what the esrog and the other four species teach about ethics, then continues his study of the Rambam's laws of character traits on the middle path. The Torah calls the esrog hadar, beautiful, and the oral tradition explains why: its bark tastes like its fruit, showing that the means should match the end, as in "Righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue"; and it grows through all four seasons. Its taste represents reason and its fragrance good deeds. The lulav has taste without fragrance, the myrtle fragrance without taste, and the willow neither, yet all four are held together as one community. In Hilchos De'os chapter 1, the Rambam rules that both extremes of any trait are improper, and a person who leans toward one, by nature, habit or what he was taught, should return to the straight path. Rabbi Greenberg stresses that behavior counts most in Jewish ethics, yet traits still matter. The middle path is to be angry only when needed to prevent a matter from recurring, to care for the body without indulgence, to work for one's needs, to give charity according to one's means, and to be quietly happy with a friendly face. One who finds the mean is called wise; one who goes slightly beyond it, such as toward greater humility, is pious, acting "within the line of the law" and so internalizing its spirit. He notes that the Rambam cites the commandment "You shall walk in His ways" only after describing the traits, a question left for next week. Asked about the esrog's price, he says a commandment is a relationship with God, which is priceless. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfHcS3HWqkQ 2863 2025-10-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-every-nation-hates-israel-the-spiritual-truth-revealed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cQR5puc6SyE/hqdefault.jpg Why Every Nation Hates Israel (The Spiritual Truth Revealed) Rabbi Greenberg explains why the land of Israel draws more attention and hostility than any other country. He first traces its spiritual history from creation, when the world spread out from the foundation stone of the Holy of Holies, through the promises to the patriarchs, the holiness introduced at Sinai, the Temples and exiles, and later attempts to settle the land spiritually, to the coming of Mashiach. No other nation has managed to settle it; the Midrash compares Israel to a suit tailor-made for the Jewish people. Rashi's first comment on the Torah says Genesis opens with creation so that when the nations accuse the Jews of stealing the land, they can answer that God created it and gave it to them. The Rebbe asked why the nations complain when every country was conquered from earlier inhabitants, and explained that the Jewish connection is unique: the land's spiritual character belongs only to the Jewish people, and no conquest can change that. Rabbi Greenberg describes Israel through three H's: the homeland, chosen by God and defining Jewish essence, so every mitzvah elsewhere extends it like an embassy; the land of hope, as tikvah, "hope," comes from kav, a line connecting us to God; and the holy land, illustrated by the Rebbe Maharash's story of a simple Jew whose prayer brought rain. He outlines four Orthodox approaches to the modern state and identifies with the third: the land is ours and must be protected, and its miracles are a taste of the future, as the Rebbe put it, but redemption must come through Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cQR5puc6SyE 4122 2025-10-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-maimonides-said-you-can-t-command-faith-only-knowledge/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xWqIAUTN6YI/hqdefault.jpg Why Maimonides Said You CAN'T Command Faith (Only Knowledge) Rabbi Greenberg begins the Rambam's Hilchos De'os, the laws of character and attitudes in the Mishneh Torah. He first explains why the Rambam opens the Mishneh Torah with a commandment to know God rather than to believe in Him: the earlier Book of the Commandments, written in Arabic, was mistranslated as "believe." Faith cannot be commanded, but one can reflect on how God relates to the world. He suggests translating De'os, which is related to the word for knowledge, as "attitudes." Linking the class to Sukkos, he explains that the lulav, like a victor's scepter, shows that we won our case on Yom Kippur and that the Jewish people will survive. The esrog, lulav, myrtles and willows resemble the heart, spine, eyes and mouth: Jewish kindness, persistence, a positive outlook and the oral transmission of Torah. The sukkah, given "so that your generations will know," stands for the pursuit of knowledge. He then goes through the eleven mitzvos the Rambam lists for this section: walking in God's ways, clinging to those who know Him, loving one's fellow, loving the convert, not hating, rebuking, not shaming, not oppressing the unfortunate, not gossiping, not taking revenge and not bearing a grudge. He explains revenge and grudges with the example of a neighbor's snowblower, and cites the Rambam's letter telling a convert that his link to the Creator is direct. Beginning chapter 1, he shows how every trait has two extremes, such as constant anger and never growing angry, with a range of intermediate points between them. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xWqIAUTN6YI 2674 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/3-persecutions-jews-face-maimonides-800-year-old-analysis/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9_hmpYWYjAk/hqdefault.jpg 3 Persecutions Jews Face: Maimonides' 800-Year-Old Analysis In the fourth class of his overview of the Rambam's life, Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Letter to Yemen, written in 1169 to a community facing forced conversion, a Jewish convert preaching that Islam superseded Judaism, and a self-proclaimed Messiah. The Rambam explained antisemitism as hatred of God directed at His people, described three forms of persecution (brute force, attempts to refute Judaism, or both), consoled the community that the Jewish people would overcome as they had before, and showed the false Messiah lacked any qualification. Rabbi Greenberg notes that the Rambam sent his revised works to Yemen, where Yemenite Jews still treat him as their rabbi. He then surveys the Guide for the Perplexed, written for readers committed to both Judaism and Aristotelian philosophy. Its first part teaches that God has no physical form and can be described only in negative terms; the second treats prophecy, angels as forces of nature, and creation out of nothing, which the Rambam accepts from the Torah since philosophy cannot disprove it. The third gives reasons for mitzvos, often as a repudiation of idolatry, which Rabbi Greenberg reconciles with the Mishneh Torah by the different audiences of the two works. The class closes with the Rambam's view of miracles as programmed into nature, his passing and burial in Tiberias, and questions about his work as a rabbi and his view that rabbis should not be paid. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9_hmpYWYjAk 2865 2025-10-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-olive-sized-mystery-that-divides-rashi-and-rambam/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9OkMFlQxNGA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Olive-Sized Mystery That Divides Rashi and Rambam! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling on a sheretz, a creature whose carcass transmits impurity, that touches dough wedged in the cracks of a kneading trough. On Pesach the dough, being forbidden chametz, interposes, so the trough stays pure; during the year it depends on the owner: if he objects to the dough it interposes, and if he wants it there it becomes part of the trough, which becomes impure. The Tzlach notes that Rashi, explaining the Talmud's source, requires a k'zayis (an olive's volume) of dough, yet the Rambam omits that condition here, though he makes it in the laws of Pesach. The Keser HaMelech explains that for the Rambam even less than the full measure of chametz is biblically forbidden and must be nullified, so it is significant and interposes. Rashi limits that principle to eating, so less than a k'zayis requires nothing and counts as part of the trough. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9OkMFlQxNGA 403 2025-10-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-ancient-jewish-secret-to-never-losing-hope/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V0Z1qwaFWYU/hqdefault.jpg The Ancient Jewish Secret to Never Losing Hope Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers where Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai tells his five students, "Go out and see which is the good path to which a person should cling," and explains the first answer, Rabbi Eliezer's "a good eye," including its meaning as hope. "Go out" tells these great sages to leave their spiritual and intellectual ivory tower and see things from the level of ordinary people, as the Sanhedrin traveled the country and as the Alter Rebbe, in a story the Rebbe told, left Yom Kippur prayers to chop wood and cook for a woman who had just given birth. The same going out happens each week from Shabbos into the weekdays and, on this Rosh Chodesh, from Tishrei into Cheshvan, a month without holidays. The chapter's opening teaching names the right road, the middle path; this question asks how to travel it, and to "cling" means choosing one main approach that leads all the others. Rabbi Greenberg gives three meanings of a good eye. First, seeing the good in others and, when something is wrong, seeing the task of fixing it; the Rebbe explained that Noah's sons "did not see their father's nakedness" because they saw only the need to cover him. Second, not being envious and being truly glad for another's blessings, as the Yiddish word "fargin" expresses. Third, optimism that is real because it rests on hope and faith: the word for hope, tikvah, is the rope Rahab lowered, a lifeline connecting a person to God. He suggests that the Rebbe's emphasis on adding myrtle leaves, which resemble eyes, calls for opening our eyes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/V0Z1qwaFWYU 2723 2025-10-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-medieval-genius-who-organized-all-jewish-knowledge-without-a-computer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DHb6dyVDG4E/hqdefault.jpg The Medieval Genius Who Organized ALL Jewish Knowledge Without a Computer In this third class on the life and works of Maimonides, the Rambam, Rabbi Greenberg explains how he came to write the Mishneh Torah and why it drew such criticism. Settled in Egypt after fleeing persecution, the Rambam first wrote the Book of Commandments, setting 14 ground rules for what counts among the 613 commandments, such as not counting rabbinic commandments, repetitions or one-time commands, and differing from earlier enumerations. He wrote it as an outline so he could cover all of Jewish law. The Mishneh Torah, begun around 1169, gathers every area of Jewish law, including laws for the messianic age, into 14 volumes, 83 sections and exactly 1,000 chapters, so that each subject is found in one place, unlike the Talmud's free-associating style. He wrote it for both beginners and scholars, opened it with the knowledge of God, and did it all with a quill, without the tools a modern professor would have. Critics objected to the title's comparison with Deuteronomy, to the claim that one could study the Torah and then his work, and to the lack of sources and dissenting opinions. The Rambam later agreed he should have cited sources. His sharpest critic, the Raavad, whose glosses now appear beside the text, still called it a great work; there was also opposition from Baghdad and from Rabbi Meir Abulafia in Toledo, who withdrew his objection once the Rambam affirmed belief in the resurrection of the dead. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DHb6dyVDG4E 2693 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-can-you-use-plastic-cups-for-kiddush-the-answer-will-shock-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/thbeDUXRe9Q/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Can You Use Plastic Cups for Kiddush? The Answer Will SHOCK You! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that an animal horn used once and thrown away is not susceptible to impurity, and whether this shows that a disposable cup is not a proper vessel for Kiddush or washing the hands, as the Shraga HaMeir and others conclude. Others reject the proof, since the Rambam rules earlier that any vessel that can hold something is susceptible, even one made of paper or a pomegranate shell by children, excluding only something that will rot. Rabbi Greenberg resolves the contradiction: a horn does not look like a vessel and becomes one only through the owner's intent, so if he means to discard it, it never gains that status, while a paper cup has the shape of a vessel and is inherently one. By this analysis, which he notes is not a halachic ruling, a reusable plastic cup is a vessel and may be used for Kiddush and washing. https://www.youtube.com/embed/thbeDUXRe9Q 259 2025-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-sacred-time-vs-sacred-healing-who-wins/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wcz8nuqDXTI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Sacred Time vs. Sacred Healing - Who Wins? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a kohen may examine a tzara'as affliction on any day except Shabbos and Yom Tov, since examining is a form of judging, with the intermediate festival days treated in a separate ruling. The Mishneh LaMelech asks why the Rambam splits them, why he gives the reason of judging rather than the concern of turning festive joy into sorrow, and why judging, forbidden on Shabbos for fear of writing, applies to a kohen, who writes nothing. Rabbi Dovid Ber Zuckerman answers that at the first examination the kohen marks a circle around the affliction with dye to see whether it spreads, and dyeing, like writing, is forbidden on Shabbos and Yom Tov. The concern for festive joy applies only to a later examination, when he must declare the person impure. So on the intermediate days only the later examination is a problem, while on Shabbos and Yom Tov the first is. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wcz8nuqDXTI 278 2025-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-moses-broke-the-tablets-the-ancient-debate-that-defines-morality/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d7CsUmfIwd8/hqdefault.jpg Why Moses Broke the Tablets: The Ancient Debate That Defines Morality Rabbi Greenberg explains why Moses broke the tablets, connecting the Torah's last word, Israel, to its first, Bereishis. Rashi reads Bereishis as "for the sake of those called beginnings," Israel and the Torah. A Midrash relates that Moses withdrew from the camp rather than give the tablets to a people worshipping the golden calf, the elders seized one end, and in the tug of war Moses prevailed and the tablets shattered. One commentary explains this as a philosophical debate. The first tablet concerns our relationship with God, the second our relationship with other people. Some philosophers held that good character must come first and belief in God later; the sages held that morality must rest on belief in one God, or a person may one day decide his own reasoning was wrong. The elders wanted to save the second tablet; Moses insisted that compromising belief in God compromises everything. In the messianic age, as the Rambam concludes his Mishneh Torah, abundance will end envy and war and the world will be filled with the knowledge of God, so both tablets will be whole. https://www.youtube.com/embed/d7CsUmfIwd8 443 2025-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-judaism-treats-rain-like-a-miracle-and-you-should-too/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ScZ9M5YZQgg/hqdefault.jpg Why Judaism Treats Rain Like a Miracle (And You Should Too) Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism treats rain as a blessing and a sign of God's involvement, between the prayer for rain on Shemini Atzeres and the flood in Parshas Noach. The Kohen Gadol prayed for rain on Yom Kippur, and the Talmud compares a day of rain to the day of creation and to the resurrection of the dead, devoting a tractate to fasts for rain. Elokim and hateva, nature, both equal 86, showing that nature is God's energy. Geshem, rain, is related to gashmi, physical, so rain stands for all our physical needs, and its value of 343, seven cubed, represents nature in its most stable form. Rabbi Greenberg urges seeing rain as being drenched in God's blessing, recalling a joyful Shavuos walk through a downpour in Brooklyn. The flood began as rain of blessing that people's conduct turned into a curse. Citing Rashi, there was no rain before Adam because no one prayed for it, and unlike Egypt, watered by the Nile, the Land of Israel depends on rain and on our prayers. Choni HaMe'agel had to refine his prayer before the right rain fell, showing that God wants us to ask specifically. A study found Jerusalem's balance of sun and rain ideal, and Rabbi Greenberg explains that Israel's closer relationship with God brings higher expectations; he also discusses Nachmanides and Maimonides on settling the land. The Torah is likewise compared to rain coming down from heaven. In the story of Rabbi Eliezer, a heavenly voice could not overrule the majority, because the Torah "is not in heaven." Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai brought rain through Torah rather than prayer. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ScZ9M5YZQgg 3754 2025-10-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/stop-making-resolutions-do-this-1-000-year-old-practice-instead/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FOAXLEq6sfc/hqdefault.jpg Stop Making Resolutions - Do This 1,000-Year-Old Practice Instead Rabbi Greenberg asks why Yom Kippur, the day of forgiveness and closest intimacy with God, opens with Kol Nidre, an Aramaic legal formula annulling vows with no request, praise or thanks. He rejects the claim that the conversos of the Inquisition composed it, since it is over a thousand years old, and explains that it releases only personal commitments a person does not remember, never obligations to others. A vow is the one prohibition a court of three can release, and on Kol Nidre night the whole congregation forms that court. He presents several explanations. Rabbi Soloveitchik saw it as public shame for past failures and as a tribunal that brings the Divine Presence into the day. Another view sees it cutting the unspoken vows by which people chain themselves to their inadequacies; as the Rebbe taught, faults are not truly one's own, while virtues are. The Tzemach Tzedek saw annulling a vow, which works retroactively, as a model of teshuvah's power to transform the past. Kol Nidre also means changing now rather than making resolutions for tomorrow, and setting aside vows as a crutch. Today the focus is on future vows rather than past ones, Rabbi Greenberg suggests, because this generation is fragile and near the end of the exile. Like the Malbim's parable of a child asking "are we there yet," near the destination one should focus on the future. He links this to the Rebbe's call to rebuild after the Holocaust rather than dwell on it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FOAXLEq6sfc 3169 2025-09-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-10-ancient-secrets-hidden-in-the-shofar-s-sound/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-uTIArZaXs0/hqdefault.jpg The 10 Ancient Secrets Hidden in the Shofar's Sound Rabbi Greenberg explains the ten reasons for sounding the shofar given by Rabbi Saadia Gaon, going beyond the Rambam's basic answer that God commanded it and his symbolic reading of it as a wake-up call. The shofar crowns God as King for the coming year and brings out our own royalty: being a head who forges ahead rather than a tail resting on yesterday's achievements. It announces the Ten Days of Teshuvah, which reach all ten faculties of the soul, three intellectual and seven emotional. It recalls Sinai and God's personal bond with each Jew, and it recalls the prophets, reminding us to seek a mentor. It also recalls the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash; as the Rebbe taught, one's own inner temple is not to be mourned but built. It recalls the binding of Isaac, whose lesson includes the value of small sacrifices, like a child's resolution to wake early that lifted the Rebbe's mood. It brings the trembling that sometimes breaks a hardened shell, the reminder of final judgment and accountability, the ingathering of the exiles and the power of community, and the resurrection of the dead, which means bringing life to cold intellect and recovering from spiritual decline. Rabbi Greenberg adds the Baal Shem Tov's parable of a prince who returns home unrecognizable, yet whose cry the king knows at once. Finally, he explains that the broken teruah sound is a mother's cry, an image of the Shechinah looking through the window and calling her children back. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-uTIArZaXs0 3557 2025-09-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-red-heifer-mystery-that-stumped-great-rabbis/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4waOm6OHzCA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Red Heifer Mystery That Stumped Great Rabbis! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the parah adumah, the red heifer, should be three or four years old, and that a calf may not be bought and raised for the purpose, since the Torah calls it a cow and not a calf; a calf that is found is priced and left with its owner until it is old enough. The Ra'avad holds that the real reason is the rule that an offering may not be consecrated before it becomes eligible, as in its first eight days. The Kesef Mishneh answers that this alone could be avoided by buying the calf without consecrating it, but another authority holds that buying the red heifer itself consecrates it. Rav Menachem Zemba explains that the rule against early consecration does not apply to an unborn calf, which cannot yet be offered. The Rambam therefore needs the verse to disqualify even a calf consecrated before birth. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4waOm6OHzCA 314 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-sinner-stands-higher-than-the-perfect-person/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DDcs0HimCbQ/hqdefault.jpg Why the 'Sinner' Stands Higher Than the Perfect Person Rabbi Greenberg concludes his study of the Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers about Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's five outstanding students, and explains why the returnee to Judaism stands higher than the perfectly righteous person. He reviews each student's praise and suggests a link to each of the five books of Moses: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, who forgot nothing, to Genesis, since forgetfulness entered the world only with the sin of the Tree of Knowledge; Rabbi Yehoshua, praised through his mother, to Exodus, the birth of the Jewish people; Rabbi Yosei the Kohen, the pious one, to Leviticus; Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel, who feared falling short, to Numbers, since people count what they do not want to lose; and Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, the ever-flowing spring, to Deuteronomy, where Moses taught in his own words. The Mishnah cites two versions of which of these students outweighs all the sages, perfect memory or depth. Rabbi Greenberg compares the Talmud's choice between Rav Yosef and Rabbah, and tells how Rabbi Elazar ben Arach left his colleagues, forgot his learning and misread the Torah until they prayed for him. Brilliance can restore what was forgotten in a crisis, as Osniel ben Kenaz restored 3,000 laws after Moses' passing, but no one should detach from colleagues. The lessons: memorize some Torah and also go beneath the surface. The memory sage resembles the tzaddik, the righteous person; the spring resembles the baal teshuvah, the returnee, whose passion places him where even the perfectly righteous cannot stand, though one may not sin in order to return. Mashiach will give the righteous that passion as well. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DDcs0HimCbQ 2331 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-natural-vs-artificial-the-rule-that-changes-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6E5up8vHdWA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Natural vs. Artificial - The Rule That Changes Everything! Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling about an olive-sized piece of a corpse that was cut into smaller pieces and pressed back together. It conveys impurity to one under the same roof or who carries it, since the whole piece is present, but not to one who touches part of it, because a connection made by a person is not a true connection, and the part touched may be less than an olive's volume. He then raises a question from hamotzi, the blessing over bread: a loaf cut in two may, if nothing else is available, be joined with a stick so that it counts as whole, especially on Shabbos. He presents the distinction of the Sefer Vaya'an David by a contemporary authority: rejoining fails when the object was naturally one, but something made by people from the start, like bread, a woven garment or an assembled utensil, can be put back together by people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6E5up8vHdWA 365 2025-09-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-perfect-people-don-t-go-to-heaven-but-sinners-do/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mFKbs7Hvoyc/hqdefault.jpg Why Perfect People DON'T Go to Heaven (But Sinners Do) Rabbi Greenberg explains how teshuvah, returning to God, can not only erase a sin but transform it into a mitzvah. Teshuvah out of fear turns an intentional sin into an unintentional one; teshuvah out of love turns it into a merit. Drawing on the Tanya, he explains that realizing how far one has strayed awakens a greater love for God than one had before, so the sin becomes the engine of that love. Because the soul is part of God, who sees all of time at once, teshuvah is the one way to change the past. He cites a passage in the Jerusalem Talmud, discussed in a letter of the Rebbe, in which wisdom, prophecy, Torah and God are asked what should happen to a sinner; only God answers that he should do teshuvah and be forgiven. He then explains that the 24 things the Rambam says hinder teshuvah, such as causing others to sin or sinning with the plan to repent, only withhold divine help; one who tries hard enough can still return. Citing the Rebbe, he teaches that the Jewish people as a whole have already done teshuvah, and every mitzvah hastens Mashiach and helps him come with kindness. For those who feel unable to change, he describes suppressing one's will, the lifelong struggle of the beinoni, and the Alter Rebbe's teaching that God delights when a person commits even one sin fewer. He closes with five ways to transform one's character: a test of self-sacrifice, meditation that lets the mind rule the heart, revealing one's inner goodness, repeated behavior, and Torah study. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mFKbs7Hvoyc 3679 2025-09-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/from-moses-to-moses-why-this-medieval-genius-changed-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Cto-D2N0jK8/hqdefault.jpg From Moses to Moses: Why This Medieval Genius Changed Everything Rabbi Greenberg begins a series on Maimonides, the Rambam, with the first part of his life story, explaining why his tombstone says "From Moses to Moses, none arose like Moses." He was a Talmudist, philosopher, physician and astronomer, a humble leader and a fierce opponent of idolatry and superstition, and controversial throughout his life. Rabbi Greenberg favors the minority view that the Rambam knew Kabbalah but felt it was not the time to teach it. Descended from generations of rabbinic judges, he was born in Cordoba, by family tradition on the 14th of Nissan. Rabbi Greenberg notes his fondness for the number 14, which he links to division, while his 13 principles of faith match the numerical value of echad, "one." The golden age of Jews in Muslim lands ended in 1148, when the Almohads conquered Cordoba and forced everyone to profess Islam. Many Jews outwardly complied, but the Rambam's family fled, wandering for years before settling in Morocco. When an unnamed rabbi condemned the forced converts as sinners whose private observance was worthless, the young Rambam wrote Iggeres HaShmad. He ruled that Islam is not idolatry, that acting under duress does not make people wicked, and that every mitzvah counts, while still urging them to leave. In Morocco he began his commentary on the Mishnah, written in Judeo-Arabic, explaining each Mishnah according to the Talmud, with introductions including the Eight Chapters on ethics and the 13 principles of faith. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cto-D2N0jK8 2354 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-3-000-year-old-wisdom-solves-modern-anxiety-forever/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DbOGf2fu4vk/hqdefault.jpg This 3,000-Year-Old Wisdom Solves Modern Anxiety Forever Rabbi Greenberg reads the opening of Parshas Ki Seitzei, "When you go out to war upon your enemies," as guidance for the inner battle between the Godly soul and the animal soul during Elul, the month of introspection. Following the Alter Rebbe and later Chabad Rebbes, he notes that one "goes out" to war: a Jew's true state is peace and holiness, like Shabbos, and war is only a departure from it. Fighting "upon" the enemy means knowing that good is superior to evil, which is loud and on the surface while good lies deeper. Elul is a month of searching within for the treasures the Baal Shem Tov said every Jew possesses. "You will take its captives" points to transforming evil itself: teshuvah out of love turns sins into merits, as Rabbi Levi Yitzchak told the town's worst sinner. The parsha contains more mitzvos than any other, and Rabbi Greenberg calls its message mitzvah therapy, citing the Sefer HaChinuch's teaching that people are shaped by their actions more than by meditation. He explains the ban on marrying men of Ammon and Moab, who did not greet the Jews with bread and water. The words "because of the matter" can mean "because of the word," pointing to a planned conspiracy and to their attack on the power of royalty, which works through speech; Balaam's curse, which Tosafos identifies as "kalem," destroy them, reads "melech," king, when reversed. Finally, Amalek, who "cooled you off," stands for the inner doubt that drains enthusiasm, and there is no greater joy than resolving doubts. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DbOGf2fu4vk 2205 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-dream-fast-rule-that-changes-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gjDKG2LDb2c/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Dream Fast Rule That Changes Everything! Rabbi Greenberg explains a ruling in the Rambam's laws of unintentional sins and how it decides a question about a ta'anis chalom, a fast after a disturbing dream. The Rambam rules that one who unintentionally eats four different forbidden foods, such as forbidden fat, blood, nosar and pigul, in one lapse of awareness brings four sin offerings, because one offering cannot atone for a different sin. One may keep a ta'anis chalom even on Shabbos, but must then fast again to atone for diminishing the delight of Shabbos. The Masas Binyamin rules, based on this Rambam, that a fast one must keep anyway cannot serve as that second fast, and the Alter Rebbe rules this way for a healthy person, while one for whom fasting is hard may rely on those who are lenient. The Aruch HaShulchan traces the dispute to the difference between a sin offering and an olah, one of which can atone for several positive commandments. Rashi explains that an olah is a gift brought after atonement, and the Rebbe in Likkutei Sichos explains why one gift covers many sins: what it repairs is the rebellion against God's sovereignty, which one acceptance of His rule addresses. Fasting on Shabbos is permitted, so it is no rebellion; it leaves a separate lack in the delight of Shabbos, which needs its own fast. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gjDKG2LDb2c 488 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/5-ancient-personality-types-every-leader-needs-on-their-team/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0FCEOEnKC10/hqdefault.jpg 5 Ancient Personality Types Every Leader Needs on Their Team Rabbi Greenberg explains the qualities of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's five disciples as the Mishnah praises them, presenting each as a trait Judaism needs to survive and flourish. Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, a plastered cistern that loses not a drop, embodied retention born of struggle and receptivity, not just a gifted memory; the Talmud calls such a scholar a "Sinai." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah is praised only through his mother, who had sages pray for him before his birth and kept him in the synagogue all day, so that his brilliance, kindness and leadership all came from her nurturing. He told a Roman princess that fine wine keeps best in plain vessels, explaining his unattractive appearance. Rabbi Yosei the Kohen was a chassid, one who goes beyond the letter of the law. The Rambam praises the middle path but describes the chassid as going a little beyond it, and the Talmud's teaching that a chassid burns his nail clippings shows him accepting a risk to himself to protect others. Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel feared sin itself rather than punishment, since the Hebrew word used for sin here means missing the mark and failing one's mission. The chassid focuses on God, the one who fears sin on his own purpose, and both are needed. Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, a spring that gathers force, kept finding new meaning in what he learned. Rabbi Greenberg recalls the Rebbe teaching that thinking "I already know this" when Torah is repeated is a mark of exile, and notes that we bless God as the One who "gives" the Torah, in the present tense. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0FCEOEnKC10 2753 2025-09-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-will-destroy-everything-you-think-about-sin/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qaZje_ecnN0/hqdefault.jpg This Will DESTROY Everything You Think About Sin! Rabbi Greenberg explains teshuvah, usually translated as repentance, and whether a person can truly change, a question especially relevant in the month of Elul. Against views that humans are programmed, Judaism holds that a person, created in God's image, has free choice and can transform the animal within. Change can happen in behavior, in mindset and in personality; behavior matters most, but it lasts only if the inner self changes too. Teshuvah means return: beneath selfish surface layers lies a pure, divine essence, and sin is a straying from one's true self. Through the Baal Shem Tov's parable of the healthy horse, he teaches that anyone can come back, and the word teshuvah is read as "return the hei," restoring the letter of God's name that sin drags into the mud. Against a 19th-century reading that the Rambam did not make teshuvah obligatory, the Rebbe shows that the Rambam does call it a mitzvah, with verbal confession as its required action, and explains that teshuvah reaches deeper than a command, into complete free choice. The components are a resolution for the future, regret that takes full responsibility without excuses, spoken confession, and asking forgiveness of God and of anyone wronged, who must forgive after three sincere requests. Fasting or charity then restores the relationship, like a gift after an apology. Teshuvah from fear reduces sins to unintentional ones; teshuvah from love turns them into merits, which is why the rabbi of Berditchev told a sinner he envied him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qaZje_ecnN0 3261 2025-08-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-sunrise-changes-everything-in-jewish-law/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s9UgXy8LeC0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Sunrise Changes EVERYTHING in Jewish Law! Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Rambam defines the "distant road" that exempts a person from bringing the korban Pesach. The Rambam rules that one who, at sunrise on the fourteenth of Nissan, is fifteen mil or more from Jerusalem, too far to reach the Beis HaMikdash by midday, is on a distant road; if he is closer, he is not. The Shaagas Aryeh asks why sunrise matters, since the obligation to bring the korban Pesach begins only at midday. The Chukas HaPesach answers based on the Ramban, who holds that the Torah's requirement of "in the afternoon" applies only to the slaughtering, not to the other services of the offering. He also cites Tosafos on a case where the slaughtering was begun before midday, the blood was received and sprinkled, and the slaughtering was completed after midday, which by that view is valid. The korban Pesach therefore has some application from the start of the day, so the distance is measured from sunrise rather than from the day before. https://www.youtube.com/embed/s9UgXy8LeC0 317 2025-08-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-illiterate-farmer-became-judaism-s-greatest-scholar-at-22/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JayfbRhzYTg/hqdefault.jpg This Illiterate Farmer Became Judaism's Greatest Scholar at 22 Rabbi Greenberg continues the Mishnah about Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who ensured that Judaism would flourish after the destruction of the Second Temple, and introduces his first disciple, Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. Rabban Yochanan taught that one who has learned much Torah should not take credit, "for this you were formed." Rabbi Greenberg notes that the Mishnah says formed, not created: mitzvos are what we were created for, while Torah study forms a person's character and way of thinking. Rabban Yochanan had thousands of students, so why does the Mishnah name five? Rabbi Greenberg gives four answers: they were the most outstanding; they were the ones entrusted with the totality of Torah, since a tradition passed on only in part dwindles in each generation, like a small prayer book whose fraying pages leave nothing; they represent five character traits; and they were masters of the Torah's mystical teachings. He also discusses when one may praise others in public. Rabbi Eliezer was an unlettered farmer of 22 who wept to study Torah, went to Jerusalem against his father's wishes, and went hungry until Rabban Yochanan noticed. His father later came to disinherit him, heard his brilliant lecture, and offered him everything instead. Rabban Yochanan called him a plastered cistern that loses not a drop. This praised a memory he developed through effort rather than a gift he was born with, and, Rabbi Greenberg explains, one remembers what one finds wondrous. Saying he taught nothing he had not heard from his teacher reflects his receptivity, the ability truly to listen. https://www.youtube.com/embed/JayfbRhzYTg 2648 2025-08-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/are-you-bribing-yourself-the-shocking-torah-answer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ew13T8cOnGg/hqdefault.jpg Are You Bribing Yourself? The Shocking Torah Answer Rabbi Greenberg explains how a person can be bribed by self-interest, drawing on Parshas Shoftim on the first day of Elul, the month of introspection. The command to appoint judges and officers in all your gates also applies within each person, who is like a miniature city: the mind must judge what enters through the eyes, ears, nose and mouth, a kind of kosher that applies to everything we take in. He recalls the Alter Rebbe's parable of the king in the field to explain why Elul has no holidays, and teaches that guilt, like pain to the body, is healthy in measure but debilitating in excess. The Torah forbids a judge to take a bribe even if he intends to rule fairly, because it inevitably clouds his judgment. Rabbi Greenberg tells the story of the Shach, Rabbi Shabsai Cohen, who lost a case before a rabbi who based his ruling on the Shach's own book, which had decided an identical case against him. Self-love bribes us the same way, so in matters involving other people we should consult an objective counselor. He then explains the repeated word in justice, justice you shall pursue: Rashi says to seek the best court, another reading teaches that righteousness must be pursued by righteous means, and a third links it to tzedakah. The means matter as much as the end, so even while awaiting Mashiach every hour must be used for another mitzvah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ew13T8cOnGg 1849 2025-08-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-king-is-in-the-field-ancient-jewish-wisdom-for-modern-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CjTUUqaZ6k0/hqdefault.jpg The King is in the Field: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for Modern Life Rabbi Greenberg explains why the month of Elul, often seen as a somber month of judgment before Rosh Hashanah, is really a month of love and closeness to God. Historically, Elul begins the final forty days Moses spent on the mountain, ending on Yom Kippur with the second tablets, when God accepted the people as baalei teshuvah, penitents, with even greater warmth than before the golden calf. Elul is also a month of introspection and of settling our debts to God. The Alter Rebbe asked why Elul has no holidays and answered with his parable of the king in the field. Usually one needs permission to see the king in his palace, but when he passes through the fields he greets everyone with a cheerful, smiling face and anyone can approach him. The Rebbe added that today teshuvah must be done with joy, because God never stops accepting a person who returns. The initials of "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me" spell Elul. In Nisan God began the love, while in Elul we must take the first step toward Him. Five verses whose initials spell Elul point to the month's themes: prayer, Torah study (a refuge like the cities of refuge), charity, teshuvah and redemption. Elul is like a mezuzah for the coming year. The shofar sounded every day of Elul recalls Moses guarding the people against idolatry, and Rabbi Greenberg tells of the Rebbe of Munkatch, who blew one extra blast for his crying grandchild, as we ask God for one more blast to bring Mashiach. We are now in the Elul of history, preparing for the redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CjTUUqaZ6k0 2994 2025-08-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-some-things-must-be-burned-and-others-buried/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H-06YoqqWzA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Some Things Must Be Burned and Others Buried Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the ashes of forbidden things that must be buried remain forbidden, while the ashes of Temple-related things that must be burned are permitted, and that what must be buried may not be burned, since that would lead to leniency with the ashes; Rashi explains that one might come to benefit from them. A question is raised from chametz: the Sages allow any form of destruction, which seems to place it among buried things whose ashes are forbidden, yet the Rambam allows burning it. The Magen Avraham and the Alter Rebbe answer that, for the Rambam, burning is forbidden only when one intends to use the ashes. Other authorities explain instead that once the Torah's mitzvah of destruction is fulfilled, the ashes are permitted, while burial is only a rabbinic safeguard; since all agree there is a mitzvah to destroy chametz, its ashes are permitted. https://www.youtube.com/embed/H-06YoqqWzA 351 2025-08-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-did-this-rabbi-laugh-when-everyone-else-cried/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3J4bxADg1yI/hqdefault.jpg Why Did This Rabbi Laugh When Everyone Else Cried? Rabbi Greenberg explains, following a talk of the Rebbe on the two stories that close Talmud tractate Makkos, why Rabbi Akiva laughed while his colleagues Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah and Rabbi Yehoshua wept. On the road to Rome they heard the noise of the city and cried that idolaters live in security while the Beis HaMikdash was burned; Rabbi Akiva laughed, saying that if God gives this to those who defy Him, how much more He will give those who do His will. Later, seeing a fox emerge from the Holy of Holies, they cried again, and he laughed: the prophecy of Uriah that Zion would be plowed like a field has been fulfilled, so Zechariah's prophecy of old men and women sitting in Jerusalem's streets will be fulfilled too. The Rebbe reads the first story as a journey into exile to elevate the holy sparks scattered in the world. The sages wept because the sparks' cry was drowned out by the sound of Rome, and their mission seemed in vain; Rabbi Akiva saw that Rome's prosperity is beyond logic, so the reward of those who do God's will must be beyond logic too. The second story is a journey toward Redemption. The Holy of Holies stands for the essence of the Jewish soul, and the fox, as in Rabbi Akiva's parable of the fox and the fish, for the claim that Torah itself is dangerous. Rabbi Akiva taught that plowing, though destructive, exists for planting, so total destruction promises total rebuilding. Consolation, Rabbi Greenberg says, means a complete change in how one sees the negative, while still feeling its pain. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3J4bxADg1yI 3197 2025-08-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-perfect-food-made-ancient-jews-miserable/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XVepGbf3F9Q/hqdefault.jpg Why Perfect Food Made Ancient Jews Miserable Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Talmud calls the manna, which could taste like any food, an affliction, as part of a class on Parshas Eikev. He begins with the parsha's opening word, eikev, which can mean "because," "the end" and "heel." Rashi reads it as the "light" mitzvos people trample with their heels. Read as "in the end," it promises that the Jewish people will ultimately keep the Torah; as the Rambam explains about Pharaoh, a prediction about a group leaves each individual free to choose. The heel, which has no mind of its own, also teaches that even rational laws should be kept because God commanded them, as the non-rational ones are. The word vehayah, "and it will be," signals joy, and Rabbi Greenberg links joy to humility: a humble person sees everything as a gift. Mitzvos done without understanding are humble, yet they bring the greatest joy, the knowledge of fulfilling God's will. The manna was pure and could taste like anything, but the people suffered because they could not see what they were eating. A Midrash derives from this the lighting of Shabbos candles, so that the Shabbos meal is enjoyed. He lists further reasons: peace in the home, honor for Shabbos, and affirming the Oral Torah against the Karaites and Sadducees, who sat in darkness on Shabbos. He compares the Written Torah to a lecturer's notes, unintelligible without the lecture. Women light the candles because they are especially connected to light, life and faith, bringing spiritual light into the home. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XVepGbf3F9Q 2121 2025-08-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-women-can-t-count-the-omer-or-can-they/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9qfkuF3jj7w/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Women CAN'T Count the Omer (Or Can They?!) Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that counting the Omer applies to every Jewish man everywhere and in every period, while women are exempt, since it is a time-bound positive mitzvah. The Ramban, however, counts it among the mitzvos women are obligated in. Rabbi Yerucham Fishel Perla explains the Ramban using a principle of the Turei Even: a mitzvah done at a fixed time because of an outside factor, like bikkurim (first fruits), is not time-bound, and the counting depends on the Omer offering. He finds this inadequate, since most authorities, who link the counting to the offering, still exempt women. Drawing on an explanation of the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg suggests that where time is the substance of the mitzvah, as in counting days, it is not a time limit. The Rambam may still treat it as time-bound because it ends and renews each year, as in a discussion of the Kiryas Sefer about the half-shekel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9qfkuF3jj7w 569 2025-08-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-3-minute-decision-that-saved-judaism-forever/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vOalWCnhLu0/hqdefault.jpg The 3-Minute Decision That Saved Judaism Forever Rabbi Greenberg introduces Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, the student of Hillel without whom, he says, there would be no Jewish people or Torah today. During the Roman siege of Jerusalem he opposed the Biryonim, the zealots who burned the city's stored food and fuel to force a war. He had himself carried out of the city in a coffin, greeted Vespasian as king just before word came that Vespasian had become emperor, and asked for three things: Yavneh and its sages, the family of Rabban Gamliel, and a doctor for the ailing Rabbi Tzadok. Rabbi Greenberg suggests these preserved the three pillars on which the world stands: Torah, prayer and acts of kindness. Rabbi Yochanan insisted that life go on after the destruction, while enacting practices, such as taking the lulav all seven days of Sukkos, so the Beis HaMikdash would not be forgotten. Rabbi Greenberg sees the same resilience in Holocaust survivors who rebuilt their lives. On his deathbed Rabbi Yochanan wept, unsure where he was going, and the Rebbe explains that he had been too busy doing good ever to look into himself. The Mishnah itself teaches: if you have learned much Torah, do not claim credit, for this is why you were created. Rabbi Greenberg gives two reasons. What anyone knows is tiny compared with the Torah's infinity, as he learned from Rabbi Hirschprung of Montreal, who knew the whole Talmud by heart. And studying Torah is simply the job we were created to do. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vOalWCnhLu0 2395 2025-08-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/7-ancient-jewish-secrets-for-turning-crisis-into-joy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Tvg9akfO0sY/hqdefault.jpg 7 Ancient Jewish Secrets for Turning Crisis Into Joy Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Mishnah calls the 15th of Av, together with Yom Kippur, the happiest day for the Jewish people, going through the six reasons in the Talmud and a seventh given by the Arizal. It was the day marriages between tribes were again permitted after a ban that arose from fear of losing tribal land, which he connects to the insatiable desire for money as the soul's thirst for God misdirected. It was the day the tribe of Benjamin was readmitted for marriage, showing that moral indignation has limits. It was the day the generation of the desert stopped dying, freeing the people from both a slave mentality and a desert mentality that wanted only spiritual life. It was the day King Hoshea son of Elah removed the guards Jeroboam had placed to stop pilgrims going to Jerusalem, teaching that a time comes to stop blaming others. It was the day the slain of Betar were brought to burial, when the blessing "who is good and does good" was instituted, a sign that a reversal of direction is cause for celebration. It was the day they stopped cutting wood for the altar and broke the axe, showing that destruction is acceptable only when necessary. The Arizal explains that the Jewish people are likened to the moon, which is full on the 15th, and after the low point of Tishah B'Av, the 15th of Av marks the joy of bouncing back. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tvg9akfO0sY 2835 2025-08-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-ancient-secret-that-changes-everything-about-time/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HyAxrjIqVAw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Ancient Secret That Changes Everything About Time! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that offerings may be brought only by day, learned from the verse "on the day He commanded," and that blood may be sprinkled only by day, learned from a second verse, so that blood becomes invalid once the sun sets. Tosafos asks why a second verse is needed. Rashi answers according to the view that an offering left on the altar overnight is not invalidated, but the Rambam rules against that view. Rabbi Amiel, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, distinguishes an invalidation of the offering itself, which is disposed of at once, from one that concerns only the person offering it, where one waits until it becomes nosar, left past its time. The second verse teaches that the blood itself becomes invalid at sunset, so it is poured out immediately. Tosafos's own answer, that invalidation begins at sunset rather than nightfall, is not hinted at in the Rambam. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HyAxrjIqVAw 412 2025-08-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-moses-prayed-515-times-and-still-got-no/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rkwQGeHZNao/hqdefault.jpg Why Moses Prayed 515 Times and Still Got 'No' Rabbi Greenberg explains why Moses prayed 515 times to enter the Land of Israel and still received a no, and connects the answer to Shabbos Nachamu, the Shabbos of consolation after Tisha B'Av. The sages count Moses' prayers by the numerical value of "va'eschanan," the opening word of the parsha, which equals the words for prayer and for song. God refused him but let him see the whole land from the top of the hill. The Talmud says Moses wanted the reward of the mitzvos that can only be done in Israel. Rabbi Greenberg explains, citing the Rebbe, that this reward is the mitzvah's effect: Moses foresaw that the people would decline and the Temple would be destroyed, and he wanted his mitzvos to lift theirs so the Temple would stand forever. That did not happen, but by looking at the land he instilled in it and in the people the power to bounce back, which carries them through exile to Mashiach. On Isaiah's doubled words "Console, console My people," the Abarbanel says the two consolations are for two Temples. Rabbi Greenberg explains that the First Temple was holier but its holiness often bounced off the people, while the Second was less holy but within their reach; the Third will combine both. More simply, the idol worship that destroyed the First Temple and the senseless hatred that destroyed the Second share one root, ego, which God's presence in the Third Temple will remove. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rkwQGeHZNao 1995 2025-08-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-great-rabbis-literally-ran-away-from-recognition/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pHjHceQFIME/hqdefault.jpg Why Great Rabbis Literally Ran Away From Recognition Rabbi Greenberg concludes his study of Pirkei Avos 2:7 with its last lines: one who acquires a good name has acquired something for himself, and one who acquires Torah knowledge has acquired life in the World to Come. Most commentaries link the good name to charity, whose dividends come even in this world. Physical possessions can always be lost, but charity and the good name it brings are truly one's own and define who a person is. The mishnah keeps speaking of increase because life means continual growth, just as a birthday marks the point when life becomes one's own and each day must add something new. Is a good name the reason to do good? Great people hid their goodness. Rabbi Zusha gave a merchant who lost his money 195 of the 200 rubles he had received from the Maggid of Mezritch, so that he would be taken for a thief rather than praised. Yet the Rebbe said the man who chose a day of paradise over regaining the wealth he spent redeeming captives could not have been influenced by Chassidus, which would have chosen the wealth to help others. Benefiting others matters more than one's own spiritual refinement, and so great leaders accepted fame as a sacrifice. The Rebbe resisted leadership for a year, and Rabbi Hutner wondered whether his sense of responsibility or his humility would prevail. Even a good name fades, but Torah one studies lasts forever. To acquire Torah means it becomes part of a person, and the Hebrew word for acquire also means to measure: one must measure one's life by the Torah, not merely master it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pHjHceQFIME 2558 2025-08-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-the-high-priest-can-never-leave-jerusalem/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F5DzHp-cyC8/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why the High Priest Can NEVER Leave Jerusalem! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, must live in Jerusalem and may not leave it. Some see it as part of the honor due him, not a prohibition. The Minchas Chinuch, treating it as a prohibition, suggests that since the Kohen Gadol brings an offering every day, and one who brings an offering must stay overnight, he can never leave. The Mikdash David objects that the Rambam does not require staying overnight after an offering, and explains instead that every day is like a festival for the Kohen Gadol, who may serve even as a mourner, so he must always stay, as on a festival. Rav Meir Dan Plotzki explains that the tzitz, the High Priest's gold head-plate, atones for impurity only while he wears it, so he must wear it constantly, even at night. Rabbi Greenberg finds it most reasonable that living in Jerusalem enhances his honor. https://www.youtube.com/embed/F5DzHp-cyC8 313 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moses-discovered-the-psychology-of-respectful-criticism-first/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qwkSWxc7rQQ/hqdefault.jpg Moses Discovered the Psychology of Respectful Criticism First Rabbi Greenberg explains how Moses, at the start of Deuteronomy, rebuked the Jewish people with respect, by alluding to their sins through place names rather than naming them. Unlike the first four books, where Moses was only God's mouthpiece, in Deuteronomy God's words pass through Moses' own divinely inspired understanding; the Rebbe explains that this made the whole Torah accessible to the people. Rashi notes that the opening place names hint at sins, such as Di Zahav, "much gold," for the golden calf. This supports the Rambam's teaching that rebuke should begin gently, out of respect and because it works better. Rabbi Greenberg shows that each of the five books opens with a sign of God's love for Israel, through Rashi's comments on Bereishis, the repeated names in Shemos, Vayikra and the census in Bamidbar. The hint to Korach's rebellion comes before the golden calf because Korach's claim that the whole nation heard God undid Moses' defense of the calf. He concludes with the Rebbe's call during the Three Weeks to increase Torah study, especially the laws of the Beis HaMikdash, and charity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qwkSWxc7rQQ 1184 2025-07-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-4-level-torah-code-that-changes-everything-you-know/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kSwFq70Z0Ug/hqdefault.jpg The 4-Level Torah Code That Changes Everything You Know Rabbi Greenberg explains the positive half of Pirkei Avos 2:7: the more Torah, the more life; the more sitting with others, the more wisdom; the more counsel, the more understanding; and the more charity, the more peace. Unlike everything else, which is best in moderation, Torah gives more life the more one has of it, literally and in meaning. He cites King David, who said he would have been lost in his suffering without Torah, and Rabbi Akiva's parable of the fish who cannot leave the water. Following the Ben Ish Chai, more Torah means all four levels of interpretation, Pardes: the simple meaning, hints, the deeper message, and the secrets. Remove any one letter and the word becomes something lacking; without the secrets it spells pered, a mule, which cannot reproduce. Speaking on the yahrzeit of the Arizal, he stresses the place of Kabbalah. Studying with others builds wisdom, and consulting others builds understanding, the ability to draw inferences and apply ideas. When two people discuss how to live, two godly souls stand against one animal soul. Real counsel requires experience, and one who sincerely advises another receives divine help to advise well. Charity creates peace with others, with the government, and with God. Jewish law requires giving 10 percent and the Talmud sets a maximum of 20, but the Tanya allows more when one gives for one's own spiritual refinement, and giving more can also mean seeing what a person truly needs beyond what he asks. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kSwFq70Z0Ug 2850 2025-07-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-dinner-party-invitation-that-killed-2-million-jews/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C2GxO3VK0Is/hqdefault.jpg The Dinner Party Invitation That Killed 2 Million Jews Rabbi Greenberg studies the Talmud's story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa, which Rabbi Yochanan tells to show how small mistakes led to the destruction of the Second Temple. A host sent his servant to invite his friend Kamsa, but the servant brought his enemy Bar Kamsa, who was thrown out despite offering to pay for the whole feast. Because the sages present did not protest, Bar Kamsa told the emperor the Jews had rebelled and blemished the offering sent to test them. Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas objected both to offering it and to killing Bar Kamsa, and Rabbi Yochanan blames his "excessive humility" for the destruction. Rabbi Greenberg asks why Kamsa, who was not even present, is blamed. Explanations include the danger of small confusions, the Maharsha's view that Kamsa was Bar Kamsa's father, and the Maharal's view that the friendship was insincere. The host is not named, perhaps because Bar Kamsa was known as an informer. Since the hatred was not baseless, Rabbi Greenberg suggests that "senseless hatred" means hatred taken to irrational extremes, as Balaam saddled his own donkey. Rabbi Zechariah's fault was being indecisive, since a leader needs both humility and firmness. The chief villain, he stresses, remains the emperor who launched the war, and the guilty are not all equal. He explains why the story appears in tractate Gittin, on divorce, and how Rabbeinu Gershom's bans guard against exile becoming a divorce. He recounts Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's escape to Vespasian, and concludes that hatred stems from seeing others only superficially. https://www.youtube.com/embed/C2GxO3VK0Is 3724 2025-07-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-the-temple-doesn-t-need-what-you-think-it-does/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AT4wE__AYm4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why the Temple Doesn't Need What You Think It Does Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's opening ruling in the laws of the Temple: there is a positive mitzvah to build a house for God, prepared for offering sacrifices and for the pilgrimage three times a year. He asks why the Rambam omits another function, that the Temple was the seat of the Sanhedrin, from which Torah went out to all of Israel. If the Rambam is listing what makes the Temple a Temple, the Rebbe's explanation answers this: the Temple does not need the Sanhedrin; rather, the Sanhedrin needs to sit near the altar, as derived from the verses. A Temple without a Sanhedrin is still complete, unlike one where sacrifices cannot be offered. If he is listing the Temple's qualities, Rabbi Greenberg notes that the Rambam says the Sanhedrin was mainly occupied with examining kohanim for lineage and blemishes, since cases rarely reached it. That work is part of the sacrificial service, so it is already included. https://www.youtube.com/embed/AT4wE__AYm4 344 2025-07-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-torah-secret-that-changes-everything-about-commitment/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jFiNTKFIMCY/hqdefault.jpg The Torah Secret That Changes Everything About Commitment Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Torah balances unchanging commitment with constant growth, through the double portion of Matos and Masei. He first explains why the Torah is both five books and "four books of Moses": in the first four Moses was a transparent conduit for God's words, while in Deuteronomy, Mishneh Torah, he restated the teachings in his own divinely inspired words to make them accessible. The doubled portions, he notes, pair opposites. Matos, meaning staffs, represents firmness: the Torah's laws do not change, because God knew every future era when He gave them. Masei, meaning journeys, represents the duty never to stay in one place spiritually. Matos discusses vows. Swearing falsely makes God an accomplice to a lie, yet the oral Torah allows three rabbis to annul a vow, the one area where a rabbi can release a person from an obligation, because self-made commitments are not etched in stone. A vow can be a crutch that strengthens a weak resolve; Kol Nidrei annuls vows because on Yom Kippur we commit now without needing that support. Moses grew angry at the two tribes who wanted to stay east of the Jordan, sensing a wish to live in a spiritual cocoon and speech that divided "here" from "there" within one people. The plural "journeys" out of Egypt, Mitzrayim, meaning confinement, teaches that each stage of life requires leaving a further confinement, and the Baal Shem Tov said the 42 journeys describe the journeys of every life. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jFiNTKFIMCY 2446 2025-07-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-jewish-marriage-law-that-will-blow-your-mind/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1POah4dJ8yU/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Jewish Marriage Law That Will Blow Your Mind Rabbi Greenberg explains Hillel's words in Ethics of the Fathers 2:7, "the more wives, the more witchcraft," and why the Torah permitted a man more than one wife while a woman with two husbands commits adultery. Co-wives are called tzaros, "troubles," which is why the Torah forbids marrying two sisters. Rabbi Greenberg offers his own theory: Adam was formed from the earth and lost part of himself when Eve was made, so a man seeks completion through marriage and could, in principle, need more than one wife. A woman was created already complete; her marriage is a giving of herself to nurture another, which must be exclusive. Rabbeinu Gershom, who banned polygamy and divorce against a wife's will, is called the "light of the exile" because these bans mean that God, who sent His people into exile, can neither divorce them nor take another nation in their place. King Solomon married a thousand wives to spread the knowledge of God and elevate sparks of holiness, reasoning that the Torah's limit was not meant for him, yet his wives brought idolatry into the palace. A Midrash says that when he married Pharaoh's daughter, the angel Gabriel planted the reed from which Rome grew. Rabbi Greenberg teaches that one may descend to elevate others only while connected above, as Rabbi Meir of Premishlan explained about climbing an icy hill unharmed. He also reads "many wives" as commitment to other ideologies alongside the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1POah4dJ8yU 2566 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-2-billion-people-fight-over-this-35-acre-plot-of-land/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i5evEU4x2V4/hqdefault.jpg Why 2 Billion People Fight Over This 35-Acre Plot of Land Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Temple Mount, the site of the Beis HaMikdash, remains central to Judaism and to the whole world. Visiting the Western Wall is not visiting ancient history, he says; the holiest site is not the Wall but the place of the Holy of Holies, and Jews still pray toward it, fast for its destruction and break a glass at weddings in its memory. About half of the 613 commandments relate to the Temple, and one test of Mashiach is that he will rebuild it. Rabbi Greenberg traces the sanctuary through six locations and seven structures, from the portable Mishkan to Shilo, Nov, Givon and the two Temples, reflecting the Jewish people becoming more settled. Since the exact location of the altar is not known today, the mitzvah of building the Temple is fulfilled by studying its laws, by building synagogues, and by making a sanctuary in one's own heart, though these remain substitutes for the rebuilt Temple. Mount Moriah was where the world began, where Adam was formed, where Isaac was bound and where Jacob dreamed of the ladder. Citing the Tanya, Rabbi Greenberg compares the Temple to the brain, through which God's presence reaches all of creation. There God's presence was seen through daily miracles, the Temple was the model of the dwelling place God wants in the world, and truth and peace could coexist there. Because Adam was created from the earth of the altar's site, the Temple also teaches that every person can change. https://www.youtube.com/embed/i5evEU4x2V4 3614 2025-07-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-shocking-kohen-exclusion-rule/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2v-8293KNBU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Shocking Kohen Exclusion Rule Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the kohanim were given twenty-four gifts, and that a kohen who does not accept them has no share in them and is not given them. The Kesef Mishneh asks where the Rambam finds this, since the Gemara says that a kohen who does not accept the Temple service has no share in the priesthood, which speaks only of the service. Rav David Ber Zuckerman of Buffalo answers from the Gemara's story, told to stress refined speech, of a kohen who said he had received a portion the size of a lizard's tail and was found on investigation to be disqualified. Rashi explains that he was arrogant and showed contempt for holy things, and cites the rule about a kohen who does not accept the service. The Gemara thus applies the rule to eating sacred food, and the Rambam extends it to everything that belongs to the priesthood. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2v-8293KNBU 207 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-2-daily-jewish-secrets-that-make-depression-impossible/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KbXsE7PSFWk/hqdefault.jpg The 2 Daily Jewish Secrets That Make Depression Impossible Rabbi Greenberg explains why a Midrash points to the verse about the daily offerings, brought every morning and afternoon, as a central verse of the Torah, even more central than "Love your fellow as yourself." One answer is that constancy is fundamental to Judaism: a mitzvah done only when one feels inspired has not yet become part of the person, while doing it every day without fail shows that the mitzvos are part of who one is. He offers a second explanation based on an observation of many Chassidic masters. The first section of the Code of Jewish Law, covering a Jew's daily obligations, begins with the verse from Psalms "I place God before me constantly" and ends with the verse from Proverbs "A contented heart is always celebrating," both using the word tamid, constantly. These are the two daily constants, and they feed each other. A person who sees that everything happens by Divine providence, even a missed highway exit, has no reason for sadness; and a person in a state of joy is open and receptive to God, who, as with Jacob grieving for Joseph, does not reveal Himself to one who is sad. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KbXsE7PSFWk 312 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-ancient-rabbi-said-more-money-more-problems/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WFRcG-Hy6IM/hqdefault.jpg Why Ancient Rabbi Said 'More Money = More Problems Rabbi Greenberg teaches Hillel's saying "the more flesh, the more worms; the more property, the more worry," and its list of five physical pursuits set against Torah, the company of scholars, counsel, charity and a good name. It follows Hillel's previous lesson that actions have consequences. Citing the Bartenura, he shows how each indulgence leads to the next, and he proposes that each physical item has a spiritual parallel: food for the body and Torah for the soul; anxious property and lively study with others; many wives and one wife whose counsel and understanding guide her husband, as Sarah filtered right from wrong for Abraham. The Mishnah teaches that in physical matters more is less and energy spent is lost, while in spiritual matters more is more and the energy grows. The Hebrew word for worm also suggests deception, since material excess promises value it does not deliver. We may eat meat only because we elevate the animal; once we can no longer do so, the worms may eat us. Wealth brings worry about losing it and a scattered mind, and the more one has, the more one wants. Rabbi Greenberg reads several Hebrew words for money and property as hinting that wealth hides a person's true worth, comes and goes, and loses value. Judaism is not against wealth: Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi honored the rich because God trusted them to meet its challenges. The antidote to chasing quantity is the quality of deep, enthusiastic Torah study, illustrated by a rabbi so thirsty for Talmud after Yom Kippur that he forgot to drink. https://www.youtube.com/embed/WFRcG-Hy6IM 2918 2025-07-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-theft-is-legal-but-forbidden/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w6vt1yQmItQ/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth - When Theft is Legal But Forbidden Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who eats tevel, produce from which terumah (the kohen's portion) has not yet been separated, need not pay the kohen for the terumah he consumed, though he is liable to death at the hands of Heaven, because the kohen has no claim to anything until it is separated. The Lev Aryeh asks that this implies payment would be due after separation, yet the Gemara, which the Rambam codifies, exempts one who damages or eats priestly gifts, since this is money without a claimant: the owner may give it to any kohen he chooses, so no particular kohen can demand it. The Lev Aryeh answers from a change in the Rambam's wording: after separation the court cannot compel payment, but the person must still pay to fulfill his obligation to Heaven. Before separation there is no obligation at all. https://www.youtube.com/embed/w6vt1yQmItQ 250 2025-07-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-evil-kings-name-is-in-the-torah-the-shocking-reason-will-blow-your-mind/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/__tAxgIiIcA/hqdefault.jpg This EVIL King's Name is in the Torah - The SHOCKING Reason Will Blow Your Mind! Rabbi Greenberg explains why a Torah portion is named after Balak, the king of Moab who hired Bilaam to curse the Jews. One answer is that Balak brought offerings to God, and God never leaves even one mitzvah unrewarded; his descendant was Ruth, ancestor of King David and Mashiach. The Rambam made the same point in a letter to Jews forced to profess Islam, who had been told their mitzvos were worthless, and he rules that a single mitzvah can tip the scales for a person and the world. The Rebbe adds that through Balak came Bilaam's blessings, including the coming of Mashiach. The Talmud says Bilaam's blessings reverted to curses, except "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob." Rabbi Greenberg suggests that blessing, read as synagogues and study halls, lasted because these are part of the Land of Israel, like embassies, where God's presence is revealed and there are no curses. He cites the Mitteler Rebbe, who said that when his father read the Torah there were no curses. The Rebbe taught that a home used for prayer, Torah and kindness also becomes a small sanctuary. https://www.youtube.com/embed/__tAxgIiIcA 891 2025-07-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-god-chose-america-for-the-jewish-people-shocking/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R2JN0-NL5dE/hqdefault.jpg Why God Chose America for the Jewish People (SHOCKING)! Rabbi Greenberg explains, in a class for the Fourth of July, how Jews can be loyal Americans while remaining distinct, and why America holds a special place in Jewish history. The same God who tells Jews to be different also tells them to be loyal citizens: Jeremiah told the exiles to seek the peace of the city where they were taken, the Torah forbids despising the Egyptian, and the Talmud rules that the law of the land is binding unless it conflicts with Torah. Loyalty rests on gratitude, since the word Jew comes from Yehudah, "I will thank," and on the fact that any government is better than anarchy. He gives reasons for America's special status: it was founded on belief in God, protects freedom, above all religious freedom, has less anti-Semitism than elsewhere, offers great opportunity, largely rejects replacement theology, and, as the Rebbe called it, is a kingdom of kindness. Religious freedom matters most, because without Judaism the Jewish people cannot survive. Answering the charge of dual loyalty, he calls Israel our spouse and essence and America our benefactor and good friend. Spiritually, America is a taste of the messianic era, like tasting Shabbos food beforehand: a cottage where a beaten traveler recovers before continuing to the king's palace. The Mishnah links cheirus, freedom, to charus, engraved, since true freedom expresses the soul. The previous Rebbe declared that America is not different, and the Rebbe, arriving near the Fourth of July in 1941, fused physical freedom with the freedom to live as a Jew. https://www.youtube.com/embed/R2JN0-NL5dE 3797 2025-07-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-terumah-loophole-exposed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PL5R8CnGKUs/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Terumah Loophole Exposed! Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who separates terumah, the portion given to a kohen, or terumas maaser, the tenth of the Levite's tithe that goes to a kohen, recites the blessing before separating, as with all mitzvos. He asks why the Rambam needs to say this. The Ramban, critiquing the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvos, asks: if separating and giving are one mitzvah, as the Rambam counts them, the blessing should come before the giving, just as none is said on making tefillin or building a sukkah, which a later act completes. One could also ask whether terumah lost before being given would be invalid. Drawing on commentaries on the Sefer HaMitzvos, Rabbi Greenberg explains that for the Rambam separating is itself the giving: once separated, the terumah belongs to the kohanim as a whole, and the owner only chooses which kohen receives it. That is why the blessing comes before separating. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PL5R8CnGKUs 297 2025-07-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-insane-torah-truth-that-will-change-your-life-forever/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cfsqAClsyG4/hqdefault.jpg The INSANE Torah Truth That Will Change Your Life Forever! Rabbi Greenberg continues Hillel's Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers with two teachings: one who engages too much in business cannot become wise, and in a place where there are no men, strive to be a man. Business itself is not negative; the Talmudic sages worked, and the Rambam held that rabbis should earn a living elsewhere, though most sages disagreed about salaries. But only Torah study increases Torah wisdom. A 19th-century Talmudic scholar who was also a banker would not be interrupted during his two daily hours of study, citing the teaching that in Torah one must be "dead in the tent" to everything else. The word for business comes from a circle, which can mean futility or infinity, depending on how one uses it. On "where there are no men," the Rambam reads it as being without a teacher: one must then learn on one's own, which today's online resources make possible, though a living teacher remains ideal. Rashi reads it as communal responsibility: if no one acts, you must, and even an organized community leaves things undone, as the Rebbe told a philanthropist in Melbourne. Moses saw that no one would help the beaten Jew, and Abraham the Ivri stood on one side against the world. Rabbeinu Yonah applies it to keeping one's standards when others do not. Finally, Rabbi Greenberg explains that business may sharpen binah, the faculty of analysis, but not chochmah, humble receptivity to an idea, which is unique to Torah as God's wisdom. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cfsqAClsyG4 2530 2025-07-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-3000-year-old-jewish-ritual-shocked-anti-semites-they-called-it-insane/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/48BFNIaNAjY/hqdefault.jpg This 3,000-Year-Old Jewish Ritual SHOCKED Anti-Semites (They Called It INSANE!) Rabbi Greenberg explains the mitzvah of the red cow in the Torah portion of Chukat, whose ashes, mixed with water, purified a person who had contact with a dead body, and why its lack of logic, which Rashi notes was mocked by antisemites, is the point. He distinguishes three kinds of commandments: mishpatim, rational laws such as those against murder and theft; edos, testimonies such as Shabbos and Pesach that commemorate events; and chukim, decrees beyond reason, kept out of respect for a higher authority. Without that respect, he argues, people will not keep even the rational laws, as his father showed when he turned away a young robber by asking what his minister would think. Authority, inner conscience and social responsibility together form a threefold cord of ethics. He tells the Talmud's story of Dama ben Nesina, who would not wake his father to sell a jewel for the high priest's breastplate and was rewarded with a red cow. Paying a fortune for a non-rational mitzvah showed the Jewish people at a level beyond honoring parents, a rational mitzvah, as does spending heavily on an esrog. He then explains Moses striking the rock: Rashi says the sin was striking instead of speaking, and the Rambam says it was anger. Rabbi Greenberg reconciles them: the generation that left Egypt needed tough love, but the new generation needed gentle words and a new leader, Joshua. https://www.youtube.com/embed/48BFNIaNAjY 2297 2025-07-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/shocking-the-rebbe-still-alive-after-31-years-heres-the-proof-that-will-leave-you-speechless/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HeQQuHKlhAE/hqdefault.jpg SHOCKING: The Rebbe Still ALIVE After 31 Years - Here's The PROOF That Will Leave You Speechless! Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Gimmel Tammuz, the third of Tammuz, and why for Chassidim the Rebbe remains alive and leading, 31 years after he could no longer be seen or heard. He connects three events of that date: Joshua stopping the sun, which the Midrash says he did through the Torah, the blueprint of creation; the previous Rebbe's release from Soviet prison in 1927, which only in hindsight proved a true liberation; and the Rebbe's concealment. The sun of Torah did not set, and the Midrash teaches that Mashiach is revealed, then concealed, then revealed again, so the concealment is part of the redemption process. In a parable, a contest winner travels to a king's palace with a key and a map, is beaten near the end and rests in a cottage, until the king's messenger urges him on and then disappears so he will complete the journey himself. Likewise, Chabad teaches that a person must do the work on his own, and the Rebbe told his followers that bringing Mashiach was now in their hands. Since this is still the seventh generation from the Alter Rebbe, whose mission is to complete the redemption, its leader remains the Rebbe. Just as the new moon is closest to the sun when invisible, the passing years bring us closer to the Rebbe's essence. Tammuz is the month of sight, and we must see with depth, as with the Talmud's teaching that Jacob did not die though he appeared to. Emes, truth, means consistency from beginning to end, which the Rebbe embodied, and anyone can share in it by attaching themselves to Torah and mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HeQQuHKlhAE 5666 2025-06-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/this-3000-year-old-jewish-dream-secret-will-shock-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0pLGRRCdArs/hqdefault.jpg This 3000-Year-Old Jewish Dream Secret Will SHOCK You! Rabbi Greenberg explains how Judaism views dreams, reconciling the verse "dreams speak falsehood" with the Talmud's many pages on dream interpretation by describing three levels of dreams. Chassidic teaching uses the dream, full of contradictions, as a metaphor for exile. A dream can also mean aspiration: Rabbi Meir Shapiro, told that his plan for a yeshiva in Lublin was a dream, said he was dreaming but not sleeping. And the Rebbe explained that Joseph's insight was that Pharaoh's fat and lean cows coexisted: the years of plenty feed the years of famine. On the first level, a dream reflects one's daytime thoughts, as the Talmud shows from a sage who told an emperor what he would dream. Such dreams carry no meaning but cleanse the soul of the day's clutter so it can be refreshed in Gan Eden during sleep. On the second level, dreams can be premonitions or bring insight, "one sixtieth of prophecy." Because speech shapes the dream's potential, the Talmud teaches that dreams follow their interpretation, so a bad dream should be interpreted positively; one may fast and have three friends declare it good, and the Priestly Blessing can transform it. Jewish law, however, is never decided by dreams. The third level is true prophecy, which, except for Moses, came through dreams, yet even these contain some chaff. Rabbi Greenberg lists the Talmud's signs of a significant dream, notes that later authorities advise paying dreams less attention, and recalls the Rebbe's response that the present exile, not Mashiach, is the dream we must wake from. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0pLGRRCdArs 4064 2025-06-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-father-pays-max-heirs-pay-min/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k2Mbw5TE6w8/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Father Pays Max, Heirs Pay Min Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who pledges to the Temple with an ambiguous expression, such as "my standing," which the Talmud says could mean different sums, must give the larger amount his means allow, unless he says he did not intend it. If he dies, his heirs pay because of the lien on his property, but only the smallest amount the expression could mean. The Lechem Mishneh explains that the vower is bound by bal yachel, the prohibition against breaking one's word, and doubts about prohibitions are resolved strictly, while the heirs owe only a monetary debt, where doubt is resolved leniently. This is challenged by the Rambam's lenient ruling on a dying man who consecrated all his property and recovered. The Olas Shlomo answers that taking back consecrated property is me'ilah, misuse of Temple property, a monetary matter, not bal yachel. He acknowledges a source suggesting otherwise, and the question is left open. https://www.youtube.com/embed/k2Mbw5TE6w8 404 2025-06-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-rabbi-reveals-why-being-too-spiritual-can-destroy-your-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oMU3jJQXsrc/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Rabbi Reveals: Why Being TOO SPIRITUAL Can Destroy Your Life! Rabbi Greenberg explains why the spies in the Torah portion of Shelach, who were spiritual leaders chosen by Moses, turned against entering the land of Israel. God left the decision to send them up to Moses because He wants mature people to use their own minds. But that freedom is about how to carry out God's will, not whether to: Moses asked the spies to learn about the land so the people could conquer it by natural means and come to love it, not to decide whether to go. The spies drew their own conclusion, and their one word "but" turned everything good they had said into nothing. Citing Chassidic literature, Rabbi Greenberg explains that the spies were very spiritual people. In the desert, with manna, water and the clouds of glory providing everything, they could live in contemplation; in the land they would have to fight, plow and earn a living. Judaism involves spirituality, but God transcends it, and the goal is obeying Him, as Samuel told Saul that listening to God is better than sacrifices. Remaining in the desert was therefore more a consequence than a punishment. He also explains why the minyan of ten is learned from the spies: they were misguided rather than evil, and prayer rises from a low place, like Jacob's ladder. He closes with Onkelos's reading that the spies described the cities as round. https://www.youtube.com/embed/oMU3jJQXsrc 2221 2025-06-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-biblical-rebel-who-started-communism-3000-years-before-marx-epic-fail/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hw591YbrEHs/hqdefault.jpg The Biblical Rebel Who Started Communism 3,000 Years Before Marx (Epic Fail!) Rabbi Greenberg explains what drove Korach's rebellion against Moses and Aaron in Parshas Korach, and why his claim that "the entire community is holy" resembles communism. The Torah highlights the generation's failures to teach us to correct our own, though that generation was on a high spiritual level. The spies' sin came from that height: they wanted to stay in the desert, free for a purely spiritual life, while God wants people to make the physical world a dwelling place for Him. Korach swung to the opposite extreme, concluding that only physical action matters; since in action everyone is equal, no spiritual hierarchy is needed. Rabbi Greenberg argues that people are not all equal and that a system providing for everyone's needs leaves no room for personal kindness. The Rebbe shows that Korach's name reflects three distortions of the letter hei, whose top line, right line and left leg represent thought, speech and action. Stretching the left leg down makes a kuf, action without thought; dropping it makes a reish, poverty; joining it to the roof makes a ches, denying any higher level to look up to. Rabbi Greenberg also cites the Midrash that Korach foresaw his descendant, the prophet Samuel, and wrongly assumed he would survive. Rashi explains Moses' delay until morning as a chance to repent, or as a lesson that God made separations, like day and night, that must be respected. Judaism, he concludes, balances separation and unity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hw591YbrEHs 2305 2025-06-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/jewish-humor-so-powerful-it-literally-changes-divine-judgment/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MmHlzcLZRUo/hqdefault.jpg Jewish Humor So Powerful It Literally Changes Divine Judgment! In the fourth class of his series on Jewish humor, Rabbi Greenberg explains why laughing is appropriate even in a time of danger for the Jewish people. Chassidic teaching says that joy breaks through barriers, and Kabbalah teaches that laughter sweetens judgment. He tells how his father once brought a desperate problem to the Rebbe; the Rebbe laughed, and the problem disappeared. Most of the class is a series of jokes and stories, many with a lesson drawn out. A man who faints at real news but not at a theoretical question, like the tutor who reads aloud the news of someone else's father's death, teaches that we should treat our Judaism as our own news, not someone else's. A rabbi who preaches patience in the abstract but explodes when his new driveway is ruined shows that a person is tested by real life. The Dubno Maggid's parable of the borrowed spoon that "had a baby" explains why the Torah forbids adding to the mitzvos: whoever adds will eventually subtract. Stories of an atheist father and of Jews who put God on trial during the Holocaust and then went to pray show that faith lies beneath the protest. Jokes about misers lead to the Torah's command to keep one's hand open, and to the Talmud's teaching that welcoming a guest is greater than welcoming God. Rabbi Greenberg closes by defining a Jewish joke: one about Jewish tradition or belief, one connected to Jewish life, or any joke with a moral lesson. A joke that is vulgar or mean for its own sake is not a kosher Jewish joke. When Mashiach comes, our mouths will be filled with laughter. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MmHlzcLZRUo 4015 2025-06-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/aarons-hidden-leadership-secret-that-changed-jewish-history-forever/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/juxxgFKqdPY/hqdefault.jpg Aaron's Hidden Leadership Secret That Changed Jewish History Forever Rabbi Greenberg explains why Aaron, left out of the tribal leaders' offerings at the dedication of the Mishkan, was told that his share would be greater because he would light the Menorah, as Rashi explains at the opening of Behaalotecha. Aaron feared that because of his part in the golden calf, God had forgiven the people but not him, and that his whole tribe was excluded because of him. In fact, each tribal leader was like a governor responsible for his own tribe, while Aaron was like a president responsible for the whole nation. The Menorah's seven branches correspond to the seven emotional traits taught in Kabbalah, so in lighting it Aaron kindled the souls of every type of Jew. On Rashi's comment that Aaron "did not change," Rabbi Greenberg brings three explanations: Aaron's humility was not changed by his elevated role; according to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Aaron's intense love of God never led him to err in carrying out the command; and Aaron did not shift his thoughts toward his own tribe. Although the Talmud says anyone may light the Menorah, the first lighting, a dedication, required Aaron's greater fire, like the boiler room that heats a whole building. The word Behaalotecha, "when you raise up," teaches, as Rashi explains, that the flame must rise on its own, which the Rebbe applied to teaching others. Rabbi Greenberg connects this to the Men of the Great Assembly in Pirkei Avos: be deliberate in judgment, establish many students, literally "stand them up" so they can stand on their own, and make a fence around the Torah rather than lowering standards. https://www.youtube.com/embed/juxxgFKqdPY 2403 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/youll-never-guess-what-makes-jewish-students-so-smart/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-bOZ_ELqsM0/hqdefault.jpg You'll NEVER Guess What Makes Jewish Students So Smart Rabbi Greenberg explains why asking questions is at the heart of Jewish learning, studying Hillel's teaching in Pirkei Avos that a bashful person cannot learn and an impatient person cannot teach. After reviewing the empty person and the ignorant one who seeks no more knowledge, he addresses an apparent contradiction: the Talmud counts modesty among the three signs of a Jew, along with kindness and compassion. He explains that a person too embarrassed to ask, afraid of exposing his ignorance, is driven by ego rather than modesty. A real question seeks knowledge, unlike a question asked for its own sake. Questions break through barriers to deeper understanding. Some questions went unanswered for centuries until scholars far apart arrived at the same answer when its time had come. The Babylonian Talmud, which calls itself "in the dark," is full of questions and is followed over the Jerusalem Talmud, just as a person groping through a room learns more about it than one who sees the exit. Pesach is built around children's questions, and Chanukah, whose name relates to education, has drawn hundreds of answers to why it lasts eight days; Rabbi Greenberg links the number eight to going beyond nature. The Rebbe urged his followers to ask questions and then to answer them. An impatient teacher who will not allow questions does harm. Finally, a person too engrossed in business cannot become wise, so one should "steal" time for Torah study, as the Alter Rebbe did by setting back the clock when studying with the Maggid's son. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-bOZ_ELqsM0 2744 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-unlocking-koshers-hidden-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K_9toXDUIj8/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Unlocking Kosher's Hidden Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that all animals and birds are presumed healthy, so after a proper shechitah (ritual slaughter) they need not be checked for treifos, fatal defects, unless something arouses concern. The Beis Yosef asks why, then, one who rents a house on the eve of Pesach should ask the owner, if available, whether he searched it for chametz. He answers, as the Alter Rebbe cites, that an animal is presumed kosher from birth, while a house is presumed to contain chametz, which the presumption of a search must overcome. A further question is why tzitzis must be checked daily though they were fine the day before. The Bach answers both: a natural presumption is strong, while one based on human action, which may be forgotten, should be verified when possible. The Alter Rebbe explains tzitzis differently: relying on the presumption one day would mean never checking them, which is untenable. https://www.youtube.com/embed/K_9toXDUIj8 331 2025-06-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-jewish-stories-that-changed-how-i-see-everything-about-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TzNs-VfyjaQ/hqdefault.jpg The Jewish Stories That Changed How I See Everything About Life In the third lesson of a series on Jewish humor, Rabbi Greenberg tells classic Jewish stories and jokes and draws out the lessons in them. Jewish humor is not simply jokes told by Jews; a joke that turns vulgar or serves the wrong purpose ceases to be Jewish. He begins with the Dubno Maggid, who said he finds a lesson first and then builds a parable around it, and his parable of the fox who claims Mashiach has come yet runs from barking dogs, which shows how comfortable Jews can grow in exile. Many stories carry a teaching. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi honored the wealthy because wealth is a greater challenge than poverty, and God gives strength for every challenge. The joke that the Torah's ruling would differ had it been given in winter mocks the claim that the Torah is outdated, since God knows the future and its laws are eternal. The Rebbe of Peremyshlany gently talked a disliked rich man out of leading the prayers by citing the prayers of Moses, David and the poor man. Asking God even for a lost hat shows real faith, which is the basis of prayer. Talmudic rabbis spoke harshly of judges and doctors because they themselves held those roles. On the Shema, the Talmud explains "with all your might" as money, for people who value money more than life. His favorite joke, about a driver stuck under an overpass who insists he is delivering a bridge, teaches that every obstacle is really a challenge God gives us to bring into the realm of holiness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TzNs-VfyjaQ 3632 2025-06-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-eating-vs-drinking-changes-everything/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b_iG9Vvd338/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Eating vs Drinking Changes Everything Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who intentionally eats a k'zayis (an olive's volume) of blood is liable, and if unintentionally, brings a sin offering. Since blood is a liquid, this seems to contradict the Kesef Mishneh's principle that the measure for prohibited liquids is a revi'is (a quarter-log). The Rambam also uses a k'zayis for terumah (produce given to a kohen) and chametz but a revi'is for non-kosher wine, and the Minchas Chinuch says he is unsure which measure applies. The Binyan Tziyon limits the k'zayis to a congealed liquid, but the Alter Rebbe's brother cites the Alter Rebbe's proof from this very Rambam, which states no such condition. Rabbi Greenberg then presents the Geulas Eliyahu: where the Torah describes a prohibition as eating, the measure is a k'zayis even for a liquid; where it speaks of drinking, a revi'is. Since the Torah speaks of eating blood, the Rambam gives a k'zayis. https://www.youtube.com/embed/b_iG9Vvd338 295 2025-06-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-ignorance-can-be-more-dangerous-than-evil-ancient-torah-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YuBg1PGg_ag/hqdefault.jpg Why Ignorance Can Be More Dangerous Than Evil - Ancient Torah Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg explains how empty, indifferent ignorance can be more harmful than deliberate wrongdoing, teaching the first half of Hillel's saying in Ethics of the Fathers 2:5: a bur is not sin-fearing, and an am ha'aretz cannot be a chassid, one who goes beyond the letter of the law. A bur is like an unplanted field or an empty pit: a person with no interest in anything of substance, who lacks the sensitivity even to pick up a sense of right and wrong from ordinary life. Since no one can stay neutral, such emptiness invites harmful influences, like the snakes and scorpions in the empty pit into which Joseph was thrown. The word for sin here usually means an unintentional misdeed, or simply falling short of the mark. Rabbi Greenberg explains that in one sense an unintentional wrong is worse than an intentional one, since it shows the negative is so ingrained that one does not even notice. The rebellious sinner is still "full of mitzvos like a pomegranate"; the bur, indifferent, has nothing stirring inside. The am ha'aretz has some knowledge but sees things from an earthly perspective. In a Midrash, an am ha'aretz asked Rabbi Hoshaya to teach in his name that the nations will return Jacob's gifts in the days of Mashiach, and the rabbi agreed, validating a materialistic longing for Mashiach. The Rebbe explains the Rambam's words that delights will then be like dust in the same way, addressing both perspectives. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YuBg1PGg_ag 2800 2025-06-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-secret-test-for-jewish-converts/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vB2b2pn-ybU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Secret Test for Jewish Converts Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that converts seen consistently following Jewish practice, such as a woman who immerses in a mikvah after her period and separates challah, or a man who immerses and keeps the mitzvos, are presumed to be righteous converts even without witnesses to their conversion, though they may not marry into the community until they bring witnesses or immerse before a court. Rashi and Tosafos understand the immersion itself as the conversion; the Rif and the Rambam require conversion before three judges, so the immersion is only evidence. The Ramban asks why immersion is singled out, when public Shabbos observance would be stronger proof. The Rogatchover answers that a non-Jew might keep other mitzvos for reward but has no reason to immerse. He also concludes that for the Rambam, living as a Jew may itself constitute conversion, a view many dispute. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vB2b2pn-ybU 355 2025-05-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-god-counted-every-jew-the-revolutionary-message-of-bamidbar/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_goIUdMrKMw/hqdefault.jpg Why God Counted Every Jew - The Revolutionary Message of Bamidbar Rabbi Greenberg explains why God commanded a census of the Jewish people at the start of the book of Bamidbar, Numbers, which is always read before Shavuos as a preparation for receiving the Torah. The Torah was given in the desert, which no one owns, to show it belongs equally to everyone. The count shows that every individual is indispensable: had one Jew been missing, the Torah would not have been given, which is why the Ten Commandments are addressed in the singular. Counting also shows importance, and the Talmud rules that something that is counted is never nullified in a mixture; so too, with the Torah the Jewish people became a counted entity that can never be nullified by persecution or assimilation. He explains that a holiday is not a commemoration but a reliving: each holiday carries its own spiritual energy, available only on its day. At Sinai, the Torah, the blueprint of all creation, was given in a way that united the spiritual and the physical, so that a mitzvah transforms a physical object. The people "saw the sounds," meaning that for those moments spiritual reality became what they saw and the physical became something heard about, an experience the messianic age will restore. Moses answered the angels that the Torah belongs in the physical world, which is why Shavuos must be celebrated physically, including with dairy foods. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_goIUdMrKMw 2717 2025-05-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/let-my-people-know-the-hidden-power-of-shavuot-revealed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bXvDV_tbGw4/hqdefault.jpg Let My People Know: The Hidden Power of Shavuot Revealed Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning and customs of Shavuos in this episode of the television program Let My People Know, in conversation with host Ellen Bernstein. He describes the giving of the Torah at Sinai as the only time God revealed Himself to millions of people at once, and explains that each of the three pilgrimage festivals is tied to both a historical event and a harvest. The barley of Pesach, which the Talmud calls food for animals, and the wheat of Shavuos, food for humans, reflect the seven weeks in which the animal side of the newly freed slaves was refined so the divine element could come to the fore. The written Torah mentions only counting 50 days and a festival of first fruits; the oral tradition recorded in the Talmud identifies Shavuos as the day the Torah was given. He explains the Talmud's statement that God held the mountain over the people: the coercion was one of overwhelming love, but accepting under such love was less of an achievement, so the Talmud says the Jews fully accepted the Torah only in the time of Purim, amid hardship. Shavuos may be less known because it is short, comes soon after Pesach and has no Torah-mandated ritual beyond the Temple service, yet it encompasses everything. He also describes the holiday's customs: refraining from work, special prayers, the reading of the Ten Commandments with children present, staying up all night to study, Yizkor, and eating dairy foods. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bXvDV_tbGw4 1491 2025-05-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-jewish-wisdom-that-fixes-modern-loneliness-and-judgment/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4ttT6rBR9Hg/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Jewish Wisdom That Fixes Modern Loneliness & Judgment Rabbi Greenberg completes his study of Pirkei Avos 2:4, explaining Hillel's teachings as answers to people who would rather stay apart from the community. To the one who says he can manage alone, Hillel says, "Do not trust in yourself until the day of your death": everyone needs others' support, all our powers come from God, as Bar Kochba's boast showed, and no one has finished his mission while still alive, even in old age. To the one who finds people unworthy, Hillel says, "Do not judge your fellow until you reach his place." We may judge behavior but not issue verdicts, since we never know another's full circumstances. Rabbi Greenberg tells of a rabbi suspected of taking a rare coin at a rabbinical gathering who turned out to own an identical one. Judging favorably brings God's favorable judgment and draws out the good in others, and rebuke is proper only when the aim is to help. To the one who thinks his words have no effect: they may be understood in the end, like words placed "upon your heart" that eventually enter it, as the Kotzker Rebbe explained. He also cites the different readings of the Rambam, the Abarbanel and Rabbeinu Yonah. Finally, "Do not say, when I have leisure I will study." Rabbi Greenberg addresses procrastination: identify one concrete goal, act on inspiration at once, and do part of a mitzvah even if you cannot finish it, as Moses set aside three cities of refuge. Delay deepens the soul's anxiety and depression, and a resolution can relieve guilt without bringing change. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4ttT6rBR9Hg 3204 2025-05-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-jewish-jokes-are-actually-deep-torah-wisdom-you-ll-be-shocked/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_4v96ZDLujg/hqdefault.jpg Why Jewish Jokes Are Actually Deep Torah Wisdom (You'll Be Shocked) In the second class of his series on Jewish humor and wit, Rabbi Greenberg explains which kinds of humor Judaism values and draws lessons from a long series of jokes. The Talmud forbids mockery except of idols, and the greatest idol is one's own ego, so jokes that cut down the ego are positive. That is why so many Jewish jokes target rabbis, cantors and other public figures, whose positions inflate the ego; a rabbi, for example, may find an inspiring idea and think only of using it in a sermon, without being inspired himself. Many jokes carry a lesson. A confession that grows from a stolen rope to far worse illustrates the teaching of Pirkei Avos that one sin draws another. A man who tells time by blowing the shofar at night recalls the Rambam's description of the shofar as a wake-up call. The Pesach Sheni story shows that Jews are meant to complain to God about what is lacking spiritually, and that it is never too late to make up for what was missed. In the story of the Jewish estate manager forced into a bear costume to fight a "lion," both cry out the same words, showing that all Jews share one inner essence. The Previous Rebbe related that during the bombing of Warsaw the atheists cried out together with everyone else. A drunkard who finds that the less he drinks the drunker he gets leads to the Rebbe's teaching that evil fades over time while the energy of every mitzvah accumulates, so the good in the world is far greater than the evil, even when it is hidden. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_4v96ZDLujg 4008 2025-05-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-800-year-old-puzzle-no-one-can-solve/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ge8PplBGYTA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The 800-Year-Old Puzzle No One Can Solve Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling on yibum, the duty of a childless widow to marry her late husband's brother or be released by chalitzah. Where she is forbidden to him by a negative commandment, a positive commandment or a rabbinic prohibition, she performs chalitzah, not yibum, because a marriage to her would take effect; if he married her anyway, the mitzvah is fulfilled, but he must divorce her. The Maharshal and others ask how this works for a positive commandment, since one positive commandment cannot override another. The Noda BiYehudah answers that neither commandment outweighs the other, so once he married her there is no basis for invalidating the marriage. Rabbi Akiva Eiger answers that a prohibition implied by a positive commandment is in substance a negative one, which yibum can override. Rabbi Greenberg connects this to the Ramban's distinction between love and fear and to the Alter Rebbe's teaching on a positive mitzvah's spiritual light. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ge8PplBGYTA 471 2025-05-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/don-t-separate-from-community-3-000-year-old-leadership-lesson/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xT-sjetc4TI/hqdefault.jpg DON'T Separate From Community: 3,000-Year-Old Leadership Lesson Rabbi Greenberg explains Hillel's teaching "Do not separate yourself from the community" and why the Mishnah returns to Hillel after listing his descendants. Some commentators identify him as a later Hillel, who composed the Jewish calendar still in use, but most say it is the original Hillel. Rabbi Greenberg offers two connected explanations: chapter 1 traces the Torah through Hillel's descendants and focuses on the individual, while chapter 2 traces it through teacher and disciple and focuses on a person's role in the community. Ideally a person combines both, and Rabbi Greenberg points to the Rebbe, who led on a world stage yet asked an orphaned young man to write to him monthly and noticed when a letter did not arrive. Jewish law distinguishes individual from communal obligations: the community must restore someone who lost his wealth to his former standing, while the individual gives a set share of income. Ten simple Jews make a minyan, which nine of the greatest do not, because a community is a new entity. Its pain is everyone's pain, as God revealed Himself in a thornbush and Moses joined the slaves under their burden, while Elimelech was punished for leaving his people in a famine. Hillel's further teachings answer the excuses for staying apart: do not trust yourself until the day you die; do not judge your fellow until you reach his place; do not assume people cannot understand, since the fault may lie in how you communicate; and do not wait for leisure, because it may never come. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xT-sjetc4TI 2400 2025-05-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-does-a-wife-lose-her-ketubah-rights/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F6-xXLXRnO4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Does a Wife Lose Her Ketubah Rights? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a wife who violates Jewish law or the standards of modesty is not entitled to her kesubah, the payment due her on divorce, even if her husband chooses to stay married to her. The sages enacted the kesubah to make divorce difficult only for observant, modest women; divorcing such a wife is encouraged, though not compelled. The Ritva, citing most of his teachers, holds that she loses it only because she causes her husband to sin, so if he stays with her she keeps it. The Mishnah rules that a divorcee who married a kohen, though forbidden to him, receives her kesubah. Rabbi Greenberg explains that there the husband knowingly obligated himself, apart from the sages' enactment. A practical difference arises when a couple married while both were non-observant and the husband later became observant: according to the Rambam his obligation stands, while according to the Ritva she would lose it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/F6-xXLXRnO4 354 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-ancient-secret-to-aligning-your-will-with-god-s-purpose/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WHryQP0nPvE/hqdefault.jpg The Ancient Secret to Aligning Your Will with God's Purpose Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabban Gamliel's teaching in Pirkei Avos, "Do His will as though it were your will," about aligning one's own will with God's purpose. He tells of a man who brought the Rebbe a list of his needs, and the Rebbe remarked that the list said nothing about why he is needed. God created the world for a purpose; when a person's outer will, such as making a living, aligns with his inner will to serve God, God takes care of his needs. The world fell out of alignment with Adam and Eve's sin, was realigned from Abraham through the giving of the Torah, and will be perfectly aligned in the time of Mashiach. Following the previous Mishnah's warning about governments, Rabbi Greenberg notes that even a regime that claims to serve God can serve its own interests instead. The Maharal reads the Mishnah as speaking of communal work: one who works selflessly for the community will have his own needs cared for by God. The Bartenura explains that one should do God's will with the same enthusiasm and spending one would put into one's own desires, whether buying a mezuzah or braving snow to reach the minyan. One can even learn passion from those who do wrong. The Mishnah puts God's will first because His reality comes before ours, as Modeh Ani begins with thanks rather than "I." He contrasts this clause with the next, "set aside your will," explaining when to refrain from evil first and when to begin with doing good despite imperfections. https://www.youtube.com/embed/WHryQP0nPvE 2656 2025-05-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-shocking-truth-about-mothers-judaism-has-known-for-3-000-years/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nLy4LfIMWkk/hqdefault.jpg The SHOCKING Truth About Mothers Judaism Has Known For 3,000 Years In a Mother's Day class, Rabbi Greenberg explains the mitzvah of honoring parents and the special role Judaism gives to mothers. The Torah commands honor and reverence for parents, and the Talmud calls this the hardest mitzvah to fulfill properly. Its reasons are gratitude, honoring God as the third partner in every person, and recognizing that parents, unlike the sun or stars, choose to give. The Torah lists the mother first for reverence and the father first for honor to show that both deserve equal respect, and Talmudic stories of Dama ben Nesina and Rabbi Tarfon show how far that respect must go. A Talmudic sage would rise at his mother's footsteps, calling her the Divine Presence, and the Rebbe often stressed that the mother is the foundation of the home, cited small acts such as a young girl lighting Shabbos candles with her mother, and visited his own mother daily. The three mitzvos given especially to women, Shabbos candles, challah and family purity, correspond to the three miracles of Sarah's tent that returned when Rebekah arrived. Rabbi Greenberg links mothers to Binah, understanding, the faculty that turns an idea into concrete reality, which is why the Talmud says girls mature a year earlier. Jewish identity passes through the mother, the matriarchs were greater prophets than the patriarchs, and God made them barren because He desired their prayers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nLy4LfIMWkk 3612 2025-05-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/exposed-the-3-000-year-lie-about-the-ten-commandments-everyone-believes/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E_Glx1RQOXg/hqdefault.jpg EXPOSED: The 3,000-Year Lie About the 'Ten Commandments' Everyone Believes Rabbi Greenberg explains why "Ten Commandments" is a misnomer: the Torah calls them ten statements, and they contain at least 13 commandments. A commandment imposes something a person might not do on his own, while a statement declares who a person truly is. "Do not murder" means murder is not you, because a human being is inherently good, with evil only superimposed on a divine spark. In the second of the week's two Torah portions the statements reappear in the plural, where the original is in the singular. A person relates to God both as an individual, as if the world were created for him alone, and as part of a collective. Honoring parents in the original expresses personal love, while revering them here expresses respect for authority, just as God is both Father and King. Shabbos has both sides as well: all equally refrain from work in the King's palace, and each is personally invited to His table. A Midrash reads the word "b'zos," describing how Aaron may enter the holy place, as referring to Shabbos as a source of atonement. The letters of Shabbos spell tashev, "return": the deepest teshuvah is returning to one's true self, which Shabbos makes possible. Finally, Hillel's negative phrasing of "love your fellow as yourself" teaches that just as self-love overlooks one's own faults, one should overlook those of others, helping them change only out of love. https://www.youtube.com/embed/E_Glx1RQOXg 2394 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-sell-your-clothes-for-chanukah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/okk9TYXopXw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Sell Your Clothes for Chanukah? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the Chanukah lights are an exceptionally beloved mitzvah, meant to publicize the miracle and increase praise of God, so that even a person supported by charity must borrow or sell his garment to buy oil. The Maggid Mishneh derives this from the four cups of Pesach, which even the poorest must drink because they publicize the miracle; the Chanukah lights, which take precedence even over Kiddush, all the more so. The Lechem Mishneh asks why this is an a fortiori argument, when both publicize the miracle. Rabbi Simcha Elberg answers that publicizing the miracle is the essence of the Chanukah mitzvah but only an added element of the four cups. Rabbi Greenberg adds that the lights publicize the miracle to the street, the cups within the home. The Avnei Nezer explains that intending a mitzvah normally earns credit, but not when the mitzvah is meant to be seen by others. https://www.youtube.com/embed/okk9TYXopXw 417 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-ancient-rabbis-knew-about-government-will-completely-change-how-you-view-politics/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uQuFyfk06sI/hqdefault.jpg What Ancient Rabbis Knew About Government Will COMPLETELY Change How You View Politics Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers where Rabban Gamliel, son of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, warns: be careful with the ruling authorities, for they befriend a person only for their own needs and do not stand by him in his hour of distress. He reads it as advice to communal leaders, who cannot avoid dealing with government. Shemaya in chapter 1 told people to keep away from government; the difference, he says, is that the average person should keep his distance, while leaders must engage but with great caution. Another view places the two sages in different historical periods. Government has a real role in keeping law and order, and a later Mishnah says to pray for its welfare; anarchy is worse than a bad government. But as an institution it looks after itself, as when a new Pharaoh repaid Joseph's rescue of Egypt with slavery. Commentators explain the caution in several ways: give the authorities something but not too much, do not reveal your secrets, do not put your trust in them, do not neglect Torah study, and do not insult them. The Talmud's account of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who asked Vespasian to spare the sages of Yavneh and wept before his death over whether he had chosen rightly, shows how hard this balance is. The Rebbe applied the Mishnah to each person's inner government of mind and heart. Chassidic texts link the Hebrew word for careful to "zohar," light: bring light to government. Commentators extend the caution to free choice, and Rabbi Greenberg adds that even the good inclination should be questioned. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uQuFyfk06sI 2605 2025-05-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/dogs-made-torah-scrolls-7-insane-jewish-dog-facts-that-will-make-your-rabbi-gasp/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EhynJHMn2aM/hqdefault.jpg DOGS MADE TORAH SCROLLS?! 7 INSANE Jewish Dog Facts That Will Make Your Rabbi GASP! Rabbi Greenberg explains how Judaism views dogs, prompted by the Talmud's statement that one who speaks ill of others deserves to be thrown to the dogs. Judaism is neither for nor against dogs, he says: nature has no free choice, so a dog is not morally good or bad, only its effects are, and when sources praise or criticize dogs they are often describing the "dog within us." Dogs appear in positive and negative contexts alike: the Midrash says Cain was given a dog for protection, the righteous Calev's name shares the letters of kelev, dog, and Isaiah calls dogs never satisfied. The Talmud advises against living where no dogs bark yet forbids keeping a dangerous dog unleashed. Much of the class centers on the verse that no dog barked at the plague of the firstborn. Explanations include that the Jews had been cured of slander, and that the dogs accepted God's judgment instead of protesting. Their reward was threefold: non-kosher meat is thrown to them, their dung is used in tanning parchment for Torah scrolls, and the dog's song of praise is "Come, let us prostrate ourselves." Rabbi Greenberg suggests the dogs did not bark because everyone was eating matzah, which Ibn Ezra says stays long in the stomach, and the bones of the Pesach lamb were not broken, as dogs break bones. The Maharal explains that the slanderer lacks the self-control the dogs showed. The dog's boldness and its bark, "hav," give, can be negative or positive, as when youth demand deeper teaching. Kelev read as kulo lev, all heart, means both lacking judgment and unconditional loyalty. Jewish law requires feeding one's animals before oneself. https://www.youtube.com/embed/EhynJHMn2aM 3565 2025-05-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-hidden-nature-of-the-30th-day/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qKAf3AHBRmk/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Hidden Nature of the 30th Day Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the thirtieth day of a month is always Rosh Chodesh, the start of the new month. After a deficient month it is the new month's first day; after a full month it is still Rosh Chodesh, since part of it is, though it completes the old month and the count begins from the thirty-first. Since the lunar cycle is about 29 and a half days, Rabbi Greenberg explains, the two days are not merely a matter of doubt: part of the thirtieth day is inherently Rosh Chodesh. This answers a question on the Magen Avraham, who rules that one who forgot yaaleh v'yavo (the Rosh Chodesh addition) in the afternoon prayer makes it up that night when it is the second day; if the two days stem from doubt, the makeup seems pointless. The Emek Berachah answers simply from this Rambam. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKAf3AHBRmk 351 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-power-of-time-torah-wisdom-on-spiritual-transformation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KObtPn2nN4c/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Power of Time: Torah Wisdom on Spiritual Transformation Rabbi Greenberg explains why, in Judaism, time is not just something one passes through but carries its own energy, focusing on the weeks between Pesach and Shavuos and connecting them to the Torah portion's laws of circumcision and tzaraas. At the Exodus the people had sunk to the 49th of 50 levels of impurity, and counting the days was their preparation for Sinai: each day they refined one of 49 character traits (seven emotional traits, each made up of all seven). The 50th level, like circumcision on the eighth day, lies beyond nature and only God can give it, but only after the human work of the seven. Tzaraas, often mistranslated as leprosy, was a non-contagious skin lesion that the Talmud links mainly to slander. Rabbi Greenberg notes that Moses and Miriam had it and explains it as an "allergy" to evil that surfaces in very righteous people. Only a kohen, a figure of kindness, could declare it, since only those who see good in others should criticize. Mashiach too is described as having it, because the world's remaining negativity is skin deep. Evil does not last, ending in repentance or punishment, while every good deed accumulates out of sight and will prevail. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KObtPn2nN4c 2399 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-beauty-of-balance-torah-study-with-worldly-occupation-explained/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c5CTgN63E2E/hqdefault.jpg The Beauty of Balance: Torah Study with Worldly Occupation Explained Rabbi Greenberg completes his study of Rabban Gamliel's teaching that Torah study is beautiful when combined with derech eretz, usually understood as a worldly occupation. Like his father, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, Rabban Gamliel teaches balance, though not necessarily 50/50: the emphasis is on Torah, with occupation secondary. Work keeps a person occupied and refines him, and, as the Rebbe explained, it makes us givers and partners with God in creation rather than only recipients, while Shabbos reminds us that God is truly in control. The Mishnah says the toil of both causes sin to be forgotten. Rabbi Greenberg explains forgetting as desensitization: the animal soul dulls us to what matters, while Torah and positive work can dull us to the materialism that leads to sin. He compares exile to toxic fumes that put a person to sleep, with Torah as the oxygen. He also lists other meanings of derech eretz: ethics, prayer, secular knowledge that reveals God's greatness, love of others, teaching, and communal work. Torah without work leads to neglect and sin, since a person cannot support himself and a vacuum invites negativity. Those who work for the community must do so for the sake of heaven, because power and money are addictive. They should credit their success to the merit of their ancestors, and then God credits them as if they had done it all. In the same way, our generation can bring Mashiach as a child on the shoulders of giants. https://www.youtube.com/embed/c5CTgN63E2E 2259 2025-04-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/lechat-chilah-ariber-the-rebbe-who-leapt-over-obstacles/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S0YDvx95WzM/hqdefault.jpg Lechat'chilah Ariber: The Rebbe Who Leapt Over Obstacles Rabbi Greenberg tells the life of the Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel, the fourth Chabad Rebbe and youngest of the Tzemach Tzedek's seven sons, whose birthday falls on the second of Iyar. The Rebbe defined him by his saying lechatchilah ariber: the world says that if you cannot go under an obstacle, climb over it; he said to go over from the outset. Rabbi Greenberg calls him the most enigmatic of the Rebbes: ill for most of his 48 years and widowed weeks after his first marriage, yet always cheerful; wealthy, worldly and fluent in many languages, yet ascetic; the author of some 20 volumes; and a traveler who, ostensibly seeking medical care, interceded for Russia's Jews, opposed the anti-religious maskilim and worked to free Jews from conscription. He recounts the story the Tzemach Tzedek told before the birth, in which he ruled in favor of a manager condemned in the heavenly court and asked for a righteous son in that merit, and the naming of the child after a hidden tzaddik, a water carrier. His father studied with him privately and chose him as successor, though he hid his greatness, which the Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom, saw through. Stories show his balance: after explaining a difficult teaching all night, he knew exactly how many cups of tea his visitor drank, and he described helping people as putting on their clothing and taking it off again. He traveled to Paris to bring one young man back to Judaism, and Rabbi Greenberg explains that a tzaddik who overcomes his own nature is empowered to change nature. https://www.youtube.com/embed/S0YDvx95WzM 3440 2025-04-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-charoset-is-a-mitzvah-without-a-bracha/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gVL2Tbj6kfY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Charoset is a Mitzvah Without a Bracha? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that charoses on Pesach night is a rabbinic mitzvah, a remembrance of the mortar the Jews used for bricks, following Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok against the first Tanna. The Maggid Mishneh explains that the Gemara's discussion of charoses as a reminder of the apple trees under which the women gave birth assumes it is a mitzvah. The Lechem Mishneh asks that in his Mishnah commentary the Rambam rejects that view because no blessing is said on charoses, and answers that he changed his mind, which leaves the question of why no blessing is said. The son of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev answers that since the Rambam explains charoses as the mortar, part of the bitterness of slavery, it is covered by the blessing on maror, the bitter herbs. The Mishnah commentary requires a blessing only according to the apple-tree explanation, which has nothing to do with bitterness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gVL2Tbj6kfY 348 2025-04-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-beauty-of-balance-when-torah-and-worldly-occupation-unite/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/U6Y7jesyNDo/hqdefault.jpg The Beauty of Balance: When Torah and Worldly Occupation Unite Rabbi Greenberg explains Rabban Gamliel's teaching in Pirkei Avos that Torah study combined with derech eretz is beautiful, and that toil in both makes one forget sin. He sets it in historical context: Rabban Gamliel's father, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, was wealthy enough to support thousands of scholars while compiling the Mishnah, but he divided the leadership before he passed away, and with Rome's decline times grew harder. Rabban Gamliel, raised in affluence yet unspoiled by it, teaches that Torah without work is not ideal. The word yafeh, beautiful, points to balance: as the attribute of tiferes (beauty) is a synthesis, a person or a life of one trait alone is not beautiful. Derech eretz is read several ways: gainful work; decency, which must precede receiving the Torah; and, according to one view, prayer, which deals with momentary needs yet is the entrance to Torah. Rabbi Greenberg also ventures his own suggestion that it can mean secular knowledge used as an adornment to Torah. He connects yafeh to Noah's blessing that God beautify Yefes, ancestor of Greece, the culture of beauty, and cites the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, and the Rambam's chapters of astronomy in the laws of sanctifying the new moon. Such knowledge is beautiful only as icing on the cake, never the main thing, as the Rebbe's blessing to a student about to study philosophy implied: first truth, then beauty. Toil in both makes one forget sin, since a busy mind has no room for it. A Midrash relates that Abraham recognized Canaan as the place God wanted because its people, though depraved, worked, while idle people elsewhere had no sense of purpose. https://www.youtube.com/embed/U6Y7jesyNDo 3517 2025-04-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-watchful-eye-god-s-presence-and-personal-accountability-in-jewish-ethics/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X7mdcXQB0mg/hqdefault.jpg The Watchful Eye: God's Presence and Personal Accountability in Jewish Ethics Rabbi Greenberg explains the closing words of the first mishnah of chapter 2 of Ethics of the Fathers: reflect on three things and you will not come to sin, know what is above you, an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds written in a book. He presents the mishnah's four motivations for keeping mitzvos: the beauty of a mitzvah, the fact that it is God's will, its consequences, and, as a last resort, awareness that God is watching. He cites Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's deathbed blessing that one's fear of heaven should equal one's fear of other people, and links the teaching to Rabbi Yehudah's division of the ten plagues into three groups, which showed that God exists, knows what happens, and holds everyone accountable. Rabbi Greenberg argues that much wrongdoing today stems from a lack of respect for any higher authority. He notes that technology now makes it easy to imagine every word being seen, heard and recorded. God sees through the prism of Torah, with breadth, depth and length, and gives us the same abilities: to see the good in others through Torah, to hear others through prayer, and to write our book through acts of kindness. The Alter Rebbe read "know what is above you" as "know that what is above is from you," meaning God reciprocates our conduct. Another reading is that a person must know his history. https://www.youtube.com/embed/X7mdcXQB0mg 2367 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/solving-the-mystery-of-chad-gadya-hidden-wisdom-of-the-passover-song/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YuKicMsDBZo/hqdefault.jpg Solving the Mystery of Chad Gadya: Hidden Wisdom of the Passover Song Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Chad Gadya, the song that ends the Haggadah. He first shows that inviting the hungry in the opening paragraph, "This is the bread of affliction," is meant to make us feel poverty and slavery, so that we truly value freedom. Chad Gadya is first mentioned about 600 years ago, and the Chida wrote that anyone dismissing it as childish deserves excommunication. One reading, based on the Midrash of Abraham before Nimrod, shows each power overcome by a stronger one until God rules over all. Another asks who in the song is righteous: the dog had no right to punish the cat, just as Pharaoh was punished although Abraham's descendants were destined to be enslaved, because no one may harm others without God's direct command. A Chassidic author read it as the stages of life, from an innocent child given two paths to struggles that last until one's final day. In Rabbi Greenberg's own reading, the kid is the Jewish people, one nation devoted to God's oneness, acquired through the two tablets of the Torah. The cat, shunra, recalls the Talmud's "beautiful song": redemption comes through joyful praise, even before the miracle. The dog is holy chutzpah in asking God for redemption; the stick alludes to Mashiach, the shoot of Jesse in Isaiah 11, and to every Jew's return to his roots. Fire is the purification the Jewish people have already endured; water, Torah study, is the path to choose. The ox and the shochet are the two stages of Mashiach, fighting evil and then elevating the world, and finally the angel of death becomes an angel of life until God ends evil altogether. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YuKicMsDBZo 4337 2025-04-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-practical-passover-seder-secrets-unveiled/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hr4iXyhO6c0/hqdefault.jpg The Practical Passover: Seder Secrets Unveiled Rabbi Greenberg walks through the practical laws of the Pesach Seder, with insights along the way. Before Pesach, chametz, which symbolizes the inflated ego, must be removed: it may not be eaten, used or owned, which is why it is sold to a non-Jew through the rabbi as agent. Every detail of the Seder matters, like each groove of a key, because the details let us plug into the energy of freedom. Pesach is full of paradoxes: "Passover" means going beyond order while "Seder" means order, and we experience both bondage and freedom. He explains the Seder plate in the arrangement of the Arizal: three matzos, the shank bone, the egg, bitter herbs, charoses, karpas and a second portion of bitter herbs. Romaine lettuce is preferred because it starts sweet and turns bitter, as the slavery did. He then goes through the fifteen steps: Kiddush after nightfall with at least 86 grams of wine, drunk rather than sipped; reclining on the left; karpas, whose letters reversed allude to 600,000 Jews at backbreaking labor; breaking the middle matzah; telling the story before a full cup; eating matzah and bitter herbs in set amounts; Hillel's sandwich; the afikoman; Elijah's cup; Hallel; and "Next year in Jerusalem." In answers to questions, he explains how to light candles when the Seder begins on Saturday night, why the first night's afikoman is eaten before midnight, and why two Seders are held outside Israel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hr4iXyhO6c0 3142 2025-04-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/transform-your-soul-unlock-spiritual-sensitivity-now/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5CrBh29aG-I/hqdefault.jpg Transform Your Soul! 🌟 Unlock Spiritual Sensitivity Now! 🙏 Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah required an offering for an unintentional sin, and what that teaches about spiritual sensitivity. He first corrects a common misconception: korbanos, usually translated as sacrifices, really means things that bring a person closer to God, and they were never meant to atone for most sins. A deliberate sin required repentance and, where someone was harmed, restitution; the offerings applied only to unintentional sins. In a certain sense, he says, an unintentional sin is worse. A deliberate sin comes from the ongoing struggle between the animal soul and the godly soul, in which a person sometimes gives in under pressure. An unintentional sin shows that the person has lost sensitivity and did not even realize he was doing wrong. Much of the evil in the world, he adds, is made possible by people around it who do not care. The remedy is to refine the animal soul, above all through Torah study, which shapes how a person thinks, feels and acts, until the world itself becomes sensitive in the time of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5CrBh29aG-I 194 2025-04-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-shehecheyanu-controversy-at-brit-milah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/npWOB9zU8Xg/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Shehecheyanu Controversy at Brit Milah Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Rambam rules that the father says Shehecheyanu at his son's bris, while other Rishonim rule that he does not. The dispute turns on what Shehecheyanu is for. Tosafos holds that it requires physical joy, which a bris lacks, and the Rokeach explains that a pidyon haben has that joy because at thirty days the child is known to be viable. The Rambam holds that doing a mitzvah that comes from time to time itself calls for Shehecheyanu, with or without joy. The Hagahos Maimoniyos gives another reason not to say it: the baby's pain. The Rambam's view is supported by the Gemara's ruling that one who inherits from his father says both the blessing on bad news and Shehecheyanu, even though the loss tempers the joy, and the case of a bris is stronger still, since the baby's pain and the father's mitzvah are separate. Some Rishonim understand the Rambam to require Shehecheyanu only when the father performs the bris himself, which fits the view that the blessing is on his own fulfillment of the mitzvah. Many Sephardim say Shehecheyanu at a bris, while Ashkenazim do not. https://www.youtube.com/embed/npWOB9zU8Xg 499 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-tiny-letter-that-changes-everything-vayikra-s-secret-power/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W37VX86ewoM/hqdefault.jpg The Tiny Letter That Changes Everything: Vayikra's Secret Power Rabbi Greenberg explains why the first word of the book of Vayikra is written with a small aleph, and what that letter teaches. Vayikra, the middle book, about holiness and offerings, links the lofty first two books with the last two, about wandering, giving the power to bring holiness even into exile. Vayikra, "He called," expresses love; without the aleph it reads vayikar, the cold, chance contact God had with Bilaam. Moses, the greatest and humblest of people, asked not to be singled out, and the small aleph was the compromise. Children begin learning with this book because it speaks of pure things, and the small aleph is the pure, childlike part in every person that Mashiach will reveal in the whole world. Adding an aleph turns dam, blood, into adam, a person, and golah, exile, into geulah, redemption: the aleph stands for God, the Master of the world. Moses' humility also came from seeing that all of Rabbi Akiva's teachings were contained, like a seed, in the Torah he received, and, as the Alter Rebbe taught, from seeing the Jews of the last exile keep their Judaism though God does not speak to them. A korban comes from the word for closeness: it means bringing the animal within us close to God, turning rage into energy for good and meekness into humility. From the unusual spelling of lo, Rabbi Greenberg teaches when one must speak up and when to stay silent, and that prayer can change God's decree. https://www.youtube.com/embed/W37VX86ewoM 2354 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-beautiful-path-finding-balance-in-torah-commandments/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P2nDEaDyIY8/hqdefault.jpg The Beautiful Path: Finding Balance in Torah Commandments Rabbi Greenberg studies the first Mishnah of the second chapter of Pirkei Avos, in which Rebbi, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, describes the straight path a person should choose: one that brings beauty to himself and is beautiful in the eyes of others. Where chapter one stresses doing mitzvos because they were commanded at Sinai, chapter two adds that God also wants us to love the mitzvos, feel their beauty and be refined by them. Rebbi then balances this by teaching that one should be as careful with a light mitzvah as with a weighty one, since no one knows the reward of the mitzvos and we are not connoisseurs of their worth. Rabbi Greenberg illustrates this with the Talmud's story of the nations given the easy mitzvah of sukkah, who kick the sukkah as they leave it, and with the wise son's question at the Seder, answered by leaving the taste of the afikoman to linger. He brings the Baal Shem Tov's reading that one should bring light into every mitzvah, along with the story of how the Maggid of Mezritch became his disciple. Reckoning the loss of a mitzvah against its reward means realizing that its value is beyond measure, like a child one would not give up for a billion dollars. A seemingly light mitzvah can lead to much more. The class ends with the sale of chametz before Pesach and the Alter Rebbe's all-night search for chametz. https://www.youtube.com/embed/P2nDEaDyIY8 2659 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/journey-of-the-soul-iii-laws-of-mourning-and-consolation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Nzv8lEgOlLM/hqdefault.jpg Journey of the Soul III: Laws of Mourning & Consolation Rabbi Greenberg explains how Jewish law guides a person through grieving the loss of a loved one, and how to comfort a mourner. The mitzvos of mourning have psychological benefits, but they are observed because God commanded them. Judaism takes the middle path: grieve truly, without denial, but do not wallow. Nachmanides writes that the Torah does not forbid crying, Maimonides notes that mourners find relief in tears, and the Radvaz calls a man who shed no tear for his son cruel, not admirable. Rabbi Greenberg recalls seeing the Rebbe's devastation when his wife passed away. He walks through the stages of mourning: the first day before the funeral, shiva, thirty days, twelve months for a parent, and the yahrzeit. Tearing the garment makes the loss tangible, and the year of mourning for parents honors them. The Talmud warns against mourning more than prescribed, since God says, "You are not more merciful than I." The words of comfort call on God as HaMakom, the One present in the world who feels our pain, and mention the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. As the Rebbe wrote in a letter of condolence, the spiritual Temple was never destroyed, and the soul of the departed also lives on. Kaddish, Torah study and good deeds in the person's merit are like sending greetings, a letter and a whole package. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was comforted only when a student told him that he had returned his son, a deposit, in perfect condition. The most important part of comforting is simply being present, letting the mourner lead the conversation, and speaking of the deceased's good qualities. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nzv8lEgOlLM 3799 2025-03-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-the-hidden-power-of-your-seder-s-second-half/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sRu0I4vxPGA/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: The Hidden Power of Your Seder's Second Half Rabbi Greenberg explains the second half of the Pesach Seder, after the meal, which focuses on the future redemption, true and complete, while the first half relives the Exodus. It begins with the afikoman, called tzafun, "hidden," which gives the power to remove the evil concealed deep in a person. The Rebbe explains that Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai wept on his deathbed because he had been too busy helping others to search for hidden faults in himself, and taught that before Mashiach hidden negative and positive traits come to light. One commentary links the afikoman to Jacob's outwitting of Esau. The cup of Elijah corresponds to a fifth expression of redemption, "I will bring you to the land," not yet fully realized; we do not drink it because the future is beyond what we can now internalize. Opening the door expresses readiness for Elijah, on a night the Torah calls a night of protection. Rabbi Greenberg recalls how the Rebbe's intensity rose in the second half of the Seder. The paragraph "Pour out Your wrath" refers to nations who do not know God, though the Jewish hope is that enemies become friends. The Hallel after the meal draws hidden Divine light into the world. Nirtzah, "accepted," reflects God responding to our efforts with a higher gift, and its numerical value equals Moshe, the hidden hero of the Haggadah, as the Rambam's instructions for teaching a wise child suggest. "Next year in Jerusalem" is said because Tishrei and Nissan are opportune months for redemption, and Chabad does not declare the Seder concluded because redemption is continuous. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sRu0I4vxPGA 3534 2025-03-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-mystery-of-hashem-s-ineffable-name-in-the-temple/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9banre2T-uw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Mystery of Hashem's Ineffable Name in the Temple Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that in the Temple the kohanim pronounced God's Name in the priestly blessing as it is written, while outside it they used the name we say. After the death of Shimon HaTzadik, as the generation declined, they stopped pronouncing it even in the Temple, so that unworthy people would not learn it. The question is how a Torah requirement could be dropped. Tosafos answers that the Name is not essential, or that a twelve-letter name was dropped, but the Rambam treats it as required and means the four-letter Name. A work on the laws of the priestly blessing answers that the Name is pronounced in the Temple to bring glory to God, so when it no longer would, there was no requirement; Rabbi Greenberg compares an oath, a mitzvah only for a worthy person. Alternatively, the Temple blessing and the blessing elsewhere are separate laws, and the second remained. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9banre2T-uw 430 2025-03-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-straight-path-finding-balance-in-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R2r-rtoJ00Q/hqdefault.jpg The Straight Path: Finding Balance in Life Rabbi Greenberg begins chapter 2 of Pirkei Avos with Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi's question, "Which is the straight path a person should choose?" Chapter 1 establishes that we keep the Torah because God commands it; chapter 2 asks that its teachings become part of us. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, called simply "Rebbi" and "our holy teacher," compiled the Mishnah during a respite from Roman persecution and, despite great wealth and influence, was known for his humility and for taking no pleasure from this world. Since the right path is keeping the Torah, the question must mean something more. One reading follows his father's teaching that the world stands on justice, truth and peace: if one must choose a focus, choose peace, which is good for oneself and for others, as a compromise benefits both sides. The Rambam reads it as the middle path in character traits, such as giving between 10 and 20 percent to charity, with anger and arrogance as the exceptions. Another reading calls for a synthesis of one's relationship with God and with other people, as the two tablets were given side by side. The Rebbe taught that one should not seek the power of teshuvah by sinning. He also explained that a person of high spiritual energy that is not yet grounded is brought into balance through Torah study with humility, the harmony that will be complete in the time of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/R2r-rtoJ00Q 2701 2025-03-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-s-hidden-balance-community-individual-and-holiness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8JeK5q9jXiU/hqdefault.jpg Torah’s Hidden Balance: Community, Individual, and Holiness Rabbi Greenberg explains how the paired Torah portions at the end of Exodus balance the community and the individual. Vayakhel, "he gathered," focuses on the people as a whole, while Pekudei, "accounting," focuses on every detail. Judaism fuses the two, and he illustrates this with the Rebbe, who spoke of communal needs in private family meetings and asked about a guest's family in the middle of a worldwide gathering, and who asked a rabbi who had met every Jew on a Caribbean island but one when he would meet the last person. Moses, the most trustworthy of people, still gave an accounting for every contribution to the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, because Jewish law requires a person to stay above suspicion so others will not slander him or learn from what looks like wrongdoing. Rabbi Greenberg cites Rabbi Meir Shapiro's question of why no one demanded an accounting for the golden calf, and adds his own answer: even wrongdoers quietly hope their venture fails, while people doing good want it done right. The architect Bezalel is traced to Miriam, and Rabbi Greenberg connects her to three qualities: persistence in prayer, unshakable faith, and the woman's power to make a house a home, a dwelling for God. The portion's opening word, eileh, "these," rearranged spells Leah, who according to Rashi was always crying; she represents the one who struggles with the negative and repents, matching the Mishkan's two roles as God's dwelling and a place of atonement. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8JeK5q9jXiU 2066 2025-03-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/let-my-people-know-nissan-month-of-liberation-miracles-and-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NMNx6LjYEwg/hqdefault.jpg Let My People Know: Nissan - Month of Liberation, Miracles & Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains why Nissan, the month of Passover, is called the first month even though the Jewish year begins on Rosh Hashanah. Citing the Talmud's teaching that the year has four "heads," he says Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, begins the natural cycle, while Nissan, when the Jewish people left Egypt and became a nation, begins the supernatural one. The name Nissan contains the word nes, miracle, forwards and backwards, which is why the Talmud calls it "miracles of miracles." He explains why the month is joyous: for its first twelve days the tribal leaders brought dedication offerings for the Tabernacle, followed by the day before Passover, the eight days of the holiday and the day after it, so 22 or 23 days are festive and prayers asking forgiveness are omitted. He also discusses Miriam's passing, after which the water that came in her merit stopped; the red heifer purification needed before coming to the Temple for the Passover offering; and the birth of the Rambam on the day before Passover. Turning to preparation, he explains that chametz, leavened products, must be removed or sold through a rabbi to a non-Jew, because chametz symbolizes arrogance and matzah humility. He closes with the wish that Nissan bring great miracles. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMNx6LjYEwg 1610 2025-03-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-judaism-s-timeless-liberation-story-beyond-history/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8-3hkPXHwkE/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: Judaism's Timeless Liberation Story | Beyond History Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism returns again and again to the Exodus, an event of some 3,300 years ago. Remembering it is not nostalgia or only a history lesson; it relives and regenerates the energy of liberation. The Exodus opens the Ten Commandments, is tied to dozens of mitzvos, and, according to a Mishnah recited in the Haggadah, must be recalled by night as well as by day and even in the days of Mashiach. Why does God introduce Himself as the One who took us out of Egypt rather than as Creator? Rabbi Greenberg gathers answers from Rabbi Yehudah Halevi and Ibn Ezra, the Sefer HaChinuch and Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk: the Exodus shows God's mastery over nature, was seen by everyone rather than reasoned by philosophers, expresses His unique bond with the Jewish people, and began the giving of the Torah. Other masters add that God is with us even in Egypt and that He took us as His servants, since a person who rejects God becomes a slave to something else. Mitzrayim, Egypt, means confinement. The four expressions of redemption describe four stages: release from torment, from lack of independence, from a prison that blocks one's potential, and finally the soul's freedom through the Torah. Following the Rebbe, he explains that the Jews carried the bread of affliction with them, so leaving Egypt is a daily process that ends only with Mashiach. He closes with the Rebbe's six differences between the daily remembrance and the Seder night, adding a seventh: explicit praise. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8-3hkPXHwkE 3702 2025-03-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-shema-blessings-are-different/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bufiW3TJeT0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Shema Blessings Are Different Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one unsure whether he has recited the Shema must recite it again, together with its blessings before and after. The Rashba asks why, since the Rambam rules that where circumcision is performed only because of a doubt, no blessing is said, as blessings are rabbinic. The Rashba answers that from the outset the Shema was instituted to be read with its blessings. Rabbi Soloveitchik explains that the Rambam compares mitzvah blessings to blessings on food: they permit the act but are not part of it. The Shema blessings, however, were made an integral part of the mitzvah, much as the Rambam counts all three paragraphs as part of the Shema. Rabbi Greenberg adds the Alter Rebbe's explanation that the blessings before the Shema, which speak of God's love for us, awaken our love for God, the theme of the Shema itself, so in a case of doubt they are repeated with it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bufiW3TJeT0 364 2025-03-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-meaning-of-the-mishkan-divine-love-after-the-golden-calf/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PaB0vjW1qCk/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Meaning of the Mishkan: Divine Love After the Golden Calf Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, was commanded right after the golden calf, as God's expression of love after forgiving the people. Moses' three periods of forty days on the mountain correspond to Torah, prayer and teshuvah, ending with the second tablets on Yom Kippur; the next day Moses gathered the people to build the Mishkan, God's sign that He would dwell among them despite their sin. Moses first repeats the laws of Shabbos, because honoring God as Creator takes precedence over building the sanctuary, and the forbidden labors are defined by the work of building it. The ban on kindling fire was taken literally by the Sadducees, who denied the Oral Torah; lighting Shabbos candles before sunset affirms that tradition, brings peace to the home, adds enjoyment to the meal, and honors Shabbos. The Mishkan unites space, Shabbos unites time, and the gathered people unite soul, the three categories of creation in Sefer Yetzirah. The Menorah's function, light, is stated so it would not be seen as a museum piece; its Western lamp, whose Hebrew name also suggests mixture and sweetness, reflects the many sides of Torah, which should be taught with sweetness. The people rushed off without waiting to be dismissed, as love, like hatred, overrides propriety, as with Abraham, and Bilaam and Haman. The Torah repeats the Mishkan's details, close to 500 verses, like a cherished love letter. Its builder, Bezalel, was the grandson of Chur, who gave his life opposing the golden calf, and a descendant of Miriam, leader of the women whose faith surpassed the men's. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PaB0vjW1qCk 2450 2025-03-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-three-pillars-of-existence-justice-truth-and-peace-in-jewish-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3u-NLs3hb14/hqdefault.jpg The Three Pillars of Existence: Justice, Truth & Peace in Jewish Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg studies the teaching of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel in Ethics of the Fathers that the world exists on three things, justice, truth and peace, citing Zechariah's "execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates." He first discusses whether this is the same Rabban Shimon who earlier praised silence, and then asks how this list fits with Shimon the Righteous's statement that the world stands on Torah, service of God and acts of kindness. He offers several answers. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that Torah, service and kindness are the purpose for which the world was created, while justice, truth and peace keep it from falling apart. Justice, truth and peace are universal, underlying the seven Noahide commandments, while Torah, prayer and kindness are the Jewish mission that gives life meaning. The Rebbe notes that the first mishnah says the world "stands," while this one says it "exists": without Torah a person may exist but wavers without direction. Rabbi Yonasan Eybeschutz explains a puzzling Midrash in which God answers the angels with "deshe," vegetation, an acronym for din, emes and shalom, justice, truth and peace, which sustain the world after the Temple's destruction. The three also correspond to action, speech and thought, and the Tanya teaches that thinking ill of others harms the soul more than speaking ill. Rabbi Greenberg advises judging others favorably to purify one's thoughts, and notes that a court ruling without peace between the parties has not truly served justice. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3u-NLs3hb14 2448 2025-03-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/journey-of-the-soul-i-mystifying-death/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bu4idP12x48/hqdefault.jpg Journey of the Soul I: Mystifying Death Rabbi Greenberg opens a six-part series on the journey of the soul by explaining Judaism's view of death: neither denying it nor celebrating it, but seeing it as a transition from one form of life to another. Understanding death helps us value life; the generations before the flood, who lived for centuries, lost their seriousness about life. A person is the soul, not the body, which is only its garment, as Rabbi Chaim Vital writes. God formed Adam's body first and then breathed in a soul, unlike the animals, and the soul is a divine spark that precedes the body and outlives it. A Midrash describes the soul pleading not to enter a body, and Ethics of the Fathers calls this world a corridor before the world to come, one moment of whose bliss exceeds all the pleasures of this world. Yet the same text says one moment of return and good deeds here is greater than all of the world to come, and the Rambam rules that one should transgress a commandment rather than be killed, since the mitzvos are given to live by. The afterlife is a reward, not the goal; the goal is to make this physical world godly. This is why Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi wept before his passing over the mitzvos he could no longer do, and why the Alter Rebbe said he wanted God, not paradise. The previous Rebbe told a Soviet interrogator holding a revolver that he had "one God and two worlds." The righteous are called alive even after death because they already live for the spiritual, which is the meaning of "choose life." https://www.youtube.com/embed/bu4idP12x48 3792 2025-03-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-who-s-responsible-when-others-act-for-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/swiDT5AjkJE/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Who's Responsible When Others Act For You? Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that one who has an idol made for himself receives lashes, even if someone else made it and he never worshipped it, based on the verse "Do not make for yourself an idol." The Lechem Mishneh asks how lashes can be given when the person did no act himself, and answers that the one who made it acted as his agent. The Minchas Chinuch objects that there is no agency for a transgression, since the agent should have obeyed God rather than the sender. He presents several answers. One holds that a hired worker is more than an agent. Another, which he finds more plausible, holds that having an idol made is forbidden anyway, so agency only attributes the act to the sender. A third holds that speech which leads to an action is punishable, comparing muzzling an ox by voice, though others note that here the maker acts on his own. https://www.youtube.com/embed/swiDT5AjkJE 381 2025-03-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-power-of-purim-unity-beyond-logic/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g6VIATTfu1k/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Power of Purim: Unity Beyond Logic Rabbi Greenberg explains the connection between the half-shekel in Parshas Ki Sisa and Purim. The Talmud teaches that God told Haman his ten thousand silver talents had already been countered by the Jews' half-shekels. Haman called the Jews "scattered," a divided people; the half-shekel answers that each Jew is only half and needs the other, and also that all are equal. Jews differ in mind and heart and rightly debate in pursuit of truth, but at their essence they are one, as shows in times of crisis. Sending food gifts on Purim expresses this friendship. Since the mind divides, like the four sections of the head tefillin, this unity is found beyond logic, which is why on Purim one drinks until one does not know the difference between "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai": joy that transcends reason while still knowing good from evil. On the golden calf, he explains that Moses was praised for breaking the tablets, because it removed the "marriage contract" so the people could not be held liable, and showed his love for the people over what was most precious to him. Shattering the tablets also shattered the people and moved them to teshuvah, which is why Moses' face shone with the second tablets, given on Yom Kippur. He broke them only on seeing, not hearing, since seeing removes all doubt. Finally, citing his grandfather, he explains the Talmud's saying that the best of ritual slaughterers is a partner of Amalek: keeping kosher and antisemitism have both kept the Jews from assimilating. Rather than waiting for hatred to unite us, we can unite through the mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/g6VIATTfu1k 2344 2025-03-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-power-of-silence-ancient-wisdom-from-rabbi-shimon-ben-gamliel/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MEuSJ_jG-l4/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Silence: Ancient Wisdom from Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel Rabbi Greenberg explains the teaching of Shimon, son of Rabban Gamliel, in Ethics of the Fathers 1:17: he found nothing better for the body than silence; study is not the main thing, but action; and whoever speaks too much brings about sin. Shimon, the first of the Ten Martyrs, is named without his title, perhaps because he said this before becoming leader, because his martyrdom placed him beyond titles, or as a sign of the humility he teaches: though he grew up among the sages, he kept silent and listened. Speech is what defines a human being, so it should be used like a precious diamond. Silence is good "for the body," in physical matters, while Torah study and prayer call for speaking. The Rambam divides speech into five categories, from forbidden to obligatory. Rabbi Greenberg stresses that the highest silence is not answering an insult, as King David did when Shimi cursed him, and that a "fast of speech" can be greater than a fast from food. Study that does not lead to action is flawed, unlike secular knowledge, and preaching without practicing defeats its purpose. Too many words can lead to sin even with good intentions, as when Adam added "do not touch" to God's command and Eve was led to eat. Citing the teaching that the Ten Martyrs were reincarnations of Joseph's brothers, Rabbi Greenberg suggests this Shimon may have carried the soul of Joseph's brother Shimon, whose words began the plot against Joseph. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MEuSJ_jG-l4 3185 2025-03-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/journey-of-the-soul-vi-finding-meaning-and-resurrection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zOwj09WQwt8/hqdefault.jpg Journey of the Soul VI: Finding Meaning & Resurrection In the sixth class of his series on death and the afterlife, Rabbi Greenberg explains how knowing that life on earth ends should shape the way we live, and why the resurrection of the dead is a foundation of Jewish belief. Because the soul lives on, death is a transition, and awareness of mortality pushes us to value our time, care for our health, focus on what matters and leave a lasting legacy. He cites the Talmud's advice to recall the day of death only as a last resort against the evil inclination, a 17th-century rabbi and royal finance minister who said the only wealth he truly owned was the charity he had given, and a parable of a man who traded an island's diamonds for chicken fat. He rejects ageism and the idea of retiring from life. The Talmud teaches that one who studied and taught in youth should continue in old age, that an elder's mind grows more settled, and that an elder who forgot his learning through illness is still honored, like the broken tablets kept in the Ark. Death, he explains, entered the world when Adam and Eve's sin misaligned body and soul, and it will cease once that is corrected. Finally, he explains the Rambam's twelfth and thirteenth principles of faith: Mashiach will make all the mitzvos observable and vindicate God's justice, and the resurrection extends that to those who died before. It also reveals the body's own worth, which he says mystical literature regards as even holier than the soul. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zOwj09WQwt8 4052 2025-03-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-divine-unity-revealed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p9m_vHzsG8w/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Divine Unity Revealed Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's teaching that God does not know with a knowledge external to Himself, as people do, but that He, His knowledge and His life are one "from every side and every corner, in every manner of unity," so that He is the knower, the known and the knowledge itself. The Rambam concludes that this is beyond the mouth to express, the ear to hear, or the human heart to grasp fully. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that the Rambam's repeated threefold wording describes three levels of unity: "side," an external union; "corner," pinah, related to pnimiyus (inwardness), an internal one; and "every manner of unity," an essential oneness. This parallels the Alter Rebbe's description of how a sin first attaches to a person externally, then enters him, then becomes one with him. The mouth, ear and heart match these levels: speech is outward, hearing is internalized, and the heart reveals the essence of the soul. https://www.youtube.com/embed/p9m_vHzsG8w 306 2025-03-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rabbi-gamliel-s-wisdom-defeat-doubt-find-truth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ml613nWP8aE/hqdefault.jpg Rabbi Gamliel’s Wisdom: Defeat Doubt, Find Truth Rabbi Greenberg teaches Rabban Gamliel's three instructions: appoint a teacher for yourself, remove yourself from doubt, and do not tithe by estimate. He first sets the scene: after Hillel and Shammai the authority of the Sanhedrin weakened and knowledge declined. Rabban Gamliel, Hillel's grandson, was the first to bear the title Rabban; he made enactments "for tikkun olam," such as allowing a woman to remarry on one witness's word that her husband had died, and in his time the Sanhedrin left its chamber, ending the death penalty. Most commentators read the three statements as one idea: consult a teacher on matters of law so you are not left in doubt, rather than habitually taking the strictest view. Tithing by guesswork shows how excess strictness backfires, since produce given beyond the required tenth is neither tithe nor permitted. Unlike Yehoshua ben Perachyah's similar teaching about a mentor, this refers to a legal authority, and some say one should keep to one consistent authority. Rabbi Greenberg then links doubt to Amalek, whose name has the same numerical value as safek, doubt. Amalek "cooled off" the Jews' enthusiasm after the Exodus, and doubt, including self-doubt, comes from the evil inclination, while questions are healthy. Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg explained that Yisro joined Moses after hearing of Amalek's war because even the most inspired person needs a mentor. The Rebbe taught that joy increases in Adar because Amalek, including inner doubt, is defeated there. Finally, emes, truth, also means consistency. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ml613nWP8aE 3120 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-power-of-adar-unity-joy-and-the-secret-of-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tAfv0s0PV3s/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Power of Adar: Unity, Joy, and the Secret of Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Talmud says to increase joy when the month of Adar begins, and connects it to Parshas Tetzaveh and the Redemption. Purim's miracle was hidden within nature, which he calls greater than the open miracles of Pesach and Chanukah because it shows God present in our everyday lives. Adar also gives strength against Amalek, the enemy that seeks total annihilation; spiritually, the numerical value of the word Amalek equals that of the Hebrew word for doubt, the most destructive force in a person's life. Haman thought Adar unlucky because Moses died on the seventh of Adar, not knowing that Moses was also born on that day. In the parsha, the high priest's breastplate, which stood for justice between people, had to stay bound to the ephod, which atoned for idolatry. Like the two tablets, this shows that a relationship with God and decent treatment of others cannot be separated, and that morality without God has no guarantee. When the jasper stone, the jewel of Benjamin, went missing in Second Temple times, the sages bought a replacement from Dama ben Nesina, a Roman official who refused to wake his father for profit. Rabbi Greenberg reads the lost stone of Benjamin, the one brother not involved in selling Joseph, as a warning about the baseless hatred that destroyed the Temple. The Hebrew word for breastplate equals 358, the numerical value of Mashiach, since unity of all the tribes brings the Redemption. Aaron earned the breastplate by rejoicing in his heart at his brother's appointment, and the Rambam's final paragraph describes the Messianic age as a world without jealousy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tAfv0s0PV3s 1973 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/journey-of-the-soul-v-reincarnation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9ZqNHtK3Llc/hqdefault.jpg Journey of the Soul V: Reincarnation In the fifth class of the Journey of the Soul series, Rabbi Greenberg explains what Judaism teaches about reincarnation, gilgul, its purpose and how it works. He traces the teaching through the Zohar and the Arizal, as recorded by Rabbi Chaim Vital, notes that some rationalist philosophers such as Rav Saadia Gaon did not accept it, and says that for the last four hundred years traditional scholars have; it even appears in the bedtime prayer forgiving others "in this incarnation or any other." All Jewish souls branch from Adam's soul, through the Patriarchs, the twelve tribes and the seventy souls, to the 600,000 at the Exodus. Each soul must fulfill all 613 mitzvos, master the four levels of Torah, and add its own insights, so most souls return. The Baal Shem Tov was told his soul had returned because in a previous life it kept its holiness to itself, and the Arizal explained a man's short, happy marriage as the return of a former partner's soul to repay him. Rabbi Greenberg stresses that the same soul does not simply return. Only the part of a soul that did not complete its task becomes a new soul with its own identity, while the parts that succeeded rise to Paradise and their merit benefits the new soul, as with Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, "like seventy" years old. Gehinnom cleanses wrongdoing, while reincarnation is mostly for a mission left undone. A person can find clues to his mission in the mitzvah he loves most, the one he finds hardest for no reason, and the place where God has put him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9ZqNHtK3Llc 4920 2025-03-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-paradox-of-natural-change-in-messianic-times/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sl23n1U1ECA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Paradox of Natural Change in Messianic Times Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's closing description of the Messianic era: no hunger, war, jealousy or rivalry, abundant good, and a world occupied only with knowing God, as "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea." The end of hunger and war is understandable within nature, but an end to jealousy, ingrained since Kayin, seems to contradict the Rambam's view that nature will not change. One answer places this in a later, miraculous stage; Rabbi Greenberg suggests that the Torah defines nature, so once the Sanhedrin is restored and the Torah fully kept, nature will follow it. The Rebbe asks how everyone can pursue this knowledge without limit, when the Rambam says deep matters must be concealed, and answers that the limit lies in the person, not the knowledge, and people will change. Similarly, the Arizal declared it a mitzvah to spread Kabbalah in his time. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sl23n1U1ECA 411 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/shammais-wisdom-torah-action-and-a-smile/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XIj61btoXeE/hqdefault.jpg Shammai’s Wisdom: Torah, Action, and a Smile Rabbi Greenberg explains Shammai's three teachings in Pirkei Avos: make your Torah study fixed, say little and do much, and receive every person with a cheerful face. Fixed Torah means not only a set time for study but Torah becoming part of a person, which is why a Torah scholar, unlike a king, may forgo his honor. Saying little and doing much is the contrast between Ephron, who offered the cave freely and then charged a fortune, and Abraham, who offered his guests bread and served them a feast. Rabbi Greenberg also reads it as putting more weight on mitzvos done with effort than on those done for enjoyment. Receiving people cheerfully matters because one's face is public property; the Talmud's two sons show that how one gives counts as much as what one gives. How could Shammai, who drove away the convert who wanted the Torah on one foot, teach a cheerful welcome? The Rebbe answers that Shammai would not smile at someone belittling the Torah, and alternatively that Shammai changed after hearing Hillel. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that Shammai, like Isaac the well-digger, saw the hidden good in a person, while Hillel saw the good even in the person's words, as Moses came to agree with Aaron. The Rebbe also explains that Shammai's power of evaluation shows a person has more capacity than he thinks, as when he told Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz to add a project rather than drop one. He ends with Isaac's defense of the Jewish people and a Holocaust story of a Jewish kapo who died rather than order Jews to eat on Yom Kippur. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XIj61btoXeE 2423 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-power-of-giving-building-your-inner-sanctuary/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hyd_3p_tHZI/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Power of Giving: Building Your Inner Sanctuary Rabbi Greenberg explains what Parshas Terumah teaches about giving and about becoming a sanctuary for God. A midrash links the people's declaration at Sinai, we will do and we will hear, to the command take for Me an offering: inspiration fizzles unless it is turned at once into action, as the Rebbe once had people pour wine for each other at a Shabbos gathering after speaking about love of a fellow Jew. The Torah says take rather than give because the giver receives far more than he gives. The double expression give, you shall give addresses two flaws: giving reluctantly, cured by giving often, as the Rambam prefers many small gifts, and giving to relieve one's own discomfort, cured by giving again for the other's sake. Rashi counts 13 materials for the Mishkan, and 13 is the numerical value of echad, one, and ahavah, love. The words for poor and rich each reduce to 13, and together make 26, the value of God's name, which the Arizal says is formed in the act of giving tzedakah. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that each of the 13 years before bar mitzvah adds another quality until a person becomes a sanctuary. The Mishkan's boards, keresh, share letters with sheker, falsehood, and kesher, bond. Every sin is a lie about who a person really is, so no one should define himself by his sins; teshuvah means returning to one's true self. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hyd_3p_tHZI 2148 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/journey-of-the-soul-iv-heaven-and-hell/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dNtvjbl3X1Q/hqdefault.jpg Journey of the Soul IV: Heaven and Hell In the fourth lesson of his series on the soul, Rabbi Greenberg explains the Jewish view of heaven and hell and what the living can do for the soul of someone who has passed away. Citing the Rambam's eleventh principle of faith, he explains that reward and punishment are mainly experienced in the world to come, since this world cannot contain pure reward, and that the Torah's rewards are natural consequences of a person's own actions, like a builder handed the keys to the house he built. The Rambam also reads the Torah's promises as conditions that make it easier or harder to keep doing good. The Mishnah teaches that the reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself, which, he explains, means connection with God. Gehinnom, he explains, is not a place of eternal torment but a painful, temporary cleansing, often described as shame, that lasts at most twelve months; this is one reason Kaddish is said for only eleven. The story of Rabbi Meir and his teacher Acher shows that it is a benefit to the soul. Afterward every Jew has a share in the world to come, and righteous gentiles do as well. Gan Eden is a spiritual bliss that, as Abarbanel writes, cannot be grasped while bound to the body. A soul cannot perform mitzvos, so its growth is limited, but mitzvos done in its memory, including Kaddish, charity, Torah study, Yizkor and yahrzeit customs, ease its cleansing and raise it higher; through them the living become, as it were, its body in this world. He concludes that one mitzvah in this world is worth more than all of heaven's reward. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dNtvjbl3X1Q 4299 2025-02-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/if-not-now-when-hillels-timeless-wisdom-for-personal-growth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PadpWDVhmvY/hqdefault.jpg If Not Now, When? Hillel's Timeless Wisdom for Personal Growth Rabbi Greenberg explains Hillel's teaching "If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" as a call to hold two roles at full strength: the individual and the communal. Judaism does not compromise between them; each person is a whole world, yet, like the half shekel, each is only half without others. The Rebbe showed this when he turned private audiences toward the needs of the Jewish people and public gatherings toward a person's family, and when he searched his pile of mail for a request about a teenager's ingrown toenail, judging its importance by the boy's standard. Hillel became leader by ruling that the Passover offering overrides Shabbos because it is communal and fixed in time, though each person brings it privately, and the Rebbe finds both factors hinted in this Mishnah. Hillel's patience with a man who tried to anger him shows the same care for an individual. "If I am not for myself" also means not blaming others for one's own failings: judge others favorably, but judge yourself honestly, and do not leave Torah study or teaching to someone else. "If not now" warns against procrastination, as Rabbi Salanter learned from a shoemaker working while his candle burned, and as the Rebbe opposed retirement. Avos d'Rabbi Nasan adds that what is not done in this world cannot be done in the next; repentance erases sin but cannot restore a missed mitzvah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PadpWDVhmvY 2834 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-rabbis-disagree-a-life-or-death-matter/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wG66TFRYLnc/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Rabbis Disagree - A Life or Death Matter Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling on the zaken mamrei, a sage who defiantly rules against the Sanhedrin, who is liable to death when the dispute concerns a matter punishable by kares. The Rambam includes a rabbinic decree that extends such a prohibition, such as the sages' ban on eating chametz in the hour before midday on the eve of Pesach, when the Torah forbids it only from midday. The Raavad disagrees, since it is only rabbinic. Rav Chaim Brisker explains that they differ over the status of a rabbinic extension: for the Rambam it takes on the status of the Torah prohibition it extends, while for the Raavad it is a separate duty to heed the sages. The same dispute determines whether one must die rather than violate a rabbinic extension of the forbidden relations. Rabbi Greenberg applies it to the teaching that one should be thrown into a furnace rather than shame another in public. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wG66TFRYLnc 478 2025-02-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-cost-of-ego-ancient-wisdom-from-hillel/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yfLhsbro8KQ/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Cost of Ego: Ancient Wisdom from Hillel Rabbi Greenberg studies Hillel's teaching in Pirkei Avos 1:13: one who makes his name great loses his name, one who does not add causes his learning to cease, one who does not study deserves death, and one who makes use of the crown of Torah passes away. He asks why this sharper teaching is said in Aramaic, the language of exile and of everyday speech, and suggests that Hillel, still motivated by love, was speaking with tough love to ordinary people rather than to scholars. Rabbi Greenberg ties the whole mishnah to unrestrained ego, which he links to Amalek, the nation that tries to keep God out of human life. Angels are fixed in their level, but people can grow and even leap forward, so a person who stays where he is spiritually actually declines, just as stagnant water kills its fish. Abandoning Torah study altogether cuts a person off from his lifeline. Hillel knew this from his own life: the Talmud relates that after he was made leader he felt good about himself and forgot a ruling. Another reading speaks of one who does not teach. Withholding knowledge one is qualified to share, or teaching without being qualified, is compared to murder. The Rebbe explains that "adding" also means contributing new insights into Torah, and Rabbi Greenberg stresses that fear of ego is no excuse to stop learning, teaching or writing: work on the ego, but do not hold back the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yfLhsbro8KQ 2436 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-are-convert-siblings-really-brothers/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x5K1KS5Kod0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Are Convert Siblings Really Brothers? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that converts are not disqualified from testifying for one another as relatives, even twin brothers, since a convert is like a newborn child. For the same reason, the biblical prohibitions on marrying relatives do not apply to converts, though the rabbis extended them, and converts are not obligated to mourn close relatives. When it is asked how a convert can bless God "who made me a convert," when he chose to convert, the Taz explains that God caused him to be reborn. Rabbi Greenberg notes the teaching that a convert has a spark of a Jewish soul even before converting and receives its full force through conversion, and the Rebbe's view that a convert should celebrate his birthday on the day he converted. An authority who perished in the Holocaust holds that convert brothers remain brothers for medical concerns, such as circumcision after two brothers died from it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/x5K1KS5Kod0 311 2025-02-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-wisdom-of-yisro-before-the-ten-commandments/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uyg7AdHWdwc/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Wisdom of Yisro | Before the Ten Commandments Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah portion containing the Ten Commandments, the most important event in history, is named after Yisro, a former idolatrous priest of Midian. Citing the Zohar, he notes that God would not give the Torah until Yisro came. Yisro's name means increase or advantage, and Chassidic texts read King Solomon's verse as teaching the advantage of light that comes out of darkness. Yisro went through every ideology of his time before recognizing the truth of Torah, and turning darkness into light is the Torah's purpose. Rabbi Greenberg then discusses Rashi's account of Yisro's message to Moses: if not for my sake, come out for your wife and sons. Yisro was asking whether Moses, as leader, would accept them as part of the Jewish people, and Moses went out with Aaron and the leaders to honor them, as every sincere convert should be honored. Yisro also added a section to the Torah by advising Moses to delegate judging. The Torah calls them Ten Statements, not Ten Commandments, since they contain more than ten commands among the 613. Rabbi Greenberg reads the two tablets both vertically, from acknowledging God's authority through not coveting, and horizontally, pairing each commandment toward God with one toward people, such as murder with belief in God, since every person is created in God's image. Not coveting comes last because, as the Rambam writes at the end of the Mishneh Torah, jealousy will end only in the days of Mashiach, when the whole world will be occupied with knowing God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uyg7AdHWdwc 1765 2025-02-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/love-without-compromise-hillels-guide-to-jewish-leadership/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L0TyTldlR7U/hqdefault.jpg Love Without Compromise: Hillel's Guide to Jewish Leadership Rabbi Greenberg explains Hillel's teaching in Pirkei Avos: "Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and drawing them close to the Torah." Hillel asks us to love even people whose only merit is that God created them; the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom DovBer, showed a diamond merchant that judging people, like diamonds, takes a connoisseur. Love is proven in action, by caring for a person's material and spiritual needs, as the Baal Shem Tov's hidden circle helped Jews materially first and then spiritually. Aaron drew people close by greeting them warmly until they were ashamed to sin. Rabbi Greenberg tells how the previous Rebbe told the Rebbe to show even more love to a Jew who is spiritually lacking, like parents with a handicapped child, and how the Rebbe began his leadership by helping a sick person and personally opened letters sealed with tears. The Rebbe notes that Hillel says to bring people close to the Torah, not the Torah down to them: no watering it down, but helping each person climb. One commentary reads the three phrases as relating without envy to those above us, in peace to our peers, and with love to those below. The class also links the kohen's blessing with love and peace to Hillel's teachers, Shemaya and Avtalyon, and urges everyone to have a mentor. https://www.youtube.com/embed/L0TyTldlR7U 2799 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-perfect-crime-paradox/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5N6eyZDx9o/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Perfect Crime Paradox Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the witnesses in a capital case carry out the execution themselves. Witnesses refuted by a second pair, who testify that the first were with them elsewhere at the time, receive the punishment they plotted, since the Torah believes the second pair; yet the Talmud rules, from the words "as he plotted to do," that if the accused was already executed, they are not put to death. The question is why, having carried out the execution themselves, they are not liable as murderers. One answer is that the death penalty requires a prior warning; plotting witnesses are exempt from that requirement only as plotting witnesses, while murder requires a warning they never received. The son of a famous nineteenth-century authority answers that believing the second pair is a Torah decree limited to plotting witnesses; for murder, logic gives no reason to believe one pair over the other. https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5N6eyZDx9o 338 2025-02-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-did-moses-only-ask-for-3-days-the-psychology-of-true-freedom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VgyzypBl6tw/hqdefault.jpg Why did Moses Only Ask for 3 Days? The Psychology of True Freedom Rabbi Greenberg explains why Moses asked Pharaoh only for a three-day festival in the desert rather than full freedom, and what Parshas Beshalach teaches about the psychology of true freedom. One reason is that refusing even three days exposed Pharaoh's cruelty. The deeper reason is that slaves come to identify with their masters and lose their own identity, so the people themselves were not ready to hear they were leaving for good. Freedom is a process, which is also why God led them on a roundabout route rather than the short way through the land of the Philistines, lest they see war and return to Egypt. The Midrash links the reclining at the Seder to that roundabout route, and Rabbi Greenberg shows that this and the more familiar reason, reclining as a sign of freedom, say the same thing. At the sea, the Midrash describes four groups: surrender, drown themselves, fight or pray. Moses rejected all four, because their goal was Mount Sinai and they had only to keep moving; the sea split once Nachshon walked in up to his nostrils. The Philistines, known as mockers, would have pulled a young nation off course, while Amalek attacked on the road to Sinai and had to be fought. Amalek has the numerical value of safek, doubt. Judaism welcomes questioning, as the Talmud's endless debate shows, but self-doubt comes from the evil inclination and cools a person's devotion and purpose. https://www.youtube.com/embed/VgyzypBl6tw 1894 2025-02-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/journey-of-the-soul-ii-relationship-with-the-departed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s3ZVK9dSRjc/hqdefault.jpg Journey of the Soul II: Relationship with the Departed In the second class of Journey of the Soul, Rabbi Greenberg addresses whether the soul of a departed person stays connected to loved ones, whether death is painful for the soul, and why Jewish law insists on burial. He shares the Rebbe's consolation to a grieving parent: the child is alive in another place, and every mitzvah sends him a gift. He tells of three people who had the same dream of a man killed in a car crash, and teaches from a letter in the Tanya, in which the Alter Rebbe consoles the followers of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk. During life the ruach, the soul's emotional level, is confined by the nefesh and the body, so disciples receive only a glimmer of a tzaddik's faith, awe and love; after his passing they can receive from his ruach directly, according to their loving connection. A departed soul relates to spiritual things, such as a mitzvah, not to worldly news. The Zohar teaches that nothing is as hard for the soul as leaving the body: transitions are hard, only here can it do mitzvos, and it has spent a lifetime refining the body, like a teacher parting from students. The soul departs in stages over three days, seven days, 30 days and 12 months, and the stages of mourning follow a similar pattern. Comforting mourners also comforts the departed soul, which is why Maimonides gives it precedence over visiting the sick. The body, sanctified by mitzvos, is likened to a Torah scroll and treated with dignity, and Rabbi Greenberg states that Judaism is unequivocally opposed to cremation, with the reasons left for the next class. https://www.youtube.com/embed/s3ZVK9dSRjc 4928 2025-02-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-psychology-of-the-ten-plagues-from-darkness-to-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t4mY_oHluEU/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Psychology of the Ten Plagues: From Darkness to Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains the last three plagues of Parshas Bo, locusts, darkness and the death of the firstborn, and why darkness, which seems milder, comes ninth. Rashi gives two reasons: the Jews who did not want to leave Egypt died during the darkness, hidden from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw where the Egyptians kept their valuables. Rabbi Greenberg adds that people are affected more by psychological trauma than by physical pain, citing an experiment on embarrassment and clear thinking. The first seven plagues struck the Egyptians physically, while the last three removed every source of comfort: the locusts covered the whole land, darkness filled their homes, and the death of the firstborn took away their future. He also reads the three plagues as the marks of exile: seeing only the surface, not seeing one's brother, and lacking continuity. Those who left Egypt had kept their names, language and dress and so retained an identity as God's children, while those who had lost it could not be redeemed; after Sinai, no Jew can be left behind. In Kabbalah's ten faculties, seven emotional and three intellectual, the first seven plagues attacked the Egyptians' emotions, which drive evil, before their ideology. The Paschal lamb and circumcision were given so the people would earn their freedom, since unearned gifts are "shameful bread." Pesach means both "passing over" and compassion: being aware of justice and passing over it. In the Q&A he explains the 210 years in Egypt and, citing the Rambam, why the Egyptians were punished though slavery had been foretold. https://www.youtube.com/embed/t4mY_oHluEU 2273 2025-01-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-can-clothing-prove-death/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oahjon9QWas/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Can Clothing Prove Death? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that when witnesses saw a man drown in water whose end cannot be seen, fall into a lions' den or die in battle, and identified him by reliable marks on his body, his heirs may inherit, though his wife may not remarry, since the law is stricter for a prohibition carrying kares. The Rambam mentions marks on the body only, and commentators infer that marks on clothing do not suffice, since clothing may have been borrowed. It is asked how Yaakov concluded from Yosef's bloodied coat that a wild beast had devoured him. One answer distinguishes identifying marks, which only create a presumption, from recognizing an object by sight, which the possibility of borrowing does not weaken; Rabbi Greenberg finds this difficult. A more down-to-earth answer is that Yaakov was not ruling with halachic certainty but drawing the natural human conclusion, so clothing still cannot establish death. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oahjon9QWas 519 2025-01-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-power-of-words-ancient-jewish-wisdom-for-modern-leaders/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GXvIzySfFNo/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Words: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for Modern Leaders Rabbi Greenberg explains Avtalyon's teaching in Pirkei Avos: "Sages, be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile and be carried off to a place of evil waters, and the disciples who follow you drink and die, and the name of Heaven be profaned." Avtalyon complements his partner Shemaya, who warned against pursuing power: leadership is necessary, but a leader's power lies in his words, and everyone who has influence must speak carefully. His teacher Shimon ben Shetach warned judges about their words; Avtalyon extends this to every teacher. The danger is less with present students than with what happens if the teacher is forced elsewhere, to a place of "evil waters," which commentators read as heretical views, where students misunderstand him and die spiritually, and God's name is profaned, leaving a vacuum of His presence. Commentators link this to Antigonos, whose students Tzadok and Boethus took his teaching about serving without reward to deny the afterlife and the Oral Torah. Rabbi Greenberg suggests Avtalyon's sensitivity lies in his name, "father of children": as a judge he was a father to orphans, as the Rebbe was in personal care for orphans. A spiritual orphan lacks the intellectual parents, wisdom and understanding, that guide the emotions, and exile is such a state. He also reads "be careful" (hizaharu) as related to zohar, radiance: words must carry light, as the Baal Shem Tov showed the Maggid of Mezritch, and as the Alter Rebbe brought fire into the intellect. A simpler reading is to practice what you preach, as Rabbi Yishmael learned when he read by an oil lamp on Shabbos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GXvIzySfFNo 2485 2025-01-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-can-you-testify-against-yourself/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6UResv91qYo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Can You Testify Against Yourself? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's opening ruling in the laws of claims: one who admits part of a claim pays what he admits and swears about the rest, based on the Torah's words "for this is it." Since a person counts as a relative to himself and cannot incriminate himself, he asks how his admission creates an obligation. He presents three views. The Ketzos says the Torah gives a person's admission the trustworthiness of witnesses. The Maharibal says he is not believed at all; rather, since he can give away his property, he can obligate himself. The Tashbetz combines them: he is trusted because he has the power to give his money away. Rabbi Greenberg says this fits the Radvaz's principle that one cannot confess to a crime because his body belongs to God, as in the Rambam's ruling that a murder victim cannot forgive his killer, while God grants a person real ownership of his money. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6UResv91qYo 412 2025-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-purpose-of-the-plagues-from-slavery-to-true-freedom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P5v90loWyHk/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Purpose of the Plagues: From Slavery to True Freedom Rabbi Greenberg explains the purpose of the plagues in parshas Va'eira and what true freedom means. "Let My people go" continues "that they may serve Me": freedom is the ability to live as who we truly are, doing what God wants, so a person can be freer in prison than out of it. When Moses complained that Pharaoh had made things worse, God contrasted him with the Patriarchs, who did not question; Rabbi Greenberg explains that Moses's questions were natural to an intellect, but God wanted him to rise beyond logic. The four expressions of redemption, the source of the four cups at the Seder, correspond to four stages: the end of the harsh labor six months before the Exodus, the end of servitude, leaving Egypt, and becoming God's people at Sinai. The plagues were not needed to force Pharaoh's hand, since God hardened his heart. They were punishment meant to educate: that there is one God, that He is in control, and that He has a special relationship with the Jewish people. Blood undermined the worship of the Nile intellectually, frogs emotionally. Lice, which the magicians could not copy, show that nothing is too small for the infinite God, so one mitzvah has infinite value, as with Joseph's kindness to two prisoners and a boy's letter that cheered the Rebbe. The wild animals spared the Jews, showing purpose rather than nature, and the plagues then escalated from property to bodies to lives. https://www.youtube.com/embed/P5v90loWyHk 2393 2025-01-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/maimonides-on-moshiach-why-miracles-arent-required/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g8GyIkbKxBg/hqdefault.jpg Maimonides on Moshiach: Why Miracles Aren't Required Rabbi Greenberg studies Maimonides' laws of Mashiach in chapter 11 of the Laws of Kings, the closing section of the Mishneh Torah, explaining who Mashiach is and why he need not perform miracles. Mashiach is a human being descended from King David who will restore the Davidic dynasty, build the Beis HaMikdash and gather the dispersed of Israel. His main objective is to restore the full observance of the Torah, since many mitzvos, such as offerings and the Jubilee year, depend on the Temple, a king and all Jews living in Israel. Maimonides counts belief in Mashiach among the thirteen principles of faith and requires awaiting his coming, because faith that is not felt as longing remains superficial. He cites the Torah's promise to gather the exiles, Balaam's prophecy, which he reads as referring to both David and Mashiach, and the command to add three cities of refuge. Maimonides then writes that Mashiach need not work miracles or resurrect the dead. Rabbi Greenberg stresses that Maimonides did believe in miracles and in the resurrection; miracles are simply not the criterion. The proof is that Rabbi Akiva and the sages considered Bar Kochba the Messianic king without asking for signs. The criteria are a leader from the house of David who studies Torah deeply, keeps the mitzvos, leads all Israel in the Torah's path and fights the wars of God; if he succeeds, builds the Temple and gathers the exiles, he is definitely Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/g8GyIkbKxBg 3534 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-trust-isn-t-enough-loans-and-witnesses/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gicW4L8zWdM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Trust Isn't Enough | Loans & Witnesses Rabbi Greenberg explains the Rambam's ruling that one may not lend money without witnesses, even to a Torah scholar. The Rambam gives two reasons: the lender puts a stumbling block before the borrower, who may deny the loan, and he brings a curse on himself, since people will think he is demanding money he is not owed. The Tumim, Rabbi Yehonasan Eybeshitz, asks why the Rambam says "even" a scholar, when the Gemara in Bava Metzia says a scholar needs witnesses all the more, because, absorbed in his learning, he may forget the loan. The Tumim and the Lechem Mishneh explain that the concern is not a borrower who lies, since witnesses would not stop him from claiming he repaid, but one who does not remember. A scholar who does not remember will still pay to fulfill his duty to Heaven, so for him the Rambam's first concern hardly applies, yet witnesses are still required. The Gemara speaks of a loan given through an agent, who serves as one witness; a borrower who cannot swear must pay, so repayment is not in doubt, but the risk of a curse on the lender is greater when the borrower is a scholar who says he does not remember. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gicW4L8zWdM 337 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-paradox-of-jewish-leadership-why-great-leaders-don-t-seek-power/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y5z158gAgbg/hqdefault.jpg The Paradox of Jewish Leadership: Why Great Leaders Don't Seek Power Rabbi Greenberg explains Shemaya's teaching in Ethics of the Fathers: love work, hate power (rabbanus), and do not become intimate with the ruling authority. He opens with the story of the crowds who left the High Priest to follow Shemaya and Avtalyon, sages loved for their humility and care for the people, and describes the turbulent era in which they lived. The rabbis valued physical labor; Abraham chose Canaan over lands of idle people because people who work are building a world that can then receive spiritual light. Reading "love the work" together with "hate power," he teaches that society needs leaders, but a leader should love the work of helping others rather than the authority it brings. True leaders do not seek the role: Moses argued with God, and the Rebbe refused for a full year after his father-in-law's passing, accepting only when his wife urged him. Leadership drains a person, as the Talmud says of Joseph, and as with Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah's beard turning white. On a deeper level, the inner faculty of leadership is revealed only when others ask for it, as on Rosh Hashanah we ask God to be our King, and as our acceptance of Mashiach reveals his leadership. A contemporary commentary reads the warning about rulers as a caution against joining secular revolutionary movements, citing the Jews who joined the Russian Revolution. Stories of the Rebbe, who said his purpose was to bend down to those in need, illustrate a leader who looks up to everyone. https://www.youtube.com/embed/y5z158gAgbg 2798 2025-01-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-power-of-jewish-names-how-identity-saved-us-in-egypt/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/77z8KqYW80Y/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Jewish Names: How Identity Saved Us in Egypt Rabbi Greenberg explains why the second book of the Torah is called Shemos, "Names," rather than after one of its central themes. The Midrash says the Jews in Egypt never changed their names, and this kept them from assimilating. God tested them in Egypt with both persecution and assimilation, as Jews have faced in the Soviet Union and in the Western world, and keeping their identity was the secret of their survival and redemption. Rashi explains that "Joseph was in Egypt" teaches that even as viceroy he remained the same righteous Joseph his father had raised. The "new king who did not know Joseph" may have known him only by his Egyptian name, Tzafnas Paneach, "revealer of hidden things," which stays within nature, while Joseph means "adding," bringing something beyond nature. So too Pharaoh later says "I do not know God," accepting a God within nature but not one who transcends time and space. Rabbi Greenberg reads the Hebrew word for the Jews' labor as also meaning tolerance: the worst part of exile is coming to accept it. The Talmud reads "backbreaking labor" as "soft mouth," since Pharaoh first enticed the Jews with paid, patriotic work, which is why romaine lettuce, sweet at first and bitter later, is the preferred bitter herb. He continues with Amram and Yocheved's remarriage at Miriam's urging, the baby Moses hidden for three months, and Pharaoh's daughter's arm stretching to reach his basket, illustrated by a Holocaust story of the hidden strength people find in an emergency. https://www.youtube.com/embed/77z8KqYW80Y 1862 2025-01-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-sacred-power-of-jewish-books-from-soviet-russia-to-modern-day/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SyuRgcAGBco/hqdefault.jpg The Sacred Power of Jewish Books: From Soviet Russia to Modern Day Rabbi Greenberg explains why Jewish books are treated as sacred, beginning with the day the Rebbe designated for buying Torah books, the fifth of Teves. The previous Rebbe risked his life to bring his library out of the Soviet Union; decades later, when a relative took books from it, a civil court ruled that the library belonged to the community, and the Rebbe made the date of the ruling a day for Jewish books. The Torah commands writing a Torah scroll, and the Rosh writes that today the mitzvah is fulfilled by buying Torah books. Rashi explains "acquire a friend" as acquiring books, and the Rebbe's campaign for "a house full of books" means books should define the home. Rabbi Greenberg reviews laws of respect for holy books: nothing is placed on them, a fallen book is kissed, more sacred books are not placed beneath less sacred ones, worn books are buried respectfully, and charity money may buy books only if they are used and lent. Enemies of the Jews targeted their books, from the Romans wrapping Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion in a Torah scroll to the burning of 24 wagonloads of Talmud in Paris. He also tells of Johannes Reuchlin defending the Talmud, the Shapiro brothers of Slavuta, and Rabbi Shmuel HaNagid hiring scribes to write and distribute books. https://www.youtube.com/embed/SyuRgcAGBco 2883 2025-01-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-can-you-profit-from-subletting/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IXsgVT_D8Fs/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Can You Profit From Subletting? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who rents a house for a set period may sublet it for the rest of the term, provided the number of occupants stays the same. The rule against passing on what one rented applies to movables, not to land or a ship, where the owner is considered present. The Ra'avad disagrees, noting that some people damage a house by living in it. If the renter sublets at a profit, the profit is his when subletting was permitted, and the owner's when it was not. This is questioned from the Mishnah about a rented cow that was lent out and died, where Rabbi Yossi gives the payment to the owner, since one may not profit from another's property. One authority answers that payment for the cow is for the animal itself, which the owner still owns, while a renter owns the right to use the house. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IXsgVT_D8Fs 446 2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/truth-vs-lies-in-jewish-courts/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_mCuM-7lgQc/hqdefault.jpg Truth vs. Lies in Jewish Courts Rabbi Greenberg studies the teaching of Shimon ben Shatach in Pirkei Avos: be thorough in examining witnesses, and be careful with your words. He first recalls his colleague Yehudah ben Tabbai's rule that in court both litigants are viewed with suspicion, since a Jewish court seeks the truth, unlike an adversarial system in which the stronger case often wins. Though Jewish law requires a set number of questions for witnesses, Shimon ben Shatach urges asking more. Rabbi Greenberg links this to the tragedy in which false witnesses caused the execution of Shimon ben Shatach's son, whose testimony could not be withdrawn once accepted. Symbolically, the walls of our homes witness our private conduct, and every soul's eyes and ears witnessed the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Being careful with words means not letting extra questions teach witnesses how to lie, not speaking excessively, and keeping a reputation for honesty. In private life Judaism allows bending the truth for peace, as Aaron did when reconciling quarrelers, but in court truth is paramount, though judges should first offer a compromise. A judge who senses a lie he cannot prove may withdraw from the case. A doctor should not tell a patient a grim prognosis that may destroy hope; as the Rebbe noted, the Torah gave the physician permission to heal, not to give up hope. Questions cover qualifications of witnesses, self-incrimination, swift trials, and the punishment of false witnesses. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_mCuM-7lgQc 2785 2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/from-suspicion-to-redemption-jewish-law-s-unique-path-to-justice/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EecAop-325M/hqdefault.jpg From Suspicion to Redemption: Jewish Law's Unique Path to Justice Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah of Yehudah ben Tabbai, who told judges not to act as advocates, to view litigants standing before them as if both were guilty, and to view them as innocent once they leave having accepted the judgment. He sets it in the time of the later Hasmonean kings, when Alexander Yannai sided with the Sadducees and killed the sages, and Shimon ben Shatach restored the Sanhedrin. He notes the Talmud's dispute over which of the two sages was the Nasi, and that Yehudah ben Tabbai, after a mistaken death sentence, ruled only in Shimon ben Shatach's presence. He offers three readings of "do not play the advocate": Jewish law has no lawyers arguing for a litigant, because a Jewish court seeks the truth rather than a contest between sides; a judge must not coach a litigant he thinks is right; or a judge must not see himself as the top judge and ignore his colleagues. Even a judge chosen by one side under the system called zabla may not advocate for him. A judge must suspend the usual duty to judge favorably, or he will not examine the case. Using the Talmud's instruction to be "like a wicked person in your own eyes" and the Alter Rebbe's discussion of it in Tanya, Rabbi Greenberg explains that this is an outward view, not a verdict on a person's essence. Once a litigant accepts the ruling, that acceptance is a form of teshuvah and he is regarded as righteous. https://www.youtube.com/embed/EecAop-325M 3165 2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/joseph-s-dreams-and-chanukah-s-light-ancient-wisdom-for-modern-times/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bcT3tV-d570/hqdefault.jpg Joseph's Dreams & Chanukah's Light: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Torah portion of Mikeitz, which is always read around Chanukah, hints at the holiday. Pharaoh's dreams, in which lean cows and thin ears of grain swallow the healthy ones, reflect the school of Shammai, who light the menorah in descending order to diminish the darkness. The word Mikeitz, "the end," alludes to the end of days, when the Arizal says we will follow Shammai. The school of Hillel's practice of adding a light each night is hinted in Joseph's name, which means "to increase," and Menasheh, named for forgetting, has the same letters as hashemen, the oil, the antidote to forgetting. Citing the Rebbe, he explains that Pharaoh's wise men could not interpret the dreams because the fat and lean cows stood together, and plenty and famine cannot coexist. Joseph saw that storing grain would let them coexist, so his advice was part of the interpretation. Exile is likewise a dream in which opposites coexist, and the Redemption will reveal its hidden power rather than negate it. He also discusses Jacob's hope in Egypt, a story connected to the Alter Rebbe's liberation, and why Jacob accepted Yehudah's guarantee for Benjamin: Yehudah left no room for failure, while the later Hasmoneans did not go all the way and appoint a descendant of King David. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bcT3tV-d570 2529 2024-12-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-can-someone-act-on-your-behalf/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S_rDs8FBi0A/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Can Someone Act on Your Behalf? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a person who is mentally incompetent cannot acquire property, for himself or for others, but a competent person may acquire on his behalf, under the principle that one may acquire a benefit for another without his knowledge, acting in effect as his agent. The question is raised that this works for a minor, who will grow up and be able to appoint an agent, but a mentally incompetent person may never become competent; and if the possibility of recovery were enough, a non-Jew, who could convert, should be included too. One view distinguishes between permanent and intermittent incompetence, but the Rambam makes no such distinction, and another authority concludes that the reasoning applies only to a minor. Rabbi Greenberg suggests a basic difference: mental illness is an impediment that can be removed, not the person's essential status, while a non-Jew would need a fundamental transformation through conversion. https://www.youtube.com/embed/S_rDs8FBi0A 361 2024-12-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-jewish-wisdom-on-choosing-your-environment/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tZRFZlniWfw/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Jewish Wisdom on Choosing Your Environment Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah of Nittai of Arbel: distance yourself from a bad neighbor, do not attach yourself to the wicked, and do not despair of retribution. He first rounds off the previous teaching on judging everyone favorably with two stories, including one about an elderly rabbi at a gathering in Pressburg who objected to searching everyone's pockets for a missing rare coin because he carried an identical coin of his own. Ethics of the Fathers, he notes, often has one sage balance the teaching of the one before, and Nittai's words keep favorable judgment from turning into naivete. No one should assume he is immune to bad influence. As the Rambam writes, people are social creatures shaped by their surroundings, yet few people list moral neighbors among their requirements when choosing a home. Corrupt personalities, as in Sodom, spread to those who live alongside them, while a difference in ideology calls only for not growing too close. Rabbi Greenberg recalls scholars who warned that Chabad rabbis would lose their Judaism living among non-observant Jews; the reply was that one who stays connected to his source, the Rebbe, is protected. Not despairing of retribution means not envying the success of those who mock, and trusting that good conduct will be rewarded. He ties the lesson to Chanukah: the Rebbe explains that the "wicked" delivered into the hands of the righteous were Jewish Hellenists, and the miracle came even though only a few resisted their influence. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tZRFZlniWfw 1667 2024-12-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/chanukah-beyond-latkes-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yNOf4tJN1o8/hqdefault.jpg Chanukah: Beyond Latkes III Rabbi Greenberg explores why Chanukah is missing from the Mishnah, why it lasts eight days, and the meaning behind its laws and customs. The answer he calls most plausible is that some of its laws were already written in Megillas Taanis, an earlier text. He also reinterprets an explanation attributed to the Chasam Sofer: had the Hasmoneans appointed a descendant of King David, there would have been no exile and no need to write down the Mishnah. He surveys many answers to why Chanukah is eight days when the oil had enough for one night, and suggests the search for answers reflects a longing for the transcendence that eight represents. On the dispute between the schools of Hillel and Shammai over whether to add a light each night or start with eight and go down, he explains that Hillel focuses on adding light and Shammai on burning away evil, and that they also differ over actual versus potential. A Jewish holiday, he says, is a day with its own spiritual energy, which is why Chanukah was declared a holiday only the following year. The class closes with practical laws, including where to place the menorah, why olive oil is preferred and how to light on Friday afternoon, and with explanations of latkes and donuts, the dreidel and Chanukah gelt. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yNOf4tJN1o8 3690 2024-12-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/master-friend-judge-ancient-jewish-wisdom-for-modern-growth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a4VWKqQNz9Q/hqdefault.jpg Master, Friend, Judge: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for Modern Growth Rabbi Greenberg studies the sixth mishnah of Pirkei Avos, chapter 1, where Yehoshua ben Perachya teaches: appoint for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a companion, and judge every person favorably. He first describes Yehoshua ben Perachya as the Nasi, head of the Sanhedrin, in the time of the Hasmonean king Yanai, who sided with the Sadducees and killed the rabbis, forcing Yehoshua ben Perachya to flee to Alexandria. He also recounts a Talmudic story of a student whom Yehoshua ben Perachya expelled from his academy. The three teachings, Rabbi Greenberg explains, guide how to relate to someone above you, beside you and beneath you, and correspond to Shimon HaTzaddik's three pillars of Torah, service and kindness. Torah requires a teacher. Service of the heart is helped by a true friend: the Rebbe defined a good friend as one who feels your pain, rejoices in your joy and does not judge you, and the Mitteler Rebbe taught that when two Jews discuss their spiritual lives, it is two Godly souls against one animal soul. He adds that the Hebrew word for "appoint" also implies urging a reluctant person to be your teacher. https://www.youtube.com/embed/a4VWKqQNz9Q 880 2024-12-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/beyond-the-miracle-the-deep-spiritual-light-of-chanukah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tLBRvjaCeuM/hqdefault.jpg Beyond the Miracle: The Deep Spiritual Light of Chanukah Rabbi Greenberg explains why Chanukah is not a minor holiday but a major one, despite having no work restrictions. Publicizing the miracle is its essence, which is why the Rebbe encouraged public menorahs. A midrash says the light of the menorah will last forever, unlike the offerings of the tribal leaders; Chanukah is among the holidays that will stay strong in the Messianic age; and its lights give a glimpse of the hidden light of the first day of creation. Because the Chanukah miracle came to enable a mitzvah rather than to rescue the Jews from danger, the mitzvah has three levels of observance instead of the usual two, as the Rebbe explains. Rabbi Greenberg discusses the meanings of the word Chanukah, hints to it in the Torah, and the number 36. He explains why the miracle of the oil, seen by only a handful of people, is emphasized more than the military victory: the Greeks did not seek to destroy the Jews physically, only their Judaism, so the war came about because of the desire to light the menorah. He also brings the Maharal's view that the oil miracle showed the victory was from God. The Greeks did not object to Torah study or mitzvos as wisdom or useful practice, but to the Jewish belief that they are Divine and beyond reason. Rabbi Greenberg suggests why they first banned circumcision, Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, and explains why women refrain from household work while the candles burn. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tLBRvjaCeuM 3270 2024-12-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/jacob-or-israel-the-dual-nature-of-jewish-identity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A_EjQyidhcI/hqdefault.jpg Jacob or Israel? The Dual Nature of Jewish Identity Rabbi Greenberg explains the two names Jacob and Israel as two modes of Jewish life, through Jacob's return to face Esau in parshas Vayishlach. Rashi says Jacob sent actual angels; the Rebbe explains he would not endanger human messengers. Jacob's message, "I sojourned with Lavan," alludes in gematria to 613: he kept all the mitzvos and did not learn from Lavan's evil ways. Rabbi Greenberg describes three ways to deal with evil: struggling against it, learning lessons from it, as Reb Zusha learned from a thief, or rising above it entirely, the Shabbos mode Jacob lived in. Jacob also told the angels to speak in the holy tongue, the language of holiness and joy, unlike Aramaic, the language of exile. Why then did Esau's 400 men frighten Jacob? Four hundred alludes to the years of exile foretold to Abraham; Jacob feared not for himself but for his descendants in a long exile, which did affect us, though we kept our identity. After Jacob wrestled the angel, his name became Israel, yet unlike Abraham, his old name remains. Rabbi Greenberg explains that we live as Jacob on weekdays and in exile, struggling with the world, and as Israel on Shabbos and in the days of Mashiach. One commentary adds that Jacob's name implies always striving toward completion, while Esau was born complete. Esau's embrace showed a passing glimpse of his holy core, which will be revealed with Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/A_EjQyidhcI 2061 2024-12-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-cities-of-refuge-paradox/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FSEAUsL7AAg/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Cities of Refuge Paradox Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's counting of two positive commandments concerning arei miklat, cities of refuge for one who kills unintentionally: to designate the cities, and for the court to send the killer there, even against his will. He asks why designating the cities counts separately, when the Rambam never counts preparation for a mitzvah, such as building a sukkah, as a mitzvah of its own; why the Rambam discusses exile before designation; and why he stresses, even in his brief list of mitzvos, preparing straight roads to the cities. He explains that the two mitzvos have different purposes. Exile is a punishment that brings the killer atonement. Designating the cities is a communal duty: the court, representing the Jewish people, must protect even the killer from avenging relatives, which is why good roads define that mitzvah. The Rambam therefore treats the killer's exile first and the community's duty separately. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FSEAUsL7AAg 413 2024-12-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-hosting-guests-is-greater-than-welcoming-god-torah-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ItxL3gVs894/hqdefault.jpg Why Hosting Guests is Greater Than Welcoming God | Torah Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg explains why hosting guests is greater than welcoming God, studying the teaching of Yosi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem in the fifth mishnah of Ethics of the Fathers: let your house be wide open, let the poor be members of your household, and do not engage in too much talk with women. Of the three pillars named by Shimon the Righteous, this mishnah develops kindness, and it singles out hospitality to people with nowhere to go. Jerusalem, where pilgrims always found lodging, was the model, and like Abraham's tent open on all sides, a home should be easy to enter, physically and emotionally. The Hebrew word for "wide open" can also mean profitable: hospitality shapes the atmosphere of the home and teaches children kindness, and the Rebbe encouraged keeping a charity box in the kitchen as a daily reminder of others' needs. Guests should be honored and also guarded against, but not chosen for the honor they bring, as two Chassidic brothers taught a man who turned them away when they looked poor. They should feel the home is theirs, and the host should be humble. The warning about talk with women, he explains, means not engaging in idle chatter with a woman because she is a woman rather than as a person, so that an open home does not lead to immorality; it also cautions against bringing negativity home, as with Korach. Quoting his father, Rabbi Greenberg explains that a home gives a person dignity, so a host restores a guest's humanity, becoming God's partner, which surpasses receiving the Divine Presence. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ItxL3gVs894 2490 2024-12-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/chanukah-unveiled-the-story-behind-the-miracle/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/enVKGqsvoBY/hqdefault.jpg Chanukah Unveiled: The Story Behind the Miracle Rabbi Greenberg tells the history of Chanukah in the first of three classes on the holiday, explaining that it is called minor only because work is permitted, while spiritually it is a major holiday. The story begins with the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile. Few Jews returned, many had assimilated, and the Second Temple, built under Persian rule, lacked the Ark and the tablets. Alexander the Great spared the Temple after meeting Shimon HaTzaddik, but his rule opened the Jewish people to Greek culture, deepened by the translation of the Torah into Greek under King Ptolemy and by the rise of the Sadducees. Under the Syrian Greek king Antiochus IV, Hellenism became compulsory. Rabbi Greenberg describes the Hellenist high priests and the gymnasium near the Temple, the thirteen breaches in the fence that marked how far non-Jews could go, the bans on Shabbos, circumcision and Rosh Chodesh, and the martyrdom of Chanah and her seven sons. Mattisyahu began the revolt in Modiin, and his son Yehudah the Maccabee led it, opening every battle with prayer and fasting. The Maccabees liberated the Temple in the middle of the war, built a new altar and menorah, and found one sealed jug of pure oil that lasted eight nights. The class closes with the Hasmonean dynasty: the Ramban criticizes the later Hasmoneans, who were kohanim, for making themselves kings, while the Rambam appears to count independence as part of the miracle. https://www.youtube.com/embed/enVKGqsvoBY 3101 2024-12-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/jacob-s-journey-finding-light-in-exile-ancient-wisdom-for-modern-times/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QDrzI7Tg7rg/hqdefault.jpg Jacob's Journey: Finding Light in Exile | Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times Rabbi Greenberg studies Parshas Vayetzei, beginning with why the Torah says Jacob "left" Beersheba before saying he went to Charan. Rashi explains that a righteous person's departure leaves an impression on a city. Another explanation: Jacob had two reasons to go, Rebecca's fear that Esau would kill him and Isaac's instruction to find a wife from Laban's family. Leaving honored his mother; the destination honored his father. A Jew who must leave a place should always focus on where he is going and what his next mission is. The parsha has no paragraph breaks, and the Torah says Jacob "left" rather than "went down," because he never lost sight of the Land of Israel. Penniless after Esau's son Eliphaz took his wealth, Jacob studied fourteen years in the academy of Shem and Eber before going to Laban, preparing himself spiritually for exile. The ladder dream shows that God sends different angels to escort us in Israel and in the diaspora, and that exile, like a dream, is beyond reason. Rashi says Jacob kept all 613 commandments while living with Laban, so how could he marry two sisters? Nachmanides says the Patriarchs kept them only in the Land of Israel. The Rebbe gives two answers: Rachel's giving the signs to Leah showed there would be no rivalry between them, and Jacob's voluntary observance gave way to his obligation to keep his promise to Rachel. Finally, seven years felt like a few days because preparing for a mitzvah already brings some of its spiritual energy, just as preparing for the redemption brings joy now. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QDrzI7Tg7rg 2213 2024-12-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-seeing-becomes-obligation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1CILqCIu1Gw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Seeing Becomes Obligation Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who sees a lost object and ignores it violates the negative commandment against hiding from it and also fails to fulfill the positive commandment to return it. The Ran and others hold that the positive commandment applies only once the object has been picked up. Two cases seem to contradict the Rambam. One who picked up an object must return it even after the owner despairs of it, but one who only saw it and waited for the owner's despair need not. And an elder for whom handling it is beneath his dignity is exempt, unless he has already begun to deal with it. An answer given in the name of Rav Chaim Brisker distinguishes two obligations: seeing the object creates a personal mitzvah, while taking it makes one a guardian with a financial obligation. The owner's despair and the elder's dignity can remove the mitzvah, but not the financial obligation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1CILqCIu1Gw 386 2024-12-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-four-levels-of-serving-god-from-fear-to-total-surrender/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AHENIO4qiSE/hqdefault.jpg The Four Levels of Serving God: From Fear to Total Surrender Rabbi Greenberg explains, based on the Rebbe, how Antigonos's teaching in Ethics of the Fathers describes four levels of serving God, which also apply to relationships with people. "Do not be like servants" is the lowest level, fear of punishment or of the harm wrongdoing causes oneself, which is still infinitely better than nothing. Serving "in expectation of a reward" is the lower level of love, doing good for its positive results. Serving "without expectation of a reward" is the higher love one has for a spouse, child or close friend. "Let the fear of Heaven be upon you" is the highest: awe and total surrender with no ego left, like a mother who risks her life for her child. "Heaven" is used because reflecting on the vastness of the heavens is what brings a person to awe of God. He then introduces the first of the pairs who led the Sanhedrin, a Nasi and an Av Beis Din, and the time of Greek influence and persecution in which they lived; Yosi ben Yoezer was martyred for teaching Torah publicly. His teaching, "Let your house be a meeting place for the sages," meant bringing Torah study into the home when it was banned in public. Today it means making the home, not the synagogue, the center of Jewish life, with Torah books and classes. "Sit in the dust of their feet" means following the sages humbly and, in one reading, learning to wrestle with them in debate, and "drink their words with thirst" because Torah increases one's thirst for more. https://www.youtube.com/embed/AHENIO4qiSE 2890 2024-12-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-greeks-really-banned-rosh-chodesh-hidden-light-of-chanukah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zIN910_N_K4/hqdefault.jpg Why the Greeks REALLY Banned Rosh Chodesh | Hidden Light of Chanukah Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Rosh Chodesh and why the Greeks included it among the first three things they banned, together with Shabbos and circumcision, in the first class of a four-week series leading up to Chanukah. He describes how the Jewish calendar works: the months follow the moon, with leap months added to keep pace with the solar year. In ancient times the courts declared the new month based on witnesses, until Hillel, a descendant of the elder Hillel, set a fixed calendar. Rosh Chodesh is called the "head" of the month because, like the head of the body, it contains all the days of the month. It was the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a nation, teaching that God gave us the power to sanctify and transform time itself. The Jewish people are compared to the moon, which wanes and always returns renewed, and Rabbi Greenberg explains that this renewal and power over time are what the Greeks could not tolerate. He also explains why women observe Rosh Chodesh by not doing tedious household work, as a reward for refusing to take part in the golden calf. He then turns to the month of Kislev: the Hebrew meanings found in its name, its special days, including the 19th of Kislev, and its sign, the bow, which teaches that the lower the string is pulled, the higher the arrow flies. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zIN910_N_K4 2847 2024-12-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/jacob-and-esau-the-eternal-struggle-that-shapes-history/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eL0hpvvXSCM/hqdefault.jpg Jacob and Esau: The Eternal Struggle That Shapes History Rabbi Greenberg explains the struggle between Jacob and Esau in Parshas Toldos. He begins with the Rebbe's proof that a parsha's name is not simply its first significant word but the word that defines its content: Parshas Noach opens with "these are the offspring of Noah" yet is about Noah himself, while Toldos is about Isaac's children. The struggle that began in Rebecca's womb is the perennial struggle between the Jewish people and the nations, and the sages teach that Jacob will ultimately prevail and Esau will be rehabilitated. The matriarchs were barren because God desires the prayers of the righteous, who ask nothing for themselves. God answered Isaac rather than Rebecca, although she was greater for not learning from her wicked family, because a righteous person may ask in the merit of righteous parents. Rebecca was calmed to learn she carried twins, since struggle has purpose while inner confusion does not. Jacob wanted to be born to learn Torah through his own effort, not only as the gift taught in the womb. Isaac loved Esau because he saw sparks of holiness that later emerged in great converts such as Rabbi Akiva's family and Onkelos, and he wanted his blessing to reveal that potential. Esau scorned the birthright by demanding the mourners' lentils on the day Abraham died, and he later hated Jacob for receiving material blessings too. For a Jew, Rabbi Greenberg says, material blessings are a means to serve God: Jacob may wear Esau's clothing, working in the world, while his inner voice remains the voice of Jacob. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eL0hpvvXSCM 2167 2024-11-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-why-stealing-in-secret-is-worse-than-robbery/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kkAR777Etzo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Why Stealing in Secret is Worse Than Robbery Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's opening ruling in the laws of theft: one who steals something worth a perutah (the smallest coin) violates the prohibition against stealing but receives no lashes, since the Torah obligates him to pay. Geneivah is taking without the owner's knowledge, like a burglar; gezeilah is taking by force. For gezeilah the Rambam says the prohibition is corrected by a positive mitzvah to return the object, but for geneivah he mentions only an obligation to return, and his list of the mitzvos does not count one. One explanation is that a positive mitzvah that corrects a prohibition removes the transgression itself, and since the Torah requires a thief to pay double even after returning the object, returning cannot undo geneivah. Rabbi Greenberg presents the reasoning that gezeilah is forbidden because it diminishes another's ownership, which returning restores, while geneivah is forbidden as an act in itself. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kkAR777Etzo 525 2024-11-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-depths-of-shabbat-ancient-wisdom-for-modern-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iyaTCPpi6WM/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Depths of Shabbat: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life Rabbi Greenberg explains the teaching of Antigonos of Socho in Ethics of the Fathers: do not be like servants who serve their master on condition of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve without expectation of reward, and let the fear of Heaven be upon you. The first two clauses describe serving God out of love, and the third adds that love must be joined by reverence and respect, as in any relationship. Since the Torah often promises reward, he explains that the Talmud allows a beginner to serve for ulterior motives, because they lead to pure motives, and he notes that a pure motive lies within them; Ethics of the Fathers describes the ideal. He distinguishes three levels: making a mitzvah conditional on reward and regretting it otherwise, which is wrong; hoping for reward without making it a condition; and serving with no thought of reward at all. A variant reading, serving "on condition of not receiving a reward," is higher still. Expected payment can sway a person subconsciously, which is why the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe insisted on covering his son's expenses for a mission. Two of Antigonos's students, Tzadok and Baisos, misread him as denying any reward and broke away, rejecting the Oral Torah and founding the Sadducees and Boethusians. The Rambam explains that the Torah's promises of rain, health and long life are not the reward itself but help in doing more mitzvos, just as Pharaoh's repeated evil hardened his heart. Finally, one commentary reads "let the fear of Heaven be upon you" as saying that serving God with pure love will lead others to revere Him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iyaTCPpi6WM 2264 2024-11-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-essence-of-gratitude-from-modeh-ani-to-meaningful-living/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uYU-goozMNQ/hqdefault.jpg The Essence of Gratitude: From Modeh Ani to Meaningful Living Rabbi Greenberg explains the levels of Jewish gratitude, culminating in the morning prayer Modeh Ani. Reviewing earlier classes, he notes that the word "Jew" comes from Yehudah, named by Leah to thank God; that gratitude needs an address; that it should grow as we appreciate the value of a gift and the sacrifice of the giver; and that it rises through four levels, from grudging acknowledgment to intellectual recognition, to feeling, to complete surrender. The fifth level is Modeh Ani, said on waking, before washing the hands. It does not mention God's name because it comes from the essence of the soul, which is beyond description and cannot be sullied. He relates that the Rebbe named Modeh Ani as his favorite prayer, and the previous Rebbe's account of a Warsaw shelter under bombing where even atheists cried out spontaneously as their inner core was revealed. The mitzvah of bikurim, the first fruits, reflects the same two levels: simple gratitude, and gratitude that has been internalized. He then traces the grace after meals: blessings composed by Moses for the manna, Joshua for the land, David and Solomon for Jerusalem, and the sages after the massacre at Betar, teaching gratitude even for a small improvement. The Talmud calls Borei Nefashos a "non-blessing" because it is not specific; specificity matters, yet even a gesture with no clear benefit deserves thanks. And, like the waiter in a restaurant, the people through whom God's gifts come must be thanked too. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uYU-goozMNQ 3244 2024-11-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-torah-prayer-and-kindness-keep-the-world-standing-ancient-jewish-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qc-d-DbSi5A/hqdefault.jpg Why Torah, Prayer & Kindness Keep the World Standing | Ancient Jewish Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg explains the second mishnah of Ethics of the Fathers, in which Shimon the Righteous teaches that the world stands on three things: Torah, service and acts of kindness. After reviewing the Men of the Great Assembly, who restored Jewish life after the Babylonian exile, he describes Shimon the Righteous as both high priest and leader, in whose lifetime miracles in the Beis HaMikdash occurred constantly, and before whom Alexander the Great bowed. Some commentaries explain that where the Great Assembly built safeguards, Shimon identified what those safeguards protect. Torah, studied in its broad sense of all Jewish knowledge, is the purpose of creation, which is why the world trembled until the Jewish people accepted it at Sinai. The Temple offerings, called God's bread, keep God's presence in the world as food keeps the soul in the body. Kindness sustains the world, since creation itself was an act of divine kindness, and the Torah begins and ends with God's kindness. Addressing the later mishnah that the world exists on justice, truth and peace, Rabbi Greenberg cites the Rebbe, based on the Zohar, that "stands" refers to stability amid conflicting traits. Torah teaches a person when to express each trait, prayer, the service of the heart, turns knowledge into feeling, and kindness turns it into action. The three correspond to Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, and to a person's relationships with himself, with God and with others. The first blessing of the Amidah ends with Abraham alone, some commentaries explain, because even when Jews are weak in Torah and prayer, their kindness endures and will bring the end of exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qc-d-DbSi5A 2485 2024-11-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/is-hosting-guests-greater-than-greeting-god-abraham-s-surprising-answer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XwmDzN2kHkQ/hqdefault.jpg Is Hosting Guests Greater Than Greeting God? Abraham's Surprising Answer Rabbi Greenberg explains why, according to the Talmud, hosting guests is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence. In Parshas Vayeira, God visits Abraham on the third day after his circumcision, then the Torah turns to Abraham serving three wayfarers, angels he took to be idol worshippers. Citing his father, Rabbi Greenberg explains that a person without a home lacks the dignity of a place to be himself; one who hosts a traveler restores that dignity and so becomes God's partner, which is higher than receiving God. He also explains, following the Rebbe, why the visit came on the third day, when healing comes naturally: a mitzvah is meant to elevate the natural world, not bypass it through a miracle, as shown in a story of the Alter Rebbe saying the blessing on the moon while under arrest. He discusses Sarah's laughter, which a Chassidic interpretation reads as a trace of doubt she was not aware of. The class ends with the binding of Isaac. This test went against everything Abraham had worked for, showing that his devotion was to God's will rather than his own cause. God also wanted him to face it fully aware of his love for his son, without rising into a trance-like state. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XwmDzN2kHkQ 2086 2024-11-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-metal-follows-wood/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zDxzhhwhAqA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Metal Follows Wood Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a bolt used to lock double doors is susceptible to tumah, ritual impurity, if it is made of metal, but remains pure if it is made of wood, even when it is covered with metal. He compares a ruling of the Noda BiYehudah on tefillin that were coated before being dyed black, so that the dye would be absorbed. The questioner held that the coating made them invalid, but the Noda BiYehudah ruled them kosher, since the coating only serves the dye and is nullified to the tefillin. The opposite seems to apply to a metal bathroom seat covered with leather, which can become impure through sitting even though only the leather is susceptible. One of the commentators on the Mishnah explains that the leather softens the seat and so has importance of its own, while a metal covering on wood is only for beauty and is nullified to the wooden vessel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zDxzhhwhAqA 259 2024-11-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-essence-of-gratitude-exploring-judaism-s-four-levels-of-thanks/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KSSE5RT3UPQ/hqdefault.jpg The Essence of Gratitude: Exploring Judaism's Four Levels of Thanks Rabbi Greenberg explains four levels of gratitude in Judaism, built on the idea that the Hebrew modeh, "I thank," also means to admit and to surrender: gratitude is recognition of the other. In Modeh Ani the thanks comes before the "I." Through a story of Rav Saadia Gaon, he teaches that as we grow in understanding of God, our earlier gratitude, like earlier repentance, is no longer enough. The Modim blessing, "all the living thank You," uses the plural chaim, which the Rebbe explained shows that life is only complete in relationship. Chaim is also an acronym for the four people who must give thanks after danger: one who recovers from serious illness, a released prisoner, and those who survive a sea voyage or desert journey. Following the third Chabad Rebbe, these correspond to the four letters of God's name and the four spiritual worlds. In the desert, the lowest level, one thanks others grudgingly as extensions of oneself, like the people of Sodom with Lot. In prison, one knows intellectually that others exist but is not emotionally connected. The lovesick person feels utterly indebted, though some ego remains. At the level of the sea, one is entirely absorbed in the other, as the world will be filled with knowledge of God like the sea. In practical terms, Rabbi Greenberg urges seeing other people's perspectives, recalling how the Rebbe told his teacher, Rabbi Groner, "You were right, I was wrong." https://www.youtube.com/embed/KSSE5RT3UPQ 2985 2024-11-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-when-do-connected-objects-become-one-laws-of-tumah-and-connection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fa2OYe76wRc/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: When Do Connected Objects Become One? | Laws of Tumah & Connection Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that when liquid falls on one head in a braided string of garlic, the heads joined to it are not affected, since a connection made by people does not count as joining "for all matters," as with an esrog cut into pieces and skewered together. The Ra'avad objects from the Rambam's ruling that strung nuts or onions are joined. The Kesef Mishneh answers that the garlic and esrog cases concern only liquid making food susceptible to impurity. The Chazon Nachum reads the Rambam as excluding human connections entirely, and distinguishes onions strung to be kept a long time from a temporary connection. Since two halves of a loaf joined with a sliver of wood count as a whole loaf, he explains that bread, made by people, can be restored by people, while an esrog, whole by nature, cannot. The Alter Rebbe advises against relying on it if a whole loaf is available. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fa2OYe76wRc 553 2024-11-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-s-guide-to-leadership-why-great-teachers-never-compromise/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SuA1SFFEqiQ/hqdefault.jpg Torah's Guide to Leadership: Why Great Teachers Never Compromise Rabbi Greenberg explains the opening Mishnah of Ethics of the Fathers, the chain of transmission from Moses to the Men of the Great Assembly, and their three teachings: be deliberate in judgment, raise many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah. The tractate begins its own teachings with the Men of the Great Assembly, the 120 leaders, including Mordechai, Daniel and Ezra, who strengthened a Jewish people that had returned from exile weakened and assimilated, and who composed the prayers. Rabbis were primarily judges, and a judge must not rush even a familiar case, since one detail may distinguish it. On accepting students, the schools of Shammai and Hillel disagreed, and Rabban Gamliel's guard at the academy door was removed by Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah; Rabbi Greenberg explains that the Men of the Great Assembly, in a time of weakness, called for many students. "Raise" means teaching students to stand on their own, like the menorah flame that must rise by itself, and the Rebbe stressed that it means students who will produce further students. Teachers must never cut corners to attract followers: once standards bend, people make their own rules, and only uncompromising Judaism has lasted 3,300 years. A fence around the Torah, like a nazir avoiding the tavern, keeps the core intact. Everyone judges others constantly and must avoid hasty judgments. The Rebbe read the teachings as judging non-observant Jews favorably and connecting them to any aspect of Judaism, however peripheral. Neither ego nor humility should stop a person from spreading what he knows. https://www.youtube.com/embed/SuA1SFFEqiQ 2317 2024-11-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/jewish-history-origins-abraham-s-journey-to-becoming-the-first-jew/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yz4DfSbl6aM/hqdefault.jpg Jewish History Origins: Abraham's Journey to Becoming the First Jew Rabbi Greenberg asks in what sense Abraham was the first Jew, since the 613 commandments were only given at Sinai and Abraham kept them voluntarily. He explains that God needed a whole nation, not just individuals with free will, to guarantee that His plan for the world, the Torah, would be carried out. Adam failed his test; Noah was perfectly righteous but in 120 years of building the ark influenced no one outside his family; Abraham both resisted idolatry and inspired thousands. Abraham was chosen to begin the process that led to Sinai, and according to the Rogatchover he became a Jew retroactively when the Torah was given. Opinions differ on whether that choosing began with "Leave your land" or with circumcision. Rashi notes that the first blessing of the Amidah mentions all three patriarchs but concludes with Abraham alone. Following the commentators, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob represent kindness, prayer and Torah study, and it is Abraham's trait of kindness that will complete the exile. Drawing on Rashi's first comment and the Midrash of the tailor-made suit, he describes the Jewish people's organic bond with the land of Israel, where the purpose of creation is fulfilled. Finally, Rashi's comment on circumcision, which added the letter hei to Abraham's name, shows that Judaism sees holiness in the body as well as the soul, as do the mitzvos of tefillin and Shabbos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yz4DfSbl6aM 2476 2024-11-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-essence-of-gratitude-a-jewish-perspective-beyond-thanksgiving/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PSS1A85S5Uo/hqdefault.jpg The Essence of Gratitude: A Jewish Perspective Beyond Thanksgiving Rabbi Greenberg explains the essence of gratitude in Judaism, beginning with Thanksgiving. Unlike a holiday set aside once a year, gratitude in Judaism is constant, and it is not mainly about feeling good over what one has, but about thanking another: first God, and then the people He sends to deliver the good, like a waiter who serves food he does not own. He traces gratitude through Jewish life. The first real sin, as Rashi explains, was Adam's ingratitude when he blamed God for the wife He gave him. Holidays thank God for both nature and miracles, and the Talmud says reciting Hallel every day insults God by implying that only the big things deserve thanks. The day begins with Modeh Ani, which the Rebbe called his favorite prayer, and blessings before and after food and the morning blessings continue the theme. The name Yehudi, Jew, comes from Leah's thanks at Yehudah's birth, and the same root means admitting one is wrong, as Yehudah did with Tamar; he calls this a sign of strength. The thanksgiving offering, which the Talmud says will remain in the Messianic era, and the first fruits brought to the Beis HaMikdash teach giving one's first and best, unlike Cain. The Torah even trains gratitude toward objects: Aaron, not Moses, struck the water and earth that had saved Moses, and the challah is covered during Kiddush. Honoring parents, which the Chinuch bases on gratitude, is the clearest example, shown by the Roman Dama ben Nesina, who would not wake his father to sell a jewel for the high priest's breastplate. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PSS1A85S5Uo 2840 2024-11-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-message-of-mount-sinai-understanding-jewish-ethics-and-humility/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ohPnGkMFIRs/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Message of Mount Sinai: Understanding Jewish Ethics and Humility Rabbi Greenberg begins a new study of Ethics of the Fathers with its opening Mishnah: Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and passed it to Yehoshua, the elders, the prophets and the Men of the Great Assembly. He explains that the tractate is called Avos, fathers, because its ethical teachings show the sages' mindset and are the source of their other teachings, and that the Talmud says one who wants to be pious should study it. He asks why the Mishnah mentions Sinai at all. The Maharal says a set place shows the giving of the Torah was deliberate and final. Among the Rebbe's explanations, Torah should be studied with the awe of Sinai, and a mountain, though the lowest, teaches a Jew to be both proud and humble. At Sinai the separation between spiritual and physical was removed, so every mitzvah, even one commanded earlier, is observed because of Sinai. Moshe, who resisted becoming the redeemer, did not resist delivering the Torah because he saw it was given on the lowest mountain. Above all, the Mishnah opens ethics this way to teach that Jewish ethics were also given at Sinai and do not change with society, which he illustrates from a medical ethics class he taught. Following the Rebbe, he reads the chain of transmission as five stages in receiving Torah: Moshe's humility, Yehoshua's tenacity in never leaving his teacher's tent, the elders' wisdom and use of the mind, the prophets' awareness of God, and the Men of the Great Assembly's practical application, shown in the story of a young rabbi of Prague who erred only on the one theoretical question. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ohPnGkMFIRs 2516 2024-10-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-the-illusion-of-idols/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pxJ-q5s4erw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I The Illusion of Idols Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the impurity of idolatry is rabbinic, not biblical, and applies to the idol, its accessories, offerings brought to it and wine poured for it. The Rambam cites a hint from the Torah: after Shechem, Yaakov tells his household to remove the foreign gods among them and purify themselves. The Rebbe asks why the Rambam, who does not usually give hints for rabbinic laws, cites this one, found only in later Midrashim, when the Mishnah and Talmud compare idolatry to a sheretz (a creeping creature) and a niddah (a menstruant woman), comparisons the Rambam himself brings next. The Rebbe answers that the impurity could be an extension of the idol's forbidden status, or a duty on the person to distance himself, and the verse's "remove" shows the second. Unlike other forbidden things, which are real, an idol has no reality beyond the worshipper's imagination, so the impurity cannot rest on the idol itself. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pxJ-q5s4erw 551 2024-10-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/was-noah-really-righteous-the-torahs-surprising-answer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BES-aHhAcLk/hqdefault.jpg Was Noah Really Righteous? The Torah's Surprising Answer Rabbi Greenberg explains the two sides of Noah in the Torah portion that bears his name. The Torah calls Noah righteous and perfect, yet the Zohar blames him for not praying to avert the flood and later becomes drunk and humiliated. Rashi cites two readings of "in his generations": some see it as praise, since he would have been even greater in a better generation, and some say he would have been no one of note in Abraham's generation. Rabbi Greenberg compares Noah to a candle in the dark and Abraham to sunlight. Why would the Torah, which avoids even calling an animal impure, hint at a disparaging view of a tzaddik? The Rebbe answered based on the Baal Shem Tov, who read God's command "come into the teivah," the ark, as a call to enter the words of Torah and prayer, since teivah also means "word." The two readings address two kinds of people: the righteous person who thinks he does not need that refuge, and the lowly person who thinks he is beyond help. Both must enter. He also explains that one praises a person only partly to his face because the living still have more to accomplish, citing the Rebbe's 1991 talk and the sages' response to Rabbi Tarfon's mother. A contemporary commentary notes that the ark's dimensions spell lashon, tongue. The ark's three levels correspond to the wicked, the beinoni of the Tanya and the tzaddik, and all three must enter the words of Torah and prayer. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BES-aHhAcLk 2334 2024-10-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/7-ways-jewish-blessings-can-elevate-your-daily-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Mh0qwKNPOPI/hqdefault.jpg 7 Ways Jewish Blessings Can Elevate Your Daily Life Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Sukkos and its mitzvos, and how the festival completes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Torah calls it the festival of ingathering, and the prayers call it the season of our rejoicing. On Rosh Hashanah we ask God to be our King, on Yom Kippur we remove the obstacles, and on Sukkos God embraces us in the sukkah, revealing what was achieved. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev taught that the Midrash calls Sukkos "the first day of the accounting of sins" because teshuvah out of love turns past sins into merits. The word sukkah equals 91, like amen, the answer that makes blessings real, and the sechach, the roof covering, equals 100, the number of shofar blasts. The Talmud gives two reasons for the sukkah: the huts the Jews lived in during the desert, and the Clouds of Glory that protected them. Unlike a mikveh, which a person enters without clothing and only briefly, one enters the sukkah with everything and can stay for days. The four species represent four kinds of Jews united as one people, and according to another Midrash the heart, spine, eyes and mouth that have kept the Jewish people alive. The esrog, whose name stays the same in a Talmudic letter code, reflects God's unchanging truth. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mh0qwKNPOPI 3139 2024-10-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/yom-kippur-unveiled-the-depths-of-jewish-atonement/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/STerUKonI9o/hqdefault.jpg Yom Kippur Unveiled: The Depths of Jewish Atonement Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah calls the day Yom HaKippurim, in the plural: it brings atonement for the living and the departed, for sins against God and against people, and for the whole community, which is why the confession lists sins we may never have committed. Sins against another person are forgiven only after asking that person's forgiveness. Kol Nidrei annuls vows, and the annulment, which works retroactively, models how teshuvah done out of love can turn past sins into merits. Teshuvah requires regret, brutal honesty with oneself while judging others favorably, and spoken confession, which brings feelings into the open and jolts us awake. He tells of the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom DovBer, who at first refused to help a man so that he would break down and become open to help, and of a student whose soul was stirred only when told it was defective. The five prayers of Yom Kippur correspond to the five levels of the soul, culminating in the essence that is one with God, which surfaced in Daniel Pearl's last words, "I am a Jew." Teshuvah means return to one's true self, prayer means bonding with God, and tzedakah means righting a wrong. The Zohar says Yom Kippur is "like Purim": both reach a level beyond knowledge, one through joy and the other through return. He closes with the day's practices: the kittel, the 25-hour fast and other restrictions, saying "Baruch shem" aloud like the angels, Yizkor, and the final shofar blast. https://www.youtube.com/embed/STerUKonI9o 2952 2024-09-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/mitzvot-the-power-of-jewish-commandments-revealed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xYG8Wwy3g18/hqdefault.jpg Mitzvot: The Power of Jewish Commandments Revealed Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah of Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya, added after each chapter of Ethics of the Fathers: God wished to grant Israel merit, so He gave them Torah and mitzvos in abundance. He reads it as a statement that ethics ultimately come from God's commandments, which refine a person in a way man-made systems cannot, and that their great number lets each person find mitzvos that speak to his own needs. But more commandments also mean more ways to fail. One answer, from the commentator who completed Rashi's commentary on this tractate, is that the Torah commands things people would do or avoid anyway, such as not eating creeping creatures, so that even these become merits. This explains the Talmud's statement that even the sinners of Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate is full of seeds, which he connects to eating a pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah, and he tells how the Rebbe turned the question around: if they are full of mitzvos, how can they be called sinners? The Rambam's answer is that among so many mitzvos a person will do at least one purely for its own sake; Chassidic teaching adds that such a mitzvah elevates the rest. Rabbi Greenberg also explains the Talmud's ruling that one who is commanded is greater than one who volunteers: a command awakens resistance, and only a command connects a finite person to the infinite God. God asks for effort, not results, so even a single mitzvah by the worst Jew counts, as the Rambam wrote to the forcibly converted Jews of his time. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xYG8Wwy3g18 2937 2024-09-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rosh-hashanah-unveiled-ancient-wisdom-for-a-sweet-new-year/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_xPUdmcpSPY/hqdefault.jpg Rosh Hashanah Unveiled: Ancient Wisdom for a Sweet New Year Rabbi Greenberg explains the puzzles of Rosh Hashanah: the Torah calls it only the first day of the seventh month, a day of blowing, and never names it the new year, which shows the written Torah must be read with the oral tradition. It is the "head" of the year because, like the brain, it contains and directs the whole year. There are two main new years: Nisan begins the cycle of miracles, while Rosh Hashanah, marking the creation of Adam and Eve, is universal; starting a fresh cycle in the seventh month lets a person set aside accumulated baggage and begin again. On Rosh Hashanah we crown God as King. A true leader, like Moses or the Rebbe, must be begged to lead, and God likewise wants to be asked; otherwise He still sustains the world, but without His heart in it. A Chassidic reading of "zeh hayom," "this day," contrasts the world's creation on the 25th of Elul, ko, "like this," a virtual reality, with man's creation, zeh, "this," because people make the world real by connecting it to God through mitzvos. The shofar, Maimonides says, wakes us from spiritual sleep, and Rabbi Saadia's first reason compares it to a coronation trumpet. Through the Baal Shem Tov's parable of the lost prince and his story of a simple farmer's rooster call on Yom Kippur, Rabbi Greenberg presents the shofar as the simple cry of the soul. He also explains the count of 30 required blasts and the customs of sweet and symbolic foods. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_xPUdmcpSPY 3112 2024-09-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/5-ways-your-choices-fulfill-gods-master-plan/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4JsuZ0Xifxs/hqdefault.jpg 5 Ways Your Choices Fulfill God's Master Plan Rabbi Greenberg concludes the study of Pirkei Avos with its final mishnah: whatever the Holy One created in His world, He created only for His glory. He reasons that a world with a Creator must have a purpose, and that God made humans, unlike angels or programmed machines, with free choice so that they would choose to reveal Him in a world that conceals Him. This is done through Torah study and mitzvos, which use physical things, such as a table used for learning, for a higher purpose. He shows how one mitzvah reaches far beyond itself: a coin given to charity involves the mine and workers that produced it, and bread given to the poor involves the earth and the sun. Moses answered the angels that the Torah was given to imperfect beings who must transform imperfection. Rabbi Greenberg teaches that the spiritual worlds exist for the sake of this physical one, and that each level of creation, from earth to plant to animal, seeks to be elevated by humans; the blessings, he says, are looking for us. If our mitzvos have this effect, why is the change not visible? The verse "The Lord shall reign forever and ever" answers that the effects are real but hidden to preserve free choice, like money held in a bank, and will be revealed when Mashiach comes. Citing Maimonides on the Egyptians, he explains that God guarantees His plan will be fulfilled, yet each person remains free to take part in it or not. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4JsuZ0Xifxs 2232 2024-09-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/joy-in-entering-the-land/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p7DxVhynxgI/hqdefault.jpg Joy in Entering the Land Rabbi Greenberg explains why Parshas Ki Tavo opens with "And it will be when you enter the land," an expression the Midrash says always signals joy, and why that joy depends on entering the land completely. The mitzvah of bringing first fruits to the Beis HaMikdash, which required great joy, began only fourteen years after the people entered, once the land was conquered and divided; the Rebbe explains that joy is not true joy until everyone shares it, which will happen with Mashiach. The previous portion ends with wiping out Amalek, the nation that seeks to annihilate us, and also the inner Amalek: the word has the numerical value of safek, doubt, which cools a person off. Removing doubt brings the greatest joy and the confidence to enter fully. Turning to the blessings and curses, Rabbi Greenberg notes that "will overtake you" is spelled without a vav for the blessings and with one for the curses. Rabbeinu Bachya reads the curses as plural, meaning God suffers with us; another commentator says blessings come one at a time because too much good at once would overwhelm us. The world itself wants us to prosper so it can be elevated through our service of God, but we must receive blessings humbly. He also explains that Jacob holds the vav of Elijah's name, a letter representing truth, so that Elijah will feel the lack of exile and bring the redemption, and why Laban, who sought to "uproot everything," was worse than Pharaoh: he would not tolerate the Jews as a nation. Our unity as a people is our strength, and its survival is the greatest miracle. https://www.youtube.com/embed/p7DxVhynxgI 1687 2024-09-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-meilahs-dual-punishment/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LhnOVIrIMjI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Meilah's Dual Punishment Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling on me'ilah, the misuse of property belonging to the Temple: one who deliberately benefits from it receives lashes and also pays for the loss. This seems to contradict the principle, which the Rambam applies to eating terumah, that one is not both lashed and made to pay for the same offense, derived from the verse "according to his wickedness," in the singular. One answer distinguishes compensation from a fine: the rule applies only to compensating an owner, and Temple property has no owner in that sense. The Kesef Mishneh offers two explanations. In one, the rule applies only where lashes and payment address two separate wrongs, as with terumah, while here both stem from the single act of benefiting from what belongs to God. In the other, removing an item from Temple ownership and benefiting from it are two separate offenses, one punished with lashes and the other with payment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LhnOVIrIMjI 335 2024-09-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/elul-month-of-divine-love/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ad79jLmBkCU/hqdefault.jpg Elul: Month of Divine Love Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Elul as a month of introspection and of love between God and the Jewish people. After the golden calf, Moshe spent three periods of 40 days on the mountain; the third, for the second tablets, began around the start of Elul and ended on Yom Kippur. Those 40 days have been set aside ever since for soul-searching and repentance in preparation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The name Elul is related to an Aramaic word meaning to spy, and this month the spying is turned inward, at one's own behavior. Introspection need not lead to sadness. Elul is the initials of ani l'dodi v'dodi li, I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, from the Song of Songs, which Rabbi Akiva called the holiest book because it describes the intimate love between God and Israel. Another acronym refers to gifts to the poor. The holier a person is, the more flaws he sees in himself, as Yaakov felt diminished by God's kindness to him. The shofar is blown every day of the month except Shabbos and the day before Rosh Hashanah, and the class includes a recorded message from a 103-year-old Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen about feeling God's presence. In the question period, Rabbi Greenberg explains that Aharon made the golden calf under threat, hoping to delay until Moshe returned, yet remains the holiest Jew after Moshe. He also shows how a negative Talmudic phrase about the wicked and their neighbors spells Elul: repentance in Elul transforms its neighbor, the sad month of Av, into Menachem Av, a month of comfort. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ad79jLmBkCU 1469 2024-09-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/chosen-for-divine-purpose/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xuD0Mh53npY/hqdefault.jpg Chosen for Divine Purpose Rabbi Greenberg explains the mishnah in Pirkei Avos chapter 6 listing five things God acquired in His world: the Torah, heaven and earth, Avraham, Israel and the Beis HaMikdash. Since everything belongs to God, acquired means these are the things He especially identifies with, through which His purpose in creation is fulfilled. Torah transcends creation, serves as its blueprint, and brings the Divine into the mind of one who studies it, like meeting a father face to face rather than reading his letter. Heaven and earth reveal a Creator to any rational observer. Following Nachmanides and the mystics, against the Rambam's view, the ultimate goal is the physical world itself, where souls will return to bodies. Avraham was unique as the first to discover God on his own and spread that belief, and his first test, leaving everything that defined him, demanded more than readiness to die. The Jewish people are chosen like special forces for a harder mission, open to anyone who accepts its responsibilities through conversion, while every righteous person who keeps the seven Noahide laws has a share in the World to Come. The Beis HaMikdash is like the brain, channeling God's light into the world. Its holiness never left; the Rambam rules that the Ark is hidden beneath the Temple Mount, and the Rebbe explains that the Temple is an extension of the Ark. Rabbi Greenberg presents two scenarios for the Third Temple, built by the Jewish people or descending from heaven, which the Rebbe reconciles. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xuD0Mh53npY 3109 2024-09-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/mitzvahs-quality-and-quantity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fBZCRQiltKg/hqdefault.jpg Mitzvahs: Quality and Quantity Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah portion of Ki Teitzei, which contains 74 of the 613 mitzvos, teaches the value of both the quality and the quantity of mitzvos, noting that quantity can create quality, as ten ordinary men form a minyan. He tells of Rabbi Moshe Sofer of Pressburg, who lent charity funds to a ruined wealthy congregant so he could travel to the fair and recover. When the man returned and offered him a beautiful watch, the Rabbi praised it at length and then gave it back, since accepting it would be forbidden interest. Rabbi Sofer explained with a story from his teacher, Rabbi Nathan Adler. When their wagon was stuck in the snow and the driver harnessed a cow alongside the horses, Rabbi Adler jumped off and danced, overjoyed at a once-in-a-lifetime chance to keep the mitzvah against working two species together. Likewise, a rabbi rarely has the chance to refuse interest. Rabbi Greenberg draws two lessons: a rare mitzvah that comes one's way should be met with excitement, and even daily mitzvos deserve the same joy, since, as the Rambam says and the Rebbe stressed, any single mitzvah may tip the scales and bring Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fBZCRQiltKg 811 2024-09-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-sprinkling-blood-intention-vs-action/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fj2lRkSC4Ng/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Sprinkling Blood: Intention vs. Action Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that if a kohen's hand is cut off after he sprinkles an offering's blood but before it reaches the altar, the sprinkling is invalid, since the Torah links "he shall sprinkle" with "he shall place." The Har Tzvi asks from the view that one is liable for fire as for shooting an arrow, which a later authority explains as treating the result as done the moment the fire is lit, allowing Shabbos candles to be lit before Shabbos. By that logic, the sprinkling should be complete. The Har Tzvi answers that this applies only to liability; where the Torah requires the actual result, it must happen. This also explains why the sage who compares fire to an arrow would have set the fast on the tenth of Av, when most of the Temple burned, and why most of a meal offering's handful must burn. The Rebbe answers the fast question differently. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fj2lRkSC4Ng 493 2024-09-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seven-paths-to-righteousness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lnIhpJhrcXg/hqdefault.jpg Seven Paths to Righteousness Rabbi Greenberg offers seven explanations of why the Torah repeats the word tzedek, "Righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue," in the portion that opens with appointing judges and officers in all your gates. He first notes the Kabbalists' reading that every person has gates that must be guarded, and the Rebbe's point that Isaiah's prophecy of the Messianic era mentions judges and advisors but no officers, since then no one will need to be forced to keep the law. The seven explanations: Rashi says to seek out the better court; one Chassidic master says the end does not justify the means, so even the righteous goal of the Messianic era must be reached through righteousness today; one must never rest at one's current level; one should anticipate the needs of the poor rather than wait to be asked; righteousness has two forms, toward God and toward people, matching the verse's two rewards of life and inheriting the land; charity should include soothing the poor person, which earns eleven blessings rather than six; and justice both keeps society from collapsing, as in the generation of the Flood and Sodom, and prepares for the final Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lnIhpJhrcXg 1163 2024-09-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-vs-wealth-true-leadership/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XDlOKuHxVK8/hqdefault.jpg Torah vs. Wealth: True Leadership Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah in which Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma, offered great wealth to move to another town, answers that he would live only in a place of Torah, since at death a person takes with him only Torah and good deeds. Rabbi Greenberg first notes that Torah study has value in itself and, when someone else can do another mitzvah, takes precedence over it. Following the Abarbanel, he reads the journey as life itself: each person has a particular mission, and once it is found, one should not be drawn away from it. The Hebrew word for "met me" can also mean "affronted me." Rabbi Greenberg brings the Maharal's view that Rabbi Yosi did not greet the man first because he was absorbed in study, and the Rebbe's view that the man's offer was disrespectful, since leading with money implied that a rabbi serves for pay. The Maharal also explains that the community wanted a rabbi it could control, which leads Rabbi Greenberg to discuss leaders who look back to see what their followers want. A thought that arises only when there is personal gain may come from the wrong side, as in a story of Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl. He contrasts Rabbi Yosi's words with Balaam's similar statement about a house full of gold, and suggests the man was offering the freedom of a city outside harsh Roman control. Finally, he explains why Rabbi Yosi did not go spread Torah: the Rebbe's guidance was that one whose soul truly craves Torah should keep studying, while others should go out and teach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XDlOKuHxVK8 3043 2024-09-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-unspoken-vows-valid-or-void/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KJihX6N10oM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Unspoken Vows: Valid or Void? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who vows to bring an offering, or designates a particular animal as one, need not say anything: resolving it in his heart obligates him, as the Torah says, "whoever is generous of heart." In a letter to his father, the Rebbe raised a question from Rashi's comment that a bird offering is sanctified "with the mouth," and answered that Rashi only means no physical act is needed. The Rebbe's father inferred from the Rambam's wording, which speaks only of an obligation to bring the animal, that thought creates an obligation but not holiness, and several authorities, including Rabbi Yosef Engel, read him the same way. The Rebbe, however, cites this Rambam as proof that thought makes the animal holy. Rabbi Greenberg supports this: when one designates a specific animal, there would be no reason to bring it unless it became holy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KJihX6N10oM 553 2024-09-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/see-the-blessing-torahs-vision/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lHxR3D3lBVY/hqdefault.jpg See the Blessing: Torah's Vision Rabbi Greenberg explains why Parshas Re'eh opens with "see" rather than "hear," and what the Torah means by the blessing it sets before us. Seeing is more convincing than hearing and takes in a whole picture at once; Mashiach will teach Torah in this visual way, and the Arizal once said that what he saw during a short nap would take 80 years to explain. The verse says the blessing is "that you hearken" to God's commandments, but the curse comes "if you do not hearken." One explanation is that Judaism does not believe in original sin: a Jew's essence is to do God's will, so doing good is certain to happen eventually, while sin is only a possibility. A second is that the greatest reward of a mitzvah, received in this world, is the mitzvah itself, the knowledge that one has brought joy to God. The Ohr HaChaim reads the verse about the destitute brother as an allusion to Mashiach, who is called an evyon, one who craves everything, because he cannot rest until he brings the whole world out of exile. The Talmud describes him at the gates of Rome changing one bandage at a time, ready to come at any moment. In this light Rabbi Greenberg explains the Rebbe's painful statement that his achievements were empty, and the Rebbe's teaching that we, like prisoners, are the evyon in exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lHxR3D3lBVY 1373 2024-08-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-power-of-righteous-traits/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TKD0-BDzgys/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Righteous Traits Rabbi Greenberg explains the statement of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Pirkei Avos, chapter 6, that seven qualities, beauty, strength, wealth, honor, wisdom, old age and children, are becoming to the righteous and to the world. Each can be used for good or for evil. Citing a commentary, he compares them to zeros: worthless alone, but valuable when a one, righteousness and Torah, stands before them. A righteous person may not need them, but they increase his influence on others. On beauty, the Rebbe told a Miss Israel winner that a God-fearing woman is praised for her beauty as well. Rabbi Yehoshua showed a Roman princess that fine wine keeps in plain vessels, and Absalom's beauty led him to rebel while Joseph's helped him withstand temptation. Strength can make a bully or a defender, as with Samson, and Reish Lakish, a robber, turned his strength to Torah after meeting Rabbi Yochanan. Mamon, money, equals sulam, ladder, in numerical value: it can lift a person up or bring him down. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi honored the wealthy, and the Rebbe explained that wealth is a greater test than poverty, showing that God trusts the person with the strength to meet it; poverty itself is not a virtue. Honor should not be pursued, but when given it should be used to influence others, as a Chassidic leader in Lublin found when his humility drew even larger crowds. Wisdom, settled wisdom in old age, and children who follow their parents' path complete the list, all fulfilled in Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and his sons. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TKD0-BDzgys 2642 2024-08-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-the-holy-temple-hand-washing-mystery/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aG-sxygg8rA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I The Holy Temple Hand-Washing Mystery Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that a kohen performing the Temple service must first sanctify, that is wash, his hands and feet, and that service performed without washing is invalid. Commentators dispute whether this washing is required only for the service or also for simply entering, and the Rambam's wording here, which places the obligation on the one performing the service, suggests it applies only to the service. Yet elsewhere, describing the levels of holiness in the Temple, the Rambam writes that a certain area may be entered only by someone who has washed his hands and feet. The resolution he presents distinguishes two laws: washing as part of the service, and washing required by the holiness of the place itself. Washing for the service must come from the kiyor, the Temple laver, while washing in order to enter may be done from any vessel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aG-sxygg8rA 566 2024-08-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-in-exile-rabbi-schneersons-legacy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UFMMg_Yhmoo/hqdefault.jpg Torah in Exile: Rabbi Schneerson's Legacy Rabbi Greenberg describes the life and teachings of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the Rebbe's father, whose yahrzeit is the 20th of Av. Ordained young, he became chief rabbi of Yekaterinoslav, where under Stalin he oversaw a mikvah, performed weddings and circumcisions in secret, and agreed to certify the Soviet matzah only with full authority over its supervision. Arrested in 1939 for promoting Judaism, he was exiled to Kazakhstan, where his wife Rebbetzin Chana made ink from herbs so he could write commentary in the margins of the Tanya and the Zohar. He passed away in Alma-Ata in 1944, and the Rebbe later expounded his father's notes every Shabbos. The Rebbe linked the 20th of Av to the family that donated wood for the Temple's altar on that day, which the Talmud traces to King David or to his general Joab. Rabbi Greenberg explains that the Rebbe's father combined both: David's selfless devotion to Torah study and Joab's activism, fighting the Soviet regime to keep Judaism alive. A second wood donation in Elul reflects helping others from a spiritual high, while the Av approach, which the Rebbe attributed to his father, helps others with humility, looking up to them. From the commentary on the Zohar, he explains why Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair wanted to hear about the red heifer: Abraham called himself "dust and ashes," and the Kohen who prepares the heifer's ashes becomes impure to purify another, showing complete love that comes at one's own expense. He closes with stories of the Rebbe's humility about his own praise. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UFMMg_Yhmoo 3040 2024-08-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-lifes-ultimate-guide/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HLKazsHbxQE/hqdefault.jpg Torah: Life's Ultimate Guide Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah "Great is the Torah, for it gives life to those who practice it, in this world and in the World to Come." He first dispels the myth that Judaism does not believe in an afterlife: the soul is part of God and cannot die, and Jewish literature of every genre discusses the World to Come, even though one moment of good deeds in this world is greater than all its bliss. The Mishnah does not say what Torah is greater than. The Rebbe explains that it refers to the mitzvos: without Torah study, which explains the commandments and their reasons, we would still keep them because God commanded, but mechanically, like a soldier or a musician who only follows the notes. Torah study gives the mitzvos life and passion. Rabbi Akiva's parable of the fox and the fish, told when the Romans banned Torah study, shows that Torah is the Jewish people's water of life. The Rebbe also explains that the seven verses the Mishnah quotes correspond to the seven emotional attributes, from kindness and discipline through harmony, perseverance, humility and connection to leadership, each given life by Torah. The word chaim, life, is plural because Torah unites this world and the spiritual world, as the previous Rebbe told his Communist interrogators: a gun frightens one who has many gods and one world, not one who has one God and two worlds. The four whom the Talmud describes as lacking full life, the blind, the metzora, the poor and the childless, also represent superficial vision, fault-finding, lack of knowledge and lack of continuity, all healed by Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HLKazsHbxQE 2601 2024-08-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-the-mizbeach-dilemma/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Idvbrjk0RAM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I The Mizbeach Dilemma Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's statement that three prophets came up from exile with those who returned to the Land of Israel: one testified to the exact location of the altar, one to its dimensions, and one that all offerings could be brought on this altar even though there was no Beis HaMikdash. He asks what the words "this altar" add, why the Rambam raises offering without a Temple here when he rules later that the original sanctity lasts forever, and how a prophet could settle a question disputed among the sages, since a prophet may not decide halachah. After noting other approaches, he suggests that the third prophet's testimony was not a halachic ruling but a one-time instruction for that altar, which a prophet is permitted to give. He compares Ezra's penalty on the Levites who did not come up for the Second Temple, which a rabbi in Buffalo explained as a measure for that time only. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Idvbrjk0RAM 503 2024-08-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-greatest-jewish-holiday-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0lhFJSEBO20/hqdefault.jpg The Greatest Jewish Holiday Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Mishnah ranks the 15th of Av with Yom Kippur as the greatest of Jewish holidays, and why it was a day for marriages. Like Yom Kippur, he says, it is a day of reconciliation. He goes through the six events the Talmud lists for the date: the last of the desert generation, who lay in graves every Ninth of Av after the sin of the spies, realized at the full moon that the dying had ended; the ban on women marrying outside their tribe, born of fear that land would pass between tribes, was lifted; the ban on marrying into the tribe of Benjamin was repealed; the guards keeping the northern kingdom from Jerusalem were removed; the dead of Beitar were finally allowed burial; and the season of cutting wood for the altar ended. Kabbalists add a seventh reason: on the 15th the moon is full, fully reflecting the sun, a picture of giver and receiver in complete unity, all the more after the division of Av. Rabbi Greenberg ties each event to healing a rift between the Jewish people and God or among Jews, and draws lessons for relationships, including how money and possessions create discord. He then explains why the day suits marriage. Fifteen is properly written yud-hei, letters the Talmud finds in ish (man) and ishah (woman); without them only esh, fire, remains. The circle dances of the day point to samech, the fifteenth letter and a round one, and he connects the circle to the wedding ring and to the infinite entering a marriage. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0lhFJSEBO20 2791 2024-08-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ethical-learning-why-sources-matter-in-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XXSPxVOWGuE/hqdefault.jpg Ethical Learning: Why Sources Matter in Torah Rabbi Greenberg explains the last of the 48 ways the Torah is acquired in Ethics of the Fathers: saying something in the name of the one who said it, which, the Mishnah says, brings redemption to the world. Jewish law treats taking credit for another's teaching as a kind of theft, except where a student is known always to repeat his teacher, as Rabbi Eliezer did; even then, the Mishnah urges naming the source. He gives several explanations. One who passes off others' ideas as his own has no motive to think of new ones. Knowing who said a teaching deepens it, since one can see the same reasoning in that sage's other rulings, such as the consistent approaches of the schools of Hillel and Shammai. A disciple of the Arizal explains that the redemption the Mishnah promises ends the distractions of exile that cloud our learning. Rabbi Greenberg adds his own idea: an act of acquisition requires intending to acquire, so one who thinks the Torah is already his will not work to make it his. The Rebbe explains that quoting a source links a person to the chain of teachers back to Sinai, and that the ultimate author of all Torah is God; recognizing this draws the world, whose Hebrew name means concealment, out of hiding. The Mishnah's proof is Esther telling the king of the plot against him in Mordechai's name, which led to Mordechai's honor and the salvation of the Jews; Esther's name also means concealment. He also tells the story of young Rabbi Yonasan Eybeschutz and, in the Q&A, explains why most rabbis forbid entering the Temple Mount. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XXSPxVOWGuE 2688 2024-08-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-blessing-order-mitzvah-vs-shehecheyanu/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0dmcUhd5C2c/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Blessing Order: Mitzvah vs. Shehecheyanu Rabbi Greenberg explains why the order of the blessings differs between a mitzvah and a new fruit. The Rambam rules that at a pidyon haben, the redemption of a firstborn son, the father first says the blessing on the mitzvah and then Shehecheyanu. The Chasam Sofer infers that a new fruit should follow the same order, but reports that his teacher, Rabbi Nosson Adler, said Shehecheyanu first, and the Alter Rebbe rules that way in Seder Birchos HaNehenin. The Chasam Sofer's son answers that the blessing on the pidyon haben is always said, while Shehecheyanu is not said when the redemption is done through an agent, so the mitzvah blessing comes first. Rabbi Greenberg adds another difference: over a fruit, the blessing is said to receive permission to eat it, while Shehecheyanu expresses joy at the new fruit, so saying Shehecheyanu between the blessing and the eating would be an interruption. With a mitzvah, both blessings thank God for the mitzvah, so Shehecheyanu continues the first blessing rather than interrupting it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0dmcUhd5C2c 293 2024-08-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/beis-hamikdash-gateway-to-godliness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GsLMIkDgMPM/hqdefault.jpg Beis HaMikdash: Gateway to Godliness Rabbi Greenberg explains, before Tisha B'Av, what the Beis HaMikdash represented and why the day's mourning is meant to prepare for its rebuilding. The Temple united the Jewish people: they gathered there for the three festivals, the Sanhedrin sat there, all prayers converge there, and Torah went forth from it. God fills every place but conceals Himself; the Temple was the place in space where that veil was most removed, as holy days are in time and holy people are in person, and where God's transcendence and His presence within nature came together. Entering the Temple meant facing truth, which means consistency between inside and outside and between the physical and the spiritual. The Rebbe told a businessman that he was truthful by attaching himself to the code of Jewish law, which is objectively true. In our world peace and truth can conflict, as when Aaron bent the truth to make peace, but in the Temple they coexisted. People there did not answer amen, because the Temple brought blessing into the physical world on its own. Its purpose was to spread holiness to the world, which is why its windows widened outward, and the Rebbe explained that the Rambam drew the Menorah's goblets upside down to show its light pouring out. A korban comes from the word for closeness: rather than a sacrifice, it elevates the mineral, vegetable, animal and human toward God. The Talmud says Mashiach was born on Tisha B'Av, making it an opportune day for him to come. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GsLMIkDgMPM 3251 2024-08-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-from-study-to-practice/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dNQtsXoRPQs/hqdefault.jpg Torah: From Study to Practice Rabbi Greenberg continues his study of Pirkei Avos 6:6, which lists 48 ways Torah is acquired, and explains a series of them, including learning in order to practice. Learning involves a teacher, a colleague and a student, and even a written text needs a living teacher to convey its tone. With a colleague, one should try to justify his position, yet be led to truth, and seek to reconcile opinions rather than create disputes. One must also settle down to analyze a subject calmly rather than rely only on quick argument. Judaism encourages questions, as at the Seder, but one should also try to find the answers, as the Rebbe once demanded of his listeners. Before adding one's own ideas, one must absorb what the teacher says, the way those who memorized the Rebbe's hours-long talks listened without analyzing until afterward. Learning in order to teach makes study more honest, and learning in order to practice is essential, because Torah is divine wisdom meant to be lived. A student makes his teacher wiser by challenging him, as Rabbi Yochanan said of Reish Lakish. Being exact in one's learning means not rushing past what one does not understand, while treating a difficulty as a stop sign rather than a red light. Finally, one should be glad to hear a teaching again: the Rebbe explained that Ezekiel's river Kevar, meaning "already," is the sign of exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dNQtsXoRPQs 2915 2024-08-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-the-mystique-of-maaser-sheni/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gnMV3tJwkMA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I The Mystique of Ma'aser Sheni Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that maaser sheni, the second tithe, is eaten by its owners within the walls of Jerusalem; the obligation applies whether or not the Temple stands, but it may be eaten only in Temple times, since the Torah compares it to a firstborn animal. The Raavad objects to the Rambam's view that the holiness of the Temple and Jerusalem is eternal, which is why one impure from the dead who enters the Temple site is liable even today: the Talmud says that without a Temple maaser sheni must be left to decay, which suggests the holiness is gone. Rabbi Greenberg answers from Tosafos: the holiness remains and maaser sheni takes effect, but because the Torah compares it to a firstborn, which requires an altar, it cannot be eaten without one. In theory, if an altar meeting all the Rambam's requirements were built, maaser sheni could be eaten. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gnMV3tJwkMA 253 2024-08-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-do-jews-still-pray-for-the-holy-temple/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kOIP5_vggw0/hqdefault.jpg Why do Jews Still Pray for the Holy Temple? Rabbi Greenberg explains why Jews still pray every day for the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, speaking during the three weeks that mourn its destruction. He notes that more than half of the 613 commandments relate to the Temple, that Jews face it in prayer, and that the four fast days all revolve around its destruction. He traces its history from the portable Mishkan in the desert through Shiloh, Nov and Givon to the First and Second Temples, explaining that God's dwelling among the people became more permanent as they became more settled, and that building the Temple is one of the tests of Mashiach. Since the Temple cannot be rebuilt today, Rabbi Greenberg describes the substitutes: supporting synagogues, which are miniature sanctuaries; studying the laws of the Temple, which God told Ezekiel counts as building it; and making oneself a sanctuary, since God said "I will dwell in them." He gives the simple reason for the sanctuary, God returning to live with the people after the golden calf, and a Midrash in which the Divine Presence withdrew to the seventh heaven through seven sins and was brought back down by seven righteous generations, culminating with Moses. He discusses the meaning of Mount Moriah, the miracle that the Ark took up no space, and his comparison of the Temple to the brain, through which God's energy reaches the world. Without it, the relationship with God is less vivid, and Rabbi Greenberg teaches that the evils following the destruction stem from that loss, which is why the Third Temple will change the world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kOIP5_vggw0 3050 2024-08-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/acquiring-torah-humility-and-truth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mfMj5DNQdIo/hqdefault.jpg Acquiring Torah: Humility and Truth Rabbi Greenberg continues the 48 ways of acquiring Torah in Pirkei Avos, chapter 6, explaining why humility and the pursuit of truth are required. Unlike other fields, Torah cannot be properly absorbed if it does not shape one's behavior. One must love doing what is right, not do it grudgingly, and love reproof, since no one is right all the time. He tells how the Rebbe returned to a colleague to say "you were right," how Maimonides kept revising his writings after they spread, and how the Rebbe edited transcripts of his talks repeatedly and urged others to have their own work edited. Loving uprightness means studying Torah straightforwardly rather than with clever twists that display brilliance. Distancing oneself from honor goes beyond humility: some sages entered the academy by a side door so people would not have to stand for them. A person should not delight in issuing halachic rulings; Rabbi Greenberg explains the role of the posek, a recognized authority on Jewish law, using the question of a child born through egg donation and surrogacy, where many authorities advise conversion because the matter is unresolved. A posek trains under another, as his father did under Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. A study partner shares one's burden, challenging rather than competing, and one should judge others' arguments favorably, trying to understand the other side. Above all, Torah study seeks truth, not winning points: the last letters of the Torah's first three words spell emes, truth, out of order, showing that truth must be searched for. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mfMj5DNQdIo 2646 2024-08-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-trumah-thought-vs-action/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ObHwxuDBFuU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Trumah: Thought vs. Action Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who separates terumah in his thoughts, without saying a word, has made valid terumah, since the Torah's word "reckoned" teaches that thought alone suffices. Commentators debate whether "separates" means he set the portion aside physically and only designated it in thought, or whether thought alone is enough, as the end of the ruling suggests. Rabbi Greenberg brings Rashi's explanation of the Talmud's phrase that one "puts his eyes" on one side and eats from the other: he focuses on where he will separate. This may work for Rashi because he holds the terumah is already present within tevel (untithed produce), but the Talmud uses that phrase only in two special cases. The Rambam, he suggests, requires a definite intent to designate, though no action or speech. The Rebbe's father held the separation must be physical, while the Rebbe held thought alone suffices, a dispute tied to whether such terumah becomes holy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ObHwxuDBFuU 343 2024-07-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbes-infinite-love/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FJzxMPHLXy0/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe's Infinite Love Rabbi Greenberg describes the Lubavitcher Rebbe's boundless love for every Jew, in the tradition of the Baal Shem Tov, and how a world leader never lost sight of the individual. Among thousands at Rosh Hashanah and Simchas Torah, the Rebbe noticed that one ten-year-old boy had begun wearing glasses. He asked an orphan to write him every two weeks and noticed when a letter did not come; he brought his own scissors for an orphan's first haircut; and he searched a pile of letters for a request about a teenager's ingrown toenail, which Rabbi Greenberg's father had hesitated to send. Rabbi Greenberg's wife received an unspoken blessing for their children, and the Rebbe wrote to a troubled girl that he felt her pain as a mother feels a teething baby's. The Rebbe wept over the letters before sounding the shofar, would not let his aides carry the bags of requests, and opened every envelope himself because some are sealed with tears. He seated visiting prisoners apart from one another to spare them embarrassment, called wounded soldiers "distinguished" rather than handicapped, and met guests for fifteen hours so Israelis could be home for Shabbos. He described himself simply as trying to be a good friend. Rabbi Greenberg also outlines the Rebbe's pioneering work: greater roles for women, children and seniors, bringing Judaism proudly into the street, using technology, mitzvah campaigns and the Noahide laws. He urged a state senator to help the Chinese community, encouraged Shirley Chisholm to use her agriculture committee seat to feed the poor, sent Viktor Frankl a letter that kept him from giving up, and financially rescued a competing children's magazine. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FJzxMPHLXy0 3567 2024-07-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-fig-that-changed-history/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lpikHtE0QTQ/hqdefault.jpg The Fig That Changed History Rabbi Greenberg asks why the Torah names Zimri and Cozbi only in parshas Pinchas, when Pinchas is rewarded, and not when their sin is first described. He finds the answer in the first sin. One Talmudic opinion holds that the tree of knowledge was a fig, since Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves; as Rashi explains, the other trees refused to give their leaves, but the fig, itself implicated, did not. Rashi adds that the Torah does not name the fruit so as not to shame the fig, yet it does name the fig leaf, because once the fig began their rehabilitation it could be identified as a hero. So too, the Torah keeps the focus on the sin rather than the sinners, and names Zimri and Cozbi only once their act has led to something good. Pinchas received the covenant of priesthood, and the sages say Pinchas is Elijah, who will announce Mashiach. According to the Arizal, Zimri's soul was reincarnated in Rabbi Akiva and Cozbi's in the wife of Turnus Rufus, who later converted and married him. Read during the Three Weeks, the portion shows evil turning into a source of peace and redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lpikHtE0QTQ 1083 2024-07-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unlock-your-hidden-potential-the-torah-secret-nobody-tells-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BBA5l6AjC-U/hqdefault.jpg Unlock Your Hidden Potential: The Torah Secret Nobody Tells You! Rabbi Greenberg continues the sixth mishnah of the sixth chapter of Pirkei Avos, on the qualities through which a person acquires the Torah, meaning internalizes it so that it becomes his own. Opening during the Three Weeks, he notes the custom of studying the laws of building the Beis HaMikdash, based on a Midrash that such study counts as building it. One who knows his place should neither overrate nor underrate his abilities, and must then rejoice in his portion. What counts is realizing one's own potential: a person who reaches 10 out of a possible 10 is greater than one who stops at 99 when he could reach 100. He cites the Sfas Emes's parable of the child born on the mountaintop, and Reb Zusha's fear of being asked only why he was not Zusha. Every person is indispensable, which is why a birthday matters. Making a fence around one's words means a teacher must guard against misunderstanding, as when Antigonos' students took his teaching about serving without thought of reward to deny reward altogether; it also means adding safeguards to one's conduct, done openly, unlike Adam's unexplained addition that led Eve to sin. Taking no credit for oneself is the advanced level, though doing good for ulterior motives is a legitimate start. Finally, one who is loved, loves God and loves people is receptive to the Torah of kindness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BBA5l6AjC-U 2326 2024-07-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-the-four-signs-of-a-non-kosher-etrog/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YwRLFCBdiWU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I The Four Signs of a Non-Kosher Etrog Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that species which differ botanically but whose leaves or fruit are exceedingly similar, like two colors of one species, are not considered kilayim, forbidden mixtures, since kilayim depends on appearance. He applies this to an esrog grafted onto a lemon tree for sturdiness, which the Alter Rebbe rules invalid for the mitzvah, listing four ways to tell a grafted esrog from one that is not. Some explain that grafting is forbidden, so its fruit, like a crossbred animal for an offering, cannot be used. The Shvus Yaakov argues from this Rambam that such grafting is not forbidden, since the two fruits look alike, but most authorities hold, as the Alter Rebbe writes, that the result is a separate species. Rabbi Greenberg adds that the Rambam speaks of nearly identical fruits, while an esrog and a lemon differ, and that a grafted esrog should not be used even if no other is available. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YwRLFCBdiWU 356 2024-07-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbes-miraculous-mind/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LQGswSklRGA/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe's Miraculous Mind Rabbi Greenberg describes the Lubavitcher Rebbe's leadership and the breadth of his mind. He recalls the Rebbe's last year before his stroke, when the Rebbe stood about seven hours on Sukkos to watch each person bless his lulav and esrog, and asked his followers to become his "Aarons," carrying his words to the world. The Rebbe defined his mission as bringing the final redemption, when God's presence will be felt everywhere, and he saw every person as uniquely capable; when Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz asked which of his four projects to drop, the Rebbe told him to start a fifth. Rabbi Greenberg calls the Rebbe a revolutionary who broke boundaries. He brought Judaism into public with mitzvah tanks and public menorahs, built people up for the future rather than dwelling publicly on the Holocaust, and rejected "I'll try my best" as a cop-out. His Chabad houses create a need rather than answer one, with emissaries who raise their own funds, stay for life, and work with their wives as full partners. He was a unifier who wept over strife, joined old traditions to modern technology, prayed for hours for those who wrote to him, and gave perhaps a million responses. The class closes with the Rebbe's scholarship: over 250 volumes of teachings, the Talmud known by heart, many languages, a grasp of physics that found errors in a scientist's calculations, and a memory that recognized handwriting from years before. The Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg stresses, would want this to show that everyone has brilliance to use for good. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LQGswSklRGA 3438 2024-07-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/balaks-legacy-from-villain-to-visionary/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YeW3eqm7KAw/hqdefault.jpg Balak's Legacy: From Villain to Visionary Rabbi Greenberg asks why a Torah portion is named after Balak, the king of Moab who hated the Jews and hired Bilaam to curse them. Unlike Korach, whose motives were spiritual, Balak seems to deserve nothing. One explanation credits him for being openly evil; another notes that his sacrifices, though offered for the wrong reasons, earned him Ruth as a descendant, leading to King David and Mashiach. The Rebbe explains that Balak set in motion the blessings that came from Bilaam's mouth, including "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob" and the prophecy of Mashiach. Balak feared Moab's defeated protectors, Sichon and Og. The Megaleh Amukos, a Kabbalist, teaches that they were an unholy mezuzah, a barrier keeping holiness out of the land; the word for Balak's fear and the code on the back of a mezuzah both equal 213, like their names. Sichon, who came out to fight, stands for threats from outside, and Og for threats inside the home, or negative thought and negative action. A mezuzah guards against both, and Rabbi Greenberg describes a mezuzah in space, in time (the month of Elul, and our generation preparing for Mashiach), and in soul, Mashiach himself. Bilaam's talking donkey crushed his ego, and his blindness in one eye shows he saw God's greatness but not his own lowliness. Likewise we need two eyes toward exile: one crying out "how much longer," the other living joyfully as if the redemption were already here. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YeW3eqm7KAw 1426 2024-07-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torahs-hidden-formula/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uGsufS7JYuc/hqdefault.jpg Torah's Hidden Formula Rabbi Greenberg explains part of the 48 ways of acquiring Torah listed in Ethics of the Fathers 6:6, comparing them to a doctor's instructions without which even good medicine will not work. Torah study has three tiers: Scripture, Mishnah (the laws) and Talmud (their analysis and application). The Talmud says to divide one's study time among the three; the Rambam says that once a person knows Scripture and Mishnah, most time can go to Talmud. For most people this means the weekly Torah portion, Jewish law and deeper study. He then discusses minimizing sleep, chatter, pleasure, frivolity and worldly concerns: each has a place, as in the story of a rabbi who learned that his congregants' morning chatting helped them care for one another, but none should become an end in itself. Restraining anger and a good heart matter because Torah is meant to reach the heart, not only the mind. Faith in the sages counters the doubt associated with Amalek, whose numerical value equals safek, "doubt." Accepting suffering as ultimately for the good frees the mind for Torah. Knowing one's place means neither overestimating nor underestimating one's gifts and mission; Dr. Twerski called calling oneself an idiot as delusional as claiming to be Napoleon. The remedy is a caring, objective mentor. Finally, the broken tablets kept in the Ark teach that a person who has forgotten Torah through age or illness keeps full holiness and dignity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uGsufS7JYuc 2835 2024-07-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-nazirite-mystery-jews-vs-non-jews/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e0n6qNZ3TBA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Nazirite Mystery: Jews vs. Non-Jews Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a non-Jew is not subject to the laws of nezirus (the Nazirite vow), since the Torah addresses the children of Israel. Rashi explains that a non-Jew who vows to be a nazir may still shave, drink wine and become impure from the dead, while Tosafos holds that he is only excluded from the nazir's offerings. The Rebbe, like the Keren Orah, asks why a verse is needed to exempt him from restrictions he was never commanded, and why the Rambam does not mention them. The Rebbe explains that although keeping one's word is not among the seven Noahide laws, non-Jews are bound by duties that logic compels, as the curse of mi shepara shows. So a non-Jew who vows "I am a nazir" is not bound, but one who specifies abstaining from wine or cutting his hair must keep it, which is why the Rambam states no unconditional exemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/e0n6qNZ3TBA 593 2024-07-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbes-global-revolution/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dx27I_icVIc/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe's Global Revolution In this second lesson on the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg moves decade by decade through events that show the Rebbe's philosophy and accomplishments. He describes the Rebbe's view that technology exists to spread Torah, beginning with a radio class on Tanya in the 1960s; his choice to channel the rebellious spirit of 1960s youth toward Judaism, which brought Chabad houses to campuses; and later initiatives such as Mitzvah tanks, the ten Mitzvah campaigns, Torah study for senior citizens, a moment of silence in public schools, and the Sunday distribution of dollars for charity. Rabbi Greenberg also recounts positions the Rebbe took that were controversial at the time, including his opposition to Jews fleeing their neighborhoods, his insistence that conversion under the Law of Return follow Jewish law, and his preference for quiet diplomacy over public demonstrations for Soviet Jewry. He tells of the Rebbe's heart attack in 1977, the passing of his wife in 1988, and his strokes in 1992 and two years later. The class closes with the Rebbe's attention to individuals: his daily visits to his mother, all-night private meetings, letters to a simple cook and a Buffalo housewife, and his refusal to use a machine to open envelopes that some people sealed with tears. Rabbi Greenberg explains that Chabad grew after the Rebbe's passing because he cultivated leaders and because his emissaries still feel his presence, and that the Rebbe deflected praise into a challenge for each person to do more. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dx27I_icVIc 4395 2024-07-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/mind-blowing-torah-trick/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sDZyMk_N1wo/hqdefault.jpg Mind-Blowing Torah Trick Rabbi Greenberg continues the sixth mishnah of the sixth chapter of Ethics of the Fathers, which lists 48 ways to acquire Torah so that it becomes part of a person rather than one more subject. This class covers awe, fear, humility, joy, purity, attending the sages, give-and-take with colleagues, argument with students, and a settled mind. Awe extends to Torah scholars who have internalized the Torah, as Rabbi Akiva taught; fear also means a scholar's dread of misinterpreting the Torah and causing others to stumble. Humility makes a person an empty vessel, and it must apply toward other people, not only toward God. Joy is essential: unlike other mitzvos, Torah study is meant to be enjoyed, and joy aids memory and opens the mind, just as the prophets needed joy to receive prophecy. Rabbi Greenberg tells of a Chassidic master who, after fasting on Yom Kippur, studied all night and ignored his water, being thirsty for Torah. Awe and joy can coexist, one following the other or in different parts of the heart. Attending the sages means living with a teacher, as Elisha poured water for Elijah and Joshua served Moses. A study partner corrects mistakes, and, as the Rebbe explained, both the animal soul's wish to refute and the Godly soul's wish to defend push one deeper. Students teach the most through their questions. A settled mind, free of distraction, is what the Previous Rebbe called "success in time," exemplified by the Rashba. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sDZyMk_N1wo 2864 2024-07-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/gimmel-tammuz-farbrengen-with-rabbi-heschel-greenberg-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NETo8JcIjGI/hqdefault.jpg Gimmel Tammuz Farbrengen With Rabbi Heschel Greenberg Rabbi Greenberg leads a Gimmel Tammuz farbrengen, linking the day to the previous Rebbe's liberation from prison in 1927, which the Rebbe called the beginning of the redemption. From the sun standing still for Joshua he draws the lesson that, although we cannot see or hear the Rebbe, the sun has not set: a tzaddik who leaves this world remains present in it. He tells of a Buffalo man who opened a volume of the Rebbe's letters at random to a letter praising physical therapy and eventually became a physical therapist, of his nephew's unconscious son who awoke after his father received a Rebbe dollar in change, and of an Argentine father whose son's eye healed after the Rebbe told him in a dream to have the boy wear tzitzis. Yet we must not be content and must cry out "how much longer." Recalling the Rebbe's talk of 28 Nissan 1991, which handed the task of bringing Mashiach to the Chassidim, he explains that in Chabad the Rebbe inspires but does not do the work for us. He compares this to a father's blessing at a bar mitzvah, which marks the child's independence, and notes that the Rebbe named learning about Mashiach and the redemption as the direct path only after students took the initiative. He explains the Rebbe's teaching that redemption means bringing the intense light of tohu, chaos, into the measured vessels of tikkun, correction, which only Torah can do, and urges people of both temperaments to work together rather than clash, as Rabbi Akiva's students did. Opening our eyes, he concludes, means seeing that the redemption is at the threshold and bringing it inside. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NETo8JcIjGI 4798 2024-07-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbes-transformative-legacy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6Zd4JTAfdlw/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe's Transformative Legacy In a class marking the 3rd of Tammuz, Rabbi Greenberg opens a series on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's life and role in Jewish history, explaining why no biography can do him justice: the Rebbe almost never spoke about himself, and his greatness would fill dozens of volumes. Rabbi Soloveitchik, who knew him in Berlin, called him a hidden tzaddik. Rabbi Greenberg measures the Rebbe's influence in breadth, reaching millions through some 4,000 Chabad centers; in length, passing from generation to generation; and above all in depth, transforming individual lives, as Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz described. The central paradox is that the most famous Jewish leader of his century was an intensely private person. For a full year after the previous Rebbe's passing he refused the leadership, sometimes breaking down in tears; Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner said the question was whether his love of privacy or his sense of responsibility would prevail. Rabbi Greenberg recounts stories from his youth in Yekaterinoslav, as told by his mother and others: calming crying babies in hiding during a pogrom, saving a drowning child at nine, and his father telling Leizer Nannes that the teenage boy would one day help him. He describes the Rebbe's rescue of documents when the previous Rebbe was arrested, his years in Berlin and France, and his escape to America in 1941. In America the Rebbe edited children's and women's magazines, made the rabbi's wife a co-director of every Chabad center, and created the movement of shluchim (emissaries), which brought Rabbi Greenberg to Buffalo. Stories of his empathy close the class, including his refusal to open letters by machine because some are sealed with tears. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Zd4JTAfdlw 3698 2024-07-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rebel-s-divine-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7IZk6CZbx08/hqdefault.jpg Rebel's Divine Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg explains why a Torah portion is named after Korach, who rebelled against Moses, by showing the positive vision behind his rebellion. Korach was a visionary who saw into the Messianic age, when the Levi, representing gevurah (discipline and the power to transform the world), will be higher than the Kohen, representing kindness. The same contrast underlies the schools of Hillel and Shammai on Chanukah: today we follow Hillel and add light each night, but the Arizal says that in the Messianic age we will follow Shammai, diminishing evil from eight candles down to one. Korach's error, like the sin of the tree of knowledge and those who tried to enter the land after the spies, was one of timing. Now, however, is the time to live with Mashiach, as the Rebbe emphasized, so the portion's name teaches us to follow Korach's aspiration, not his actions. Wanting to be a high priest is a good desire, but one must accept the role God assigned. Korach's question about a tallis made entirely of blue wool argued that the whole people was holy and needed no Moses; Moses answered that beyond a holy environment, each person needs individual guidance. Rabbi Greenberg also explains the Midrash that Korach "saw" the red heifer, and his claim that Moses had been diminished after the golden calf. Finally, Korach's followers declare "Moses is true, and we are liars," illustrated by a parable of a rabbi who praised a tyrant and then called himself a liar. True teshuvah, he concludes, admits sin fully, without conditions or excuses. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7IZk6CZbx08 2154 2024-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-mitzvah-or-mandate/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Cz-X4tEpvWM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Mitzvah or Mandate? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who wants to eat the meat of an animal or bird must first slaughter it, a positive commandment, while the Ramban holds it is not a mitzvah but only a condition for eating. Practical differences include an oath not to eat less than an olive's volume of unslaughtered meat, eating it in an unusual way, and slaughtering a dying animal with a knife used for idolatry, which is not forbidden benefit if shechitah is a mitzvah. He then asks in what sense shechitah is a mitzvah at all. The Alter Rebbe writes that its blessing, like that on separating challah, need not be said standing, since it applies only to one who wants to eat. Tzitzis differ: one who wears a four-cornered garment has a positive mitzvah to attach them, as shown by the ruling that a garment whose tzitzis tore on Shabbos may still be worn. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cz-X4tEpvWM 479 2024-07-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-s-48-hidden-keys/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yo0I_tHcFZA/hqdefault.jpg Torah's 48 Hidden Keys Rabbi Greenberg begins the mishnah in Pirkei Avos that says Torah is acquired in 48 ways, greater than the priesthood, acquired with 24, and royalty, acquired with 30. He opens by noting that the chapter on acquiring Torah teaches that ethics must come from God through the Torah, not from feelings, which leave people unable to call even mass murder evil. The king's 30 relate to his privileges and obligations, such as carrying a Torah scroll with him at all times, and the number 30 is hinted at in the letter lamed and in Joseph and King David becoming kings at 30. The Kohen's 24 are the gifts given to him. Torah, however, is acquired through "things," because Torah is about obligations rather than rights and privileges. Citing the Rebbe, he explains that within Torah itself there is a priestly dimension that refines a person, a royal dimension that guides behavior, and the dimension of Torah for its own sake, studied because it is God's wisdom. The 48 ways plus their sum correspond to the 49 days from Pesach to Shavuos. He then explains the first ways. Study must be continual, like a Montreal rabbi who knew the whole Talmud by heart yet never stopped learning. Attentive listening means first absorbing what is said, as Moses "heard and it pleased him" in his debate with Aaron; the Hebrew for ear is related to balance. Articulating the words clarifies ideas, reaches deeper layers of the soul and aids memory. Finally, understanding of the heart means that learning which stays in the mind and never reaches the heart is not truly acquired. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yo0I_tHcFZA 2248 2024-07-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-bridge-to-moshiach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AS0EvW75vdI/hqdefault.jpg The Secret Bridge To Moshiach Rabbi Greenberg explains where we stand in the wait for Mashiach and how to live in this in-between time, which he compares to a bridge. On a long trip, he says, one does not keep asking "Are we there yet?", but near the destination one must. The Rebbe described us as on the threshold of redemption, and once said that redemption is already at our doorstep and we need only bring it in. A bridge connects two places and is disorienting: the world today is in many ways far better than ever and in some ways terrible. Bridges are also shaky and freeze first, matching Amalek, who attacked "on the way," shares the numerical value of the word for doubt, and "cooled" the people. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov taught that the world is a narrow bridge and the main thing is not to fear, through trust in God. The Rebbe's approach was to bring the bridge along: golah, exile, becomes geulah, redemption, by adding an aleph, so Mashiach will perfect rather than negate whatever we do in a kosher way. He reads the three names of a non-kosher bird as obstacles: ra'ah sees only the negative, like Sodom's blindness to others; ayah treats Mashiach as out of reach; and dayah says we have done enough. Against this the Rebbe called for "ten stubborn Jews," since exile is like smoke that puts people to sleep and someone must sound the shofar. He closes by noting that a would-be Mashiach who changes any mitzvah is false. https://www.youtube.com/embed/AS0EvW75vdI 2746 2024-06-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/god-s-perfect-imperfections/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BYDnL0yRyuo/hqdefault.jpg God's Perfect Imperfections Rabbi Greenberg explains why God deliberately built imperfections into creation, starting with the spies, who carried back a vine with a cluster of grapes. An Aramaic translation of the Torah explains that the branch itself produced wine, which the spies showed as proof that the land was unnatural. He links this to the third day of creation, when God commanded "fruit trees yielding fruit," trees that would taste like their fruit, and the earth did not comply. Since no angel can defy God, God Himself must have wanted that intent left unrealized for now. Each day of creation shows this pattern: the primordial light hidden, the division of upper and lower waters, the diminished moon, one Leviathan killed and preserved for the days of Mashiach, and Adam and Eve's sin, which the Rebbe explained was effectively inevitable. Like a parent who shows a child a finished model and then takes it apart, God gave us an imperfect world to perfect through our own efforts. The giant fruit and inhabitants were a call for the spies to become spiritual giants; had they begun, the final redemption would have come, and the efforts accumulated in exile now bring it near. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BYDnL0yRyuo 979 2024-06-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-the-mamzer-paradox/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hm70mkASm4A/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I The Mamzer Paradox Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a mamzer is a child born of an adulterous or incestuous union, not simply out of wedlock, and that the child is a mamzer whether the union was willing or coerced, deliberate or unintentional. The Gemara indicates that a woman who was forced remains permitted to her husband, while her child is still a mamzer. A later authority asks about a case where both were forced, since according to the Gemara an animal one is forced to worship does not become forbidden. Rabbi Greenberg considers attributing a coerced act to the one who forced it, but rejects this, since the child of a non-Jew and a married Jewish woman is not a mamzer. He explains that the prohibition of a worshipped animal rests on intention, while mamzer status rests on the fact of the forbidden union. He closes with the teaching that this status will be rectified when Moshiach comes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hm70mkASm4A 454 2024-06-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-transformative-power-of-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ljP8js_-NbE/hqdefault.jpg The Transformative Power Of Torah Rabbi Greenberg studies the fifth mishnah of the sixth chapter of Ethics of the Fathers, the chapter on acquiring Torah, which he explains is included because a stable ethical life must rest on the Torah rather than on causes that change every few years. The mishnah teaches: do not seek greatness for yourself, do not covet honor, practice more than you learn, and do not yearn for the table of kings, for your table and crown are greater than theirs, and your Employer, God, will pay your reward. Commentators see these as the answers to jealousy, honor and desire, which an earlier mishnah says drive a person from the world. Following the Rebbe, he explains that the mishnah addresses a Torah scholar: do not study in order to become a great authority, but learn Torah for its own sake. Those who flee honor receive it, he says, because the honor then goes to the Torah they represent, as with the Alter Rebbe, who found public honor painful. He tells of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, who gave a man who had lost 200 rubles 190 of his own and was glad to be thought a thief, while noting that ordinary people must avoid suspicion. The Rebbe reads "practice more" as "push yourself" to learn more than you are used to, even when the animal soul finds no honor in it. Torah study makes a person a king, which he explains as an acronym for mind, heart and liver, in control of himself. He also argues that Moses and the spies were great people whose errors were on another level. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ljP8js_-NbE 2601 2024-06-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/lighting-souls-the-menorah-s-spiritual-blaze/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OSfDH6fSdcE/hqdefault.jpg Lighting Souls: The Menorah's Spiritual Blaze Rabbi Greenberg explains the lighting of the menorah at the start of Parshas Behaalotecha and what it teaches about kindling Jewish souls. Rashi connects it to the previous portion: Aaron felt bad that neither he nor his tribe took part in the leaders' dedication offerings, and God told him his role was greater. Nachmanides explains that this refers to the Chanukah lights, which continue the menorah's light and will still shine in the days of Mashiach. Rabbi Greenberg also shows that complaining about missing a mitzvah pleases God: those who could not bring the Pesach offering received Pesach Sheni, and the Rebbe explains that the Jews were faulted for not asking to bring it during 38 years in the desert, as we should ask for Mashiach. The word behaalotecha implies raising the flame until it rises on its own. Following the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg reads the first mishnah of Pirkei Avos as guidance for every teacher: be deliberate in judging each student, raise many students by teaching them to stand on their own, and make a fence around the Torah rather than lowering standards, bringing people close to the Torah, not the Torah down to them. The menorah's seven branches represent seven personality types among the Jewish people. Aaron is praised for not changing anything, though the menorah was miraculous; the Rebbe explains that a connection to God lies in carrying out the small details. Finally, the Rebbe notes that, according to Rashi and the Rambam, the menorah's branches were straight, and that the Rambam drew its cups upside down to show that its light was meant to pour outward to the world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OSfDH6fSdcE 2080 2024-06-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-communication-in-jewish-law-writing-vs-speaking/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BZHcnPCFh8o/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Communication in Jewish Law: Writing vs. Speaking Rabbi Greenberg continues the Rambam's list of women who cannot be tested with the bitter waters of the sotah, a wife suspected of adultery. A deaf woman is excluded, since the verse says "and he shall say to the woman," and speaking to one who cannot hear is like speaking to the air. He then presents a case addressed by the Maharsham: a husband away from home wrote to his wife warning her not to let a certain frequent guest stay with her. The question is whether a written warning is valid. He surveys the debate over whether writing counts as speech, regarding vows, counting the Omer and interrupting prayer, and whether the Temple song was chiefly vocal or instrumental. The Maharsham argues that the verse excluding a deaf woman implies a hearing woman could be warned in writing, and since the warning's purpose is for her to know of it, a letter suffices if she recognizes her husband's handwriting. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BZHcnPCFh8o 416 2024-06-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-s-secret-power/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mdQps1cdtrE/hqdefault.jpg Torah's Secret Power Rabbi Greenberg studies the mishnah in the last chapter of Pirkei Avos, the chapter on acquiring Torah, that says: such is the way of Torah, eat bread with salt, drink water by measure, sleep on the ground, live a life of hardship and toil in Torah, and "happy shall you be" in this world. He explains that Pirkei Avos is about going beyond the basic requirements, and that the Torah is the source of that refinement. One reading addresses the poor: poverty is no excuse for not studying, as Hillel showed when he listened through a skylight in the snow, and as Rabbi Akiva showed. The reward in this world may be wealth, but it can also be the joy of Torah itself. Just as a lover of music forgets hunger, King David called the Torah song, and the Rogatchover Gaon told his grandson that one comment of Tosafos held more wisdom than all the sciences. Even an average student has the joy of knowing his life has a purpose. A second reading addresses the wealthy: absorbing divine wisdom requires not being obsessed with materialism, as with Rabbi Ephraim Margolis, a banker who allowed no interruption of his two daily hours of study. Hardship is something to choose for oneself, never to impose on others. Rabbi Meir Shapiro gave his yeshiva students every comfort, and a rabbi told a rich man to eat well so he would not give the poor only "pebbles and sand." In answer to a question, Rabbi Greenberg notes that the wives of poor scholars often wanted their husbands to study. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mdQps1cdtrE 2681 2024-06-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/god-s-5th-commandment-revealed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vF5LIyr5f8g/hqdefault.jpg God's 5th Commandment Revealed! Rabbi Greenberg explains the fifth of the Ten Commandments, honoring one's father and mother, in a Father's Day class dedicated to his own father, whose special mitzvah was honoring his parents. He notes four Torah commandments about parents and the Talmud's view that this is the hardest mitzvah, since one can never say one has done enough. He gives two reasons for the mitzvah. The Chinuch bases it on gratitude, central to Judaism; the word Yehudi, Jew, comes from Leah's thanks at Yehudah's birth. Nachmanides teaches that honoring parents honors God, since God, father and mother are partners in every person, which is why this commandment appears on the first tablet, among the commandments between people and God. Parents also teach a child what authority is, opening the way to recognizing God's authority, and unlike the forces of nature they deserve honor because they chose to give life. Following the Talmud, he distinguishes reverence, such as not sitting in a parent's place or contradicting him, from honor, meaning providing for a parent's needs. He tells of Dama ben Nesina, a Roman official who would not wake his father to sell a jewel for the high priest's breastplate, and suggests the Talmud highlights a Roman as a message about the disunity among Jews at that time. He adds the stories of Rabbi Tarfon and his mother, and closes with how the Rebbe honored his parents, visiting his mother daily and keeping a son's death from her. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vF5LIyr5f8g 2767 2024-06-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/honoring-torah-s-divinity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MQLkJpBUh_o/hqdefault.jpg Honoring Torah's Divinity Rabbi Greenberg explains the mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers, chapter 6, that one who learns from another even one chapter, law, verse, word or letter of Torah must treat him with honor. The proof is King David, who learned only two things from Achitophel yet called him his master, guide and beloved friend. Rabbi Greenberg describes Achitophel as head of the Sanhedrin and King David's adviser, a brilliant but power-hungry man who backed Absalom's rebellion and whose Torah was insincere. The two things he taught were to study with a partner rather than alone, and to enter the house of study with humility, or, in another interpretation, with passion. A third teaching, permitting God's name to be erased to stop the waters released while David dug channels for the future Temple, came after David had already honored him. Why does learning one thing suffice when David learned two? One answer is that Achitophel taught only proper conduct, not law, so learning any actual Torah certainly demands honor. Another is that Torah studied with the right intention multiplies, while Achitophel's stayed sterile. Rabbi Greenberg adds that Torah, compared to fire, cannot be contaminated: the defect is in the person, not the Torah. The extra honor applies only to Torah, not secular subjects, because it is given to Torah's divine element. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MQLkJpBUh_o 2237 2024-06-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-vii-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iPwpQldt9Ik/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: VII Rabbi Greenberg explains Shavuos as the completion of Passover, closing a series on freedom. The Torah gives Shavuos no calendar date, only a count of seven weeks from Passover, because the Jewish people were not fully free until they received the Torah at Mount Sinai. True freedom, he says, is the soul acting on its innermost will rather than being led by the body, and at Sinai doing God's will became the inner nature of every Jew. Much of the class addresses the Oral Torah. The Talmud says God held Mount Sinai over the people's heads, yet they had said "we will do and we will hear." Rabbi Greenberg gives the Chassidic answer, that the mountain stands for overwhelming love, and an earlier one: they gladly accepted the Written Torah but had to be compelled to accept the Oral Torah. Without it the Written Torah cannot be understood, as with the 39 categories of work on Shabbos, the esrog, and "an eye for an eye" meaning monetary compensation; it also supplies the method for applying precedent to new questions. Counting the Omer from the day after Passover, and King David's acceptance despite descending from Ruth the Moabite, both rest on the oral tradition, one reason given for reading the Book of Ruth on Shavuos. He also teaches that at Sinai God joined the spiritual and the physical, so mitzvos make the physical world holy. He cites the Rebbe on why staying awake all night corrects the people's sleep before the giving of the Torah, and explains the custom of eating dairy on Shavuos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iPwpQldt9Ik 3639 2024-06-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/secrets-of-torah-humility/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nfL-xSoVMX4/hqdefault.jpg Secrets of Torah Humility Rabbi Greenberg explains why the book and parsha of Bamidbar, "in the desert," is read before Shavuos, and why the Torah was given in the desert. The sages teach that to receive the Torah one must become like the desert, humble; a person full of ego cannot absorb divine wisdom, since God says of the arrogant that He and they cannot dwell together. The Rebbe explained that a study partner helps both souls: the divine soul humbly accepts the truth, while the animal soul's ego drives debate that sharpens understanding. Sinai, the lowest mountain, was chosen for the same reason, and Moshe, who saw his gifts as God's, accepted the role because the Torah was being given to the lowly. A second reason is that the desert belongs to no one, showing that the Torah belongs to every Jew, as in the story of the simple Jew dancing on Simchas Torah in Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev's synagogue. Turning to the census, Rashi says God counts the Jewish people often because He loves them: when they left Egypt, after the golden calf, and when the Mishkan was set up, each time when that love might seem absent. Citing the Shelah, Rabbi Greenberg adds that just as a significant item is never nullified in a mixture, the counted Jewish people can never lose their identity. Since the world exists for the Torah, which is kept through the Jewish people, they are eternal. He also answers why the Torah was given outside the Land of Israel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nfL-xSoVMX4 2070 2024-06-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-unraveling-the-mystery-of-marriage-retractions/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N-uygAno_DI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Unraveling the Mystery of Marriage Retractions Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that if a man betroths a woman with a ring before two witnesses and either of them retracts immediately, even within a few seconds, she is married and needs a get (bill of divorce), although such a retraction is valid in a sale. He presents the Rebbe's explanation, which distinguishes witnesses who verify from witnesses who establish. Witnesses to a sale only confirm it and become witnesses when they testify in court, but without witnesses to a betrothal there is no marriage at all, so they are witnesses from the moment of the ceremony. One explanation holds that a sale is less serious, so full intent is not certain at first. The Rebbe objects that then even a gift of food could not be eaten for a few seconds. He concludes that the witnesses are partners in creating the marriage, so neither party can undo it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/N-uygAno_DI 464 2024-06-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-vii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CWnvL0HnrOo/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: VII Rabbi Greenberg continues his series on freedom with the final stages of the Exodus, from the Passover offering to the splitting of the sea. Following Chassidic sources, he explains that leaving Egypt, Mitzrayim, meaning confinement, continues every day until the Final Redemption. Rashi says the people had no merits "in their hands," so God gave them circumcision and the Passover lamb: they had kept their Jewish identity, but without mitzvos, which the Tanya calls the soul's garments, they were spiritually naked. The wealth they took from Egypt represents the sparks of holiness embedded there. God led them the roundabout way to avoid the Philistines, whom Rabbi Greenberg identifies with mockery. A Midrash links reclining at the Seder to this roundabout route, and he compares it to the child who showed Rabbi Yehoshua the "long short way": lasting change takes time. At the sea, four groups proposed jumping in, returning to Egypt, fighting or praying. God's answer, to journey forward, means keeping one's eyes on the goal, which today is the Final Redemption; each approach has its place only when it serves that goal. He also explains that a miracle working through nature, like the wind that split the sea, is in a sense greater than an open miracle, and that the water turning into dry land meant hidden spiritual light became accessible, a prelude to Sinai. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CWnvL0HnrOo 4068 2024-06-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-messianic-age-unveiling-life-s-mysteries/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AlFXKxnaY3M/hqdefault.jpg The Messianic Age: Unveiling Life's Mysteries Rabbi Greenberg explains how Parshas Bechukosai, read before Shavuos, points to the messianic age. The Talmud explains that its curses are read before a new year so the year can end with them, and Shavuos is when the fruit of trees is judged, which he reads as our good deeds. The opening word, im, if, hints at the redeemers of every era: Aharon and Moshe, Esther and Mordechai, Elazar and Mattisyahu, and in the future Eliyahu and Mashiach. Following Rashi, if you follow My decrees means toiling in Torah study. The Rebbe explains that chukosai is related to engraving: Torah studied with effort becomes part of a person, unlike a mitzvah whose physical involvement ends when it is done. The heart of the class is a midrash that in the messianic age barren trees will bear fruit, trees will bear fruit the day they are planted, and their bark will taste like their fruit. Rabbi Greenberg explains these as remedies for three obstacles to spiritual growth today. We do not see the subtext, the good concealed in every Jew, who is full of mitzvos like a pomegranate. We lack context, never seeing the effects of our deeds. And we lack consistency, often doing mitzvos without taste. He closes with a Chassidic reading of the curse that parents will eat their children: the intellect will fully take in and arouse the emotions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/AlFXKxnaY3M 1701 2024-05-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-astronomy-meets-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0hLpFyYqCB4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Astronomy Meets Torah Rabbi Greenberg studies the last halachah of chapter 17 of Hilchos Kiddush HaChodesh, where the Rambam writes that the calculations of the new month rest on astronomy and geometry, drawn from books by Greek sages, since the books by Jewish sages of the prophets' era, from the tribe of Yissachar, did not reach us. Because these matters are clearly proven, the Rambam says, it does not matter whether prophets or other nations wrote them. Citing the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg explains that once these calculations are incorporated into Torah, studying them in the Rambam is Torah study requiring the blessing over Torah, unlike studying astronomy from secular textbooks, and that using worldly wisdom for Torah raises it up, as in King Solomon's words about wisdom coming from folly. He adds that the Rambam mentions the lost books because in the days of Mashiach these subjects will again be learned from Torah sources themselves. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0hLpFyYqCB4 329 2024-05-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-code-of-eternal-freedom-in-the-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8VmW7fSdn-Q/hqdefault.jpg The Code Of Eternal Freedom In The Torah Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers in which Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches that a heavenly voice goes out daily from Mount Horeb, lamenting people's contempt for the Torah, and that only one who studies Torah is truly free. He introduces Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi as a sage of the first generation after the Mishnah who, the Talmud says, entered Paradise alive. Neglecting Torah study, he explains, is not just a lost reward but generates negative energy. The name Horeb is related to the words for sword and destruction, pointing to Sinai's power to destroy negativity, while its being a mountain points to its power to uplift. Rabbi Greenberg explains that a sudden, unprompted unease with one's life is the soul's response to such a heavenly voice. Calling people "creatures" means that contempt for the Torah reduces a person to a mere creature, and one who does not study is called "rebuked," the mildest form of excommunication. The proverb of a gold ring in a pig's snout describes studying Torah while treating it as merely man-made. The word for "engraved" on the tablets can also be read as "freedom." True freedom is the Godly soul's open connection to God; a person ruled by the animal soul is, to some degree, an addict. Ink can be erased, but engraving becomes part of the stone, so Torah frees a person only when it is engraved in him. The journey from Mattanah to Nachaliel to Bamos teaches that the Torah is a gift given generously, an inheritance that is automatically ours, and a source of elevation, which a person must actively promote and share. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8VmW7fSdn-Q 2790 2024-05-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/lag-ba-omer-igniting-the-spark-of-unity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BzqmdLdhqOI/hqdefault.jpg Lag Ba'Omer: Igniting the Spark of Unity Rabbi Greenberg explains Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer and a day of joy within a period of mourning, and its two historical reasons. Rabbi Akiva, illiterate until forty, became the greatest sage of his time, but his 24,000 students died in a plague, which the Talmud attributes to their not treating each other with respect, until it ceased on Lag BaOmer. Their loss deepened the darkness of the Temple's destruction. Why did the students of Rabbi Akiva, who taught that "love your fellow as yourself" is the great principle of the Torah, fail in this? The Rebbe explains that it was because of their love: each was so passionate about his understanding of their teacher's words, and cared so much for his fellow, that he tried to impose it on him. The lesson is that love must come with respect for those we disagree with, as the Rebbe showed a journalist who opposed him. The second reason is the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of Rabbi Akiva's later students, who revealed secrets of the Torah recorded in the Zohar on his last day and asked that it be a day of celebration, his hillula, or wedding. After years hiding in a cave from the Romans, he learned to bridge the higher and lower worlds and began restoring the light. Bonfires recall the Zohar's light, bows the rainbow not needed in his lifetime, and three-year-old boys get their first haircut. When he had a divorcing couple part with a feast, the wife chose her husband over his possessions, a parable for refusing exile and asking God to love us beyond reason. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BzqmdLdhqOI 2516 2024-05-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-guidance-on-sukkah-wall-requirements/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xcv63smCsEI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Guidance on Sukkah Wall Requirements Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a sukkah without three walls is invalid, but two complete walls and a board a tefach (handbreadth) wide, within three handbreadths of one of them, suffice; following the Talmud, he adds that such a wall also serves as a partition for Shabbos. A work by a rabbi of Vilna who was martyred in the Holocaust asks how the tefach works: either the tradition from Sinai teaches that a sukkah needs only that much of a third wall, or the tefach is considered a complete wall. The work proves the second from the Shabbos ruling: a sukkah wall may be more open than closed, which would not be a partition for Shabbos, so the tefach must count as a full wall. The two approaches depend on whether the tradition reduces three walls or adds to two. The Rebbe also proves the tefach counts as a whole wall. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xcv63smCsEI 293 2024-05-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-study-life-s-greatest-business/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wm95Sv0FaKU/hqdefault.jpg Torah Study: Life's Greatest Business Taught on Pesach Sheni, the second Passover, this class explains the day's two lessons and then continues Rabbi Meir's teaching in Ethics of the Fathers about studying Torah for its own sake. Rabbi Greenberg recounts how men who had become ritually impure while carrying Joseph's bones protested being left out of the Passover offering, and God gave them a second chance a month later. The first lesson is that no one is ever a lost cause. Elisha ben Avuyah heard a heavenly voice exclude him from returning and gave up; the Rebbe taught that just as a guest need not obey a host who tells him to leave, a Jew should not accept such a rejection, and the Alter Rebbe makes clear that even one who plans to sin and repent can still return. The second lesson is that God welcomes complaints when they come from a desire to do good. Abraham and Moses argued with God, the daughters of Tzelofchad were answered, and a Midrash faults the people in King David's time for not demanding the building of the Beis HaMikdash, whereas complaints about water and meat in the desert displeased God. Turning to the mishnah, Rabbi Greenberg explains that Torah studied for its own sake unites a person's mind with God's wisdom, giving him counsel and sound judgment. It brings inner royalty, when mind, heart and body are in proper order, and opens the secrets of the Torah, as with Rabbi Akiva, the only one of four sages who entered the "orchard" of mystical study and left in peace. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wm95Sv0FaKU 2834 2024-05-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-sabbatical-promise-god-s-miraculous-guarantee/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6ur3sY2J6K0/hqdefault.jpg The Sabbatical Promise: God's Miraculous Guarantee Rabbi Greenberg explains what Parshas Behar teaches through the mountain, the sabbatical year and the Jubilee. Sinai, the lowest of the mountains, teaches the humility needed to receive the Torah, yet the Rebbe asks why it was given on a mountain at all and why the portion is called simply "on the mountain." His answer: humility must be joined with healthy pride in being a Jew, so that mockers and surroundings cannot push one away from the Torah. Rashi explains that the sabbatical year is linked to Sinai to show that all the mitzvos were given there in full detail. The Chasam Sofer explains why this mitzvah was chosen: its guarantee that the sixth year will yield enough for three years is a promise only God could make, proving the Torah's divine origin. Exile for failing to keep the sabbatical year can be seen as a natural consequence, since the land, like a tailor-made suit, fits only a people in the right spiritual shape. Alternatively, the Jewish claim to the land rests on God having given it, as Rashi explains at the start of Genesis, so not letting the land rest denies the basis of that claim. The Jubilee proclaims freedom "for all its inhabitants." Citing the Pnei Yehoshua and the Talmud's teaching that one who buys a servant buys a master, Rabbi Greenberg explains that the master was also bound, and applies this to all who hold power as parents, teachers or employers: they must loosen their control. He suggests that the cracked Liberty Bell, inscribed with this verse, hints that freedom remains incomplete in exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ur3sY2J6K0 1537 2024-05-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-omer-awakening-49-days-to-refine-your-soul/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZQEDk6NWVg/hqdefault.jpg The Omer Awakening: 49 Days to Refine Your Soul Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of counting the Omer, the 49 days from the second day of Passover to Shavuos, beginning from the barley offering brought on that day. The count links freedom to the responsibility received at Sinai, expresses yearning for the Torah, whose mitzvos are like diamonds rather than burdens, and refines a person's character, since one must be a mensch before receiving the Torah. He then asks why counting is tied to a measure of barley, why we count up rather than down, and why we say "seventeen days" rather than "the seventeenth day." Just as Jacob's seven years of work for Rachel seemed like a few days because he already enjoyed their spiritual bond, each day of counting draws the future revelation at Sinai into the present, and the days accumulate. Abraham "came with his days" because every day of his life counted. The Rebbe stressed that yearning for Mashiach likewise means living now as one will in that future. Barley, used in those days only as animal feed, shows that the count refines the animal soul. The word omer recalls the manna: however much a person gathered, he had exactly one omer, teaching that what we receive comes from God, while work is only the vessel for it; what is in our hands is using it for a higher purpose. A parable of a fisherman and a banker illustrates life lived in circles. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the week of Tiferes, the trait of compassion, and the birthday of the fourth Chabad Rebbe on Tiferes within Tiferes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ZQEDk6NWVg 2759 2024-05-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-vi/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GAoduPJfJug/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: VI In this session of his series on freedom, Rabbi Greenberg completes his reading of the ten plagues as a ten-step therapy toward authentic freedom. After reviewing the first five, recognizing intellectually and then emotionally that our idols are not God, valuing small steps, believing in our own worth, and enlisting the animal soul, he turns to the last five. Boils, which disfigured the Egyptians so they could not stand before Moses, represent a complete paradigm shift, though change must begin with love: the Talmud teaches pushing away with the weaker hand and drawing close with the stronger. Hail, fire and water together, drove those who feared God inside, teaching that we need an oasis, once the home and now often the synagogue or house of study, protected from the public domain; it also addresses passion for the wrong things and indifference to the right ones. Locusts covered the land, meaning that Torah study, unlike prayer, changes one's perspective to see things from above. Darkness, in which according to Rashi many Jews who did not want to leave died and were buried, represents burying the slave mentality and the hidden, subconscious negativity, while hidden treasures also come to light. The plague of the firstborn represents revealing a person's elite powers, the deepest level, which Rabbi Greenberg calls ego in its positive sense: recognizing one's gifts as God-given, as Moses did while remaining the most humble of men. The Messianic era, he says, means revealing these powers fully. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GAoduPJfJug 3249 2024-05-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/emor-s-hidden-treasures-unveiled/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3QrXJXYeQuo/hqdefault.jpg Emor's Hidden Treasures Unveiled Rabbi Greenberg shows how Parshas Emor, read between Pesach Sheni and Lag BaOmer, contains or alludes to every holiday of the year. Reading about a holiday in the Torah generates its spiritual energy, so this concentrated joy gives the power to break out of exile. The menorah alludes to Chanukah, and the parsha's doubled "say to the Kohanim... and say to them" hints at the rest: the Midrash's parallel double speech of Achashverosh to Esther teaches that the nations respect a Jew who does not hide his identity (Purim); repeating oneself when not heard reflects Pesach Sheni's lesson of never giving up; and Rashi's word for the elders admonishing the young, lehazhir, shares a root with Zohar, light, pointing to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Lag BaOmer. He explains that a Kohen avoids contact with the dead because God's presence in nature shows itself in life, and a blemished Kohen could not serve because the Temple modeled the ideal alignment of physical and spiritual. Counting the Omer refines the seven emotional attributes even when one feels nothing, like money deposited in a bank. Lag, read as gal, means both a barrier and revealing. Some barriers, like that between Shabbos and weekdays, are permanent, but the barrier around the hidden Torah was meant to be removed, and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai began removing it. Revealing the inner dimension, where all are one, is the antidote to the disrespect that killed Rabbi Akiva's students. Finally, the Torah stresses that the blasphemer was executed because God commanded it, reflecting the Jewish aversion to taking life. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3QrXJXYeQuo 1961 2024-05-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-secrets-key-to-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T4lMI5jHPEk/hqdefault.jpg Torah Secrets: Key to Life! Rabbi Greenberg explains how studying Torah for its own sake refines a person, opening the final chapter of Pirkei Avos with Rabbi Meir's teaching that whoever studies Torah for its own sake merits many things. Besides working on a trait directly, as during the weeks of counting between Pesach and Shavuos, a person is refined by Torah itself, because Torah is guidance, God's own wisdom, and the blueprint of creation that can change nature. Studying for its own sake, he says, means relating to Torah's inner, holy dimension rather than its benefits. Following Maimonides, the material blessings the Torah promises are not rewards but the removal of obstacles to further study and mitzvos. Such a person shows that the world was created for him, and is called God's "beloved friend," a friend being someone you can confide in completely, as the Rebbe once defined it. Transcending self-interest lets him love God and people, and "gladden" God, which means making God's presence revealed. The Torah also "clothes" him in humility and reverence and prepares him to be righteous, pious, upright and trustworthy. Rabbi Greenberg explains trustworthiness through Moses, who kept the secrets God entrusted to him, and stories of the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe and the Rebbe. He stresses that none of this removes free choice: Torah study for its own sake makes goodness easier but does not guarantee it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/T4lMI5jHPEk 2840 2024-05-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-yom-kippur-a-day-of-rest-or-affliction/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1K7rnxmOQTg/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Yom Kippur: A Day of Rest or Affliction? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's rulings that resting from work on Yom Kippur is a positive commandment, and that resting from eating and drinking is another, derived from "you shall afflict your souls," so that fasting is framed as a form of rest. Rabbi Simcha Elberg, in his Sha'arei Simcha, asks whether this yields two mitzvos, but Rabbi Greenberg argues that it is one: the word "afflict" only defines what the day's rest includes. This has practical consequences. Some authorities hold that there is no joy on Yom Kippur, but the Rambam's statement that it is not a day of excessive joy implies a subdued joy, which fits a mitzvah of rest rather than suffering. Extra affliction would enhance a mitzvah of affliction but adds nothing to a mitzvah of rest. And making the fast easier beforehand, as eating on the day before Yom Kippur does, poses no problem. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1K7rnxmOQTg 540 2024-05-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/don-t-be-a-fool-embrace-the-undeniable-presence-of-a-creator/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LGExN4Z-QtU/hqdefault.jpg Don't be a fool! Embrace the undeniable presence of a Creator🙌 Rabbi Greenberg argues that believing the world came about by itself is foolish, noting that the Book of Psalms calls one who denies God a fool. He retells a Talmudic story in which a rabbi, debating God with the Roman emperor, drew a picture and claimed spilled ink formed it; the emperor called that impossible. The point, he says, is that common sense, not sophisticated philosophy, shows the world has a Creator. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LGExN4Z-QtU 81 2024-05-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-v/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-ac6SYT5NFY/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: V Rabbi Greenberg explains the first five of the ten plagues as stages of an education toward true freedom, not only a punishment. The plagues bridged the ten utterances of creation and the Ten Commandments, preparing the world for revelation step by step. Following Abarbanel, the three groups of plagues taught that there is a God, that He holds people accountable, and that His power is absolute. Blood struck the Nile, Egypt's chief idol, teaching that freedom begins by recognizing today's idols, such as money, power and addictions, as powerless. The Rebbe explains that turning cold water into blood means transforming indifference toward spiritual things into passion. According to a Midrash, the Jews sold water to the Egyptians, an example of using every situation for good, like prisoners who baked matzah with flour obtained from an SS guard. Frogs, again from the Nile, removed its emotional appeal; the frogs that entered the ovens taught Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah self-sacrifice, which Rabbi Greenberg explains as setting aside one's own will. Lice, too small for the magicians to reproduce, show that for the infinite God nothing is small, as a child's letter about praying before the school bus lifted the Rebbe's mood. The mixture of wild animals brought opposites together yet separated Israel from Egypt, teaching that unity and separation go together, as with Havdalah, the half-shekel and the ban on planting grain with grapes. Pestilence struck the animals, an extension of their owners, and the distinction between Egyptian and Israelite animals suggests that the animal soul itself can be refined. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ac6SYT5NFY 3061 2024-05-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/holiness-in-the-aisles/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xMGynmC7VsE/hqdefault.jpg Holiness in the Aisles Rabbi Greenberg explains what the Torah means by "be holy" in Parshas Kedoshim. Rashi explains it as sexual holiness, but the Torah's first examples are revering parents and keeping Shabbos. Judaism's main form of holiness is not withdrawing from the physical world, as on Yom Kippur, but transforming it: someone checking a jar for a kosher symbol in a supermarket aisle, or shopping to honor Shabbos, is doing something holy. Parents are God's partners in creating a child; marriage, kiddushin, and Kiddush over wine share the root of holiness; and Shabbos is kept through enjoyable meals. Rashi teaches that one may not obey a parent who says to break Shabbos. Rabbi Greenberg gives two reasons: obeying would make the parent one who causes others to sin, and keeping Shabbos makes us God's partners in creation, the source of the parents' own status as partners. On the mitzvah to rebuke, the Rambam requires gentleness, and the Baal Shem Tov replaced fire and brimstone with love. Gentle rebuke is right and lasts longer, and the Alter Rebbe notes that even when it fails one has still shown love. Embarrassing someone in public is likened to murder. Following Rashi and the Rambam, he contrasts loving a fellow Jew, which starts with acting lovingly, with loving a convert, whom God Himself loves. Finally, he asks God, who keeps His own mitzvos, to end the public embarrassment of exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xMGynmC7VsE 2015 2024-05-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-the-ultimate-self-improvement-guide/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CqblAQZEaiw/hqdefault.jpg Torah: The Ultimate Self-Improvement Guide Rabbi Greenberg opens the sixth chapter of Ethics of the Fathers and Rabbi Meir's teaching that one who engages in Torah for its own sake merits many things. He explains that the book is studied between Passover and Shavuos because good character must come before the Torah: the giving of the Torah was like a wedding, and one prepares for it by becoming a decent person. Since the Mishnah has only five chapters, a sixth was added from a Baraisa, a teaching left outside the Mishnah that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi compiled concisely so students would still need teachers. He draws a lesson: a Jew who feels like an outsider is never truly outside. The blessing "Blessed is He who chose them and their teaching" reflects the duty to thank God for the Torah. Citing Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin, he explains that the sages' names matter because they lived what they taught, as Hillel embodied love for all. Rabbi Meir, one of the five students with whom Rabbi Akiva rebuilt after losing 24,000 disciples, even kept learning from his teacher Elisha after Elisha rebelled, eating the fruit and spitting out the pit. Rabbi Greenberg then lays out levels of Torah study: twisting it to justify wrongdoing or show off, studying for ulterior motives, which is still better than nothing, studying to know how to live, studying to unite with God's wisdom, and the Kabbalistic level at which the student adds holiness to the Torah itself. The word for "engages" suggests treating Torah like a business that fills one's whole life. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CqblAQZEaiw 2741 2024-05-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-plowing-before-planting/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PhWE_ta-WYg/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Plowing Before Planting? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the order of the 39 melachos, the categories of work forbidden on Shabbos. The Mishnah in Shabbos lists sowing before plowing, and the Gemara explains that the Tanna lived in the Land of Israel, where, as Rashi explains, fields were plowed, sown and then plowed again to cover the seeds in the hard ground. This teaches that even the second plowing is forbidden labor. The Rambam, however, lists plowing first and does not mention this point. Rabbi Greenberg explains the difference using the Eglei Tal, which describes two ways of understanding plowing. For Rashi, plowing softens the earth so it can be planted, so a special teaching was needed to establish that plowing after planting also counts. For the Rambam, plowing is an improvement of the land itself, comparable to building, so it makes no difference whether it comes before or after sowing, and he simply gives the usual order. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PhWE_ta-WYg 373 2024-05-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-iv/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XSLDn_Yz_3U/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: IV Rabbi Greenberg follows Moses from his first meeting with Pharaoh to his complaint to God, asking why the Redemption began with failure. Moses demanded, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me," since true freedom means serving the one right Master. He spoke assertively but respectfully, setting the model for how Jews address rulers. Pharaoh's reply, "I do not know God," meant he could accept a God within nature but not one who transcends it. Moses asked for only a three-day journey to show that Pharaoh's cruelty was not even economically motivated. Instead the slavery grew harsher, and the Jewish foremen who let themselves be beaten rather than beat their brethren later became judges. Rabbi Greenberg explains that hope followed by renewed darkness is a greater test of faith than suffering alone, as Rashi and the Midrash describe Mashiach revealing himself and then being concealed. Complaining to God when others suffer shows both faith and caring; he notes that nearly all the Holocaust survivors his students interviewed kept or regained their faith. According to Rashi, God contrasted Moses with the Patriarchs, who did not question; the Rebbe explains that Moses, who personified understanding, was right to ask, yet was called to a level beyond understanding. The four expressions of redemption describe release from torture, from slavery, from Egypt itself, and finally becoming God's people at Sinai, the true freedom. God, not Moses, carried out the Exodus. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XSLDn_Yz_3U 3070 2024-05-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-seder-night-revelation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rc0cRQkrWks/hqdefault.jpg The Seder Night Revelation Rabbi Greenberg explains the Haggadah's passage of the four sons, beginning with the pattern of four plus one that runs through Pesach: four cups of wine and a fifth, Elijah's cup, that is not drunk; four expressions of redemption and a fifth pointing to the future; and four sons who at least come to the seder, plus a fifth who does not show up. He asks why the wicked son follows the wise one. One answer is that he should sit near the wise son, who can influence him. Another is that rebellion shows struggle and an inner wish to be there, so the rebel is closer than the indifferent; the one who "does not know how to ask" may be someone with no interest at all. Each son is introduced with the word "one," since every Jew has the oneness of God within, as seen when Jews of every kind cried out "Shema Yisrael" when a bomb fell near the Previous Rebbe in Warsaw. The wise son asks about testimonies, statutes and laws. Rabbi Greenberg explains that Judaism is a paradox: "Pesach" means passing over any system, yet the word for laws means a path. We do mitzvos because God commands them, but God also wants them understood, just as the taste of the afikoman is meant to linger. The wicked son excludes himself, and is told he would not have been redeemed in Egypt. The Rebbe explained this positively: before Sinai a Jew could choose to leave the people, but since God chose the Jewish people at Sinai no Jew can, and every Jew will be redeemed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rc0cRQkrWks 2793 2024-04-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-shabbat-haggadol-mystery/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OITfW7PewxY/hqdefault.jpg The Shabbat Haggadol Mystery Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Shabbos before Pesach is called Shabbos HaGadol, the Great Shabbos, a title no other Shabbos carries. The main reason is the miracle of the tenth of Nissan: when the Jews took lambs into their homes, the Egyptian firstborn learned of the coming plague and fought a civil war to have the Jews released. The miracle is marked on Shabbos rather than the date, he explains, because Miriam later passed away on the tenth of Nissan. The Rebbe explains that this miracle saved no lives and did not hasten the Exodus, yet it was the ultimate miracle: evil itself fighting on the side of good, as Shabbos transforms negative forces. Rabbi Greenberg adds two further reasons. Against the Sadducees, who rejected the oral tradition and began the Omer count on a Sunday, the Shabbos before Pesach was called "great" to show that the "Shabbos" of the Torah's count means the first day of the holiday. And the rabbi's long sermon, an explanation attributed to Rashi, reflects that the Exodus was aimed at receiving the Torah. Turning to Parshas Metzora, he explains that tzaraas, the skin affliction caused by slander, struck only spiritually refined people, whose surface evil could not be absorbed. The Talmud calls Mashiach a metzora, which the Rebbe explains as a holy people whose imperfections are external. Only a Kohen, who personifies kindness, could declare a person impure, since rebuke must come from love. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OITfW7PewxY 1755 2024-04-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-davening-early-on-shabbos/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MEbMwGc_YeU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Davening Early on Shabbos? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one may pray the Friday night evening service before sunset, and the Saturday night service while it is still Shabbos, provided one repeats the Shema at its proper time after nightfall. The Radvaz objects that this should be done only in great need, because the theme of redemption that concludes the blessings of the Shema must lead directly into the Amidah, and here the Shema is read later. A later work explains the Rambam through the view that this juxtaposition applies only on weekdays, for two reasons. It is derived from Psalms, where "God, my rock and my redeemer" is followed by "God will answer you on the day of distress," and Shabbos is not a day of distress. And one praises the King before making requests, while the Shabbos prayer has none. Early Friday prayer is a Shabbos prayer, and early Saturday-night prayer is said on Shabbos, so neither requires it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MEbMwGc_YeU 438 2024-04-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QrNsrQqmQww/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: III Rabbi Greenberg continues his series on freedom with Moses' call at the burning bush and his six objections to God's mission. He first lists what freedom requires: a clear identity, which for a Jew is above all being Jewish; a liberator who is both outsider and empathetic insider; a spark of decency to build on; the desire to be free; and a purpose, as the Jews left Egypt to receive the Torah at Sinai. Moses was a shepherd for the solitude it gave for spiritual growth, and the Midrash says God saw he was fit to lead when he pursued a single lost lamb, a lesson in seeking out young people who stray. Explanations of the burning bush include that a liberator must be certain his mission will not be consumed, that the Jewish people do not give up, that God shares His people's pain, that divine power flows through humility, and that God is present in everything, even evil, as the Baal Shem Tov taught. The Baal Shem Tov also saw in the thornbush the unquenchable longing of the simple Jew. Moses' objections are answered one by one: "Who am I?" with "I will be with you"; whether the people are worthy, with the Torah they would receive; God's name, "I will be what I will be," as a promise of lasting redemption; disbelief, with three signs; his speech impediment, which Chassidic thought explains as a soul too lofty for the body; and "send someone else," which may refer to Aaron, who rejoiced at his brother's appointment, or to Mashiach, whose power will come from the soul of Moses. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QrNsrQqmQww 3825 2024-04-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/passovers-mind-bending-cosmic-connection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0D254_qkNeQ/hqdefault.jpg Passover's Mind-Bending Cosmic Connection Rabbi Greenberg explains the opening of the Haggadah's answer to the four questions, "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt," and the story of the five sages at the Seder in Bnei Brak. He asks why God needed "a strong hand and an outstretched arm" if the exile's term was set in advance. The Jews had sunk to the 49th of the 50 levels of impurity and took an exile mindset with them, like prisoners he saw return to Attica because they never changed inside. By strict justice they were not ready to leave, but staying longer would have left them beyond rescue, so God overrode justice with compassion. That is the meaning of Pesach, which Rashi also translates as compassion: passing over. In Elul we initiate the love, "I am to my beloved"; on Pesach God initiated it, "my beloved is to me." Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon told the story all night, even though Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah holds the Seder ends at midnight; he explains that its taste is meant to linger, and telling the story savors it. According to one explanation he cites, they gathered at Rabbi Akiva's home because Haman had caused a Pesach without a Seder, and Rabbi Akiva, understood to descend from Haman, rectified it. None of the five descended paternally from slaves in Egypt, yet they told the story with fervor, teaching, as the Rambam wrote to the convert Ovadyah, that every Jew shares the nation's experience. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0D254_qkNeQ 2393 2024-04-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/nissan-the-month-that-unveils-miracle/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O19rCBgpZw8/hqdefault.jpg Nissan: The Month That Unveils Miracle Rabbi Greenberg explains, on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, why Nissan is the new year for miracles, and then teaches three themes of Parshas Tazria. Rosh Hashanah marks the creation of Adam and Eve and the natural order, while Nissan begins the order of miracles; the Talmud says dreaming of Nissan is an omen of miracles. In the Talmud's dispute, Rabbi Eliezer holds the final redemption will come in Tishrei, the month of repentance, and Rabbi Yehoshua holds it will come in Nissan, when God redeemed the Jewish people from Egypt even though they were not ready. On the impurity of a mother after childbirth, Rabbi Greenberg explains, citing a Chassidic master, that impurity is not evil but a vacuum where God's presence, revealed in life, has withdrawn, like the trace of death in sleep that requires washing the hands each morning. A pregnant woman carries double holiness, so birth leaves a greater vacuum; a daughter, who can herself give birth, carries more, so the period is fourteen days rather than seven. Such declines are meant to spur renewal. Circumcision on the eighth day overrides Shabbos because eight represents going beyond the holiness built into nature, and the blessing that the child enter Torah, marriage and good deeds as he entered the covenant asks that he serve with the same freedom from ulterior motives. The metzora, stricken with tzaraas for slander, is read as one who finds evil: speaking ill of someone, even truthfully, reveals and strengthens a dormant fault. The Talmud's image of Mashiach as a metzora reflects his feeling for the people's suffering and, as the Maharal explains, his separateness above everyone else. https://www.youtube.com/embed/O19rCBgpZw8 2568 2024-04-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t9-BTwGz_A4/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: II Continuing his series on freedom, Rabbi Greenberg examines the Egyptian slavery, why it happened, and why liberation requires a leader like Moses. The "crushing labor" also meant deceiving the Jews into slavery, useless work designed to fail, and reversing men's and women's work, so the bondage was psychological as well as physical. Yet the more the Jews were oppressed, the more they multiplied. The midwives, identified in one Talmudic opinion as Yocheved and Miriam, defied Pharaoh, and the merit of the righteous women, who never lost hope, brought the redemption; the Rebbe stressed that women will do so again. He gives several reasons for the slavery: Abraham's lapses in self-confidence, since self-doubt is itself a form of slavery; atonement for the sale of Joseph, teaching responsibility for one another; refinement before receiving the Torah; and, his own suggestion, training the nation to withstand both persecution and assimilation. A people needs a liberator, he explains, because "a prisoner cannot free himself"; a leader must be an insider who feels the people's pain and an outsider who sees objectively, as Moses was, a Jew raised in Pharaoh's palace. Pharaoh's daughter saw that the infant Moses cried like a youth, for others. Moses proved himself by defending a beaten Jew, rebuking a Jew who raised his hand against another, rescuing Jethro's daughters and chasing a single lost lamb. Rabbi Greenberg illustrates this care for individuals with stories of the Rebbe praying for a burned woman and noticing a boy's new glasses among thousands, and of the Rebbe Maharash, who said he had to put on each visitor's clothes and take them off again. https://www.youtube.com/embed/t9-BTwGz_A4 4316 2024-04-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rabbis-shabbat-gas-station-odyssey/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/seGwxQ4F4d0/hqdefault.jpg Rabbis' Shabbat Gas Station Odyssey Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of havdalah, the separation that ends Shabbos, and then reads a story of rabbis who kept Shabbos at a gas station. Parshas Shemini closes its kosher laws with the word lehavdil, to distinguish, and a midrash says that one who makes havdalah over wine will merit sons. He explains that separation is needed only between things that are nearly the same: Shabbos and the weekdays share one purpose, making the world a dwelling for God. The weekdays are the masculine mode of struggling with the world, while Shabbos is the feminine mode of nurturing the soul, and proper havdalah ensures a healthy masculine week. Each part of havdalah eases the transition: spices revive us as the extra Shabbos soul departs, the candle recalls Adam making fire when the first Shabbos ended, and wine reveals hidden spirituality, as the inner teachings of Torah do. The story, told by a Chabad rabbi from Long Beach, California, follows two rabbis flying to lead a Shabbaton for about a hundred Reform high school students. Delayed on the road, they refused to drive on Shabbos, spent it at a gas station in Auburn, sleeping in rooms at a bar, and inspired their driver, a teacher who told the students why they kept Shabbos. Years later they met people still inspired by that weekend, including a young couple who kept a kosher home because of it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/seGwxQ4F4d0 1867 2024-04-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-navigating-the-tension-between-moderation-and-transcendence/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l7MT0jq36Tw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Navigating the Tension between Moderation and Transcendence Rabbi Greenberg addresses an apparent contradiction in the Rambam's laws of character traits. In chapter 1 the Rambam calls a person who keeps to the middle path in humility wise, and one who goes somewhat beyond it, toward greater humility, pious. In chapter 2, however, he rules that with arrogance and anger one may not keep to the middle path but must go to the far extreme, being exceedingly humble and not growing angry even where anger would normally be justified. Rabbi Greenberg resolves this by noting that the Rambam first describes the ideal personality and only afterward states that the middle path is a mitzvah, "You shall walk in His ways." With rational mitzvos and character traits, the goal is to develop one's personality, and the ideal personality keeps to the middle; but the Torah's command regarding these two traits requires going beyond nature, to the extreme. https://www.youtube.com/embed/l7MT0jq36Tw 469 2024-04-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-exodus-i/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HfAUshOF51U/hqdefault.jpg The Exodus: I Rabbi Greenberg explains why Pesach dwells on the suffering of slavery and what slavery really is, following the opening of the book of Exodus. We focus on the bondage because freedom cannot be appreciated without knowing its absence, and because exile, physical and spiritual, is still present. The worst part of slavery is not lost freedom but lost identity, when a person is defined by his master. The book is called Shemos, names, because, as the Midrash says, the Jews entered and left Egypt with their Hebrew names. They never became Egyptians, and for them every day was like the first day of arrival. Those who lost their identity, the large majority, died in the plague of darkness. Joseph's brothers survived the exile, while Joseph thrived in it, like Holocaust survivors who went on to build Jewish communities. The Talmudic debate whether Pharaoh was a new king or the same king acting as if he did not know Joseph reflects two kinds of persecution, physical and spiritual, paralleling the two openings of the Haggadah. Pharaoh's shrewdness was to enslave gradually: a paid, patriotic building project from which the Egyptians slowly withdrew and the pay stopped, while the tribe of Levi kept apart. This is why romaine lettuce, sweet at first and bitter over time, is the preferred maror. Rabbi Greenberg adds that secular wisdom without moral education is dangerous, and concludes that the key to surviving exile is never losing one's Jewish identity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HfAUshOF51U 2848 2024-04-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moshiachs-all-consuming-passion/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jP8AnEzilag/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach's All-Consuming Passion Rabbi Greenberg explains why a kohen who brought his own meal offering, the minchah of flour, had to burn all of it on the altar, while with an animal or bird offering only certain parts went on the altar. Maimonides says a handful would look stingy, and the Rebbe explains that the kohen had to show detachment from the material world. The deeper difference lies in one word: only with the poor person's meal offering does the Torah say a nefesh, a soul, brings it, because, as Rashi cites, the poor person is giving his very soul. The prophet Zechariah calls Mashiach a poor man. Beyond humility, Rabbi Greenberg explains, this means that while everyone wants Redemption as one interest among many, it is Mashiach's whole essence. The Talmud's story of Mashiach changing one bandage at a time, so he will not be delayed when called, shows that he cannot tolerate another moment of exile. This is why the meal offering had to be wholly consumed, and why the afternoon prayer, instituted by Isaac who was placed on the altar, is called Minchah. Our own lives should likewise revolve around bringing God's plan for creation to fruition. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jP8AnEzilag 820 2024-03-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-bread-of-affliction-unveiled/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/90Ncs4xe6Lc/hqdefault.jpg The Bread of Affliction Unveiled Rabbi Greenberg explains the Aramaic paragraph that opens the telling of the story at the Passover Seder: "This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat... Now we are here; next year in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves; next year free people." He raises the questions: why Aramaic, how the three sentences connect, whom we invite once already seated, and why matzah is called food eaten in Egypt when the Torah says it was baked in haste on leaving. He presents the Rebbe's answer from a talk given late on the second Seder night. A child could ask how God's perfect redemption left us in exile, with poverty and even a wicked son at the table. The answer is that we left Egypt carrying Egypt's mindset, eating the bread of affliction even in freedom; that is why there are needy people to invite. The third sentence gives the hope that each Seder refines that slave mentality until we are truly free. Rabbi Greenberg adds other readings. One must first feel the affliction to appreciate freedom, invite oneself as someone spiritually hungry, and then turn to hope rather than despair. The three sentences reflect past, present and future, hinting at the name of God that transcends time, which explains how the Jewish people survive against natural odds. Commentaries also say that freeing others earns our own freedom, and feeding the hungry is the highest charity, as shown in the Talmud's story of a couple who hid in an oven to give anonymously. https://www.youtube.com/embed/90Ncs4xe6Lc 2695 2024-03-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-the-spiritual-eminence-of-converts/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lI9PH6ccL7o/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I The Spiritual Eminence of Converts Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's introduction to the Mishneh Torah, which traces the transmission of the Torah from Sinai through forty generations and notes that certain sages were righteous converts and that Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Meir were children of converts. He asks why the Rambam mentions this. One approach: while the Gemara treats it as notable that a convert could be a prophet, Torah has no prerequisites like prophecy, so a convert is as qualified as anyone to receive it. This may also be why, after Hillel, the Rambam traces the chain through both Hillel's descendants and his students. The Rambam may also be stressing that a convert's past does not diminish his Torah. Going further, Rabbi Greenberg notes that receiving the Torah was itself a conversion for the whole people, and that a convert's acceptance of the commandments is entirely voluntary, unlike a born Jew's, making converts especially fitting links in the chain. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lI9PH6ccL7o 433 2024-03-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/sacrifices-profound-power-unlocking-divinity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d6J06UOys2k/hqdefault.jpg Sacrifice's Profound Power: Unlocking Divinity Rabbi Greenberg explains that a korban is not a "sacrifice" in the sense of giving something up, but comes from the word for closeness: it brings the person, the animal and the world closer to God, just as eating with the right intention elevates food. He then asks why the Talmud requires saying "a korban to God" rather than "to God a korban," lest one say God's name and fail to finish, though that seems so unlikely. He offers three answers. God's name is the force that sustains existence, which is why the world shook at the commandment not to take it in vain, so even a remote risk undermines a korban, whose purpose is to draw God into the world. Second, a korban atones mainly for unintentional sins, which come from insensitivity, and even slight insensitivity grows. Third, opening with God's name can suggest He is too distant to approach, while opening with "korban" affirms that closeness to Him is possible. Rabbi Greenberg concludes that Torah study builds reverence for God's name and sensitivity, and that God and the Redemption are within reach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/d6J06UOys2k 1152 2024-03-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/soldiers-seeking-tefillin-faith-awakens/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RCFvVy-5eLQ/hqdefault.jpg Soldiers Seeking Tefillin: Faith Awakens Rabbi Greenberg explains the Talmud's teaching that on Purim one must drink until one no longer knows the difference between "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai," and then reads a report on the campaign to supply tefillin to Israeli soldiers and civilians. Speaking the day before Parshas Zachor, he links the reading about Amalek to the threat facing Jews today. Most commentators, he notes, do not take Rava's statement literally, and he shares one deeper explanation. One opinion holds that the tree of knowledge was a grapevine, and that Eve made wine from its grapes. "Knowledge" here means intimate knowledge: by eating, Adam and Eve internalized evil, which had been external to them. Drinking on Purim in the right way returns a person to the state before the sin, when evil was detached from him. Noah tried this too early, because evil cannot be removed without holiness to replace it; that holiness began with the patriarchs and the giving of the Torah, but the Jews only fully accepted the Torah on their own on Purim. Yom Kippur, called a day "like Purim," removes evil through fasting, Purim through feasting, and in the Messianic age the world will be filled with the knowledge of God. He then reads how Chabad emissaries, scribes and sponsors have provided thousands of pairs of tefillin since the massacre, including to prisoners, to a soldier at a Gaza border base, and to members of non-religious kibbutzim. He describes a shortage of scribes and a broad return to mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RCFvVy-5eLQ 1262 2024-03-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-valuing-mourners-needs-over-the-ill/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vpYcihoGKgo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Valuing Mourners' Needs Over the Ill Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's own view that comforting mourners takes precedence over visiting the sick, since comforting mourners is kindness to both the living and the dead, while visiting the sick helps only the patient. The Gemara in Sukkah, however, describes the people of Jerusalem going with their lulav to visit the sick and then to comfort mourners, and the Tur follows that order. One commentator answers from the Rambam's ruling that when someone dies without mourners, ten worthy people sit in their place and others come to comfort them; that benefits only the deceased, so visiting the living sick would come first. On Sukkos there is no mourning, so the Gemara's case is of that kind. Rabbi Greenberg suggests a simpler answer: visiting the sick in its narrow sense, showing care, ranks below comforting mourners, but the Gemara means the broader sense, which may involve meeting the patient's needs or even saving his life. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vpYcihoGKgo 444 2024-03-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/is-purim-a-serious-holiday-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6BH5rD7P6Jg/hqdefault.jpg Is Purim a Serious Holiday? Part - II In this second class on Purim, Rabbi Greenberg explains why the holiday is serious as well as joyous, then goes through its mitzvos and customs. Purim's redemption was incomplete, since the Jews remained subjects of Achashverosh, which is why Hallel is not said. The Megillah ends by noting that Mordechai was accepted by "most of his brothers," because his role as prime minister cost him his place in the Sanhedrin. This connects to its opening, "in the days of Achashverosh," which a Midrash reads as a hint to God; the Rebbe explains that the misfortune is God being present only in hints, the condition of exile. The Megillah must be heard night and day by women as well as men, in order; the Baal Shem Tov taught that reading it "backwards" means treating it as past history rather than as happening now. Rabbi Greenberg gives Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz's reason for sending food gifts, refuting Haman's claim that the Jews were divided, and a second reason, that everyone should have food for the feast. The Rambam calls gifts to the poor the most important mitzvah of Purim, given without questions, and the Rebbe extended it to visiting prisoners, who have nothing. He explains why Purim, a physical threat, is celebrated with a feast while Chanukah, a spiritual struggle, is celebrated with light, and gives the Rambam's and the Rebbe's readings of drinking until one cannot tell "cursed is Haman" from "blessed is Mordechai." He closes with reasons for masks, groggers, hamantaschen and Shushan Purim in walled cities. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6BH5rD7P6Jg 3201 2024-03-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/from-5-to-120-unveiling-lifes-transformative-milestones/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EcJF193xJxw/hqdefault.jpg From 5 to 120: Unveiling Life's Transformative Milestones Rabbi Greenberg continues the Mishnah at the end of chapter 5 of Ethics of the Fathers that lists the milestones of life, picking up after the ages of 5 through 18 and explaining each age from 20 to 100. Twenty is "for pursuit," and he gives six interpretations: pursuing marriage, reviewing one's studies, putting learning into practice, earning a livelihood, confronting enemies both physical and spiritual, and the age from which God Himself holds a person liable. He stresses that these ages are milestones when traits are most prominent, not fixed rules. Thirty is strength, the age when the Levites carried the Sanctuary, and Rabbi Greenberg links it to kingship: Joseph and King David were 30 when they began to rule. A true king rules himself, his mind governing heart and desires, and uses his strength to influence others. Forty is understanding, the ability to draw inferences, as Moses told the people that only after 40 years were they given a heart to understand. Fifty is counsel, which requires the common sense that comes from life experience; the Talmud's account of Rehoboam following his young advisers shows its value. Sixty is old age, which the Talmud reads as one who has acquired wisdom, the one possession that does not decline. Seventy calls for special gratitude and earns respect, and eighty still brings spiritual challenges, as with the High Priest Yochanan who became a heretic at that age. At ninety the main challenge is speech, and the Chassidic reading of 100 is a state of perfection that transcends the world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/EcJF193xJxw 2725 2024-03-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-ultimate-redemption-connection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NC-1YErWQ5w/hqdefault.jpg The Ultimate Redemption Connection Rabbi Greenberg explains how parshas Pekudei, which concludes the Book of Exodus, the "book of redemption," points to the final redemption. The word pekudei, "accounts," shares a root with the language of God remembering the Jewish people that Joseph used to foretell the Exodus, and the closing verses about the journeys allude to the journeys of exile. In a leap year Vayakhel and Pekudei are read separately, and the Rebbe sees them as two approaches: Vayakhel, the gathering of the collective, and Pekudei, attention to every detail and individual. Judaism combines both, as the Rebbe did by connecting individuals' personal lives to the community while never losing sight of the individual. Rabbi Greenberg then addresses why a whole parsha is devoted to counting when blessing rests only on what is not counted. Moses, who embodied emes, truth and total consistency, was impervious to negative forces, which is why the Talmud says what Moses built was never destroyed. He explains why people demanded an accounting from Moses but not from the makers of the golden calf, citing Rabbi Meir Shapiro's question, and why one must stay beyond reproach. Finally, he links the 18 times the parsha says "as God commanded Moses" to the 18 blessings of the Amidah, as the Jerusalem Talmud does. Both bring what is allocated in heaven down to earth, as the Third Beis HaMikdash will be built by Mashiach and joined by the heavenly Temple. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NC-1YErWQ5w 2197 2024-03-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-false-witness-perplexity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NRhE-Z1WLpQ/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I False Witness Perplexity Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who hires false witnesses against another is exempt under human law but liable under the laws of Heaven, as is a witness who withholds testimony. He asks whether this means a real debt that the court cannot collect, or only accountability to God that paying would remove. A work on the laws of witnesses connects this to a dispute: the Maharam Mintz permits the court to use public verbal pressure to make him pay, implying a debt, while the Maharshal forbids even that. They are consistent in a second dispute, whether the injured party may keep property he seizes. One authority limits the liability to actually hiring witnesses, not merely asking someone to lie as a favor. Regarding the Talmud's teaching that one who tells another to kill is liable in Heaven, the explanation given is that hiring creates a financial obligation, while a mere request creates only a moral one. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NRhE-Z1WLpQ 404 2024-03-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/is-purim-a-serious-holiday/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w0AKZn-EVBc/hqdefault.jpg Is Purim a Serious Holiday? Rabbi Greenberg explains why Purim, often seen as a minor children's holiday, is in fact one of the most serious days of the year. He cites the Zohar's reading of Yom Kippurim as "a day like Purim." Both days involve lots, which express a level of God beyond logic, but on Yom Kippur we reach it by withdrawing from the world, while on Purim we reach it through feasting and complete joy. Purim is also like Shavuos. The Talmud says the Torah was accepted fully only in the days of Purim, when God was hidden, yet no Jew converted to escape Haman's decree. Mordecai was called "the Jew" because he acknowledged one God and would not bow to Haman, who wore an idol. Rabbi Greenberg tells how the chief rabbi of Mexico, told by the Rebbe not to lose his Jewish pride, stayed standing when everyone knelt at a prayer gathering in Tehran. One Midrashic view holds that Purim will remain prominent when Mashiach comes. The Purim story looks entirely natural, and God's name never appears in the Megillah. Chassidic thought explains that this is the greater miracle: the infinite acting within nature without overriding it. Yet the holiday is incomplete. We do not say Hallel, because the Jews remained subjects of Achashverosh, whose feast celebrated his belief that the Beis HaMikdash would not be rebuilt. Purim is kept in the second Adar, close to Pesach, to connect one redemption to the complete redemption we still await. https://www.youtube.com/embed/w0AKZn-EVBc 2849 2024-03-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/shabbat-gods-light-restored/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jsNr0l3DgIs/hqdefault.jpg Shabbat: God's Light Restored Rabbi Greenberg explains how Shabbos candles, Kiddush and the Mishkan (Tabernacle) each restore something lost through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge and the Golden Calf, working from the opening of Parshas Vayakhel. He asks why, of the 39 forbidden labors, the Torah singles out kindling a fire, and why it introduces Shabbos with "these are the things to be done." The Karaites read the verse to mean no fire may burn on Shabbos and sat in cold and darkness; the Oral Tradition teaches that we enjoy Shabbos with light, warmth and hot food, so the verse hints that we light candles before Shabbos. Women are primarily given the mitzvah of candle lighting because Eve, by eating from the forbidden tree, extinguished the light of the world. The giving of the Torah restored that light, but the Golden Calf brought darkness back, so the candles became necessary again. The Mishkan, commanded after God forgave the people, restored God's presence that the sin had driven away. Kiddush, usually recited by men, rectifies the view that the forbidden fruit was grapes that Eve made into wine and drank before Shabbos; the verse "it shall be holy for you" hints at Kiddush. Rabbi Greenberg closes with a story of an Israeli woman who flew to New York for the Rebbe's blessing, and of her sister, who received an unexpected blessing for a complete recovery and was found to need it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jsNr0l3DgIs 1296 2024-03-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-menorahs-eternal-flame-codes/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mHvjor_OoCQ/hqdefault.jpg The Menorah's Eternal Flame Codes Rabbi Greenberg explains why Parshas Vayakhel repeats the details of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and what its lessons are for today. Just as the Torah retells Eliezer's story to show God's love for the patriarchs, it repeats the Mishkan's details as an expression of love: the command to build it, given after the golden calf, told the people that God still wanted to dwell among them. Moses gathered the whole nation because all had some share in that sin, and unity is the vessel that holds God's blessing. He also settled people's financial disputes before collecting donations, since a mitzvah cannot be done with money that is not truly one's own. Shabbos is mentioned before the Mishkan because, as Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev explains, the Mishkan was a miniature universe built with the forces of creation, while Shabbos testifies that God created the world. The ban on kindling fire, which the Sadducees took to mean no fire at all, led to the practice of lighting Shabbos candles, which also rejects their view. The Torah says the Menorah was "for light" because its purpose was to illuminate the world, not to be admired as art. Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk reads the Western lamp, which never went out, as a light of many hues and sweetness, like the Torah we must spread, and spread sweetly. Bezalel is traced to his grandfather Hur, son of Miriam, whose prayer, faith and building of a sanctuary reflect qualities in which women excel, above all in making the home a dwelling for God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mHvjor_OoCQ 2259 2024-03-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-perplexing-passover-punishments/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H1G6mbmfbAo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Perplexing Passover Punishments Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's list of prohibitions that carry lashes. Where a prohibition is attached to a positive commandment that can correct it, the Rambam specifies that lashes apply only once the correction has become impossible, as when one fails to give pe'ah (the corner of the field) to the poor. For keeping chametz on Pesach, he specifies only that the person made the dough on Pesach, since owning chametz made beforehand involves no action. One view holds that owning chametz can be corrected by destroying it, so lashes would apply only on the last day of Pesach, when that is no longer possible. A later authority argues that the Rambam disagrees, since he states no such condition here as he does elsewhere. This is compelling according to the view that "it shall not be seen" and "it shall not be found" are two separate prohibitions, since a positive commandment corrects only one. https://www.youtube.com/embed/H1G6mbmfbAo 275 2024-03-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-role-of-unity-in-judaism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HUVsTgsctj8/hqdefault.jpg The Role of UNITY in Judaism Rabbi Greenberg explains the role of unity in Judaism and what makes the Jewish people truly one, beyond the unity that comes from facing a common threat. Jews are both the most divided and the most united people. Purim answers Haman's charge that they are "scattered and divided" with the half shekel, gifts to friends and gifts to the poor. Rashi notes that at Sinai Israel camped "as one person with one heart," while the pursuing Egyptians were "with one heart as one person"; the Rebbe explains that the Egyptians were united only by a shared desire, while Israel's shared aim came from being one. Sukkos expresses levels of unity. The sukkah, which could hold all Israel, reflects a divine light in which differences fade. Following the Rebbe Maharash, each of the four species shows a deeper level: willows grow together like brothers, as people united by shared interests; myrtle leaves grow three from one stem, a common source in the Patriarchs; the lulav's leaves are bound together, as Torah and mitzvos bind Jews; and the esrog absorbs every season into itself, as all Jews share one soul. He explains that Shammai and Hillel both accepted the whole person without diluting Judaism, but Hillel, whose name relates to light, saw sincerity beneath the convert's disrespect. He closes with three Chassidic masters' love of Jews: Reb Zusha saw only good, Reb Levi Yitzchak defended the wrongdoer, and the Alter Rebbe embraced even those he could not defend. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HUVsTgsctj8 3079 2024-03-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-golden-calf-story/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bMrc0LU2QQM/hqdefault.jpg The Golden Calf Story Rabbi Greenberg discusses the story of the Golden Calf in Parshas Ki Sisa and what it teaches about leadership, God's ways, and the brothers Reb Elimelech and Reb Zusha. Rashi explains that God spoke the Ten Commandments in the singular, letting Moses argue that the command was given to him and that he would take the blame; Aaron too, Rashi says based on the Talmud, helped make the calf so the blame would fall on him. Taking the blame rather than shifting it, Rabbi Greenberg says, is the mark of a righteous leader. When God tells Moses he can see only His "back," a 19th-century sage explained that we cannot understand God's ways as events happen, only in hindsight. Rabbi Soloveitchik explained that Moses' face shone the second time because he came down as a rebbe, uplifting each soul, not only as a lawgiver. Rabbi Greenberg closes with stories of Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk and his brother Reb Zusha: how they brought innkeepers to repent without embarrassing them, how they danced in a filthy prison because by not praying there they were still serving God, and how a beating followed Reb Elimelech even when they switched places. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bMrc0LU2QQM 1189 2024-03-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-truths-from-the-talmud/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O8ISs8it0Os/hqdefault.jpg Torah Truths from the Talmud Rabbi Greenberg explains the closing teaching of Pirkei Avos, chapter 5, in which Ben Hei Hei says, "According to the pain is the reward." Ben Bag Bag and Ben Hei Hei, possibly one person, were converts whose identities were hidden under Roman rule, and a convert has a special appreciation for Torah. Following Maimonides, the saying refers to the struggle to understand Torah: effort brings understanding. The Talmud's phrase "I toiled and found" is explained by the Rebbe to mean that the result is like a find, far beyond the effort invested. He links this to Adar, since Amalek equals safek, doubt, in numerical value, and there is no greater joy than resolving doubt. The saying also applies to mitzvos: unlike an employer, God rewards according to the difficulty involved, even when the effort fails. Rabbi Greenberg describes men's obligation in theoretical Torah study and women's in practical study, using the letters gimmel and dalet to describe giving and receiving; this is one explanation why no blessing is said over charity, which is incomplete until received. Based on the Rebbe and an article of his own that the Rebbe edited, he explains that a convert is the ultimate recipient of Torah, since he accepts it with no compulsion; on this basis he explains why Maimonides notes that some links in the chain of tradition were converts or their sons. Purim marks the Jewish people's full acceptance of the Torah. A Chassidic reading of the word lefum as "mouth" teaches care in speech, illustrated by the Talmud's story of three sages whose remarks about Rome reached the authorities. https://www.youtube.com/embed/O8ISs8it0Os 3093 2024-03-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-golden-calf-betrayal/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UTec_fp26QE/hqdefault.jpg The Golden Calf Betrayal Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Jewish people could have made the golden calf only forty days after hearing the Ten Commandments, and why parshas Ki Sisa, despite this sin, is named "when you lift up." He begins with the half shekel: each Jew is only half without God, without other Jews, and without a tzaddik, a righteous person who reveals God. He notes that the middle letter of the word for half spells tzaddik, the letters beside it spell "alive," and the outer letters spell "dead." Turning to the golden calf, he cites the Talmud that both David's sin and the golden calf were made to happen in order to teach that an individual or a whole nation can always return through teshuvah, repentance. The people miscalculated Moses' forty days; the instigators were the mixed multitude who had joined the Jews; and at first they sought a replacement for Moses, not another god. Believing that God spoke unfiltered only through Moses, they chose an inanimate object with no ego, like a king who hangs his crown on a hook rather than on a servant, and it degenerated into idolatry. Aaron went along because he feared that killing him, as they had killed Hur, would leave the people beyond forgiveness, and he tried to stall them. The women refused to give their jewelry, continuing a pattern of faith seen in Egypt and at the sea. Rabbi Greenberg concludes with God's command to Moses to descend, which Rashi reads as a demotion, since his greatness existed for the people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UTec_fp26QE 2358 2024-02-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-jewish-charity-laws/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7pX3GleyDto/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Jewish Charity Laws Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that although a person who became mentally incompetent or a deaf-mute is exempt from mitzvos, the court assesses how much tzedakah (charity) he should give and gives it from his property. The Kesef Mishneh explains that tzedakah creates a lien on one's property, like the redemption of a firstborn son. A later authority asks that a lien stems from the mitzvah, which such a person lacks, just as a firstborn's duty to redeem himself starts only at adulthood; distinguishing one who was once obligated would mean treating money earned before and after differently, which the Rambam does not do. The Kesef Mishneh also says the court does not take tzedakah from someone who has traveled away. The same authority explains this through Tosafos: tzedakah can be enforced despite its stated reward only because it also forbids closing one's hand to the poor, which applies only when the poor person is present. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7pX3GleyDto 459 2024-02-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-lasting-happiness-part-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O1-gajyJyzY/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Lasting Happiness - Part III In the third class of his series on a happiness mindset, Rabbi Greenberg continues listing reasons for joy to meditate on, and explains how joy relates to repentance and to suffering. A mitzvah connects a person to God, who commands him, validates his existence, links him to his inner self and brings the redemption closer. Teshuvah, return to God, can leave a person even higher than before he sinned, and should itself be done with joy. A mitzvah done with joy draws a joyous response from God. Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl said that what Leah gained through tears, Rachel achieved through joy. Rabbi Greenberg explains that Leah, who turned her sadness into overflowing gratitude when she named her fourth son Yehudah, became the ancestor of the priests, the Levites and the kings of David's line, including Mashiach. Like the baal teshuvah who transforms himself, she reached higher than constant joy. On suffering, he teaches from Kabbalah that Yitzchak is associated with strict judgment yet named for laughter, and laughter sweetens judgment; and he tells how the Rebbe laughed while blessing his father in a serious crisis that then resolved. With another person who suffers, one must first share the pain before teaching that, as the Tanya says, suffering touches God's hidden kindness. He cites Rabbi Yosef Albo, Rabbi Elazar Azikri, the Arizal and the Baal Shem Tov on joy's place in every mitzvah, the Tanya's comparison to a wrestler whom lethargy defeats, and the Rebbe's recovery from a heart attack on Simchas Torah 1977 after chassidim danced all night at his request. https://www.youtube.com/embed/O1-gajyJyzY 2858 2024-02-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-vanished-gems-message/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r8Oq2XmC3FY/hqdefault.jpg The Vanished Gem's Message Rabbi Greenberg explains what the Talmud's story of a lost gem from the High Priest's breastplate teaches about Jewish unity, and why Moses' name is absent from parshas Tetzaveh. Moses' name is missing because the portion is read near the day of his passing, and because he asked God to erase him from His book if the people were not spared. Citing the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg explains that this absence magnifies Moses: the portion addresses him as "you," which speaks to his essence, and his essence was his willingness to shatter the tablets and erase himself from the Torah to save the Jewish people. Rashi cites a midrash that God thanked him for breaking the tablets. The breastplate bore twelve gems for the twelve tribes. When the jasper stone bearing Benjamin's name disappeared, a replacement was found with Dama ben Nesina, a Roman official in Ashkelon, who would not wake his sleeping father to sell it and afterward refused the higher price he had been offered. Rabbi Greenberg explains that Benjamin, the one brother uninvolved in the sale of Joseph, represents harmony. The gem vanished before the destruction of the Second Temple, a time of senseless hatred, as a sign that our Father in heaven wants His children to get along, and the lesson came through honoring a father. The official's reward, a red heifer, teaches helping others even at one's own expense, a lesson the Rebbe instilled in his followers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/r8Oq2XmC3FY 2496 2024-02-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/purims-hidden-holiness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bxpC_3-utVY/hqdefault.jpg Purim's Hidden Holiness Rabbi Greenberg explains why Purim Katan, the "small Purim" of the first Adar in a leap year, is not a minor day even though it has no mandated rituals. When a day's holiness is beyond anything our actions can capture, God brings it to us Himself, so in a sense a holiday without rituals is higher. He lists the seven mitzvos of Purim and cites the Talmud's question of why Purim is kept in the second Adar: we do not pass over a mitzvah, but we want to bring one redemption close to the next, linking Purim's partial redemption to the complete freedom of Pesach thirty days later. He then asks why Moses' name never appears in parshas Tetzaveh. One answer ties it to the seventh of Adar, the day Moses passed away; another to Moses' plea after the golden calf to be erased from God's book, since a tzaddik's offered sacrifice is kept even when not needed. The Rebbe explains that the omission reveals Moses' essence, his total attachment to the Jewish people, beyond his name. Likewise, God's name is absent from the Book of Esther because His essence was present beyond His name. Finally, Rabbi Greenberg explains the extra "and" before the shoham, Joseph's stone on the High Priest's breastplate, as showing Joseph was always bound to his brothers. The word for breastplate equals Mashiach in gematria, since Mashiach will unite the Jewish people as one while each keeps its own color. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bxpC_3-utVY 2124 2024-02-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/secrets-of-torah-study/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aH5YTOrkkbo/hqdefault.jpg Secrets of Torah Study Rabbi Greenberg explains Ben Bag Bag's teaching in Pirkei Avos: "Turn it over and turn it over, for everything is in it." Commentators read Ben Bag Bag and Ben Hei Hei as coded names for converts or sons of converts, since conversion was punishable by death; the letters of Bag Bag add up to five, the letter hei added to the names of Abraham and Sarah, the first converts. The Zohar says God did not give the Torah until Jethro joined, and a convert who knows other disciplines can attest that none compares to Torah. Unlike other fields, Torah must be reviewed again and again, like a rabbi in Montreal who knew the whole Talmud by heart at 18 yet kept reviewing it. Everything is in it, both everything needed for life and every area of knowledge, because the Torah is the blueprint God consulted in creating the world; the Rebbe showed a skeptical professor sources in the Torah for concepts in chemistry, medicine and philosophy. A Torah scholar's mind grows more settled with age, and each review reveals something new. The Rebbe once taught that thinking "I already know it" when a teaching is repeated is a sign of exile, alluded to in Ezekiel's river Kevar. Reviewing beyond one's norm, the 101st time, is far greater than the hundredth. Rabbi Greenberg also reads "look into it" as "with it you will see": today Torah is grasped through hearing, and in the time of Mashiach it will be seen, to the degree we learn now. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aH5YTOrkkbo 2550 2024-02-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbes-miracle-promise/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k9wAfhKAkC4/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe's Miracle Promise Rabbi Greenberg explains why the daily offerings in Parshas Tetzaveh are called tamid, "constant," though they were brought only morning and afternoon: their influence had to extend through the whole day, as Passover's message of freedom must last all year. The Code of Jewish Law opens with "I place God before me constantly" and its first section ends with "a good heart is always celebrating," two constants that are connected, since awareness of God brings joy. King David's "my sin is always before me" means, as the Alter Rebbe explains in the Tanya, keeping one's failings in the back of the mind to avoid depression. He then tells a story related by the previous Rebbe about the Rebbe Maharash, the fourth Chabad Rebbe. When a hostile manager took over a kind landowner's estate and ruined the local Jews' livelihoods, the Rebbe Maharash sent word to the dying landowner: for every Jewish family he helped, God would give him a healthy month of life. He signed leases over to more than 160 families and recovered. Fourteen years later, feeling weak, he sent a messenger to the Rebbe Maharash's resting place to remind him that more months were still owed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/k9wAfhKAkC4 1143 2024-02-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-self-incrimination/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k7IdMauu8AU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Self-Incrimination Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's rulings that a borrower who denies borrowing, when witnesses testify that he did, is treated as admitting he never repaid, and that a borrower who says he has not repaid must pay even if witnesses say he did, since a litigant's admission is like a hundred witnesses. The Radvaz asks why a confession to a crime is not accepted. The Rambam explains that some people who want to die confess to a capital crime, and the Torah protects life even if such cases are rare. The Radvaz answers that a person's life belongs to God, so he cannot testify to bring death or lashes on himself, while his money is his. The Rebbe explains that the body is held in trust, while God grants real ownership of property, which is why benefiting from property, unlike eating, needs no prior blessing. So too, the Alter Rebbe rules that one cannot permit another to strike him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/k7IdMauu8AU 435 2024-02-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-lasting-happiness-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rZK4wsowRIo/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Lasting Happiness - Part II Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism treats joy not as an option but as a religious, spiritual and moral obligation. Judaism sanctifies life, and life means going out of oneself, so joy, gratitude and life are bound together; the word Jew comes from Yehudah, which means gratitude. Religiously, "serve God with joy" applies to every moment of the day. The Baal Shem Tov taught that the evil inclination's goal is not the sin but the depression that follows, and a Chassidic master said depression is not itself a sin but can lead to every sin. Spiritually, prophecy rests only on one who is joyful, and Jacob received no prophecy during his 22 years of grief over Joseph. Morally, a person's face is public property, and a sour face saddens others. Citing the Maharal, he teaches that the Divine Presence rests on wholeness, which goes with joy. Joy gives energy, strength against temptation, the capacity to love God and others unconditionally, and the power to break through barriers, like a king who may break through a fence. Yehudah, ancestor of King David and Mashiach, offered Jacob a total guarantee for Benjamin, while Reuven held something back. The Rebbe suggested that pure joy may be what is needed to bring Mashiach. He then begins a meditation on sources of joy: being alive, being human, being conscious, the ability to serve God in any situation, illustrated by two Chassidic brothers who danced in a prison where they could not pray, being Jewish, and doing mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rZK4wsowRIo 3283 2024-02-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-two-constants-of-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y95AEVJjNVE/hqdefault.jpg The Two Constants of Life Rabbi Greenberg explains the two things a Jew must have constantly, hinted at by the word tamid, "constant," in the daily Temple offering: awareness of God and a joyous heart. King David's words "my sin is always before me" seem to conflict with constant joy, but the Alter Rebbe explains in the Tanya that one's sins belong in the back of the mind, to prevent arrogance, not to demoralize. Keeping God always in view is the greatest source of joy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/y95AEVJjNVE 151 2024-02-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moses-his-birth-death/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LsJlfT3M4oE/hqdefault.jpg Moses: His Birth & Death Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of the seventh of Adar, the day Moses was born and the day he passed away 120 years later, a sign of a tzaddik who fulfilled his mission perfectly. The Talmud relates that Haman chose Adar as unlucky because Moses died in it, not knowing that Moses was also born then, and his birth, when he radiated light, outweighed his passing. The Rebbe explains why the day is still sad, unlike Lag BaOmer: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai asked that his passing be celebrated, while Moses did not want to die before entering the land. Turning to Parshas Terumah, Rabbi Greenberg asks why the Torah devotes so much space to the Mishkan. As Rashi says of the repeated story of Eliezer, what is beloved is repeated; the Mishkan, given after Yom Kippur and the second tablets, showed that God would again dwell among the Jewish people after the golden calf. The command to "take" a contribution teaches that a giver holds wealth in trust and that a recipient, in taking, validates the giver; charity also elevates everything one keeps. He notes that the 13 materials allude to oneness and love, and that the Ark's half-cubit dimensions show the Torah is infinite in breadth, length and depth. Steps were forbidden at the altar, to avoid condescension toward sinners, but used for the Menorah, whose purpose was to raise souls. Following the Rebbe, he explains why the Rambam drew the Menorah's goblets upside down: its light was meant to flow outward. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LsJlfT3M4oE 2362 2024-02-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-arks-inner-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3eCyOu5zN8I/hqdefault.jpg The Ark's Inner Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Ark in the Mishkan was made of three boxes, a wooden box set inside one gold box with a second gold box inside it, as Rashi describes. A medieval commentator says the middle box was wood because three gold boxes would be too heavy to carry, yet the Talmud says the Ark carried its bearers. Rabbi Greenberg offers two answers: the Ark joined nature and the miraculous, occupying exact dimensions yet taking up no space, so the bearers also felt its weight; and, more fundamentally, the Ark represents the Torah. Gold stands for spiritually refined people, and the Talmud links the word shittim, the acacia wood, to foolishness. An all-gold Ark would mean a Torah too heavy for the ordinary Jew to absorb. The wood teaches that everyone can access the Torah, because every Jew has gold inside, at the core of the soul, and outside, since even the sinners of Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate. He closes with a story of freed hostages whose relatives had taken on mitzvos, and urges each listener to take on one mitzvah in the merit of those in captivity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3eCyOu5zN8I 774 2024-02-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/goodness-to-greatness-share-your-gifts/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WhFbYVZjm9g/hqdefault.jpg Goodness to Greatness: Share Your Gifts Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Ark in the Sanctuary was coated with pure gold both inside and outside, and what that means for sharing one's own hidden gifts. The Talmud learns from this that a person should be the same inside as outside, not a hypocrite, and Rabban Gamliel admitted no student to his academy unless he met that standard. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that in our age the verse can be read the other way: our outside should match our inside, because deep down every Jew is good and holy. As the Final Redemption approaches, he says, hidden things are revealed, including talents and goodness that were suppressed. People who discover such qualities should not hide them out of shyness, since they were revealed in order to bring about the Final Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/WhFbYVZjm9g 226 2024-02-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-teachings-for-today/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MS8bDf78HCc/hqdefault.jpg Torah Teachings For Today Rabbi Greenberg studies the teaching of Yehuda ben Tema in Pirkei Avos, chapter 5: be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer and strong as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven. The name Yehuda denotes gratitude, acknowledgment and submission, which, the Rebbe teaches, is the key to the whole mishnah. Following the Talmud and the Baal Shem Tov, we learn good traits from animals, filtering out the bad. The leopard, weaker than the lion but undeterred, teaches us to attempt more than we think we can and to ignore mockery, such as fear of wearing a yarmulke or displaying a menorah. The eagle teaches rising above shallow surroundings. The deer flees a bad environment, as the Rambam told the Jews forced to profess Islam that they must leave; and it looks back as it runs, teaching that a Jew must stay anchored in tradition and balance spiritual ascent with return to the physical world, as Rabbi Akiva entered the orchard in peace and left in peace. The lion's strength is overcoming one's impulses, such as rising promptly in the morning. The warning that the brazen go to Gehinnom shows that boldness can turn negative; it stays positive only when it comes from submission to God rather than ego. The Rebbe reconciles the Talmud calling Jews the boldest nation with its description of them as modest: the Torah refines that boldness. The closing prayer for the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash may relate to the Talmud's sign that brazenness will abound before Mashiach, which Rabbi Greenberg sees positively in young Jews demanding authentic Judaism. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MS8bDf78HCc 2800 2024-02-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-jewish-debt-collection-laws/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ls5addAopkU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Jewish Debt Collection Laws Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a lender who set a repayment date may not demand payment before it, and that a loan with no set date is due only after 30 days, in any form; but if the lender stipulated that he may collect whenever he wishes, he may collect immediately, since conditions in monetary matters are binding. Some explain the 30 days as a presumption about what the parties intended, but then a stipulation should not need the laws of conditions. The Gemara in Makkos derives the 30 days from the verse about the sabbatical year, "the seventh year, the year of release," teaching that 30 days, which often count as a year in halachah, also bar collection. One view treats this as a hint for a rabbinic enactment, another as Torah law. The Rambam's ruling that a guarantor also has 30 days from when he took on the obligation supports the second view. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ls5addAopkU 463 2024-02-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-lasting-happiness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hx6SsXHvU4Y/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Lasting Happiness Rabbi Greenberg explains, on the first Adar of a leap year, why Adar is the month in which joy increases and what lasting happiness requires. He notes the Rebbe's point that a leap year has sixty days of Adar, recalling the sixty-to-one ratio that nullifies a forbidden mixture, and suggests that Purim holds enhanced features of Pesach, Shavuos and Sukkos. His main answer, based on the Rebbe's teachings, starts with a question: why are children naturally happy while adults need a reason? He gives three reasons. Joy is the natural state of existence, since God, the source of life, has no barriers; a child is not self-absorbed; and a child has not sinned. Adults lose this as intellect covers their natural purity, as self-awareness turns into self-absorption, as with Adam and Eve after the Tree of Knowledge, and as sins cover the soul. The remedy is to keep childlike simplicity alongside mature intellect, to focus on why one is needed rather than what one needs, as the Alter Rebbe told a chassid, and to work through thought, positive speech and good deeds, singing and dancing, and happy company. Amalek has the numerical value of the Hebrew word for doubt, the cynical questioning that breeds self-absorption. Defeating it in Adar brings the joy of resolved doubt, which Rabbi Greenberg illustrates with the day the Rebbe chose him as a student emissary to Melbourne. Joy, like a king, breaks through barriers. Sadness, he adds, is not the opposite of joy; depression is, and Judaism never accepts it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hx6SsXHvU4Y 3401 2024-02-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-delayed-wages/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dM6wecVJtwU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Delayed Wages Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that when a person sends an agent to hire workers, and the agent tells them their wages will be paid by the employer, neither violates the prohibition against delaying a worker's wages, since the employer did not hire them and the agent is not paying them. The Pischei Teshuvah cites a view that this avoids the Torah prohibition but not the rabbinic one based on the verse in Proverbs, "Do not say to your fellow, go and come back." The Alter Rebbe, however, records that great sages hired through an agent so as not to transgress if they were too busy to pay on time, implying no rabbinic violation, since that applies only to deliberate delay. Without an agent, one may stipulate with the worker in advance, and Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Alter Rebbe's wording of that stipulation answers a question on it and avoids a condition contrary to the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dM6wecVJtwU 440 2024-02-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/a-dream-that-changed-his-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6XubVWxbJas/hqdefault.jpg A Dream That Changed His Life Rabbi Greenberg explains why, before the giving of the Torah, God told Moses "these are the words" to say to the people, which Rashi explains as nothing less and nothing more. Moses was to speak softly to the women and firmly to the men, so he might have thought to embellish the message; God told him not to. Rabbi Greenberg relates this to two ways of inspiring people: harsh rebuke and gentle words from the heart. After the massacres of 1648 and 1649 and the false messiah, the Baal Shem Tov rebuked preachers who demoralized broken Jews with threats of punishment, insisting that Jews be spoken to with love. As the Messianic age approaches, the gentle, feminine approach is needed, and words that come from the Godly soul need no embellishment, while rebuke from ego only meets resistance. He closes with a story from Israel: a secular man dreamed that the Rebbe gave him a picture of himself as a blessing. He woke desperate to find such a picture, and that evening a Chabad visitor knocked on his door and offered him one, after which he returned to Jewish observance. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6XubVWxbJas 1023 2024-02-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moses-receives-the-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tIpGPw-3KKI/hqdefault.jpg Moses Receives The Torah Rabbi Greenberg asks why the Torah portion containing the giving of the Torah at Sinai is named after Yisro (Jethro), Moses' father-in-law and a former idolater. The name Yisro is related to the word for "advantage" in King Solomon's verse about the advantage of light over darkness, which Rabbi Greenberg reads as light that comes out of darkness. Yisro tried every idolatrous cult before recognizing the truth, and that added light is what brought the world to Sinai. He explains Yisro's condition that Moses' first son be devoted to idolatry as a wish that the boy reach truth through darkness, as he had, but stresses that children must not be deliberately exposed to darkness; Moses later had a grandson who became an idolatrous priest. Yisro was moved by the splitting of the sea and the war with Amalek: right after the greatest miracle, the people doubted whether God was among them, which taught him that miracles are not enough without a Torah life, community and a teacher. Moses' adjustment of Yisro's court system, sending him the "difficult" rather than the "big" cases, shows that in Jewish law no case of injustice is small. At Sinai the Torah says Israel encamped in the singular, "as one person with one heart." Citing the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg contrasts this with the Egyptians, who were united only by a shared aim, while the Jewish people are inherently one. He adds that denying the revelation at Sinai denies Judaism itself, notes the Rambam's view on standing for the Ten Commandments, and explains why honoring parents is on the tablet of mitzvos between people and God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tIpGPw-3KKI 2314 2024-02-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/exodus-the-joy-of-freedom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8iFAkjxUcx4/hqdefault.jpg Exodus: The Joy of Freedom Continuing a series on preparing for Mashiach, Rabbi Greenberg explains why we must yearn for the Redemption and why that yearning should focus on the goal ahead rather than on escaping exile. Every mitzvah releases spiritual energy that prepares the world, and so, in a different way, does the suffering Jews endured for being Jewish. The obligation to anticipate Mashiach comes from the prophet Habakkuk's "even if he tarries, wait for him," the twelfth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith, the Talmud's question to every soul, "Did you anticipate the salvation?", the Rambam's ruling that one who does not await Mashiach denies the Torah, and the daily Amidah. He tells how the Beis HaLevi agreed to become rabbi of Brisk on hearing that 25,000 Jews were waiting for him at the station. The Jews in Egypt were mostly running away from brutal persecution; the Alter Rebbe asks in the Tanya why they had to flee when Pharaoh was begging them to go, and the answer is that one more day in Egypt would have cost them their Jewishness. Exile is toxic physically and spiritually, but running only from something negative has drawbacks: it can make a person negative, and at the sea it produced four mistaken responses, to surrender, fight, drown themselves, or only pray, because the people were not focused on Sinai and the land of Israel. Today, when Jews are free almost everywhere and Torah knowledge is easily available, God is giving us a foretaste of the future, like tasting Shabbos food beforehand, so that we will long for it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8iFAkjxUcx4 3289 2024-02-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/mystical-secrets-of-good-and-evil-eyes/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gDyCWBzEHjI/hqdefault.jpg Mystical Secrets of Good and Evil Eyes Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah contrasting the disciples of Abraham, who have a good eye, a humble spirit and a modest appetite, with the disciples of the wicked Bilaam, who have the opposite traits. The Mishnah speaks of disciples because two teachers can look alike while their students reveal the difference, as with Moses Mendelssohn, a religious man whose students and children abandoned Judaism. Bilaam's prophecy is compared to Moses', and his words include "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob," yet his evil shows in his followers. A Midrash explains that God gave the nations a prophet to show that prophecy and miracles do not by themselves make a person better. Both Abraham and Bilaam rode a donkey; the Maharal explains that chamor, donkey, also means materialism, which Abraham controlled and which controlled Bilaam. The Mishnah stresses "Abraham our father" because we inherit his spiritual DNA and can acquire his traits. A good eye sees the good in people and events. The Talmud reads metzora, one afflicted with tzaraas, as one who "finds evil" in others, and the Rebbe compared people to ground where digging past the dirt reveals treasure. Seeing the good in others, and in oneself, makes change possible; even Pharaoh, the Rebbe said, kept a spark of good. Bilaam sought to see only part of the people so as to find fault, and he was blind in one eye, lacking the positive eye. His wish for a house full of gold showed a boundless appetite, while Abraham's disciples are content with what they have. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gDyCWBzEHjI 2625 2024-02-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-when-poverty-leads-to-idolatry/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ASFOH9NRINo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I When Poverty Leads to Idolatry Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a Jew who sells himself out of poverty may not sell himself to a non-Jew, yet if he does, even to serve idolatry, the sale is valid. If he only says he will sell himself, there is no obligation to redeem him beforehand, but once sold he must be redeemed so that he does not assimilate. The Rama and the Taz dispute whether one who deserves excommunication is excommunicated if it may drive him further from Judaism: the Rama looks only at the present, while the Taz weighs the consequences, citing the Talmud's source for this ruling. Another authority supports the Rama from the first part of the ruling, since we do not act on a mere threat. Rabbi Greenberg distinguishes the cases: there one merely refrains from preventing his fall, while excommunication actively causes it, which even the Rambam might agree should be avoided. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASFOH9NRINo 402 2024-01-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-life-and-legacy-of-rabbi-yosef-yitzchak-schneersohn-the-previous-rebbe-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Iu_oFoYBraU/hqdefault.jpg The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn - The Previous Rebbe - Part II Rabbi Greenberg summarizes the final Chassidic discourse that the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, released for study shortly before his passing, on the verse from the Song of Songs, I have come into My garden, My sister, My bride. The Rebbe later expounded one of its 20 chapters each year. The Midrash teaches that seven sins, from Adam's onward, drove the Divine Presence up through seven heavens, and seven righteous people, from Avraham to Moshe, brought it back to this world. God's purpose is a dwelling place in the lowest, physical world, and each person must make himself a sanctuary, as the verse says I will dwell within them. Citing the Zohar, the discourse teaches that suppressing the other side, the forces of evil, reveals the divine light that is equal in all worlds; suppression then leads to transforming evil. A korban means drawing close, and the offering must come from you: one's own animal nature, which, once won over, adds power to the godly soul. The Mishkan was built of shittim wood, related to shtus, folly. Sin comes from a folly below reason, which is remedied by a holy folly above it, like the Talmudic sage who danced with myrtle branches at weddings, or a prophet called mad. The boards, keresh, turn sheker, falsehood, into kesher, bond. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the discourse's image of the Jewish people as God's army, which the Rebbe echoed in founding Tzivos Hashem for children. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Iu_oFoYBraU 2665 2024-01-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unbelievable-miracle-rebbe-dollar-saves-lives/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uBlbSG1CCYw/hqdefault.jpg Unbelievable Miracle: Rebbe Dollar Saves Lives! Rabbi Greenberg tells how a dollar from the Rebbe was followed by a father's recovery from a coma, after first drawing a lesson from the splitting of the sea. The Midrash describes four groups at the sea: one wanted to drown themselves, one to return to Egypt, one to fight, and one to pray. God rejected all four and told Moses to tell the people to move forward, because the goal of the Exodus was to reach Sinai and receive the Torah. Nachshon ben Aminadav stepped into the sea, which split when the water reached his nostrils. When obstacles arise, a person should ask what his mission is and keep moving toward it, today toward Mashiach. The story concerns a man from Israel living in Manhattan whose father suffered a stroke and lay in a coma, with doctors offering little hope. Though not religious, he went with a friend to receive a dollar from the Rebbe on a Sunday. The Rebbe blessed him and gave him a second dollar for his father to put in the charity box. Doubtful, he went to the hospital only at his wife's urging, and found that his father had woken up. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uBlbSG1CCYw 998 2024-01-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/birthday-power/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xl_A6ipVQ7w/hqdefault.jpg BIRTHDAY POWER 🎂🥳 Rabbi Greenberg explains why a birthday is a day of special spiritual power, at an informal gathering marking his own birthday. The Jerusalem Talmud relates that Amalek won its battles by sending soldiers into battle on their birthdays, because on that day a person's mazal, his spiritual energy, is strongest: the power with which the soul came into the world is renewed. That power comes on the Jewish birthday. As one great rabbi said, a birthday is the day God says this world cannot go without you. He notes that the Jewish and secular birthdays coincide every 19 years, which the Rebbe linked to the harmony of giving, like the sun, and receiving, like the moon. From the Torah portion he teaches that God led the Jews away from the land of the Philistines, who stand for cynicism and mockery, and that Amalek stands for cooling off, doubt and being drawn into violence, countered by Moses, Aaron and Chur through Torah, prayer and kindness. At the Red Sea God rejected all four proposals and told the people to keep going, as Nachshon did; Rabbi Greenberg tells how Reb Mendel Futerfas walked to the gulag gate before sending his message to the previous Rebbe. Moses carrying Joseph's bones teaches the mission of turning outsiders into insiders. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xl_A6ipVQ7w 1867 2024-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-life-and-legacy-of-rabbi-yosef-yitzchak-schneersohn-the-previous-rebbe/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mrsUqKrI1lY/hqdefault.jpg The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn - The Previous Rebbe Marking the anniversary of his passing on the 10th of Shevat, Rabbi Greenberg surveys the life of the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the only son of the Rebbe Rashab. He describes a Jewish leader as one who feels every Jew's needs as his own. At 11 the Previous Rebbe wrestled a policeman arresting a Jew; at 15 he was his father's secretary and emissary; at 17 he became director of the yeshivah his father founded, whose students his father called soldiers of the House of David. Arrested several times under the Czar, he became Rebbe in 1920 and fought the Communists, especially the Jewish section of the Communist Party, through about 600 underground schools and the building of mikvaos. In 1927 he was arrested, beaten for putting on tefillin, sentenced to death and finally exiled to Kostroma. Released, he refused to travel on Shabbos so the regime could not use it to demoralize Jews, and left Russia with his 30,000-book library and his future son-in-law, the Rebbe. From Riga and Poland he was brought out of Warsaw during the war and reached America in 1940, where he rejected the idea that America is different and built schools across the country, while writing about 100,000 letters and volumes of Chassidic teaching. Rabbi Greenberg also describes the bond between the Previous Rebbe and the Rebbe, the hints that he chose his younger son-in-law as successor, the Rebbe's yearly discourses on the final maamar Basi LeGani, and his teaching that a Jew who has strayed deserves more love. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mrsUqKrI1lY 3295 2024-01-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbes-blessing/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sQKzUgWa2Iw/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe's Blessing Rabbi Greenberg marks the 10th of Shevat, the anniversary of the passing of the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, in 1950, after which his son-in-law became the Rebbe. Connecting it to Parshas Bo, where the Jewish people leave Egypt as "the legions of God," he explains that every Jew is a soldier in God's army, ready for self-sacrifice to overcome both external enemies and inner animal tendencies. The Previous Rebbe's final discourse, released for that day, describes the Jew's mission as revealing God in the world and transforming the world's folly into a holy readiness to go beyond logic, with special powers given for victory. The Rebbe founded Tzivos Hashem for children in this spirit. Rabbi Greenberg tells how his father traveled to the Previous Rebbe near Warsaw in 1939, weeks before the war, and before fleeing heard him say, "Every bullet has an address; you are not the address." On the train out, a German plane attacked until a Polish plane shot it down. He also tells how the young Previous Rebbe, sent by his father, the Rebbe Rashab, slipped into a Czarist minister's office and moved an anti-Jewish decree from the pile awaiting signature, risking his life. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sQKzUgWa2Iw 978 2024-01-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/escaping-egypt-daily/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OccWkFK2eds/hqdefault.jpg Escaping Egypt Daily Rabbi Greenberg explains, from Parshas Bo, why the Exodus is relived every day. He opens with the Zohar's note that God tells Moses "Come to Pharaoh" because Moses was afraid, and offers a down-to-earth reason: Pharaoh's stubbornness in evil embarrassed Moses, who asked whether he was as committed to good. In the same way, a Chassidic master taught seven lessons one can learn from a thief. On a deeper level, Pharaoh stands for the full revelation of Godly light, and Bo and Pharaoh together equal 358, the value of Mashiach. He reads the last three plagues as three ways evil distorts vision, and asks why darkness, which killed no one, came ninth. Rashi gives two reasons: during the darkness the Israelites saw where the Egyptians kept their wealth, a sign of the spiritual treasures gathered in exile, and the Jews who refused to leave Egypt died then. The Rebbe asks why idol worshippers left while these Jews perished, and explains that before leaving Egypt the Jews had not yet become God's children; one who rejected that bond could not be saved by it. After Sinai, however, a Jew can never sever the bond, which is why the wicked son is told "if you had been there." Finally, Mitzrayim means straits or confinement. One can live in Egypt, like the Rambam, and be free, or live in Jerusalem and be confined. Every mitzvah frees a person from those straits, and, as the Maharal writes, after the Exodus a Jew can never truly be a slave. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OccWkFK2eds 1401 2024-01-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-i-land-sales-gone-wrong/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-vcxzz2AhpE/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Land Sales Gone Wrong Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who sells "land and date palms" may supply two palms from elsewhere if there are none on the land, and the buyer cannot back out. The Sma infers that if the seller provides no palms at all, the buyer may cancel the whole sale, while a dissenting view holds that each part of the sale stands on its own. The Taz applies the dispute to a man who sold two seats in a shul but owned only one: according to the Rambam the whole sale is void, while according to the other view he is paid for the one seat. Other authorities distinguish the cases in opposite ways. The Mishpat Shalom suggests that the Rambam voids the sale only for connected items, such as land and the palms growing on it. Another authority holds that two identical items, like two seats, form one sale, while land and palms are separate. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-vcxzz2AhpE 316 2024-01-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torahs-hidden-wisdom/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6ZXw0YuGfLI/hqdefault.jpg Torah's Hidden Wisdom Rabbi Greenberg draws lessons from the Torah portion of Va'eira, beginning with its link to the Alter Rebbe's yahrzeit on the 24th of Teves. The name Va'eira contains the word for light plus an alef, hinting at revealed and hidden light; the Alter Rebbe, named Schneur, "two lights," at the Baal Shem Tov's behest, illuminated the world through his code of Jewish law and through the Tanya. The portion's four expressions of redemption, the basis for the four cups of wine at the Seder, reflect four stages: the end of torturous labor, the end of slavery, leaving the Egyptian prison, and spiritual freedom when God took the Jews as His nation at Sinai. The Rebbe's father linked them to Rosh Hashanah, Pesach, Sukkos and Shavuos, and saw in the fifth expression a hint to Tisha B'Av, which will become a day of celebration. Following the Rambam, Rabbi Greenberg explains that faith built on miracles can waver, while the firsthand revelation at Sinai cannot. Citing the Zohar, he describes Moses as the escort of the King, bringing God to the people, and Aaron as the escort of the bride, bringing the people to God. The ten plagues broke the concealment of the world created with ten utterances, preparing it for the Ten Commandments. Blood and frogs discredited the Nile intellectually and emotionally; lice, too small for the magicians to copy, show that in God's world small things matter; and the wild animals showed God's special relationship with the Jewish people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ZXw0YuGfLI 2374 2024-01-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-winning-every-argument/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RtzIliycXAE/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Winning Every Argument Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah teaching that a dispute for the sake of heaven, like that of Hillel and Shammai, will endure, while one not for the sake of heaven, like that of Korach and his congregation, will not. A dispute for the sake of heaven is a search for what God wants, so its participants can admit they were wrong. He relates that the Rebbe, after a debate with Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik over a statement of the Rambam, found the passage but wrote that Rabbi Soloveitchik was right, since the Rambam had removed it in his revised edition. "Endure" can mean that those who argue for truth survive while ego-driven disputants like Korach lose everything, or that both views endure. The law follows the school of Hillel, yet "these and these are the words of the living God": Hillel saw from the side of kindness and Shammai from the side of judgment, as God used the same reason, human evil, both to bring the flood and to promise never to repeat it. On Chanukah, Hillel adds light each night while Shammai focuses on removing darkness, like Joseph's sons: Menasheh, getting past pain, comes first, but Ephraim, growth, is greater. Rashi reads shamayim, heaven, as fire and water, so a dispute for the sake of heaven combines judgment and kindness. Korach's followers lacked balance; some were burned and some swallowed by the earth. The Mishnah says "Korach and his congregation" because Moses did not fight, and their unity, like the Egyptians' at the sea, was a shared hostility, unlike Israel's at Sinai, "like one person with one heart." https://www.youtube.com/embed/RtzIliycXAE 2546 2024-01-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-life-and-legacy-of-maimonides/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hEWe5LFa_Z0/hqdefault.jpg The Life and Legacy of Maimonides Rabbi Greenberg surveys the life and legacy of Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, the Rambam, whose tombstone read "From Moses to Moses there arose none like Moses." Born in 1135 on the eve of Pesach, he lost his mother at birth. When the Almohads demanded that Jews profess Islam, his family wandered for years before reaching Fez and later Egypt. His letter defending Jews who had outwardly converted, while urging them to leave, made him a leader of the Jewish people. He began his Commentary on the Mishnah, which includes his 13 principles of faith, at 24. After his father's death, his brother David, who supported him, drowned at sea, leaving the Rambam bedridden in grief for a year and forced to work as a physician, eventually serving Saladin. He opposed the Karaites' ideology while treating them kindly as individuals, a lesson the Rebbe also taught. His Letter to Yemen comforted a persecuted community and dismissed a false messiah. Rabbi Greenberg describes the Book of Commandments, the Mishneh Torah, which covers all of Jewish law, including laws not practiced today, without citing sources, drawing the criticism of the Raavad, and the Guide for the Perplexed, which explains anthropomorphic language as metaphor, defends creation and gives reasons for mitzvos. He died 83 days before his 70th birthday; the Rebbe noted that the Mishneh Torah's 83 sections complete his 70 years. One explanation for his burial in Tiberias is that he wrote the Sanhedrin will first be restored there. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hEWe5LFa_Z0 4460 2024-01-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/love-that-never-ends/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NnYepUgBc5o/hqdefault.jpg Love That Never Ends Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos that teaches what true love is: love that depends on something ends when that thing ends, while love that depends on nothing never ends. The Hebrew word for love, ahavah, has the same numerical value as echad, "one," because love means becoming one with another. The Mishnah's example of dependent love is Amnon's love for Tamar, a selfish passion that turned into hatred. Its example of love that depends on nothing is David and Jonathan, whose bond was so pure that Jonathan was willing to give up the throne. Rabbi Greenberg tells of a Chassid in wartime famine who gave a starving guest the cream of his only cup of milk, and of a Jewish member of the Latvian parliament who, freezing outside a door, kept knocking so the homeowner would not feel guilty for his death. Love may begin with reasons and grow into something essential. In Jewish marriage, a couple who like each other and share the same values come to love each other as two halves of one soul, as the Zohar teaches, just as Isaac married Rebecca and then loved her. The Rebbe gave away his share in the World to Come to ensure a prompt burial. Love of God also starts with gratitude for what He gives and deepens into a sense of oneness. Likewise, doing a mitzvah for an ulterior motive defeats the evil inclination and leads to doing it for the right reason. True friendship, he adds, survives deep disagreement, as when the Rebbe warmly embraced a writer who attacked religion. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NnYepUgBc5o 2839 2024-01-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/rambam-in-depth-i-injure-and-atone-the-torah-way/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wXXHYf01CCk/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Injure and Atone the Torah Way Rabbi Greenberg looks at the basis of the five payments for injuring another: for damage, pain, medical costs, lost work and embarrassment. Rashi treats them as compensation for a loss, like damage to property, but the Rambam explains "as he did, so shall be done to him" to mean that the injurer deserves the same injury and pays a ransom in its place, as the Torah forbids ransom only for a murderer's life. One explanation notes that pain and embarrassment involve no monetary loss, so payment for injury is a Torah decree, not compensation. Another explanation draws on the Rambam's ruling that a murder victim's relatives cannot forgive the killer, because the life belongs to God, and the Alter Rebbe's ruling that one may not injure someone even at his request, since a person does not own his body. So the injurer pays not for the victim's loss but to ransom himself from the injury he deserves. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wXXHYf01CCk 412 2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/lost-wife-found-down-under/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NafBxzag8FY/hqdefault.jpg Lost Wife Found Down Under Rabbi Greenberg draws two lessons from the parsha about times when a person must be "deaf" and "blind." When Esav blocked Jacob's burial in the Cave of Machpelah, Jacob's deaf grandson Kushim, son of Dan, could not hear the arguments and acted. Judaism generally requires hearing both sides, but when someone denies your very right to exist there is nothing to debate: no nation has a guaranteed hold on its land except the Jewish people, for whom the Land of Israel was made like a tailor-made garment. Joseph, who did not return the gaze of those who looked at him, was rewarded with immunity from the evil eye; one must likewise be blind to society's skewed values, seeing through the lens of Torah. He then tells of a Chassidic woman from Boro Park who fled her marriage to Australia. A rabbi from Sydney asked the Rebbe for help and was told only to fly to Brisbane. On that flight he sat beside a businesswoman who described a Jewish employee in one of her stores who had left her family. He found her, helped arrange her get (religious divorce), and she later returned to observance, remarried and raised six children. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NafBxzag8FY 1105 2023-12-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/the-secret-to-living-as-a-jew/the-secret-to-living-as-a-jew-part-vi-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fob91kSnD5c/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Living as a Jew - Part VI Rabbi Greenberg explains the laws of kosher food and the reasons behind them. He cites his grandfather's explanation of a Mishnah pairing the ritual slaughterer with Amalek: keeping kosher and anti-Semitism have each, in very different ways, kept Jews from assimilating. Keeping kosher is not all or nothing; every additional kosher meal is an accomplishment and not hypocrisy. The reason is God's commandment, not health: the Talmud's account of Yalta, who asked which kosher foods taste like forbidden ones, shows nothing is inherently wrong with the taste. Kosher is tied to holiness and discipline, and the Rebbe's father read the Hebrew letters of kosher as "like one who finds a great treasure," since eating kosher food with the right intention releases sparks of holiness, while resisting non-kosher food releases its sparks. He then reviews the main laws. Kosher mammals chew their cud and have split hooves, which he reads as rethinking one's engagement with the material world; fish need fins and scales, movement forward with protection. Only birds with a tradition are eaten. Animals must be slaughtered with a flawless knife, checked for injuries such as punctured lungs, salted to remove blood, and cleared of forbidden fat and the sciatic nerve. He explains glatt kosher, roasting liver, checking produce for insects, rules for produce from Israel, kosher wine, new grain, and koshering pots. Milk and meat may not be eaten, cooked or used together, and he gives three reasons: Rabbeinu Bachya's teaching that there are limits to manipulating nature, distancing from cruelty, and, according to the Rambam, distancing from idolatry. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fob91kSnD5c 4012 2023-12-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-blessings-for-modern-success/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8VC-zdW2yQI/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Blessings for Modern Success Rabbi Greenberg explains, from the Torah portion that closes Genesis, how strength is gained step by step and how a blessing draws out a person's potential. Jacob strengthens himself to sit up, the congregation stands to declare "chazak" on finishing the book, and King David tells Solomon to be strong and walk in God's ways. Growth moves step by step, from lying to sitting, standing and walking, like the Chanukah lights. The portion of Jacob's passing is called "and Jacob lived" because, as the Talmud says, Jacob our father did not die: he embodies the eternal Jewish people, and as the attribute of truth, perfect consistency, his soul and body never truly separated. Jacob's best years were those spent with Joseph, who alone could bring the patriarchs' ideals into running a country, so Jacob's continuity depended on him. A blessing does not create what is not there; it draws potential stored above into reality. Jacob gave Ephraim the greater blessing because he had greater potential. Menashe, named for forgetting hardship, stands for turning from evil, which comes first; Ephraim, named for fruitfulness, stands for doing good, which is greater. Reuben, Shimon and Levi needed their already active drive redirected, not blessed. After Jacob's burial Joseph stopped dining with his brothers, and they feared revenge. Among Rabbi Greenberg's explanations: Joseph did not want the twelve tribes to give up their own paths by sitting under his direction, since the Jewish people is complete only when each contributes in its own way. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8VC-zdW2yQI 2222 2023-12-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/broken-trust-resurfaces/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l0G9zwaXmlA/hqdefault.jpg Broken Trust Resurfaces Rabbi Greenberg explains why, after Jacob's burial, Joseph's brothers suddenly feared he would take revenge, even though they had lived in harmony for 17 years. Following Rashi, while Jacob was alive the brothers dined at Joseph's table, but afterward Joseph stopped inviting them. The Midrash explains that Jacob had insisted Joseph, as viceroy, sit at the head of the table, which made him uncomfortable before his brothers, so once Jacob was gone he avoided the dilemma. Rabbi Greenberg adds that the famine, which Rashi says ceased when Jacob arrived, returned at his passing, leaving Joseph, a communal leader, no time for social dining. He then offers a deeper explanation. The nation that would receive the Torah needed two paradoxical things: unity, as one people with shared ancestors and purpose, and diversity, as twelve tribes with different approaches. Seventeen years at Jacob's table instilled the unity; now each tribe had to develop its own individuality rather than be molded in Joseph's image. Rabbi Greenberg applies this to today: Jews can stand together as one while keeping differences that complement one another rather than create friction. https://www.youtube.com/embed/l0G9zwaXmlA 701 2023-12-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-4-types-of-students/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/znXU6__zLdA/hqdefault.jpg The 4 Types of Students Rabbi Greenberg explains the Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers describing four types among those who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sieve. Read as describing students, the sponge absorbs everything but cannot tell good from bad, and a phenomenal memory can come with shallow understanding or intellectual laziness. The funnel forgets everything, and the message is not to give up. The strainer keeps only the dregs and must learn to reverse that. The sieve, which keeps the choice flour, is the ideal, yet even such a student must keep learning, as the Rogatchover Gaon, who knew the whole Talmud by heart, never wasted a second. A second reading applies the Mishnah to teachers. A sponge-like teacher keeps knowledge to himself or overwhelms students by pouring it all out; the funnel narrows the material to the student's level; the strainer gives students the wine and keeps back the sediment, making sure a joke told to wake them does not become all they remember. The worst is the sieve that keeps the best for itself, and Rabbi Greenberg links watered-down Jewish education to young Jews who found no meaning in Judaism. He cites Rabbi Meir, who kept learning from Elisha ben Avuyah and took only the good, and explains the teaching that Abraham learned Torah from his kidneys: he could learn from nature because, like kidneys, he could filter. Lacking that ability, we rely on the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/znXU6__zLdA 2361 2023-12-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-i-torah-prohibits-fraud-of-any-size/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZWA35UM4nrg/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Torah Prohibits Fraud of Any Size Rabbi Greenberg discusses whether the Torah's prohibition of false weights and measures applies when the customer is shortchanged by less than a perutah, the smallest coin. Some authorities require a perutah, as with theft, but the Rambam forbids even the slightest amount, ruling that weights may not be dipped in salt, since the Torah warns even about the mesurah, a very small measure. A question is raised from the Talmud, which explains that this prohibition, beyond ordinary theft, forbids making and keeping false measures, rather than saying that it forbids less than a perutah. Drawing on an explanation of the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg explains that measuring is an act of fairness toward the customer, so a false measure combines honesty and deception in one act; the Toras Kohanim calls one who measures a judge. The prohibition targets that deception, not the loss, which is why merely making the measure is forbidden and the amount makes no difference. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZWA35UM4nrg 517 2023-12-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-living-as-a-jew-part-vi/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-_IsRpGa84M/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Living as a Jew - Part VI Rabbi Greenberg explains the restrictions of Shabbos, the "guard" side of the day as distinct from its positive mitzvos, and the 39 categories of forbidden work. He gives several reasons for the restrictions: six days a week God makes us partners in creation, and on Shabbos we stop "playing God" and acknowledge Him as the sole Creator; Shabbos is God's day, when we are invited into the King's palace, where one does not do one's weekday tasks; and on a deeper level, God creates the world on Shabbos through thought rather than speech, leaving no room for independent activity. Because the Torah places the prohibition of work beside the building of the Mishkan, the oral tradition defines work as the 39 categories of activity used in its construction. Most are physical, creative acts that change the status of something, so speaking, thinking or earning a living as a rabbi is not forbidden, while moving heavy furniture, though not one of the 39, is against the spirit of rest. He goes through the categories of field work, making materials and curtains, writing, building, kindling and extinguishing fire, and carrying, explaining how an eruv permits carrying. The rabbis added protective fences, such as not asking a non-Jew to do work, muktzeh, and not playing instruments lest one repair them. He encourages people to take on Shabbos observance gradually, describing it as liberating and restorative. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_IsRpGa84M 3702 2023-12-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-rabbis-miracle-translation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nnHUnUZUYwM/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Rabbis' Miracle Translation Rabbi Greenberg opens with the 8th of Teves, the day King Ptolemy of Egypt placed 72 sages in separate rooms and ordered them to translate the Torah into Greek. Miraculously, all produced the same translation, including the same 13 deliberate changes, such as reordering the first verse so it could not be read as one god creating other gods. Yet the Talmud compares that day to the day of the golden calf, because translating the Torah to accommodate a pagan opened the door to Greek influence that later led to the Hellenists of the Chanukah story. The main text is Pirkei Avos 5:14, on four types among those who frequent the study hall. One who attends but does not practice is rewarded for attending, whether he only absorbs the atmosphere, is not yet ready to practice everything, or does not bring others. Rabbi Greenberg explains that a study hall is holier than a synagogue, since prayer asks for our temporary needs while Torah is God's eternal wisdom, and he notes Rabbi Yehoshua, brought to the study hall as an infant, and the simple man who said his soul hears everything. One who practices but does not attend is rewarded for practice, though showing up strengthens the community, as an older scholar showed by joining the young Rabbi Yisrael Lau's first Talmud class. One who does both is pious, seeking no reward. One who does neither is called wicked, which may describe someone who attends and practices without heart, and is therefore off the mark. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nnHUnUZUYwM 2235 2023-12-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/brothers-reunite-after-years-apart/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sl5x8jfJkpQ/hqdefault.jpg Brothers Reunite After Years Apart Rabbi Greenberg walks through Parshas Vayigash, from Judah's plea for Benjamin to Jacob's family settling in Goshen. Judah steps forward because he guaranteed Benjamin's return, and Jacob accepted his guarantee, unlike Reuben's, because Judah was ready to forfeit this world and the next. That total commitment, Rabbi Greenberg explains, is why Judah is the ancestor of King David and Mashiach. Citing the Rebbe, he notes that although Judah depends on Joseph, he approaches him directly and firmly, a model of Jewish pride and courage even in exile. When Joseph reveals himself, "no one" remained, not even angels, a sign of the Redemption, when people will reconcile without intermediaries. The Chofetz Chaim taught that just as Joseph's two words, "I am Joseph," answered all his brothers' questions, God's words "I am God" will answer all of ours. Joseph's "do not be sad" teaches that teshuvah, return to God, involves regret but never depression. Joseph and Benjamin wept for each other's destroyed Temples; the Rebbe explains that one cries over another's loss, while one's own calls for action. Jacob sent Judah ahead to establish a house of Torah study, since Joseph was occupied with governing Egypt and had learned from Jacob only until age seventeen. Rabbi Greenberg closes with two hints: the letters of Goshen, the same as those on the dreidel, equal the numerical value of Mashiach, and the seventy souls of Jacob's family correspond to, and refine, the seventy nations. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sl5x8jfJkpQ 1884 2023-12-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/me-explore-your-inner-world-part-vi/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UUtxUB3zusI/hqdefault.jpg ME: Explore Your Inner World - Part VI This class in the ME: Explore Your Inner World series continues the question "Who am I?" Each person has two selves: the me of existence, which always asks what else it needs, and the me of life, which asks what is needed and why it is here. Following the Tanya, the animal soul is based in the heart and works up to the mind, while the Godly soul is based in the mind and works down into the emotions, so tracing where an impulse began helps show its source. The two souls fight over the body like two kings over a small city, and the Godly soul's plan moves from chochmah, binah and daas, conception, comprehension and connection, into feeling and action. The first strategy is meditation, based on the principle that the mind naturally rules the heart. Modern media leave little real thinking, while prayer was meant as meditation, illustrated by the Maggid of Mezritch's answer to a colleague who asked why he prayed so long, and the Alter Rebbe's comparison of prayer to a preservative that takes time to mix into wheat. The class closes with a meditation on the Shema: listen, soul; God is our God in a relationship, not merely a provider; and the letters of echad show God's oneness filling all realms and directions. The soul descends to reveal that oneness here, and every mitzvah changes what the physical world expresses. A second strategy, acting even without feeling, is introduced for a later class. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UUtxUB3zusI 4513 2023-12-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/chanukah-menorah-left-or-right/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-K8c6BOixt0/hqdefault.jpg Chanukah Menorah - Left or Right? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Chanukah menorah is placed on the left side of the doorway, opposite the mezuzah on the right. The Gemara records a dispute: one opinion places it next to the mezuzah, since the right takes precedence, but the final opinion places it on the left. In Kabbalah the right represents kindness and light and the left represents impurity, and the menorah's purpose is to bring light into the darkness and out to the street, much as tefillin are bound on the weaker left arm to control and elevate it. He also presents a Chassidic explanation that the menorah is really on the right as one leaves the home: the mezuzah keeps negative influences out, while the menorah carries the home's light outward. The Midrash relates that Hellenist Jews removed their mezuzahs and the Greeks removed the doors of Jewish homes. Since outside influences have already entered our homes, lighting inside the home means reaching the uncontaminated inner core, like the sealed cruse of oil, and spreading its light outward. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-K8c6BOixt0 554 2023-12-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/forbidden-circumcisions-of-soviet-russia/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H9S7nOYTQtQ/hqdefault.jpg Forbidden Circumcisions of Soviet Russia Rabbi Greenberg presents eight points about Chanukah. It is not a minor holiday: Nachmanides explains that Aaron's lighting of the Menorah outlasts the offerings because it continues in the Chanukah lights, and the Midrash says Chanukah will remain prominent in the Messianic age because its light reflects the hidden light of the first day of creation, which showed reality as it truly is. The name Chanukah means dedication and also "they rested on the 25th," so the holiday marks the day after the battle, and its focus is the miracle of the oil, seen by few, rather than the military victory. The Midrash reads the darkness of Genesis as the Greek exile, showing how dark an intellectual culture can be. The menorah is placed on the left of the doorway, opposite the mezuzah: the mezuzah keeps negative forces out of the home, while the menorah illuminates the street. The Jews would not use the contaminated oil, though the law allowed it, because love of God seeks no compromise. The Syrian Greeks banned circumcision, Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, which express Jewish distinctiveness, commitment beyond reason and the power to shape time. He surveys answers to the question, asked by Rabbi Yosef Caro among others, of why Chanukah lasts eight days when the oil sufficed for one, among them that a pure, uncontaminated core remains in every Jew. Hillel's ascending order adds light, while Shammai's descending order fights evil; a great Kabbalist taught that Shammai's approach will apply in the Messianic age. At the end, he recalls a mohel in the Soviet Union who was taken blindfolded to circumcise the sons of Jewish officials. https://www.youtube.com/embed/H9S7nOYTQtQ 2970 2023-12-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-i-kneading-trough-tumah-whos-right-rambam-or-rashi/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SEoVpHvN1Og/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Kneading Trough Tumah - Who's Right, Rambam or Rashi? Rabbi Greenberg explains a difference between the Rambam and Rashi about dough stuck in the cracks of a kneading trough that is touched by a sheretz, a creature whose dead body transmits impurity. The Rambam rules that on Pesach, when the dough is chametz, its prohibition gives it significance, so it separates the sheretz from the trough and the trough stays pure. During the rest of the year it depends on the owner: if he minds the dough being there the trough stays pure, and if he wants it to stay, the trough becomes impure. Rashi, explaining the Gemara in Pesachim, adds that on Pesach this applies only to a kezayis, an olive's volume, of dough in one place, and the Tzlach asks why the Rambam leaves that condition out here although he includes it in the laws of removing chametz. Based on the Keser HaMelech, Rabbi Greenberg answers from the question of whether less than a kezayis of chametz falls under the prohibition of owning chametz on Pesach. The Chacham Tzvi holds that it does not, but the Rambam appears to hold that it does, so even a small amount must be nullified, and it therefore has significance for impurity. Rashi holds that less than a kezayis carries no prohibition at all, so for him the size of the dough decides. https://www.youtube.com/embed/SEoVpHvN1Og 378 2023-12-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unveiling-chanukahs-hidden-majesty/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rOfVbQESRH8/hqdefault.jpg Unveiling Chanukah's Hidden Majesty! Rabbi Greenberg explains why the laws of Chanukah are not found in the Mishnah, and why this shows that Chanukah is not a minor holiday. The simple answer is that some of its laws were already written in Megillas Taanis, an earlier book of minor holidays. He then turns to an explanation attributed to the Chasam Sofer: Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, a descendant of King David, left Chanukah out because the Chashmonaim took the monarchy, which belongs to the House of David, for themselves. Many commentators find it hard to accept that a holiday would be punished. Rabbi Greenberg reads it differently: the Mishnah was written down because of the forgetfulness that came with exile, and had the Chashmonaim appointed a king from the House of David, the exile would not have followed and no written Mishnah would have been needed. Chanukah, eight continuous days, transcends nature and structure, so it does not need to be in the Mishnah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rOfVbQESRH8 947 2023-12-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-truth-of-chanukah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GnzM8erlMnc/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Truth of Chanukah Rabbi Greenberg teaches the history, laws and customs of Chanukah through a multiple-choice quiz, the second in a series. He explains that the name Chanukah combines "chanu," they encamped, with "kah," the number 25, because Judaism celebrates the rest after a war rather than the fighting. He discusses why the holiday lasts eight days when the oil had enough for one night, why the Greeks first banned circumcision, Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, the new month through which the court set the calendar, and how the Hellenists, Jews who adopted Greek culture, made the war a civil war as well. He gives reasons the laws of Chanukah were left out of the Mishnah, explains why women refrain from household chores while the candles burn, and presents a Chassidic explanation linking the dreidel's four letters to four empires that oppressed the Jewish people. He connects the 36 lights of Chanukah to the 36 hours that Adam saw the hidden light of the first day of creation. The class closes with practical laws: where the menorah was originally placed and why it moved indoors, how long the candles must burn, the Al HaNissim prayer, and the ban on fasting and eulogies. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GnzM8erlMnc 3129 2023-12-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-missing-moshiach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6vQ-CZYJIkA/hqdefault.jpg The Missing Moshiach Rabbi Greenberg asks why Jews are so preoccupied with the famous Chanukah question: why eight nights, when the oil found was enough for the first night and the miracle lasted only seven? He reviews traditional answers, then argues that the obsession reflects a deeper question everyone asks, consciously or not: why are we still in exile? The Chanukah victory brought a rededicated Beis HaMikdash and independence from foreign rule, close to what the Rambam describes as the Messianic age, but no descendant of King David was appointed king. Without Mashiach the achievement degenerated, leading eventually to the Second Temple's destruction and a 2,000-year exile. He explains that seven is the cycle of nature, a system with flaws, while eight transcends the system and repairs what is broken. Healing is the eighth blessing of the Amidah, linked to circumcision on the eighth day, and Mashiach's harp will have eight strings rather than King David's seven. Chanukah holds the tension between seven and eight, and the question expresses a desire for Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6vQ-CZYJIkA 390 2023-12-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/test-your-knowledge-ultimate-chanukah-quiz/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p3WtZWLvX98/hqdefault.jpg Test your knowledge: Ultimate Chanukah Quiz! Rabbi Greenberg leads a Chanukah quiz, asking his class to connect each number from one to thirteen to the holiday and then giving his own answers. Among them: the one jug of pure oil and the one God the Jews fought for; the two and three blessings; the three levels of lighting described by the Talmud; the four sides of the dreidel, which represent four exiles and whose letters equal the numerical value of Moshiach; the five Maccabee brothers; the seven-branched menorah of the Temple; eight, the number that transcends nature, connected to the Greeks' opposition to circumcision; and thirteen, the breaches the Greeks made in a fence in the Temple. A second round links larger numbers to Chanukah, such as 25, for the 25th of Kislev and the 25th word of the Torah, "or," light, and 36, the total number of candles and the hours the hidden light of creation shone. A multiple-choice round covers the meaning of the word Chanukah, lighting at night, the shamash, latkes, dairy foods, the dreidel and Chanukah gelt. Along the way he tells a story about Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg and the synagogue attendant to teach the humility of the shamash, and notes that the 10th of Kislev marks the Middle Rebbe's release from prison. https://www.youtube.com/embed/p3WtZWLvX98 2987 2023-12-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-i-forbidden-food-failures/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RWKXD51HMvM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth I Forbidden Food Failures Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling in the laws of the impurity of foods that every Jew must keep himself ritually pure on each festival, so that he can enter the Beis HaMikdash and eat of the sacrifices. As the Mishneh LaMelech and others explain the Rambam, this is a Torah prohibition, yet one who becomes impure on a festival does not receive lashes. During the rest of the year there is no such prohibition, apart from the separate law that a kohen may not become impure from the dead. Rabbi Greenberg uses the Shaagas Aryeh to answer a question on the Gemara in Bava Metzia about returning a lost object. The Gemara's example of when one need not return it is a kohen whose lost object lies in a cemetery, and one asks why it did not use a person who would become impure on a festival. The Shaagas Aryeh explains that there are no lashes because this prohibition exists only to make sure one can bring the festival offerings, a positive commandment, so it is part of that positive commandment, and one positive commandment does not override another. Rabbi Greenberg also brings a dispute about whether the obligation applies without the Beis HaMikdash: the Tzlach holds that it does, while the Shaagas Aryeh limits it to the time of the Beis HaMikdash. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RWKXD51HMvM 432 2023-12-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/me-explore-your-inner-world-part-iv/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hLfcGM5zVsY/hqdefault.jpg ME: Explore Your Inner World - Part IV In Part IV of ME: Explore Your Inner World, the teacher reviews the soul's messages to the conscious mind and asks why the physical self dominates if the soul is our true self. Seeking truth over fact means seeing the world as God's handiwork and judging people by their essence rather than isolated deeds; Hillel phrased his rule in the negative because what we most resent is being defined by our flaws. The Previous Rebbe told his KGB interrogators that a gun frightens only someone with many gods and one world, not one with one God and two worlds. Seeking life over existence means asking what one contributes rather than how much space one occupies; the third Chabad Rebbe told a man who felt stepped on that he had spread himself across the whole synagogue. Reb Zusha, living in poverty, said he had never suffered. Living as one who is needed, not needy, brings joy; Isaiah links joy with humility because a humble person sees everything as a gift. The same soul-based attitude appears in Judaism's system of obligations rather than competing rights. A parable of a man who returns home with a ship of rotten onions, the currency of the island where he was stranded, shows how worldly values lose their worth after a lifetime. The physical self dominates so that life is a challenge, and, according to Kabbalah, because the animal soul comes from a higher source and carries more energy. The soul's task is not to escape but to refine the animal soul, turning the prison into a mansion. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hLfcGM5zVsY 3894 2023-12-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-living-as-a-jew-part-iv/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xu9-Ic0NlmM/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Living as a Jew - Part IV Rabbi Greenberg teaches about the Jewish home and its central symbol, the mezuzah. Opening on the anniversary of the Alter Rebbe's release from czarist prison, he argues that the home, not the synagogue, is the most important Jewish institution, and lists what a Jewish home should contain, from a charity box and Jewish books to Shabbos candlesticks, a Kiddush cup, a washing cup and a menorah. The mezuzah holds the two Torah paragraphs that begin with Shema, proclaiming God's oneness, and makes the home a sanctuary for Him. It is considered a protection, like a helmet: after the terror attack in Ma'alot, where the number of invalid mezuzos matched the number of children killed, the Rebbe explained that the harm came from the murderer, not from a missing mezuzah, yet a mezuzah protects. Rabbi Greenberg also describes it as a source of unity in the home and tells of a rabbi's daughter whose eye healed after the Rebbe told him to check the mezuzah. The practical laws follow. The scroll must be handwritten on parchment by a trained adult scribe; the case is secondary, and a very cheap mezuzah may not be kosher. Every doorway with two doorposts and a lintel needs one, except bathrooms and small closets. An owner affixes it on taking title; a renter outside Israel waits 30 days, though in Israel it goes up at once. It is placed on the right side entering, on a slant, in the upper third of the doorpost. Mezuzos should be checked at least twice in seven years, and should not be removed when selling to someone who will respect them. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xu9-Ic0NlmM 3045 2023-12-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-oil-fuels-destiny/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t2UGy6AgWVg/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Oil Fuels Destiny Rabbi Greenberg teaches Parshas Vayishlach, opening with a Thanksgiving-day reflection on gratitude in Judaism: the festivals of thanksgiving, the blessings said over food and each morning, and the point that true gratitude is always directed to someone, to God or to the person who helped, rather than being a feeling about one's own good fortune. He also notes the coming Yud-Tes Kislev, the anniversary of the Alter Rebbe's liberation. Turning to the parsha, he explains, as the Rebbe does, that Jacob sent angels to Esau because he could not put human messengers in danger. Citing the Maggid of Mezritch, he says Jacob sent the angels' "body" but not their soul, a lesson that when we engage the outside world we send our mind while our soul stays faithful to our inner identity. Jacob prepared for Esau in three ways, readiness to fight, a gift, and prayer, which a chassidic master links to loving God with all one's heart, soul and might. Jacob's words "I have become diminished" show the humility of one who sees God in his blessings. Rashi says Jacob was left alone because he went back for small jugs, and a midrashic reading connects this to the one sealed jug of oil found at Chanukah, which represents the pure essence of the soul. Rabbi Greenberg then explains the names Jacob and Israel as two states of Jewish existence, and closes with Rashi's statement that Esau's hatred of Jacob is a "law": antisemitism is irrational and is overcome not by argument but by going beyond reason. https://www.youtube.com/embed/t2UGy6AgWVg 1471 2023-11-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/giving-charity-transforms-existence/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bxd9W10WYnw/hqdefault.jpg Giving Charity Transforms Existence Rabbi Greenberg explains the teaching in Pirkei Avos on four types of charity givers, which the Rebbe understood as describing people who give but differ in their attitude toward giving. The Alshich says even the one labeled wicked has kindness deep down, since kindness is a mark of a Jew. The Alter Rebbe showed this with a miser whose rusty coin he accepted with warm thanks, until the man gave the entire sum needed to free a family held in a dungeon. There is therefore no wrong reason to give charity: the poor person is helped either way, and giving for the wrong reason leads to giving for the right one. One who gives but does not want others to give is driven by ego, wanting to be the only giver, while the pious person is glad when others give, a feeling Yiddish calls farginnen. Tzedakah means righteousness: God created an imbalance between rich and poor so that people would correct it, and the giver, who validates his very existence, gains more than the recipient. Rabbi Greenberg recounts how the Rebbe told his father, a rabbi earning about $115 a week, to give ten times as much as his check, and how he earned it all back that year. The wicked one neither gives nor wants others to give, so that he will not look bad. Questions address unpaid loans, inconsistency versus hypocrisy, and beggars who may misuse money. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bxd9W10WYnw 2898 2023-11-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-impurity-doubts-between-a-private-and-public-domain/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/h9Ypaj174Jw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | Impurity doubts between a Private and Public Domain Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's explanation of why a doubt about impurity in a private domain is treated as impure, while one in a public domain is treated as pure. For the public domain, the Rambam reasons that the Pesach offering is brought even when most of the community is definitely impure, so certainly a doubt is set aside. For the private domain, he cites a woman suspected of adultery who secluded herself with another man: though it is only a doubt, she is forbidden to her husband until she drinks the bitter waters, and such seclusion is private. Commentators ask why the Pesach reasoning is needed if the suspected wife's case already implies that a doubt in public is pure. One commentator on the Mishnah answers that the Torah mentions privacy only because seclusion happens there, so we might have been strict in public too. Another notes that public seclusion is a contradiction in terms. https://www.youtube.com/embed/h9Ypaj174Jw 324 2023-11-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/me-explore-your-inner-world-part-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IUU81dqn_aY/hqdefault.jpg ME: Explore Your Inner World - Part III This session of the ME: Explore Your Inner World series describes how the soul experiences this world and why it seeks truth rather than mere fact. Before entering the body, the soul is raw energy that must be reduced into thought and feeling, yet at times a surge from the part of the soul that remains above brings sudden inspiration. The Talmud says that the men with Daniel did not see his vision, but their mazal did, and they fled in fear; mazal comes from a root meaning to drip, a flow from above. A parable of families born in a dungeon, who debate whether a world exists outside, illustrates the tzaddik, who comes from that higher reality and conveys it. The soul, like a flame, wants to return to its source, and it reaches the mind as conscience. Truth is what must be, while fact is merely what happens to be, as the Mishnah disqualifies waters that fail even once in seven years. God alone must exist, so His will is truth, and a miracle reconciles truth with fact, as at the splitting of the sea. When students asked a Rebbe for a miracle, he said that changing their lives to match the Torah would be the greatest one. Likewise, existence occupies space and needs resources, while life is what one contributes, which is why the Torah says "choose life." The Alter Rebbe told a ruined man that he had considered what he needs but not what he is needed for. Unlike religion built on human need, Judaism teaches that people exist because God wants them, so the soul asks only what its purpose is. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IUU81dqn_aY 3756 2023-11-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/to-live-as-a-jew-part-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LjToq7ULHiE/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Living as a Jew - Part III Rabbi Greenberg explains what a mitzvah is and why it stands at the center of living as a Jew, then turns to the first practices of the morning. All of humanity, he says, is charged with civilizing the world, while the Jewish people have the added task of making it a dwelling place for God through His commandments. The word mitzvah is related to a root meaning to bind: a finite person cannot reach an infinite God through feelings alone, but when God asks something of us, as Einstein might ask a janitor for a glass of water, a bond is created. He describes the mitzvah as divine discipline designed by the One who knows every person; as liberation for the soul, held in the body like the princess in the parable who married a peasant and could not be satisfied with his vegetables; and as the soul's only food. The soul enters this world like an actor onto a stage, realizing its potential only through mitzvos. Mitzvos also unite and protect Jews everywhere, give a Jew identity, follow the Creator's specifications for the world, and give life meaning. Turning to practice, he explains Modeh Ani, the thanks said on waking, which puts "thanks" before "I" and omits God's name because it is said before washing. He then explains the morning hand-washing, alternating right and left three times each, and how it differs from washing before bread. Answering a question, he says the act of a mitzvah matters most, though intention adds great power. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LjToq7ULHiE 2951 2023-11-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ancient-jewish-wisdom-for-today/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XXIdbbWwKmA/hqdefault.jpg Ancient Jewish Wisdom for Today Rabbi Greenberg draws lessons for today from Parshas Vayetzei, Jacob's journey from Be'er Sheva to Charan. The Torah says both that Jacob left and that he went, because he was fleeing Esau but also going to find a wife; even when escaping something negative, one should focus on the positive place one is heading. Spiritually, Jacob is the soul, which descends from bliss into a world of challenges in order to climb, like the ladder in his dream, higher than before. The place where he slept also alludes to God, who fills all space, and Jacob carried the holiness of the Land of Israel with him, as the third Rebbe told a Jew to make Israel where he was. Jacob's vow to tithe is a source for giving a tenth, or ideally a fifth, of one's income to tzedakah, and Rabbi Greenberg suggests that giving beyond the limit may bring a redemption beyond limits. The seven years Jacob worked for Rachel felt like a few days because preparing for a mitzvah is part of the joy of the mitzvah. The rule of not combining two celebrations teaches being fully present in each mitzvah, illustrated by the Rebbe Rashab. Rabbi Greenberg also explains why Jacob told Rachel to pray herself, Leah's growth in gratitude by the time she named Yehudah, and why Rachel named Joseph for another son, as one who turns outsiders into insiders. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XXIdbbWwKmA 1727 2023-11-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/torah-teachers-get-fiery-ethical-rules/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OIqlXpA5Quc/hqdefault.jpg Torah Teachers Get FIERY Ethical Rules Rabbi Greenberg studies the mishnah in Pirkei Avos on four types of students: quick to grasp and quick to forget, slow to grasp and slow to forget, quick to grasp and slow to forget, and slow to grasp and quick to forget. He asks why a statement about intellectual ability belongs in a tractate on ethics, and answers that it is addressed to teachers, and every Jew is a teacher of others. A teacher has a moral obligation to gauge each student's abilities and respond accordingly. A quick student may be grasping things superficially and needs to be drawn into the subject, since memory depends on real interest, on review and on spiritual sensitivity, which the animal soul dulls; memory is central to Judaism, which commands us to remember Sinai, the Exodus and Shabbos. A slow student must not be neglected: Rabbi Greenberg recalls teaching a struggling student the same lines of Talmud for two weeks until he became the best in the class. In a full classroom the teacher should find a tutor or other help. Intelligence is a "portion" allotted by God and does not make anyone better or worse; only moral choices do, and effort can go beyond one's portion, as with a simple follower of the Alter Rebbe who became a great scholar of Chassidus. Another commentator reads the mishnah as describing how people respond to the daily voice from Sinai, becoming inspired quickly or slowly and keeping or losing that inspiration. The mishnah follows one about anger because teachers must be patient with difficult students. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OIqlXpA5Quc 2760 2023-11-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-impurity-after-death/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ynEv_NAQei0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | Impurity After Death Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that a zav or zavah (a man or woman with an abnormal discharge), a niddah (a menstruating woman), a woman after childbirth and a metzora (a person with the biblical skin affliction) continue after death to make impure what they sit or lie on, until the flesh decomposes. The Rambam explains that this is rabbinic: biblically the impurity ends at death, but the Sages were concerned that someone who faints might appear dead, and people would conclude he no longer conveys impurity. According to a commentary's reading of Rashi, the concern is rather that people would treat someone unconscious and close to death as no longer impure. Rabbi Greenberg asks how, on the Rambam's view, prompt burial is allowed if a living person might be taken for dead, and presents a defense: those handling burial know the signs of death, and the concern is only with onlookers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ynEv_NAQei0 414 2023-11-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/me-explore-your-inner-world-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Kue0x01_Nd4/hqdefault.jpg ME: Explore Your Inner World - Part II In Part II of ME: Explore Your Inner World, the teacher describes the soul's descent into the body and how it makes itself felt. Reviewing the previous class, he explains that a person has an animal soul and a divine soul, and that one's true self is the soul, the part that never changes, not external markers like the Chelm man who knew himself only by his clothes. The Rebbe told someone struggling with bad habits that the first step to change is saying, "This is not who I am." A Midrash Tanchuma passage describes the soul pleading not to enter a mortal body, being shown Gan Eden and Gehinnom, and forgetting everything at birth, and the Talmud records the oath given before birth to be righteous and not wicked. The teacher explains that the soul's infinite essence cannot fit in a body, so it remains like a halo that occasionally sends a wake-up call, while a more defined part enters, like a lunar module leaving its orbiter. The oath, related to the Hebrew word for satiating, is an infusion of strength. From the Previous Rebbe's Kuntres Diburim, he tells how Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev transformed a hostile Jewish estate manager with a melody expressing the soul's descent. The soul, likened in Proverbs to a candle whose flame strains upward, always longs to return home, a longing felt in rest and in selfless deeds, while it is also told that its mission is here on earth. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kue0x01_Nd4 3381 2023-11-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-living-as-a-jew-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M0ZdZVnBUZ8/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Living as a Jew - Part II In this class a guest teacher, a woman who teaches young children in a Jewish day school, speaks about the role of the Jewish woman and the mitzvos entrusted especially to her. She begins with creation: Adam was formed from the dust, while the first woman was formed from Adam, so the gap between body and spirit is smaller in a woman, giving her a greater potential for spirituality and intuition. She points to the matriarchs as role models, including Rachel's self-restraint in giving her sister the secret signs so that Leah would be spared embarrassment. Reading from a letter of the Rebbe to a woman without children, she explains that mitzvos are done first and understood afterward, that the labels Orthodox, Conservative and Reform are artificial, and that man and woman are like the head and the heart, equally vital with different functions. One who cannot fulfill a mitzvah such as motherhood is credited for the wish, and can direct her nurturing to teaching or helping others. Judaism values the private role, and the home is where Judaism continues. She closes with the three mitzvos hinted in the name of Hannah, whose prayer is the source of many laws of prayer: separating challah, which she connects with keeping the home kosher; family purity; and lighting Shabbos and holiday candles. https://www.youtube.com/embed/M0ZdZVnBUZ8 3215 2023-11-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-surprising-truth-the-rebbe-s-stand-on-israel-revealed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DBrYEwyqVhU/hqdefault.jpg The Surprising Truth: The Rebbe's Stand on Israel Revealed Rabbi Greenberg explains the Lubavitcher Rebbe's approach to the State of Israel and the peace process. The Rebbe cannot be labeled anti-Zionist or simply Zionist; Rabbi Greenberg calls him "trans-Zionist." Though he never set foot in Israel, the Rebbe was closely involved with every segment of its leadership and knew its geography in detail, and, as the Baal Shem Tov taught, a person is where his will is. The Rebbe often repeated Rashi's first comment on Genesis: the Torah opens with creation to answer the nations' charge that the Jews stole the land, since God gave it to the Jewish people. The Rebbe added that the land was given to them for eternity, unlike any other conquest, and cannot simply be given away. His main argument against land for peace was security, based on the Jewish law that a besieged Jewish town may fight, even on Shabbos, enemies who ask only for supplies, because once they are within the borders they can conquer the land. Since every part of Israel is strategic, the Rebbe said the question should go to military experts, not politicians, and the generals he consulted agreed that giving up territory would endanger Israel. The Rebbe was not against peace, only a false peace, and he was concerned for the Arabs' welfare too, opposing population control among them and promoting the seven Noahide commandments in their towns. Rabbi Greenberg also presents the Rebbe's view that Israel squandered its advantage after the Six Day War, and argues that standing firm has brought Israel more allies, not fewer. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DBrYEwyqVhU 1524 2023-11-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/anger-management-jewish-style/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3G0Nixves48/hqdefault.jpg Anger Management Jewish Style Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos on four temperaments regarding anger: easily angered and easily appeased; hard to anger and hard to appease; hard to anger and easily appeased, the chassid or pious person; and easily angered and hard to appease, the wicked person. The Talmud says a person's character shows in his money, his anger and his drinking, and that anger drives away wisdom and prophecy, as seen when Moses grew angry. Because the Mishnah's word for temperament comes from knowledge, he stresses that the mind can change even deeply ingrained traits. He explains the two versions of the Mishnah that differ on which of the first two types is worse. Constant outbursts drive people away and cause harm that cannot be undone, yet such quick anger and quick reconciliation reflect immaturity, while a long-held grudge reflects an inflated ego. The Gibeonites, who would not forgive King Saul even years later, show that refusing to forgive is not a Jewish trait. The Rambam teaches that with anger and ego one must go to the extreme. The Rebbe asks why Pirkei Avos speaks of the wicked, and answers that it addresses people who behave correctly but still boil inside; it is not enough to control actions, one must refine one's personality. Feigned anger to teach a child, or indignation at evil, has its place, and the highest level is King David, who did not grow angry when cursed because he saw it as God's will. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3G0Nixves48 2716 2023-11-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-3-temples-faith-morality-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/h4f70BYir5I/hqdefault.jpg The 3 Temples: Faith, Morality & Torah Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah describes the three wells Isaac dug, two of which were disputed by the shepherds of Gerar while the third was not. The Ramban teaches that the wells foreshadow the three Holy Temples: the first two were destroyed, while the Third Temple, to be built by Mashiach, will never be destroyed. A 19th-century commentary explains them instead as three unique contributions of the Jewish people, and Rabbi Greenberg shows that the two explanations complement each other. The first contribution is faith in one God, promoted by Abraham and Sarah and challenged by the nations; the First Temple was lost when the Jewish people compromised that faith through idol worship. The second is justice, morality and kindness, an ethical monotheism; the Second Temple was lost through senseless hatred. The third is the Torah's mitzvos, which reach every part of life and make the world a dwelling place for God. This cannot be challenged, and the Third Temple will express it while restoring the first two. https://www.youtube.com/embed/h4f70BYir5I 538 2023-11-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-what-is-the-mitzvah-of-the-impurity-of-a-metzorah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vAiQu6DRbH8/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | What is the Mitzvah of the Impurity of a Metzorah? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's list of mitzvos at the start of the laws of tzara'as, the skin affliction described in the Torah. Its first mitzvah is to rule on tzara'as according to the Torah's laws, which seems to require the afflicted person to come before a kohen. In his Sefer HaMitzvos, however, the Rambam defines the mitzvah as the fact that such a person is impure, consistent with his view, which the Ramban disputes, that the mitzvos of impurity consist of knowing what makes one impure. A practical difference is whether one must go to a kohen today, since the Rambam rules that these laws apply even without the Beis HaMikdash; many commentators explain that we lack kohanim of proven lineage. A contemporary work explains that impurity takes effect only with the kohen's declaration. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that, like the mitzvah of writing a get, the mitzvah defines how the status is determined without obligating anyone to act. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vAiQu6DRbH8 482 2023-11-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/me-explore-your-inner-world-part-i/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/am47KUh8cMY/hqdefault.jpg ME: Explore Your Inner World - Part I The teacher opens a six-lesson course on the soul's life on earth by asking who we are. Genesis describes animals created as living beings all at once, while man began as lifeless matter into which God breathed the breath of life. This shows that the soul exists independently of the body, and that a human being joins a body lower than an animal's with a soul that is God's own breath. He compares the body to a piano and the soul to the song played on it. Drawing on the Tanya, he describes two souls. The animal soul sees everything through the lens of "I," judging good as good for me; the divine soul, a part of God, asks what is right and what God and others want, and like a candle flame strains upward toward its source. Every other creation exists only once separated from its source, but the soul stays connected, like light to its luminary. The name Adam combines aleph, master, with dam, blood, and the Talmud gives two opposite reasons man was created last: as the lowest creature or as the honored guest. With stories, including the Alter Rebbe asking his grandson where his grandfather really is, he teaches that the real self is the soul, while career, gender and nationality are clothing. In prison the Alter Rebbe explained God's question to Adam, "Where are you?", as asking where his real self had gone. In the Q&A he explains that animals' kindness is programming, while the divine soul lets a person act beyond self-interest, and that the soul's influence grows as a person develops it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/am47KUh8cMY 3405 2023-11-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-to-living-as-a-jew-part-i/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TSz395JV60U/hqdefault.jpg The Secret to Living as a Jew - Part I Rabbi Greenberg opens a course on living as a Jew by asking whether Judaism is outdated. After reciting and translating Psalm 20 as a prayer for protection, he argues that everything in creation is in flux, while God and the Torah He gave are constant, so Judaism is always current. Truth, emes, means consistency from beginning to end, and Judaism has endured every challenge; Moses would still recognize Shabbos, kosher, Pesach, tefillin and mezuzah today. God gave the Torah knowing every future age, so its principles answer new questions. Judaism, he says, is not a compartmentalized religion but a total way of life. Its unique quality is totality, reaching all space, time and soul. It is God's master plan for the purpose of creation, entrusted to the Jewish people, and it rests on three prongs: Torah study, mitzvah observance and prayer, built on the foundation of faith expressed in the Rambam's 13 principles. The word mitzvah means both commandment and bond. Customs that enhance a mitzvah, like dancing with the Torah on Simchas Torah, are celebrated, but changing a mitzvah to suit oneself misses the point. Rabbi Greenberg begins a list of a mitzvah's purposes: doing God's will simply because He commanded it, as God's will, like God Himself, is not for anything else; making a dwelling place for God in this lowest world; and emulating God, whose kindness begins the Torah with clothing Adam and Eve and ends it with burying Moses. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TSz395JV60U 3201 2023-11-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/abrahams-legacy-of-faith/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Elatp3Rm5vM/hqdefault.jpg Abraham's Legacy of Faith Rabbi Greenberg explains what the Torah portion of Chayei Sarah, which begins with Sarah's passing, reveals about the legacy of Abraham and Sarah. The life of a righteous person is not only physical, so a portion about Sarah's death and burial still speaks of her life. Sarah brought into reality the ideals Abraham taught, which is why the Amidah does not mention the matriarchs separately from the patriarchs. Abraham insisted on paying full price for the Cave of Machpelah, as King David later did for Mount Moriah, because, as the Rebbe explains, holiness should not come effortlessly or for free. The class follows the search for a wife for Isaac. Abraham, every one of whose days was filled with mitzvos, preferred a bride from his idol-worshipping family over a Canaanite, even Eliezer's daughter, because wrong beliefs are learned and can change, while moral flaws such as cruelty can be inherited. Rabbi Greenberg also discusses why Rebecca's family suddenly asked for a delay, the merit of kindness hinted in the camels Isaac saw approaching, and Rebecca's veil as a sign of what is concealed about the end of exile and the Messianic age. At Abraham's burial Isaac is named before the older Ishmael, from which Rashi derives that Ishmael repented. The Rebbe explains that Abraham's influence reached his own family, not only strangers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Elatp3Rm5vM 1780 2023-11-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-virtue-of-charity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J-vnRcA7SVc/hqdefault.jpg The Virtue of Charity Rabbi Greenberg explains the Jewish view of charity through the teaching in Ethics of the Fathers on four character types: one who says "mine is mine and yours is yours," one who says "mine is yours and yours is mine," the pious person who says "mine is yours and yours is yours," and the wicked person who says "mine is mine and yours is mine." He explains why the first, which sounds normal, is called by some a trait of Sodom: Judaism holds that nothing we have is exclusively ours, and Jewish law obliges a person to give at least 10 percent, preferably up to 20 percent, of net income to charity. Applied by a whole society, refusing to share would destroy the world. He distinguishes communal obligations, which justify taxation, from the personal obligation to help a needy person who asks. One reading of the second type concerns lending: a personal loan must not carry interest, not even in the form of praise or an expectation that the borrower will lend back later. Citing the Rebbe, he explains that the wicked person may act generously yet believe everything, even what he gives away, is really his. God created a world of haves and have-nots so people can exercise kindness, and the giver is a trustee holding what belongs to the person in need. https://www.youtube.com/embed/J-vnRcA7SVc 2289 2023-11-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-biblical-and-rabbinical-aspects-of-transferring-impurity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NRtGhHZD_Y4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | the Biblical and Rabbinical aspects of transferring Impurity Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a nazir who becomes impure through certain kinds of impurity, such as a corpse's flesh beneath a bed or other vessels, does not shave and restart his term, though he is impure. The Rambam adds that the laws of impurity spread through a tent formed by a person, an animal or vessels are "words of the scribes," received by tradition and not written in the Torah, so they carry no kares and affect only terumah and offerings. This seems to call them rabbinic, like the Rambam's rule that laws derived through the Torah's methods of interpretation are not counted among the 613, and his ruling that betrothal with money is "words of the scribes," which the Ramban and others criticize. Rabbi Greenberg explains, as many commentators do, that the Rambam means such laws carry biblical force in a separate category: a woman betrothed with money who commits adultery is liable to death. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NRtGhHZD_Y4 542 2023-11-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/israel-the-jewish-connection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z1A1rM3xMjc/hqdefault.jpg Israel: The Jewish Connection Rabbi Greenberg examines the basis of the Jewish people's claim to the Land of Israel. He reviews seven arguments: conquest, possession, international law, the need for refuge, the right to a homeland, historical presence and the biblical promise. Each of the first six can be challenged; conquest invites another conquest, and the same international bodies that grant can also take away. Only the last is solid: God gave the land to Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, to the exclusion of Abraham's and Isaac's other sons, and according to Nachmanides the mitzvah to settle it applies today, while Maimonides considers living there desirable. The Torah describes a unique relationship with the land: God watches over it all year, it carries mitzvos found nowhere else, all prayers pass through it, and the Midrash likens it to a suit tailor-made for the Jewish people. He prefers "the Land of Israel" to "the State of Israel," since it is not a country like any other, and cites the Rebbe that the nations call the Jews thieves over this land because settling it transformed it into a land with a unique spiritual dimension. Israel is home, hope and holy land. Following the Maharal, a home defines who a person really is, and since the Jews' essence is holiness, the land expelled them when they did not live as a holy people. A person is where his will is, so every Jew who prayed toward Israel lived there in spirit, as Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi wrote that his heart was in the East. The word for hope, tikvah, shares a root with mikveh: longing for the land both connected and purified the Jewish people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z1A1rM3xMjc 3286 2023-11-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/god-visits-abraham-after-circumcision/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wH8ZY-0xXDU/hqdefault.jpg God Visits Abraham After Circumcision Rabbi Greenberg explains why God appeared to Abraham after his circumcision, at the opening of the Torah portion of Vayeira, and what this and the events that follow teach. Rashi says God came to visit the sick, the source for our mitzvah to emulate God by visiting the sick, and that it was the third day. The Rebbe explained that a mitzvah should be done within the bounds of nature, illustrated by a story of the Alter Rebbe, so God waited for the third day, when healing comes naturally. He also explains why God appeared in the plains of Mamre: Abraham asked Mamre whether a public circumcision would set him apart and hamper his mission to the world, and Mamre told him to go ahead. From Abraham leaving God to greet guests, the Talmud derives that hospitality is greater than receiving the Divine Presence; Rabbi Greenberg's father explained that bringing a traveler into one's home restores his human dignity, making the host God's partner. Further topics include a Chassidic explanation that Sarah laughed only subconsciously, and why Abraham prayed for Sodom but not for Isaac: when God reveals a decree He wants us to protest it, but a commandment testing loyalty must be obeyed. The binding of Isaac also established that such a sacrifice is contrary to God's absolute will. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wH8ZY-0xXDU 1751 2023-11-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-7-characteristics-of-a-wise-person-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PmcbXenDIW8/hqdefault.jpg The 7 Characteristics of A Wise Person - Part II Rabbi Greenberg continues the mishnah in Pirkei Avos on the seven traits of a wise person and their opposite, the golem, an unfinished, immature person. A wise person asks and answers to the point: a student who asks a teacher about another subject may embarrass him, and a teacher who does not know the answer should say so. He answers the first question first and the last last, as Jacob instructed his messengers to Esau and as Rebecca answered Abraham's servant, because questions are often ordered for a reason. On what he has not heard he says "I have not heard." This means admitting when one does not understand, and not claiming that one's own reasoning was received from a teacher, since the most reliable teachings, like the details of tefillin, come through the oral tradition passed from teacher to student. Nor should a student complain "I already heard this": Rabbi Greenberg recounts how the Rebbe, at a Shabbos gathering, read the river Kevar in Ezekiel as "already," teaching that one who says he already knows something did not understand it the first time, a symptom of exile. The wise person also acknowledges the truth, as Moses admitted to Aaron that he had heard and forgotten. The word modeh means to admit, to submit and to be grateful, so one should thank the person who corrects him. On a deeper level, emes means absolute, consistent truth, found only in God and in what connects to Him. The commentators note that there is no middle ground between the wise person and the golem, which Rabbi Greenberg applies to moral evil. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PmcbXenDIW8 2921 2023-11-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-prohibition-of-transferring-the-holiness-of-one-animal-to-another-animal/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/msiVJ-s3Ta4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | The Prohibition of transferring the Holiness of one Animal to another Animal Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who makes temurah, attempting to transfer the holiness of an offering to another animal, which leaves both holy, receives lashes. The Rambam himself asks why, since temurah is mere speech and a prohibition without an action carries no lashes, and answers that by tradition it is one of three exceptions, with a false oath and cursing with God's name. Yet the Rambam follows the Talmudic view that muzzling a threshing animal by voice is an action, and that view does not count temurah as an exception. Rabbi Greenberg presents an explanation: speech counts as action when it creates a physical effect, as muzzling does. Temurah also has an effect, making the second animal holy, but that effect is not what is forbidden; the prohibition is the attempt to transfer the holiness, which is speech alone. The Talmud supports this by treating the second animal's holiness as the attached positive commandment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/msiVJ-s3Ta4 549 2023-10-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moses-the-vigilante/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8H4kYZsJ4Gs/hqdefault.jpg MOSES THE VIGILANTE Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Torah's account of Moses, raised as a prince, who sees an Egyptian guard beating a Jew, looks here and there, sees no one, kills the Egyptian and buries him in the sand. He cites Rabbi Meir Shapiro, a pre-war Polish rabbi who served in the Polish Parliament, who read "he looked here and there" as Moses looking to the right-wing and left-wing parties and seeing that no one cared about a persecuted Jew, so he took responsibility himself. A Midrash gives three opinions on how Moses killed the guard: with an instrument, with a shovel, or by uttering a name of God. Rabbi Greenberg cites a colleague, Rabbi Jacobson, who reads these as three things Jews must do to survive, and the clip explains the first two. The first is self-defense, since God wants people to do whatever they can to protect themselves. The second, the shovel, stands for building Jewish institutions that promote true Jewish values; Rabbi Greenberg says that before worrying about repairing the world, Jews must strengthen the Jewish people, and there is energy for both. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8H4kYZsJ4Gs 255 2023-10-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-meanings-of-abrahams-journey/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7b2mXU-ZCao/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Meanings of Abraham's Journey Rabbi Greenberg goes through a series of lessons from Parshas Lech Lecha. The Torah begins Abraham's story at 75, not with the fiery furnace, because Judaism is less about heroic self-sacrifice than about real change: leaving one's land, birthplace and father's house means leaving one's desires, innate habits and upbringing. Rashi reads "go for yourself" as "for your benefit," since Abraham needed recognition to spread his message; a Chassidic story adds that a wanderer comes to appreciate the hospitality he gives others. God did not name the land because a person must do his part, as in stories of a Talmudic sage who had only to touch a rock and a Chassid in a Soviet prison who walked to the gate before sending his plea to the previous Rebbe. On the descent to Egypt, Rashi sees a passed test, while a deeper view sees a decline; the Rebbe explains that God sometimes lowers the righteous so they can rise higher. Abraham sought Pharaoh's gifts only as the promised blessing of wealth, yet refused even a shoelace from the king of Sodom, whose evil was to accept others only as extensions of itself. God took Abraham above the stars to show that a Jew is not governed by nature. Abraham waited for the command to circumcise, the Rebbe explains, because a commanded mitzvah is greater and this one could be done only once, and it became the model for mitzvos that change the physical world. In closing, the Rebbe considered Abraham, who sought only to fulfill God's mission, higher than Rabbi Akiva, who longed for martyrdom. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7b2mXU-ZCao 3377 2023-10-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-7-characteristics-of-a-wise-person/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dtbrBIDZd58/hqdefault.jpg The 7 Characteristics of A Wise Person Rabbi Greenberg begins the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos that lists seven traits of a golem, an unformed person, and seven of a wise person, covering the first three in this class. A golem is like unshaped earth: substance without form. Rabbi Greenberg distinguishes it from the boor, who is empty, and the am ha'aretz, who is unsophisticated but decent; the golem has potential not yet realized, which describes most of us. He tells of a student in Australia who struggled for two weeks over one lesson and became the best in the class, and warns against saying "this is the way I am." He notes that the Mishnah describes the wise person and only says the golem is the reverse, teaching a bias toward the positive, which the Rebbe stressed. The first trait: a wise person does not speak before one greater in wisdom or years, meaning both not speaking first and not showing off in his presence. Even an older person without learning deserves respect for what life has taught him. Second, he does not interrupt; God let Abraham plead for Sodom from fifty down to ten so his compassion would be expressed. Rabbi Greenberg adds that a long-winded speaker also has a responsibility to the listeners. Third, he is not hasty to answer, like Elihu, who waited until Job's three friends finished; waiting helps one understand the question and give a better answer. Most of these traits, he says, come down to humility. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dtbrBIDZd58 2431 2023-10-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-is-it-acceptable-to-unintentionally-break-shabbat-while-fulfilling-a-mitzvah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dO82K6McJQA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | is it acceptable to unintentionally break Shabbat while fulfilling a mitzvah? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who, in the days of the Beis HaMikdash, mistakenly carried his lulav four cubits in a public domain on the first day of Sukkos that fell on Shabbos is exempt from a sin offering, since he carried it in pursuit of a mitzvah. The Gemara in Sukkah says that if he had already fulfilled the mitzvah by holding the lulav with the other species, he is liable, since the carrying no longer serves the mitzvah. It answers that he may not yet have fulfilled it, if he carried it upside down or in a vessel. The Rambam gives the ruling without either qualification. A commentary on the Mishnah explains that for the Rambam a mitzvah requires intention, except eating matzah. Someone who picks up the lulav intending to fulfill the mitzvah later has not yet fulfilled it, so his carrying is in pursuit of the mitzvah, and he is exempt. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dO82K6McJQA 282 2023-10-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-roots-of-anti-semitism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8g75fpvuDU8/hqdefault.jpg The Roots of Anti-Semitism Rabbi Greenberg explains where hatred of Jews comes from and how it differs from other bigotry. He notes that the term "anti-Semitism" was coined in the 19th century to make Jew-hatred a matter of genetics. It comes from every segment of society, it has historically led to massacres, and Jews are hated more for their virtues than their faults, so absurd and contradictory charges, such as the blood libel, have to be invented. It predates Christianity, appearing in nearly every empire, and came from secular thinkers as well as religious ones. Citing the Midrash that links Sinai with sinah, hatred, he traces it to the Jewish mission given at Sinai: one God, commandments, and a chosen people meant to bring morality to the world through the seven Noahide laws. The Talmud's parable of Haman and Achashverosh, one eager to be rid of a mound and the other to fill a ditch, describes two kinds of hatred: resentment of Jews as trespassers competing for material success, as Esau resented Jacob's blessings, and resentment of Jewish spiritual greatness that makes others feel empty, which some answer by emulating Jews and others by trying to destroy them. His response is not to hide one's Jewishness but to be proud of it, and to teach the nations that every person is chosen to keep the Noahide laws. Asked about God's role, he says that prayer, even complaint, expresses real belief that God can help, and that evil, making its last stand before the Redemption, is defeated by strengthening mitzvos. He closes with the lesson of the seventh of Cheshvan, when the request for rain waited until the last pilgrim got home. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8g75fpvuDU8 3905 2023-10-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/noach-entering-the-ark/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5Yd3UPuh1lk/hqdefault.jpg Noach Entering the Ark Rabbi Greenberg teaches the opening of Parshas Noach, focusing on God's command to enter the ark. He explains Rashi's teaching that the "children" of the righteous are their good deeds, and that one praises a person only partially to his face. On "righteous in his generations," read by some as praise and by others as criticism, the Rebbe, building on the Baal Shem Tov, explains that teivah, ark, also means "word": in every flood we must enter the words of Torah and prayer, and no one is too high or too low for that protection. The generation's fate was sealed by theft, and Rabbi Greenberg warns that rationalized, petty dishonesty corrodes a society more than open crime. The ark's three levels, for people, animals and waste, are explained by a Chassidic master as three levels of prayer: the cry of one who has hit bottom, King David's prayer of struggle, and Moses' prayer to come still closer; Rabbi Greenberg applies the same three levels to Torah. Noah spent 120 years building the ark yet changed no one, which the Rebbe attributes to his acting from obedience rather than empathy. The flood lasted 40 days, like the 40 measures of a mikvah, purifying and changing the world. Noah is not counted among our forefathers because a Jew's mission is to change the world. Rashi notes that "be fruitful and multiply," a blessing to Adam, became a commandment to Noah, whose mission was to settle the world. The class ends with the brothers who covered Noah without seeing his shame, and with slavery understood as dependence on what others see and say. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5Yd3UPuh1lk 3988 2023-10-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-truth-exposed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d6bH-HilFek/hqdefault.jpg The Truth EXPOSED Rabbi Greenberg teaches the Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers listing things God created at twilight on the eve of the first Shabbos, focusing on the last two: tongs, made only to make other tongs, and mazikin, destructive forces. Twilight in Jewish law is a time of doubt, which is why Shabbos candles are lit before sunset and why a bris for a boy born at twilight may be delayed. Citing a discourse of the Rebbe, he explains that the first tongs show that preparation, which has no value of its own, is also created by God and is holy. Preparing for a mitzvah, he says, can be purer than the mitzvah itself, because tedious work like baking matzah is done only because it is God's will. He cites the Midrash that sins are not counted again after Yom Kippur until the first day of Sukkos, a yeshiva student in Lubavitch refined by hard work preparing for Pesach, Jacob's seven years of work for Rachel, and the Menorah in the Beis HaMikdash, which anyone could light but only a kohen could prepare. Exile, too, is a preparation for the Redemption rather than only a punishment. Rabbi Greenberg describes the present as the twilight before the ultimate Shabbos, when good and evil are separating and both grow stronger for a time. Knowing that destructive forces arise just before a holy time helps a person stay calm, and he advises focusing on trust in God rather than on graphic images of the recent atrocities. https://www.youtube.com/embed/d6bH-HilFek 2776 2023-10-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-when-personal-sacrifices-were-permitted/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zdv8QqoX_ls/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | When Personal Sacrifices Were Permitted Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the Pesach offering may be slaughtered only in the Temple courtyard, and that even in the periods when private altars were permitted, after the Jews entered the Land and between the destruction of Shiloh and the building of the Beis HaMikdash, it could not be brought on one. It is asked why the Rambam records this, since private altars will never again be permitted, and the Rambam omits laws with no present or future application. One answer is that bringing a Pesach offering on a private altar today violates an additional prohibition. A contemporary work answers based on the Rebbe, who explains that a prophet may temporarily permit a private altar, as Eliyahu did, and that this possibility is built into the prohibition itself. The Rambam therefore teaches that even then the Pesach offering may not be brought, though this leaves unexplained why he omits the other laws of private altars. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zdv8QqoX_ls 513 2023-10-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-do-we-respond/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-McHVSAUNH8/hqdefault.jpg How do we respond? Rabbi Greenberg addresses how Jews should respond to the massacre in Israel the week before, the greatest loss of Jewish life in one day since the Holocaust. He does not try to answer why God allows such evil, a question he says awaits Mashiach, but asks what Jews must do, collectively and individually. He identifies the attackers' genocidal hatred with Amalek, the one evil the Torah says cannot be accommodated, and whose defeat precedes the Third Beis HaMikdash. For individuals, Rabbi Greenberg lists: trusting in God rather than human strength, praying for complete victory, Jewish pride and Jewish unity, Torah study, and tzedakah, which the Talmud says protects from death. He adds tefillin, which the Rebbe taught protect soldiers in Israel even when put on far away; mezuzos; and Shabbos candles, whose Hebrew initials spell "weapons." Jews must also learn and teach the truth about Israel, beginning with Rashi's first comment on Genesis: God created the world and gave the land to the Jewish people. From the Midrash's three opinions on how Moses killed the Egyptian taskmaster, he derives three needs: weapons for defense, a shovel for building Jewish institutions, and God's name, the spiritual strength of Torah. Rabbi Greenberg explains, from Kabbalah and Chassidic thought, that eating from the Tree of Knowledge mixed good and evil, and every mitzvah helps separate them. As they separate, good grows stronger but evil also becomes more potent on its way to disappearing, which is why this era has both more goodness than ever and the worst evil. In answer to a question, he teaches that caring for all people must not displace caring first for one's own people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-McHVSAUNH8 3995 2023-10-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/purpose-of-creation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H63BLKSuOX8/hqdefault.jpg Purpose of Creation Rabbi Greenberg and his son-in-law, Rabbi Shalom Feldman, discuss what the opening of the Torah, read on Shabbos Bereishis, teaches about the purpose of creation. Citing the Tzemach Tzedek, they explain that the way one conducts oneself on this Shabbos sets the tone for the whole year, since the energy of creation is renewed. Because God creates the world at every moment through the Torah, reality cannot truly contradict the Torah, and an apparent clash with science reflects incomplete understanding. God could create a world that already appears billions of years old, just as Adam was created an adult, and the word olam, world, is linked to concealment. Following Rashi's first comment, the Torah opens with creation to show that God, who made the world, gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people, so that they could make it a dwelling place for Him. Shabbos recalls both creation and the Exodus because it frees a person from every kind of slavery and addiction. The conversation then turns to the tree of knowledge, understood as humans claiming the right to define good and evil for themselves. Quoting the Midrash, the Rebbe notes the prohibition lasted only a few hours, yet the pressure was immense because it was the most consequential test ever given. Judaism rejects original sin: each mitzvah removes the evil that was mixed into a good world. Cain and Abel, contrasted with Moses and Aaron, show that ego breeds rivalry while humility brings peace. https://www.youtube.com/embed/H63BLKSuOX8 3507 2023-10-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-role-of-thought-in-invalidating-a-sacrifice/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7Lm4iKILxFE/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | The Role of Thought in Invalidating a Sacrifice Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that three kinds of improper thought invalidate an offering: intending it as a different offering, intending to eat it or perform its rites outside their place, and pigul, intending to perform them after their time. A commentator infers from the Rambam that thought alone suffices, while Rashi and Tosafos hold that the Gemara's "thought" means speech, as opposed to action. A proof is offered for the Rambam: the Gemara says such thought carries lashes only according to the view that a prohibition without action is punishable, yet speech that changes an animal's status, as in exchanging a consecrated animal, counts as action. One authority rejects the proof, but Rabbi Greenberg finds that it stands. To the objection that no one can be warned for an unspoken thought, he explains that one who declared his intention is still punished for the thought, not the speech, so there are no lashes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Lm4iKILxFE 505 2023-10-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unleashing-unity-responding-to-evil-with-positive-energy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ngdRmdqnZL8/hqdefault.jpg Unleashing Unity: Responding to Evil with Positive Energy Rabbi Greenberg teaches that when unmitigated evil appears, we respond with unmitigated positive energy. He names its forms: unity, prayer, especially reciting Psalms, giving charity, especially for Israel, men putting on tefillin, and women lighting Shabbos candles before sunset on Friday. These, he says, are the spiritual weapons that will undo the evil, and he then leads the recitation of Psalm 20. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ngdRmdqnZL8 116 2023-10-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unity-and-faith-defending-israel-spiritually-a-call-to-action/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9-MG9qmACfs/hqdefault.jpg Unity and Faith: Defending Israel Spiritually | A Call to Action Rabbi Greenberg explains how Jews outside Israel can defend Israel spiritually in a time of crisis, after the recent attacks, killings and kidnappings in the Holy Land. Those able to defend Israel militarily have a Biblical obligation to save lives; for those in the diaspora, the defense is spiritual. The first step is Jewish unity: all Jews are one family, responsible for one another, and while differences and arguments are legitimate, they must be set aside for the shared goal of peace for Israel. The second is faith and trust in God, which he says itself creates a spiritual force against the enemy, together with prayer in any language and the recitation of Psalms, especially Psalm 20. He then points to specific mitzvos: men over 13 putting on tefillin daily, which the sages say gives soldiers power to prevail; checking mezuzos, a mitzvah of protection; women lighting Shabbos candles before sunset to dispel darkness; and strengthening Shabbos observance. He closes with anticipating Mashiach and giving tzedakah, especially to Jews in Israel, both of which hasten the Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9-MG9qmACfs 353 2023-10-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-removal-of-the-ashes-from-the-alter/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/77VAt4aTuP4/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | The Removal of the Ashes from the Alter Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that removing ashes from the altar each day is a positive commandment performed by a kohen, in priestly garments inferior to those worn for other services, as a servant does not cook in the clothes he wears to pour his master's wine. The Torah describes two acts: lifting a handful of ashes to place beside the altar, and carrying the accumulated ashes out of the city. The Rambam applies the inferior garments to both, and also the ban on benefiting from the ashes, which the Ra'avad limits to the handful, so he treats them as one mitzvah of clearing the altar. Yet the Rambam counts only lifting the handful as a Temple service. Rabbi Greenberg explains that removing is a lesser service than offering, as the Gemara in Yoma indicates, and Tosafos explain that it counts as a service because it is done at the altar. Carrying the ashes out lacks both qualities. https://www.youtube.com/embed/77VAt4aTuP4 747 2023-10-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/preparing-for-sukkos/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WlOH5Y9Hlf0/hqdefault.jpg PREPARING FOR SUKKOS Rabbi Greenberg prepares for Sukkos during the four days between Yom Kippur and the festival, noting that preparation adds power to a mitzvah. The Torah calls it the Festival of Sukkos and the Festival of Ingathering, when produce drying outside was brought in before the rains; the liturgy calls it the season of our rejoicing, and the Talmud simply "the festival." Following Rabbi Yosef Albo's three principles of faith, he matches Pesach to God as Creator, Shavuos to God giving the Torah, and Sukkos to Divine Providence. Spiritually, the ingathering means absorbing the inspiration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur so it does not fade. Sukkos is the celebration of the relationship formed on the High Holidays: on Rosh Hashanah we invite God to be our King and feel at home with us, on Yom Kippur we cleanse ourselves, and Sukkos is like the seven days of celebration after a wedding, its joy full as the moon on the 15th. The sukkah recalls either the Clouds of Glory, per Rabbi Eliezer, or actual booths, per Rabbi Akiva, a difference between thanking God for miracles and for the natural. We enter it in the fall to show it is not for comfort. It reflects the fragility of personal and national life, and is God's embrace, the one mitzvah that surrounds a person entirely. Through the Dubno Maggid's parable and the numbers 247, 248 and 249, he teaches that in God's home one neither adds to nor subtracts from the mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/WlOH5Y9Hlf0 2645 2023-09-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-salting-the-sacrifices/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vseelFL2Ac8/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | Salting the Sacrifices Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that all offerings must be salted before being placed on the altar, and that one who offers without salt receives lashes, though the offering remains valid, while a meal offering brought without salt is invalid. Lashes require an action, which here is bringing the offering without salt. Many commentators ask that one who comes to the Temple on a festival without an offering receives no lashes, though coming is an action. Later authorities answer that he has seven days to bring it, so he transgresses only by not acting once they pass. To explain why only an unsalted meal offering is invalid, Rav Velvel Brisker observes that the Rambam treats salting the meal offering as one of its procedures, yet counts salting offerings as a separate mitzvah. There are two laws: salting as part of the meal offering itself, and a general requirement to salt all offerings, whose omission does not invalidate them. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vseelFL2Ac8 469 2023-09-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unlocking-the-mysteries-of-tikkun-olam-beyond-social-justice/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K33mH0YMaIs/hqdefault.jpg Unlocking the Mysteries of Tikkun Olam: Beyond Social Justice Rabbi Greenberg explains that tikkun olam, "repairing the world," means much more than the popular idea that the Jewish mission is social justice. Social justice is everyone's duty, he notes, while the Jewish people have 613 commandments beyond the seven Noahide laws given to all humanity. Values built on secular humanism can change over time; only values grounded in God's sovereignty stay constant. He outlines three levels. First, the prayer to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty means removing idolatry so the world recognizes God, whose presence the world (olam, related to concealment) hides. Maimonides, based on the Talmud, says the Jewish people must teach the Noahide laws, hinted in Parshas Haazinu by the 70 nations matching Jacob's 70 descendants. Second, the Mishnah and Talmud use the term for rabbinic enactments that protect the integrity of Jewish law. Third, Kabbalah and Chassidic teaching speak of sparks of holiness in every physical thing, which are liberated when the physical is used to serve God, as with leather tefillin or kosher food eaten with a blessing, until the world is filled with Godly energy and Mashiach comes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/K33mH0YMaIs 707 2023-09-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/preparing-for-yom-kippur/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YfVMPwvYa_Q/hqdefault.jpg Preparing for Yom Kippur Rabbi Greenberg explains what Yom Kippur is and is not, beginning with the myth that it is a sad day. Joy and seriousness complement each other, he says, and Yom Kippur is a happy day because God grants complete forgiveness. It is the anniversary of Moses bringing down the second tablets after the sin of the golden calf, and in King Solomon's time the dedication of the first Beis HaMikdash was celebrated with feasting on Yom Kippur. He explains Kol Nidrei, a legal annulment of vows that says nothing of repentance. Swearing falsely is among the gravest sins, and a vow is a crutch for someone who lacks inner strength; on Yom Kippur we tell God we no longer need crutches. Because a rabbinic court can annul a vow retroactively, it becomes a model of teshuvah done out of love, which can change the past and even turn sins into fuel for greater love of God. Teshuvah requires regret, resolve for the future and spoken confession, since we must judge ourselves honestly while judging others favorably. The five Yom Kippur prayers correspond to the five levels of the soul, with Neilah touching its essence. Following the Rebbe, he explains that teshuvah means return, tefillah means connection, and tzedakah means righteousness rather than charity. He also discusses Jonah's flight, the Zohar's reading of Yom Kippurim as a day like Purim, and the customs of the day before Yom Kippur and of the day itself. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YfVMPwvYa_Q 3191 2023-09-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-meaning-of-tashlich/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8KNybEC4v9s/hqdefault.jpg The Meaning of Tashlich Rabbi Greenberg explains the custom of Tashlich, beginning with Rosh Hashanah itself: the head of the year, the day of judgment and remembrance, the anniversary of Adam and Eve's creation, and the day we crown God as King. He explains its symbolic foods, such as apple and challah in honey for a good and sweet year, and why sour and bitter foods and nuts are avoided. Tashlich is not in the Torah or the Talmud; the first to record it was the Maharil, Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Molin, in Germany, and Rabbi Greenberg suggests the Arizal spread it to Sephardic communities. He explains customs with a parent-child analogy: a biblical command is an explicit instruction, a rabbinic law answers a hint, and a custom is doing what we sense the parent would want. Rosh Hashanah's prayers barely mention sin, yet Tashlich speaks of casting sins away, using the verse in Micah that parallels the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. Some, including the Vilna Gaon, did not observe it, and there was concern it could cheapen repentance or become superstition. Throwing bread is discouraged; one shakes out pockets or garment edges. Rosh Hashanah, the brain of the year, makes every gesture count, which is why its symbols matter. Reasons for going to water include the river Satan placed before Abraham on the way to the Akeidah, kings crowned beside flowing water, and fish, which multiply, are free of the evil eye and never close their eyes. He closes with the difference between Tishrei, the new year of nature, and Nisan, the month of miracles. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8KNybEC4v9s 3400 2023-09-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-role-of-music-and-song-in-the-holy-temple/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_kXWBBQZxuA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | The Role of Music and Song in the Holy Temple Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the Levites' song at the daily offerings is essentially vocal, with instruments only to sweeten the sound, and that on twelve days a year the flute was played before the altar, overriding Shabbos because it accompanied an offering. Since only a Temple service overrides Shabbos, one answer is that playing an instrument is only rabbinically forbidden, and such prohibitions do not apply in the Temple; the Aruch LaNer objects that the Rambam calls it a service. While Rashi and Tosafos hold the flute was played only on those days, the Rambam holds it was played all year. Rabbi Greenberg explains that vocal song is the principal form, but instrumental music can also fulfill the service if the Levites did not sing. On the twelve days the complete Hallel was recited as reading rather than song, so the instruments became the service of song, which is why the flute then overrode Shabbos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_kXWBBQZxuA 719 2023-09-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/practice-makes-perfect-1/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KMEIbr_Uy40/hqdefault.jpg Practice Makes Perfect - 1 Rabbi Greenberg opens a course on Jewish practice by weighing three elements of Judaism: faith, feeling and action. Against the claim that Judaism places little stress on faith, he cites the Talmud's teaching that the prophet Chavakuk based all the mitzvos on one principle, "the righteous man lives by his faith," and the Rambam's Thirteen Principles. Faith is the foundation, without which the structure cannot stand, but a foundation alone guarantees nothing: people use faith to justify wrongdoing, and a thief can pray sincerely for help with a crime. Chassidic teaching explains that the personality is layered, so faith may not reach one's feelings or behavior, and Moshe, the "shepherd of faith," worked to connect them. The Torah also commands feelings such as love and awe of God, yet Ethics of the Fathers says the deed is the essential thing. Money a person loses that feeds a poor man counts as charity, and matzah eaten under duress fulfills the mitzvah. The story of Reb Zusha, who gave his own money to a fainting merchant and was taken for a thief, shows that charity is about the recipient, not the giver's credit. Since God is infinite, nothing has value except what He gives value, so every mitzvah has infinite worth, while feeling without action is worthless. Still, feeling completes the mitzvah: God wants a dwelling in this world, each mitzvah adds a brick, and love and passion are the lighting without which the King cannot dwell there. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KMEIbr_Uy40 2937 2023-09-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/practice-makes-perfect-4/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KJr4I-wRe6c/hqdefault.jpg Practice Makes Perfect - 4 Rabbi Greenberg explains the value of the Torah's 365 prohibitions, the "do not" commandments that people tend to resist more than the 248 positive ones. He suggests calling them proscriptive rather than negative, since keeping them removes what holds a person down from rising spiritually. He cites a dispute over how the Jews answered the Ten Commandments: Rabbi Yishmael says they answered "no" to the prohibitions, voicing revulsion, while Rabbi Akiva says they answered "yes" to all, since refraining is also a way to connect to God. The Shapiro brothers, imprisoned printers who could no longer pray or study once a waste barrel was placed in their cell, danced because the same God who commands study forbids it there. Resisting temptation counts as a mitzvah, as the Alter Rebbe taught when he kept showing love to a follower who kept falling, and as Pirkei Avos says, the strong person is one who conquers his inclination. Citing the Tanya, he explains why a missed positive mitzvah is forgiven at once, while a transgression needs Yom Kippur. Comparing the two kinds of mitzvos across many dimensions, he finds the prohibitions stronger in obedience, discipline and refinement, and the positive mitzvos stronger in meaning, reward and making the world a dwelling place for God. Holy sparks in forbidden things are freed only by refraining from them, which the Shabbatean and Frankist movements misunderstood, and refraining can draw a higher light because it involves no ego. He closes by inviting listeners to keep one Shabbos, which he calls the most liberating day of the week. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KJr4I-wRe6c 3157 2023-09-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/practice-makes-perfect-5/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DLtVXzn-M28/hqdefault.jpg Practice Makes Perfect - 5 In the fifth class of Practice Makes Perfect, Rabbi Greenberg surveys the ways the mitzvos are divided into categories. Positive commandments express God's immanence, His identification with the world, while prohibitions reflect His transcendence and let a person rebel against society in a Godly way. The two tablets show that commandments between people and God and those between people are equal; a person cannot truly love God while mistreating others, and social ethics alone will not last. Statutes have no apparent reason, like the red heifer; testimonies commemorate events, like Passover, Shabbos, tefillin and mezuzah; and judgments are laws reason would dictate. Rabbi Greenberg explains that these build three supports of ethical behavior: respect for authority, inner spirituality and social consciousness, which together form a threefold cord. Biblical law means the Torah's text together with the oral tradition, since the written Torah, like an outline, cannot be understood on its own, as with defining work on Shabbos. The Torah also obliges the rabbis to add safeguards and enactments, such as muktzah, Hillel's prozbul, the ban on polygamy, the kesubah, Chanukah, Shabbos candles and the sale of chametz. He then reviews the six orders of the Mishnah compiled by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and the Rambam's fourteen books. Finally, accepted customs become binding, as Simchas Torah shows, and the Talmud says God loves rabbinic mitzvos even more, since they show love that anticipates His wishes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DLtVXzn-M28 3637 2023-09-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/practice-makes-perfect-3/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FWTX_nLAC7U/hqdefault.jpg Practice Makes Perfect - 3 In the third class of Practice Makes Perfect, Rabbi Greenberg continues his list of twenty dimensions of a mitzvah, reviewing the first eight and then covering the rest. A mitzvah lets the soul realize potential it could never reach in a spiritual realm, because potential is revealed only through resistance; a Chassidic commentator reads Jacob's rebuke of the idle shepherds at the well as telling them to at least try. Each mitzvah generates immense spiritual energy, more powerful than all the world's nuclear weapons, stored for the future, and brings a reward of spiritual pleasure far beyond any physical pleasure. Mitzvos also protect: they bring down that energy while insulating a person from being overwhelmed by it. A mitzvah can change the whole world. Citing the Rambam, he says one mitzvah can tip the balance, and he gives the Rebbe's example of Joseph asking two fellow prisoners why they were troubled, which led to saving the region from famine. Mitzvos unite Jews across place and time, as each woman lighting Shabbos candles joins every other, and the Tanya explains Hillel's teaching that the rest of the Torah is commentary: mitzvos let the soul, which unites us, prevail over the body. Mitzvos are also the Jewish identity, the Creator's instruction manual for the world, a source of meaning as Viktor Frankl saw, and preparation for the Messianic era. Finally, they free the holy sparks hidden in physical things and build a dwelling place for God from the accumulated good of every generation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FWTX_nLAC7U 3845 2023-09-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/practice-makes-perfect-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AKTqOHiKLaU/hqdefault.jpg Practice Makes Perfect - 2 Continuing from the previous week's conclusion that action is the most important part of Judaism, Rabbi Greenberg explains why "good deed" is a limited translation of mitzvah, one open to self-serving ideas of goodness. The word means commandment, and he begins a survey of twenty dimensions of a mitzvah, reaching nine in this class. First, a mitzvah is God's command and needs no further reason, since God is the ultimate end and not a means to anything else. Second, it is emulating God, "walking in His ways," the truest art form, because it copies divine reality rather than nature, which conceals God. Third, God reciprocates what we do; the Baal Shem Tov read "know what is above you" as "know that what is above comes from you." Fourth, from the related word for joining, a mitzvah creates a bond between the infinite God and finite people, like a great scientist who connects with a janitor by asking him for a cup of water. Fifth, it is divine discipline, more effective than self-made discipline and balanced, enriching life rather than detaching from it, as Shabbos shows. Sixth, each mitzvah refines a different part of the soul, as the 248 positive commandments correspond to the body's 248 bones. Seventh, it liberates the soul, which is held hostage by the body and longs, like a princess married to a peasant, for what material things cannot give. Eighth, it nourishes the hungry soul. Ninth, it lets the soul realize its full potential on the stage of this world, where obstacles draw out strengths it could never show in paradise. https://www.youtube.com/embed/AKTqOHiKLaU 3279 2023-09-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-ten-explanations-for-the-sounding-of-the-shofar/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lVfOJeSbtlE/hqdefault.jpg THE TEN EXPLANATIONS FOR THE SOUNDING OF THE SHOFAR Rabbi Greenberg presents the ten reasons for sounding the shofar on Rosh Hashanah given by Rav Saadia Gaon, after first stressing that the basic reason is that God commanded it. Rosh Hashanah is the "head" of the year that directs the entire year, and the word shofar is related to shapir, beautiful, calling us to beautify our actions. The first reason is crowning God as King: unlike a dictator, a king rules because the people accept him, and the shofar, like a coronation trumpet, is how we ask God to reign. Rabbi Greenberg adds that we too should be a head and not a tail, with the mind ruling the heart. The shofar also announces the Ten Days of Teshuvah, recalls the shofar at Sinai, where God and the Jewish people entered a loving bond, illustrated by a Chassidic parable of a peasant who once saved a lost king, and recalls the prophets, who delivered God's word warmly. It recalls the destroyed Temple; the Rebbe explains that Joseph and Benjamin wept over each other's Temples because one must rebuild one's own rather than cry over it. The shofar recalls the binding of Isaac, whose ram supplied the horn, teaching the value of even small sacrifices. It makes us tremble and wakes us from insensitivity. It recalls the final day of judgment, the ingathering of the exiles, which also means gathering one's scattered strengths and accepting every Jew, and the resurrection of the dead, including spiritual revival. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the Baal Shem Tov's parable of a prince who forgot his father's language and could only cry out; the shofar is that wordless cry from the soul. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lVfOJeSbtlE 2911 2023-09-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/revealing-the-secrets-of-rosh-hashanah-a-path-to-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gLBFskww338/hqdefault.jpg Revealing the Secrets of Rosh Hashanah: A Path to Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains how Rosh Hashanah and its shofar connect to the final redemption. The mystics teach that on Rosh Hashanah an entirely new divine light enters the world, one that was never here before, and the days before it are a time of preparation for that new reality. In the same way, he says, we now stand historically on the threshold of the final redemption, and the parallels are many: just as we internalize Rosh Hashanah through the sounding of the shofar, we prepare for the coming of Mashiach through the shofar of redemption, which God Himself sounds. He tells of Rabbi Spira of Munkacs, who rose on Rosh Hashanah in tears to confess that on the previous day, when the shofar is not blown, he had sounded one blast because his beloved grandson pleaded, "just one more blast." So too we come before God after thousands of years of exile and ask for just one more blast, the final one that will bring the Messianic age. That shofar is sometimes heard not literally but through recent upheavals, which remind us to prepare for the new year and for Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gLBFskww338 204 2023-09-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/911-the-day-evil-met-goodness-a-wake-up-call-for-humanity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lWnWZ4koHBQ/hqdefault.jpg 911: The Day Evil Met Goodness - A Wake-Up Call for Humanity Rabbi Greenberg explains how 9/11 displayed both the extreme of evil and the extreme of goodness, and why it serves as a wake-up call like the shofar. As the planes destroyed thousands of lives, hundreds of firefighters, police and volunteers ran into the buildings to save others. In Chassidic thought, good and evil became intermingled when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit, and through observing God's commandments the good is separated from the evil. That is why the last century saw evil in distilled form, in the Holocaust, Communist tyranny and terrorism, alongside pure goodness done for its own sake. Both are signs that we are close to the Messianic age, when evil will be eradicated. The shofar of Rosh Hashanah, he says, wakes us to recognize the evil we must fight and, even more, the goodness within us and within humanity, rousing us from apathy; 9/11 was a figurative shofar. That year the first day of Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos, when the shofar is not sounded, because the holiness and peace of Shabbos awaken us gently, a foretaste of the Messianic age, which the prophets say will itself be ushered in by the shofar. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lWnWZ4koHBQ 322 2023-09-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-using-the-oil-of-sheviis-for-the-purpose-of-lighting-chanukah-candles/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KR7qLSobvKY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | Using the oil of Shevi'is for the purpose of lighting Chanukah Candles Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling, drawn from the Toras Kohanim and the Yerushalmi, that produce of the Sabbatical year may be used for eating, drinking, anointing, dyeing and lighting a lamp, and asks whether its oil may be used for Chanukah lights. Several authorities, including the Ridvaz, forbid it: the produce must serve one's own needs, one may not make use of the Chanukah light, and leftover oil is burned without serving any purpose. Others permit it, arguing that some benefit from the lights is allowed. A leading contemporary authority finds that argument weak and offers a simpler one: fulfilling a mitzvah is itself a legitimate need. Rabbi Greenberg compares the view, cited in the Mishnah Berurah, that charity to a poor person includes his needs for mitzvos. Without ruling, he notes that many authorities permit the oil, since one's needs include spiritual as well as physical ones. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KR7qLSobvKY 637 2023-09-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/where-is-lifes-reset-button-part-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/huL8J4oHX6c/hqdefault.jpg Where is Life's RESET Button? - Part III Rabbi Greenberg explains what teshuvah, usually translated as repentance, actually involves and how it works. After reviewing the methods of personal change, he explains that teshuvah means return: to one's true inner self, and, in Kabbalah, returning the final letter hei of God's name, dragged down by sin, to its place. In a story attributed to the Baal Shem Tov, a healthy horse can stray far but can also come back quickly. He then goes through six steps. Resolve for the future alone is accepted, as the Talmud shows with a man who marries on condition that he is righteous. Remorse, taking full responsibility without a "but," makes that resolve last; the Rambam discusses free choice in the laws of teshuvah because teshuvah requires responsibility. Confession turns thought into speech, which makes it real, deepens it and humbles the speaker. Asking forgiveness places one's future in another's hands, and the offended person must forgive after three requests. The Rebbe teaches that God forgives His part even before the other person is appeased, since every stain removed is cherished. Fasting, like a gift after an apology, restores the relationship, but the Alter Rebbe in Tanya advises giving tzedakah instead, even beyond twenty percent. Teshuvah out of fear reduces intentional sins to unintentional ones, while teshuvah out of love turns them into merits, because the distance creates a greater thirst for closeness. That is why one who returns stands higher than one who never sinned, though one who sins planning to repent is not given the opportunity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/huL8J4oHX6c 3823 2023-09-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pirkei-avos-ethics-of-our-fathers-ten-things-created-at-twilight-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OfzkPe2po04/hqdefault.jpg PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS - Ten Things Created at Twilight III Rabbi Greenberg continues the mishnah in Pirkei Avos listing the ten things created on the first Friday at twilight, which he describes as part of creation yet pointing above it, as Shabbos is entirely above creation. The Shamir, a tiny worm that cut stone, let King Solomon build the Temple without iron, the metal of swords; its brief existence signaled that nature itself, in which God's presence is submerged, has a Divine source. The letters, the writing and the tablets point to the power to put abstract ideas into concrete form, and to the miracles of the tablets, which were cubes read from every side. Citing the Rebbe, he contrasts ink on parchment with engraving in stone, and tells how the previous Rebbe sent Rabbi Shmuel Levitin to a lapsed follower in Chicago. Rabbi Levitin compared himself to a scribe touching up a faded letter; the previous Rebbe replied that a Jew is a letter engraved in stone, which only needs the dust wiped away. The "demons" mean destructive forces, which Shabbos transforms, as Rabbi Greenberg saw when a high-strung rabbi who lost everything in a fire at the Buffalo Chabad House spent that Shabbos completely serene. Moses' grave is hidden so that it would not be worshipped, to show that Moses lives on through the leaders of each generation, and to allude to the fiftieth level of understanding he reached on Mount Nevo. The ram that replaced Isaac shows that God wants sacrifice without death, and its horns are the shofar of Sinai and the great shofar of the Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OfzkPe2po04 2590 2023-09-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unlocking-redemption-the-power-of-repentance-on-rosh-hashanah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pr1qgoEyouc/hqdefault.jpg Unlocking Redemption: The Power of Repentance on Rosh Hashanah Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah stresses four times that teshuvah, repentance and return, is not hidden, not far, not in heaven and not across the sea. The portion read on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah opens "You stand today," which the Alter Rebbe, quoting the Zohar, applies to Rosh Hashanah, and according to the Ramban the verses about "this commandment" refer to teshuvah. Drawing on the Jerusalem Talmud, he describes how wisdom, prophecy and Torah each prescribe a consequence for the sinner, while God alone says, "Let him repent, and he will be forgiven." Following an explanation of the Rebbe, wisdom sees suffering as the natural result of sin, prophecy sees a severed lifeline, and the Torah offers a sacrifice because sin comes from the animal soul. The fourth obstacle is the feeling that God Himself does not want us back, as Elisha ben Abuya told Rabbi Meir he could not return. Rabbi Greenberg teaches that God wants every person to return, and applies the same four obstacles to the redemption, answering each with reasons for confidence that Mashiach can come. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pr1qgoEyouc 676 2023-09-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/inheritance-of-maaser-sheini-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_ZBY9mdgfC4/hqdefault.jpg Inheritance of Maaser Sheini | Rambam In-Depth Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that one who redeems maaser sheini, the tithe eaten in Jerusalem or redeemed for money, adds a fifth whether the produce was always his, came to him by inheritance, or was given to him as a gift while still untithed. The Kesef Mishneh and the Radvaz explain that a gift must be untithed because, according to Rabbi Meir, maaser sheini belongs to Heaven and cannot be given away; they ask, then, how an heir can own it even after it was tithed. The Raavad, on the Toras Kohanim, answers either that this follows the view that it is private property, or that an heir is different because he takes his father's place. Rabbi Greenberg explains the second answer through Reb Chaim Brisker: the holiness of maaser sheini does not remove ownership but bars using it for other purposes, and inheritance, which happens automatically, is not such a use. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_ZBY9mdgfC4 591 2023-09-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/where-is-lifes-reset-button-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cZERH-ggKno/hqdefault.jpg Where is Life's RESET Button? - Part II Rabbi Greenberg continues his series on teshuvah, explaining the remaining ways a person can change. Change requires wanting it, knowing how, and believing one is capable; thinking oneself incorrigible is not humility. Judaism values winning each inner battle even when a struggle recurs for decades, while true transformation is a higher level. Teshuvah means returning to one's inner self, the Divine soul on which God's four-letter name, which transcends time and nature, is imprinted. Connecting to it lets a person overcome natural obstacles, and the Rebbe told students that changing oneself is a miracle. Because that name is beyond time, teshuvah can even correct and transform the past, and God is especially close in the Ten Days of Teshuvah. A puzzling midrash in which the angels object to giving people the Torah is explained this way: God's name is within every person, and even the rebellious can be "stoned" with God's overwhelming love. Rabbi Greenberg tells of a critic of the Rebbe's outreach whose own rebellious son returned through a Chabad student's warmth. Behavior is another path: repeated action reshapes the brain, and each mitzvah removes the covering over the soul and nourishes it. Following Maimonides on Pirkei Avos, giving one dollar a hundred times is better than giving a hundred dollars once; the Alter Rebbe thanked a miser for a copper coin until he gave the whole sum, and the Rebbe advised a lonely young woman to offer her tablemates water. Finally, Torah study, the blueprint of creation, becomes part of a person and reshapes how he thinks, countering the influence of secular culture. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cZERH-ggKno 3725 2023-09-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pirkei-avos-ethics-of-our-fathers-ten-things-created-at-twilight-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tEG35nm2CN8/hqdefault.jpg PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS - Ten Things Created at Twilight II Rabbi Greenberg continues his study of the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos listing ten things created at twilight on the eve of the first Shabbos, explaining how each carries both a negative message rooted in the sin of Adam and Eve, which mixed good and evil, and a positive sign of the Messianic age. He stresses that God wanted the world imperfect so that people would be His partners in restoring it: the world is inherently good but became mixed, and our task is to make it visibly good. The mouth of the earth swallowed Korach, who argued that everyone is equal yet created division, and was swallowed at twilight, a time that both divides and mixes day and night. Korach also foresaw the unity of the Messianic age, but prematurely. Miriam's well, given in her merit, was needed only because the people were sentenced to the desert, yet it will nourish us again in the future. The mouth of Bilam's donkey showed, as the Meiri explains, that Bilam's power was not his own, while the donkey, chamor, also hints at materialism, which Mashiach will master. The rainbow recalls that the world deserved destruction yet heralds Mashiach. The manna, needed in the desert, was a perfect food without waste, and like the mystical teachings of Torah it points to the future. Moses' staff, passed down from Adam, brought the plagues but also symbolizes the leadership of Mashiach. All were created at the onset of the first Shabbos because the Messianic age is the Shabbos of creation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tEG35nm2CN8 2476 2023-08-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pirkei-avos-ethics-of-our-fathers-ten-things-created-at-twilight/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aYthpa3pX3g/hqdefault.jpg PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS: Ten Things Created at Twilight PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS: Ten Things Created at Twilight https://www.youtube.com/embed/aYthpa3pX3g 2023-08-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/the-brachah-before-eating-terumah-l-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DVdIP5Uahcg/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In Depth l The Brachah Before Eating Terumah Rabbi Greenberg studies the last halachah of Hilchos Terumos, where the Rambam rules that one who eats terumah (produce given to a kohen) first blesses over the food and then says: "Who sanctified us with the holiness of Aharon and commanded us to eat terumah." The Kesef Mishneh explains that eating terumah is a mitzvah and so requires a blessing, while the Radvaz holds there is no commandment to eat it; the "command" is that only kohanim may eat it. The Chemdas Yisrael reconciles the Rambam's sources: eating terumah is not required, but one who eats it fulfills a mitzvah. Rabbi Greenberg discusses how terumah can serve as matzah on Pesach, and why the Rambam requires a blessing here though he holds women do not bless on mitzvos they are exempt from. He suggests, tentatively, that eating terumah, likened to Temple service, differs from mitzvos the Torah specifically exempts one from. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DVdIP5Uahcg 732 2023-08-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unraveling-universe-s-age-13-billion-years-or-5783-judaism-s-insight/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hHLj-Vu3GAE/hqdefault.jpg Unraveling Universe's Age: 13 Billion Years or 5783? Judaism's Insight Rabbi Greenberg explains why he sees no contradiction between a world created in six days, 5,783 years ago, and scientists' estimate that the universe is about 13 billion years old. No one can prove the age of something that was created already old: if God created a mature world in an instant, a scientist testing it on the first day of creation would find it billions of years old. To the objection that this would mean God is deceiving us, he answers from the Hebrew word for world, olam, whose root means hidden. God created the universe to hide His presence and purpose so that we would discover them through our own intellect, emotions and actions. He compares this to a loving father playing hide-and-seek, which is a game meant to get children to search, not a deception. In Judaism, he says, God gives inspiration, a road map and tools, but the effort must be ours, or we lose the meaning of why we were created. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hHLj-Vu3GAE 230 2023-08-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/where-is-lifes-reset-button-part-i/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ombPgEadUvs/hqdefault.jpg Where is Life's RESET Button? - Part I Rabbi Greenberg opens a three-part series on teshuvah, better translated as "return" than "repentance," by asking whether people can really change. Unlike animals, humans have a Godly nature alongside the animal one, and Maimonides describes ideal teshuvah as so complete that God can testify the person will never sin again, while noting that teshuvah also applies to bad traits such as anger. Change requires three things: wanting to change, knowing how through Torah guidance, and believing one can change. In the month of Elul, the Alter Rebbe taught, the King is "in the field" and accessible, but we must approach Him. Change need not mean transformation. The Zohar teaches that suppressing a negative urge even once brings great Godly light, and the Tanya's beinoni, who struggles all his life but wins every battle, is in some ways superior to the tzaddik who no longer struggles. Self-control lasts through love of God, developed in prayer as meditation, more than through obedience alone. Rabbi Greenberg then presents methods of real transformation. Being ready to die for God reveals the essence of the soul. The mind can rule the heart: Ibn Ezra explains that a peasant does not covet a princess because she is out of his reach, and a person can train himself to see everything that isn't his the same way. Finally, one can meditate on one's inner goodness. Maimonides explains that a man compelled to grant a divorce truly wants to obey Jewish law, and teshuvah means returning to one's true, good self. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ombPgEadUvs 3160 2023-08-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-secret-of-creation-overcoming-division-and-discord/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qseVCeLv-jg/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Secret of Creation: Overcoming Division and Discord Rabbi Greenberg explains why, according to the Midrash, Gehinnom (hell) was created on the second day of creation, the day God separated the upper and lower waters. Division within the Jewish community, he says, opens a deep pit that swallows those who cause it, and it is the source of all later sins. Korach carried the banner of division, and the earth that swallowed him was the first correction, giving the ability to overcome sin and discord. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qseVCeLv-jg 123 2023-08-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-power-of-weekdays-finding-purpose-and-perfection-on-fridays/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bexwl_35w_Y/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Weekdays: Finding Purpose and Perfection on Fridays Rabbi Greenberg explains that while Shabbos is the holiest and most important day of the week, the weekdays, and Friday above all, have an advantage of their own. The weekdays are days of effort, when we use our God-given energy and talents for constructive purposes, because God wants us to work toward our goals rather than wait for Him to do everything. Friday, the final preparation for Shabbos, is the day the world reached the completion God intended. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bexwl_35w_Y 112 2023-08-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unveiling-the-universe-s-hidden-secrets-the-divine-purpose-behind-creation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeqn-Dbkk0w/hqdefault.jpg Unveiling the Universe's Hidden Secrets: The Divine Purpose Behind Creation Rabbi Greenberg answers the objection that God would not create a world that looks old in order to deceive us. Recalling a talk he gave in Michigan, he points out that the Hebrew word for world, olam, comes from a root meaning concealed. God created the universe to conceal His presence and purpose, so that we discover them through our own intellect, emotions and actions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aeqn-Dbkk0w 67 2023-08-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pirkei-avos-ethics-of-our-fathers-the-ten-things-created-at-twilight/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YMqhF9B0dV0/hqdefault.jpg PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS - The Ten Things Created at Twilight Rabbi Greenberg begins the Mishnah of the ten things created at twilight on the eve of the first Shabbos, explaining why they were created then and covering the first, the mouth of the earth. Ten is significant because God created the world with ten utterances and radiated ten attributes. Along the way he explains that God created a world that appears old, since olam, world, is related to hiddenness: like a father playing hide-and-seek, God hides so that people will search for Him. Twilight is neither day nor night and bridges both. Shabbos is the holiest day, yet the weekdays, especially Friday, have the advantage of effort and achievement, so the moment before sunset holds both. On weekdays God creates through divine speech, on Shabbos through thought, and twilight fuses the two. The six millennia parallel the six days, so this generation lives in history's twilight, just before the Messianic Shabbos. Man was created last so the world would be ready for him to perfect, as Rabbi Akiva showed with wheat that must be made into bread. After Adam and Eve's sin, God created at twilight the means of repair. Following Maimonides, such miracles were programmed into nature. The mouth of the earth that swallowed Korach corrects division and the denial that the entire Torah is divine. A Montreal rabbi who completed the Talmud in spare minutes shows the value of every moment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YMqhF9B0dV0 2361 2023-08-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/finding-meaning-in-every-action-unlocking-lifes-true-purpose/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uKDsygo-tDU/hqdefault.jpg Finding Meaning in Every Action (Unlocking Life's True Purpose) Rabbi Greenberg explains how connecting any action to a mitzvah gives it real meaning, starting from the commandment to build a guardrail on a new roof "so that you not bring blood upon your house if the one who falls should fall." Rashi says the one who falls deserved to fall, yet you should not be the cause, because good comes about through the meritorious and harm through the guilty. Based on the Tanya, Rabbi Greenberg explains that nearly everything that happens is predetermined by Divine Providence; only moral choices, between good and evil, are truly ours, so one who harms another bears full blame even though the outcome was destined. This explains why people are often unfulfilled by their achievements: wealth, talent and success are gifts from God, and praising them is like praising the hammer. An activity becomes our own only when we connect it to a mitzvah, for example working in order to give charity and educate one's children. King Solomon's words, "Know Him in all your ways," go further: everything, even walking down a supermarket aisle looking for a kosher symbol, can become a way of knowing God and a source of joy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uKDsygo-tDU 556 2023-08-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/unlocking-the-secrets-of-charity-distribution-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dGOT7SbVeNA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth | Unlocking the Secrets of Charity Distribution Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who gathers pe'ah, the corner of the field left for the poor, on behalf of a particular poor person acquires it for him only if he is poor himself; a wealthy person must give it to the first poor person who comes. One Tanna allows even a wealthy person to do so, since he could make himself poor by renouncing his property, but the sages do not allow that reasoning to be used twice, and the Rambam follows them. The Tzemach Tzedek was asked whether a charity collector may designate funds for a poor person in another town. He holds that the Rambam's ruling does not decide this: donors give for the poor in general and leave the choice to the collector, and a collector, like a hired worker, has more power than an agent. Yet since he serves his own town's poor, the rule may apply after all. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dGOT7SbVeNA 409 2023-08-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pirkei-avos-ethics-of-our-fathers-the-ten-miracles-in-the-holy-temple-part-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UPoN_uCYSPM/hqdefault.jpg PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS - The Ten Miracles in the Holy Temple Part III Rabbi Greenberg completes the last three of the ten miracles in the Beis HaMikdash listed in Pirkei Avos, chapter 5, stressing that God does not alter nature needlessly but performs miracles to teach a lesson or to save someone. In the first, the people stood pressed together yet had ample room to bow. Most commentators see this as a miracle of space; Maimonides, true to his approach of giving miracles a natural context, suggests that awe of God's presence made people take up less room, which Rabbi Greenberg links to the hidden powers people find in emergencies. Another explanation is that the room spared people embarrassment while confessing their sins, showing how far one must go not to shame another, as Tamar did with Yehuda. Metaphorically, a person crushed by pressure finds room to breathe by bowing to something higher. No snake or scorpion ever harmed anyone in Jerusalem. Rabbi Greenberg reads the snake's hot venom as destructive passion and the scorpion's cold venom as apathy, both cured by the city's holiness. Finally, no one said the place was too crowded to lodge in Jerusalem, meaning either no shortage of livelihood, as Rashi explains, or that the crowded pilgrims never complained. Citing the Rebbe, he explains that lowering the ego by bowing in the Temple made room for everyone in the city. He closes by asking why other Temple miracles, such as the Ark taking up no space, are not listed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UPoN_uCYSPM 2315 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/embracing-authority-and-rebellion-unveiling-the-secret-message-of-chanukah-rabbigreenberg/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XL0LtwwO6Sk/hqdefault.jpg Embracing Authority and Rebellion (Unveiling the Secret Message of Chanukah) #rabbigreenberg Rabbi Greenberg explains the hints to Chanukah in the Torah portion of Shoftim, which deals with respect for authority, and what they teach about both authority and rebellion. The portion describes the judges and officers, the monarchy, the prophets and the kohanim, and commands us not to turn from the words of the sages "to the right or the left." The Talmud cites this verse to explain the blessing "who commanded us to light the Chanukah lights": God commanded us to obey the sages, who instituted the mitzvah. "Right or left" also recalls the menorah's original place at the doorway, on the left, opposite the mezuzah on the right. Rabbi Greenberg then asks where today's spirit of rebellion against authority comes from. Positive mitzvos generate Divine light and an attitude of love, while the prohibitions break down the barriers that block that light and instill a spirit of rebellion, needed more than ever close to the coming of Moshiach. Like love and kindness, this gift can be misdirected. The lesson of Chanukah is to keep right and left intact: rebel against evil, apathy and one's own ego, but not against what is good. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XL0LtwwO6Sk 772 2023-08-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/exploration-of-vows-and-obligations-of-a-minor-rambam-in-depth-rabbigreenberg-judaism-chabad/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u6RbfgS7M50/hqdefault.jpg Exploration of Vows and Obligations of a Minor | Rambam In-Depth #rabbigreenberg #judaism #chabad Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a boy who has reached the age of vows, twelve years old and understanding what he vows, must pay if he vows an erech, the Torah's fixed valuation of a person, to the Beis HaMikdash. Yet a minor is exempt from obligations and punishment. Some suggest that his property is bound for payment, or that he pays once he is an adult. Rabbi Greenberg compares the Ritva and the Mahari Kurkos, who hold that a vow to the Beis HaMikdash made only in thought creates an obligation without the prohibition of breaking one's word. To explain how a minor can be obligated, he draws on the Rebbe's principle that one without whom another's obligation cannot be fulfilled shares in it, as with a child whose father must teach him Torah. Since a minor's vow takes full effect, making an animal holy, he can be obligated to pay, even without liability. https://www.youtube.com/embed/u6RbfgS7M50 583 2023-08-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-unforgettable-melody-a-journey-of-hope-and-faith-ani-ma-amin-rabbigreenberg-judaism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ea824Pkkc9U/hqdefault.jpg The Unforgettable Melody: A Journey of Hope and Faith ('Ani Ma'amin') #rabbigreenberg #judaism Rabbi Greenberg tells the story behind the melody of Ani Ma'amin, "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Mashiach." A Chassidic Jew known for composing melodies set the words to a tune in a cattle car on the way to the death camps and promised half his share in the World to Come to whoever brought it to his Rebbe. One man escaped, reached America and taught it to the Rebbe, and Jews still sing it today. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ea824Pkkc9U 80 2023-08-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-coming-of-mashiach-a-glorious-future-for-the-jewish-people/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KWbUsaYFaPU/hqdefault.jpg The Coming of Mashiach (A Glorious Future for the Jewish People) Rabbi Greenberg explains that the Messianic age, ushered in by a human Jewish leader, is hinted at in dozens of places in the Torah and stated explicitly at the end of Deuteronomy, where the Jewish people are told they will be scattered and then returned to their homeland. He notes that no one starting a new religion would predict his followers' failure, and cites Bilaam near the end of Numbers: "I see it, but not now." https://www.youtube.com/embed/KWbUsaYFaPU 79 2023-08-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pirkei-avos-ethics-of-our-fathers-chapter-5-mishna-5/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E0x_5Bn3SFg/hqdefault.jpg PIRKEI AVOS: ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS - Chapter 5 Mishna 5 Rabbi Greenberg continues the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos listing ten miracles that took place in the Beis HaMikdash, explaining both what happened and what each one teaches. Sacrificial meat never spoiled, reflecting that holiness is preserved, as seen in the bodies of very holy people that remained intact. No fly was seen in the slaughterhouse: the fly symbolizes the evil inclination and idolatry, and in the Temple's atmosphere it disappeared for anyone who did not resist its influence. He adds that treating any human ideology as absolute is a form of idolatry. The High Priest was never disqualified on Yom Kippur, teaching how far God goes to spare a person embarrassment; citing Rabbi Yosef Yaavetz, he notes that a person is most vulnerable at a spiritual peak. Rain never extinguished the altar fire, showing that opposites can make peace and, according to a mystical commentary on Avos, that the fire of Abraham's binding of Isaac still burns in every Jew despite materialism. Wind never scattered the column of smoke, which recalls the smoke of Sinai and the Torah's power to sanctify space, time and energy. The omer, the two loaves of Shavuos and the showbread were never disqualified, representing refinement and the revealed and inner parts of the Torah. In questions, Rabbi Greenberg explains that seeing God does not force anyone to change, and that most miracles work through nature, as in a story involving a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. https://www.youtube.com/embed/E0x_5Bn3SFg 3247 2023-08-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-case-against-negativism-embracing-positivity-in-a-complex-world-rabbigreenberg/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wi-rTM0-uww/hqdefault.jpg The Case Against Negativism (Embracing Positivity in a Complex World) #rabbigreenberg Rabbi Greenberg explains why fighting evil must not make a person negative, based on a verse in Parshas Re'eh. The Torah commands the Jewish people entering the land to destroy every trace of idolatry, and then says, "You shall not do so to God, your God." The Talmud reads this as a continuation: what is done to idols must not be done to anything holy, such as a synagogue or God's name. But no believing Jew needs to be told this, so Rabbi Greenberg finds a further message: someone engaged in fighting evil, even justifiably, can let a militant, rebellious attitude become second nature and then turn it against good things and people. He has seen people who came to Judaism by rebelling against secularism and hedonism later turn that spirit against those who brought them close. Evil must be fought, he says, but it should not define us, and more energy should go into doing good than into fighting evil, perhaps double. Chassidus teaches that evil has essentially been vanquished: since the sin of the Tree of Knowledge good and evil were intermingled, and every mitzvah separates them further, so evil, now isolated, is making its last stand, while a little light dispels much darkness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wi-rTM0-uww 554 2023-08-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/the-means-to-effect-a-neder-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vKOImvUSRa4/hqdefault.jpg The Means to Effect A Neder | Rambam In-Depth Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's rulings on vows made by comparison: one who declares produce forbidden "like a sacrifice" makes a valid vow, since a sacrifice becomes holy through a declaration, while "like pork" does not. Comparing to a sin offering works, since a nazir's sin offering comes about through his vow. Comparing to terumah, the portion given to a kohen, does not, since ordinary produce cannot become terumah by declaration. The Radvaz cites other reasons: the Rosh notes that untithed produce was already forbidden, and the Ran that terumah is forbidden only to non-kohanim. The Keren Orah asks why comparing to the animal tithe works, when it too cannot be declared at will. The Kehillos Yaakov answers that calling the ninth animal the tenth makes it holy, and that the animal tithe belongs to the broader category of peace offerings, which can be vowed, while nothing can become terumah unless it is subject to terumah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vKOImvUSRa4 571 2023-08-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/action-vs-faith-and-feeling-exploring-judaisms-unique-approach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u2oq79ykrDU/hqdefault.jpg ACTION vs. FAITH and FEELING: (Exploring Judaism's Unique Approach) Rabbi Greenberg explains how Judaism weighs faith, feeling and action, and why the deed is the essential thing. Contrary to a common impression, faith is the foundation of Judaism: the Talmud says the prophet Habakkuk summed up all the mitzvos in "a righteous person lives by his faith," and the Rambam's thirteen principles each open with "I believe with perfect faith." Yet faith is the most peripheral layer of the personality and does not by itself control behavior; the Talmud notes that even a burglar calls on God for help. Judaism therefore also demands feelings, love and awe of God, and serving Him with the heart. If one could have only one of the three, Rabbi Greenberg says, it should be action, as Pirkei Avos teaches. A mitzvah counts even without feeling or awareness, such as money one lost that feeds a poor person, and the Talmud rules that one forced to eat matzah on Pesach has fulfilled the mitzvah. The reason is that God is not more spiritual than physical. Being truly infinite, nothing is too small for Him, and things matter only because He chooses them, so the physical actions He commands carry infinite value. Faith is still needed because it is true and because practice resting on culture or feeling alone is rarely passed on to the next generation. Feelings matter because a mitzvah without them is like a body without a soul. Using the Midrash of a dwelling place for God, he explains that each mitzvah is a brick in the palace, love and awe are its light, and faith is its foundation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/u2oq79ykrDU 2720 2023-08-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-life-and-teachings-of-rabbi-levi-yitzchak-schneerson/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fuCX0zMfKG0/hqdefault.jpg THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF RABBI LEVI YITZCHAK SCHNEERSON Rabbi Greenberg tells the life story of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the father of the Rebbe, and shares several of his teachings. He clears up the common confusion between the Rebbe's father and the Rebbe's father-in-law, the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, and explains how both descend from the third Chabad Rebbe. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was a child prodigy and an outstanding kabbalist who became rabbi of Yekaterinoslav at 31, won over a largely secular community, and opened his home to refugees during World War I. Under the Soviets he openly defied the regime, encouraging circumcision and refusing to certify the Pesach matzah unless his own people supervised it, until the authorities in Moscow gave in. In 1939 he was arrested, held in five prisons and exiled to Kazakhstan, where his wife made ink from herbs so he could write commentary in the margins of his few books. He passed away in 1944. The Rebbe published and explained his father's writings, spoke of his humility in always looking up to the people he helped, and showed great devotion to his mother, visiting her every day. Among the teachings Rabbi Greenberg shares: Jacob bowed to Esau seven times to strip away Esau's sevenfold impurity and reveal the measure of God's name he had inherited from Isaac; the first and last letters of the Torah spell lev, heart, showing that whether one does more or less, what counts is that the heart is in it; and emes, truth, means consistency from beginning to end, which only God fully has. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fuCX0zMfKG0 3168 2023-08-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/coping-with-modernity-finding-eternal-wisdom-in-a-fast-paced-world/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uw6WVbvXfTw/hqdefault.jpg Coping with Modernity: (Finding Eternal Wisdom in a Fast-Paced World) Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Torah helps a person cope with the pressures of modern life, drawing on the second paragraph of the Shema, spoken by Moses shortly before the Jewish people entered the Land of Israel. Read literally, the verse says "if listen you shall listen to My commandments," and Rashi explains the doubled word: if you listen with respect to old matters, you will also listen with regard to new matters. Rabbi Greenberg contrasts the Jews in Egypt, whose senses were dulled by the same tedious labor day after day, with people today, who are exposed to the whole world around the clock and can never keep up with constant change, leading to pressure and anxiety. The answer, he says, is to be anchored in what is eternal. Not everything from the past is worth keeping, but the Torah and its commandments are Divine, and God is always ahead of the times. Since whatever is modern today will be outdated tomorrow, only what is connected to the eternal is truly modern. Living this way now, at the threshold of the Messianic age, is how we prepare for it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uw6WVbvXfTw 463 2023-08-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/cracking-the-code-of-happiness-what-you-need-to-know/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nWpV1KwBCuo/hqdefault.jpg Cracking the Code of Happiness (What You Need to Know) Rabbi Greenberg, in conversation with Rabbi Simon Jacobson, explains why so many people are unhappy and how a person can become truly happy. He notes that the Talmud lists ten Hebrew words for happiness while Hebrew has no word for fun, which is only a diversion from unhappiness. Children are naturally happy, he says, because joy is the default state of a soul that is part of God, and because a child is not self-conscious and is free of sin. When a follower brought the Alter Rebbe a list of everything he needed, the Alter Rebbe remarked that he had not mentioned why he is needed; knowing that one was created with a purpose is the basis of happiness. Ego blocks happiness: an entitled person is never grateful, and Adam's blaming of Eve after the sin showed the self-consciousness that ended the joy of Eden. Simcha, joy, breaks through barriers within a person and between people, a divine energy, and singing, dancing and a positive outlook help generate it. Someone who is suffering needs empathy and an embrace, not philosophy; questions such as why God allowed the Holocaust are the soul crying out, and Mashiach will be God's embrace. Joy will be complete only in the Messianic age, but meanwhile a person can be happy by beginning each day grateful for life, purpose and the ability to serve God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nWpV1KwBCuo 3219 2023-08-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/holidays/the-15th-of-av-relationships/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZV1-tosEpko/hqdefault.jpg The 15th of Av & Relationships Rabbi Greenberg takes the seven reasons given for the 15th of Av, a day associated with finding one's match, and applies each to relationships, with marriage as the model. On that day the generation in the desert stopped dying; their reluctance to enter the land reflected both a slave mentality that avoids responsibility and a wish to stay in a purely spiritual life, while a relationship requires taking responsibility and engaging with the world. The lifting of the ban on marrying between tribes, which arose from fear of losing land, points to money, a misdirected spiritual drive he explains through the sparks of the world of Tohu (chaos) hidden in physical things. The lifting of the ban on marrying into the tribe of Benjamin teaches not to label a person by a misdeed, since people can change. The removal of the guards blocking pilgrims to Jerusalem teaches removing what comes between a couple, whether relatives taking sides, one's own pursuits, or an intellect that will not let feelings show. The burial of the dead of Betar points to burying anger, and the breaking of the axes at the end of the wood-cutting season for the Temple shows that whoever brought people together must eventually step aside. Finally, the full moon after Tisha B'Av, the lowest point, marks the highest rise: a relationship that turns from negative to positive becomes stronger, as teshuvah out of love turns sins into merits. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZV1-tosEpko 2768 2023-08-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/two-categories-of-treifa-meat-unfit-for-consumption-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yy1CtxnIpYM/hqdefault.jpg Two Categories of Treifa (meat unfit for consumption) | Rambam In-depth Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that besides an animal mauled by a predator, certain illnesses render an animal treifah (unfit), as taught to Moshe at Sinai in eight categories. As the Kesef Mishneh notes, the Talmud cites Ulla's view that the number eight excludes a diseased kidney, yet the Rambam both counts eight and rules that a diseased kidney renders the animal treifah. The Noda BiYehudah explains that the Torah already implies that an animal that cannot live is forbidden, and a treifah normally does not survive twelve months. The tradition from Sinai makes the eight categories treifah absolutely, even if such an animal could live longer, while a diseased kidney is treifah only because the animal does not survive. This also explains why the Rambam considers a person treifah, so that his killer is not executed, only when doctors say he will not recover: for people the only question is survival. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yy1CtxnIpYM 706 2023-08-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-greatest-jewish-holiday/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TQj8-1riAls/hqdefault.jpg The Greatest Jewish Holiday Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Mishnah says the Jewish people never had holidays as great as Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av, Tu B'Av, a day most Jews have never heard of, when unmarried young women went out to the vineyards and couples were formed. Our relationship with God is compared to a marriage: Yom Kippur was the reconciliation after the golden calf, and the 15th of Av is a holiday of reconciliation as well. He traces the reasons given for the day. The generation sentenced in the desert after the spies' report realized on the 15th, seeing the full moon, that the dying had ended; the rule that heiresses marry within their tribe, and later the ban on marrying into the tribe of Benjamin, were lifted; a king of Israel removed the guards that Jeroboam had posted to keep people from Jerusalem; the Romans allowed the dead of Betar to be buried; and the cutting of wood for the altar ended in a celebration of unity, since that wood served sinners' offerings. The deeper reason is the full moon on the 15th, when the moon, representing the Jewish people, fully reflects the light of the sun, representing God. He adds that the Talmud finds God's name in the words ish and isha, so a marriage with God in it unites two fires harmoniously, and that circle dancing and the wedding ring express a relationship without end. The day has no special ritual beyond omitting Tachanun because its joy is pure, and it will be complete when Mashiach comes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TQj8-1riAls 3283 2023-07-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/confronting-destructive-forces/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HE_4kKfGmqA/hqdefault.jpg Confronting Destructive Forces On Tisha B'Av, Rabbi Greenberg studies the Talmud's story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza in tractate Gittin to show how a seemingly minor offense escalated into the destruction of Jerusalem. He explains that the story appears in a tractate on divorce because exile is like a painful separation between God and the Jewish people, and that the prophet calls Tisha B'Av a holiday because these sad days will become days of celebration once we learn their lessons. A host sent his servant to invite his friend Kamtza, but the servant brought his enemy Bar Kamtza. The host publicly expelled him, refusing his offers to pay for his food, half the feast and then the whole feast. Bar Kamtza, angry that the sages did not protest, told the emperor the Jews were rebelling and blemished the emperor's offering so it could not be brought. Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas opposed both sacrificing it and killing Bar Kamtza, and the Talmud blames his passivity for the destruction. Rabbi Greenberg argues that Bar Kamtza's revenge against his own people was far worse than the host's insult, and that the host is not named because he was right to keep such a man away. Some commentators blame Kamtza, possibly Bar Kamtza's father, for doing nothing about the hatred in his own family. The Talmud does not mention the Roman emperor because his guilt is obvious; it focuses on the lesser players because their conduct is what we can learn from and change. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HE_4kKfGmqA 2745 2023-07-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/the-rambams-insights-on-forbidden-foods-false-testimony-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6Qgf7FD86AU/hqdefault.jpg The Rambam's Insights on Forbidden Foods & False Testimony | Rambam In-depth Rabbi Greenberg explains the Rambam's ruling at the start of the second chapter of the laws of forbidden foods. The Torah permits animals that have split hooves and chew their cud, and from this we infer that animals without these signs are forbidden; a prohibition inferred from a positive statement has the status of a positive commandment and carries no lashes. The Torah explicitly forbids the four animals that have only one of the signs, and the Rambam derives that an animal with neither sign also falls under a negative commandment, even though punishments are not normally derived from a kal vachomer, a logical inference from a lesser case. He answers that the animal is already forbidden by the positive commandment, so the inference only adds a negative commandment to an existing prohibition. Tosafos, quoted by the Mishneh LaMelech, disagrees. The Aruch LaNer shows that both follow their opinions on perjured witnesses, eidim zomemin. If the accused was already punished, the witnesses are not executed, because punishment is not derived from a kal vachomer. Tosafos holds that the witnesses are still punished only in money matters, while the Rambam rules that if the accused already received lashes, the witnesses receive lashes too. Since false testimony is already forbidden by "do not bear false witness," a prohibition without lashes, the Rambam allows the kal vachomer to add a penalty, as with the animal without signs, while Tosafos rejects that premise. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Qgf7FD86AU 665 2023-07-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secrets-of-the-holy-temples-history-and-purpose-part-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/I8kPMzNBvxk/hqdefault.jpg The Secrets Of The Holy Temples: History And Purpose - Part 2 Rabbi Greenberg explains how Jews fulfill the obligation to build the Beis HaMikdash today, why the two Temples were destroyed, and the meaning of Tisha B'Av. The Rambam rules that every man and woman must take part in building the Temple. Until Mashiach builds it, we fulfill this by studying its laws, as the Midrash says God told Ezekiel; by building synagogues, which the Talmud says will be brought to the land of Israel, as will homes made into sanctuaries, the Rebbe adds; and by making our hearts a sanctuary, since God said "I will dwell in them." The Mishkan showed that God had fully forgiven the golden calf and would again live among the people. More deeply, the Divine presence withdrew through seven generations of sin, from Adam to the Egyptians, and seven generations from Abraham to Moses brought it back. The First Temple fell through idolatry, which was strongest precisely because holiness was greater; the Alter Rebbe teaches that idolatry was replaced by the worship of money. The Second Temple fell through baseless hatred, which is repaired with baseless love, as the Rebbe advised a rabbi to appoint his former opponent to a committee. Rabbi Greenberg lists the tragedies of Tisha B'Av, from the spies to the expulsion from Spain, explains its laws, and notes that, as a story in the Talmud indicates, Mashiach's soul was born at the moment of the destruction, so the day will become the greatest festival. https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8kPMzNBvxk 2994 2023-07-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/the-jewish-secret-to-effective-rebuke-discipline/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lhLka2Relj8/hqdefault.jpg The Jewish Secret to Effective Rebuke #discipline Rabbi Greenberg explains how Moses rebuked the people at the opening of Deuteronomy. Rashi teaches that the places listed in the first verse allude to the people's sins; out of love, Moses began softly and subtly, which teaches that rebuke should start gently and only change tone if it does not work. Rabbi Greenberg then asks why the verse alludes to Korach's rebellion, at Chatzeros, before the golden calf, hinted at by Di Zahav, although the calf came first. He explains that unity would have lessened even a serious sin, because people who accept the authority God gave Moses and Aaron do not recast their mistakes as virtues. Chatzeros means "courtyards": Korach created separate precincts. Different tribes and customs within the Torah's framework are fine, but once a deviation is enshrined as "my branch," a sin like the golden calf can never be corrected. Likewise, the First Temple fell because of idolatry and the Second because of senseless hatred. Before Tishah B'Av, the answer is senseless love: as the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya, one should love even a person one need not love, hating only the evil. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lhLka2Relj8 605 2023-07-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/marrying-bas-achoso-the-surprising-truth-explained-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x81WNN_aQy8/hqdefault.jpg Marrying Bas Achoso? The Surprising Truth Explained | Rambam In-depth Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that it is a mitzvah of the Sages to marry one's niece, a sister's or a brother's daughter, based on the verse in Isaiah, "Do not hide from your own flesh," which the Gemara cites with other acts of kindness to relatives. He reviews the reasons given. Rashi explains that a close relative brings harmony and a successful marriage, which applies equally to a brother's daughter, as does the Midrash the Rambam relies on. Other reasons, such as the Yad Ramah's that this helps a sister more likely to be in need, apply only to a sister's daughter, so the Rambam evidently does not follow them. He then addresses the will of the author of Sefer Chassidim, which advises against marrying a niece: the mitzvah applies only when done for its own sake, which protects from harm, much as Ashkenazim give chalitzah precedence over levirate marriage. https://www.youtube.com/embed/x81WNN_aQy8 660 2023-07-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/the-holy-temple-why-does-judaism-place-such-a-premium-on-a-physical-location-structure/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GDgZikL5sDo/hqdefault.jpg The Holy Temple: Why does Judaism place such a premium on a physical location & structure? Speaking during the Three Weeks before Tisha B'Av, Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism places such importance on the Beis HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, and on its specific location, when there are thousands of synagogues. Much of the Torah's 613 commandments concern the Temple, Jews everywhere pray facing it, and the fast days mourn its loss. The Temple Mount is where creation began from the Foundation Stone, where Adam's earth was taken from the site of the altar so that atonement is built into humanity, and where the binding of Isaac took place. God fills the whole world, but, as the Tanya's analogy of the soul and the brain explains, His presence is channeled to the world through the Temple; in exile it is like a person asleep. In the Temple the supernatural and the natural were fused: the Ark had exact dimensions yet took up no space. Its windows were narrow inside and wide outside to send light outward, and the Rebbe explained that the Rambam drew the menorah's cups upside down because the menorah's purpose was to pour light into the world. In the Temple there was no split between the physical and the spiritual, which is why no one answered amen there and why a priest could not have a visible blemish. Rabbi Greenberg compares this to the experience of a private audience with the Rebbe. The Temple also brought peace together with truth: Jerusalem was crowded, yet no one complained, and the seventy offerings of Sukkos benefited all nations. Following the Rambam, he says Mashiach will rebuild it, and urges sincere prayer for that. https://www.youtube.com/embed/GDgZikL5sDo 3170 2023-07-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/miraculous-encounters-with-the-rebbe-stories-that-will-leave-you-speechless/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-SsqsPLh7aw/hqdefault.jpg Miraculous Encounters with the Rebbe: Stories That Will Leave You Speechless! Ahead of Gimmel Tammuz, Rabbi Greenberg and therapist Rus Devorah Wallen share stories of the Rebbe from before and after that date, which Rabbi Greenberg describes as a day of concealment, when we can no longer see or hear the Rebbe, rather than a passing. He explains that people still receive guidance by opening the published volumes of the Rebbe's letters, which the Rebbe encouraged before Gimmel Tammuz. In one story, a young man in Buffalo opened a volume at random and found the only letter Rabbi Greenberg knows of in which the Rebbe praises physical therapy; he became a physical therapist after losing his sales job the day before his program began. Mrs. Wallen describes being told, through a letter written to the Rebbe, to lead a lively farbrengen, and the Rebbe telling her to hold gatherings with her friends. Rabbi Greenberg links the date to Joshua stopping the sun and to the previous Rebbe's release from prison on 3 Tammuz, which the Rebbe called the beginning of redemption. Still, he stresses, we are not satisfied: we want to see the Rebbe with physical eyes when Mashiach comes. For him the Rebbe's greatest quality is not miracles or scholarship but love: answering thousands of letters according to each person's nature, writing regularly to a simple cook, knowing what Rabbi Greenberg's wife wanted to ask without her saying it, and patiently giving a boy a piece of matzah for each member of his family. The Rebbe valued children's innocence, which the Talmud links to Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-SsqsPLh7aw 2773 2023-07-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-neemanus-of-a-woman-who-claims-she-was-divorced-without-producing-any-proof/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wIaKagVi4Y0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Ne'emanus of a Woman Who Claims She Was Divorced Without Producing Any Proof Rabbi Greenberg studies the Rambam's ruling that a woman who says, "I was married and I am divorced," is believed, because "the mouth that prohibited is the mouth that permitted": otherwise no one would have known she was married. If her marriage was known through witnesses, she needs proof, such as her get (bill of divorce) or witnesses. The Maggid Mishneh cites a view that she must add the claim of divorce immediately, but holds that no time limit applies, since being divorced does not contradict having been married. He then turns to the Tzemach Tzedek's case: a woman known to be married only because she covers her hair, who later says she is divorced. The Tzemach Tzedek rules leniently. Rabbi Greenberg suggests the question may depend on whether the principle rests on migo, the reasoning that a liar would have made a better claim, or on the logic that whoever establishes a status can undo it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wIaKagVi4Y0 683 2023-07-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gimmel-tammuz/the-3rd-of-tammuz-the-day-the-sun-did-not-set-part-iv/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LwSyiQmugkQ/hqdefault.jpg The 3rd of Tammuz - The Day the Sun Did Not Set - Part IV Rabbi Greenberg concludes his four-part series on the Lubavitcher Rebbe, covering the Rebbe's prophecies, his ways of reaching people, and how his presence continues after Gimmel Tammuz. He notes that the greatest miracle is changing one's own nature and the world, something everyone can do, and that Maimonides writes that prophecy can exist today and will return before Mashiach. He recounts the Rebbe's assurance during the Gulf War that there would be no chemical attack, and his prediction of the Soviet Union's collapse. Rabbi Greenberg describes how the Rebbe answered an estimated half a million questions through letters and brief replies, met thousands in private audiences, and later gave out dollars for charity while looking into each person's soul. He explains the Rebbe's empathy through a predecessor's image of removing one's own clothes and putting on the other person's, and describes the Rebbe's elevation of women, of children through Tzivos Hashem, and of seniors, his opposition to retirement, his promotion of the seven Noahide commandments, and his focus on Mashiach. Rabbi Greenberg argues the Rebbe's presence has not diminished: Chabad grew rather than collapsed, and emissaries such as his own son go to towns where they know no one because the Rebbe wants it. People still connect through prayer at the Ohel, the Rebbe's resting place, and by opening volumes of his letters. In answer to questions, he compares the Ten Commandments with the Noahide laws and explains why no new Rebbe is appointed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LwSyiQmugkQ 3799 2023-07-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-mitzvah-of-pirya-verivya/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XGAdScEt_ME/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In Depth: The Mitzvah of Pirya Verivya Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a man who had children before converting has fulfilled the mitzvah of having children (pru u'revu) if his children converted with him. The Talmud records a dispute over whether such children count; the Rambam rules that they do, but adds a condition the Talmud does not mention, that the children convert too. The Maharil disagrees, and Tosafos seems to agree with him. Rabbi Greenberg suggests the Rambam's source is the Talmud's ruling that a Sefer Torah may be sold only to study Torah or to marry. Torah study is allowed because it leads to all the mitzvos, and marriage may be allowed for the same reason, since the Torah was given to people, not angels; children not connected to mitzvos would not serve that purpose. The Maharil instead sees the mitzvah as unique because God created the world to be inhabited, which applies even to non-Jews. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XGAdScEt_ME 629 2023-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/reviling-the-truth-about-religions-what-they-don-t-want-you-to-know/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aOtsCZilTwg/hqdefault.jpg Reviling the Truth About Religions: What They Don't Want You to Know Rabbi Greenberg recounts how he answered when an interfaith panel of a priest, a minister, an imam and a Hindu guru was asked what each thinks of other religions. While the others said all religions are different paths to the same end, which he did not believe reflected their real views, he answered that a religion will endure to the extent that it conforms to the seven Noahide commandments, and to the extent that it does not, it will not. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aOtsCZilTwg 63 2023-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-secret-of-a-remarkable-leader-uncovering-the-rebbe-s-astonishing-acts/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KhBUsP4efDU/hqdefault.jpg The Secret of a Remarkable Leader Uncovering the Rebbe's Astonishing Acts Rabbi Greenberg describes the Rebbe's emphasis on tzedakah as a physical mitzvah that brings the Redemption. For about his last five years, the Rebbe stood every Sunday, at the age of 89 or 90, for seven or eight hours without a break, giving a dollar with a blessing to every man, woman and child who passed, so that each would give it, or an exchanged dollar plus more of their own, to a charity of their choice. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KhBUsP4efDU 109 2023-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-united-states-declaration-of-independence-a-jewish-perspective-on-the-fourth-of-july/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pcTU_N1rNl4/hqdefault.jpg The United States Declaration of Independence: A Jewish Perspective on the Fourth of July Rabbi Greenberg explains how Jews celebrate the Fourth of July both as Americans and as Jews. As Americans they celebrate the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; as Jews they add a further level of gratitude, since Jews have always held that they must be loyal to the government under which they live, and the word Jew is related to the word for gratitude. He stresses that, for Jews, religious freedom matters above all, since Jewish life cannot survive without the Torah and its mitzvos. Addressing the question of divided loyalty between America and Israel, he cites a Holocaust survivor who compared love of Israel to love of a parent and love of America to love of a spouse, adding that Israel is really both. There is no contradiction, he explains, because America offers an unparalleled freedom of opportunity, while Israel, where God's presence is more pronounced, offers the freedom to express the soul. He closes by calling the holiday a prelude to the ultimate freedom with the coming of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pcTU_N1rNl4 230 2023-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-does-the-lubavitcher-rebbe-mean-to-me-part-3/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W35Cszlhx6Q/hqdefault.jpg What does the Lubavitcher Rebbe mean to me? - Part 3 Rabbi Greenberg describes what the Lubavitcher Rebbe means to him, and says the Rebbe's most powerful quality was not his miracles or even his scholarship, but his love for people and the leadership built on it. He recalls the Rebbe's legendary memory, including a man who returned after 19 years to find the Rebbe continuing their earlier conversation, and how the Rebbe turned the compliment into a challenge to do more for Jewish education. The Rebbe received hundreds of letters a day, most about suffering, and answered each person according to his or her nature, sometimes giving two people different answers to the same question. Among the Rebbe's paradoxes, he dealt with presidents, prime ministers and kings, yet treasured simple individuals: a barely literate cook who received regular letters, and a young orphan whom the Rebbe asked to report every two weeks and then, when he stopped, every week. Rabbi Greenberg adds that the Rebbe, introverted by nature, became outgoing by working on himself, and that miracle stories matter because they show that God runs the world, though the Rebbe said that changing oneself is also a miracle. https://www.youtube.com/embed/W35Cszlhx6Q 667 2023-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-does-the-lubavitcher-rebbe-mean-to-me-part-4/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jFNgDc_f2W0/hqdefault.jpg What does the Lubavitcher Rebbe mean to me? - Part 4 Rabbi Greenberg and Mrs. Rus Devorah Wallen share stories of the individual attention the Rebbe gave each person. Mrs. Wallen recalls a Hakhel year in which the Rebbe encouraged birthday gatherings with words of Torah, charity and good resolutions. She brought the friends from her own gathering to the Rebbe, who answered her in Yiddish; she learned the next day that he wanted each of those friends to host a gathering in turn, and they celebrated for more than a week. Rabbi Greenberg tells how his wife, while they served as the Rebbe's emissaries in Buffalo, gave up her wish to ask a blessing for their children so she could ask for a sick woman in the community. As she walked away, the Rebbe told her she should have much nachas from them. Other stories follow: the Rebbe noticing a son's name missing from a mother's note, patiently giving a boy matzah for each family member, and writing that a child's innocent act should be cherished. The conversation links this to Mashiach, who is in touch with the purest, most innocent part of the soul, which children show most openly. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jFNgDc_f2W0 953 2023-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gimmel-tammuz/the-3rd-of-tammuz-the-day-the-sun-did-not-set-part-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4pRGYKQlWo0/hqdefault.jpg The 3rd of Tammuz - The Day the Sun Did Not Set - Part III Rabbi Greenberg continues his portrait of the Rebbe, given on the days marking the release of the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, from Soviet imprisonment. He focuses on the Rebbe's faith: faith in God, and also faith in every Jew and every human being, because he saw the soul in each person. This made the Rebbe an optimist who would not tolerate sadness or negative language and treated every obstacle as something to climb over, as when he scaled the locked fence of the Botanical Gardens on Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Greenberg describes the Rebbe's Chassidic teaching that nothing exists but God, so every detail of life is Divine Providence and a lesson; his still, submissive prayer and hours at his father-in-law's resting place reading thousands of names; his care for every detail of a mitzvah, even risking his life in wartime France to obtain an esrog; and his life's work of spreading Chassidus, including printing the Tanya worldwide, with a story of a Tanya in Tehran that spared a Jewish community after the Iranian revolution. He also covers the mitzvah campaigns built on the idea that one mitzvah creates an eternal bond, the Rebbe's self-sacrifice, the Rebbetzin's choice to stay out of public view, the Sunday dollars for charity, the Rebbe's humility in crediting his father-in-law, and accounts of blessings for children and predictions about the Six-Day War and the fall of the Soviet Union. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4pRGYKQlWo0 3877 2023-07-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-does-the-lubavitcher-rebbe-mean-to-me-part-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IbgcibaqZVc/hqdefault.jpg What does the Lubavitcher Rebbe mean to me? - Part 2 Rabbi Greenberg and Mrs. Rus Devorah Wallen share stories of how the Lubavitcher Rebbe continues to guide people. Rabbi Greenberg tells of a young man in Buffalo, not a Chassid, who asked to consult the Rebbe through the published volumes of his letters about applying to a physical therapy program. The letter he opened at random praised physical therapy, the only one Rabbi Greenberg could find on the subject. A year later, doing well in sales, he decided not to start the program, but was laid off the day before it began, enrolled, and became a successful physical therapist. Rabbi Greenberg stresses that while the Rebbe's influence is still present, and in some ways no longer limited by time or place, this is not the ideal; we want to see the Rebbe physically, as we believe will happen in the messianic age. Mrs. Wallen recounts an earlier story: after weeks without an answer to her letter asking to study in Israel, she discovered her passport had expired, had it renewed within days, and that same day received the Rebbe's blessing through Rabbi Groner to study at Machon Alta in Tzfas. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IbgcibaqZVc 582 2023-07-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gimmel-tammuz/mind-blowing-revelation-the-unbelievable-power-of-the-torah-exposed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1wTyboT3K1k/hqdefault.jpg Mind-Blowing Revelation: The Unbelievable Power of the Torah Exposed! Rabbi Greenberg draws a lesson from Gimmel Tammuz: Torah and mitzvos are the true reality of the world. Since God created the world with the Torah as its blueprint, something is true only to the extent that it conforms with Torah, and what does not exist in Torah has no reality. So if the Torah says a person is alive, he is alive, however many times others have buried or eulogized him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1wTyboT3K1k 54 2023-06-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-mezuzah-the-antidote-to-internal-and-external-threats/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_cX_1Dk_rk8/hqdefault.jpg The Mezuzah: The Antidote to Internal and External Threats Rabbi Greenberg explains how the mezuzah protects against threats from outside and from within, starting from Balak's fear after the Jewish people defeated Sichon and Og, the two kings hired to bar them from Canaan. The Kabbalistic work Megaleh Amukos says that these kings were the unholy counterpart of the mezuzah, a barrier against holiness, and finds a hint to this in the coded names of God written on the back of a mezuzah. Their land went to two and a half tribes; two and a half times 26, the value of God's four-letter name, equals 65, the value of the word mezuzah. One mezuzah serves two functions, guarding us when we go out and when we come in. Sichon, who left his city to attack, represents the threat outside the home, chiefly negative ideas, where we are most exposed. Og, whose battle site is linked to a word meaning "arm," represents the threat to Jewish practice inside the home, where most of Judaism is practiced. Beyond space, Elul is a mezuzah in time, our generation, the last of exile, is a mezuzah in history, and Mashiach is a mezuzah in person, strengthening belief in the redemption and encouraging mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_cX_1Dk_rk8 655 2023-06-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-shocking-truth-uncovering-the-unbelievable-gap-in-jewish-education/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MrZ2b4d1pMw/hqdefault.jpg The Shocking Truth Uncovering the Unbelievable Gap in Jewish Education Rabbi Greenberg describes a gap in Jewish education. Jews today are more educated secularly than at any time in history, with college degrees, doctorates and leading roles in research and every other field, yet no previous generation of Jews has been so uneducated Jewishly. Because the power to change that comes from knowledge, he says it is time for him to expand his teaching, since so many Jews need to learn more. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MrZ2b4d1pMw 46 2023-06-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unveiling-the-mind-blowing-truth-behind-mitzvah-and-reality-connection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lm2fX0lWpVA/hqdefault.jpg Unveiling the Mind-blowing Truth Behind Mitzvah and Reality Connection Rabbi Greenberg teaches that a mitzvah is more than doing a good thing: it connects a person to reality. Whatever is not connected to serving God, he says, is not reality but something fake, and we live in an age of virtual reality that is growing with AI. After doing a mitzvah one should not think only "I did the right thing" but recognize that one has connected to reality, which leads to the Ultimate Reality. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lm2fX0lWpVA 39 2023-06-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unveiling-the-secret-to-emotionally-opening-up-you-wont-believe-whats-holding-you-back/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/luVrskFhrc4/hqdefault.jpg Unveiling the Secret to Emotionally Opening Up: You Wont Believe What's Holding You Back Rabbi Greenberg describes a barrier that can stand between the mind and the heart. Sometimes, however hard a person tries, he knows the truth but it does not affect his feelings, which stay cold and desensitized. Because the mind and the emotions are different, the wall cannot simply be removed, but a person must do something to open a window in it, so that what he understands is not only cerebral but moves his emotions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/luVrskFhrc4 41 2023-06-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/unveiling-the-unshakeable-calling-that-will-leave-you-in-awe/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8hEIT10Ke5M/hqdefault.jpg Unveiling the Unshakeable Calling that Will Leave You in Awe Rabbi Greenberg says that while some people have to struggle to discover their purpose and mission in life, for him it was never a question. Teaching, he explains, was part of his DNA, and he knew without hesitation that his whole life would be devoted to it. The clip is a brief personal statement of that lifelong calling. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8hEIT10Ke5M 28 2023-06-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-does-the-lubavitcher-rebbe-mean-to-me-part-1/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TZbBihh9e24/hqdefault.jpg What does the Lubavitcher Rebbe mean to me? - Part 1 In the first part of a conversation about the Rebbe ahead of Gimel Tammuz, Rabbi Greenberg speaks with therapist Mrs. Rus Devorah Wallen about stories of the Rebbe before and after that date. Rabbi Greenberg explains that he deliberately avoids calling Gimel Tammuz the day of the Rebbe's passing: it is the day we could no longer see or hear the Rebbe, a state of concealment, but a Rebbe's spiritual energy never dies. He describes how people seek the Rebbe's guidance today, including writing a question and opening a volume of the Rebbe's published letters at random, or going to the Ohel, his resting place. He tells of a man whom the Rebbe told not to have surgery, and who years later, facing surgery again, prayed at the Ohel and then saw a video of the Rebbe telling him not to. Mrs. Wallen recounts being invited to lead a Shabbaton in Montreal right after Gimel Tammuz, for which the school had already received an answer from the Rebbe to hold a lively farbrengen. The conversation also links the date to Joshua stopping the sun and to the previous Rebbe's release from prison on the third of Tammuz. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TZbBihh9e24 582 2023-06-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-tefillah-of-the-shliach-tzibur-on-public-fast-days/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NgGQ4gKLEGE/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Tefillah of the Shliach Tzibur On Public Fast Days Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the prayer leader on the special fast days declared for rain must have no sinners among his family and those attached to him, and must have had a good reputation even in his youth. Rashi explains the Gemara's requirement that his house be "empty" as free of stolen goods, but the Rambam reads it as free of sin in his household. It is asked why the family is listed before his own conduct, and where else a person is disqualified for his relatives' sins. The Even HaEzel answers that he could have stopped them, but, Rabbi Greenberg notes, such a person would already count as wicked. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that the requirement concerns influence rather than righteousness. These fasts come when all others have failed, and the leader must break a heavenly decree; one who cannot influence his own household lacks that spiritual strength, which an ordinary prayer leader does not need. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NgGQ4gKLEGE 695 2023-06-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gimmel-tammuz/the-3rd-of-tammuz-the-day-the-sun-did-not-set-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nDp0J_4p4GI/hqdefault.jpg The 3rd of Tammuz - The Day the Sun Did Not Set - Part II Rabbi Greenberg continues his portrait of the Rebbe on the 3rd of Tammuz, a day he does not regard as a passing, focusing on the Rebbe's sensitivity to individuals and his leadership. He tells of the Rebbe searching through his mail for a boy's request for a blessing on an ingrown toenail, refusing a letter-opening machine because some letters were "sealed with tears," setting aside his habit of covering his eyes in prayer so a disfigured man would not feel rejected, and having visiting prisoners seated among the crowd rather than as a group. The Rebbe also avoided negative language, preferring to call a hospital a house of healing rather than a house of the sick. The Rebbe combined care for every individual with leadership on a vast scale, growing a movement from a tiny headquarters to thousands of centers run by couples. He saw people's potential rather than their limits, wrote that "there is no such thing as a small Jew," encouraged independence, and even helped competing organizations survive. Rabbi Greenberg lists his pioneering contributions: a front-line role for women, a high regard for children, youth and seniors, harnessing technology, the mitzvah campaigns and outreach to non-Jews on the seven Noahide commandments. He describes the Rebbe standing for hours in prayer at his father-in-law's resting place, seeing himself as his father-in-law's extension, and concludes that the engine behind everything was the Rebbe's desire to bring Mashiach, which every single mitzvah can help bring about. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nDp0J_4p4GI 3875 2023-06-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-requirement-of-kiddush-hachodesh-in-the-land-of-israel/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0W-T4SP0p-A/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Requirement of Kiddush Hachodesh in the Land of Israel Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling at the end of chapter 1 of Hilchos Kiddush HaChodesh (the laws of sanctifying the new month) that months may be fixed and leap years declared only in the Land of Israel, based on the verse "For from Zion shall go forth Torah." In chapter 4 the Rambam bases the leap-year law on a different verse, and Tosafos raises the same question on the Gemara. After an answer that one verse applies while the Temple stands and the other afterward, he presents a second approach: the Gemara teaches that a month declared by the court is holy even if they erred or acted deliberately, an exceptional power drawn from the verse about Zion that does not extend to leap years. He then explains that this power comes from the Sanhedrin's role as representative of the entire Jewish people, which is why sages after the Sanhedrin could still sanctify months. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0W-T4SP0p-A 802 2023-06-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gimmel-tammuz/the-3rd-of-tammuz-the-day-the-sun-did-not-set/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/skJjlvkzL90/hqdefault.jpg The 3rd of Tammuz - The Day the Sun Did Not Set Rabbi Greenberg explains why the third of Tammuz, the day the Rebbe could no longer be physically seen or heard, is both a sad day and a day of hope. On that date Joshua made the sun stand still, which the Rebbe's followers took as a sign that his light did not set, and in 1927 the previous Rebbe was released from prison, a day the Rebbe called the beginning of redemption. He also notes the 28th of Sivan, when the Rebbe arrived in America in 1941 and carried forward his father-in-law's message that "America is not different." Following the Rebbe's teaching that praising someone should lead us to look at ourselves, Rabbi Greenberg describes the Rebbe's breadth, depth and length of influence, and calls him a paradox: a private, reclusive person who was also the most public and dynamic of leaders, with one goal from childhood, the Redemption. He speaks of the Rebbe as a teacher, with about 250 volumes of teachings, scholarly journals created to question his talks, and letters he encouraged publishing near the end, which people still consult for guidance. He recounts the Rebbe's memory and concentration, his knowledge of science and many languages, and his work as an engineer for the U.S. Navy. The class closes with what Rabbi Greenberg singles out most: the Rebbe's love of every Jew, shown in his noticing a child's new glasses among thousands, his unsolicited letter asking after a Buffalo woman's mother, his tears over the letters on Rosh Hashanah, and his description of himself as trying to be a good friend. https://www.youtube.com/embed/skJjlvkzL90 3464 2023-06-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gimmel-tammuz/gimmel-tammuz-farbrengen-with-rabbi-heschel-greenberg/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fO3sjYO-b4c/hqdefault.jpg Gimmel Tammuz Farbrengen With Rabbi Heschel Greenberg At this Gimmel Tammuz farbrengen, Rabbi Greenberg explores how to relate to a day that is both joyous and painful: the anniversary of the Previous Rebbe's release from a death sentence in Soviet prison, and the day since which we can no longer see or hear the Rebbe. He first explains three elements of a farbrengen: sitting together as equals, which removes the divisions of intellectual study; the niggun (melody), which opens a "window" between mind and heart; and l'chaim, which, like the Baal Shem Tov's parable of a captive who got his guards drunk so he could dance over a letter from his father, keeps the animal soul from blocking spiritual joy. Citing the Talmud's statement that "Jacob our father did not die" and Joshua stopping the sun with a Torah scroll, Rabbi Greenberg teaches that the Torah is the true reality, while what we perceive in exile is distorted. The Rebbe is very much alive, and Gimmel Tammuz calls us to live by that reality, as in his story of a couple the Rebbe told to close their store on Shabbos before their daughter would become engaged. He tells many stories of guidance through the Rebbe's letters, the Igros Kodesh, including his own. At the same time we must cry out "Ad Masai," "until when?" The Rebbe's last distributed discourse describes the deepest exile as lacking the Redemption even when not suffering, and the Baal Shem Tov taught that the worst concealment is not feeling it. A Jew can hold both joy and longing, leaning toward joy and trust, and connects to the Rebbe by following his instructions and learning his teachings. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fO3sjYO-b4c 6337 2023-06-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/is-transcendent-spirituality-the-ultimate-goal/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cbV_UYGMfZY/hqdefault.jpg Is Transcendent Spirituality the Ultimate Goal? Rabbi Greenberg asks whether transcendent spirituality is the ultimate goal, using the episode after the sin of the spies. After the ten spies brought back their report and the people wept, a group called the ma'pilim rose early, confessed that they had sinned, and set out for the mountain to enter the land. Moses told them it would not succeed and that God was not with them; they went anyway and were struck down by the Amalekites and Canaanites. Since they showed remorse, confession and resolve, why did they fail? One answer is that the generation's sin was a lack of implicit trust in Moses, and by going against his word they repeated it. A deeper answer draws on the Alter Rebbe and the Chabad Rebbes: the spies were spiritual people who wanted to stay in the desert, free to study Torah. The ma'pilim saw that challenges bring greater spiritual growth, but still made their own spirituality the goal. The true goal, Rabbi Greenberg says, is to make the physical world a dwelling place for God through Torah study and above all through mitzvos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cbV_UYGMfZY 614 2023-06-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-prohibition-of-chatzi-shiur-with-regard-to-chametz/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tGfEqmL7lqo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Prohibition of Chatzi Shiur With Regard to Chametz Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that eating less than a k'zayis, an olive's volume, of chametz is biblically forbidden, from the words "shall not be eaten," though only a k'zayis brings kares or a sin offering. The Kesef Mishneh, the Mishneh LaMelech and many others ask why a special verse is needed, when the Gemara in Yoma, as the Rambam rules, forbids half a measure of every prohibition. One answer is that a prohibition limited to Pesach rests on the person, not the food, but Yom Kippur is also time-bound. Another is that at the very end of Pesach a half-measure could no longer combine with more. Finding these difficult, Rabbi Greenberg turns to the Ramban, who considers whether a half-measure belongs to each specific prohibition. The Rambam treats it as one general prohibition, so the verse makes half a measure of chametz part of the chametz prohibition itself, more stringent than a half-measure of other foods. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tGfEqmL7lqo 890 2023-06-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-kabbalah-of-dreams/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aXhAWIzJAyY/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Dreams Rabbi Greenberg explains how Jewish tradition views dreams, which can be meaningless, meaningful or prophetic, and sets out three levels. On the first level, dreams replay the thoughts and words of the day. In the Chassidic explanation he gives, they work like a vacuum cleaner, clearing out the day's mental clutter so the soul can rise during sleep and enjoy the spiritual experience of the Garden of Eden. Such dreams have no meaning but do have a purpose, which is how he reads the Talmud's statement that one who goes a full week without dreaming is called evil. He also reads "dream" as aspiration, citing Rabbi Meir Shapiro's reply to skeptics: "I'm dreaming, but not sleeping." On the second level, dreams can carry premonitions or bring messages from deceased relatives, because when the mind is not fully functioning the soul is more receptive. Even these contain some imperfection, and they follow their interpretation, so a disturbing dream can be reversed through a fast and a ceremony in which friends declare it a good dream. The third level is overt prophecy, which every prophet except Moses received in a dream. He lists dreams the Talmud treats as more likely to be significant, such as morning dreams, recurring dreams, dreams on Shabbos and dreams that leave the heart pounding, and notes that a dream imposes no legal obligation, since Judaism is based on reality. In the Q&A he explains that Moses transmitted the first four books of the Torah as a mouthpiece for God's words and Deuteronomy through his own understanding, with divine inspiration. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aXhAWIzJAyY 2991 2023-06-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/celibacy-in-judaism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hMv0SbshMfU/hqdefault.jpg Celibacy In Judaism Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism does not regard celibacy as an ideal, starting from the cryptic story in Parshas Behaalotecha where Miriam and Aaron speak critically of Moses about "the Ethiopian woman." Following Rashi and the oral tradition, he explains that Moses' wife Zipporah told Miriam that Moses had separated from her after Mount Sinai. Miriam and Aaron, also prophets, felt this was presumptuous, and God answered that Moses' prophecy was unlike any other: God spoke to him directly at any time, so he had to be available at all hours. Rabbi Greenberg asks why the Torah left this detail to the oral Torah. He suggests that had it been written, people would have tried to emulate Moses and treated celibacy as a path to holiness. Judaism rejects that for three reasons: it never glorified asceticism; a person's soul becomes whole through marriage, which empowers a couple to make the world godly; and marriage is itself the mission, fusing the godly and the physical and reflecting the marriage between God and the Jewish people that will be complete with Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMv0SbshMfU 719 2023-06-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-making-kiddush-before-shabbos-begins/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8UBwyizC9rU/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Making Kiddush Before Shabbos Begins Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one may recite kiddush over wine on Friday while it is still day, and havdalah before Shabbos ends, since remembering Shabbos can be done as it begins and ends or a little before. Many read the Rambam as not recognizing tosefes Shabbos, adding time before Shabbos, which he mentions only for Yom Kippur; his own wording shows that kiddush need not fall on Shabbos itself. The Rosh reads the Gemara the same way, though elsewhere he ties early kiddush to tosefes Shabbos. He resolves this with the Rebbe's three ways of understanding tosefes Shabbos, only one of which makes the added time part of Shabbos itself. He also presents a later work comparing kiddush to consecrating an animal: just as one can consecrate an animal that is elsewhere, one can sanctify Shabbos before it arrives. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8UBwyizC9rU 610 2023-06-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/a-prince-in-prison/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m5TNR2e2g5M/hqdefault.jpg A Prince in Prison On the 15th of Sivan, the anniversary of the Previous Rebbe's arrest by the Soviet secret police in 1927, Rabbi Greenberg tells the story of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn's life, drawing on "A Prince in Prison," based on his own diary. Born in Lubavitch in 1880, the Previous Rebbe was a lifelong fighter for Judaism. As an eleven-year-old he attacked a policeman who arrested a poor Jew, and spent the night in a cell reciting Mishnah by heart. As a young man he went to St. Petersburg prepared to give his life, and slipped into the interior ministry to stamp an anti-Jewish education decree "rejected." Under the Communists he maintained hundreds of underground Jewish schools, and after a discourse stressing the education of children he was arrested. Rabbi Greenberg reads from his account: he answered the agents calmly, his daughters refused to be intimidated, and in prison he insisted on putting on tefillin even when he was thrown down the stairs. He refused to stand for his interrogators and spoke only Yiddish. His death sentence was reduced to exile in Kostroma, and he stayed in prison over Shabbos rather than let the regime claim he had been made to travel on Shabbos. He told the Jews who came to see him off that only their bodies were in exile, not their souls, and he was freed on the 13th of Tammuz. Rabbi Greenberg describes his later rescue from Warsaw, his arrival in America broken in health, and his founding of day schools, along with stories of chassidim who risked everything for mikvaos, Shabbos and Torah study under Soviet rule. https://www.youtube.com/embed/m5TNR2e2g5M 3765 2023-06-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/judaisms-formula-for-detoxification/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-LPwYNEgrfw/hqdefault.jpg Judaism's Formula For Detoxification Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah singles out theft when it commands confession, and why it shifts from the singular, "a man or woman who steals," to the plural, "they shall confess." The plural reflects the principle that all Jews are responsible for one another: like one body, the whole community shares in rectifying an individual's wrong. This, he says, is why everyone recites the full Yom Kippur confession, including sins they personally did not commit. Theft is singled out because every transgression is a form of theft. God gave each person abilities and resources, a hand to give charity, a mind to study Torah, legs to walk to the synagogue, for the mission given at Mount Sinai. Using them for a transgression is like an employee who takes the company car on an unauthorized vacation. Confession means truly recognizing the wrong, not saying "sorry" perfunctorily. Rabbi Greenberg describes exile as a toxic atmosphere in which each transgression gives off fumes that make people tired and less aware of their responsibilities; together people can clear those fumes and bring in the pleasant fragrance of Mashiach, who, Isaiah 11 says, will judge by the power of smell. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-LPwYNEgrfw 613 2023-06-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-difference-between-rambam-and-mishna-in-the-way-they-characterize-the-39-melachos/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/U6CDETH7z_k/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Difference Between Rambam and Mishna In the Way They Characterize the 39 Melachos Rabbi Greenberg discusses why the Mishnah and the Rambam describe the 39 melachos of Shabbos differently. The Mishnah names the person who does each one, "the one who sows, the one who plows," while the Rambam names the act itself, "sowing, plowing." The Tosafos Yom Tov finds the Mishnah's wording difficult. The Magen Avos of Rabbi Mordechai Banet explains that the Mishnah follows Rabbi Shimon, who exempts a melacha not done for its usual purpose, so it speaks of the one who sows in the normal way; the Rambam rules like Rabbi Yehuda, for whom the act itself is the melacha. Rabbi Yosef Engel suggests the Mishnah reflects the view that the melachos are defined by the person who does them, rather than by the result, a question tied to why asking a non-Jew to do a melacha is forbidden; Rashi and the Alter Rebbe explain it through agency. Rabbi Nosson Gestetner of Bnei Brak links the Mishnah to Rabbi Shimon's view on two people who do a melacha together, while the Rambam rules like Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Greenberg closes with a letter of the Rebbe showing that some melachos are defined by their result: erasing the roof of a ches so that a vav and a zayin remain counts as writing two letters. https://www.youtube.com/embed/U6CDETH7z_k 577 2023-05-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-are-jews-obsessed-with-the-study-of-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PFl-ysC6RtU/hqdefault.jpg Why Are Jews Obsessed With the Study of Torah? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Jewish people have been so devoted to Torah study for 3,300 years, even those who strayed from observance. Speaking the day after Shavuos, he describes Torah as inseparable from Jewish existence, recalls Rabbi Akiva's parable of the fox and the fish, and tells of people with an unquenchable thirst for learning, including a Chassidic master who studied all night after Yom Kippur instead of drinking. The Talmud reads morasha, "inheritance," as me'orasa, "betrothed": the Torah is our spouse, a love letter and a song read again and again. He defines Torah as "instruction" and, in Aramaic, as light, and describes three levels: divine wisdom beyond creation, the blueprint of creation, and the guide for life. These are hinted in the three meanings of aleph, the first letter of the Ten Commandments: master, teacher and mystery. Citing the Tanya, he contrasts a mitzvah, where a person is subordinate to God like a chariot to its rider, with Torah study, where the knowledge becomes part of the person. Finally, he cites the Rebbe on the Talmud's teaching that Hillel's poverty and Rabbi Elazar ben Charsom's wealth leave no excuse for not studying: a commandment has legal exemptions, but Torah study is a love relationship, and love does not accept the excuse of being busy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PFl-ysC6RtU 3026 2023-05-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/envy-lust-glory-a-shavuos-message/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TL5p-SM9YJ4/hqdefault.jpg Envy, Lust & Glory - A Shavuos Message Rabbi Greenberg explains how the preparations for receiving the Torah at Sinai were aimed at the three traits that, according to Ethics of the Fathers, take a person out of the world: envy, lust and the pursuit of glory. The people encamped at Sinai as one person with one heart, negating envy, which comes from an ego that cannot tolerate another's existence and is answered only by recognizing, as the Tanya says, that all souls share one source. The three days of separation from their wives curbed lust, and the boundaries around the mountain, which only Moses could ascend, countered the pursuit of honor by teaching each person to know his place. Rabbi Greenberg suggests the three traits can also be positive, taking a person out of the world's concealment of God: envy of someone more devoted to Torah and prayer, a passion for Torah and a heartfelt yearning for Mashiach, and seeking to reveal God's glory. He shows how the closing words of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah, whose study cycle had just been concluded, allude to all three being rectified in the messianic age. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TL5p-SM9YJ4 486 2023-05-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-status-of-a-katan-minor-with-regard-to-his-obligation-to-perform-mitzvos/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aBUsprEdlcs/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In Depth: The Status of a Katan (Minor) With Regard to His Obligation to Perform Mitzvos Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's wording that a minor is obligated to recite the blessing after meals as part of his education, which implies that the obligation rests on the child. The Rishonim dispute whether the mitzvah of educating children rests on the father, as Rashi and the Ramban hold, or on the child, as Tosafos and the Ran hold. The Rambam's rulings that a minor may recite the blessing for his father, and that a minor who can wrap himself must wear tzitzis, point to the child. The Rebbe explains that tefillin, which demand unbroken attention, were placed on the father, and Rabbi Greenberg adds the Shema, which requires intention a child lacks. The Rebbe explains that a mitzvah's status passes to whatever is needed to fulfill it, as with building a sukkah; since the father's mitzvah is fulfilled through and for the child, the child himself becomes obligated. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aBUsprEdlcs 703 2023-05-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/sinai-the-root-of-antisemitism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/63bL9Vd6GQ0/hqdefault.jpg Sinai: The Root of Antisemitism Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Talmud and Midrash link the name Sinai to the Hebrew word sinah, hatred, and what this reveals about the root of antisemitism. The Talmud, as Rashi explains it, says Sinai brought hatred toward a world that does not accept the Torah; the Midrash says hatred of the Jews came from Sinai, where God chose the Jewish people. Citing Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, he explains that at Sinai the Jewish people camped "as one person with one heart," and that God revealed Himself there as the one God who permeates everything, an awareness that dissolves division. There are two kinds of hatred: one driven by ego, which leaves no room for God or others, and one born of unity, which cannot tolerate a world of division and war. Jews argue, but in a crisis, as in the Six-Day War, they unite. True antisemitism, beyond its many triggers, comes from an ego that cannot stand this unity. In the Messianic age, Divine unity will be so fully revealed that hatred will disappear. He closes with the Rebbe's blessing to celebrate Shavuos with joy and inner focus, tapping into the unity of Sinai. https://www.youtube.com/embed/63bL9Vd6GQ0 658 2023-05-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-holiday-of-shavuos-and-the-sinai-revolution-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1YMY16WdZFw/hqdefault.jpg THE HOLIDAY OF SHAVUOS AND THE SINAI REVOLUTION - Part II Rabbi Greenberg continues his discussion of Shavuos, explaining its customs and the figures connected with it. The Book of Ruth is read because at Sinai the Jewish people became converts, and a convert like Ruth accepts the Torah actively and without pressure. Other reasons include receiving the Torah amid poverty, the wheat harvest and gifts to the poor, the numerical value of Ruth's name, 606, which with the seven Noahide laws makes 613, and her being the great-grandmother of King David. He compares the convert's active role to the Oral Torah, which keeps growing as new questions arise, such as those raised by artificial intelligence. Shavuos also marks the passing of King David, who admitted his sin without excuses, unified the people and prepared the Beis HaMikdash, and of the Baal Shem Tov, who brought light into Judaism at a time of despair. Rabbi Greenberg calls them three pillars: the Torah as the master plan, King David who implemented it, and the Baal Shem Tov who illuminated it. He gives several reasons for eating dairy, including the Rambam's view that the Torah forbids meat with milk to distance us from a pagan practice, and the Midrash in which Moses defeats the angels' claim to the Torah because they ate meat and milk at Abraham's table. Explaining the all-night study, he cites the Rebbe that the people slept beforehand to prepare spiritually, a mistake because the Torah is about bringing God into this world. At Sinai the barrier between the spiritual and physical worlds was removed, and the people perceived the spiritual as clearly as what is seen. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1YMY16WdZFw 2985 2023-05-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-can-last-eight-pesukim-verses-of-the-torah-be-read-without-a-minyan/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H0sQHnRcWyw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Can Last Eight Pesukim (verses) of the Torah be read Without a Minyan? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the last eight verses of the Torah, which describe Moshe's death, may be read even by an individual without a minyan, since, according to the Talmud, either Yehoshua wrote them or Moshe wrote them in tears. The Raavad says he never heard of this, explains the Talmud to mean that one person must read all eight, and asks where the congregation went, though a reading begun with ten may be completed if some leave. A later authority explains that the Rambam follows the Ran, who allows finishing only if most of the ten remain, while the Raavad follows the view that ten are needed only at the start; for the Raavad this case adds nothing, while for the Rambam these verses may be finished even by one. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that Torah reading calls out God's name, and these verses, written differently, are less so. https://www.youtube.com/embed/H0sQHnRcWyw 633 2023-05-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-holiday-of-shavuos-and-the-sinai-revolution/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IG6ryXIfVBo/hqdefault.jpg THE HOLIDAY OF SHAVUOS AND THE SINAI REVOLUTION Rabbi Greenberg explains why Shavuos, the day the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, is a major holiday even though many Jews neglect it. Citing Rashi that the world was created for the sake of the Torah and Israel, he says that without the Torah there would be no Judaism and no purpose for the world. He reviews the holiday's five names and explains why the Torah sets it by counting 49 days rather than by a date: when months were fixed by witnesses to the new moon, it could fall on the fifth, sixth or seventh of Sivan, and even today a traveler crossing the International Date Line can keep it on a different day. Shavuos completes Pesach, he explains, because freedom is not complete without the Torah. Freedom is a state of mind; freed slaves, like released prisoners, struggle to adjust, and the Torah gave the Jewish people a purpose that secured their freedom. True freedom is doing what one's inner core truly wants, and the Torah reveals that core, which is why Ethics of the Fathers calls one who studies Torah free. Counting from the Omer, brought on "the day after the Sabbath," which the oral tradition reads as the day after the first day of Pesach against the Sadducees' literal reading, underscores the primacy of the oral Torah. He links this to the Book of Ruth: King David, who passed away on Shavuos, descended from Ruth the Moabite, and his legitimacy rests on the oral teaching that the ban on marrying a Moabite applies only to men. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IG6ryXIfVBo 2495 2023-05-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-teshuva-for-a-person-who-derived-honor-for-the-disgrace-of-his-fellow/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q4Y17wZnkXM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In Depth: Teshuva for a Person Who Derived Honor for the Disgrace of His Fellow Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who gains honor through another's disgrace, as when a student enjoys being right while a classmate is embarrassed, commits a grave sin that costs him his share in the World to Come and makes teshuvah (repentance) difficult. Yet, the Rambam says, such impediments do not prevent teshuvah, and if he repents he has a share in the World to Come. A work by the father-in-law of Rabbi Herzog asks why the Magen Avraham and the Alter Rebbe cite this law without mentioning that teshuvah helps. Rabbi Greenberg answers that their source is the Rambam's laws of character traits, where the Rambam also omits it, because there he is showing how contrary such behavior is to proper character. In the laws of teshuvah he must state that repentance helps. This reflects a pattern: when the Rambam states a law in two places, each mention serves the subject of that section. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q4Y17wZnkXM 387 2023-05-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-mystery-of-lag-bomer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FXYcK9tzYr8/hqdefault.jpg The Mystery of Lag B'Omer Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Lag B'Omer, a minor holiday with no restrictions but great spiritual significance, by connecting its two historical events. The first is the end, or pause, of the plague that killed Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students between Pesach and Shavuos. Rejecting the theory that they died fighting in Bar Kochba's revolt, he cites the Talmud that they died for not treating one another with respect. Their loss is mourned so deeply because, after the destruction of the Temple, the light of the world, they had begun to rekindle that light. He gives the Rebbe's three explanations for how students of Rabbi Akiva, who called "love your fellow as yourself" the great principle of the Torah, could fail in it: each was so devoted to love that he could not tolerate another's lack of it; each loved his teacher's teachings and his fellow so much that he tried to impose his understanding; and mystically, their souls came from the world of Tohu, with great light but no vessels to contain it. The second event is the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar, who asked that the day be one of celebration. Rabbi Greenberg explains the custom of playing with a bow and arrow: the Talmud says no rainbow appeared in his lifetime, and in Chassidic thought the sword represents fighting obvious evil, while the bow and arrow, drawn back deep, represents the mystical teachings that reach hidden evil. Following the Rebbe, he teaches that the day itself has the power to help people reach a deeper part of the soul where they do not feel conflict with others. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FXYcK9tzYr8 3104 2023-05-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-honor-and-reverence-for-ones-teacher-of-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QahEzbmsO0Y/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Honor and Reverence for One's Teacher of Torah Rabbi Greenberg studies the Rambam's ruling that just as one must honor and revere one's father, one must honor and revere one's Torah teacher, even more than one's father, since a father brings a person into this world while a teacher of wisdom brings him to the World to Come. He notes that the Rambam places this law in the laws of Torah study, not with honoring parents in Hilchos Mamrim, suggesting that honoring a teacher is part of the mitzvah of Torah study. One practical difference is whether women are obligated in it. He explains why honor belongs to learning: a student who does not respect his teacher will not be fully receptive, and a close bond, like that of Yehoshua, who never left Moshe's tent, lets a student absorb more. He concludes that the Rambam may hold both: honoring a teacher is part of Torah study and also parallels honoring a father. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QahEzbmsO0Y 395 2023-05-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/passover-redux-the-second-passover/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LdY9oVREuXI/hqdefault.jpg Passover Redux: The Second Passover Rabbi Greenberg explains why Pesach Sheni, the Second Passover, is a major holiday from the mystical perspective, and especially in the teachings of the Rebbe, even though most Jews have never heard of it and it is marked only by a custom to eat matzah and the omission of prayers asking forgiveness. In the Book of Numbers, people who were ritually impure from contact with the dead and could not bring the Passover offering asked Moses, "Why should we be diminished?" God agreed and gave them a second chance a month later. Rabbi Greenberg draws three lessons. First, demanding of God can be holy: prayer acknowledges that God can give, and God craves it, as shown by Moses' 515 prayers to enter the Land and by the matriarchs, whose prayers for children God wanted to hear. The prayer God values most is for the chance to do a mitzvah, though once God says no, insisting is ego; the greatest demand is for Mashiach. Second, it is never too late: even someone who deliberately skipped the first offering may bring the second, which the Rebbe says makes Pesach Sheni in that sense more powerful than Yom Kippur. Third, our actions count, since the people's demand brought about a commandment. He sums up Pesach Sheni as a holiday not for impure people but for impure people who want to become pure. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LdY9oVREuXI 3221 2023-05-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-order-of-mitzvos-according-to-the-rambam/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jJoyNoNLCsA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Order of Mitzvos According to the Rambam Rabbi Greenberg looks at the order of the Rambam's count of the 613 mitzvos at the start of the Mishneh Torah, which, unlike the second listing that follows the work's structure, has long been hard to explain. He suggests it follows the Sefer Yetzirah's division of the world into space, time and soul, which the Rebbe linked to the smoke that covered Mount Sinai: the Torah was given to clear what clouds these three. After the mitzvos concerning God himself, the count turns to the Temple and its offerings, then to holy times, then to leaders and finally to individuals. He also discusses why the Rambam divided the work into 14 books, the numerical value of yad (hand), which gave it the name Yad HaChazakah: a hand, with its fingers, symbolizes breaking a whole into parts, as the Rambam did with halachah. The principles of faith remain 13, the value of echad (one), because they form a single belief. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jJoyNoNLCsA 536 2023-04-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/counting-the-omer-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uPFc3FiHbbI/hqdefault.jpg Counting the Omer - Part II Rabbi Greenberg continues his study of counting the Omer, reviewing its three purposes: linking the freedom of Pesach to the responsibility of Shavuos, expressing yearning for the Torah, and refining one's character, since sefirah also suggests giving off light. Mitzvos, he says, are not a burden but like diamonds one is glad to carry. He then asks four questions: what counting has to do with a measure of barley, why we count up rather than down, why we say "today is seventeen days" rather than "the seventeenth day," and why the offering is named for its measure, the omer. Jacob's seven years of work for Rachel seemed like a few days because their spiritual bond already let him enjoy the marriage; likewise each day of the count brings some of the relationship of Sinai into the present, and the days accumulate, as Abraham "came with his days." Yearning for Mashiach similarly means living now as one will then. Barley, then considered animal food, was used for the Omer because the count refines the animal soul. The omer measure recalls the manna, of which each person always had exactly one omer however much he gathered, teaching that what one receives is set from above; work is the vessel for blessing, and what is in our hands is using what we have for a higher purpose. He closes with the week's attribute, tiferes, which balances kindness and judgment as compassion, and the birthday of the fourth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uPFc3FiHbbI 2781 2023-04-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-power-of-speech/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9tsmqivLzSY/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Speech Rabbi Greenberg explains why, item for item, verbal harm can be worse than physical or financial harm, and why positive speech has even greater power for good. Parshas Tazria-Metzora deals with tzaraas, a skin affliction often mistranslated as leprosy, which the Talmud says came from lashon hara, "the evil tongue." The quarantined speaker experienced the isolation his words had caused others. Lashon hara refers to true statements, and based on the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Greenberg explains why that can be worse than a lie: speech reveals what is hidden, so voicing a real but latent fault draws it to the surface and strengthens it. The Talmud ranks verbal abuse above financial fraud: the Torah adds "you shall fear God," since one who excuses hurtful words denies that God knows his motives; it harms the person rather than his money; and it can never be fully repaid. Since goodness is more powerful than evil, praise strengthens a person's good traits. Citing the Arizal, he notes that Pesach means "the mouth speaks": the exodus freed the people's speech, and the coming redemption will come through speaking positively about God, others and ourselves. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9tsmqivLzSY 692 2023-04-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-mitzvah-of-building-the-beis-hamikdash/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HknlYgANuyo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Mitzvah of Building the Beis Hamikdash Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling, in the last section of the Mishneh Torah, that on entering the Land the Jewish people were commanded to appoint a king, wipe out Amalek and build the Beis HaMikdash, citing the verse in Devarim "you shall seek His dwelling place and come there." The Lechem Mishneh asks why, in Hilchos Beis HaBechirah, the Rambam derives the same mitzvah from "make Me a Sanctuary." Rav Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik distinguishes building a sanctuary, which can be in any place, from sanctifying the chosen site, which King David did. Rabbi Kalmenson links the verses to two purposes, God's dwelling and the offering of sacrifices. Since neither explains why the laws appear in two books, Rabbi Greenberg suggests that building it is a communal duty in which each individual must do his share, as with charity: Hilchos Beis HaBechirah gives the individual's duty, and Hilchos Melachim, in a book of communal laws, the community's. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HknlYgANuyo 602 2023-04-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/counting-the-omer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/U6J23wUC4c4/hqdefault.jpg Counting the Omer Rabbi Greenberg explains what the counting of the Omer is and why it matters. On the second day of Passover a measure, an omer, of barley was offered in the Temple, and from then the Torah commands counting days and weeks until Shavuos, the "holiday of weeks," which has no calendar date of its own. The count thus binds the festival of liberation to the festival of the giving of the Torah. It is also a time of partial mourning for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died in an epidemic during this period. He presents three meditations. The count teaches that freedom is incomplete without responsibility to God; when Moses doubted the people, God replied that they would serve Him at Sinai. It expresses yearning: a Midrash says the people counted the days in eagerness for the Torah, and the Talmud relates that Haman saw he would fail when children were learning the laws of the Omer. One answer to why no Shehecheyanu is said over the count is that yearning means the joy is not yet complete. Above all, the count is a process of self-refinement. At the Exodus God drew the people out through revelation, but they then had to refine themselves day by day, as the Chassidic reading of the Song of Songs explains: "Draw me, we will run after You." The Kabbalists teach that the seven weeks correspond to seven emotional traits, kindness, restraint, compassion, perseverance, humility, bonding and sovereignty, each including the others. Rabbi Greenberg concludes with Lag BaOmer and the customs of the mourning period. https://www.youtube.com/embed/U6J23wUC4c4 3096 2023-04-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/dont-pass-over-passover-the-passover-seder-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a8U50QEMa1g/hqdefault.jpg Don't Pass Over Passover: The Passover Seder In-Depth Rabbi Greenberg walks through the Passover Seder, opening on the 11th of Nisan, the Rebbe's birthday, with the question of why Moshe, the hero of the Exodus, is barely mentioned in the Haggadah. He rejects the usual answers and points to the Rambam: a young child is told simply that God took us out, while a more developed child should be told all that Moshe did. Moshe freed the people spiritually, as the "brain" of the Jewish people to whom every soul is connected, and Rabbi Greenberg applies this to the Rebbe, with stories of the Rebbe's personal connection to people he had met or written to. He then explains the Seder plate as the Arizal does: the three matzos correspond to chochmah, binah and daas, the six items to the six emotional attributes, and the plate beneath to malchus. The egg recalls the festival offering and shows that the Jewish people, like an egg, grow harder under fire. Romaine lettuce, sweet at first and later bitter, recalls how Egyptian slavery began as paid volunteer work. Charoset recalls the mortar, and the four cups thank God for four stages of redemption, the last being the receiving of the Torah. Finally he goes through the steps of the Seder: Kadesh, which may not begin before nightfall; leaning to the left; dipping the vegetable so children ask; breaking the middle matzah; the amounts of matzah and maror; Hillel's sandwich; the afikoman in place of the Passover offering; opening the door for Eliyahu; and "Next year in Jerusalem." https://www.youtube.com/embed/a8U50QEMa1g 3486 2023-04-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-is-an-egg-doing-on-the-passover-seder-plate/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tSjKCmklJUo/hqdefault.jpg What is an Egg Doing on the Passover Seder Plate? Rabbi Greenberg explains why an egg is placed on the Seder plate. The shank bone or chicken neck commemorates the Paschal offering, and the egg commemorates the festival offering, which was eaten first so that the Paschal offering could be eaten when already satisfied. But why an egg rather than meat? Based on the Jerusalem Talmud, the Aramaic word for egg also means desire, telling us that God desires to redeem us. Rabbi Greenberg explains that redemption is God's all-encompassing desire, since the Midrash says God created the world because He desired a dwelling place in the lowest realms, which will be fully realized only in the Messianic age. The egg also represents our own desire. The Mishnah in Bava Kamma uses a rare word for a person who causes damage, and the Talmud connects it to a verse in Isaiah about desiring redemption, teaching that the essence of a human being is the desire for redemption. Finally, unlike most foods, an egg gets harder the longer it is boiled. Instead of weakening after nearly two thousand years of exile, the Jewish people, called stiff-necked, a word that also means hard, desire redemption more and more. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tSjKCmklJUo 485 2023-03-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/beyond-belief-lesson-six-prophecy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d4EkLNoAVFU/hqdefault.jpg Beyond Belief: Lesson Six: Prophecy Rabbi Greenberg explains belief in prophecy, the sixth of the Rambam's 13 principles of faith, from the Rambam's commentary on the Mishnah and his Mishneh Torah. Prophecy is more than predicting the future. It matters because a proven prophet's instructions are binding, so one must know who is genuine, as with the false prophet Chananiah ben Azur who contradicted Jeremiah. Women can be prophets too, and the sages say the matriarchs surpassed the patriarchs in prophecy. According to the Rambam, prophecy rests only on a great sage who always masters his inclinations, has a broad and accurate mind, is physically sound, delves into the deepest mysteries of the Torah, and keeps his thoughts on holy matters. Prophets receive their visions in a dream or trance through metaphoric images whose meaning they understand at once, and only when they are joyful, which is why their disciples used music. A prophet who tells people to change any law of the Torah permanently is a false prophet; a temporary suspension, like Elijah's offering on Mount Carmel, must be obeyed, except for idolatry. The Rambam does not limit prophecy to the past and wrote that it will return before Mashiach. Rabbi Greenberg says the Rebbe was clearly a prophet and tells stories of his advice during a hurricane and on surgery. Belief in prophecy is fundamental because the whole Torah rests on God communicating through Moses, whose prophecy was unique: direct, while awake, without metaphor and at will. Moses remains the greatest prophet, though Mashiach will be greater in other respects. https://www.youtube.com/embed/d4EkLNoAVFU 2680 2023-03-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-does-the-soul-think-dealing-with-anxiety/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DBHkfDIKoe0/hqdefault.jpg How Does the Soul Think? - Dealing with Anxiety In the final class of his series on Kabbalah and psychology, Rabbi Greenberg explains how the soul relates to anxiety, the fear of real and imaginary threats. Religion is often seen as a way to cope with the fear of death, but from the perspective of Kabbalah anxiety comes from the soul itself. Like physical pain, it can be a positive signal: the soul fears leaving this world without fulfilling its mission and relays that worry to the conscious mind. Depression is a lack of light, while anxiety can come from too much light that must be internalized. He offers several approaches. One is perspective, illustrated by Holocaust survivor Gerda Klein, who said that in the camps she never imagined her biggest problem would be finding a parking space. Rabbi Soloveitchik compared fear of God to consolidating many debts into one. King Solomon's advice on anxiety is read in the Talmud two ways: distract yourself, best through Torah study, or speak about it with someone. Since anxiety signals that the soul's needs are neglected, mitzvos such as Torah study, tefillin, prayer, helping others, Shabbos candles and kosher food address it, and helping others also counters the ego. At the deepest level, fear is rooted in the soul's self-nullification before God, which turns into anxiety in the body, and it is sweetened by recognizing that holy source. He presents the Baal Shem Tov's three stages of submission, separation and sweetening, and stresses that healing should include the soul as well as medicine. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DBHkfDIKoe0 3165 2023-03-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-difference-between-judges-in-the-sanhedrin-for-capital-cases-and-financial-cases/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/evHQvh4qR3U/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Difference Between Judges in the Sanhedrin for Capital Cases and Financial Cases Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a judge in a capital case who votes to acquit or convict only because a colleague did, without his own analysis, violates a prohibition, since the oral tradition requires each judge to rule by his own understanding. One authority limits this to capital cases, which another finds puzzling, since a judge who simply copies another distorts judgment in any case; nor does the Rambam list this among the differences between capital and monetary cases. The Keren Orah explains that in monetary cases a judge may be led by a colleague's view as long as he then understands it himself, while capital cases require a fully independent opinion. Rabbi Greenberg connects this to the Rebbe's principle that the sages' divine inspiration could point the way, but a ruling had to become their own understanding. The distinction is implied in the Rambam's rule that voting in capital cases begins with the junior judge. https://www.youtube.com/embed/evHQvh4qR3U 634 2023-03-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/beyond-belief-no-intermediaries/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RG6i9POdsqQ/hqdefault.jpg Beyond Belief: No Intermediaries Rabbi Greenberg explains the Rambam's third, fourth and fifth principles of faith, ending with the principle that one prays to God alone, with no intermediaries. The third principle is that God has no body or physical form; a physical God would have limits and would not be God. The Torah's physical terms are metaphors, since "the Torah speaks in the language of man," and Onkelos translates "God descended" as "God revealed Himself." The Maharal objected that saying God and His wisdom are one still defines Him. The Kabbalists reconcile the two: God's essence is beyond all description, but through tzimtzum, contraction, He allows Himself to be associated with attributes. The fourth principle is that God created the world, including time and space, against Aristotle's view that the world always existed. Because God is beyond time, He sees past, present and future at once, while we have free choice within time. The fifth principle forbids serving angels, stars or forces of nature as intermediaries. Asking a person, even a tzaddik at a grave, to pray for us is permitted, since all are one body. Moses was an intermediary like a matchmaker, so free of ego that the people's bond with God was direct. Rabbi Greenberg also discusses subtle idolatry today: anger, arrogance, and the pursuit of money, power and fame, which the Alter Rebbe suggested replaced the urge for idol worship. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RG6i9POdsqQ 2741 2023-03-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/teshuvah-overcoming-depression/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2d19HOQ2yhA/hqdefault.jpg Teshuvah & Overcoming Depression Rabbi Greenberg explains the dynamics of teshuvah and how they apply to overcoming depression, in the fifth class of a series on the soul. Teshuvah means return, to the goodness a person starts with, since Judaism has no concept of original sin. The Rambam discusses free choice in the laws of teshuvah because one who wants to change must take full responsibility without excuses, though he should judge others favorably; the Rebbe explained that Reuben rebuked his brothers because they linked their guilt to their present suffering rather than to the wrong itself. Torah study, prayer and teshuvah each give a person a new identity in an instant, though implementing it takes a lifetime. Teshuvah also applies to attitudes, which are harder to change and require a paradigm shift through Torah study. No commandment forbids depression, but Rabbi Aharon of Karlin said it leads to all transgressions, and the Baal Shem Tov made joy the hallmark of the Chassid. Besides physical remedies such as therapy and light, its spiritual root is the dominance of the animal soul, which looks down, over the Godly soul, whose natural state is joy. The animal soul's four elements, fire (ego), water (lust), wind (idleness) and earth (laziness), all lead to depression, and each has a remedy. Sadness from honest self-examination is acceptable only if it leads to joy, and the Rebbe said that today the focus should be on joy, which breaks through all barriers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2d19HOQ2yhA 2941 2023-03-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/can-we-change/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Fd700Xg2SsA/hqdefault.jpg Can We Change? In the fourth class of his Kabbalah psychology series, Rabbi Greenberg asks whether people can really change. If humans are only sophisticated animals, change seems impossible, but the Torah teaches that a person has both an animal soul and a Godly soul, so each can affect the other. Drawing on the Tanya, he contrasts the tzaddik, who has transformed his animal soul and no longer desires evil, with the beinoni, the intermediate person who still struggles but never gives in. God desires the struggle itself, he explains, so someone still facing the same desires after fifty years is not a failure. He offers two ways to master negative traits. One is love of God, awakened in morning prayer, which gives the strength to suppress a desire one still feels. The other is action: the Alter Rebbe drew out a miser's hidden kindness by thanking him for one coin after another until he paid a poor family's entire debt, and the Rebbe advised an unsociable woman simply to offer to bring water to her table. Rabbi Greenberg then explains that since Adam and Eve the world has been separating good from evil, and as that process nears its end, hidden evil and hidden good both come to the surface. This, the Rebbe said, is why good people sometimes act badly and ordinary people act heroically. He closes by describing teshuvah as a return to one's essentially good self. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fd700Xg2SsA 3021 2023-03-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/beyond-belief-on-the-unity-of-g-d/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/koBFC86nxRw/hqdefault.jpg Beyond Belief: On the Unity of G-d Rabbi Greenberg explains what Judaism means by the unity of God. He begins with the Shema, recited at least twice daily, said at the moment of death and on the lips of Jewish martyrs, and with Maimonides' second principle of faith: God is one with a oneness unlike a pair, a species or a body that can be divided. The word echad, one, hints that God fills the seven heavens, the earth and all four directions, and its numerical value of 13 links it to bar and bas mitzvah. The first meaning of God's unity negates polytheism, and idolatry is the one sin for which a Jew must die rather than even pretend to comply. Following Maimonides, Rabbi Greenberg teaches that humanity began monotheistic: in Enosh's time people honored the stars as God's servants, and false prophets turned this into idol worship until Abraham reversed it. A verse in Isaiah, that God forms light and creates darkness, negates the Trinity, dualism and deism. Because God creates everything from nothing, nothing is beneath His involvement. Belief in one God also negates pantheism, the equation of God with nature, while God is present within nature. People invented many gods to justify their desires, whereas humans were created in God's image with a conscience. We do not worship the sun, which is only an instrument, like a carpenter's hammer, but we honor parents, who acted by free choice. At the deepest level, taught in Chassidus from the Baal Shem Tov, God's word continuously creates everything, so nothing truly exists besides Him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/koBFC86nxRw 3031 2023-03-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/can-you-transcend-transcendence/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iYqfRwVrzCA/hqdefault.jpg Can You Transcend Transcendence? Rabbi Greenberg explains two levels of transcendence through a question about the tzitz, the golden plate engraved "Holy to God" that the High Priest wore on his forehead. The Torah requires that the High Priest not be distracted from it, and the Talmud reasons that one should certainly not be distracted from tefillin, which contain God's name many times. Yet the High Priest could not raise his hands above the tzitz during the Priestly Blessing, while an ordinary Kohen raised his hands above his tefillin. A simple answer is that God's name in tefillin is enclosed in the boxes, while on the tzitz it was visible. Going deeper, Rabbi Greenberg cites the Talmud's statement that Mashiach will come when our minds are "distracted," which the Alter Rebbe in the Tanya reads as meaning that what Mashiach brings will transcend all our understanding. The hand tefillin, put on first, represents simple commitment beyond understanding, and the forehead represents going beyond reason. He distinguishes transcendence based on logic, like trusting a proven surgeon, from the recognition that God, being infinite, is beyond knowledge altogether, which will be appreciated far more fully in the days of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iYqfRwVrzCA 555 2023-03-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-transferring-a-deposit-from-one-shomer-guardian-to-another/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TFqmE7nBeFI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Transferring a Deposit from One Shomer (Guardian) to Another Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's rulings on a shomer (guardian) who hands an entrusted item to another guardian. One who rents an item may not rent it out to someone else, since the owner can say he does not want his property in another person's hands. A guardian who passes the item to a second guardian is exempt only if witnesses show the second guarded it properly before an unavoidable accident; otherwise he must pay, even if he gave it to a guardian of a higher level, since the owner can say, "I trust your oath, not his." In the Gemara, Abaye and Rava give these two reasons, and the Rambam cites both. The Lechem Mishneh explains that the first reason only forbids the transfer, while liability rests on the second, following Rava. Rabbi Greenberg notes that the Rambam elsewhere calls the guardian negligent, which fits the first reason, and offers an answer combining the two. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TFqmE7nBeFI 371 2023-02-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/mind-over-matter/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6Jk_eEDXNqk/hqdefault.jpg Mind Over Matter In the third lesson of his series on Kabbalah and psychology, Rabbi Greenberg explains how the mind can govern the emotions and drives. Each person has an animal soul, driven by self-interest, and a godly soul, a divine spark that seeks what is objectively good. The two speak different languages, so a third, the intellectual soul, mediates: because intellect is objective, it can persuade the animal soul to "taste and see that God is good." The godly soul's level is set by God, while the quality of the animal and intellectual souls is shaped by parents and upbringing, which, citing the Arizal, he says explains why some lofty souls start out as coarse people and some modest souls are naturally refined. The animal soul is emotional, using intellect to serve its desires, while the godly soul is intellectual and focused on the other. Free choice, the human ability to go against one's nature, rests on intellect. The Hebrew word melech, king, stands for brain, heart and liver in that order; rearranged, the letters spell words for a fool and for nothing. Citing the Shelah, he applies "judges at your gates" to guarding one's eyes, ears and mouth, and tells of a disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch who learned from Rabbi Zev of Zhitomir that the master of the house decides whom to let in. Torah study strengthens the godly intellect, and suppressing desires, even ones that are not so bad, builds resistance; tefillin subjugate mind, heart and actions to God. He closes with stories of tzaddikim who controlled their bodies, and of hidden faults in the subconscious, including Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai weeping on his deathbed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Jk_eEDXNqk 3146 2023-02-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/on-the-existence-and-unity-of-g-d/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D2vho0PO9V0/hqdefault.jpg On the Existence and Unity of G-d In this third class on faith beyond belief, Rabbi Greenberg reviews the rational proofs for God's existence and then turns to the Rambam's first two principles of faith, God's existence and His unity. Although faith goes beyond logic, he notes, the Rambam and others wanted faith to permeate knowledge as well. The proofs include the argument that people can only conceive of what exists, the need for a first cause, the design of the world (illustrated by Rabbi Joshua's ink drawing for the emperor), universal morality, religious experience, ongoing miracles such as the survival of the Jewish people, and the tradition from Sinai, where millions heard God's voice, the argument the Kuzari relies on. Why, then, do rational people not believe? Rabbi Greenberg answers that human beings do not live by rationality, and both belief and atheism carry a vested interest. On suffering and the Holocaust, he says nowhere does Judaism claim God allows no suffering; most suffering cannot be explained, and the question is usually an emotional cry for God to bring the end of pain. He describes interviews by his university students with about 200 Holocaust survivors, nearly all of whom kept or regained their faith. Following the Rambam, he describes God as the absolute existence who transcends time, space, big and small, and can be known only by what He is not. The class closes by introducing the second principle, God's unity, declared in the Shema. https://www.youtube.com/embed/D2vho0PO9V0 3035 2023-02-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-gift-moshiach-will-not-accept/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OAMoAlEhDsM/hqdefault.jpg The Gift Moshiach Will Not Accept Rabbi Greenberg explains why, according to the Midrash, Mashiach will accept gifts from all the nations except Rome. Parshas Terumah lists gold, silver and copper as contributions to the Mishkan, and the Midrash links them to the empires in Nebuchadnezzar's dream as Daniel interprets it: gold for Babylonia, silver for Media and Persia, copper for Greece. Iron, representing Rome, is missing, because Rome did not only destroy the Beis HaMikdash but razed it to its foundation. To explain the Talmud and Zohar's teaching that Rome was built on a reed the angel Gabriel planted when King Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, Rabbi Greenberg describes the Beis HaMikdash as the source that would have spread holiness to the whole world. Solomon meant well, seeking to carry holiness to Egypt, but this was not needed, and it set in motion the exile in which Jews had to go down to the lowest places to bring godliness there. When Rome claims credit for helping the Jewish people fulfill their purpose, God answers that one who throws a person into the sea cannot take credit for rescuing him. Rabbi Greenberg closes with a teaching that in the final Beis HaMikdash even Rome will be rehabilitated and iron will be included. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OAMoAlEhDsM 640 2023-02-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-distancing-a-non-fruit-bearing-tree-from-a-city/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EhcdH3AtXVw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Distancing a Non Fruit-Bearing Tree from a City Rabbi Greenberg examines the Rambam's ruling that a tree must be kept 25 cubits from a city. The Tanna Abba Shaul requires 50 cubits for an ilan srak, a tree that does not bear fruit, and the Rambam follows him in his Commentary on the Mishnah, yet omits this in the Mishneh Torah. One of the Rishonim holds that these laws apply only when the Jewish people are settled in and control the Land of Israel, making them laws for the future, but the Rambam does record many future laws. He presents a later work's answer: the Gemara at the end of Kesubos teaches that in the time of Mashiach non-fruit-bearing trees will bear fruit, so this law belongs only to the past. He suggests this may also explain why such a tree may be cut down: it reflects the curse after Adam's sin, and cutting it expresses hope for the time when all trees will bear fruit. https://www.youtube.com/embed/EhcdH3AtXVw 347 2023-02-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/beyond-belief-on-the-existence-of-g-d/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C6qHiQgmtlg/hqdefault.jpg Beyond Belief: On the Existence of G-d In the second class of a series on faith, Rabbi Greenberg explores the rational and supra-rational sides of belief in God. Though the Rambam's Guide for the Perplexed worked to reconcile Judaism with Aristotelian logic, faith was always understood to go beyond logic: anything built on logic can be refuted by logic, and God, who created logic, is not bound by it. Following a discourse of the Rebbe, he describes two non-rational sources of faith. One is the part of the soul that stays above the body; it hears the daily heavenly voice from Sinai the Baal Shem Tov spoke of and sends sudden flashes of inspiration, which should be acted on at once because they fade. The deeper source is the essence of the soul, which the Alter Rebbe in Tanya says leads even unlearned Jews to give their lives rather than deny God. Stories from the Holocaust and of secular Israelis held by terrorists illustrate it, as does the Rambam's ruling that a husband compelled to give a divorce truly wants to do what is right. Rabbi Greenberg offers five ways to nourish faith: doing mitzvos, which remove what blocks it; speaking words of faith and never speaking badly even of oneself; noticing everyday miracles; times of crisis; and connecting to holy people. He then turns to the Rambam's first principle of faith, argues that "rational" means only what fits our familiar pattern of events, and begins the proofs for God's existence with the ontological and cosmological arguments, closing with the Rambam's account of how Abraham reasoned his way to one God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/C6qHiQgmtlg 3005 2023-02-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-does-the-soul-think/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l3zXkN2NSJw/hqdefault.jpg How Does the Soul Think? Rabbi Greenberg explains, from Kabbalah and Chassidic thought, how a person can bring light into the inner struggle between the Godly soul and the animal soul. Creation began with God withdrawing His light, and all distress comes from its absence; but a little light dispels much darkness, as the Alter Rebbe teaches in the Tanya. That light takes four forms: the intellect, which can rule the heart, illustrated by a chassid who stayed calm when Napoleon put a hand on his heart; the light of the Godly soul; the light of Torah; and the light of mitzvos. Chassidus also seeks the good within the animal soul itself, on four levels. The Godly soul works through it, as the Baal Shem Tov taught that the appetite for food comes from the soul's desire for the sparks of holiness in it. Its source is in the angels, which are spiritual "animals." The body's source is higher than the soul's, like a student who will one day surpass his teacher, which is why, following Nachmanides and the Kabbalists against Maimonides, the ultimate reward is the soul's return to the body. Even ego and atheism stem from God's very Essence, which has no source; Rabbi Greenberg recalls that hostile, rebellious students on campus were more likely to become observant than indifferent ones. He closes by introducing the soul's hidden faculties: beneath thought, speech and action, and beneath intellect and emotion, lie will and pleasure, which drive all the rest. https://www.youtube.com/embed/l3zXkN2NSJw 2760 2023-02-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/an-eye-for-an-eye-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yPi-kK3Pv2o/hqdefault.jpg An Eye for an Eye Rabbi Greenberg explains what the Torah means by "an eye for an eye" and why it is worded that way if it was never meant literally. He notes that no Jewish court is recorded as ever taking an eye for an eye; the Talmud, the record of the oral tradition, explains that it means paying the value of the eye. The Torah could simply have said to pay damages, so why the harsh wording? The Rambam writes that the offender deserves to lose his own limb and therefore pays, which is why ransom is allowed for injuries but not for murder. Rabbi Zevin, editor of the Encyclopedia Talmudit, explains that the Torah does not want an injury treated as a price, since a limb is priceless and, as the Rambam writes, a person's body belongs to God, not to him. The payment is really a ransom for the offender's own limb. By imagining that his own eye was at stake, he comes to empathize with the victim and to change, recognizing that only God's kindness lets him pay instead. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yPi-kK3Pv2o 514 2023-02-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-means-to-acquire-a-gift/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b2j7Ncm6IuA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Means to Acquire a Gift Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a gift is acquired only through the methods used in a sale, such as pulling or lifting movable property, or a document or proprietary act for land, and not by words alone. For land the Rambam omits the third method, money. Obviously a gift is not paid for, but an early twentieth-century author asks why a token coin, given as a formal act of acquisition, should not work as it does in a sale. He concludes that the Rambam agrees with the Sma, who holds that money acquires because it pays the item's value, even a small coin serving as a down payment, and not with the Taz, who holds that giving money is a formal act, as with a ring in marriage. The Even HaEzel notes that the Rambam speaks of "money" for marriage but "price" for a sale. The Tosafos Rid, however, holds that money does work for a gift. https://www.youtube.com/embed/b2j7Ncm6IuA 605 2023-02-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-does-the-soul-think-lesson-one-kabbalah-psychology/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qo8GqmVPkWM/hqdefault.jpg HOW DOES THE SOUL THINK? Lesson One - Kabbalah Psychology In the first lesson of a series on Kabbalah psychology, Rabbi Greenberg introduces the kabbalistic view of the human soul. Kabbalah means "received": it cannot be invented, and even the Arizal, who surpassed all earlier kabbalists, received it from Elijah the Prophet. The Zohar foretold that in the 600th year of the sixth millennium the wellsprings of wisdom would open above and below, paralleling the spread of Kabbalah and of science since the nineteenth century. Our world mirrors the higher spiritual worlds, so imbalances below stem from imbalances above. One should see a doctor or therapist, but complete healing also requires repairing the spiritual source, through prayer, blessing and mitzvos. Rabbi Greenberg explains this through the Arizal's account of creation, recorded by Rabbi Chaim Vital: God's infinite light was withdrawn to leave a space, into which only a thin line of light was drawn. Illness comes from missing light, and too much light can also harm, while a mitzvah both generates light and allows it to be absorbed. The Hebrew word for illness and the word Chanukah share the numerical value 83. The soul, a Godly energy that exists before birth and after death, enters the body to grow through challenges and to make the world a dwelling place for God. Unlike Freud, who placed the instinctive id at a person's core, Kabbalah and Chassidus place the Godly soul at the core, the self-centered animal soul at the surface, and the intellectual soul in between to bring them together. The Rebbe compared Freud to someone who digs, finds mud and stops before reaching the treasure. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qo8GqmVPkWM 3236 2023-02-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/beyond-belief-lesson-one-believing-is-seeing/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e-JQ6sXQWts/hqdefault.jpg Beyond Belief - Lesson One - Believing is Seeing In the first lesson of a course on faith, Rabbi Greenberg challenges the common belief that Judaism plays down faith. The Talmud says the prophet Habakkuk concentrated all 613 commandments into one, "a righteous man lives by his faith"; faith is the foundation, though a foundation alone is not a building. Faith also has a weakness: in Chassidic philosophy it is a peripheral force, so a person can sincerely believe and still act against that belief, like the thief who prays for success before breaking in. The task is to harness faith to one's mind and emotions. Is it acceptable to doubt? The third Chabad Rebbe told a man troubled by his doubts that if they bother him, he does not really doubt. Everything forbidden has a kosher parallel, and the "kosher atheism" is to leave God out of it when someone needs help and to help them yourself. Atheists who do good, he argues, draw on values inherited from their families and on the faith hidden in every soul. Science, as the pursuit of truth rather than truth itself, cannot truly contradict faith. Faith accepts that whatever God does is for the best, as Rabbi Akiva said, while trust expects God to come through. Finally, how can belief be commanded? Belief in a Creator is rational and obvious, as Rabbi Yehoshua showed the emperor with a drawing that could not have made itself. The Rebbe notes that in the Mishneh Torah the Rambam's word is "to know" God, deepening belief until it shapes the personality, while also believing that God is beyond anything we know, even beyond logic. https://www.youtube.com/embed/e-JQ6sXQWts 2585 2023-02-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-10-commandments-a-misnomer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/to9AyvBcE1Y/hqdefault.jpg The 10 Commandments: A Misnomer Rabbi Greenberg explains why "the Ten Commandments" is an incomplete name for what God declared at Mount Sinai. The passage contains more than ten commandments, and the Torah has 613; the Hebrew term means "ten statements." Our sages teach that every Jewish soul, of every generation, stood at Sinai, and the key to what happened to them lies in the opening words, "I am God your God." The first name is God's essential, ineffable name, which transcends time and space; the second, Elohim, means power. God was saying that His power, which transcends nature, would now be vested in us. Before Sinai, spirituality was natural and limited; even the Patriarchs could reach only the divinity vested in the world. The Talmud says that without the Torah we would learn morality from animals, and Rabbi Greenberg suggests that Abraham's being taught by his "kidneys" refers to filtering the good from nature. At Sinai, a godliness beyond nature was implanted within us. The Ten Statements therefore describe who we are: doing right means being ourselves, while doing wrong, which free choice allows, goes against our nature. In the messianic age this inner reality will be openly recognized. https://www.youtube.com/embed/to9AyvBcE1Y 702 2023-02-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambam-in-depth-the-effect-of-non-verbalized-stipulations-in-jewish-civil-law/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZlmziIXHoeI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Effect of Non-Verbalized Stipulations in Jewish Civil Law Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that someone who sells property and states at the time of sale that he is selling because he plans to travel, or needs money to buy wheat in a drought, can return the money and reclaim the property if the trip falls through or wheat becomes cheap. If he did not say so, the sale stands even if his reason is obvious, because "words of the heart are not words": an unspoken intention does not change a transaction. The Gemara, however, voids a gift made by a man who believed his son had died once the son is found alive, though he never stated his reason, and the Rambam elsewhere rules that a giver's evident intention determines a gift. Rabbi Greenberg presents a commentator's answer: a gift is one-sided, so the giver's clear intention governs, while a sale has two parties with equal roles, so one side's unspoken intention cannot bind the other. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZlmziIXHoeI 435 2023-02-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-to-set-your-priorities/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O_do4GREoc0/hqdefault.jpg How to Set Your Priorities Rabbi Greenberg explains how to set priorities when two mitzvos compete, using the aftermath of the splitting of the sea. The people gathered the jewelry of the drowned Egyptians while Moses took Joseph's remains, and the sages praise Moses as "wise of heart" for taking mitzvos. Yet the people were also doing a mitzvah: God had told them to take Egypt's wealth to fulfill His promise to Abraham, and Chassidic teachings add that the spoils held sparks of holiness. Jewish law gives rules for such conflicts. One already engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from another, and one studying Torah should interrupt to help someone only if no one else can. When two mitzvos arrive together, the one that brings no personal gain or pleasure comes first, because it suppresses the evil impulse. Citing the Zohar, as quoted in the Previous Rebbe's discourse for the 10th of Shevat, he explains that suppressing the negative side draws down God's transcendent light until evil disappears in the messianic age. This, he says, is why we will still remember the Exodus then: it had the quality of struggling against one's nature. https://www.youtube.com/embed/O_do4GREoc0 697 2023-02-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-direct-and-indirect-causation-of-murder/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sBWnB_1B3KM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Direct and Indirect Causation of Murder Rabbi Greenberg explains that halachah distinguishes degrees of murder not by premeditation but by whether the killing was direct; an indirect killer is a murderer but is not given the court's death penalty. The Rambam rules that one who ties a victim and leaves him in the cold or the sun until he dies, or builds a structure over him that cuts off his air, is liable as though he strangled him, yet one who covers a person with a barrel until he dies is exempt, though he is a murderer whom God will punish. Commentators ask why a structure and a barrel differ. The Even HaEzel, by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, explains that liability requires a physical act on the victim's body. The structure case refers to a victim who was tied, since otherwise he would escape while it is built. A barrel can be placed in an instant without touching him, so it is only indirect causation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sBWnB_1B3KM 625 2023-02-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-does-the-law-of-paying-chomeish-additional-5th-for-theft-apply-in-out-time/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tTxt0PRtiAA/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Does the Law of Paying Chomeish (Additional 5th) for Theft Apply in out Times? Rabbi Greenberg takes up a question raised by later authorities. A thief who denied the theft under oath and then confessed must repay the principal, add a fifth (chomesh) and bring a guilt offering (korban asham); the question is whether the fifth applies today, when no offerings are brought. Some infer from the Rambam that it is, since he rules that if such a thief dies after confessing, his heirs pay the principal and the fifth without an offering. The Rosh is understood to hold that the fifth is not paid nowadays. He presents the Avnei Nezer, who notes that the Rambam elsewhere links the fifth and the offering to atonement. He explains that the fifth goes together with the offering, and the heirs pay only because, once the father confessed, the money was already owed and held in trust like a deposit. Accordingly, with no guilt offering today, the Rambam would agree that no fifth is paid. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tTxt0PRtiAA 449 2023-01-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-to-experience-freedom-when-life-is-shrouded-in-darkness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0snEzG07a6Q/hqdefault.jpg How to Experience Freedom When Life is Shrouded in Darkness Rabbi Greenberg explains how a person can find freedom even when their spiritual life feels dark. Freedom is a blessing only when it rests on principles: the seven Noahide commandments given to all humanity, which prohibit idolatry, blasphemy, cruelty to animals, theft, murder and sexual crimes and require courts of justice. The Exodus gave the Jewish people this kind of freedom, not license but release from Pharaoh in order to serve God, which is why we remember it every day and every night. Following the Haggadah's discussion of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah and Ben Zoma, Rabbi Greenberg reads "night" as a metaphor for times of spiritual emptiness. Even then one can leave Egypt by opening a window: prayer, Torah study and mitzvos, done with kavanah, a word related to the Aramaic for the windows Daniel opened when he prayed. Remembering the Exodus by day means that even a person in the light must keep breaking past self-imposed limits, since mitzrayim (Egypt) means confinement and God is infinite, and must bring the light to others rather than keeping their spirituality to themselves. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0snEzG07a6Q 657 2023-01-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-four-components-of-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p59PBc7eaUI/hqdefault.jpg The Four Components of Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains the four expressions of redemption in Parshas Va'eira and how they correspond to four stages of freedom. God promises: I will take you out from under the burdens of Egypt, I will save you from their labor, I will redeem you, and I will take you as a people. These are the basis for the four cups of wine at the Pesach Seder. Following a classic commentator, he explains that the Jews were freed in four steps: from torturous labor, which the sages say ended on Rosh Hashanah six months before the Exodus; from slavery itself; from being unable to leave the country; and finally from having no identity, which they gained when they received the Torah at Sinai. Rabbi Greenberg then suggests that the four species of Sukkos parallel these four expressions. The willow, like the mouth, recalls speech, which the Arizal sees in the name Pesach, "the mouth speaks"; the esrog, like the heart, recalls emotions; the myrtle, like the eye, recalls seeing the good; and the lulav recalls stubbornness. In Egypt these faculties were only beginning to be freed, while in the desert they were open. In the final Redemption all four will be fully expressed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/p59PBc7eaUI 513 2023-01-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-reason-for-liability-for-lighting-a-fire-that-causes-damage/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gimz6ZXUfDo/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Reason for Liability for Lighting a Fire that Causes Damage Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one whose fire injures a person pays all five payments for injury, as if he struck him with his own hands, because a fire is like one's arrows. This follows that view in the Talmud, against Reish Lakish, who treats fire as one's property. The famous question of how candles may be lit before Shabbos to burn into it is answered by the Nimukei Yosef: liability begins at lighting, and what follows is considered done then. Commentators ask why, then, the sage who compares fire to an arrow said he would have set the fast on the tenth of Av, when most of the Temple burned. One answer limits the Nimukei Yosef to liability; the Rebbe explains that God, unlike a person, could stop the fire at any moment. Rabbi Greenberg also draws a proof from the Nimukei Yosef about asking a non-Jew to work on Shabbos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gimz6ZXUfDo 625 2023-01-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/maimonides-a-study-of-text-from-the-works-of-maimonides/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RDa7EhFW8eY/hqdefault.jpg Maimonides: A study of text from the works of Maimonides Rabbi Greenberg begins a text study of the Rambam's laws of Mashiach, the closing chapters of the Mishneh Torah's Laws of Kings, working through chapter 11. The Rambam calls these laws, he stresses, so they are a matter of Jewish law. The messianic king is first a great Jewish leader whom people follow, and he will restore the Davidic monarchy, build the Beis HaMikdash and gather the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. Then all the commandments that depend on the Temple, or on most Jews living in Israel, such as the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, will again be kept, which the Rambam presents as the main purpose of the messianic era. The Rambam writes that anyone who does not believe in Mashiach or await his coming denies the Torah and Moses, not only the prophets. Rabbi Greenberg explains that this means belief in a person, not just an era: without God there is no basis to expect the world to perfect itself, and as an evil leader can draw out a nation's evil, Mashiach will bring out the good in everyone. The Rambam proves this from the Torah itself, from Bilaam's prophecy of two anointed kings, David and the final king, and from the three extra cities of refuge. Mashiach need not perform miracles, since Rabbi Akiva regarded Bar Kochba as the messianic king for his achievements until he was killed. A Davidic leader immersed in Torah who leads Israel in its ways and fights God's wars is presumed to be Mashiach; if he builds the Temple and gathers the exiles, he certainly is. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RDa7EhFW8eY 3415 2023-01-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-difference-between-paganism-and-monotheism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LR0PcXbhqn4/hqdefault.jpg The Difference Between Paganism and Monotheism Rabbi Greenberg explains the difference between paganism and monotheism through the verse at the opening of the book of Exodus, "A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." Rashi, quoting the Talmud, cites a dispute between Rav and Shmuel: either it was literally a new king, or the same Pharaoh with new decrees who made himself as if he did not know Joseph. The second view teaches Pharaoh's ingratitude, but Rabbi Greenberg asks what lesson the first view teaches. His answer is that Pharaoh knew Joseph only by the Egyptian name he gave him, Tzofnas Paneach, "the one who deciphers hidden matters." Pagans worshipped the forces of nature and sought to reveal the powers hidden in them; that is how Pharaoh saw Joseph. The name Joseph means adding something beyond what exists, a God who transcends nature, which is why Pharaoh later told Moses he did not know God, using the four-letter name that denotes the God beyond nature. Rabbi Greenberg adds that this also explains on a deeper level why the brothers did not recognize Joseph. At Mount Sinai that transcendence was internalized in every Jew, and with Mashiach it will be revealed to the whole world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LR0PcXbhqn4 756 2023-01-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-difference-between-immersing-a-person-and-a-keili-vessel/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nUKeaXVuNDw/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Difference Between immersing a person and a Keili (Vessel) Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who immerses in a mikvah must immerse his entire body at once, and the Tiferes Yisrael's question why the Rambam does not apply this to vessels. The Geulas Eliyahu raises a related difficulty: the Rambam validates immersing an impure bed whose legs sink into mud at the bottom of the mikvah, because the water reached them first, though the bed is never entirely in the water at once. The Geulas Eliyahu explains that the requirement is derived from the verse about the sun setting, which happens all at once, and concerns a person, whose life force makes the body one whole, while each part of a vessel can be purified separately. The Sages required vessels to be immersed at once only so people would not do the same with a body, and did not apply this to the bed, whose legs in the mud no one sees. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nUKeaXVuNDw 429 2023-01-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/can-unity-and-diversity-get-along/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BwS2Gbt6c6k/hqdefault.jpg Can Unity and Diversity Get Along? Rabbi Greenberg explains why, after Jacob's death in Parshas Vayechi, Joseph stopped inviting his brothers to dine with him, the change that led them to fear he would now take revenge. The Midrash answers that while Jacob was alive he insisted that Joseph, as ruler of Egypt, sit at the head of the table, and once Jacob died Joseph, who had fully forgiven his brothers, was uncomfortable presiding over them. Rabbi Greenberg adds a second explanation: the famine had stopped during Jacob's lifetime and returned when he died, so Joseph had to go back to his mission of feeding the world. His third explanation addresses the title's question. Jacob gathered the twelve sons together to establish one shared goal, making the world a dwelling place for God, but that goal is to be reached through twelve different approaches. Joseph, with all his royal power, did not want to bring his brothers under his leadership and crush their individuality. Unity of purpose, use of our differences, and a constant awareness that we are one people are all needed together. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BwS2Gbt6c6k 625 2023-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-holiday-of-books-why-jews-celebrate-a-library-victory-jewish-history/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mCwLbWvTOeY/hqdefault.jpg The Holiday of Books: Why Jews Celebrate a Library Victory | Jewish History Rabbi Greenberg explains why the fifth of Teves became a Chassidic holiday celebrating books, and what Jewish tradition teaches about holy books. The Rebbe inherited a large library that the previous Rebbe had brought out of the Soviet Union at great sacrifice. When rare volumes were found missing and a relative claimed them as an inheritance, a secular court ruled that the library belonged to the Chabad community, citing the previous Rebbe's own letter and the testimony of the Rebbe's wife. The Rebbe called it a victory of the books and urged people to buy and study Torah books on that day. The last of the 613 mitzvos is to write a Torah scroll, and Rabbeinu Asher rules that today buying books of Torah knowledge fulfills it. Rashi reads "acquire a friend" in Ethics of the Fathers as "buy books." The Rebbe's campaign for a "house full of books" means both owning many books and letting them shape the home, which becomes a satellite of the Beis HaMikdash. Rabbi Greenberg reviews the laws of honoring books: placing nothing on them, kissing one that falls, saving them first in a fire, and burying worn-out books respectfully rather than throwing them into any grave. He also describes the burnings of the Talmud in the Middle Ages, scholars who knew the entire Talmud by heart, early printing and copyright bans such as the one on the Tanya, and the merit of lending books. In closing he notes the fast of the tenth of Teves, marking Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mCwLbWvTOeY 3070 2023-01-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/missing-what-is-missing-about-the-holiday-of-chanukah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/He5vBYc40tM/hqdefault.jpg Missing: What is Missing About the Holiday of Chanukah? Rabbi Greenberg asks why so much attention is given to the famous question of why Chanukah lasts eight days, when the jug of oil was enough for the first night and the miracle added only seven. He reviews some of the traditional answers: the first night celebrates the victory over the Syrian Greeks or the finding of the jug; the oil was divided into eight parts and each lasted the whole night; the holiday made up for the Sukkos missed during the war; and it recalls circumcision, which takes place on the eighth day. His own answer is that the question hides a deeper longing. Chanukah came very close to the Messianic age: the Beis HaMikdash was rededicated and the Jews were free of foreign rule. What was missing was a leader descended from King David, and without Moshiach the era declined until it led to the destruction of the Second Temple and the long exile. Seven is the cycle of nature, while eight transcends it and repairs what is broken, so asking about the eighth day expresses a desire for Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/He5vBYc40tM 386 2022-12-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-believability-of-one-witness-to-invalidate-a-sacrifice/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xI437YkNx5c/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In Depth: The Believability of One Witness to Invalidate a Sacrifice Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who handled pure items with another, or a kohen who offered another's sacrifice, and tells him that he made the items impure or rendered the offering piggul (invalid through improper intent) is believed; but if they met again and he said nothing, and he spoke only at a third meeting, he is not believed. Elsewhere the Rambam rules that a kohen is believed about piggul only at the time of the offering; if he says so later, the owner brings another offering only if he believes him. A later commentator distinguishes the object's status from the owner's obligation. A single witness is believed about whether something is permitted or forbidden, as one trusts whoever cooked a meal that it is kosher. But he cannot create a new obligation unless he had the power to cause it, which the kohen has only at the time of the offering. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xI437YkNx5c 396 2022-12-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/chanukah-questions-part-ii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sAvDaLlhjx4/hqdefault.jpg Chanukah Questions Part II In the second installment of his Chanukah quiz, Rabbi Greenberg uses multiple-choice questions to explain the meaning, history and laws of Chanukah. The name combines "they encamped" with the number 25, celebrating rest from fighting rather than the fighting itself. One answer to why Chanukah lasts eight days, when the oil was miraculous for only seven, is that the first night celebrates the military victory. Against claims that the miracle of the oil was invented later, he cites Megillas Taanis, a Second Temple-era text recording the dispute between the schools of Hillel and Shammai over the order of lighting. He explains why the Greeks first banned circumcision, Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, the last because the court's declaration of the new month gave the Jewish people control over time, which also explains the extra day of holidays in the diaspora. Other questions cover the Hellenists, why Chanukah is not in the Mishnah, why women refrain from chores while the candles burn, the dreidel letters as four exiles, the 36 hours of the original light, and where the menorah is placed. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that lighting inside the doorway, the Chabad custom, suits an age when the outside world has entered our homes through technology. He closes with practical laws: the candles must burn half an hour after dark, may be any color, and on Chanukah one may not fast or give a traditional eulogy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sAvDaLlhjx4 3180 2022-12-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-roots-of-antisemitism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kFij1miRoYY/hqdefault.jpg The Roots of Antisemitism Rabbi Greenberg explains two roots of antisemitism and traces one of them to Jacob's struggle with the angel of Esau. The Talmud compares Achashverosh and Haman to a man with a mound in his field and another with a ditch in his. The Rebbe explained these as two kinds of antisemite: one feels a void when he sees the moral, elevated lives of Jews and fills it by getting rid of them, while the other sees Jews as a mound, trespassers on his turf. The trespasser model begins with Esau, who despised the birthright, which he saw as purely spiritual, and wanted only this world. When Jacob also received material blessings, Esau felt Jacob was taking what was his. That is why Esau's angel attacked only when Jacob was alone, having gone back across the river for small jugs; the Talmud says from this that the righteous cherish their possessions. To Esau's angel this showed Jacob grasping at the material world. The Midrash says the angel struck Jacob's thigh to show him his descendants Nadav and Avihu, who let their souls leave their bodies in longing for God, as if to say Jacob should want only the next world. But Jacob was not materialistic: Jews value the physical world as a means of making it a dwelling place for God. As Maimonides writes, the sages longed for Mashiach not to rule over others but to be free to serve God. Rabbi Greenberg says Jewish achievement in the physical world aggravates this hatred unless it is directed toward something holier. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kFij1miRoYY 1204 2022-12-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-applying-the-mei-chatas-on-the-kohen-who-burns-the-parah-adumah-on-shabbos/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TO14z5go3ZQ/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Applying the Mei Chatas on the Kohen who burns the Parah Adumah on Shabbos Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that the kohen who would burn the parah adumah, the red heifer, was separated for seven days and sprinkled with its waters each day except the fourth, and that the separation began on a Wednesday so the fourth day would fall on Shabbos, when sprinkling is not permitted. The Shaagas Aryeh asks why the sprinkling was not done in the Temple courtyard, since rabbinic Shabbos prohibitions do not apply in the Beis HaMikdash. One answer is that the waters make whoever carries them impure, but one view extends the Temple exemption to the Temple Mount. Another limits the exemption to present needs. Drawing on a talk of the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg suggests that the red heifer's importance might make relying on the exemption inappropriate, though he finds this difficult. He also suggests that sprinkling involves two different kinds of rabbinic prohibition, so the exemption does not apply. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TO14z5go3ZQ 800 2022-12-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/chanukah-questions/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/11vZ1u0dEzU/hqdefault.jpg CHANUKAH QUESTIONS Rabbi Greenberg leads a Chanukah quiz with his class, naming an aspect of Chanukah connected to each number from 1 to 13, then to larger numbers, followed by multiple-choice questions on its customs and their reasons. Among the answers: the two and three blessings, the three levels of lighting the menorah, the four letters of the dreidel, the seven-branched menorah of the Beis HaMikdash, circumcision on the eighth day, which the Greeks opposed, the tribe of Asher, whose land produced the oil, and the thirteen breaches the Greeks made in the Temple's fence. Larger numbers include the 25th of Kislev and the 36 candles lit over Chanukah, which correspond to the 36 hours of the original light God hid. The multiple-choice questions cover why we light at night, the shamash, adding a candle each night, latkes, Chanukah gelt and dairy foods. Rabbi Greenberg tells the story of the shamash of Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg, who saw Elijah daily without thinking himself special, as a lesson in the humility of the shamash candle. He closes by rejecting the idea that Chanukah is a minor holiday, and cites the Rebbe's explanation that Chanukah gelt counters the Greeks' taking of Jewish money by training children to give tzedakah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/11vZ1u0dEzU 3020 2022-12-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-creatures-of-the-sea-are-not-susceptible-to-impurity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3QWyGKXwVwI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Creatures of the Sea are not Susceptible to Impurity Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that utensils made from fish bones or skin, and moss from the surface of the water, cannot become impure, because whatever is in the sea is pure. A tent of fish skin over a corpse conveys impurity to what is beneath it but does not become impure itself. In the laws of vessels the Rambam adds a tradition that bird bones are also not susceptible, yet he does not mention bird skin here. A contemporary work explains that bird skin lacks the significance of a vessel, while sea creatures are pure because water is a place of purity. Rabbi Greenberg connects this to the teaching of Chassidus that sea creatures, which cannot live outside the water, represent complete absorption in the Divine. As the opposite of impurity, they are unaffected even by the impurity of a tent, while the exemption of birds applies only to impurity through contact. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3QWyGKXwVwI 444 2022-11-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-jewish-approach-to-workers-compensation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ifNdR-THv48/hqdefault.jpg The Jewish Approach to “Workers’ Compensation” Rabbi Greenberg explains what Laban's offer to pay Jacob teaches about the Jewish view of work and wages. After Jacob has worked for him for a month, Laban says, "Because you are my brother, should you work for me for nothing?" Rabbi Greenberg raises four questions: why Laban assumes Jacob would work without pay, why a known deceiver suddenly insists on fairness, why he waited a month, and why he mentions being brothers at all. Drawing on a Hungarian Chasidic work, he explains that Laban first called Jacob "my bone and my flesh" because he thought Jacob, who had tricked Esau, shared his devious nature. After a month he saw that Jacob was the opposite, a man of truth who had deceived his brother only at his mother's prophetic direction to secure the Jewish future. Laban realized that Jacob's real currency was mitzvos, and that work "for nothing" meant work without a mitzvah. So Jacob asked to work seven years for Rachel, making his labor part of the mitzvah of marriage. Rabbi Greenberg applies this to every livelihood: work has substance when it supports a life of serving God, such as paying for children's education and giving charity. He also explains why, if every mitzvah is already a taste of the future, we still demand Mashiach now: because of the suffering and spiritual loss in the world, and because we are at the very end of the journey, not its beginning. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ifNdR-THv48 1351 2022-11-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-the-word-jew-literally-means-gratitude/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i4SYfTwpDIQ/hqdefault.jpg Why the Word "Jew" Literally Means Gratitude Rabbi Greenberg explains that the word "Jew" comes from Yehudah, the name Leah gave her fourth son because "now I will thank God," so gratitude is the most Jewish of ideas. In a Thanksgiving class, he notes that the Hebrew for turkey links it with India, hodu, which also means "give thanks." Thanksgiving has meaning only as gratitude to God, especially for America's religious freedom, a resting place on the way to the final redemption. He shows how gratitude runs through Judaism. Adam's real sin was ingratitude: instead of thanking God for his wife, he blamed God for giving her to him. Jewish holidays thank God for freedom, survival and faith; the day begins with Modeh Ani; there are blessings after using the bathroom, after surviving danger, and after meals; first fruits expressed gratitude in action; Moses did not strike the water and earth that had saved him; and honoring parents is rooted in gratitude. The Hebrew word for thanks also means to admit and to submit, recognizing that one is not the only one in the world. In Modeh Ani the thanks come before the "I." Gratitude must be addressed to someone and specific, and it deepens as one appreciates the gift more, as in the story of an innkeeper who learned his guest had been Rav Saadia Gaon. "All those who are alive will thank You": gratitude is a sign of life and the basis of relationships. https://www.youtube.com/embed/i4SYfTwpDIQ 2380 2022-11-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/when-self-deception-is-a-virtue/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hZblqrYpyxI/hqdefault.jpg When Self Deception is a Virtue Rabbi Greenberg explains why Isaac favored Esau over Jacob, and why he blessed Jacob even after discovering that Jacob had deceived him to receive the blessings. He reviews several explanations: Esau honored his father by bringing him game; Esau feigned piety by asking how to tithe salt and straw; a child who misbehaves needs more love; and, in Chassidic writings, Esau's soul had a higher source. Yet the Torah seems to link Isaac's love to Esau's deception. Isaac knew Jacob was truthful and devoted to Torah, but saw that Jacob followed his nature, while carrying on the tradition of Abraham and Isaac requires transcending one's nature. Esau's willingness to feign piety showed he could act against his nature, a "holy deception" Isaac felt he could work with. When Jacob, the man of truth, deceived his father at his mother's direction, he showed that he too could transcend himself, so Isaac said he would indeed be blessed. Going beyond our comfort zone, Rabbi Greenberg concludes, will take us out of exile to the Final Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hZblqrYpyxI 735 2022-11-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-knowing-your-sin-before-bringing-a-korban-asham/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rrb34I9kdy0/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Knowing Your Sin Before Bringing a Korban Asham Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that before bringing a guilt offering a person must know which sin he is bringing it for, so learning of it only afterward does not help, as with a sin offering. This bears on the Tur's advice to recite the Torah passages of the offerings and pray that the recital be accepted as if they had been brought, except for the sin offering, which cannot be brought voluntarily. The Bach cites the Maharshal that one may pray even after the sin offering, on condition that if he is not obligated it counts as Torah study. The Magen Avraham and the Alter Rebbe object that a sin offering requires knowing the sin first, but allow the conditional prayer after the guilt offering. Since the Rambam requires the same for a guilt offering, the Pri Megadim, the Dagul Mervavah and others answer that Tosafos disagree with the Rambam, and the Tur may follow Tosafos. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rrb34I9kdy0 426 2022-11-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-role-of-the-matriarchs-vs-the-patriarchs/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xpRnd47a9Ps/hqdefault.jpg The Role of the Matriarchs vs. the Patriarchs Rabbi Greenberg addresses why the Amidah mentions only the Patriarchs, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and not the Matriarchs, even though God told Abraham to listen to Sarah and, as Rashi says, the Matriarchs were greater than the Patriarchs in prophecy. He draws the answer from the Rebbe's question on the parsha's name: why is a portion about Sarah's passing and its aftermath called "the life of Sarah"? Because Sarah's life was about turning Abraham's ideals into reality, and that came to fruition after her passing. Sarah protected Isaac so Abraham's legacy could pass to the next generation, her burial led Abraham to buy the Cave of Machpelah, his first foothold in the land, and at the end of the parsha Abraham sends away his other sons. Rabbi Greenberg concludes that the Matriarchs' contribution is inseparable from the Patriarchs', so mentioning the Patriarchs includes them. He suggests that the Yizkor prayer, which does mention the Matriarchs, invokes God's motherly role, like Rachel crying for her children, and notes that in the days of Mashiach the feminine qualities will be fully revealed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xpRnd47a9Ps 626 2022-11-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-mitzvah-of-showing-your-face-in-the-courtyard-of-the-beis-hamikdash/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jzt5uQHDJqE/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Mitzvah of Showing Your Face in the Courtyard of the Beis Hamikdash Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that on each festival one must appear in the Temple courtyard on the first day with a burnt offering, and that one who comes without it violates the prohibition against appearing empty-handed, yet receives no lashes, since a prohibition without an action carries none. Yet entering empty-handed is an act. The Shaagas Aryeh answers that an act leading up to a violation is not part of it, as with wearing a four-cornered garment without tzitzis, a passive violation. Other commentators ask from the prohibition against omitting salt from an offering, for which the Rambam does give lashes, because the unsalted offering is a defective act. Many answer that one who enters without an offering can still bring it later, so the entry is not the violation, while an offering brought without salt cannot be corrected. Rabbi Greenberg adds that the Rambam requires salting before the offering is placed on the altar. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jzt5uQHDJqE 449 2022-11-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/who-was-the-first-jew-the-answer-isn-t-just-abraham-s-name/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XVn4vV4RzBg/hqdefault.jpg Who Was the First Jew? The Answer Isn't Just Abraham's Name Rabbi Greenberg explains what made Abraham the first Jew, focusing on his circumcision and his kindness. Many authorities hold that Abraham's Jewishness was completed at his circumcision, when Avram became Avraham. The added letter hei, numerically five, marks his mastery over the five organs hardest to control: two eyes, two ears and the reproductive organ. Unlike religions that scorn the body, Judaism sees the body as holy once it is refined, which is why most mitzvos involve physical acts. The Talmud teaches that women are naturally circumcised, their bodies more receptive to their souls. The Patriarchs are called our fathers because Jews, including converts, inherit their spiritual genetic code, and Abraham's dominant trait was kindness, shown in his tent open on all four sides and his pain when he had no guests. The first blessing of the Amidah ends with "Shield of Abraham" alone because Jews have struggled with Torah study and divine service but rarely with kindness, and kindness will bring the final redemption; the Rebbe told a reporter that a little more goodness and kindness would bring Mashiach. A Midrash describes the three angels as a desert trader, a produce merchant and a ship's captain, representing all of creation coming to Abraham. Rabbi Greenberg applies this to the desert, fertile and stormy times of a person's life, each answered by an act of kindness, as when the Rebbe advised an unhappy woman to offer others water in a cafeteria. The Matriarchs are not named in the blessing because they are included with the Patriarchs, whose work Sarah and Rivkah safeguarded through their discernment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XVn4vV4RzBg 3139 2022-11-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-are-the-necessary-requirements-for-the-fulfillment-of-g-d-s-masterplan/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/66yTtIHtzgc/hqdefault.jpg What Are the Necessary Requirements for the Fulfillment of G-d’s Masterplan? Rabbi Greenberg explains the three challenges humanity had to meet before God could entrust it with His master plan for creation, and why Moses' winning argument against the angels at Sinai was that they had eaten milk and meat. The Talmud relates that the angels objected to giving the Torah to mortals, as they had objected to the creation of man. A Midrash says Moses reminded them that when they visited Abraham, in Parshas Vayeira, they ate dairy and meat together, showing the Torah was not for them. God's plan, Rabbi Greenberg explains, is for humanity to fulfill His commandments, the seven Noahide laws and the 613 mitzvos, until the world becomes a dwelling place for God in the messianic age. That requires accepting God's sovereignty with commitment to His will, which Adam and Eve failed; living in harmony with others, which Cain and the generation of the flood failed; and influencing others, which Noah, though righteous, could not do. Abraham, together with Sarah, passed all three: he was ready to die rather than worship idols, he personified kindness, and he brought thousands to belief in one God. Three reasons given for the prohibition of milk and meat match these requirements: Maimonides' reason, distancing from idolatry; distancing from the cruelty of cooking a kid in its mother's milk; and avoiding an explosive fusion of kindness and severity that harms the world. By eating milk and meat, the angels showed they could not be entrusted with the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/66yTtIHtzgc 1245 2022-11-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-divine-policy-of-seeking-outside-advice/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wd3fFe7ddmI/hqdefault.jpg The Divine Policy of Seeking Outside Advice Rabbi Greenberg explains why Abraham consulted Mamre, a friend outside the covenant, about circumcision, even though God had commanded it directly. The Torah portion opens with God appearing to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, which gives Mamre credit for advising Abraham to go through with it. A classic answer is that Abraham only asked whether to do it privately or publicly, but Rabbi Greenberg takes the consultation at face value. He points to God's own conduct: on the verse "Let us make man," Rashi comments that God consulted the angels to teach humility. God wants His plan embraced rather than imposed, just as on Rosh Hashanah we proclaim Him King. Abraham likewise wanted the world, even its rebels (the name Mamre comes from a root meaning rebel), to embrace the journey that began with circumcision. We do the same when we pray for Mashiach and the Final Redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wd3fFe7ddmI 286 2022-11-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-heter-of-the-shliach-who-sends-the-sa-ir-la-azazel-to-eat-on-yom-kippu/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VrEfAgiK3XE/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Heter of the Shliach Who Sends the Sa’ir La’Azazel to Eat On Yom Kippur Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that people stationed along the route of the man leading the goat to Azazel on Yom Kippur told him that he could eat if he grew weak, though it never happened. Many explain that the offer only eased his hunger and that he could not actually eat unless his life was in danger, but the Rambam's words imply that he was truly permitted. The Shaagas Aryeh asks that the Talmud says the prohibition of afflicting oneself on Yom Kippur, unlike that of labor, is never set aside, even for the Temple service. Rabbi Greenberg answers that the Rambam presents refraining from food and drink as a second form of the rest required on Yom Kippur, alongside resting from labor. Just as the Talmud permits completing a Shabbos offering because its beginning overrides Shabbos, the messenger's eating continues the labor permitted for the service, so the leniency lies in the labor. https://www.youtube.com/embed/VrEfAgiK3XE 449 2022-11-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/abraham-wasn-t-born-jewish-here-s-when-he-actually-became-one/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tqp0SZ1KkSA/hqdefault.jpg Abraham Wasn't Born Jewish — Here's When He Actually Became One Rabbi Greenberg explains when Abraham became Jewish, beginning with the legal debate over whether Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had the status of Bnei Noach, bound by the seven Noahide commandments like everyone else, or a separate status. He cites the Rogatchover, Rabbi Joseph Rosen, who held that Abraham could not have been Jewish in his own time, but became Jewish retroactively when the Jewish people were formed at Mount Sinai. Just as a revolution has to be traced back to its seeds, Sinai is traced back to Abraham. Authorities point to different moments as the start: his circumcision at 99, his first commandment beyond the Noahide laws; God's call to leave his homeland; or his willingness to die in the fiery furnace in Ur rather than bow to idols. Rabbi Greenberg says all of them are correct. He then goes through Abraham's ten tests. Jewish martyrdom is different, since even irreligious Jews chose death over converting, a trait he suggests was inherited from Abraham. Following the Talmud, one who is commanded and does a deed is greater than one who does it voluntarily, because a mitzvah, meaning both commandment and connection, is the bridge God builds between the finite person and the infinite. This, he suggests, is one reason the Torah begins Abraham's story with God's command at 75. Further tests include the famine, Sarah's abductions by Pharaoh and Avimelech, the war to rescue Lot, the Covenant Between the Parts, his public circumcision, and sending away Ishmael. He closes with questions on Sarah's role and why Adam and Noah did not become the first Jew. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tqp0SZ1KkSA 2705 2022-11-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/who-are-the-hebrews/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QmU876tindA/hqdefault.jpg Who Are the Hebrews? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah first calls Abraham "Ivri," a Hebrew, in the account of his war against the four kings to rescue his nephew Lot, and presents the Midrash's three answers. Rabbi Yehuda says Ivri means "on the other side": Abraham stood alone against the whole pagan world and won, and that conviction in one God gave him the courage to face the kings. Rabbi Greenberg links this to the name Yehudi, which the Talmud connects to acknowledging God, and to the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson, telling a Soviet interrogator holding a gun that he had one God and two worlds. A second opinion says Abraham was called Ivri as a descendant of Eber, who with Shem taught the Torah's teachings, so his courage came from his lineage. A third says he came from across the river, where Hebrew was spoken; citing Maimonides, Rabbi Greenberg explains that Hebrew is holy because it has no vulgar words, and pure speech refines a person. Today, he says, Jews have faith, a far longer lineage and a more refined environment, and the gematria of "eved ivri" equals that of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QmU876tindA 759 2022-11-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/coping-with-darkness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-CHNbSXL41o/hqdefault.jpg Coping with Darkness Rabbi Greenberg explains how Abraham coped when, soon after arriving in the land God promised would bring him blessing, a famine drove him to Egypt. Following Rashi, who holds that Abraham did nothing wrong in going, he examines Abraham's words to Sarah: say you are my sister, so that they will not kill me and will treat me well. Abraham knew Sarah would be safe, yet it seems troubling that he mentioned gifts while she faced being taken by Pharaoh. Based on an insight of the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg explains that one of God's promised blessings was wealth, which Abraham wanted only to spread monotheism and righteousness and to fund his hospitality. He tells of the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe crying in the 1940s because he lacked the resources to help Jews, not for himself. Abraham did not need an explanation for Sarah's ordeal, but where he could see God's plan, the fulfillment of God's promise, he pointed to it. Likewise, in the last days of exile we cannot explain everything, but wherever we can see light in the darkness we must look for it and reveal it, since it will grow into the light of the Messianic age. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-CHNbSXL41o 354 2022-11-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-temple-activities-permitted-to-a-zar-non-kohen/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-Vne8ZlsJOk/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Temple Activities Permitted to a Zar (Non-Kohen) Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that the slaughter of any offering, even the red heifer, is valid when done by a zar, a non-kohen, since the Gemara holds that slaughter is not a Temple service. A question arises from the Rambam's ruling, based on the Gemara in Yoma, on the Yom Kippur lottery between the two goats: placing the lots on the goats is not essential and may be done by a non-kohen, but the lottery itself is essential and is invalid if a non-kohen performs it. That suggests anything essential requires a kohen, yet slaughter is essential to every offering. He answers with Rabbeinu Yaakov of Orleans, cited by Tosafos: slaughter is required for any animal one wishes to eat, not specifically for offerings, so it is not part of the priestly service. The lottery, though only a preliminary, belongs to the priestly service, much as building a sukkah is a preliminary yet part of the mitzvah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-Vne8ZlsJOk 488 2022-11-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/who-was-the-first-jew-the-surprising-truth-about-abraham-s-legacy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FAv0QfvVyqk/hqdefault.jpg Who Was the First Jew? The Surprising Truth About Abraham's Legacy Rabbi Greenberg explains in what sense Abraham was the first Jew. The word "Jew" comes from Yehudah, and the first person the Torah calls a Yehudi is Mordechai, but Abraham is the one who set the pattern. He is called Ivri, a Hebrew, which can mean he came from across the river or descended from Ever, but above all that he stood on one side while the whole world stood on the other. Contrary to a common myth, Abraham did not introduce belief in one God; Adam, Noah, Shem, Ever and others already held it. What he popularized was ethical monotheism: God is not a projection of human desires, but the Creator who made us in His image and gives absolute moral values, so belief in God and kindness to others cannot be separated. Rabbi Greenberg describes three challenges humanity faced: to recognize God as the ultimate truth, to coexist with others, and to spread these values. Adam and Eve failed the first, Cain and the generation of the flood failed the second, and Noah, though righteous, could not influence anyone in 120 years of building the ark. Abraham passed all three: he discovered God on his own and smashed his father's idols, embodied kindness by feeding travelers, and was the first true leader. Leadership, Rabbi Greenberg says, begins with mastering oneself, mind over heart over body, and requires a sense of responsibility, indifference to ridicule, and the ability to raise new leaders. Abraham was also a protester, even arguing with God over Sodom, which reflects deep faith rather than its absence. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FAv0QfvVyqk 2945 2022-10-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-do-we-bring-the-future-into-the-present/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ojl9B6C0rM0/hqdefault.jpg How Do We Bring the Future into the Present? Rabbi Greenberg explains how to bring the future redemption into the present, drawing on the raven and the dove that Noah sent from the ark. The raven circled the ark and would not leave, like a person so used to exile, or even prison, that he becomes comfortable there. The dove knew it did not belong in the ark; when the waters had not yet subsided, it brought back an olive leaf, a sign of the free world outside, and finally left for good. So too in exile, which has a purpose, we should look toward redemption and bring elements of it into the present. This explains the Talmud's account of Elisha, who wore tefillin despite a Roman decree of death; when a soldier caught him, the tefillin in his hand became the wings of a dove. The Romans banned tefillin because they are a crown, a sign of royalty and of Israel's chosenness, which they saw as a desire for independence. Rashi says to keep putting on tefillin in exile so they will not be new when we return. The ark itself, where predators lived in peace, was a model of the future. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ojl9B6C0rM0 995 2022-10-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/is-it-ok-to-drink-alone/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QcjBUPRiiYw/hqdefault.jpg Is It OK to Drink Alone? Rabbi Greenberg asks how Noah, whom the Torah calls a perfect tzaddik, could become drunk after the flood and expose himself to indignity, leading him to curse one of his sons. Some commentaries suggest the flood changed the world's biology so that less wine made him drunk, but Rabbi Greenberg finds this unsatisfying, since the Torah includes only what teaches a lesson. Noah's drinking can be read two ways: as an escape from the anguish of seeing a devastated world and the daunting task of rebuilding it, or as a celebration of the miracle of his survival. The simple test is whether a person drinks alone. Someone escaping wants solitude; someone celebrating wants others to join in. Had Noah been drinking with others, this would not have happened. The lesson is the importance of joy: we cannot wallow in destruction, and each day is a new beginning. Drinking within reason is not wrong in itself, but it should be done in joy and together with others, especially in a Hakhel year devoted to gathering Jews, as preparation for the joy of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QcjBUPRiiYw 378 2022-10-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-difference-between-the-me-il-cloak-and-other-priestly-garments/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V4w39TeaFiM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The difference between the Me’il (cloak) and Other Priestly Garments Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling on a garment splattered with the blood of a sin offering, which must be washed in the Temple courtyard. If it became impure outside, it is torn, which removes its status as a vessel and its impurity, and then brought in and washed. The High Priest's me'il, his cloak, may not be torn, since tearing it carries lashes, so it is brought in a piece at a time, less than three fingerbreadths, which cannot become impure. Destroying any priestly garment carries lashes, so the me'il seems no different. One view holds that tearing the me'il is punishable even without destructive intent. The Mishneh LaMelech holds that tearing to purify is always destructive, so the torn garment must be an ordinary one. A Vilna rabbi murdered in the Holocaust explains that only a tear that invalidates a garment counts, and since the me'il had no sleeves, a tear at its opening invalidates it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/V4w39TeaFiM 511 2022-10-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/what-is-hakhel-the-forgotten-biblical-commandment-that-still-matters/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NwTVkwzdExo/hqdefault.jpg What is Hakhel? The Forgotten Biblical Commandment That Still Matters Rabbi Greenberg explains the mitzvah of Hakhel, "gathering," from the book of Deuteronomy: after each Sabbatical year, on Sukkos, all Israel, men, women and children, gathered at the Beis HaMikdash to hear the king read from the Torah. He asks why it is the next-to-last of the 613 commandments, just before writing a Torah scroll, and answers that Hakhel was a reenactment of the revelation at Mount Sinai, the foundation of Jewish existence, and thus a seal on Judaism. It also looks ahead to Mashiach, who as king will read the Torah to the whole people. He reviews the details: without a king, many authorities allow a high priest or another recognized leader to read; the reading took place on the second day of Sukkos; it included the Shema, its second section and the laws of tithes; kohanim with golden trumpets summoned the people; and the scroll passed up a chain of officials to the king. He also explains the Sabbatical year itself, why it is rabbinic today, and why Hillel's prozbol does not change Torah law. Following the Rebbe, he links the three readings to three lessons of the Sabbatical year: we do not own ourselves, the land or our possessions. Today, without a king or a Temple, the Rebbe urged Jews to live the spirit of Hakhel all year, gathering to strengthen Torah observance. Each person is a king with influence on others, and melech, "king," spells mind, heart and liver, meaning the mind should rule the emotions and the body. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NwTVkwzdExo 2880 2022-10-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-significance-of-kol-nidrei/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V3_o72_WmYc/hqdefault.jpg The Significance of Kol Nidrei Rabbi Greenberg explains why Yom Kippur opens with Kol Nidrei, a legal formula annulling vows, rather than with words about God and teshuvah, repentance. The simple reason is that breaking a promise is a serious violation of Torah law, so we clear our conscience in advance. He also addresses the theory linking Kol Nidrei to the conversos of Spain who outwardly professed Catholicism. Historically that is not accurate, since Kol Nidrei existed hundreds of years earlier, but their heartfelt use of it, telling God that the vows forced on them did not reflect who they really were, gave the prayer its solemnity and emotion. The lesson, he says, is that we are not our promises. During the year we apologize for mistakes without coming face to face with who we are; on Yom Kippur we meet God and ourselves and see that our true essence is one with Him. That is also why Kol Nidrei sets aside resolutions for the future: on Yom Kippur a person changes right now. https://www.youtube.com/embed/V3_o72_WmYc 349 2022-10-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-transformative-journey-of-yom-kippur-from-atonement-to-self-discovery/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q83ke4KFoRc/hqdefault.jpg The Transformative Journey of Yom Kippur: From Atonement to Self-Discovery Rabbi Greenberg explains why Yom Kippur, though solemn, is a joyous day: God forgives our sins, Moses brought down the second tablets on it, and the First Temple's dedication was celebrated then. The Torah calls it a day of "atonements," in the plural, because teshuvah out of fear turns intentional sins into unintentional ones, while teshuvah out of love turns them into merits, which is why Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev told the town's worst sinner he envied him. Kol Nidre, a prayer instituted centuries before the Spanish Inquisition, renounces vows, which reflect who we think we are; on Yom Kippur we declare that our true identity is the one we show that day. Teshuvah, return to God and to one's true self, includes remorse, resolve for the future, verbal confession and asking forgiveness. We judge others favorably but ourselves with brutal honesty. The Rebbe gives three reasons for confessing aloud: speech reveals what is hidden, intensifies it, and jolts us, as the stories of the fifth Chabad Rebbe and Rabbi Greenberg's brother show. We confess sins we did not commit because, as the Arizal explains, all Jews are one body, and because every sin has subtle forms. Yom Kippur's five prayers correspond to five levels of the soul, the fifth, revealed at Neilah, linked to Mashiach. Jonah fled because Nineveh's quick repentance would reflect badly on his own people, showing a Jew's love for fellow Jews. He also covers the kittel, the fast, Yizkor, the closing Shema and shofar, the festive meal afterward, and making amends with others beforehand. https://www.youtube.com/embed/q83ke4KFoRc 3970 2022-10-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/removing-the-impediments-to-change/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XL-ePO8eG1M/hqdefault.jpg Removing the Impediments to Change Rabbi Greenberg explains the power of teshuvah, return to God, during the Ten Days of Teshuvah, through a passage in the Jerusalem Talmud as explained in a letter of the Rebbe. Asked the punishment of a sinner, wisdom answers that evil pursues him, since by logic suffering is sin's natural consequence. Prophecy answers that the sinning soul shall die, because sin cuts one's lifeline to God. Torah prescribes an offering: the animal stands in for the animal soul that, as the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya, leads a person to sin. God Himself answers, "Let him do teshuvah and be forgiven," because He transcends His commandments, and connecting to God Himself leaves sin no hold. Even God can seem to be an impediment, as with Elisha ben Avuya, who told his student Rabbi Meir that a heavenly voice excluded him from returning. He was wrong; that too was a test to overcome. Since the Rambam writes that the Jewish people will do teshuvah and be redeemed immediately, the same four impediments to redemption must be overcome with complete faith in Mashiach's imminent coming. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XL-ePO8eG1M 615 2022-09-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-do-we-deal-with-the-darkness-in-our-world/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T3IBjw9ffes/hqdefault.jpg How Do We Deal with the Darkness in Our World? Rabbi Greenberg explains how to deal with darkness through the opening verses of Hosea's prophecy "Shuvah Yisrael," read on Shabbos Shuvah. He raises seven questions, including why the people are called Israel, why the first verse says return "ad," up to God, while the second says "el," all the way, why deliberate sins are called stumbling, and why the singular becomes plural. His answer is that the two verses address two situations, reflected in how the two Talmuds read "I will surely hide My face on that day." The Babylonian Talmud, composed in exile, says that even when God hides, He speaks through dreams, as in the time of Esther; the Jerusalem Talmud applies the verse to King Ahaz, who tried to drive godliness out in a time of light, and Isaiah, who stopped him. The first verse speaks to the individual in darkness: you can still become Israel and reach toward God, though not fully while in exile, and even deliberate sins are treated as stumbling in the dark. The second addresses those already touched by future light, as the Rebbe said, who can return completely by carrying the words of Torah, especially its teachings on redemption, so darkness cannot intrude. https://www.youtube.com/embed/T3IBjw9ffes 706 2022-09-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/tithing-from-a-basket-that-was-already-tithed-for-produce-that-was-not-yet-tithed/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bBqA_EDTSnY/hqdefault.jpg Tithing from a Basket That Was Already Tithed for Produce That Was Not Yet Tithed Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling on two baskets of untithed produce from which terumah was already taken: one who says the tithe of each is in the other has tithed only the first, since it was then exempt and cannot serve as tithe for the second. The Jerusalem Talmud explains that this follows Rabbi Meir, who goes by a person's first statement. Asked why the Rambam follows Rabbi Meir here but Rabbi Yosi in the laws of temurah, the Tzlach answers that there both statements can be fulfilled, but here they contradict each other. The Kli Chemdah asks why the second statement is not a retraction. Holy things cannot be retracted, and maaser (the Levite's tithe), though not holy, can be separated by thought, which the Mabit explains makes a decision final. Rabbi Greenberg notes that this works only on the Rebbe's view that such thought takes effect, not his father's. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bBqA_EDTSnY 785 2022-09-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/shofar-therapy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tCpQD5y9hms/hqdefault.jpg Shofar Therapy Rabbi Greenberg explains how the shofar of Rosh Hashanah reaches the roots of negativity in a person. In the Torah portion Nitzavim, Moses warns of "a root that produces hemlock and wormwood"; the initials of those Hebrew words spell shofar, and the phrase also contains the letters of Rosh Hashanah. The word shofar is related to beautifying, so the shofar can take bitter roots and refine them. Drawing on the Alter Rebbe in Tanya, he explains that thought, speech and action are garments of the soul, with thought the root of the other two. Speech and action affect the world more, but bad thoughts harm the soul more, because we cannot take off our thoughts the way we can stop speaking or acting. Deeper still is a hidden core that may be bitter even when a person's thoughts, words and deeds are good. Rabbi Greenberg cites the Rebbe's explanation of why Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai wept on his deathbed: busy saving the Jewish people, he never had the chance to examine that core. Mitzvos during the year refine the surface, but the shofar on Rosh Hashanah digs down to the core, and the great shofar before Mashiach will uproot evil at its source. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tCpQD5y9hms 1039 2022-09-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/united-we-stand-just-a-cliche/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S1fH3qn2iVY/hqdefault.jpg United We Stand: Just a Cliché? Rabbi Greenberg explains why unity is the quality that brings a good year, through the opening verse of Nitzavim, read on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah: "You are standing firmly today, all of you, before God your God," followed by a list of every group in the people, down to the woodcutters and water drawers. The Alter Rebbe, based on the Zohar, explains that "today" refers to Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment, and "standing firmly" means being victorious in it. The Baal Shem Tov taught that this is why we do not bless the month of Tishrei in advance: God Himself blesses it with these words, and that blessing empowers the whole year. The source of this confidence, Rabbi Greenberg says, is that all stand together. The verse places the woodcutters and water drawers, the lowest class, who had entered the community through deception, alongside the leaders and the most righteous. When we accept every Jew unconditionally, while still trying to help raise them up, God accepts us unconditionally too, setting aside a judgment that might have gone badly and granting a good and sweet year. https://www.youtube.com/embed/S1fH3qn2iVY 297 2022-09-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-mitzvah-of-separating-and-giving-terumah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6WR2mtAfj3o/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Mitzvah of Separating and Giving Terumah Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's view, in the introduction to the laws of terumah, the portion of produce given to a kohen, and in his Sefer HaMitzvos, that separating terumah and giving it are a single mitzvah. The Ramban counts them as two, and asks why, if separating is incomplete until the giving, the blessing is said before separating, as the Rambam himself rules. Another difficulty: if the terumah were never given, the separation would be void and the produce would revert to tevel, untithed produce. Rabbi Greenberg presents an interpretation in which separating is itself the giving: the terumah immediately becomes the property of the kohanim as a tribe, and handing it to a particular kohen only avoids keeping what is not one's own. Later authorities support this from the Gemara's ruling that impure produce cannot become terumah, since it would go to the kohen's fire rather than to the kohen. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6WR2mtAfj3o 799 2022-09-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rosh-hashanah-unveiled-ancient-symbols-modern-meaning/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dDROpyB54i8/hqdefault.jpg Rosh Hashanah Unveiled: Ancient Symbols, Modern Meaning Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of the shofar and the main customs of Rosh Hashanah. The Talmud calls the sounding of the shofar the mitzvah of the day, and he goes through the ten reasons for it given by Rav Saadia Gaon: crowning God as King and becoming masters of ourselves; announcing the ten days of returning to our true selves; recalling Mount Sinai, the prophets, the destruction of the Temple and the Binding of Isaac; and pointing to the final judgment, the ingathering of the exiles and the resurrection of the dead, a reminder that anyone who falls can come back. He adds the Baal Shem Tov's parable of the estranged prince whose cry of "Father, save me" is recognized by the king. He then explains the round challah as endless blessing, the wheel of fortune, a crown and the yearly cycle; the apple dipped in honey, with its links to Jacob's blessing, Sinai, the righteous women in Egypt and the sweetening of judgment; the head of a fish, a prayer to be a head and not a tail by thinking for ourselves; and the pomegranate, full of merits like seeds. He covers Tashlich, the Torah and haftarah readings, and the three sections of the Musaf prayer: kingship, remembrance and shofar. When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, Shabbos itself accomplishes what the shofar does. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dDROpyB54i8 2675 2022-09-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-tzadik-righteous-or-the-ba-al-teshuva-returnee-who-is-superior/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7XSXWMeutf4/hqdefault.jpg The Tzadik (Righteous) or the Ba’al Teshuva (Returnee): Who is Superior? Rabbi Greenberg addresses whether the tzaddik, who was always righteous, or the baal teshuvah, who returned to Judaism, stands higher, by reading one of the curses in the Torah portion Ki Savo as a hidden blessing. Chassidic tradition holds that these curses are blessings too powerful to be stated openly. He tells of the Middle Rebbe, who as a boy fainted on hearing the curses read by someone other than his father and explained that when his father reads them, there are no curses. The verse warns of "a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down," whose language you will not understand, arrogant, respecting neither old nor young. Rabbi Greenberg reads "God will bring upon you" as "God will raise above you," and the nation, in the singular, as the Jewish people, specifically the baalei teshuvah. As the Talmud says and the Rambam rules, where they stand even the perfectly righteous cannot stand. They come from afar, from a secular world, and bring a passion like that of a person who finds water in the desert. The eagle is divine compassion swooping down to bring them back. Their "language" differs: the Maggid of Mezritch taught that one who never ate forbidden food may say he would love to but God forbids it, while one who used to enjoy it should not dwell on it. Their positive chutzpah, rebelling against an empty way of life, is the sign the Rebbe saw before Mashiach, and through it the righteous too are brought to teshuvah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7XSXWMeutf4 1225 2022-09-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-do-i-show-my-gratitude/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WoaSkRAolrI/hqdefault.jpg How Do I Show My Gratitude? Rabbi Greenberg explains what we are really saying when we say thank you, drawing on the commandment of bikurim, the first fruits, with which this week's Torah portion begins. As the Rebbe points out, bikurim went beyond ordinary thanks. The farmer expressed his gratitude not only in thought and speech but in action: he gave the fruits away and kept none of them, and he gave the choicest fruits, the ones he had worked hardest to produce. Maturity, Rabbi Greenberg says, means recognizing that the world does not revolve around us. In the morning prayer Modeh Ani, the word for "I give thanks" comes before "I," because thanking means recognizing that the existence of the one we thank, ultimately God, overrides our own. For this reason it is not enough to say "I am thankful for my good health" without saying to whom; the thanks must be stated clearly, to God or to the person who helped. He adds that when Mashiach comes, the only private offering that will remain is the thanksgiving offering. https://www.youtube.com/embed/WoaSkRAolrI 332 2022-09-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-what-is-the-maximum-one-could-and-should-give-away-to-charity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jghpLHA4ekI/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: What Is the Maximum One Could and Should Give Away to Charity? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one should never consecrate all his property, which is folly rather than piety, and that one should not spend more than a fifth on mitzvos. In his commentary on the Mishnah, however, the Rambam writes that giving more than a fifth is a measure of piety. The Birkei Yosef and others answer that the fifth is an absolute limit when no poor person is present, but when a poor person comes in need, piety allows more. The Rebbe explains the distinction more deeply: giving for one's own spiritual development, as when consecrating property, is limited to a fifth, while giving to meet the needs of the poor may exceed it even when no poor person is present. A third category comes from the Alter Rebbe in Tanya: charity given in place of fasting for repentance has no limit, since it is for one's own spiritual health, like spending on medicine. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jghpLHA4ekI 889 2022-09-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rosh-hashanah-unveiling-divine-reality-in-a-virtual-world/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gcS3PawGaEM/hqdefault.jpg Rosh Hashanah: Unveiling Divine Reality in a Virtual World Rabbi Greenberg explains how the shofar of Elul and the day of Rosh Hashanah lead us from a virtual world to God's reality. The shofar wakes us from spiritual sleep, as Moses sounded it before ascending Sinai a third time, and Elul is a time to uproot the subtle idols of money, power and fame. He tells of the rabbi of Mukachevo, who blew one extra blast on the eve of Rosh Hashanah for his crying grandson and then asked God for the one blast that will herald the redemption. The Torah calls Rosh Hashanah only the first day of the seventh month; its name comes from the oral tradition. It marks the creation of Adam and Eve, since a world without humanity has no purpose. Following a Chassidic reading, he contrasts the world's creation on the 25th of Elul, ko, "like this," a likeness, with zeh, "this," the day we touch real reality. Rosh Hashanah is also a day of release: Adam repented, the flood waters began to recede, Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were remembered, Joseph left prison, and the slavery in Egypt ended. He urges not to be imprisoned by the past, including the Holocaust. As the head of the year, it holds the energy of every day, so it is joyful but serious. On holy days God lifts the veil over His presence, which may explain why Yizkor is said on festivals. In answer to questions, he notes that God cannot force inspiration on anyone and explains the Mishnah's four new years. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gcS3PawGaEM 2690 2022-09-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-are-weddings-celebrated-with-such-fanfare/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YbCepo6DPCo/hqdefault.jpg Why are Weddings Celebrated with Such Fanfare? Rabbi Greenberg asks why a wedding, the start of a marriage with no guarantee it will last, is celebrated with more joy and expense than anything else in Jewish life. The Talmud promises one who gladdens a bride and groom the merit of the five "sounds" of Sinai, and tells of a sage who juggled myrtle branches at weddings and was honored at his passing for it. Chassidic teaching explains that marriage is so unconventional that it calls for an unconventional response. He outlines five mystical dimensions. First, ish (man) and isha (woman) both contain the word for fire, and their extra letters, yud and hey, form a name of God; with God present the two fires complement rather than clash. Second, as the Zohar teaches, marriage reunites two halves of one soul, together holding the full energy to transform the world. Third, every wedding reflects the cosmic marriage of God and the Jewish people at Sinai, where the mountain held overhead was a chuppah of overwhelming love. Fourth, it advances God's reconciliation with His people after exile, which the prophet likens to divorce. Fifth, it foreshadows the future marriage with Mashiach, which the broken glass also hints at. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YbCepo6DPCo 1064 2022-09-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-to-respond-to-feelings-of-depression/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BPl4KwSdcA4/hqdefault.jpg How to Respond to Feelings of Depression Rabbi Greenberg explains what the Torah says is the deeper root of depression and how to respond to it, drawing on the opening words of Parshas Ki Seitzei, "When you go out to wage war against your enemy." Life is a struggle, he notes, and the Hebrew word for bread, lechem, shares a root with the word for waging war. But the deeper meaning of "going out" is the soul's descent from its place near God into a physical world, against its will, on a mission to transform and elevate that world. When the soul feels it is fulfilling its mission, it is satisfied; when it feels it has accomplished nothing in a hostile place, it feels alienated and lonely and passes this to the conscious mind as depression. Distraction and entertainment do not help, because the soul does not get what it needs. Rabbi Greenberg says medical treatment for the physical causes is fine and addresses the symptoms, but the deeper root is addressed by doing one more mitzvah, until the war is won with the coming of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BPl4KwSdcA4 416 2022-09-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-a-discriminating-minor-who-is-close-to-becoming-an-adult/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ku5kmDsg2eY/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: A Discriminating Minor Who Is Close to Becoming an Adult Rabbi Greenberg examines the Rambam's ruling on vows made by a mufla samuch l'ish, a discerning minor close to adulthood. A boy of twelve and a day, or a girl of eleven and a day, is bound by a vow or consecration if, when questioned, they understand to Whom they vowed. At thirteen and a day for a boy, or twelve and a day for a girl, a vow binds even without that understanding and before physical signs of maturity appear, though without lashes for breaking it. Only the Rambam and earlier the Bahag hold this; Rashi and Tosafos require the signs. He uses these categories to explain why a father may make his son a nazir at this age, and presents an explanation from Brisk: the Rambam holds that age and physical signs together make one an adult, so age alone suffices for vows, while for Rashi and Tosafos age only presumes that the signs have appeared. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ku5kmDsg2eY 780 2022-09-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/maintaining-our-personal-justice-system/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/crShfhg6ywA/hqdefault.jpg Maintaining Our Personal Justice System Rabbi Greenberg explains how to keep our own inner justice system just, based on Parshas Shoftim. When a case eludes the local court, the Torah says to bring it to the Sanhedrin, naming three areas: between blood and blood, verdict and verdict, and lesion and lesion. He reads these as the judges we must place at our own gates, the senses through which influences enter and leave us, especially in Elul before Rosh Hashanah. Blood represents passion, which must be judged and turned from materialism toward closeness to God and kindness. "Verdict and verdict" concerns how we judge: people ignore, minimize, rationalize and forgive their own faults but not others'. Hillel's "What is hateful to you, do not do to others" means, per Chassidic literature, that hearing another criticized should be as hateful as hearing it of oneself; we should judge others as we judge ourselves and search our own faults to correct them, without becoming depressed. Lesions, which the Talmud links to evil speech, concern relationships, since nega also means touch. He suggests the Midrash's word didan, "ours," is an acronym for dam, din and nega, and that adam is dam, blood, preceded by an aleph for the Master of the world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/crShfhg6ywA 1055 2022-09-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/making-an-honest-accounting-of-our-lives-and-our-history/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RwZGc2VYpNM/hqdefault.jpg Making an Honest Accounting of Our Lives and Our History Rabbi Greenberg explains how the month of Elul, which he describes as a bridge between the past year and the new year, calls for an honest accounting of our own lives and of Jewish history as a whole. He draws on the opening of Parshas Shoftim, read at the start of Elul: "You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates." Literally this refers to courts in each city, but the commentators read it as a charge to place judges at our personal gates, the eyes, ears, mouth and nose, and to weigh what comes in and what goes out. That judgment, he says, is made with the mind, guided by the Torah and by mentors, rather than by unchecked emotion. The shofar sounded during Elul is not a melodic instrument but a wake-up call. In the same way, we are living in the "Elul of history," on the bridge between exile and redemption, and must review all of Jewish history from the mission given at Mount Sinai, which every mitzvah and every word of Torah advances. When troubling events such as the pandemic and wars come together, he says, they should serve as a shofar that prompts that introspection. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RwZGc2VYpNM 322 2022-08-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-the-rambam-s-opinion-on-the-mitzvah-to-swear-truthfully/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pJzckzPnI9M/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: The Rambam's Opinion on the Mitzvah to Swear Truthfully Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's definition of the positive mitzvah to swear by God's name. At the head of the laws of oaths the Rambam describes it as swearing by His name truthfully, which sounds like the prohibition of false oaths; in his list of mitzvos he calls it swearing by His name, which a critic reads as only forbidding oaths by another god; and in the Sefer HaMitzvos he describes it as exalting God, as swearing by His name when an oath is needed, and as not swearing by anything else. Rabbi Greenberg explains that the mitzvah is to declare that God alone is truth, which a worthy person does when he must take an oath in court; swearing by another entity undermines that. This also explains why the Rambam, defended by the Kesef Mishneh, gives lashes for swearing by an idol: like a false oath, it contradicts the essence of the mitzvah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pJzckzPnI9M 875 2022-08-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-three-things-you-need-to-know-about-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CCR3Sc2ZpMg/hqdefault.jpg The Three Things You Need to Know About Life Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah states "Do not cook a kid in its mother's milk" three times, in Mishpatim, Ki Sisa and Re'eh. The oral tradition reads them as three prohibitions: cooking meat and milk, eating it, and deriving any benefit from it. Drawing on the Rebbe's reading of Akavya ben Mahalalel's teaching to "reflect on three things," he says all of life revolves around three focuses: God, ourselves, and our mission to make the world a dwelling place for God. Each mention fits one focus. In Mishpatim, among the laws of a just society, the focus is the world: the act is cruel, and an early commentator explains that we must not mix different forces of nature, since we are God's partners, not God. In Ki Sisa, after the golden calf and alongside the Mishkan, the focus is God; Maimonides explains that this was a pagan practice. In Re'eh, next to "You are children of God, do not gash yourselves," the focus is our own royal status. Because these focuses are the essence of life, the rabbis added safeguards such as waiting between meat and milk; all three will be fulfilled in the messianic era. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CCR3Sc2ZpMg 1026 2022-08-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/flight-instructions-for-spiritual-flight/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oap3Ar0vcDs/hqdefault.jpg Flight Instructions for Spiritual Flight Rabbi Greenberg explains what the non-kosher birds in the week's Torah portion teach about right and wrong kinds of spiritual flight. The wish to fly, he says, comes from the soul's drive to rise higher and come closer to God, but it can turn into a wish to rise above others and look down on them. Rashi explains that three of the listed birds are species of vulture, and each represents a flawed kind of flight: one soars high only to spot a dead carcass far away, like the person who sees the negative in everyone; the ayah ("where is it?") is the elusive, ego-filled intellectual or spiritual person; and the dayah, related to dayenu ("it is enough"), settles into a comfortable niche and stops growing. True flight means seeing from a higher perch while seeing the positive in everything, never looking down on another person, and never ceasing to grow. Rabbi Greenberg applies this to bringing Mashiach: some say the exile is too low for redemption, some treat Mashiach as a goal for the distant future, and some feel they have done enough. A kosher bird keeps flying higher and never tires. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oap3Ar0vcDs 233 2022-08-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rambam-in-depth-smelling-the-fragrance-of-forbidden-wine/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uCBAz0uFuwk/hqdefault.jpg Rambam In-Depth: Smelling the Fragrance of Forbidden Wine Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling, following Rava against Abaye, that one may smell yayin nesech (wine poured for idolatry) in a barrel to check whether it has soured, although all benefit from it is forbidden, because fragrance has no substance. Tosafos explains that the strong odor harms more than it pleases; the Baal HaMaor and the Ran say he has no intention to enjoy it, though the pleasure is inevitable; and the Ramban limits the prohibition to things meant for enjoyment. The Rambam's wording fits none of these, though the Radvaz reads him as relying on intention. Rabbi Greenberg explains through the Maggid Mishneh, who reconciles the Rambam's rulings on intention in mitzvos: an action needs no intention, but hearing the shofar is not an action, so intention must connect the person to it. Likewise smelling is no act, and only an intention to enjoy creates a connection to the prohibition. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uCBAz0uFuwk 747 2022-08-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-wisdom-of-tu-b-av-ancient-keys-to-modern-relationships/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eDM-r8YIKEQ/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Wisdom of Tu B'Av: Ancient Keys to Modern Relationships Rabbi Greenberg draws lessons for marriage and every relationship from the Talmud's six reasons for the joy of the 15th of Av. Tisha B'Av marks the low point in the relationship between God and the Jewish people, and the full moon of the 15th marks its healing, so each reason teaches how relationships break down and how they are repaired. He frames this with the Kabbalistic worlds of Tohu, where the divine attributes collide, and Tikkun, where they blend in harmony. The generation in the wilderness, free of all material worries, gave way to one ready to enter the Land: a relationship requires leaving one's cocoon and taking responsibility, against the wishes of both the body, which wants freedom, and the soul, which wants to escape this world. The ban on marriage between tribes, rooted in fear of losing land, shows how money damages relationships; a tzaddik values money for the holy sparks it holds. Lifting the ban on Benjamin teaches that justified indignation must not destroy a relationship, and one may not remind a person of a sin he has repented. Hoshea removing Jeroboam's guards warns against influences that block the way to peace, whether loyal friends, relatives, or one's own cold intellect. The burial of Beitar's dead teaches burying anger: wait for it to cool, then reduce the ego. Breaking the axes after the wood-cutting season teaches that outside help is valuable but should not become permanent, like breaking a plate at an engagement once the matchmaker's role is done. In the messianic era, these problems will fall away. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eDM-r8YIKEQ 2710 2022-08-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-power-of-now/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6GPpfunUPw4/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Now! Rabbi Greenberg explains why the sages see the word ve'atah, "and now," in the verse "And now, what does God ask of you," as a symbol of teshuvah, return to God, and offers seven explanations. At its basic level teshuvah is a sincere resolution not to repeat a wrong, with regret, confession and asking forgiveness added. God looks at who a person is now, not at the past or an uncertain future. Teshuvah can happen in an instant, as the Talmud rules that a known criminal who betroths a woman on condition that he is righteous may be considered married, since he may have had a thought of teshuvah. When someone asked the Sanzer Rebbe how to do teshuvah, he answered: do it now. Further explanations: as fleeting, temporal beings our mistakes can be undone; a person should not obsess over or wallow in the past, the lesson of Lot's wife looking back; Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev taught that God recreates the world every instant, so each moment a person is new. Finally, the Alter Rebbe explains that the transcendent divine light that turns sins into merits can be reached only through teshuvah in this world, not by the soul in the next. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the song "We want Mashiach now," which the Rebbe encouraged, stressing the word "now." https://www.youtube.com/embed/6GPpfunUPw4 788 2022-08-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/are-the-ideals-of-unity-and-individuality-mutually-exclusive/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P--_NC4zOTg/hqdefault.jpg Are the Ideals of Unity and Individuality Mutually Exclusive? Rabbi Greenberg explains, through the mitzvah of mezuzah in Parshas Eikev, how the mezuzah both unifies a home and protects boundaries. The mezuzah is more than a declaration of Jewish pride; it is an invitation for God's presence to fill the home, and it declares God's unity as something lived in the home's behavior. A home's many rooms and functions need one overarching purpose to unify them, like the poor man who pitied a rich man for his fragmented mansion. The words zu (she) and zeh (he), used in the engagement document, are contained in the word mezuzah, together with a mem for Torah and Mashiach, showing that a shared purpose unites husband and wife. At the same time, the mezuzah marks where one's home begins and ends. Based on the Jerusalem Talmud, which finds the Ten Commandments within the Shema, the mezuzah corresponds to "Do not covet," teaching respect for what belongs to others. Rabbi Greenberg links this to the end of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah: in the Messianic age there will be no jealousy, because when God's presence is known people respect one another's integrity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/P--_NC4zOTg 365 2022-08-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rambam-s-approach-to-the-law-of-ger-katan-minor-convert/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6dFkQL0B6aU/hqdefault.jpg The Rambam’s Approach to the Law of Ger Katan (Minor Convert) Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a beis din (rabbinical court) may convert a minor, since conversion benefits him, and a benefit may be conferred without a person's knowledge. The Maggid Mishneh notes that the Gemara adds that such converts may protest upon reaching adulthood, and the Rambam records this only elsewhere, where he discusses the difference between a Jew and a non-Jew. One work explains that the right to protest applies only when a child converts without a parent. He then presents Rabbi Zolti, chief rabbi of Jerusalem, who rejects the Bach's reading that the Rambam does not consider accepting the commandments indispensable: for the Rambam, acceptance is the essence of conversion, while circumcision and immersion are its required acts. Unlike Tosafos, for whom a minor's acceptance comes at adulthood, the Rambam holds that the court accepts for the child, so his conversion is complete and protesting is a separate way of undoing it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6dFkQL0B6aU 638 2022-08-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/tu-b-av-judaism-s-day-of-reconciliation-and-renewed-relationships/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1uJ5euzEZYM/hqdefault.jpg Tu B'Av: Judaism's Day of Reconciliation and Renewed Relationships Rabbi Greenberg studies the Talmud's explanation of why Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel counted the 15th of Av, together with Yom Kippur, as the most joyous days of the Jewish year, when unmarried women went out to the vineyards and matches were made. He shows that all six Talmudic reasons share one theme: a division was healed. On this day the tribes were again permitted to marry one another, after a temporary restriction arising from the inheritance of the daughters of Tzelafchad; the tribe of Benjamin was readmitted after the ban following the civil war in the time of the Judges; the dying in the wilderness ended, as the last generation realized by the full moon that they would enter the Land; King Hoshea removed the guards Jeroboam had set to keep pilgrims from Jerusalem; the dead of Beitar were finally allowed burial, prompting the blessing "Who is good and does good"; and the cutting of wood for the altar ended, the day of breaking the axe, since iron symbolizes the sword. The seventh, mystical reason is that the Jewish people are compared to the moon, and the 15th of each month, when the moon is full, marks the high point of our relationship with God. Coming six days after Tisha B'Av, the lowest point, it symbolizes the future Redemption, which is why it will be fully celebrated only when Mashiach comes. Rabbi Greenberg also notes the circle dances in the vineyards, where everyone is equally distant from the center, and that because every person is unique, relationships always involve tension that can become productive energy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1uJ5euzEZYM 2435 2022-08-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/pleading-and-praying-even-when-the-answer-is-no/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZWSQwXynaU4/hqdefault.jpg Pleading and Praying Even When the Answer is No! Rabbi Greenberg explains why Moses prayed to enter the Land of Israel despite God's decree, and why he stopped the moment God told him not to speak of it again. The sages say Moses offered 515 prayers, the numerical value of the word for "I pleaded" and also of tefillah, prayer, and shirah, song. The answer lies in the difference between a Divine decree and a Divine command: one may plead with God to reverse a decree, but one may not negotiate over a command. Rabbi Greenberg shows that alleviating suffering God decreed is not only permitted but a mitzvah. Noah, whom Rashi says invented the plow, was praised for easing Adam's curse; a woman in childbirth may relieve her pain; the Torah grants a doctor permission to heal, which is codified as a mitzvah; and one must save a person who is drowning. When we cannot act physically, repentance, prayer and charity can change a decree, and prayer can ask God to form a new will. But Abraham, who argued for Sodom, did not pray to be spared from binding Isaac, because that was a command. Drawing on Tanya's distinction between God's outer and inner will, Rabbi Greenberg explains that a decree may express only God's outer will, given to elicit a response, as with the golden calf. Moses understood the decree that way, while the command to stop praying revealed God's inner will. God's innermost will is a dwelling place in the lowest realm, fulfilled with the coming of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZWSQwXynaU4 1225 2022-08-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/levirate-marriage-yibum-for-tzaras-sotah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YaTB0EtZcU0/hqdefault.jpg Levirate Marriage (Yibum) for Tzaras Sotah Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a woman who willingly committed adultery before witnesses, and whose husband died childless, is exempt from both yibum, levirate marriage, and chalitzah, the ceremony that releases her, as is her co-wife, since she is treated like a forbidden relation. A sotah, a wife suspected of adultery whose husband died before she drank the bitter waters, may not marry his brother but needs chalitzah, while her co-wife may even marry him. Yet a doubt in Torah law is treated stringently. Rav Chaim Brisker, as hinted by Rabbi Akiva Eiger, answers that a sotah is not a doubtful forbidden relation, since she keeps her presumption of innocence; her husband's warning gives her a status of its own. Rabbi Akiva Eiger also explains why a ruling in Hilchos Mamrim implies the severe penalty of kares: once she is released from yibum, she reverts to being a forbidden brother's wife. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YaTB0EtZcU0 712 2022-08-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/inspired-relationships-lesson-one-paradigm-shift/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BN1nsl-m94A/hqdefault.jpg Inspired Relationships – Lesson One: Paradigm Shift Rabbi Greenberg explains what the fifteenth of Av teaches about relationships, beginning with the first of the six reasons the Mishnah and Talmud give for the holiday. All six, he says, share a theme of removing separation: between God and the Jewish people, between generations, and between people. After the Jews cried over the spies' report on the night of Tisha B'Av, the desert generation was decreed to die out; each year on that night they dug graves and lay in them, until in the last year they saw the full moon of the fifteenth and realized they had been spared. According to Chassidus, that generation had not a slave mentality but a "desert mentality." Sustained by the clouds of glory, the manna and the well, they devoted themselves to knowing God and did not want to enter the land and its mundane work. The soul, too, wants to remain in its spiritual source, as the Tanya's image of the soul as a flame rising upward suggests, and marriage requires living for another. As Sefer Yetzirah says, "If your heart races, return": God's goal is that body and soul engage the world and make it a dwelling place for Him. The generation that came out of the graves made this paradigm shift. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BN1nsl-m94A 523 2022-08-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/shema-meditation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ggsyvkuCxns/hqdefault.jpg Shema Meditation Rabbi Greenberg explains what the words of the Shema mean beyond their surface reading. Children learn it first, it is said twice daily by biblical law and at bedtime by rabbinic enactment, and countless Jews gave their lives with its words on their lips. Why, he asks, must it begin "Hear, O Israel"? Because shema means to understand and meditate until an idea becomes part of you. Yaakov, from the word for heel, is the Jew controlled by worldly affairs; Israel, which contains the word for head or master, is the Jew who rises above his environment. The four-letter Name of God contains past, present and future, signifying that God transcends time, and therefore space and nature. "Elokeinu" means this transcendent God is our own life force, internalized within us, giving us the power to transcend nature. "God is one" means that nothing exists besides God, and, as Rashi says, a time will come when the whole world recognizes this. Rabbi Greenberg closes with his own adaptation: to master nature, a Jew must reflect on the Godly energy at the core of his or her existence, which will hasten the day the entire world declares that God is one. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ggsyvkuCxns 291 2022-08-08T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/9-steps-to-perfection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PPq3QQ-JvnU/hqdefault.jpg 9 Steps to Perfection Rabbi Greenberg explains the nine places named in the opening verse of Deuteronomy as nine traits that prepare us for the Messianic age. Rashi and the sages say the places hint to the people's sins, so Moses rebuked them subtly out of love, which prepared them to hear harsher rebuke later. The Ohr HaChaim also reads them positively, as nine traits that readied the last generation in the desert to enter the Land. "The other side" recalls Abraham, who stood on one side against the whole world. "Jordan" means self-criticism and the inner royalty of mind ruling heart and body. "Desert" is humility, the trait of Mashiach. "Aravah" is a humility that is pleasant and reaches out to others. "Sea of Reeds" (suf, end) means keeping the ultimate goal in mind. "Paran" and "Tophel" are a joyful face balanced by honest seriousness within. "Lavan" (white) is a pure heart free of hatred and rivalry. "Chatzeiros" (courtyards) is steady Torah study and, following the Rebbe, learning the laws of the Beis HaMikdash. "Di-zahav" (enough gold) means contentment, and also wealth used for holy purposes. Implementing these traits hastens Mashiach and prepares us to greet him. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PPq3QQ-JvnU 1043 2022-08-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/acquisition-without-any-formal-act-kinyan/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F9GyybJ5LTc/hqdefault.jpg Acquisition without any Formal Act (Kinyan) Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that when a couple, or their parents, agree before a marriage on what each will give, the promises become binding once the marriage takes place through speech alone, without a kinyan (a formal act of acquisition). The Baal HaItur, quoted in the glosses on the Rambam, holds this works even for something not yet in existence, while the Rambam requires the items to be in the giver's possession, since one cannot transfer what does not yet exist. Rabbi Greenberg explains the dispute through two reasons for that rule: a transaction requires firm resolve (gemiras daas), which the marriage's mutual benefit supplies here, or a kinyan needs an existing object to take hold of. He draws on a responsum of the Rivash about Yaakov buying the birthright from Esav, and on a debate between the Noda BiYehudah and his son-in-law over whether this acquisition rests on resolve or on a rabbinic enactment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/F9GyybJ5LTc 1129 2022-08-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-key-to-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wfHFtgtoIBA/hqdefault.jpg The Key to Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains why the study of Mishnah is a key to leaving exile, connecting the opening of Deuteronomy with the Shabbos before Tisha B'Av. Deuteronomy is called Mishneh Torah, the repetition of the Torah, and serves as the bridge between the precise, unchangeable Written Torah and the fluid Oral Torah that applies its principles to new situations. The prophetic reading from Isaiah says redemption comes through tzedakah, charity, and mishpat, which the Aramaic translation renders as Jewish law. Citing a Chassidic work, he notes that the 22 days of the Three Weeks contain 528 hours, the numerical value of the word for "key" and, he says, the number of chapters in the Mishnah. He then gives three reasons Mishnah matters. Its letters rearrange into neshamah, soul, so it awakens a soul that is itself in exile. They also spell Menasheh, meaning forgetfulness, and Mishnah restores the memory of who we are, where we came from and where we are going. Finally, Mishnah distills all knowledge to its bottom line, cutting through the clutter of exile to God's clear directives. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wfHFtgtoIBA 456 2022-08-01T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-nine-days-how-senseless-hatred-destroyed-jerusalem/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/h-LnJG5lmOM/hqdefault.jpg The Nine Days: How Senseless Hatred Destroyed Jerusalem Rabbi Greenberg explains the Talmud's account of how Jerusalem was destroyed because of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa, and what it teaches about senseless hatred. A host who meant to invite his friend Kamsa mistakenly received his enemy Bar Kamsa and threw him out in public, refusing his offers to pay for the whole feast, while the sages present did not protest. Bar Kamsa told the emperor the Jews were rebelling and blemished the offering the emperor sent. Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas would neither allow the offering nor allow Bar Kamsa to be killed, and Rabbi Yochanan said that his humility destroyed the Temple. Rabbi Greenberg weighs the guilt of everyone involved: Kamsa, who as one view has it was Bar Kamsa's father and tolerated the hatred; the careless messenger; the host; the silent sages; Bar Kamsa, the most guilty, who informed on his own people; Rabbi Zechariah, whose misplaced humility left no decision when a pursuer threatened countless lives; and the emperor. Senseless hatred, he explains, is not hatred without a reason but hatred so deep that even Bar Kamsa's attempt to reconcile could not move it. He also discusses a historians' theory linking the story to the dispute between the zealots and those seeking accommodation with Rome, and Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's escape to Vespasian. The remedy, the Rebbe taught, is senseless love that reaches a person's essence. https://www.youtube.com/embed/h-LnJG5lmOM 3621 2022-07-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-role-of-the-media-in-our-times/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/84NsNJilyzY/hqdefault.jpg The Role of the Media in Our Times Rabbi Greenberg addresses the role of the media through a teaching on the opening words of parshas Masei, "These are the journeys of the children of Israel." The Chida reads the initials of those four Hebrew words as hints to the four exiles: Edom (Rome), Madai (the Medes and Persians), Bavel (Babylonia) and Yavan (Greece). Yet every exile has a silver lining. The Egyptian bondage led to the giving of the Torah, and the present long exile refines the world so that the revelation of Sinai, which the people could not absorb then, will be internalized with Mashiach. Each exile gave its own strength. Rome scattered the Jews, producing diverse customs and the ability to meet every challenge. Babylonia gave the Talmud's dialectic, which trains us to navigate twisted paths. The Greek struggle, largely between loyal Jews and Hellenists, taught us to deal with fellow Jews. Madai, he suggests, also hints at the media: the Book of Esther repeatedly describes messages spread across the empire. The media can be a weapon against what is good, but the Rebbe required using modern technology to spread Judaism and the Noahide laws, and we must use it even more for good. https://www.youtube.com/embed/84NsNJilyzY 1007 2022-07-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-requirement-of-consent-in-kiddushin/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aOXD6DHWdfw/hqdefault.jpg The Requirement of Consent in Kiddushin Rabbi Greenberg discusses the Rambam's ruling that a woman can be betrothed only with her consent. The Gemara in Bava Basra holds that a sale made under duress is valid when the seller is paid, and for betrothal it explains the invalidity as a rabbinic annulment of a marriage done improperly. The Rambam omits this, implying the marriage is invalid by Torah law. The Chasam Sofer explains that a forbidden act has no effect, and forcing a woman to marry violates the prohibition against coveting. Drawing on many recent authorities, Rabbi Greenberg offers another approach, starting from two different sources Rashi gives for the need for consent. Betrothal has two aspects: a kinyan binding her to her husband, which needs only ordinary consent, and her complete dedication to him, which forbids her to all others and requires full willingness. A coerced marriage lacks the second aspect, which the Rambam treats as an inherent flaw. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aOXD6DHWdfw 1074 2022-07-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-do-we-begin-yom-kippur-with-annulment-of-vows/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0LL3zDJtVAg/hqdefault.jpg Why Do We Begin Yom Kippur with Annulment of Vows? Rabbi Greenberg explains why Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, opens with Kol Nidre, the annulment of vows. Parshas Matos teaches that a vow makes something permitted forbidden to the one who vowed, and the Oral Tradition gives a panel of three rabbis the power to annul a vow if the person shows he would not have made it had he known its consequences. Rabbi Greenberg cites the Rogatchover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosen, who notes that rituals known only from the Oral Torah, such as cutting the omer, were done with fanfare to counter the Sadducees, who rejected the Oral Torah. Annulling vows is such a practice, so beginning Yom Kippur with it declares that we accept the Torah in its entirety. Rabbi Greenberg adds that Yom Kippur is the day Moses brought down the second tablets, and suggests that while the people had been coerced into accepting the Oral Torah at Sinai, at that point they embraced the written and Oral Torah fully. A vow is made when a person feels spiritually weak, so annulling it points to leaving behind the compromises of exile and entering the new year in the spirit of redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0LL3zDJtVAg 468 2022-07-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-good-transforming-the-three-weeks/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MzMtzUfc2xg/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Good: Transforming the Three Weeks Rabbi Greenberg explains the Three Weeks from the 17th of Tammuz to Tisha B'Av, the customs of mourning observed during them, and the Chassidic approach of finding the good within this sad period. The 17th of Tammuz carries the numerical value of tov, good, and the sad days of the calendar are destined to become holidays. He reviews the five tragedies the Talmud lists for each fast day and the hint to the period in Jeremiah's almond staff, since almonds take 21 days. The Rebbe preferred "three weeks" to "21 days" because three points to the Third Temple. The phrase Bein HaMetzarim, "between the straits," by one count equals HaMelech HaMashiach, and the Talmud says Mashiach was born on Tisha B'Av. He finds a positive side in the tragedies of the 17th of Tammuz. Moses broke the tablets out of love, to save the people after the golden calf, and engraved letters show that a Jew is one with the Torah; the Rebbe told Rabbi Shmuel Levin that a Jew's letters can only gather dust, not fade. The breached walls point to a future Jerusalem without walls, and the end of the daily offering led to greater emphasis on daily prayer. The remedies include studying Mishnah, whose 528 chapters match the hours of the period and the value of mafteach, key, and unconditional love to undo causeless hatred. He closes with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah's debate with the sages of Athens over eggs and cheese, which teaches that light will ultimately triumph over darkness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MzMtzUfc2xg 3270 2022-07-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-does-doing-the-right-thing-involve-so-much-effort/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gLEEtPv0Pkg/hqdefault.jpg Why Does Doing the Right Thing Involve So Much Effort? Rabbi Greenberg explains why doing the right thing often requires struggle, through the story of Pinchas. Before Pinchas killed Zimri and the Midianite princess, he reminded Moses of the law that a zealot may strike them, and Moses answered that "the one who reads the letter" should carry it out. Pinchas was rewarded with a yud in his name, which then equals Yitzchak in numerical value. One explanation is that Pinchas, a grandson of Aaron and a man of kindness, acted against his own nature through self-nullification, represented by the yud, which he inherited from Yitzchak. A second explanation turns on Zimri's argument: nothing in the written Torah forbade his act, so he rejected Moses' oral teaching, a rejection that recurs throughout Jewish history. According to the Midrash, the people at Sinai willingly accepted the written Torah but not the Oral Torah, because they wanted everything spelled out, while the Oral Torah demands effort and leaves room for disagreement. God intended that struggle. Yitzchak, who accepted his father's word that God commanded the binding, affirmed that an oral tradition is as binding as direct revelation, and Pinchas inherited that trait. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gLEEtPv0Pkg 1120 2022-07-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-two-opinions-of-our-sages-concerning-the-solar-year-rambam/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iMMt0wHxUPQ/hqdefault.jpg The Two Opinions of Our Sages Concerning the Solar Year Rambam Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's citation of two views of the solar year: 365 and a quarter days, the view of Shmuel, and slightly less, the view of Rav Ada. For the leap year the Rambam relies on Rav Ada's figure as more accurate; the Rebbe infers that both are true. In a talk on Birkas HaChamah, the blessing over the sun every 28 years, the Rebbe asks why that blessing and the season for requesting rain follow Shmuel, when only Rav Ada's figure keeps Pesach in the spring. The Rebbe compares the new moon, where the court's declaration fixes the true molad, and explains that physical events below do not always align with the higher reality. Drawing on the view that the world was conceived in Nissan and created in Tishrei, he explains that the seasons follow the higher reality, while for the Pesach offering below and above must match, so Rav Ada is followed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iMMt0wHxUPQ 1012 2022-07-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moral-and-spiritual-multitasking/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/66UFX_w43TY/hqdefault.jpg Moral and Spiritual Multitasking Rabbi Greenberg asks whether we should shut out what is harmful and focus on one thing at a time, or balance opposite tasks at once, through a discrepancy in the census in Parshas Pinchas. A son of Gad is called Ozni, "my ear," here, but Etzbon, related to etzba, "finger," earlier. Rashi says he does not know why, which signals that the answer lies in the deeper levels of Torah. A 17th-century sage connects it to the Talmud's teaching that fingers are tapered so that we can plug our ears against gossip and immoral talk. Gad traveled with Reuven and Shimon, tribes that joined Korach's rebellion and followed Zimri into immorality, yet Gad was not influenced, because it closed its ears. Only after those episodes ended and the people repented could Gad open its ears again, for closed ears also miss a child's cry and words of Torah. Today, Rabbi Greenberg says, so close to Mashiach, we cannot wait to pass through two stages. We must close our ears to the slander and immorality of the media while opening them to the Torah classes available online. He notes that the Hebrew word for balance is related to ozen, ear. https://www.youtube.com/embed/66UFX_w43TY 514 2022-07-18T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-do-we-deal-with-our-character-flaws-what-we-can-learn-from-balaam-s-donkey/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A83Bt6XGe5Y/hqdefault.jpg How Do We Deal With Our Character Flaws? What We Can Learn from Balaam’s Donkey Rabbi Greenberg explains how to deal with our character flaws through a lesson from Balaam's donkey. When Balaam struck it, the donkey asked why he had struck it three "regalim," a word that recalls the three pilgrimage festivals. The pilgrimages showed the people's faith: the whole nation left their homes, surrounded by enemies, trusting God to protect them. Faith, he stresses, is the foundation of Judaism, and he connects it to the Talmud's teaching that one sent on a mitzvah is not harmed. According to a Midrash, Balaam offered to keep the mitzvos in place of the Jewish people but could not make the pilgrimage, being lame and blind in one eye. The legs, Rabbi Greenberg explains, represent faith, which carries a person to Torah and mitzvos. Our two eyes are for seeing God's greatness and our own insignificance; Balaam saw God's greatness, but it only made him more arrogant. The three festivals correspond to the three Patriarchs and to kindness, humility and compassion, the opposite of the evil eye, arrogant spirit and greedy soul that Ethics of the Fathers attributes to Balaam's disciples. Citing the Rebbe, he says that before Mashiach hidden traits come into the open, good and bad, so they can be refined. One who discovers negative traits in himself should find a mentor who is kind, humble and compassionate. He closes with the Previous Rebbe's childhood question about why we have two eyes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/A83Bt6XGe5Y 1380 2022-07-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/farbrengen-12-13-tammuz-with-rabbi-heschel-greenberg-and-rabbi-akiva-wagner/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tirbzixR9Ac/hqdefault.jpg Farbrengen - 12-13 Tammuz With Rabbi Heschel Greenberg and Rabbi Akiva Wagner This farbrengen for 12-13 Tammuz, the holiday of redemption, brings together Rabbi Heschel Greenberg and Rabbi Akiva Wagner, with singing and stories, and centers on living in the period since Gimmel Tammuz. Rabbi Greenberg cites the Midrash that Mashiach will be revealed, concealed and revealed again. Concealment does not mean the Rebbe is absent, he says: citing a talk of the Rebbe, he compares him to the Even Hashesiyah, the Foundation Stone, which is present but covered by a building. He calls the present a bridge between exile and redemption; like a bridge that ices before the road, it brings coldness and doubts, yet the generation born after Gimmel Tammuz, standing on the shoulders of earlier giants, is especially precious. Rabbi Wagner tells how an unexpected delay in his medical treatment let him stay longer with the yeshiva students, which he saw as the Rebbe's answer to his request. He urges each person to make 12 Tammuz a personal redemption by davening, learning Chassidus and connecting to the Rebbe from the inner soul rather than going through the motions. Rabbi Greenberg tells stories of answers through the Rebbe's letters and of the Rebbe telling a young man about to intermarry, "I'm jealous of you." He notes the Rebbe's letter telling students to consult their mashpia, stresses learning Nigla, the revealed Torah, alongside Chassidus, and asks for a small, practical resolution for the next morning. Another participant shares stories about learning to daven and about businessmen offering tefillin to visitors in their offices. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tirbzixR9Ac 14077 2022-07-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-order-of-pesach-matzah-and-maror/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HQaej8dmNKA/hqdefault.jpg The Order of Pesach, Matzah and Maror Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling on explaining the Pesach offering, maror and matzah at the Seder, in which he places maror, the bitter herbs, before matzah, though in his own text of the Haggadah matzah comes first. Rabbeinu Manoach traces the order to the Rif's version of the Mishnah and explains that the bitterness came first, which Rabbi Greenberg finds difficult. A later commentary explains that in Temple times, when both were biblical, maror was placed first, while today maror is only rabbinic. Rabbi Greenberg suggests a simpler explanation, building on the Rosh's view that maror needs an olive's volume only because of its blessing, and on the Shaagas Aryeh's questions on it. Matzah is both eaten with the Pesach offering and a separate, independent mitzvah, while maror exists only as an accompaniment to the offering. In Temple times, therefore, maror follows the offering directly, and today matzah, still biblical, comes first. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HQaej8dmNKA 727 2022-07-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-we-cannot-afford-to-delay-the-final-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1yzHUQ-qIAM/hqdefault.jpg Why We Cannot Afford to Delay the Final Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains why exile should not be tolerated even for one more moment, through Bilaam's prophecy about Mashiach: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near." Bilaam spoke blessings, but the Talmud says his intentions were negative. The third Chabad Rebbe explains that Bilaam knew he could not prevent the coming of Mashiach, so he tried to delay it. One explanation is that he hoped a long exile would leave the Jewish people lost to assimilation, persecution and despair, with no one left to redeem. An opposite explanation is that the delay is a blessing, because the world becomes more refined and the people more prepared. Rabbi Greenberg concludes that whatever the benefits of delay, we cannot wait any longer. In a parable of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, a farmer at Rosh Hashanah prayers decides the weeping congregation is hungry, then that they stopped crying to savor how much tastier the stew grows the longer it cooks, and finally, when they weep at the shofar, that no one has the strength to wait. We have endured enough exile and want Mashiach now. https://www.youtube.com/embed/1yzHUQ-qIAM 320 2022-07-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/count-your-blessings-blessings-before-we-eat/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wVBPHWLulPI/hqdefault.jpg Count Your Blessings: Blessings Before We Eat In this final, practical class of the series on blessings, Rabbi Greenberg teaches which blessing to say before different foods and why. He opens with the 12th and 13th of Tammuz, marking the liberation of the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, who was imprisoned by the Soviet regime for spreading Judaism and, on arriving in exile in Kostroma, delivered a discourse on the blessing of thanks for surviving danger. Blessings before eating express gratitude to God, and separate blessings for categories of food reflect a deeper gratitude that savors each kind of goodness, much as the manna, though it could taste like anything, left people dissatisfied because it was always the same. Hamotzi is said on bread from the five grains and covers the whole meal except dessert and wine. Mezonos is said on cake, pasta and other grain foods that sustain but are not a meal. Wine has its own blessing, a double-edged drink that can bring joy or harm. Fruit of the tree and fruit of the earth are defined by Jewish law, not botany, so bananas and watermelon are vegetables. Shehakol, the generic blessing, covers drinks, meat, fish, eggs and foods transformed beyond recognition, and it works when one is unsure. He also covers the laws: hold the food in the right hand, do not speak until swallowing the first bite, answer amen to another's blessing but not one's own, and do not repeat a blessing if unsure, to avoid saying God's name in vain. Questions cover salt on bread, water, rice and quinoa. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVBPHWLulPI 4390 2022-07-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/does-our-past-have-a-delete-and-reset-button/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MidBmb6VfrQ/hqdefault.jpg Does Our Past Have a Delete and Reset Button? Rabbi Greenberg explains how teshuvah, return to God, can change the past, through the red heifer. The Torah's commandments are rational laws (mishpatim), testimonials (eidos) and decrees beyond reason (chukim), and Rashi calls the red heifer, used to purify one who had contact with the dead, the decree with no intelligible explanation. Yet Rashi then quotes Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan's parable: let the mother clean up her child's mess, meaning the red heifer atones for the golden calf. Why, then, is it beyond reason? The Maggid of Mezritch answers that the enigma is not the heifer but the power of teshuvah to erase even the golden calf, the sin that reversed Sinai. Sin severs our tie with the source of life, and the damage seems irreversible. The Jerusalem Talmud lists four responses: wisdom says the sinner is pursued by his sin, prophecy says he dies, Torah says he brings an offering, and God says he does teshuvah and is atoned. The Rebbe explains that teshuvah transcends even our connection through Torah. Associated with the attribute of binah, the "mother," it can bring forth new life free of stain, and in the days of Mashiach even the righteous will experience it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MidBmb6VfrQ 963 2022-07-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-law-of-techumin-on-yom-tov-and-yom-kippur/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oib_ZM4gsa0/hqdefault.jpg The law of Techumin on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that, as on Shabbos, one may not go beyond the techum, the boundary for walking outside one's town, on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur. He asks why the Rambam mentions Yom Tov first, when Yom Kippur, with its Shabbos-like stringency, seems the more obvious case. One answer is that the Mishnah clearly applies the techum to Yom Tov, while for Yom Kippur it is only implied. He adds that the Mechilta, deriving from the verses about the manna that it did not fall on Yom Tov or Yom Kippur, also lists Yom Tov first. He explains this through two views of techum presented in the Kehillos Yaakov: an extension of the forbidden labor of carrying, or the Torah's wish that a person stay in place to rest and enjoy the holy day. On the second view, Yom Tov, a day of festive meals with family, has the stronger reason for the prohibition. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oib_ZM4gsa0 771 2022-07-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/do-we-remain-connected-in-moments-of-absence/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CJSxCKPgohk/hqdefault.jpg Do We Remain Connected in Moments of Absence? Rabbi Greenberg explains why both Moses and God are missing from the song the Jewish people sang over the water in the desert, and what this shows about relationships that stay intact even when they seem to break down. After Miriam passed away and the water stopped, Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it and was punished that he would not enter the Land. Rashi notes that Moses is not named in the song because the miracle came at his expense, and that God's name is absent too, like a king who will not attend a party where his closest friend is missing. Rabbi Greenberg contrasts this with Parshas Tetzaveh, where Moses is not named because he asked to be erased from God's book if the people were not forgiven after the Golden Calf. There his absence shows his self-sacrifice, and God's name does appear. In the song Moses was diminished, yet his love never changed; the people had become less receptive to him. A chassid once said that when illness impaired the Previous Rebbe's speech, it showed how unrefined the chassidim had become. The more we commit to Moses, the Rebbe and Mashiach, the more love they can show us. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CJSxCKPgohk 385 2022-07-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/count-your-blessings-grace-after-meals-iv/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VbF4wii5dQU/hqdefault.jpg Count Your Blessings: Grace After Meals IV Rabbi Greenberg explains the fourth blessing of Birkas HaMazon, the grace after meals, which the rabbis added to the three biblical blessings for food, the land, and Jerusalem. After the Temple's destruction, Bar Kochba led a rebellion against Rome that most rabbis, including Rabbi Akiva, supported, until he grew arrogant and told God not to help him. The Romans destroyed his stronghold, Beitar, massacred its people and forbade burying the dead for years. Rabbi Gamliel instituted this blessing to thank God for two miracles: the bodies did not decompose, and burial was finally allowed. Why celebrate such seemingly small miracles? When a people hits rock bottom, the first sign of God's hand changes everything, which makes this a blessing suited to exile. Rabbi Greenberg tells stories of "small miracles" of Divine providence, including a man who came to be buried through a burial fund he himself had endowed decades earlier. He then explains the blessing's language. Commentators count 15 praises, linked to 15 weekly meals, 15 materials for the Mishkan, and the 15 Temple steps. "Our Father, our King" describes God as both intimate and exalted. God is called King three times to make up for the previous blessing, which mentions King David and so avoids calling God king. "Creator, redeemer, maker" alludes to the resurrection of the dead. In the Q&A he teaches that God sends nothing bad, only bitter things that are ultimately good. https://www.youtube.com/embed/VbF4wii5dQU 2920 2022-07-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-do-smart-people-make-dumb-mistakes/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aqv46b7OBm0/hqdefault.jpg Why Do Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes? Rabbi Greenberg explains how Korach, whom the sages call a wise man, could make the foolish mistake of rebelling against Moses and Aaron. The Midrash says Korach "saw the red heifer," the ritual that purifies a person from contact with the dead. The conventional explanation is that the red heifer atones for the golden calf, which reintroduced death into the world after Sinai, and Aaron had a hand in the calf. Korach, from the tribe of Levi that was not involved, concluded that Aaron was unfit to be High Priest and that Moses had made up his appointment. Rabbi Greenberg offers a deeper reading. The red heifer is a chok, a law with no rational basis: it purifies the impure while contaminating those who prepare it, and even King Solomon could not understand it. Yet God gave Moses its reason. Korach reasoned that a law is either rational or beyond logic, so no one could understand it. His mistake was not realizing that the infinite God can make the incomprehensible understandable to a finite person, as with the Ark that occupied no space. Korach, a visionary who glimpsed the messianic age, thought he too should grasp it, but he still lived in the present. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aqv46b7OBm0 826 2022-06-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/using-an-issur-han-ah-to-erect-an-eiruv/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u51drcM0fFo/hqdefault.jpg Using an Issur Han'ah to Erect an Eiruv Rabbi Greenberg studies the Rambam's ruling that the lechi, the post at the entrance of an alley enclosed on three sides that rabbinically permits carrying there on Shabbos, may be made from anything, even an object forbidden for any benefit, such as an idolatrous tree. The Eliyahu Rabbah explains that "mitzvos were not given for benefit," so using a forbidden object for a mitzvah is not benefit. He raises difficulties: the Ran limits this where physical benefit results, the Rashba allows such benefit only when there is no alternative, the Baal HaMaor excludes rabbinic mitzvos, and a lechi only enables carrying. He presents two answers. The Rashba in Yevamos holds that a benefit existing only because of the mitzvah's requirement is not a problem. The Ritva in Sukkah, which Rabbi Greenberg prefers, holds that only benefit coming directly from the object is forbidden; the lechi itself gives none, so the principle applies according to all opinions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/u51drcM0fFo 498 2022-06-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-did-communism-fail/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pfNv6iN5Bnw/hqdefault.jpg Why Did Communism Fail? Rabbi Greenberg argues that communism failed not only in practice but in theory, drawing on the story of Korach. Korach rebelled against Moses and Aaron, claiming that everyone heard God at Sinai and that no one should stand above the rest. The Rebbe explains that Korach was not a hypocrite: he wanted everyone equal and united, with himself as a mere administrator, much like the premise of communism. The flaw, Rabbi Greenberg says, is that true unity comes from the soul all people share, and people can only reach it when that spark is ignited and they rise above their egos. Without that, unity is temporary and turns into conflict. Korach failed to see that unity needs a transcendent leader like Moses, and so true unity will come with Mashiach, who will likewise inspire each person to ignite their own spark. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pfNv6iN5Bnw 210 2022-06-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/count-your-blessings-grace-after-meals-iii/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rxlGRdfxq0I/hqdefault.jpg Count Your Blessings : Grace After Meals III Rabbi Greenberg explains the third blessing of the Grace After Meals, which asks God to have mercy on Israel, Jerusalem, Zion, the kingship of the house of David and the Holy Temple, and why it belongs in a blessing over food. After reviewing the first two blessings, composed by Moses for the manna and by Joshua for the land, he explains that King David and King Solomon composed the third, in gratitude for Jerusalem and the Temple. Jerusalem united the twelve tribes and the permanent Temple gave the land stability, and stability is what secures the food supply. He distinguishes mercy from kindness: kindness without judgment can harm, as with giving money to an addict, so mercy fuses kindness with judgment. Zion here refers to the City of David, and the house of David stands for stable leadership through Mashiach. The ten tribes who seceded rejected God's majesty, the Temple and the house of David, but this blessing mentions only the latter two, since placing God alongside even King David would be disrespectful. Rabbi Greenberg explains each request: necessities, fruits, clothing and shelter, steady food and plenty, and relief from physical and spiritual afflictions. Dependence on others tests one's faith, though the giver gains more than the receiver, and one should never ask to be tested. The blessing says God "rebuilds" Jerusalem in the present tense because every mitzvah builds the Temple, and a spiritual Temple is being built now. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rxlGRdfxq0I 2910 2022-06-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-uniqueness-of-jewish-law-divine-wisdom-vs-secular-systems/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MUmGWZFl7F4/hqdefault.jpg The Uniqueness of Jewish Law: Divine Wisdom vs. Secular Systems Rabbi Greenberg explains what sets Jewish law apart from secular legal systems, even where the two seem to say the same thing. The basic difference is that Jewish law is rooted in the Torah, which is divine, while secular law is made by fallible human beings. Apparent parallels often rest on entirely different reasons: the Sabbatical year is not about restoring soil nutrients but about recognizing that the land is God's and freeing people to study Torah; immersion in a mikvah is spiritual purification, not hygiene; and kashrus makes eating holy rather than serving health. "An eye for an eye" always meant monetary compensation, unlike the Code of Hammurabi. He contrasts the Fifth Amendment, which protects people from coerced confessions, with Jewish law, in which a confession to a crime is simply not accepted. The Rambam explains that some people wish to harm themselves; another commentator adds that a person's body is not his own to give over to punishment. An admission of a financial debt, however, is binding. Disputes between Jews should first go to a beis din, and a civil divorce still requires a get. He then lists further differences: Jewish law shapes society rather than being shaped by it; it comes from revelation rather than natural law; it is built on duties rather than rights, which otherwise tend to go to the stronger party; it covers every area of life; and its courts seek the truth, with no juries, no accepted confessions and only limited use of advocates. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MUmGWZFl7F4 3375 2022-06-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-humble-spy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lg0LZJe_ryU/hqdefault.jpg The Humble Spy Rabbi Greenberg explains why, in Parshas Shelach, Moses prayed specifically for Joshua before sending the spies, and how humility, not only ego, can hold a person back. According to the Targum attributed to Yonasan ben Uziel, Moses renamed Hoshea as Yehoshua because he saw Joshua's humility and prayed that God save him from the spies' counsel. The ten spies did not doubt God's miracles; they feared that in the land they would have to act within nature and that Canaan's depravity was too strong. Their egos hid their inner holiness, and they thought they were acting on their own rather than with Moses' power behind them. Citing the Talmud's teaching to keep a fixed place for prayer, he tells of a Chassid whose prayer for a child was answered at an inn where the Seer of Lublin had once prayed, showing that holy acts leave their mark on a place. Joshua's risk was humility: "Who am I to overcome what greater men cannot?" Moses could not pray for the others' free choice, but he gave Joshua his own strength, as the moon reflects the sun. Humility today can likewise lead people to shirk their part in bringing Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lg0LZJe_ryU 923 2022-06-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/starting-on-the-right-foot/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8e0RjGTdAqM/hqdefault.jpg Starting On the Right Foot Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah places the mitzvah of challah, giving the first of one's dough to God, right after the story of the spies. Following an explanation of Rabbi Yisrael of Chortkov, he suggests that the younger generation about to enter the land could have been demoralized: their parents had been freed from Egypt and received the Torah, yet died in the desert. Why would they fare any better? The mitzvah of challah answers that worry. The spies and those who listened to them were thinking about themselves, their comfort and their success, rather than fulfilling God's command; giving the first of the dough teaches that everything belongs to God and that it is not all about us. The word "first" adds a second lesson: begin everything with what you give to God. Rabbi Greenberg cites the Maggid of Mezritch on Psalm 63, reading "I will seek You" as "in the morning You are my God," which carries a person through a dry and weary land later on. This is why a Jew says Modeh Ani on waking, and he applies it to the hope for the coming redemption through Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8e0RjGTdAqM 494 2022-06-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rambam-vs-the-tur-on-the-imperative-to-beautify-a-mitzvah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_hlE5YjnP7Y/hqdefault.jpg The Rambam Vs. the Tur on the Imperative to Beautify a Mitzvah Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a mohel still performing a circumcision may cut even strands of flesh that do not affect its validity, but once he has finished, he goes back only for strands that do. Most commentators apply this to weekdays too, while the Tur holds that on weekdays he should go back for the others as well, refraining only on Shabbos. The Shaagas Aryeh and the Beis HaLevi explain that for the Rambam these strands are cut only to beautify the mitzvah, which applies only while performing it, just as there is no point in taking a nicer lulav after fulfilling the mitzvah. The Tur sees circumcision as a continuing mitzvah, as the Rogatchover explains, yet the Rambam also counts being circumcised as part of the mitzvah. Following a distinction of the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg explains that only an object, such as an offering, must itself be beautiful, while circumcision requires a beautiful performance. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_hlE5YjnP7Y 667 2022-06-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/israel-s-divine-heritage-unveiling-the-second-blessing-of-grace-after-meals/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nwJn_L_duH8/hqdefault.jpg Israel's Divine Heritage: Unveiling the Second Blessing of Grace After Meals Rabbi Greenberg explains the second blessing of Birkas Hamazon, the Grace After Meals, in which we thank God for the Land of Israel. He says Joshua instituted it on entering the land, having absorbed the longing of the patriarchs and of Moses, who prayed 515 times to enter. We thank God for Israel even when our food grows elsewhere because, as the Midrash teaches, God blesses the whole world through Israel. Using the Midrash's image of a tailor-made garment, he says the land fits only the Jewish people. He then goes through the blessing's themes. Calling the land a "desirable" land obliges us to praise it, unlike the spies. Calling it a "heritage" means it never stops being ours and belongs to every Jew from birth, whether or not he has ever been there. "Brought us out" and "redeemed us from the house of bondage" are two stages: physical release, then freedom from a slave mentality. The land is mentioned before the Exodus because it was promised to Abraham first. Circumcision comes before Torah, since the Torah uses "covenant" thirteen times for it and three times for Torah. Torah is "taught" because it must be understood, while the statutes are "made known" because a mitzvah has value even without understanding. Finally, thanking God for life itself, before favor, kindness and food, teaches that life has intrinsic value, because a soul in a body means God is present in the world. In answer to questions, he explains how rarely the Torah's death penalty could actually be carried out. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nwJn_L_duH8 3115 2022-06-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-living-torah-how-ancient-wisdom-speaks-to-modern-jewish-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PIQldOnD_Xc/hqdefault.jpg The Living Torah: How Ancient Wisdom Speaks to Modern Jewish Life Rabbi Greenberg explains the Talmud's statement that every novel insight a worthy student introduces was already given at Sinai. Like a work of art in which later generations see more than its human creator intended, the Torah given by an infinite God contains every insight that will ever be revealed. A new teaching belongs to Torah only if it comes from a worthy student, one who accepts and observes the system and thinks clearly, and fits with the rest of Torah. Each insight is revealed in its time. He tells how Rabbi Yosef Caro struggled for many hours over a Talmudic passage, then saw an average student resolve it in minutes; an angel told him the knowledge had not yet been revealed until he brought it down. This also explains why scholars in distant places raise the same question at the same time, and why Kabbalah was once hidden and later spread. He then illustrates two of the thirteen methods of interpretation recited each morning. Kal vachomer, reasoning from a lenient case to a stricter one, shows that an animal that gores in a private yard pays full damages. Gezeirah shavah, equal terminology, links "when a man takes a woman" to Abraham's "take it from me" when buying a burial plot, teaching that marriage is effected by giving something of value. By context, "do not steal" in the Ten Commandments refers to kidnapping. Finally, he explains why the Oral Torah was needed and why Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi wrote down the Mishnah during a respite from Roman persecution, writing it so tersely that students would still need a teacher. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PIQldOnD_Xc 2939 2022-06-19T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/can-you-sing-your-way-out-of-a-rut/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QcABEUMeIFw/hqdefault.jpg Can You Sing Your Way Out of a Rut? Rabbi Greenberg explains whether song can bring atonement, starting from the Levites' singing in the Temple. Rashi reads the doubled "dedicated" in Numbers 8:16 as the Levites' two roles, carrying the Mishkan and singing. The Jerusalem Talmud says the song itself brought atonement, while the Babylonian Talmud treats it as an embellishment of the offering. Yet there was no singing for an individual's sin offering. Rabbi Greenberg answers that atonement has two levels. The basic level requires facing what one did and repairing it, not escaping into inspiring melodies; the deeper level comes after repentance, when a refined person sees remaining flaws and needs spiritual elevation, where melody helps. The Babylonian Talmud, written for the darkness of exile, cannot rely on song, which would only cover what is underneath; the Jerusalem Talmud, a Talmud of clarity, addresses a person on a higher level. Today, which the Rebbe called the last generation of exile and first of redemption, we need both: honest, practical work on ourselves, and holy melodies, composed by holy people, as an independent spiritual experience. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QcABEUMeIFw 985 2022-06-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/who-is-obligated-to-write-a-sefer-torah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DMdILA-sqVc/hqdefault.jpg Who is Obligated to Write a Sefer Torah? Rabbi Greenberg examines the Rambam's ruling that each and every man of Israel is commanded to write a Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) for himself. Citing the Kli Chemdah, he explains that the wording stresses a personal rather than communal obligation, and notes that "man" excludes women, as the Rambam confirms elsewhere. Since the mitzvah is not bound to a time, he asks why women are exempt. The Shaagas Aryeh considers that the scroll serves Torah study, but rejects this because women must study the laws that apply to them. Rabbi Greenberg explains that for the Rambam the mitzvah is the act of writing itself, and only a man can write a kosher Sefer Torah. He then offers a new suggestion: if preparing for Torah study is itself a mitzvah, the blessing over Torah study may be included in it, which could explain why the Rambam does not count that blessing separately. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DMdILA-sqVc 729 2022-06-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/say-no-to-change/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g2T2uxuoQww/hqdefault.jpg Say No To Change! Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah, after commanding Aaron to light the menorah in Parshas Behaaloscha, says that Aaron did exactly as he was told, and why Rashi adds that this is Aaron's praise, that he did not change anything. Who would think Aaron might deviate from God's instructions? One simple answer: the Talmud says Aaron made peace between quarreling people by telling each that the other regretted the fight and thought highly of him. One might think this bending of the truth became a flaw in his own character, so the Torah testifies that he did it only because peace can outweigh truth. On a deeper level, as explained in Chassidus, Aaron did not lie at all. No white lie could reconcile people who truly hated each other; deep down they loved one another, and he revealed that inner truth. In this imperfect world truth and peace can conflict, but in the age of Mashiach they will complement each other. https://www.youtube.com/embed/g2T2uxuoQww 206 2022-06-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-hidden-wisdom-of-grace-after-meals-unlocking-spiritual-nourishment/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LZsE_o6Y6QY/hqdefault.jpg The Hidden Wisdom of Grace After Meals: Unlocking Spiritual Nourishment Rabbi Greenberg explains the origins and meaning of Grace After Meals, the one blessing the Torah itself commands: "You will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless God your God." The oral tradition applies it to a meal with bread made from one of the five grains, and the rabbis extended it to eating even an olive's size. According to the Midrash, the practice began with Abraham, who had his guests thank God after their meals. Gratitude is what gives us the right to eat God's food. Moses instituted the first blessing over the manna, Joshua the second for the land, King David and King Solomon the third for Jerusalem and the Temple, and the rabbis added the fourth after the Romans finally allowed the dead of Beitar to be buried. He explains washing the fingertips before the blessing, originally to remove caustic Sodomite salt, and Rabbi Kook's lesson that being satisfied should not blind us, like Sodom, to the hungry. Going through the first blessing, he teaches that God is the source of all blessing, that all food is manna from heaven, and, citing the Arizal, that what nourishes us is the divine spark in food. He explains grace, kindness and mercy as God's ways of providing for the righteous, those in between and the wicked, and tells of holy people who stayed healthy on almost no food. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LZsE_o6Y6QY 2925 2022-06-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-living-torah-why-judaism-s-oral-tradition-matters-today/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t9liMpiW5Qs/hqdefault.jpg The Living Torah: Why Judaism's Oral Tradition Matters Today In the fourth class of a series on the development of Torah, Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Oral Torah is the backbone of Jewish practice and why it was meant to stay oral. The Five Books of Moses are like a professor's outline; even the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, an etrog on Sukkos, and "an eye for an eye" meaning monetary compensation are known only from the oral tradition. The Torah is written cryptically by design so that it cannot be followed without living teachers. A written text can be distorted, as the Shema has been read by others to mean the opposite of one God, and a book cannot convey the spirit of Sinai, its thunder and lightning, which passes only from person to person. The mystical teachings of Kabbalah were also part of that oral transmission. To the objection that oral transmission is like the game of telephone, he answers that Torah was a matter of life and death, taught openly rather than whispered, taught by many teachers to whole communities, and constantly checked: when some made round tefillin under Roman persecution, the Mishnah immediately rejected it. God gave the Torah to fallible people knowing they would sometimes err, and two opposing opinions, like Shammai and Hillel, can both be divine. Biblical law has no amendment process. Secular law is shaped by society, but Torah law is meant to shape society, and its commandments are not health measures. A new insight of a worthy student, one who believes in, knows and practices the Torah, was already given at Sinai. https://www.youtube.com/embed/t9liMpiW5Qs 3315 2022-06-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/redemption-and-the-number-176/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cYa1F1UWt0s/hqdefault.jpg Redemption and the Number 176 Rabbi Greenberg explains what links three texts that each contain 176 units: Parshas Naso, the longest single Torah portion, has 176 verses; Psalm 119, the longest psalm, has 176 verses; and Bava Basra, the longest tractate of the Talmud, has 176 pages. Since the Baal Shem Tov taught that nothing is coincidence, and Torah brings hidden connections to light, the number must carry meaning. Its key is the word le'olam, whose numerical value is 176 and which means both "forever" and "to the world." Naso, read right after Shavuos, opens with "lift up the head": the Rebbe explains that Torah, as God's wisdom, which the Rambam says is one with Him, lifts the mind beyond nature into eternity. Yet the parsha also deals with down-to-earth situations, showing that Torah is directed to this world. In Psalm 119, King David praises both sides, asking to see the wonders of the Torah and saying that without it he would have been lost in his suffering. According to the Zohar, the three Bavos correspond to the three Temples, and Bava Basra to the third, which will be eternal and reflect the eternity of the Jewish people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cYa1F1UWt0s 1121 2022-06-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/prayer-biblical-or-rabbinical/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/073K_nkzGk0/hqdefault.jpg Prayer: Biblical or Rabbinical? Rabbi Greenberg looks at the opening ruling of the Rambam's laws of prayer, that there is a positive mitzvah to pray every day, from the verse "You shall serve God your God." The Rambam stresses that it is a positive mitzvah because the daily obligation is not explicit in the Torah, and because other early authorities, including the Ramban, hold that daily prayer is rabbinic. He then asks how the day is counted for this obligation. This matters for a woman, who according to the Rambam must pray once a day with some request, as the Alter Rebbe notes, if she did so only at night. Citing a talk of the Rebbe, he distinguishes prayer as service, which follows the order of the offerings, from prayer as request, which follows creation, evening first. Since for the Rambam request is primary, her prayer at night counts for the following day. https://www.youtube.com/embed/073K_nkzGk0 442 2022-06-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-one-who-laughs-last-laughs-best/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5VMcfxfH0Cc/hqdefault.jpg The One Who Laughs Last Laughs Best Rabbi Greenberg explains what the first verse of the priestly blessing, "May God bless you and guard you," asks God to protect, based on three opinions in the Sifri. The first, stated anonymously, is that God should bless us with possessions and guard those possessions. Rabbi Nasan says God should bless us with possessions and guard our body. Rabbi Yitzchak says God should guard us from the evil inclination. Rabbi Greenberg explains that the first opinion is anonymous because everyone recognizes the need to protect property, with fences, insurance and the like. Not everyone takes the same care of the body, so Rabbi Nasan, whose name means giving, teaches that the body is God's gift to be preserved. Hardest of all is protection from the evil inclination, which requires a stronger soul. It is taught by Rabbi Yitzchak, whose name means "he will laugh": one who looks ahead to the time of Mashiach, when we will enjoy the ultimate laughter, and does not want to undermine that by heeding the evil inclination. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5VMcfxfH0Cc 291 2022-06-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-10th-commandment/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OD6RZ0HmgzE/hqdefault.jpg The 10th Commandment Rabbi Greenberg explains why "Do not covet" is the last of the Ten Commandments, in a class for Shavuos. The first sin between people, Cain killing Abel, came from envy, whether over material concerns or, in another Midrash, over where the Beis HaMikdash would stand. That trait has been ingrained since the dawn of civilization, and the Rambam ends the Mishneh Torah by saying that in the messianic era there will be no envy or rivalry. He offers a further answer: not coveting means respecting boundaries, as Israel's tents in the wilderness faced away from one another. Yet Judaism also calls on us to cross boundaries with permission, inviting others into our homes and lives. Because both imperatives exist, keeping boundaries is the hardest. Reading the two tablets side by side pairs the tenth commandment with honoring parents: boundaries exist in space (property), soul (privacy), and time (respect for the previous generation). Even the generational boundary will be crossed when Elijah turns the hearts of fathers back through the children. On Shavuos, God united the spiritual and the physical, but one must first recognize the boundary and then integrate. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OD6RZ0HmgzE 945 2022-06-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/excuse-me-do-you-have-a-second/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wSyngysuRD4/hqdefault.jpg Excuse Me, Do You Have A Second? Rabbi Greenberg explains why a single moment can matter enormously, starting from the redemption of the firstborn in the Torah portion. The Levites took the place of the firstborn, and the 273 firstborn left over had to be redeemed with five shekels each. Citing the Chassidic work Arugas HaBosem by a Hungarian rabbi, he notes that 273 spells rega, "an instant." The world, which had been "trembling" until the Jewish people accepted the Torah, gained its purpose in the second it took to say "naaseh v'nishma," and the Talmud tells of a sinner who acquired his world in one moment of remorse. The Talmud says Bilaam planned to curse the Jewish people at the one instant each day when God is angry. Tosafos asks what curse fits in an instant, and one answer is kaleim, "destroy them," which reversed spells melech, "king": an attempt to undo the coming of Mashiach. Since God's goodness exceeds His judgment, one instant of embracing Mashiach can bring the redemption. Rabbi Greenberg cites the Rebbe's explanation that saying "long live the king" draws out the king's power to lead, and that every Jew holds a spark of Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/wSyngysuRD4 962 2022-05-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/rambams-obsession-with-the-negation-of-idolatry/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PVVtzEDXwOM/hqdefault.jpg Rambam's Obsession With the Negation of Idolatry Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that one who derives even the slightest benefit from an ir hanidachas, a city whose inhabitants mostly worshipped idols and whose property must all be destroyed, receives lashes, based on the verse "nothing of the banned property shall cling to your hand." The Chikrei Lev asks why the Gemara in Shevuos, challenging the sages' view that the Torah never forbids a minuscule amount, does not cite this case. Based on a discourse of the Rebbe, Rabbi Greenberg distinguishes prohibitions in which a tiny amount is itself the measure, such as carrying a significant spice on Shabbos, from idolatry, for which there is no measure at all, since the Torah wants it entirely gone. He adds that even the ashes of idolatry, and unusual benefit from it, are forbidden, and concludes that the Rambam explains many mitzvos as distancing from idolatry, his life's aim being a world filled with knowledge of God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PVVtzEDXwOM 555 2022-05-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/why-is-shavuot-called-atzeret/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NNQSXfdY928/hqdefault.jpg Why is Shavuot Called Atzeret? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Talmud calls Shavuos "Atzeres," a name the Torah itself uses only for the eighth day of Sukkos. The word connotes withholding, gathering and celebration, and he presents three explanations for applying it to Shavuos. First, unlike Pesach with its matzah or Sukkos with its sukkah, Shavuos has no special ritual; its only biblical mitzvah is withholding from work. Second, just as the Midrash describes a king who asks his closest friend to stay one more day after a feast, Shavuos comes at the end of counting from Pesach and holds back our departure from those special days, much like a celebration on completing a volume of the Talmud. The third explanation, based on Nachmanides, concerns how to keep inspiration from fading: by putting it into a practical act. At Sinai the Jewish people had no mitzvah to contain their inspiration except the command not to approach the mountain until the Torah was given, so the holiday is named for that withholding. Rabbi Greenberg applies this to the end of exile: the inspiration of knowing the redemption is close must be translated into action, such as doing another mitzvah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NNQSXfdY928 299 2022-05-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/count-your-blessings-blessings-and-living-a-blessed-life-lesson-3/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zFmF6cIEInk/hqdefault.jpg Count Your Blessings: Blessings and Living a Blessed Life: Lesson 3 Rabbi Greenberg explains the blessings recited before eating, focusing on Hamotzi, the blessing over bread. The texts were instituted by the Men of the Great Assembly at the start of the Second Temple era. The Talmud teaches that one who benefits from this world without a blessing is like one who misuses consecrated Temple property, because everything belongs to God. A blessing acknowledges that the food truly comes from God, as in the story of Reb Zusya, while the people who deliver it are only His messengers. Rabbi Greenberg suggests the formal blessings were not needed in the First Temple era, when God's presence was more openly felt. The Rebbe asked why a blessing would remove the food's holiness. He explained that the food stays holy, but the blessing makes the person a guest at God's table, elevated like a Kohen's household that may eat terumah. The Sfas Emes adds that a blessing brings out the spark of holiness in the food. Rabbi Greenberg then reads Hamotzi word by word. Bread does not come straight from the earth; the Akeidah sees an allusion to a future when bread will grow ready to eat, and the Hebrew can mean past, present and future, including the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that creation is renewed every moment. "Lechem," bread, shares a root with war, the struggle with the physical world. The blessing also thanks God for human ingenuity, avoiding both worship of man and worship of the earth, and the Maharal's distinction between eretz and adamah gives "from the earth" a universal sense. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zFmF6cIEInk 3036 2022-05-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/counting-is-jewish/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JKzVG3rXD_E/hqdefault.jpg Counting Is Jewish Rabbi Greenberg explains why counting is such a central Jewish theme, as the book of Bamidbar, the "Book of Numbers," opens with a census of the Jewish people. Jews count the six days toward Shabbos and the days of the Omer toward Shavuos, and God counts the people to show how precious they are. Drawing on a teaching the Rebbe elaborates, he cites the law that a forbidden substance is nullified in sixty times as much kosher food, unless it is something significant enough to be counted. Likewise, because God counts the Jewish people, no Jew ever loses his identity, however far he strays. Rabbi Greenberg adds that we are counting up to the final redemption, citing the Talmud in Sanhedrin that the world was created for Mashiach. Counting, he concludes, is the Jewish way of preparing rather than rushing into things. https://www.youtube.com/embed/JKzVG3rXD_E 193 2022-05-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-torah-lesson-3/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nDJPyCBNUNg/hqdefault.jpg The Torah: Lesson 3 In the third class of his series on the Torah, Rabbi Greenberg explains how Jewish law is applied to new situations and how the rabbis gained authority to legislate. The Written Torah is like a professor's cryptic notes and the Oral Torah is the lecture that explains them, such as what "melachah," usually translated as work, means on Shabbos. New questions must be answered by qualified authorities from principles rooted in the Torah, not personal feelings. Disputes were once resolved by majority vote of the Sanhedrin of 71 judges; after it was disbanded, the Talmud became the binding consensus, and since then each community follows its own authority, such as the Rambam in Egypt and Yemen or the Raavad in southern France, until the Sanhedrin is restored. Both the School of Hillel and the School of Shammai are "the words of the living God," he explains, like water poured into glasses of different colors, though only one ruling can be followed, as with lighting the Chanukah candles in ascending order. The Torah forbids adding commandments but commands us to obey the judges, which is why the blessing on Chanukah candles says God "commanded us." Rabbinic law covers three areas: new observances such as Chanukah, Purim, Shabbos candles, blessings and shiva; safeguards for biblical law, such as washing before bread or not riding a horse on Shabbos; and tikkun olam, enactments to protect society, such as Hillel's prozbul and limits on ransom payments. Customs like Simchas Torah are binding once accepted. He ends by asking why the Oral Torah was not written down from the start. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nDJPyCBNUNg 2991 2022-05-29T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/getting-rid-of-the-inconsistencies-superficialities-and-narcissism-of-exile/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F54zGxcapNg/hqdefault.jpg Getting Rid of the Inconsistencies, Superficialities and Narcissism of Exile Rabbi Greenberg explains where we find the strength to overcome three spiritual shortcomings of exile, based on the close of the Torah's words of rebuke, where God promises to remember His covenant with Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. Rashi explains the reverse order: Jacob is enough to stand us in good stead, but if not, Isaac is with him, and if that is not enough, Abraham. Since the patriarchs are the sources of our souls, what they did empowers us, and the harsher the exile, the further back we draw. The first problem is inconsistency, inspiration that soon fizzles out, which is being human rather than hypocrisy. Jacob, who personified emes, truth that stays the same from beginning to end, gives us consistency. Worse is superficiality, relating to God and to people only by their surface; Isaac, who saw sparks of holiness in Esau and dug wells, empowers us to look deeper. Worst is numbness and narcissism, for which we need Abraham's kindness. The verse ends "I will remember the land," which the Kabbalists say alludes to King David and Mashiach: asking for Mashiach declares that we will not tolerate these conditions of exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/F54zGxcapNg 739 2022-05-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/learn-to-unite-rambam-in-depth/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CITGJB293y0/hqdefault.jpg Learn To Unite - Rambam In-Depth Rabbi Greenberg opens a new series that each week takes one or two paragraphs of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah, studied by Jews worldwide in the daily cycle the Rebbe instituted, and explores them in greater depth. As the Rebbe emphasized, the Mishneh Torah expresses Jewish unity: the Rambam wrote it for young and old alike, and it records no differing opinions. He then asks why the Rambam, in his introduction, calls Babylonia by the name Shinar, where the Tower of Babel was built, a name the Midrash treats negatively. He suggests the Mishneh Torah is the holy counterpart of Shinar. The builders had one language, the holy tongue, and one purpose; the Mishneh Torah is the Rambam's only work in Hebrew and gives one ruling without disputes. It is a city of words, each housing a concept, and its tower is the laws of the Holy Temple. The word migdal (tower) equals 83, the number of its sections. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CITGJB293y0 527 2022-05-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/no-more-victims/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8VyPQVU3eUY/hqdefault.jpg No More Victims! Rabbi Greenberg explains how one of the curses in the Torah portion of Bechukosai, "you will flee and no one is pursuing you," can be read as a blessing. Since all the Torah's ways are pleasant, even the curses are hidden blessings that God will transform, and the greater the curse, the greater the blessing that follows. Simply read, this verse describes the painful curse of anxiety and fear when there is nothing to fear. A chassidic master reads it differently, and Rabbi Greenberg first introduces the idea behind it. Judaism teaches that God looks out for the one who is pursued, but there is a danger in defining our relationship with God by our suffering and victimhood, as if persecution is what defines the Jew. He tells of an academic who supported Israel before the Six Day War only because he expected it to lose. The Hebrew word for fleeing can also mean being elevated: even when no one is pursuing you, you will be elevated. As the exile ends, he says, we must recognize that God has a good relationship with us when we prosper and are happy too. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8VyPQVU3eUY 299 2022-05-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/rambam-in-depth/requirement-of-a-torah-scholar-to-live-in-a-city-that-has-a-doctor/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nYXZx_hS1RE/hqdefault.jpg Requirement of a Torah scholar to live in a city that has a doctor Rabbi Greenberg looks at the Rambam's ruling that a Torah scholar may not live in a city lacking ten things, among them a physician, and asks why only a scholar, when everyone must guard his health. The Ein Yaakov cites the Talmud's statement that Torah scholars tend to be frail from their devotion to study, but the Jerusalem Talmud applies the rule to everyone, leaving the Rambam's choice difficult. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that since the Talmud permits people to take some risk for their livelihood, not everyone can be required to live near a doctor, while a scholar must avoid anything that would interrupt his study, as untreated illness would, just as the Talmud forbids him to fast. Alternatively, a scholar might think he is above needing a physician, and the Torah's license to heal applies to him too. He closes with the Rebbe's teaching linking the Mishneh Torah's 83 sections to the cure for 83 illnesses. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nYXZx_hS1RE 456 2022-05-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/count-your-blessings-blessings-and-living-a-blessed-life-lesson-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HFVPrQL2r70/hqdefault.jpg Count Your Blessings: Blessings and Living a Blessed Life: Lesson 2 In the second lesson of Count Your Blessings, Rabbi Greenberg explains what the word bracha, blessing, means and analyzes the six opening words of every blessing. The Torah begins with the letter beis, the initial of bracha, which the Zohar says God chose over every other letter. Beis is two, signifying not only division but doubling and increase, and each letter of bracha doubles units, tens or hundreds. A blessing means not being content with the status quo but increasing the light God put into the world; standing still spiritually is a curse. Beis also suggests bayis, a house, since the world was created to be a home for God. Baruch, he explains, means praised, and also the source of blessing; it relates to a pool and to drawing a vine down into the ground, so a blessing draws down what is stored above into our lives. It also relates to berech, knee, expressing humility. Atah, "You," shows that every blessing is spoken to God directly, addressing His essence beyond any name. The four-letter name of God contains "was, is and will be," God beyond time, which is why teshuvah can transform the past. Elokeinu, "our God," is God within nature and relating to us, and Melech ha'olam means God is King even over the world's concealment of Him. He closes with a story about two yuds: one above the other ends a verse, while side by side they form God's name. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HFVPrQL2r70 2946 2022-05-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-torah-lesson-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5vxn51U0Jlg/hqdefault.jpg The Torah: Lesson 2 In the second lesson of a course on the Torah, Rabbi Greenberg describes the structure of the Torah: a written Torah, recorded by Moses, and an oral Torah that Moses was taught at Sinai and transmitted by word of mouth. He explains, citing the Rambam, why Moses' prophecy was unlike any other prophet's: he spoke with God directly, whenever he needed, without a trance, as when he asked God about Pesach Sheni and the daughters of Tzelophchad. He then surveys the Tanakh: the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets from Joshua through Kings and the later prophets, and the Writings, such as Psalms, Proverbs and the Song of Songs. The "Ten Commandments" are really ten statements containing fourteen commandments, and their 620 letters equal the 613 commandments plus the seven given to all humanity, the numerical value of keser, crown, a symbol of God's will, which is above His wisdom. The 613 divide into 248 positive and 365 negative commandments, and into those between people and God and those between people. The Oral Torah is first a translation: a Torah scroll has no vowels or punctuation, so "milk" could be read as "fat." Hillel taught this to a would-be convert who accepted only the written Torah by switching the names of the letters he had taught him. It is also a commentary on narratives, such as whom Cain married, and on laws: what counts as work on Shabbos, that the "day of blowing" means the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, that the beautiful fruit is an etrog, that "an eye for an eye" means payment, and the details of tefillin and mezuzah. It also contains laws not hinted in the text at all. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5vxn51U0Jlg 3180 2022-05-22T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/count-your-blessings-what-is-a-blessing/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LMCgugvJ84I/hqdefault.jpg Count Your Blessings: What is a Blessing? Rabbi Greenberg opens a series on blessings by explaining what a bracha, a blessing, is and how it differs from prayer. Saying blessings constantly cultivates gratitude, which must always be gratitude to someone, and praising God is not for His sake but for ours, to make us aware of His presence. At a deeper level, he explains, the word bracha shares a root with propagating a plant by bending a branch into the ground, and with a pool or reservoir: a blessing draws down the good God allocated on Rosh Hashanah so that it actually enters our lives. Prayer works the other way. It humbly asks God to change His will and grant what was not allocated. Citing the Zohar's reading of Jacob's ladder, he describes prayer as the ascent and blessing as the descent, and both are needed. He surveys the kinds of blessings: before and after food, on fragrant spices, before Torah study and mitzvos, on natural wonders, the priestly blessing and parents' blessings. Grace after meals and the priestly blessing are from the Torah, while most others were composed by the Men of the Great Assembly, who included prophets, for returning exiles who had lost the ability to pray. In questions, he compares quick daily prayer to rehearsing for a concert, advises focusing deeply on one prayer while keeping pace with the minyan, and explains that a quorum of ten represents the entire Jewish people. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LMCgugvJ84I 3135 2022-05-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-torah-a-definition/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VrKVgDago_M/hqdefault.jpg The Torah: A Definition Rabbi Greenberg explains what the word Torah means and what it includes, as the opening of a class on how Judaism began and what makes it unique. He starts from Rabbi Saadia Gaon's statement that our nation is a nation only because of its Torah. Torah means instruction or guidance, not law; its Aramaic name, oraisa, means bringing light, since it shows a person where he is going. In the narrow sense Torah is the Five Books of Moses, every letter dictated by God to Moses; in the broad sense it includes all of Tanach, Jewish law in the Mishnah and Talmud, ethics, philosophy, Kabbalah, history and even a new insight that builds on the Torah given at Sinai. As God's wisdom, Torah preceded creation, served as its blueprint, and was given at Mount Sinai as a guide for living. Rabbi Greenberg calls Sinai the most important event in history and argues that denying it is worse than denying the Holocaust, because without it there is no Jewish people. Judaism alone claims that God revealed Himself to an entire nation of millions, a claim no one could invent. God created an unfinished world and gave humans free choice to complete it. Adam and Eve, and later Noah, who could not influence others, were not entrusted with the master plan; Abraham and Sarah, who rejected idolatry and influenced thousands, were. After Egypt tested the nation with persecution and assimilation, the Jewish people said "we will do and we will hear," receiving the 613 mitzvos while all humanity received the seven Noahide laws. https://www.youtube.com/embed/VrKVgDago_M 3474 2022-05-15T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-holiday-of-shavuot/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/avb57466Rmc/hqdefault.jpg The Holiday of Shavuot Rabbi Greenberg explains why the holiday of Shavuos, though little observed, is the most important Jewish holiday: every mitzvah and holiday rests on the Torah given that day. It is the only holiday with 49 days of preparation, and the Torah gives no calendar date for it, only a count of fifty days, because it transcends time; citing the Rebbe, he notes that someone who crosses the international dateline keeps his own count. When Moses asked whether the people deserved liberation, God answered that they would serve Him on this mountain: leaving Egypt freed them outwardly, but only the Torah, which gives a person a higher purpose, would keep them from returning to slavery. True freedom is doing what the soul really wants. Shavuos is the real Mother's Day, Rabbi Greenberg explains: the "Torah of your mother" in Proverbs is the Oral Torah, carried by Jewish women, and the counting of the Omer from the day after Pesach, disputed by the Sadducees, rests on that tradition. So does the lineage of King David, descended from Ruth the Moabite, who passed away on Shavuos. The day is also the yahrzeit of the Baal Shem Tov. Ruth is read because at Sinai every Jew became a convert, and the Torah must be actively received, not just passively given; Ruth's name equals 606, which with the seven Noahide laws makes 613. The Torah is studied all night to correct the people's oversleeping, which the Rebbe explains was a misguided attempt at a spiritual experience, since God wants the Torah in this world. Dairy is eaten first, recalling Moses' answer to the angels, who ate meat and milk together at Abraham's table. https://www.youtube.com/embed/avb57466Rmc 3011 2022-05-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/partners-in-creation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QL07eri7SlI/hqdefault.jpg Partners in Creation Rabbi Greenberg explains why, in parsha Kedoshim, the Torah follows the command to revere one's parents with "you shall observe the Sabbath." As Rashi cites from the sages, this teaches that if parents tell a child to violate Shabbos, the child should not listen, and by extension the same applies to any transgression. The question is why Shabbos in particular is used as the example. Rabbi Greenberg answers from the Talmud's teaching that parents are partners with God in creating a child: the parents provide the biological life and God gives the soul, so honoring the parents also honors God. Observing Shabbos is testimony that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, and through it we become God's partners in creation. Disrespecting one partner disrespects all the partners, so keeping Shabbos against a parent's wishes is actually the greatest honor to the parent. A parent's special status comes from being God's partner, and it grows when the parent strengthens the child's relationship with God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QL07eri7SlI 274 2022-05-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/i-want-your-soul-not-your-gold/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i-9JQzgdfgc/hqdefault.jpg I Want Your Soul, Not Your Gold Rabbi Greenberg explains why the High Priest, who wore golden garments throughout the year, entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur in plain linen. Gold adorned the Beis HaMikdash and its vessels; the Midrash says God created gold for His holiest dwelling place. On Yom Kippur the holiest person entered the holiest place on the holiest day, the convergence of space, time and soul described in Sefer Yetzirah. The Talmud gives two reasons. First, a prosecutor cannot become a defender: gold recalls the golden calf, so it cannot plead for atonement. Second, the Torah has pity on Jewish money. Yet the Talmud also says there is no poverty in a place of wealth, since the Temple's physical wealth reflected its spiritual wealth, and the High Priest wore gold for other Yom Kippur services. Rabbi Greenberg resolves this through the meaning of pity: one has pity on someone who does not deserve what he receives. Pesach contains the letters of the word for pity, and at the Exodus God overrode the angels' complaint that the Israelites were idol worshipers. Entering without gold, the High Priest asks God to look past the value of our deeds to the pure core of every Jew. This links Yom Kippur and Pesach: both feature the white kittel and the declaration "next year in Jerusalem." Even now, after amassing great spiritual wealth, we ask God to see our inner essence, which will be fully revealed when Mashiach comes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/i-9JQzgdfgc 1206 2022-04-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-jewish-stance-on-diversity/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hPuCqMwc3U8/hqdefault.jpg The Jewish Stance on Diversity Rabbi Greenberg continues his study of Rabbi Elazar HaModai's teaching in Ethics of the Fathers that one who profanes sacred things, degrades the festivals, publicly humiliates another, abrogates the covenant of Abraham, or distorts the Torah has no share in the World to Come, even with Torah and good deeds. After reviewing the first category, including the Rebbe's point that people are given the power to make things holy, he turns to the second: one who degrades the festivals. He describes the beliefs behind that attitude, from crude to subtle. Shabbos testifies that God created the world, against Aristotle's view, and the festivals show that God remains involved, against the claim that He withdrew; since the world was created from nothing, God must recreate it every instant. Some cannot see how time itself can be holy. Rabbi Greenberg cites the Alter Rebbe, who knew the hour in a windowless prison cell, and notes that Chanukah was declared a holiday only the following year, once its holiness was felt. A holiday plugs into a recurring spiritual energy rather than marking an anniversary. The Rebbe adds that the court's declaration of the new month sets even the biblical holidays. Finally, he rejects the claim that every day is equally holy. Treating everything as equal, as Korach did, cheapens holiness. Like the organs of the body, people, places and times differ, and Havdalah marks that difference; each should know its strength and respect what is above it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hPuCqMwc3U8 1696 2022-04-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/no-room-for-arrogance/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pzmnXjBvKbI/hqdefault.jpg No Room For Arrogance Rabbi Greenberg tells the story of the Chassidic master Rabbi Avraham of Sochatchov, who, when visiting a town, surprised everyone by staying with a simple Jew not known for his morals rather than with a wealthy, learned and pious man. Asked why, he quoted the verse in the week's Torah portion describing God as dwelling with the people even within their impurity. A moral failing strains the relationship, but God does not abandon the person. Of the arrogant person, however, the Talmud says God declares that He and that person cannot dwell together. If God is uncomfortable with arrogance, the Rebbe reasoned, why should he act differently? Rabbi Greenberg adds a Chassidic story of a man who complained that everyone in the synagogue stepped on him and was told that he spread himself out so much that there was no room left. He closes with the Midrash that Mashiach will announce the redemption by calling the Jewish people "humble ones." Centuries of persecution have humbled us, and humility, even when it came through suffering rather than our own work, makes us receptive to God's presence, which is what redemption is about. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pzmnXjBvKbI 269 2022-04-25T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/cross-your-red-sea/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fI2OwbJRfmo/hqdefault.jpg Cross Your Red Sea Rabbi Greenberg explains what the last days of Pesach celebrate: the splitting of the Red Sea, the real culmination of the Exodus, since as long as the Egyptians could pursue them the Jewish people were not fully free. He cites a Midrash the Rebbe often quoted: trapped between the Egyptians and the sea, the people split into four groups, wanting to surrender, fight, drown themselves, or pray. God told Moses they were all wrong and that they should keep journeying, because the goal of the Exodus was receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. When Nachshon ben Aminadav went into the sea up to his nostrils, it split. The sea turning to dry land was also a spiritual miracle: water stands for what is concealed and dry land for what is revealed, so hidden Godly light became revealed, a preparation for Sinai, where the division between the spiritual and the physical was abolished. Since then our mission is to bring the divine into the world through each mitzvah. The eighth day of Pesach focuses on the future, with a prophetic reading about Mashiach, and the Baal Shem Tov established a special Mashiach's meal with matzah, to which four cups of wine were later added. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fI2OwbJRfmo 734 2022-04-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seder-essentials-part-7/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xspyDVewVjE/hqdefault.jpg Seder Essentials - Part 7 Rabbi Greenberg explains the closing steps of the Pesach seder: the second part of Hallel and Nirtzah. Hallel is split in two because the seder focuses on two events: the first part praises God for the Exodus in the past, and the second, said after pouring the cup for Elijah, praises Him for the future redemption before it happens. He gives two reasons for praising God, who does not need our praise. Maimonides and others explain that we need it, to become aware of God's greatness and kindness. A second reason is that praise reveals hidden potential, as praising a child draws out his abilities; the second Hallel helps reveal the hidden forces of the time of Mashiach. For Nirtzah, when God accepts the seder, Rabbi Greenberg describes three stages in Chassidic thought: an arousal from above, our response from below, and then a further gift from above that we cannot earn but can make room for, like clearing a landing strip for a supply plane. He notes that Chabad custom omits the phrase declaring the seder concluded, because the Pesach experience of leaving what constricts us continues every day. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xspyDVewVjE 463 2022-04-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seder-essentials-part-6/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8u2BJxiyhbQ/hqdefault.jpg Seder Essentials - Part 6 Rabbi Greenberg explains the steps of the seder from the meal through the cup of Elijah. After the biblical obligations of telling the story and eating matzah, the rabbinic maror, and two of the four cups, comes the festive meal, which traditionally opens with an egg dipped in salt water. The egg recalls the festival offering eaten before the Paschal lamb in Temple times. The Paschal lamb was eaten at the end of the meal, so as not to be eaten ravenously like a starving person rather than as free people, and so its taste would linger. Today the afikoman, the larger half of the middle matzah, takes its place. The afikoman is called tzafun, hidden. Chassidic thought, he explains, describes revealed and hidden levels of both good and evil within us; the later part of the seder, which turns to the future redemption, lets us reach hidden holiness and so remove hidden negativity. After Grace after Meals comes the third cup and a cup for Elijah, who comes in spirit and heralds Mashiach. Citing the Rebbe's slogan that no Jew will be left behind, he says this redemption will be complete because the hidden good will be revealed in everyone. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8u2BJxiyhbQ 484 2022-04-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seder-essentials-part-5/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OMS6-NeY9n0/hqdefault.jpg Seder Essentials - Part 5 Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of maror (the bitter herbs) and korech (the sandwich) at the Seder. Even after telling the story of the Exodus and eating matzah, we cannot feel fully free while other Jews are still suffering, physically, emotionally or spiritually. We eat maror to feel that bitterness and empathize with them, but we dip it in charoses, the sweet mixture of fruit, nuts and wine, so that the bitterness does not overwhelm us and destroy our ability to help. He notes that romaine lettuce, one of the most common forms of maror, starts sweet and turns bitter, as the Talmud explains, just as Pharaoh first paid the Jews and only gradually turned them into slaves. Korech recalls the practice of Hillel, who ate the matzah, the Pesach lamb and the bitter herbs together. Rabbi Greenberg explains that a person bound to one form cannot hold opposite emotions at once; being able to rejoice in the Exodus and feel others' pain at the same time is the sign of true redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OMS6-NeY9n0 367 2022-04-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-rebbe-120-years/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Lzznk1vjMBc/hqdefault.jpg The Rebbe: 120 Years Rabbi Greenberg marks the Lubavitcher Rebbe's 120th birthday by explaining what makes the Rebbe unique in Jewish history. He describes the Rebbe's greatness in breadth, depth and length: the hundreds of thousands of letters and the multitudes who came to see him, the way he changed lives, and an influence that passes on to further generations. He calls the Rebbe a revolutionary who moved Jewish life from an insular community to public expression, such as the public Chanukah menorahs, and who believed in people's potential. Rabbi Greenberg illustrates the Rebbe's love for every Jew with stories: a suicidal young man who chose to live after the Rebbe wept for him, the Rebbe's definition of a true friend, and the Rebbe blessing Rabbi Greenberg's wife with nachas from her children after she had asked only for someone else. He also describes the Rebbe's long hours of prayer at his father-in-law's gravesite, the mitzvah campaigns, his hundreds of volumes of teachings, his encouragement of women, youth and seniors, the seven Noahide commandments, and above all his efforts to bring Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lzznk1vjMBc 997 2022-04-12T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seder-essentials-part-4/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aAM8t9tWcFY/hqdefault.jpg Seder Essentials - Part 4 Rabbi Greenberg explains Rachtzah, the second hand washing, and Motzi Matzah at the Seder. The first washing removed impurities left from exile; this one lifts us from one level of holiness to a higher one, since leaving Egypt is a continual process. It parallels the two reasons for matzah: at the start of the Seder it is the bread of affliction, and later it is the bread of redemption, eaten because we left Egypt in haste. The Motzi blessing acknowledges that God, not nature, brings forth bread, freeing us from a narrow view of where things come from; Kabbalah adds that the divine spark in food, which gives us life, is liberated through the blessing. The second blessing, on the mitzvah of eating matzah, recalls the Zohar's description of matzah as bread of faith and of healing, the one mitzvah we actually ingest. Rabbi Greenberg notes that matzah and chametz share two letters; chametz has a ches, closed on top, while matzah has a hey, whose left leg leaves an opening at the top. Ego has no escape, but the humility of matzah leaves an opening to rise out of our inner exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aAM8t9tWcFY 549 2022-04-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-haggadah-revisited/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q7T2NNVdyqU/hqdefault.jpg The Haggadah Revisited In this second class on the Haggadah, Rabbi Greenberg explains key passages of the Pesach seder text. He opens with Shabbos HaGadol, when Egyptian firstborn fought for the Jews' release, a sign that the goal is to transform evil into good, and a call to a mature rather than childish Judaism. On "This is the bread of affliction," he gives the Rebbe's explanation: the Jews took Egypt with them, which is why exile and poverty remain, and each seder removes more of that inner Egypt. A simpler reading is that one must feel the bondage to appreciate freedom. The Four Questions are one question with four answers: dipping shows we can change our nature, matzah is humility, bitter herbs let us feel others' pain, and reclining expresses our royalty. In "We were slaves," "our fathers" alludes to the intellect, which was also enslaved and was freed only at Sinai; Pharaoh, "evil mouth," corrupted speech, so we must keep speaking about the Exodus. He also discusses the five rabbis who told the story all night though none descended from slaves, since every Jew shares the experience; Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria's "I am like seventy," which the Kabbalists explain through reincarnation; the four sons, where the wicked son's rebellion reveals a high soul; and the plagues as a ten-step program for change. The lice, which the magicians could not copy, teach that small acts matter to God, as the Rebbe showed when a child's letter about praying before the school bus lifted his spirits. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q7T2NNVdyqU 4361 2022-04-11T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seder-essentials-part-3/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IY66h19aZos/hqdefault.jpg Seder Essentials - Part 3 Rabbi Greenberg explains the fourth and fifth steps of the Pesach Seder: breaking the middle matzah, and Maggid, telling the story. Matzah, made of flour and water that is not allowed to rise, symbolizes humility, which is needed to empathize with those in slavery. Breaking it recalls the "bread of a poor person," who eats only a small piece and saves the rest, and real poverty, he says, is a lack of knowledge. The smaller piece stays on the Seder plate, while the larger piece is saved for the afikoman at the end of the meal, a sign that although we are now in exile we keep our optimism for the ultimate freedom of the final redemption. Maggid is the most important mitzvah of the night: one tells the story to one's child, spouse, guest or oneself, and the child is also the child within each of us. The invitation "whoever is hungry, come and eat" comes too late to reach outside guests, so it invites everyone present, including ourselves, to take part rather than watch. We are the children who ask the Four Questions, and that inner child is the part God loves most. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IY66h19aZos 310 2022-04-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/remedying-broken-relationships/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9lXhM8dPcgY/hqdefault.jpg Remedying Broken Relationships Rabbi Greenberg asks why relationships break down so often today and what can be done about it, using the Torah's discussion of tzaraas, a skin affliction that punished lashon hara (slander) with isolation, measure for measure. Since it struck holy people such as Moses and Miriam, Chassidic thought explains tzaraas as a powerful spiritual force the person could not ground. Drawing on Kabbalah, he contrasts the world of tohu (chaos), with abundant light but small vessels, and the world of tikkun (correction), with less light but broad vessels. A tohu personality is zealous but one-sided and clashes with others, like Nadav and Avihu or Rabbi Akiva's students; a tikkun personality is balanced and gets along. Following the Rebbe, he describes exile as a surge of spiritual energy without vessels to contain it, which is why relationships are breaking down now, at the threshold of the Messianic age. The cure is studying Torah with humility: Torah corresponds to tiferes, harmony, and can fuse the light of tohu into the vessels of tikkun, first within ourselves and then with others. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9lXhM8dPcgY 1043 2022-04-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seder-essentials-part-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4pHNWOJFCEQ/hqdefault.jpg Seder Essentials - Part 2 Rabbi Greenberg explains the opening steps of the Seder: Kadesh, Urchatz and Karpas. Kadesh declares that God made us holy when He took us out of Egypt, even though we were not ready. But a person who feels holy and does nothing more can become complacent, so Kadesh is followed by Urchatz, washing the hands. The simple reason for washing is an opinion that one washes before eating moist food, which most people do not follow except at the Seder, where we do things differently so the children will ask. On a deeper level, it teaches us to break out of convention, as long as this is not driven by ego, which is the message of chametz. For Karpas we dip a vegetable, not one of the bitter herbs, in salt water. The Hebrew for dipping, tevel, rearranged reads bitul, nullification, since the dipped food loses its own taste. The Rebbe's Haggadah commentary links Kadesh and Urchatz to the attributes of wisdom and understanding, which the Zohar calls two friends that never separate: an idea must be both received and fully worked out. Karpas, numerically equal to the phrase "as the waters cover the sea," gives a taste of the redemption, when the world will be immersed in the knowledge of God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4pHNWOJFCEQ 456 2022-04-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/reciprocity-in-judaism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6ZOi__gKLrM/hqdefault.jpg Reciprocity in Judaism Rabbi Greenberg explains the reciprocity between a person seeking healing and the righteous leader, drawing on the purification of the metzora, one afflicted with tzara'as, a spiritual skin disease that is not leprosy. The Torah says the metzora "shall be brought to the kohen," yet also that "the kohen shall go out of the camp," and adds that the tzara'as had been healed "from the metzora." Rabbi Greenberg reads the kohen as a symbol of the tzaddik, the spiritual mentor. A person with a moral or spiritual lapse must first recognize it and take the initiative to seek help from outside, since one cannot heal entirely alone. The mentor, in turn, must recognize that he is not the one doing the healing: coming to him ignites a spark within the person, and the person heals himself. The same applies to Mashiach, whom the Talmud calls a metzora. Since there is no king without a nation, the people give the leader the power to lead, and Mashiach in turn ignites the spark within them. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ZOi__gKLrM 370 2022-04-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-seder-revisited-run-your-seder-like-a-pro/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dbkZ9gGxM58/hqdefault.jpg The Seder Revisited: Run Your Seder Like a Pro! Rabbi Greenberg walks through the 15 steps of the Pesach Seder and the meaning behind each ritual. Seder means order, he explains, because the night is designed to educate children, and every person has a childlike part and something of all four sons. The name "Passover Seder" is itself a paradox: passing over means transcending limits, and the goal is to bring that transcendence into structure. Mitzrayim, Egypt, means confinement, and the night is about breaking out of our own limits and addictions as our own story, not history. Kadesh tells us God makes us holy despite our flaws. Washing and dipping karpas change the routine so children ask questions, and dipping expresses self-nullification. Breaking the middle matzah, the poor man's bread, expresses humility, while saving the larger half for the afikoman guards against depression. In Maggid, "let all who are hungry come" is an invitation to ourselves to participate rather than watch, as the Rebbe told a bar mitzvah boy who left baseball games he watched but not ones he played. The Abarbanel reads the four questions as one question about opposites, and the story begins with both physical slavery and idol worship. Eating matzah is the only mitzvah in which eating itself is the goal. Romaine lettuce, sweet at first and later bitter, shows that enslavement and decline happen gradually, and charoses tempers the bitterness. Hillel's sandwich joins opposites. He also explains the afikoman, Elijah's cup and the hope for redemption, and why Chabad does not declare the Seder over. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dbkZ9gGxM58 3855 2022-04-04T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/animals-vs-humans/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e14sAPTJyQc/hqdefault.jpg Animals vs. Humans Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah teaches the laws of animals, such as which are kosher, before the laws of people, such as birth, circumcision and tzaraas. The sages quoted by Rashi say the order follows creation, and the Talmud gives two reasons why animals were created first: to show that even a mosquito precedes a person who sins, and to have the table set for man. Rabbi Greenberg locates man's inferiority in the fact that, unlike an animal, a person is never satisfied. That endless wanting comes from the divine soul's thirst for more closeness to an infinite God, which the animal soul misreads as a desire for more physical pleasure. The same restlessness is man's strength: only a person can keep growing, going from strength to strength. Refining an animal is a limited task, often completed with a blessing, while refining the human being comes afterward and is harder. Rabbi Greenberg links this to the seven nations of Canaan and the three more promised to Abraham: the seven emotional traits are refined now, while the three intellectual faculties await the Messianic era, which Torah study helps prepare for. https://www.youtube.com/embed/e14sAPTJyQc 998 2022-03-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seder-essentials-part-1/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Uy3hx-quWko/hqdefault.jpg Seder Essentials - Part 1 Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of order at the Passover Seder and its first two steps. Seder means order, which education requires, yet Pesach also means passing over, transcending order. Following the Rebbe, he explains that the Seder's fifteen steps correspond to the letters yud and hei of God's name, which add up to fifteen and represent wisdom and understanding: the Seder brings what is beyond logic into our conscious minds. The Seder focuses on the child within each of us, and the four sons are four parts of ourselves, the wise, the rebellious, the simple and the one who does not ask, and the Rebbe's fifth son who does not come. The Seder begins with Kiddush, sanctifying the day, and only then washes the hands, reversing the usual order of cleansing before sanctification. Usually, as Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev taught, we must open a small door and God responds; Rosh Hashanah follows a month of preparation, in the spirit of "I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me." On Passover God passes over that need and declares us holy first, as in the reverse verse, "My beloved is to me, and I am to him." https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uy3hx-quWko 410 2022-03-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/allergic-to-evil/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UPIosIJK5wE/hqdefault.jpg Allergic to Evil Rabbi Greenberg explains the biblical skin affliction tzaraas, often confused with leprosy, as a spiritual malady rather than a contagious disease. The Talmud teaches that it came as a consequence of lashon hara, slander. The Alter Rebbe explains that it struck people on a high spiritual level: in less righteous people evil is internalized, but in someone whose inner self is pure, even a subtle flaw surfaces on the skin, like an allergy to evil. Rabbi Greenberg explains that Mashiach is called by a name meaning one afflicted with this condition, not because he is imperfect, but because in his era the cumulative good of thousands of years of mitzvos has left only surface evil, the conflicts and hatred of this generation, ready to be removed. The lesson is to be sensitive to evil in our speech above all, since we carry a distinguished guest, the divine soul, within us, and to use the power of speech to speak well of others, praise God, pray and study Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UPIosIJK5wE 271 2022-03-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-basics-of-judaism-overview-of-the-613-commandments/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dNL434JoLwA/hqdefault.jpg The Basics of Judaism: Overview of the 613 Commandments Rabbi Greenberg gives an overview of the Torah's 613 commandments, how they are counted, and how many apply today. The Torah never speaks of "Ten Commandments"; the Aseres HaDibros are ten statements containing many commandments, and Rashi cites Rabbi Saadia Gaon that they have 613 letters. The 613, a number given in the Talmud, are 248 positive and 365 negative commandments, while the seven Noahide laws for non-Jews are seven categories with many details. Without the Beis HaMikdash and without most Jews living in the Land of Israel, fewer than half can be kept today, and many apply only to particular people, so perhaps 150 apply to every Jew regularly. Grouping them by theme, he surveys about 56 commandments: knowing God, His unity, revering and loving Him, prayer, Shema, emulating God, Torah study, tefillin, tzitzis, mezuzah, writing a Torah scroll, Grace after Meals, teshuvah and circumcision on the eighth day. He stresses the gravity of swearing falsely or in vain, which drags God into one's lie. He then covers Shabbos, Pesach (destroying chametz, selling it through a rabbi, eating matzah and telling the story only after nightfall), counting the Omer, shofar, the Yom Kippur fast, sukkah and lulav. Commandments of authority include heeding a proven prophet, appointing a king, following the rabbis and honoring parents. Social commandments include loving one's fellow and the convert, charity, lending without pressuring the poor, returning lost objects, saving lives and not causing anguish. He ends with the dietary laws and the Alter Rebbe's explanation in the Tanya of why loving one's fellow is the whole Torah: it requires the soul to rule over the body, the goal of every commandment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dNL434JoLwA 4151 2022-03-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/seniority-or-superiority/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F5wyfdhME4k/hqdefault.jpg Seniority or Superiority? Rabbi Greenberg asks whether seniority or superiority should prevail, through a cryptic Midrash on the death of Nadav and Avihu in Parshas Shemini. When fire entered their nostrils, the ministering angels asked God why He split the sea for Israel, the seraphim said "Return us to You," and others said "Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever." Following a 19th-century Sephardic rabbi from Turkey, he explains that Nadav and Avihu were spiritually greater than Moses and Aaron, yet the elders prevailed, implying that seniority, with its experience, outweighs superiority. If so, the angels argued, the sea, created before man, should not have split for him; the angels, created before humanity, should have received the Torah; and the people's whispering of "Blessed be the name," which Moses took from the angels, admits the angels' precedence. Rabbi Greenberg answers with a Chassidic analogy: when building a house, the finished home is the first thing one thinks of, though it is completed last. God's first thought in creation was the Jewish people receiving the Torah and making the physical world a dwelling place for Him, so they have both superiority and seniority. Nadav and Avihu's passion, which led their souls to leave their bodies, was a high level, but it did not fit that first thought of transforming the physical world from within. https://www.youtube.com/embed/F5wyfdhME4k 1057 2022-03-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/relationships-the-energy-of-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/93Ec2kQ8B40/hqdefault.jpg Relationships: The Energy of Life Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Hebrew word for life, chaim, is plural, and what that teaches about healthy relationships. The Rebbe explained that life worthy of the name is lived with and for others. Rabbi Greenberg adds a second meaning: a human being is not a programmed, one-dimensional creature like an animal or even an angel, but a complex being made up of many traits. The Talmud says the teachings of both Shammai's and Hillel's schools are "the words of the living God," because the one divine light is refracted through different attributes, as Shammai leaned toward gevurah, judgment, and Hillel toward kindness. Every person contains all these traits, so acting kindly one day and harshly the next does not make him a hypocrite, only someone who has not yet learned to balance his emotions. A true hypocrite acts piously only to deceive. Likewise, the Alter Rebbe teaches in the Tanya that stray thoughts during prayer come from the animal soul resisting the Godly soul, and are a sign that the prayer has value, not a reason to despair. The Torah is the great balancing force. The Rebbe explained that the world exists through justice, truth and peace, but stands, meaning it is stable, through Torah, prayer and kindness, because the Torah tells each attribute when and where it belongs. A person who recognizes and balances the different sides of his own personality can also find ways to complement others who are different, and so build healthy relationships. https://www.youtube.com/embed/93Ec2kQ8B40 1270 2022-03-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/numbers-in-judaism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y7x-a_zppwA/hqdefault.jpg Numbers in Judaism Rabbi Greenberg explains what the number eight means in Judaism and how it differs from seven. In Hebrew, he notes, letters are numbers and each number carries meaning: one is the one God, two the two tablets, six the six days and six directions, and seven the culmination, the divine core that unites the other six, which is Shabbos. This week's Torah portion is named for the eighth day, when the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary, was consecrated after seven days of preparation. In Kabbalah and Chassidic thought, eight signifies going beyond the system of creation, even beyond Shabbos, which is why circumcision on the eighth day overrides Shabbos. Rabbi Greenberg distinguishes two kinds of eight: one reached by counting up to seven and then recognizing that the system points to something beyond it, and one that comes from above without depending on seven. In the era of Mashiach, whose harp will have eight strings instead of King David's seven, the truly transcendent eight will enter our consciousness and merge with the seven. https://www.youtube.com/embed/y7x-a_zppwA 292 2022-03-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-pursuit-of-truth-from-loving-ways-of-righteousness-to-judging-people-favorably/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hWiPm7r0Sq8/hqdefault.jpg The Pursuit of Truth: From Loving Ways of Righteousness to Judging People Favorably Rabbi Greenberg concludes a course on the 48 ways of acquiring the Torah, which he calls the ultimate truth, covering the last twelve. Not letting one's heart swell with learning addresses an inner arrogance, feeling superior even while acting humbly; he cites the Maggid of Mezritch, the Baal Shem Tov and the Rebbe, who all shrank from public leadership. Reluctance to issue rulings reflects the responsibility and power they carry, which one should accept only reluctantly and with consultation. Sharing a fellow's burden, as Moshe did by joining his enslaved brethren, builds the unity that, as the last Mishnah teaches, is the vessel for blessing. Judging others favorably shows real unity, since it is how we treat ourselves, and he reads Hillel's "what is hateful to you" this way. Leading others in the path of truth and peace means welcoming questions without letting the pursuit of truth breed intolerance, as with Rabbi Akiva's students. Settling into study means preparing, not ruling hastily, and making study permanent. Students should ask and also try to answer; one should listen before adding original insight, and learn in order to teach and to observe. Making one's teacher wiser is illustrated by Rabbi Yochanan, who could not be consoled for losing Reish Lakish's challenges. One should quote a teacher precisely and reconcile apparent contradictions. Saying something in the name of its speaker brings redemption, as when Esther told the king in Mordechai's name; the Rebbe explains that crediting the author points to God as the author of all. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hWiPm7r0Sq8 3650 2022-03-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-basics-of-judaism-overview-of-the-jewish-daily-cycle/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mbgZRsW_x8A/hqdefault.jpg The Basics of Judaism: Overview of the Jewish Daily Cycle Rabbi Greenberg gives an overview of the Jewish daily cycle, from waking to going to sleep. He notes that Judaism places special emphasis on the holiness of time, and that the Jewish day begins the evening before. On waking, a Jew first says Modeh Ani, a short prayer of thanks that omits God's name because the body is not yet clean; the Rebbe called it his favorite prayer because it expresses the essence of the soul. Hands are washed from a vessel, and the morning blessings thank God for everything, down to the body's working properly and the gift of the Torah. He then covers putting on the tallis katan, giving a coin to charity each morning, and prayer, which the Zohar likens to Jacob's ladder: one climbs from the lowest point to the top and then brings the inspiration down. Torah study follows prayer, and every food has its own blessing, since gratitude should be specific. Work is a legitimate part of Jewish life when it is honest and aimed at supporting a family so as to serve God; a person who cheats in business should not call himself religious. The afternoon prayer interrupts the workday, and the evening prayer teaches acknowledging God in dark times. Sleep, he explains, is not wasted time but a cleansing of the soul from the day's empty words and thoughts. Before sleep one recites the Shema and a prayer forgiving everyone who caused one harm, and Rabbi Greenberg adds that refusing to accept God's forgiveness can be a form of ego. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mbgZRsW_x8A 2925 2022-03-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/empty-your-hearts-pocket/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YY8Aa2WUvDQ/hqdefault.jpg Empty your Heart's Pocket Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah says "command" regarding the burnt offering, and what it means to empty the heart's "pocket." Rashi says the stronger word is needed where there is chisaron kis, a loss to the pocket. A burnt offering was entirely consumed on the altar, while a peace offering was shared between the altar, the kohen and the owner. The Talmud says the son of David will not come until the last coin is gone from the pocket. A Chassidic commentary notes that kis also means the pericardium, the casing around the heart, and the word for coin can mean the individual. Rabbi Greenberg suggests two models of wanting Mashiach. One, linked to King Solomon and the peace offering, wants redemption also for peace and prosperity, which Maimonides addresses when he says delights will be as plentiful as dust. The higher model, of King David, who asked only to dwell in God's house, wants it purely for closeness to God. Emptying the "pocket" around the heart means no longer needing external motives, which is why a sage answered when the son of David will come by quoting "This is the law of the burnt offering." https://www.youtube.com/embed/YY8Aa2WUvDQ 1099 2022-03-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-kabbalah-of-hamantaschen/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/47bOqZ1H9Mw/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Hamantaschen Rabbi Greenberg explains why Jews eat hamantaschen on Purim and why they are triangular pastries with a hidden filling. The name has nothing to do with Haman's hat, pockets or ears; it means pockets of poppy seeds, recalling that Queen Esther kept kosher in the king's palace by eating seeds. The filling is hidden inside the dough because Purim is a hidden miracle: the Talmud links the name Esther to a word meaning concealment, and the events looked like coincidences though God orchestrated them. The three corners recall Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Jews of that time were assimilating, so they were saved through the merit of the patriarchs. On a deeper level, every Jew inherits the patriarchs' traits of kindness, devotion and compassion, which lie concealed and emerge in times of crisis; Megillah relates to a word meaning to reveal, and revealing that energy brings redemption. He also cites an explanation he read: two kinds of grain may not be planted together unless one intrudes in a triangle, keeping them clearly distinct, just as Jews take part in society while keeping their own identity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/47bOqZ1H9Mw 529 2022-03-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-myth-of-sacrifices/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8idGLU7HE94/hqdefault.jpg The Myth of Sacrifices Rabbi Greenberg explains the purpose of sacrifices in the Beis HaMikdash and corrects a common myth: that an offering was the only way to gain atonement for a sin. The Torah requires an offering only for unintentional sins, and only for the category of sins punishable by karas, being cut off from God. An intentional sin was atoned for by the punishment the Torah assigns. An unintentional sin needed an animal offering because it shows a person has become so desensitized to God's will, often through immersion in a materialistic society, that the animal within him commits wrongs without noticing. Today, without the Temple, the Torah itself forbids bringing offerings, so all that is needed is teshuvah, returning to God with a firm resolution not to repeat the sin. Rabbi Greenberg cites the prophet Hoshea: our lips take the place of bulls, through studying the laws of sacrifices, prayer and confession. When the Temple is rebuilt in the messianic age, he notes, the sages say the only private offering that will remain is the thanksgiving offering. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8idGLU7HE94 324 2022-03-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-pursuit-of-truth-from-the-capacity-to-absorb-pain-to-loving-all-of-g-ds-creatures/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BdUuXwGzMQA/hqdefault.jpg The Pursuit of Truth: From the Capacity to Absorb Pain to Loving All of G-d's Creatures Rabbi Greenberg continues his series on the 48 ways of acquiring Torah, the pursuit of truth, explaining the qualities from being happy with one's lot to keeping far from honor. Wealth is not a dirty word, but an obsession with it, which only keeps growing, leaves no room for Torah. Being happy with one's lot also means appreciating that God gave us a share in His Torah, and being satisfied with one's own level of learning, as the Rebbe told a struggling yeshiva student: he was created to serve God, not to become the greatest scholar. Making a fence around one's words means speaking clearly, using memory aids, and going beyond the letter of the law. Claiming no credit means always striving for more and sharing one's knowledge with others. Being loved draws students and study partners. Loving God means loving the Torah as His love letter to us, and loving His creatures means teaching others, which tests and deepens one's own understanding. Loving righteousness means being straight and giving charity while getting others to give. Loving justice means applying knowledge to real cases, as an 18th-century rabbi of Prague showed when he could tell which test question was only hypothetical. Loving rebuke means welcoming criticism, like the grandson of the first Gerrer Rebbe, and offering it constructively. Keeping far from honor recalls the third Chabad Rebbe, who felt honor as his blood being shed. The common thread is that ego stands in the way of Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BdUuXwGzMQA 2906 2022-03-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-basics-of-judaism-overview-of-jewish-annual-cycle/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ayuET23fFrc/hqdefault.jpg The Basics of Judaism: Overview of Jewish Annual Cycle Rabbi Greenberg surveys the Jewish annual cycle, giving the basics of each holiday along with ideas less widely known, shortly before Purim. Rosh Hashanah is the "head" of the year that governs the rest of it, marking the creation of Adam and Eve, when creation was given a purpose; the shofar crowns God as King. Yom Kippur marks God's forgiveness after the golden calf, and its five prayers reach all five levels of the soul. On Sukkos God embraces the Jewish people in the sukkah, and the four species express their unity; Shemini Atzeret is God's private day with Israel, while the joy of Simchas Torah rests on custom alone. Chanukah celebrates the victory over Hellenism, not religious freedom, and the oil recalls the pure soul within each Jew. God's name is absent from the Book of Esther because His presence was hidden, and Esther, who insisted the book be written, is its main hero. He lists Purim's laws, including the Megillah, gifts of food and to the poor, and the feast with wine, and explains that Purim requires a feast while Chanukah does not because Haman threatened Jewish bodies while the Greeks targeted the soul. Pesach falls in Nissan, the new year for miracles. He explains chametz, the eighteen-minute rule, shmurah matzah, the sale of chametz, and eating the matzah and four cups after nightfall even when the Seder starts earlier. At Sinai God removed the barrier between physical and spiritual, so every mitzvah generates spiritual energy. He closes with the fast days and minor festivals, and explains that Shavuos is one day because the Torah transcends time. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ayuET23fFrc 3430 2022-03-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/ukraine-and-how-you-can-help/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z9aiWiYwfO4/hqdefault.jpg Ukraine and How You Can Help Rabbi Greenberg explains what an individual can do about the war between Russia and Ukraine beyond giving to refugees, including the Jewish refugees being forced out of Ukraine. Because nothing happens down here unless something is going on above, a world-encompassing event like this war has a spiritual parallel, and our sages say that when nations provoke each other we are ready for Mashiach. The redemption need not come through war; it can be brought about by acts of goodness, kindness and holiness. The first step, he says, is to live now as we will in the messianic age, an era defined by peace: promoting love and unity, especially within the Jewish community, and turning good intentions into action every day. Torah study, charity and teshuvah (returning to God's teachings through new resolutions to do mitzvos) all hasten the redemption. For all humanity, war is a breach of civilized existence, countered by committing to the seven Noahide commandments, which he lists, and which will make the world ready for God's presence in the third Beis HaMikdash. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z9aiWiYwfO4 532 2022-03-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/just-one-letter/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jotK-FnkIaA/hqdefault.jpg Just One Letter Rabbi Greenberg explains why the central and holiest of the five books of Moses is named Vayikra, "and He called." Genesis and Exodus describe the creation of a world and a nation with purpose, while Numbers and Deuteronomy describe wandering and rebuke, which signify our long experience of exile. Vayikra is the link that brings the first two books into the last two. The Torah uses a similar word, vayikar, when God speaks to the wicked prophet Bilaam, meaning a chance, unwanted encounter. Vayikra, said to Moses, expresses love, and differs only by its small aleph, which reflects Moses' humility. The aleph stands for God: the first letter, the number one, the Master and Teacher of the universe, and when rearranged, "wonders." Adding it transforms a word from one extreme to the other: golah (exile) becomes geulah (redemption), as the Rebbe pointed out; rash (poor) becomes rosh (head); bor (pit) becomes be'er (well); and mes (dead) becomes emes (truth). A loving relationship with God brings purpose into exile. Ultimately redemption came first, since the light of the first day of creation is the light of the Messianic age, and our task is to reveal that original state within exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jotK-FnkIaA 886 2022-03-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/relationships-the-breakdown-of-communication/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IpkQbR74S6Y/hqdefault.jpg Relationships: The Breakdown of Communication Rabbi Greenberg explains why relationships are breaking down even though people today can communicate more easily than ever. He argues that poor communication is a symptom, not the cause: to relate to others, a person must first have a healthy relationship with himself. Centuries of suffering culminating in the Holocaust, and a kind of divine sedative that numbs the pain, have dulled people's feelings, while both deflated and inflated self-esteem block the ability to express emotion. He cites the Arizal's reading of Pesach as "the mouth that speaks": a slave has no identity, and liberation brings true speech. Drawing on the Maharal, he links Torah, prayer and acts of kindness to one's relationship with oneself, with God and with others. A Chassidic master read "love your fellow as yourself" as first requiring self-love, and the Mishnah's "the world was created for me" means each person has a unique mission: to reveal the good hidden in a world (olam) whose name means concealment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/IpkQbR74S6Y 862 2022-03-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/sacrifice-or-transformation/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CQay839a0Bk/hqdefault.jpg Sacrifice or Transformation? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Hebrew word korban, used throughout the opening of Vayikra, does not really mean "sacrifice." Its root, karov, means near: bringing a korban drew the person, and whatever he brought, closer to God. A sacrifice means giving up one thing for a greater benefit, like a sacrifice fly in baseball, and in that sense everything we do, from going to work to eating an apple, would be a sacrifice. Rather, he says, what we call sacrifice is really conversion: food eaten is transformed into energy for the person. With a korban, the animal was raised to the human level, and the person in turn made himself godly. The Temple offerings combined mineral (salt), vegetation (flour, oil and wine), animal, and a human being, the kohen, so that all four elements of the world were elevated and brought closer to God. Even without the Temple, as we prepare for the Third Temple and Mashiach, this elevation fulfills the purpose of making the world a dwelling place for God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CQay839a0Bk 289 2022-03-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-basics-judaism-101-lesson-4/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F02fOFuhtD4/hqdefault.jpg The Basics: Judaism 101 - Lesson 4 Rabbi Greenberg surveys the Jewish life cycle from before birth to after death. Most souls have lived before and return to complete their mission, which is why Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah could say he was "like 70" at 18. A birthday marks building beyond what was given; a child's Hebrew name is connected to the soul; and the Shalom Zachar consoles the newborn boy's soul for the Torah it forgot at birth. The bris, on the eighth day and not before, seals a covenant with God and is best done by a mohel; the Rambam's reason is to curb desire, and another is to reveal the soul's feelings. He explains the pidyon haben for a firstborn son, a boy's first haircut at three, and the Rebbe's custom for girls to light Shabbos candles from age three. At bar and bat mitzvah, at 13 for a boy and 12 for a girl, the Godly soul is fully vested in the body, whether or not there is a ceremony. The Rebbe celebrated teenagers' rebelliousness, which should be directed rightly. Dating is only for finding a spouse, and marriage reunites two halves of one soul, which is the main reason intermarriage is wrong. In middle age the soul asks, as the Alter Rebbe explained God's question to Adam, "Where are you?" The elderly deserve respect for their life experience. After death the soul lives on; the body must be treated with dignity and buried in the ground in simple shrouds and a plain box, as Rabban Gamliel instituted to spare the poor, and cremation is strictly forbidden. https://www.youtube.com/embed/F02fOFuhtD4 3390 2022-03-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-pursuit-of-truth-from-minimizing-ones-preoccupation-with-the-material-to-faith-in-the-sages/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xzVkNInRQdM/hqdefault.jpg The Pursuit of Truth: From Minimizing One's Preoccupation with the Material to Faith in the Sages Rabbi Greenberg continues a list of 48 qualities for acquiring Torah, covering ten in this class. A minimum of pleasure, illustrated by Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, who after Yom Kippur ignored his water to study a whole tractate all night, means never feeling that one's learning is finished; as the Rebbe told someone after a major achievement, he was happy but not satisfied. A minimum of sleep means not indulging in it, since night is the best time to learn. A minimum of conversation means avoiding idle and forbidden talk, teaching succinctly, and perhaps giving Torah study more weight than prayer, since in Torah God speaks to us. Laughter has a place, as when the Talmudic sage Rabbah opened with a joke, but should not take over. Anger drives away the Divine Presence and made even Moses forget his learning. A good heart means the sensitivity Torah requires and rejoicing in another's success rather than rejecting an idea because it was not one's own. Faith in the sages means trusting the unbroken chain of teachers back to Sinai, who must be learned, scrupulous in practice, spiritual and humble, while not claiming they are infallible. Acceptance of suffering means not seeking it but letting it cleanse a person once it comes, as the previous Rebbe said of his own suffering under the Communists. Knowing one's place means neither inflating nor belittling oneself, as shown by a struggling student who persisted until he became the best student. Rashi reads it as having a fixed place to learn, others as knowing one's sources, and a disciple of the Arizal as recognizing the soul's higher source and potential. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xzVkNInRQdM 2335 2022-03-06T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/are-good-intentions-enough/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zU2GaRjHhbU/hqdefault.jpg Are Good Intentions Enough? Rabbi Greenberg asks why the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary, was completed on the 25th of Kislev but not consecrated until Nisan, and answers that inner goodness alone is not enough; it has to show in action. The Midrash says Kislev was later compensated with Chanukah, and Nisan was chosen because it is the month Isaac was born. He explains with a Talmudic passage: told that the Jewish people sinned, Abraham and Jacob answered that they should die to sanctify God's name, meaning that even sinful Jews are ready to give their lives for their faith, as he illustrates with a Holocaust story of an assimilated Jew who was shot for refusing to tell fasting Jews to eat on Yom Kippur. God said this was not enough. Isaac, who dug wells to bring water to the surface, argued that Jews have mitzvos on the surface too, so it is to Isaac that we will say "You are our father." The Mishkan, where God dwells among the people, required that devotion be expressed in deeds, the garments in which one comes before the King. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zU2GaRjHhbU 914 2022-03-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/relationships-the-last-challenge/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/j5tWtlLvC1E/hqdefault.jpg Relationships: The Last Challenge In the first class of a series on relationships, Rabbi Greenberg explains why today's interest in relationships and in spirituality are connected. Living on the threshold between exile and redemption, we still carry exile's alienation from ourselves and one another, yet we can glimpse the future, so we search both for better relationships and for meaning. Quoting Sefer Yetzirah, "the end is wedged in the beginning," he traces division back to creation: the separation of the upper and lower waters, Adam blaming Eve, and Cain killing Abel. The Torah does not say what the brothers fought about because division takes on a life of its own, as he saw in two community leaders who no longer remembered why they had stopped speaking. The model of true unity came at Sinai, when the Torah removed the barrier between upper and lower. Before the Exodus, in the plague of darkness, one could not see his brother, yet the Jews had light; our generation likewise has both. Citing the Rambam's description of the Messianic era, he concludes that knowledge of God's oneness will heal all divisions and bring complete relationships. https://www.youtube.com/embed/j5tWtlLvC1E 894 2022-03-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moses-the-auditor/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O74aCjXHdaU/hqdefault.jpg Moses: The Auditor Rabbi Greenberg explains why Moses audited the materials given for the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, when no one asked for an accounting of the gold given for the golden calf. When a Jew gives to a holy cause he wants every bit used for it. When he gives to something wrong, part of him, as the Rambam teaches, still wants to do right and is glad if his money is not used. That inner regret makes teshuvah, return to God, always possible. https://www.youtube.com/embed/O74aCjXHdaU 175 2022-02-28T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-basics-of-judaism-overview-of-jewish-beliefs/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n1uQHm7oZvg/hqdefault.jpg The Basics of Judaism: Overview of Jewish Beliefs Rabbi Greenberg gives an overview of Jewish beliefs in this third class of his basics of Judaism series, rejecting the myth that Judaism does not focus on faith. Faith is the foundation, he explains, but it has no purpose unless a building of action is built on it. The Rambam was the first he knows of to formulate thirteen principles of faith, distilling beliefs found throughout Jewish literature; others who counted fewer principles disagreed only about which beliefs are foundational. He goes through the thirteen: God's existence as Creator; His absolute unity, which the Chassidic masters take to mean nothing exists besides Him; His non-corporeality, so physical descriptions of God are metaphors; His eternity; worship of God alone without intermediaries, which differs from asking a holy person to pray for us; prophecy, with the credentials of a true prophet; the unique clarity of Moses' prophecy; the divine origin of the whole Torah, written and oral; the Torah's immutability; God's knowledge and providence; reward and punishment; Mashiach; and the resurrection of the dead. He then adds beliefs outside the list: the soul, free choice, the eternity and chosenness of the Jewish people, the afterlife with a Garden of Eden and a cleansing process for the soul, reincarnation, which the Rambam never mentions but the Zohar discusses repeatedly, and angels, spiritual beings without free choice who serve as God's messengers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/n1uQHm7oZvg 3245 2022-02-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/four-dimensions-of-shabbat/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dxv0-MIpmZk/hqdefault.jpg Four Dimensions of Shabbat Rabbi Greenberg explains the four dimensions of Shabbos through the four reasons given for lighting Shabbos candles. The candles honor Shabbos; they allow us to enjoy it, since one cannot enjoy a meal in the dark; and they bring peace to the home, so people do not stumble and clash. A fourth reason comes from Rabbi Yosef Karo's Maggid Meisharim on the verse in this week's portion forbidding lighting a fire on Shabbos. The Sadducees and later the Karaites, who rejected the Oral Torah, sat in the dark and cold and ate cold food, so lighting candles beforehand, like eating cholent, shows that we follow the written and Oral Torah together. These reasons reflect four elements of Shabbos: honoring God as Creator; the divine delight of completed work, when the soul withdraws into its essence; unity between people and between body and soul, which makes even enjoying food a mitzvah; and the integrity of the whole Torah, which, the Talmud says, was given on Shabbos. Rabbi Greenberg relates each one to the Messianic age, the Shabbos of existence, when God's glory, delight and unity, and all levels of the Torah, will be fully revealed. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dxv0-MIpmZk 1044 2022-02-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/how-do-we-prepare-for-moshiach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/asFPIXZ4E7g/hqdefault.jpg How Do We Prepare for Moshiach? Rabbi Greenberg explains how we prepare for Mashiach and the final redemption. God created the world with a plan: that people, through the seven Noahide laws and the Jewish people's 613 mitzvos, make the physical world a dwelling place for Him. According to the Midrash, "the spirit of God hovering over the waters" is the spirit of Mashiach, and the Rebbe explains that "Let there be light" on the first day states the goal of creation. Since the energy of every mitzvah accumulates, and, as Maimonides says, one should see the world as evenly balanced, any single mitzvah could tip the scales and bring the redemption. He then lists specific preparations. Yearning for Mashiach, not merely believing, matters; the Chafetz Chaim said that if Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik could not refuse the Jews of Brisk who came out to welcome him, God cannot refuse generations of Jews pleading for Mashiach. Others are joy, emphasized by the Rebbe; charity, which the Tanya says refines the whole person; study of the inner dimension of Torah; Shabbos observance; teshuvah, returning; senseless love to repair senseless hatred; and recognizing miracles. Preparing also means being ready to absorb the Messianic age more deeply. https://www.youtube.com/embed/asFPIXZ4E7g 928 2022-02-23T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-pursuit-of-truth-lesson-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XKC8eWDgyL0/hqdefault.jpg The Pursuit of Truth - Lesson 2 Rabbi Greenberg continues the 48 ways of acquiring Torah listed in Ethics of the Fathers, covering numbers nine through sixteen. Purity comes first because Torah is overtly holy, while in nature (teva, "submerged") holiness is hidden until it is used for a holy purpose. Children are taught Leviticus first because they are pure, and the world exists on the breath of schoolchildren, which is why the Soviets most opposed the previous Rebbe's underground schools for children. Serving sages, close association with colleagues and sharp discussion with students correspond to the three sources of knowledge. Living with a teacher teaches more than lessons, which is why Joshua, who never left Moses's tent, succeeded him. A study partner sharpens understanding: the Rebbe explained that the animal soul wants to prove itself right while the Godly soul wants to defend the other, and either way one learns more deeply. The Rebbe was upset when no one questioned a mistake he had made. A settled mind means not rushing to conclusions and being fully present, as the previous Rebbe illustrated with the Rashba, who accomplished a great deal through "success in time." Knowledge of Scripture matters because its very words are holy and speak to the soul; Mishnah keeps one anchored to the core point while the Talmud expands on it. Finally, minimal business activity means keeping one's mind primarily on Torah. He closes by explaining how the Mishnah and Talmud differ, and notes that the 48 ways are goals rather than prerequisites. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XKC8eWDgyL0 3001 2022-02-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-three-dimensions-of-dedication/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z_Bitey2cDo/hqdefault.jpg The Three Dimensions of Dedication Rabbi Greenberg explains how the four places Chur appears connect to the three pillars on which the world stands. Chur, Moses' nephew and the son of Miriam, seems to have been the third most important person at the time of the Exodus. He held up Moses' hands with Aaron during the war against Amalek; he was left with Aaron to guide the people when Moses went up Mount Sinai; according to Rashi, he protested the golden calf and was killed; and in Parshas Vayakhel he is named as grandfather of Bezalel, the architect of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary in the desert. The sages teach that the world stands on Torah, avodah (service) and acts of kindness. Rabbi Greenberg links Chur's support of Moses in prayer to avodah, his guiding the people to Torah, which gives direction, and his giving his life to stop the golden calf to the ultimate act of kindness, done out of love to spare the people a lasting stain. His mention in building the Mishkan teaches that to build a sanctuary we must emulate his devotion to all three, leading to the rebuilding of the third Beis HaMikdash. https://www.youtube.com/embed/z_Bitey2cDo 269 2022-02-21T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-basics-judaism-101-lesson-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3RGpt4CQRZI/hqdefault.jpg The Basics: Judaism 101 - Lesson 2 Rabbi Greenberg surveys all of Jewish history in one class, reading it through the eyes of the Torah rather than as a story of wars and empires. History follows God's plan, set out on the first day of creation with "Let there be light": people with free choice are to make a dark world a place of light, while our actions shape how that plan unfolds. Adam failed the first test and Noah failed the second, the ability to influence others, while Abraham passed both. The nation was trained in Egypt against persecution and assimilation, received the Torah, and was given the land of Israel and the Beis HaMikdash as a model for the world. The First Temple fell because of idolatry and the Second because of baseless hatred, after challenges such as Hellenism and the Sadducees, who rejected the Oral Torah. Exile meant carrying the light to every corner of the world, as Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai preserved the sages at Yavneh. Rabbi Greenberg traces the Mishnah, the Babylonian Talmud and the Geonim, the Ashkenazi and Sephardi centers of Rabbeinu Gershom, the Rif, Rashi and Maimonides, and the Shulchan Aruch alongside the Ari's Kabbalah and the Chassidic movement. He warns that institutionalized assimilation leads within a few generations to the loss of Jewish identity, and explains that the spread of mystical teachings prepares the world for the Messianic era. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3RGpt4CQRZI 2925 2022-02-20T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/are-you-a-shattered-tablet/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pKHuZc5Zojs/hqdefault.jpg Are You a Shattered Tablet? Rabbi Greenberg explains what happened to the tablets Moses shattered and what that means for people who feel broken. The Talmud cites Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that the broken tablets were kept in the ark alongside the whole ones, teaching respect for a scholar who has forgotten his learning through age or illness. The same passage records three instructions he gave his children: read the weekly portion twice and once in Onkelos's Aramaic translation, take care to drain the blood when slaughtering, and the lesson of the broken tablets. Rabbi Greenberg links the three. Reading twice strips away our preconceived notions so we receive the Torah's pure message, while the translation brings it down so it resonates with us. Shechitah, slaughter, also means to pull up: we elevate the physical world through mitzvos such as tefillin and tzedakah, draining the "blood," our passion for the material. And when we fall through decline or depression, or in exile, we are like the broken tablets, no less precious to God, because His teachings are engraved in us and can never be erased. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pKHuZc5Zojs 910 2022-02-17T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-kabbalah-of-gratitude-part-7/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a7GVFe6ArN0/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Gratitude - Part 7 Rabbi Greenberg explains four levels of gratitude, matching the four spiritual worlds described by the Kabbalists and the four letters of God's name. He recalls that the Talmud lists four people who must give thanks after being spared, one who leaves prison, one who recovers from illness, one who crosses the sea and one who crosses the desert, and treats these as stages of the human experience. In the lowest world, Asiyah (action), gratitude is self-centered: the other is acknowledged only as an extension of oneself, like leaving a barren desert. In Yetzirah (emotion), one recognizes the other as independent and can feel for them, leaving an emotional prison, yet the emotions are still turbulent like the sea. In Beriah, the mind steadies the emotions and one concedes that the other's existence matters more than one's own. In Atzilus (emanation), there is no ego left, and one sees things entirely from the other's perspective. The goal is to keep climbing from selfish gratitude toward selfless gratitude, and Rabbi Greenberg notes that in the time of Mashiach the thanksgiving offering is the only private offering that will remain. https://www.youtube.com/embed/a7GVFe6ArN0 990 2022-02-16T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/13-your-lucky-number/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9bpNHuCXrxo/hqdefault.jpg 13: Your Lucky Number! Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism treats 13 as a very positive number rather than an unlucky one. He lists the 13 attributes of mercy, the 13 methods of interpreting the Torah, Maimonides' 13 principles of faith and Bar Mitzvah at 13. The deeper reason, he says, is that 13 is the numerical value of both echad, "one," and ahavah, "love," and in the Messianic era the land of Israel will be divided into 13 parts. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9bpNHuCXrxo 193 2022-02-14T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-basics-judaism-101-lesson-1/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qxeieTt8O98/hqdefault.jpg THE BASICS: JUDAISM 101 - Lesson 1 In the first lesson of a course on the basics of Judaism, Rabbi Greenberg defines what Judaism is and what it means to be a Jew. Many Jews define their Judaism negatively, by what they do not believe, and in reacting to Christianity some even deny core Jewish beliefs such as the afterlife and the resurrection of the dead, which is explicit in the Torah. Positively, Judaism is a God-oriented, all-encompassing way of life guided by the Torah, and more broadly God's master plan for the universe, which when implemented will produce an ideal world. Its parts include beliefs, learning, philosophy and mysticism, practices, values and character, history, community and nationhood, and goals culminating in the messianic age. Jews are not defined by race, religion, ethnicity, nationality or language. A Jew is a member of the group chosen by God to deliver and implement that master plan. Like a soldier, a Jew remains a Jew whether he fulfills the mission well or not; Moses is no more a Jew than the lowliest Jew. Being chosen means the hardest mission, not privilege. He then surveys the course: faith as the foundation and the commandments as the structure, including the 13 principles of faith; the many fields of Torah learning, from Tanach and Talmud to Mussar and Chassidus; Jewish values; and three stages of history, from creation to Sinai, from Sinai to the second Temple's destruction, and exile until Mashiach. In the Q&A he explains how Chassidus incorporates Mussar but focuses on the positive. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qxeieTt8O98 2621 2022-02-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-pursuit-of-truth-lesson-1/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cOTtt6jlgis/hqdefault.jpg THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH - Lesson 1 Rabbi Greenberg opens a series on the pursuit of truth, based on the passage in the last chapter of Ethics of the Fathers that lists 48 ways of acquiring Torah. He explains that the number 48 recurs in Jewish sources: 48 prophets, Abraham's age when his understanding of monotheism matured, the 48 boards of the Tabernacle, and, according to the Maharal, the days of counting the Omer. Unlike the 30 steps of royalty and 24 of priesthood, which are only means to an end, each of the 48 is valuable in itself, just as each night of the Omer is counted as "two days," "three days." Acquiring, he adds, truly applies only to wisdom, the one thing that becomes part of a person. This lesson covers the first eight. Study means learning from a teacher in an unbroken chain from Sinai, since a text alone can be read to mean its opposite; even the Rebbe said he needed a Rebbe. Attentive listening means receiving before analyzing and not missing a word. Articulation means saying the words aloud, which helps retention, and keeping one's mouth clean. Understanding of the heart brings active analysis and passion for truth. Awe of God makes a person humble and receptive, while reverence for one's teacher is needed to absorb what he teaches. Humility before other people lets a scholar learn from everyone and admit a mistake. Joy, finally, breaks through the barriers that block learning. https://www.youtube.com/embed/cOTtt6jlgis 3115 2022-02-13T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-mystery-of-the-missing-jewel/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PO360BoDI2U/hqdefault.jpg The Mystery of the Missing Jewel Rabbi Greenberg explains the Talmud's story of the jasper, the jewel of the tribe of Benjamin, that disappeared from the High Priest's breastplate, and what it teaches about what makes God happy and what pains Him. To replace it, the sages went to Dama ben Nesina, a Roman official in Ashkelon, who refused even a quadrupled price rather than wake his sleeping father, then accepted only the original amount. God rewarded him with a red heifer born on his farm, worth what he had forgone. Rabbi Greenberg asks why that jewel vanished. Benjamin alone had no part in the sale of Joseph, so his jewel represents unity, and the breastplate itself was given to Aaron because he rejoiced in Moses' appointment. Nothing pleases parents more than siblings who love one another, and the same is true of our Father in Heaven. The jewel vanished not long before the Second Temple was destroyed because of senseless hatred; when the people missed the message, they had to get the jewel from a Roman, the symbol of the coming exile. The red heifer, which purifies others while making those who prepare it impure, teaches devotion to a fellow Jew even at one's own expense. The word for breastplate has the same numerical value as Mashiach, showing that unity is the hallmark of the redemption. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the Rebbe, who stood for hours giving out dollars for charity and said that when you count jewels, you do not get tired. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PO360BoDI2U 966 2022-02-10T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-kabbalah-of-gratitude-part-6/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AhWpcXoQPtE/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Gratitude - Part 6 Rabbi Greenberg reviews and extends his series on four levels of gratitude. The Amida links thanks to chaim, life, and the four people the Talmud says must give thanks after danger (one released from prison, one who recovers from illness, one who crosses the sea, one who leaves the desert) are hinted in the letters of chaim. He maps these onto the four Kabbalistic worlds and the letters of God's name. In Asiyah, gratitude is a quid pro quo, yet the Talmud encourages doing good even for ulterior motives. In Yetzirah, one feels for the other, but emotions are fickle, like a turbulent sea. The new level is Beriah, the world of binah (understanding). Here modeh, thanks, also means to confess: one concedes that the other is superior and surrenders to it, with stable emotions built on understanding. This matches the first hei of God's name, open from above. Yet the surrender is not total: binah equals 67 and chaim 68, and of the fifty gates of understanding Moses reached forty-nine. Reaching forty-nine brings a lovesick thirst for the fiftieth, and cholah, sick, equals 49. The highest world, Atzilus, is left for the next class. https://www.youtube.com/embed/AhWpcXoQPtE 901 2022-02-09T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-challenges-to-belief-in-moshiach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zoBKoNdZcHM/hqdefault.jpg THE CHALLENGES TO BELIEF IN MOSHIACH Rabbi Greenberg explains why belief in Mashiach meets resistance, even among observant Jews, and how to answer it. Beyond disappointment after long waiting and the Holocaust, exile itself lulls people to sleep: it is like a dream one does not want to wake from, a captor one comes to identify with, and a sedative God gives to help us bear suffering that also dulls our sense of exile's dangers. Belief in Mashiach is thoroughly Jewish, mentioned constantly in prayer, and stands for all of Judaism, since God's oneness is complete only when the whole world recognizes it. Saying Mashiach will come only in the distant future is, he notes, like Bilaam's "I see it, but not near." People cannot imagine change beyond their experience, as some could not imagine the Soviet Union collapsing. An animal cannot go beyond its own world, while a human can recognize what is beyond, so pessimism is a failure to be fully human and belief in Mashiach is the ultimate rational belief. Great movements come through leaders who bring out the best or worst in people, and Mashiach must be fully bound by Torah law. Using Lot's lingering in Sodom, Rabbi Greenberg names three fears: attachment to the familiar, fear of change, and fear of looking small beside the great figures who will rise. The answers are to recognize how harmful exile is, even for God; that change will be gradual and seamless; and the Alter Rebbe's teaching that Moses was humbled by the self-sacrifice of the final generations. Questions cover free will, desire and healing in the messianic age. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zoBKoNdZcHM 3525 2022-02-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-two-constants-in-our-daily-life/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i3ZiINsbf7A/hqdefault.jpg The Two Constants in Our Daily Life Rabbi Greenberg explains the two things a Jew must have constantly, hinted at by the word tamid ("always") in the Torah's daily offering: awareness of God, as in "I keep God before me always," and joy, as in "a good heart is always celebrating." Citing the Alter Rebbe in Tanya, he shows how King David's "my sins are always before me" fits with constant joy: awareness of one's imperfection stays in the back of the mind, keeping one humble without demoralizing. https://www.youtube.com/embed/i3ZiINsbf7A 161 2022-02-07T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/north-or-south/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fBMkLjasj9o/hqdefault.jpg North or South? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Jerusalem Talmud rules that the boards of the Mishkan placed on the north side may not be moved to the south. The north was holier, and in matters of holiness one rises and never descends, the same principle behind putting on the tallis before tefillin and lighting Chanukah candles in ascending order. He recalls that at his bar mitzvah audience the Rebbe asked him whether this principle is biblical or rabbinic, and told him the Alter Rebbe was also in doubt. Citing the previous Rebbe's final discourse, he notes that the letters of keresh, "board," can spell sheker, "falsehood," or kesher, "connection": the Mishkan transforms the world's falsehood into a connection with God. The table of bread on the north represents material life, whose challenge is to use wealth to serve God and give charity. The menorah on the south represents spirituality, which has its own falsehood: ego, arrogance and evading responsibility. The north prevails because God's purpose is a dwelling place in the physical world, built through physical mitzvos, with spirituality as a vital supplement. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fBMkLjasj9o 1035 2022-02-03T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moshiach-who-is-he/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z2vuqekLOcw/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach, Who is He? Rabbi Greenberg explains, following the Rambam, what Mashiach's purpose is and how he is identified. Mashiach does not force people; he reveals the inner core of their souls, so that they want to do what is right. His primary objective is to restore the integrity of Judaism, so that all the Torah's commandments, including those that depend on the Beis HaMikdash, can again be observed. False messiahs drew followers because people did not know this; anyone who claims the commandments no longer apply is the least qualified. Shabbetai Tzvi's violations of Jewish law were not widely known until his conversion to Islam. The Rambam's criteria: Mashiach must be a king, meaning an established leader; a descendant of King David, not a kohen or Levite; steeped in the Written and Oral Torah and living by it; one who leads all of Israel to follow it and strengthen its breaches; and one who fights the wars of God, possibly through influence alone. Such a person is presumed to be Mashiach. If he rebuilds the Beis HaMikdash in its place and gathers all Jews, he is certainly Mashiach, and then brings the world to recognize one God, though nature remains unchanged. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z2vuqekLOcw 962 2022-02-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/are-you-the-same-on-the-inside-as-you-are-on-the-outside/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K0yqEUMBC_8/hqdefault.jpg Are You the Same on the Inside as You are on the Outside? Rabbi Greenberg explains why a person's outside should match their inside, drawing on the Ark of the Mishkan, which the Torah commands to be coated with pure gold inside and out. The Talmud learns from this that a person should be "tocho k'boro," his inside like his outside, and relates that Rabban Gamliel admitted no student to his academy who did not meet this standard. In its usual sense the teaching warns against hypocrisy: posing as righteous while being rotten beneath the surface. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that in our age the verse can be read the other way: since deep down every Jew is good and holy, the outside should be like the inside. As the final redemption approaches, hidden things are revealed, as the Book of Daniel says, and that includes people's concealed talents and good qualities. He urges those who are shy about their goodness, or who discover talents they never knew they had, not to hide them, because they were revealed in order to bring about the final redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/K0yqEUMBC_8 235 2022-01-31T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/moshiach-from-imperfection-to-perfection/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xJ8OH2iEsKk/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach: From Imperfection to Perfection Rabbi Greenberg explains how the Messianic age will move the world and each individual from imperfection to perfection, and why every person, not only those who are suffering, should yearn for it. Citing Isaiah and Rashi, he says God will take each Jew by the hand out of exile, so redemption is personal. Drawing on the Rebbe, he notes that the Hebrew words for exile (golah) and redemption (geulah) differ only by the letter aleph, which stands for God: life will remain familiar but will be filled with God's presence. He describes exile as a child in the womb, a dream and an illness. The word for a sick person adds up to 49, one short of the fiftieth gate of understanding, and the higher a person climbs, the more he feels what is missing. At Sinai the spiritual and physical were briefly aligned, and the sick were healed; in the Messianic age that alignment will be permanent. This leap year, a "complete year" in the Talmud's term, points to the sun and moon regaining parity. Rabbi Greenberg traces hatred, envy, dishonesty and hedonism to the hiddenness of God's presence, and adds other marks of exile: always waiting for the next thing, judging things only by their market value, and treating suffering as inevitable. Evil will be gradually separated from good until it fades away. Challenges will remain, he answers, but they will come from being pulled between good pursuits such as study, prayer and helping others, and people will grow into this change gradually, as a child matures into an adult. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJ8OH2iEsKk 3056 2022-01-30T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/we-are-widows-and-orphans-in-need-of-g-ds-support/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UTkhYy9no5A/hqdefault.jpg We are Widows and Orphans in Need of G d's Support Rabbi Greenberg explains the commandment in Mishpatim not to oppress a widow or orphan by applying it to the relationship between God and the Jewish people in exile. He asks why the Torah singles them out, why the next verse speaks only of "him," the orphan, crying out, and why it uses a doubled expression three times: "oppress, you shall oppress," "cry, he will cry," "hear, I will hear." The giving of the Torah at Sinai was a marriage between God and Israel. Exile can bring something like divorce, open rebellion against God, but the widow represents something else: a Jew so crushed by exile that he has become indifferent, as though the Husband were no longer alive in his heart. In Chassidic thought, father and mother stand for chochmah and binah, the conception of an idea and its development, which together give birth to emotions such as love and awe of God. The orphan is one whom exile has deprived of that understanding. Still, the orphan knows he is an orphan and can cry out, while the widow cannot, which is why the verse mentions only his cry. The doubled expressions refer to the loss of both faculties and to the two Temples, and God's answer is the Third Temple, combining the qualities of both. Since God follows His own commandments, we must seek out the spiritual widows and orphans and help restore their relationship with God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/UTkhYy9no5A 1094 2022-01-27T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/moshiach/why-a-human-messiah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eLpKx6ya-1o/hqdefault.jpg Why a Human Messiah? Rabbi Greenberg explains why Judaism holds that the Messianic age will be brought by Mashiach, a human being of flesh and blood. He cites Isaiah chapter 11 and the two verses the Rambam quotes, from the end of Deuteronomy and from Bilaam's prophecy in Numbers, "I see him, but not now." The simple answer is that every major change in history, good or evil, was led by a charismatic individual, from Abraham and Moses to David and Solomon. He then describes three views of how the Messianic age comes: God alone brings it, society evolves into it, or one person brings it. Each fails alone. If God does it alone, why has He not done so, and what is our role? Evolution offers no guarantee that progress will not be reversed, as the twentieth century's murderous ideologies show. And one person's achievement could be undone by another. Judaism combines all three: God gave the Torah as a master plan, every mitzvah adds hidden divine energy to the world, and Mashiach pushes it over the top. People are good on the surface, can harbor evil beneath it, and are holy at their essence. Evil leaders, as in Germany, stir the hidden evil; good leaders reach the hidden good. Mashiach reaches the very essence of his own soul and can ignite the essence of every soul. Our mitzvos empower him, like a body that strengthens the brain, and as the Kabbalists teach, they separate good from evil, which is why the redemption will be irreversible. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eLpKx6ya-1o 1320 2022-01-26T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/an-eye-for-an-eye/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xmX4z_nTKSc/hqdefault.jpg An Eye for an Eye Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah says "an eye for an eye" when the oral tradition always understood it as monetary compensation. Citing Rabbi Yosef Zevin, based on Maimonides, he teaches that no payment can truly cover an eye; the offender is really paying a ransom for his own eye, which in truth he deserved to lose. This forces him to personalize the injury and empathize with his victim, and that empathy is what brings atonement. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xmX4z_nTKSc 161 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/happiness-decoded-part-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RxiXZv1mESQ/hqdefault.jpg Happiness Decoded - Part 2 In this conversation, Rabbi Greenberg discusses how the Torah can command us to serve God with joy when feelings cannot be ordered. Joy, he explains, is a person's natural state, and it need not look like dancing: even on Yom Kippur there can be an inner calm and confidence that God, our Father, will forgive us. Real happiness resembles being absorbed in a wonder of nature or a piece of music, or a small child simply being in the moment, free of the adult need to show off. Becoming happy requires changing how we see life: we were created for a purpose and each of us is irreplaceable. The Talmud notes that people prefer a temporary life to a permanent one, and actions such as singing, dancing and seeing the positive first can generate feelings. The discussion includes the story of a billionaire's unhappy son who found purpose by volunteering with a child with Down syndrome. Happiness is already within us, and the Hebrew word simcha refers to breaking through barriers, as God has no limits. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RxiXZv1mESQ 757 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/happiness-decoded-part-3/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BWKq6cAvZn0/hqdefault.jpg Happiness Decoded - Part 3 Rabbi Greenberg and his conversation partner take up the hardest question about happiness: how can someone be happy when they are truly suffering? A happy person radiates happiness and is healthier, but when someone is in pain, one cannot simply tell them to be happy; sometimes one must hold their hand and be compassionate. They tell of Reb Zusha, who, living in poverty, said he had never felt anything negative, while acknowledging that most people are not on that level. The Jewish people, despite suffering throughout history, kept their laughter and smiles. Through stories of Reb Zusha and his brother dancing in prison, and of a Rebbe and his student surviving a deadly test in the Holocaust by holding on to the generations before them, they show there is no place where one cannot connect to God. Happiness rests on believing that God knows and cares about everything in our lives and will fix what is wrong, which is why Mashiach shares the letters of the word for rejoicing. Exile is a state of displacement, and anxiety can come from the soul being led away from its mission. https://www.youtube.com/embed/BWKq6cAvZn0 886 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/happiness-decoded-part-4/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PO5OWb0Efag/hqdefault.jpg Happiness Decoded - Part 4 Rabbi Greenberg and his conversation partner discuss how to respond to someone going through tragedy and how happiness can be found even in hard lives. A suffering person is not looking for philosophy but for an embrace; questions such as why God allowed the Holocaust are really the soul crying out, and Mashiach is described as God's embrace after so much suffering. Happiness is a state of the soul, which is why some people who have suffered greatly keep their dignity, faith and joy. They stress gratitude as a path to happiness, starting each morning with Modeh Ani: being grateful to be alive, to have a purpose, to serve God, to do mitzvos, and to be able to correct mistakes. Life is not meant to be easy, but it is purposeful. Religion focused on guilt and punishment breeds unhappiness, while in Chassidic teaching joy is the essence of Judaism, and depression, though not itself a sin, leads to every sin. Happiness cannot be pursued directly; like a flower, it grows out of a life of purpose, service, giving and gratitude. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PO5OWb0Efag 724 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/holidays/happy-birthday-tree/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XrZt_dHmhhQ/hqdefault.jpg Happy Birthday Tree? Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of the fifteenth of Shevat, the new year for trees, and what the Torah's comparison of a person to "the trees of the field" teaches. In the Talmud the date is a legal boundary between seasons for tithing produce, falling as the rainy season in Israel ends and trees begin to bud. The lessons: new growth emerges from the coldest times; a tree's roots grow through the winter, so a person should keep doing mitzvos even without feeling; a tall tree shows that true humility comes from seeing the bigger picture; and diverse branches are united at the roots, as the Jewish people are. Being likened to a tree, which corresponds to the emotions, means the ideal person is one who uses the intellect to change his feelings. Kabbalists call the day a tikkun, a correction of Adam and Eve's sin with the tree, which mixed good and evil. Eating fruit with a blessing elevates pleasure, and Torah study is the mitzvah meant to be enjoyed. Customs include eating Israel's five fruits, a new fruit with the Shehecheyanu blessing, carob, which the Rebbe linked to the miracle worker Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, and preserved esrog, and some hold a seder of four cups and four kinds of fruit. The Rebbe explained the seven species as stages in making the world a home for God, with the olive and date reflecting the light and sweetness that exile produces, to be revealed with Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XrZt_dHmhhQ 3112 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/judicial-reform/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xhkDoCyGMkA/hqdefault.jpg Judicial Reform Rabbi Greenberg explains why the parsha of the giving of the Torah is named after Yisro, a former idolatrous priest who joined the Jewish people, and what his proposal for a judicial system teaches about how we judge others. Light that comes out of darkness, and wisdom that comes out of foolishness, is superior, which is why God waited for Yisro before giving the Torah. Yisro told Moses to judge the "big" cases and leave the smaller ones to other judges, but God changed this to the "difficult" cases, so that a case's importance is not measured by the money involved. Rabbi Greenberg applies this to daily life: we constantly judge the people we meet. Citing the Alter Rebbe's teaching in Tanya that every Jew has a spark of Moses, he says that relationships are complex matters that should not be judged by emotion, mood or even intellect alone, but by that spark of Moses, the awareness of God, judging others as we will in the Messianic age, in a very positive way. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xhkDoCyGMkA 622 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/moshiach/moshiach-dealing-with-the-obstacles/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DIkoQHVmrH4/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach: Dealing With the Obstacles Rabbi Greenberg explains how to prepare for Mashiach by overcoming the main obstacle, the "exile mentality." After reviewing mitzvos that hasten the redemption, he explains the Rebbe's expression "living with Mashiach": picturing how a perfect world will behave and living that way now. We count the Omer upward, not down, because a spiritual goal is partly attained each day of preparation, as Jacob's seven years for Rachel seemed like a few days. The Rebbe said we stand on the threshold of the redemption, and whether that is near or far depends on which way we face. Exile mentality, which Rabbi Greenberg compares to the Stockholm syndrome and to fumes that put people to sleep, makes us see the world from exile's perspective. In his parable, a contest winner receives only a key to the king's future palace, is attacked on the way, and nearly stops in a comfortable cottage; so the Jewish people, who accepted the Torah, found refuge after the Holocaust and must not mistake comfort and the miracles that give a taste of the future for the goal. To change this mindset, the Rebbe emphasized studying Torah, especially its teachings about Mashiach and the redemption: to correct misconceptions, see Mashiach through Jewish eyes, and gain God's perspective, since the Torah is the blueprint of creation. As the Rebbe said, exile is the dream and the redemption is the reality, and the task is to open our eyes. In answer to a question, Rabbi Greenberg notes that Moshe plus echad ("one") equals Mashiach in numerical value. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DIkoQHVmrH4 2665 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/take-the-long-route-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tDcEU_dhSQc/hqdefault.jpg Take the Long Route Rabbi Greenberg explains why, after the Exodus, God did not lead the Jewish people by the direct route through the land of the Philistines, out of concern that if they saw war they would return to Egypt. The people left Egypt armed and later fought Amalek and the Canaanites, so the question is why this particular battle concerned God. He offers two insights. First, a young nation, like a young child, is most impressionable, so extra precautions were needed; a battle right after leaving Egypt could have undone the Exodus and sent them back into slavery, while later they could handle conflict. Second, the Philistines are associated with mockery and cynicism, and the worst thing one can do to someone starting to change is to laugh at their desire to change. Rabbi Greenberg notes that many today mock religion, the Torah and the prospect of Mashiach, and that the code of Jewish law opens by telling a Jew not to be ashamed because of those who mock him. He says God will take us out of this exile precisely because we will not listen to the cynics. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tDcEU_dhSQc 216 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/take-the-long-route/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s4zxRQ3sX2U/hqdefault.jpg Take the Long Route Rabbi Greenberg teaches that at a time when many cynics laugh at religion, at Judaism, at the Torah and at the prospect of Mashiach's coming, Jews must not listen to them. The Code of Jewish Law opens by telling a Jew not to be deterred or ashamed because of those who mock him, and Rabbi Greenberg says God will take the Jewish people out of exile precisely because they will not listen to the cynics. https://www.youtube.com/embed/s4zxRQ3sX2U 47 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/holidays/the-deeper-meaning-of-tu-bshevat/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3QvqXHUkUAw/hqdefault.jpg The Deeper Meaning of Tu B'Shevat Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of Tu B'Shevat, the fifteenth of Shevat, which the Mishnah counts as one of four new years: the new year for trees, which concerns the tithing laws of the Land of Israel. Because the Torah compares a person to a tree of the field, the day also teaches how to live, and Rabbi Greenberg summarizes the Rebbe's last talk on this date, in 1992, on the seven species of Deuteronomy 8. Wheat, eaten by people, and barley, fed mostly to animals, stand for nurturing the godly soul through Torah and mitzvos and refining the animal soul, for example by giving charity. Wine stands for doing Judaism with joy, figs for the soul's garments of thought, speech and action, and pomegranates for being full of mitzvos. The Torah repeats the word "land" before olives and date honey, which the Rebbe explains as the challenges of exile: a bitter olive gives illuminating oil when crushed, and dates ripen slowly but are very sweet. Rabbi Greenberg closes with the day's customs: Tachanun is not said, and fruit is eaten, especially the fruits of Israel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3QvqXHUkUAw 987 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-four-dimensions-of-gratitude/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xgI4RaQPLVk/hqdefault.jpg The Four Dimensions of Gratitude Rabbi Greenberg introduces four levels, or dimensions, of gratitude and explains the first and lowest of them. After reviewing four components of genuine gratitude from earlier lessons (not focusing on oneself, directing thanks at someone, being specific, and letting gratitude grow), he cites the Maharsha, who links the four people the Talmud obligates to give thanks (one who recovers from illness, is released from prison, crosses the sea or crosses the desert) to the four cups of wine at the Seder, four stages of deliverance from Egypt. The common denominator is freedom, so Rabbi Greenberg teaches that gratitude frees a person from the self-made prison of self-absorption, and each level of gratitude brings a further level of freedom. Following the Kabbalists, the four levels correspond to the four letters of God's name and the four spiritual worlds: Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. The name Yehudah, the first name given for gratitude, contains all four letters. The first level, of the world of Asiyah (action), is mere recognition that someone else exists, even if one sees the other only as an extension of oneself, as a narcissist does. Rabbi Greenberg illustrates it with Pirkei Avos, the people of Sodom and their bed, the shape of the final hei, and Rabbi Akiva's ruling about the travelers in the desert. Doing good for others, even without warm feelings, still reflects that small opening, and rising from the very bottom requires strength that comes from the highest level. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xgI4RaQPLVk 1509 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gratitude/the-kabbalah-of-gratitude-part-5/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aZx3truBCd4/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Gratitude - Part 5 Rabbi Greenberg continues his series on four levels of gratitude, which he links to the four situations in which the sages require thanks after danger: crossing the desert, leaving prison, recovering from illness and traveling by sea. He ties them to the four spiritual worlds of the Kabbalists and the four letters of God's name, read here as levels of relationship, since, as the Rebbe explained, chaim (life) is plural because life means life with others. The lowest level, the world of Asiyah (action), is the self-absorbed person who says thank you only because he depends on others or is told to. It parallels leaving the desert and the final letter hei, whose small opening shows a minimal recognition of another; Rabbi Greenberg says it should not be dismissed. The next level, Yetzirah (formation), is the world of emotion: one concedes that the other has an independent existence and feels for them. It parallels leaving the prison of locked-up emotions and the letter vav, a connecting line and a hook whose value of six matches the six emotions. Yet emotions alone can still be a turbulent sea, which leads to the world of Beriah in the next class. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aZx3truBCd4 796 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/the-myth-of-the-10-commandments/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q3VR71xZPO8/hqdefault.jpg The Myth of the 10 Commandments Rabbi Greenberg explains why "Ten Commandments" is a misnomer: the passage actually contains fourteen commandments, and the Torah itself calls it the Ten Statements. A commandment is imposed on someone who can accept or reject it, while a statement declares a fact, the way things are. So the passage does not say only that one should not have other gods, steal or murder, but that one cannot. The reason, he says, lies in the first statement, usually translated "I am the Lord your God." As Chassidic literature explains, God is saying that from now on He is our vitality and inner strength. Before Sinai the reverse was true: at the time of the Flood, Scripture says the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth, meaning evil was our inner dimension and good was laid over it. At Sinai this was reversed, so God's will became our inner essence and evil is only superimposed. We should therefore identify with the good and the divinity within us, not with the evil. https://www.youtube.com/embed/q3VR71xZPO8 182 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/kabbalah/the-power-of-song/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mUJXlWVB9-Y/hqdefault.jpg The Power of Song Rabbi Greenberg explains the power of song and why the splitting of the sea, read in Parshas Beshalach on Shabbos Shirah, the Sabbath of Song, brought forth the first of the ten songs the sages count, the tenth of which Mashiach will sing. The Alter Rebbe taught that speech is the pen of the heart while melody is the pen of the soul: song reaches beneath the surface to the core of the soul. A holy song brings out the core of the godly soul, while a vulgar song can bring out the worst of the animal soul. This is why prophets prophesied with music. The sea represents what is concealed and dry land what is revealed. At the splitting of the sea, spirituality, the most hidden thing in the world, became openly visible, and since song is what brings the hidden soul to the surface, that experience called forth song. Rabbi Greenberg cites the previous Rebbe, who linked kavanah, focus in prayer, to the word for a window: song opens windows between the mind and the heart, and between the heart and action. He reads Joseph seeing his father's image "in the window" the same way, and concludes that song can also open the window to the final redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mUJXlWVB9-Y 1011 2022-01-24T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/8-and-not-7/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zeri3lWkqTE/hqdefault.jpg 8 and Not 7 Rabbi Greenberg answers a well-known question: why is Chanukah eight days, when the oil had enough for one night and the miracle lasted only seven more? Of the many answers, he gives one: seven represents the cycle of nature, as Shabbos is the seventh day, while eight represents rising above nature, as a bris is on the eighth day. The miracle of Chanukah showed that the Jewish people are not bound by natural law. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zeri3lWkqTE 94 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/a-chain-reaction/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L7WKXhqG5bA/hqdefault.jpg A Chain Reaction Rabbi Greenberg explains the meaning of the shalsheles, a rare cantillation note whose name means chain, which appears in Parshas Chayei Sarah on the word vayomer, when Eliezer speaks to God before choosing a wife for Yitzchak. He teaches that this match, the first Jewish marriage described in the Torah, contained all future Jewish marriages and the bond between God and the Jewish people. An ordinary word like and he said can carry the most powerful energy, linking the highest worlds to the lowest. The note has three parts, and Rabbi Greenberg offers two explanations. The marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah linked Avraham to Yaakov, giving us the three patriarchs whose spiritual inheritance has kept the chain of the Jewish people unbroken. The note also reflects three stages of history: from creation to Moshe, who received God's plan at Sinai; from Moshe to King David and Solomon, who began implementing it toward the Beis HaMikdash; and the messianic age, which will complete it. Since some individual links have been cut off, every Jew is called, like Eliezer, to speak words that reconnect others to the chain. https://www.youtube.com/embed/L7WKXhqG5bA 921 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/a-tale-of-two-compromises/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8OQ_rlJTq2k/hqdefault.jpg A Tale of Two Compromises Rabbi Greenberg uses the sale of Joseph to distinguish a legitimate compromise from a false one. Both Reuben and Judah intervened to save Joseph's life, yet only Reuben is praised; the Talmud says the first city of refuge was in Reuben's territory as a reward for sheltering his brother. Reuben lacked the authority to stop his brothers outright, and his plan of the pit was meant only as a step toward returning Joseph to his father. Judah, whose word the brothers heeded, proposed selling Joseph with no intention of bringing him back; the Talmud notes that his word betza can mean "compromise." Rabbi Greenberg applies this to Jewish youth at risk of being lost, the "Josephs" of our generation. Reuben's approach brings a person closer one mitzvah at a time, treating compromise as a temporary means toward full return, while Judah's approach tells people that whatever they do is enough. He points to the angled mezuzah and the Chanukah oil as examples of justified compromise, and says Mashiach, a descendant of Judah, will correct Judah's mistake. https://www.youtube.com/embed/8OQ_rlJTq2k 821 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/aarons-staff/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FkCxL1k1o9s/hqdefault.jpg Aaron's Staff Rabbi Greenberg asks why, before the Ten Plagues, Aaron's rod had to turn into a serpent, the Egyptian magicians had to copy the sign, and Aaron's rod then swallowed their snakes. He explains that the plagues were not simply punishment for slavery. Had God wanted only to punish, or only to force Pharaoh to free the Jews, one plague would have been enough; the sages teach that the ten plagues were ten stages of therapy, an educational process bringing the Egyptians closer to the truth about God and His relationship with Israel. Before that process began, the sign of Aaron's rod taught another lesson. Aaron, as Ethics of the Fathers describes him, loved peace, pursued peace, loved people and brought them closer to the Torah. Even discipline must come with Aaron's rod: tough love from someone who has first established himself as a source of love. The same applies to leaving exile, where the main force of redemption is love of a fellow Jew. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FkCxL1k1o9s 215 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/are-you-jewish-and-proud/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7OBbGcVbPK4/hqdefault.jpg Are you Jewish and proud? Rabbi Greenberg explains why a strong Jewish identity matters. A person without an identity takes on the identity of every other individual, force and fad, becoming a prisoner not to one master but to many. The Exodus would have been meaningless without the identity the Jews preserved in Egypt by never changing their names, and the giving of the Torah, accepting God as King, requires someone with an identity to do the accepting. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7OBbGcVbPK4 55 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/holidays/awaiting-the-call-rosh-hashana-message/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OYVhhhbNsJg/hqdefault.jpg Awaiting The Call / Rosh Hashana Message Rabbi Greenberg explains that Rosh Hashanah brings a new divine light into the world, paralleling our place on the threshold of the final redemption, both internalized through the shofar. He tells how Rabbi Spira of Munkach confessed on Rosh Hashanah that he had sounded one shofar blast the day before, when no shofar is blown, because his grandson begged for "just one more blast." So too we ask God for the final blast to usher in the Messianic Age. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OYVhhhbNsJg 204 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/chanukah-and-tradition/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yz4qfdXlvWQ/hqdefault.jpg Chanukah and Tradition Rabbi Greenberg explains why Chanukah is much more than a beautiful tradition kept for thousands of years. In Judaism, remembering the past is a way of rekindling that same energy today. Just as the Maccabees purified the Holy Temple and lit the menorah to rededicate it, lighting the Chanukah lights rededicates one's own personal Beis HaMikdash, a process he says will lead to the final redemption and the rebuilding of the Third Temple. https://www.youtube.com/embed/yz4qfdXlvWQ 103 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/chanukah-r-rated-for-children-only-adults-must-be-accompanied-by-a-child/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KMlFyayCpy8/hqdefault.jpg Chanukah R-rated for Children Only: adults must be accompanied by a child. Rabbi Greenberg explains why Chanukah is a children's holiday. The word Chanukah is related to the word for education, usually used for children, and the dreidel's four letters add up to 358, the same numerical value as Mashiach. Children have a spark of Mashiach that is more pronounced in their innocence, and the Chanukah lights call on each of us to find that spark of purity within ourselves, which will lead to the ultimate redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KMlFyayCpy8 84 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/childs-play/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ImhTmW2u1Rs/hqdefault.jpg Child's Play Rabbi Greenberg explains why the dreidel is more than a children's game, connecting it to the Torah portion of Vayigash on the Shabbos after Chanukah. Jacob sends Yehudah to Goshen, which Rashi says was to establish a house of Torah study, and the word Goshena, "to Goshen," has the same four letters as the dreidel. He recounts the traditional explanation that children studying Torah under the Syrian Greeks' ban would hide their scrolls and play with tops when a sentry came. The letters total 358, the numerical value of Mashiach. Rabbi Greenberg says everyone has a spark of Mashiach, citing Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl, and that it is most revealed in the purity of children. The adult's challenge is to reach mature adulthood and reclaim that innocence. Goshen, which the sages say Pharaoh gave Abraham, was "Israel within the diaspora." Today synagogues, houses of study, and homes filled with Torah books, mezuzahs and a tzedakah box are that Goshen: places of purity within exile that prepare for the ultimate redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ImhTmW2u1Rs 952 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/curse-the-anger/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SAekS6qjr8E/hqdefault.jpg Curse the Anger Rabbi Greenberg explains why Jacob, blessing his sons before his passing, criticized Reuven for his impulsiveness and Shimon and Levi for their anger instead of blessing them. Rashi already notes that at the end Jacob gave all twelve sons one collective blessing, but the question remains why he chose that moment to criticize three of them. Rabbi Greenberg answers that a blessing draws out qualities a person has that are still hidden. These three sons already displayed their talents openly; impulsiveness and anger, as indignation, are not negative in themselves, only when taken to an unwarranted extreme. Jacob's criticism removed the extreme, after which they were as blessed as their brothers, and perhaps more. The lesson is that we already have great blessings and talents, and at the threshold of the final redemption we need only cut away a few negative things to reveal our inner goodness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/SAekS6qjr8E 198 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/mitzvahs/dont-sour-your-mitzvot/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H3vbNTRhx1s/hqdefault.jpg Don't Sour Your Mitzvot Rabbi Greenberg explains the teaching, cited by Rashi, that "guard the matzos" can also be read "guard the mitzvos": a mitzvah that comes to your hand should not be allowed to become sour, meaning it should not be postponed. He asks why matzah was chosen as the model for all the mitzvos, and connects it to the Arizal's teaching that being careful about chametz on Pesach protects a person from wrongdoing all year. Matzah, only flour and water that does not rise, symbolizes humility, while chametz, which inflates, symbolizes an inflated ego, the root of most wrongdoing. Rabbi Greenberg adds that a person may delay a mitzvah not from laziness but because his heart is not yet in it, waiting until he can do it with feeling. That wait is itself a trace of ego, focused on one's own experience rather than on the need at hand. Rashi's phrase "comes to your hand" teaches to act even when only the hand is ready. He concludes that just as God keeps His own mitzvos, including redeeming captives, we can ask Him not to delay the redemption even if His heart is not yet in it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/H3vbNTRhx1s 1115 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/excellence-only/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SKnluHv5qE4/hqdefault.jpg Excellence Only Rabbi Greenberg explains why the miracle of the oil happened at all, when Jewish law allows impure oil to be used for the menorah if nothing else is available. The Jewish people refused to rely on that compromise and searched until they found one jar of pure oil, saying in effect that they were not satisfied with less than their best. God responded in kind and made the one night's oil last eight days. https://www.youtube.com/embed/SKnluHv5qE4 95 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/following-abrahams-footsteps/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qtb7OtxNDlg/hqdefault.jpg Following Abraham's Footsteps Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Torah records that Abraham traveled southward in the Land of Israel, and why it describes him traveling in stages. Following Rashi, he notes that Abraham was heading toward Jerusalem and Mount Moriah, where the Temple would be built, in the region later given to the tribe of Judah, and that he traveled a little, rested, and traveled again. Since the events of the patriarchs are lessons for their descendants, Rabbi Greenberg reads Abraham's route as a statement of purpose. As the founder of a nation charged with making the world a dwelling place for God, Abraham set the direction: toward Jerusalem, the Temple, and Judah, ancestor of King David and of Mashiach. The intermittent travel signals that this goal would be reached only through thousands of years of stops, some painful and marked by persecution, yet at every stop the Jewish people gathered treasures, whether through good circumstances or through self-sacrifice, on the way to the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash by Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qtb7OtxNDlg 246 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/from-oy-to-ah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mD3Po-biWv8/hqdefault.jpg From Oy to Ah Rabbi Greenberg explains how to hold on to joy beneath suffering, starting from the Torah's wording that Jacob went "to Charan" with a suffix rather than the usual prefix. A Sephardic commentator explains that the suffix means Jacob went into the very core of Charan, a name meaning wrath, in order to elevate it and free its sparks of holiness. Charan is also nearly identical to rinah, joy: the letters differ only by a hairbreadth, and adding the suffix to Charan spells rinah, so anger and exile ultimately lead to joy. Rather than optimism or pessimism, Rabbi Greenberg proposes a third perspective. The Alter Rebbe teaches in Tanya that pain is real and must be felt, yet it comes from a higher, hidden level of the divine that will be revealed in the messianic age. This is how Hillel knew the crying he heard was not from his house: his family could see the hidden good. A Chassid in great pain would turn his groan into an expression of delight, from "oy" to "ah." Still, we must cry out to God to end the exile. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mD3Po-biWv8 1126 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/happiness-decoded-part-1/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ndrr8QN4iWQ/hqdefault.jpg Happiness Decoded - Part 1 Rabbi Greenberg and Rabbi Simon Jacobson discuss why so many people are unhappy and how lasting happiness is found. The Talmud lists ten Hebrew words for happiness, yet Hebrew has no word for fun; entertainment can briefly distract from misery, but as a goal it takes away from true happiness, and the constant pursuit of happiness itself keeps people from it. Children are naturally happy because the soul, a part of God, is joyful by default, and because a child is not self-conscious and is free of sin. The rabbis explain that happiness comes from knowing one is needed. When a follower brought the Alter Rebbe a list of everything he needed, the Alter Rebbe pointed out that he had not mentioned what he is needed for. A birthday is happy because it is the day God decided the world cannot exist without you. Ego blocks happiness: an entitled person cannot be grateful, as Adam showed when he blamed "the woman You gave me" instead of thanking God, while the Alter Rebbe teaches that true joy goes together with humility. In one story, the Rebbe answered a letter full of complaints by circling every "I." https://www.youtube.com/embed/ndrr8QN4iWQ 878 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/have-you-ever-heard-of-a-book-named-names/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4itLmaykF-s/hqdefault.jpg Have You Ever Heard of a Book Named "Names"? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the second book of the Torah, usually called Exodus, is named Shemos, "Names." The book opens with the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt, but it contains three major themes: the bondage and the Exodus, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. Any of these would seem a more fitting title. He answers with the Midrash that although the Jews in Egypt adopted many Egyptian ways, including idolatry, they merited redemption because they did not change their names, meaning they kept their identity. Identity is the foundation on which a structure of Jewish life can be built, and without it none of the book's three themes could happen: a person without an identity becomes a prisoner of every fad, there is no one to accept God as King at Sinai, and there is no place for God to dwell. The same holds today: Jews must first know who they are, and that makes them receptive to redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4itLmaykF-s 310 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/moshiach/hijacking-the-power-of-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0rwyE5RSCpc/hqdefault.jpg Hijacking the Power of Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains why Pharaoh, after enslavement failed, ordered the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, identified by the Talmud as Yocheved and Miriam, to kill the baby boys. He reads Pharaoh as a metaphor for the forces of exile: unable to destroy the Jewish people through persecution, they try to hijack the very power of redemption and turn it against them. Chassidic teaching, based on Kabbalah and the Talmud, holds that women carry this power more than men, linked to their greater binah (understanding) and its fifty gates, which correspond to the Jubilee year of freedom. Women also resisted exile in practice: Miriam persuaded Amram to take back his wife, and the women refused to give jewelry for the golden calf and did not cry after the spies' report. Midwives hold this power even more, since redemption is likened to birth. Their names show it: Shiphrah beautified the infants and Puah soothed them. When they told Pharaoh the women gave birth without them, they meant that the power of redemption is innate and cannot be commandeered. Rabbi Greenberg warns that this power can still be misused, as when the Messianic ideal is used to claim the commandments no longer apply. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0rwyE5RSCpc 915 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/how-to-enter-your-personal-ark/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/14aaJQSaE54/hqdefault.jpg How to Enter Your Personal Ark Rabbi Greenberg explains how to enter our personal ark, drawing on the three levels of Noah's ark in Parshas Noach. Rashi explains that the bottom level held waste, the middle level the animals and the top level the people. A Chassidic master, building on the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, notes that the Hebrew teivah means both "ark" and "word," so God's call to enter the ark is also a call to enter the words of Torah study and prayer. This master describes three corresponding kinds of prayer from the Book of Psalms: the prayer of the poor man, for one who feels crushed and at the bottom, who should never think he cannot pray; the prayer of David, for the average person struggling with his animal soul; and the prayer of Moses, for one who has won that struggle and seeks to rise higher. Rabbi Greenberg adds that the ark, where all humanity and the animals lived together in peace, is a model of the messianic age, when Mashiach will raise up those at the bottom, strengthen the godly soul against the animal soul, and reveal the deepest secrets of the Torah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/14aaJQSaE54 218 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/i-am-joseph-is-my-father-still-alive/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tSwhpFpYkvs/hqdefault.jpg "I am Joseph, is my father still alive?" Rabbi Greenberg explains why Joseph, revealing himself to his brothers, asks "Is my father still alive?" when he had just spoken with Judah about his father several times. One answer is that Joseph was expressing disbelief: after leaving his father and not communicating with him, he was amazed that Jacob had survived the separation. Rabbi Greenberg then offers a deeper reading. The name Yosef means to add, to grow and to innovate, so Joseph stands for modernity, while Jacob stands for the traditional ways. The brothers, he suggests, saw Joseph as a revolutionary and sent him down to Egypt to preserve the old ways. Joseph's words mean that his experiment succeeded: his modernity never weakened his bond with his father's ways. Rabbi Greenberg teaches that Jews may, and should, use the modern world, including technology like the internet, as long as it serves the teachings of Jacob, and he cites the Zohar's prediction that before the messianic age the fountains of secular knowledge and of Torah knowledge will burst forth together. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tSwhpFpYkvs 252 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/inviting-g-d-into-our-home/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bNl0mpnpd-U/hqdefault.jpg Inviting G-d Into Our Home Rabbi Greenberg explains why welcoming guests is greater than welcoming God, and what this teaches about God's own need for a home. When God appeared to Abraham after his circumcision, three wayfarers came by, and Abraham asked God to wait while he invited them in and served them a meal. The Talmud derives from this that hosting guests is greater than greeting the Divine Presence. Rabbi Greenberg gives his late father's explanation. The Talmud regards a person without a home as lacking in his very humanity, because outside the home we are on a stage with a public persona, and a home is where a person can be himself. Giving lodging to a traveler, even a wealthy one who has nowhere to stay, restores his full human identity, so the host becomes God's partner in creating humanity, which is greater than being on the welcoming side. God too, so to speak, is homeless until the world becomes His dwelling place, which will be fully realized in the messianic age, and every mitzvah we do invites Him into our homes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bNl0mpnpd-U 231 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/holidays/is-forgiveness-guaranteed-on-yom-kippur/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z2aVC-6D72U/hqdefault.jpg Is Forgiveness Guaranteed on Yom Kippur? Rabbi Greenberg explains what happens on Yom Kippur beyond the forgiveness of sins, beginning with a common question: why ask for forgiveness after already being judged on Rosh Hashanah? He answers that the day is about relationship. On Rosh Hashanah we proclaim God as King and form a deep relationship with Him. The seven days that follow correspond to the days of the week and to the seven emotional attributes of the soul, and in them that relationship is internalized. By Yom Kippur a person reaches oneness with God, and asking for forgiveness serves only to remove obstacles to the relationship. Yom Kippur has five prayers, while every other holiday has four. Citing the mystics, Rabbi Greenberg explains that they correspond to five layers of the soul: action, emotion, understanding, willpower, and the soul's core, which is one with God regardless of behavior, emotions or understanding. On Yom Kippur that core is revealed and felt, and at that level sins do not matter. https://www.youtube.com/embed/z2aVC-6D72U 228 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/moshiach/is-moshiach-jewish/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v4kKZXRSfsU/hqdefault.jpg Is Moshiach Jewish? Rabbi Greenberg explains why Mashiach is a Jewish belief at its origin and not something borrowed from other religions. He observes that many Jews dismiss ideas such as Mashiach, the afterlife and the resurrection of the dead because other faiths hold them, while absorbing non-Jewish practices such as knocking on wood. He defines Mashiach as shorthand for a messianic age ushered in by a great Jewish leader who will rebuild the Beis HaMikdash on its site, followed by an age of peace and holiness and then the resurrection of the dead. He traces the idea through those sources: the end of Deuteronomy, which foretells exile and return; Bilaam's prophecy in Numbers, which the Rambam and Rashi apply to Mashiach; Isaiah 11 and 12; the Talmud's statement that the world was created for Mashiach; and the Rambam's twelfth principle of faith. Citing the Sefer Mitzvos Katan, he reads "I am God your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt" as a commandment to believe that God will also redeem the Jewish people in the future. The prayers carry the same theme: five of the Amidah's requests concern redemption, Rashi reads the Shema as looking to a time when God will be one for everyone, and the Kaddish anticipates God's name being sanctified. By his own count, the subject comes up at least 20,000 times a year in prayer. He closes with its place in Jewish life: the Ani Maamin melody sung on the way to the death camps, Kiddush Levanah, and the breaking of the glass at a wedding, which he also sees as a model of the future restoration. https://www.youtube.com/embed/v4kKZXRSfsU 1333 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/is-kindness-genetic/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-kJxLHcYJlk/hqdefault.jpg Is Kindness Genetic? Rabbi Greenberg explains why Abraham, and not the righteous Noah, is considered the first Jew, and why Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are called our fathers. Just as parents pass on genetic material, the patriarchs passed on spiritual genes: Jacob, who sat in the tents of Torah, gave us the ability to learn Torah; Isaac, offered on Mount Moriah, gave us the power of prayer; and Abraham gave us kindness. Even Jews who have gone off the path, he notes, still feel they must help others. The Amidah mentions all three patriarchs but ends with "Shield of Abraham," because Abraham is unique. God created the world out of a desire to do kindness, and Abraham was the first to bring that kindness into the world and pass it to his descendants; the sages read the word for "when they were created" as "for the sake of Abraham." This is also why, when asked by a CNN reporter for his message to the world, the Rebbe said to add in goodness and kindness. Rabbi Greenberg then explains the Midrash that the three angels who visited Abraham after his circumcision were the masters of the desert, of produce and of the sea, representing the whole world brought to Abraham. In each person they represent times of emptiness and depression, times of success that can still feel purposeless, and stormy times; in each case the answer is Abraham's kindness. Every mitzvah, he concludes, can tip the scales and bring redemption to the world. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-kJxLHcYJlk 1313 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/holidays/its-not-your-business/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rQKxoFUo45o/hqdefault.jpg It's Not Your Business Rabbi Greenberg explains why the consequences of helping another person are not our business, through Jacob's meeting with his brother Esau. Rashi notes that Jacob brought his wives and eleven sons but hid his daughter Dinah in a box, fearing Esau would want to marry her, and that Jacob was punished for it. Rabbi Greenberg asks why, since any father would protect his daughter, and cites a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov who says Jacob feared Dinah would change Esau for the better. Rabbi Greenberg suggests that Jacob, recalling the prophecy that when one brother rises the other falls, worried that a spiritually elevated Esau would undermine his own mission to raise a nation committed to the Torah. Yet that is God's concern, not ours, as the prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah, who refused to marry because he foresaw an evil son. Our task is to bring every Jew closer to God, taking precautions but never shirking the responsibility, and that love will bring the redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rQKxoFUo45o 240 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/torah-studies/jacob-never-died/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TlqgpzXTGGo/hqdefault.jpg Jacob Never Died Rabbi Greenberg explains why the portion that closes Genesis is called Vayechi, "and he lived," when it deals with Jacob's passing. He cites the Talmud's statement that "our father Jacob did not die" and Rashi's comment that people only imagined he had died. Jacob personified truth, which means total consistency, so his life continued. He then raises questions: the portion says "the days drew near for Israel to die," using the plural and the name Israel rather than Jacob, and Rashi links Jacob's death to the start of slavery, though slavery began only after Joseph and his brothers died. His answer distinguishes God's true reality from the virtual reality of human perception. In truth Jacob did not die; his children, called Israel, projected their own mortality onto him. Rabbi Greenberg calls this the seal of Genesis because all of Judaism rests on this distinction: the claims that business requires deception or a store cannot close on Shabbos treat perception as reality and the Torah as unrealistic. In the Messianic age, which the Rebbe taught is at the threshold, everyone will see true reality. https://www.youtube.com/embed/TlqgpzXTGGo 1082 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/just-one-how-are-you-can-save-the-world/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LLvefVXzI7k/hqdefault.jpg Just One "How are you?" Can Save the World Rabbi Greenberg explains how a single act of kindness can literally save the world, using an explanation of the Rebbe on the story of Joseph. The Rebbe often cited the Rambam, who codifies the Talmud's teaching that one mitzvah can tip the scales for the entire world, and the question is whether this is meant literally or as an exaggeration. Joseph, sold as a slave and then thrown into prison on a false accusation, had every reason to think only of his own misery. Instead he noticed that Pharaoh's butler and baker were downcast and asked them why. Because of that question he interpreted their dreams, and two years later the butler remembered him when Pharaoh's dream needed interpreting. Joseph's interpretation led Egypt to store food during the seven years of plenty, saving Egypt and the rest of the world that depended on it from the famine. Had he minded his own business, none of this would have happened. Rabbi Greenberg concludes that, as the Rebbe told a CNN reporter, one more act of goodness and kindness could bring the ultimate redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LLvefVXzI7k 190 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/kosher-chutzpah/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P_WqY44ETYM/hqdefault.jpg Kosher Chutzpah Rabbi Greenberg explains why a Jew should answer cynicism and mockery with "kosher, holy chutzpah." The Torah's seemingly redundant statement that Abraham fathered Isaac is explained by Rashi: cynics claimed Sarah had conceived from Avimelech, so God made Isaac's face identical to Abraham's. Their mockery had no logic, since if God could perform a miracle for Sarah at ninety He could do so for Abraham. He contrasts this with Amalek, who attacked the Jewish people after the Exodus to cool the awe the nations felt toward them. The Philistine type of cynicism strikes at the beginning, when we are weak and unsophisticated; Amalek's is more sophisticated and keeps coming every day, dismissing miracles as no big deal. Orach Chaim, the section of the Code of Jewish Law known as "the path of life," opens by telling us not to be embarrassed before those who mock, and ends with the laws of Purim, the defeat of Amalek, and the words "a good heart is always celebrating." Living on the threshold of the Messianic age, we should reject both kinds of cynicism outright. https://www.youtube.com/embed/P_WqY44ETYM 282 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/leaving-an-empty-space/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P34i19LeWsg/hqdefault.jpg Leaving an Empty Space Rabbi Greenberg explains why, on the seventh night of Chanukah, seven lights are kindled in a menorah that has eight places, leaving one place empty. Seven represents the pinnacle of achievement, like the seven-day week, yet the empty space is a reminder that there is always room for more growth. This reflects the principle that we always go up in matters of holiness, like a climber who keeps going until reaching the summit. https://www.youtube.com/embed/P34i19LeWsg 90 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/light-of-the-future/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ksi7a_aARh8/hqdefault.jpg Light of the Future Rabbi Greenberg explains how Chanukah is first hinted in the Torah and why its lights give a taste of the Messianic era. The 25th word of the Torah is "or," light, and Chanukah falls on the 25th of Kislev. The darkness before that light, the Midrash says, refers to Greece. The light itself is the light of the first day of creation, hidden away for the Messianic age, and every Chanukah we see a glimmer of it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ksi7a_aARh8 82 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/little-is-big/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bJkjAW4OoLA/hqdefault.jpg Little Is Big Rabbi Greenberg explains why on the first night of Chanukah we light only one candle rather than all eight at once. The essence of Chanukah is quality over quantity: the Maccabees were far fewer than their enemy and still prevailed, and even one candle can dispel a lot of darkness. Even the first night, with its single light, has the power to change the world and bring the ultimate redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bJkjAW4OoLA 68 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/moshiach/moshiach-a-foundation-of-judaism-part-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5pav72Yox_k/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach: A Foundation of Judaism - Part 2 Rabbi Greenberg continues explaining why belief in Mashiach, which the Rambam lists as the twelfth of the 13 principles of faith, is a foundation of Judaism and not just one belief among many. He reviews two explanations from the previous class: the Abarbanel's, that only the Messianic age will answer questions about God's justice when good people suffer, and the Rebbe's, drawn from the Rambam, that the Torah cannot be fully kept in exile without the Beis HaMikdash. He adds two more. The Rebbe teaches that the Torah is the blueprint of creation and therefore true reality; any conflict with what we perceive means our perception is wrong, and this will be fully seen only in the Messianic age. Based on chassidic thought, the world was created to be a dwelling place for God in the lowest realm, a world that conceals Him; through free choice, Torah study and mitzvos, people bring God back into it, and the Messianic age is the fulfillment of that plan. This is why the Talmud says the world was created for Mashiach, alongside the opinions that it was created for Moses and for King David. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5pav72Yox_k 1015 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/moshiach-judaism/moshiach-a-foundation-of-judaism/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iUwyad4wwIY/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach: A Foundation of Judaism Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Rambam counts belief in Mashiach as one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith, a foundation of Judaism without which the whole structure would collapse. He first describes how central the belief is: it appears in the Five Books of Moses and throughout the Prophets, fills the prayers, and is a Jewish belief that other religions adopted, not the reverse. A principle of faith, he explains, is like a building's foundation: other beliefs, such as angels, are true because the Torah teaches them, but Judaism could stand without them. Why, then, is Mashiach essential and not merely a reward? He presents three answers from the Abarbanel's Rosh Amanah: Mashiach is stressed throughout the Torah and Prophets; it extends the principle of reward and punishment; and, most compelling, only the Messianic age will answer why good people suffer, a question that otherwise challenges God's justice. Rabbi Greenberg adds the Rebbe's teaching that God does not explain suffering now because, if we understood it, we would make peace with it instead of fighting it. Finally, based on the Rebbe's analysis of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Mashiach will rebuild the Beis HaMikdash, gather the Jewish people to Israel and restore all the mitzvos. Today Judaism is incomplete in its breadth (many mitzvos cannot be kept), its length (most Jews are not reached) and its depth; only the Messianic age makes the Torah whole. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iUwyad4wwIY 1511 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/moshiach-the-rational-mystery/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hMSzoIGT9gw/hqdefault.jpg Moshiach: The Rational Mystery Rabbi Greenberg explains why belief in Mashiach, though one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith, is also a rational belief. It is rational that a Creator had a purpose for creating the world, revealed it in the Torah at Sinai, and gave humans free choice to advance the world toward that goal, which is the messianic age. The world will not simply evolve by itself: the 20th century showed it can just as easily sink to the abyss. Yet technological, medical, economic and social progress shows a clear trajectory toward a better world. The Zohar foretold an outpouring of scientific knowledge paralleled by spiritual knowledge, which the spread of Chassidus matched. The Talmud predicts "birth pains" before Mashiach, and many Jewish leaders saw the Holocaust in this light. Rabbi Greenberg explains that every mitzvah releases a spiritual explosion greater than thousands of atom bombs that never dissipates, while evil fades through teshuvah and suffering. God keeps this accumulated good beneath the surface, like treasure under mud, to preserve free choice. The real question, then, is not how Mashiach could come but why he has not come already, which only God can answer, and the rational conclusion is that his coming is imminent. https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMSzoIGT9gw 1096 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/proactive-kindness/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7w_ZbuAwri0/hqdefault.jpg Proactive Kindness Rabbi Greenberg explains the difference between reactive and proactive kindness through the match of Isaac and Rebecca, the first Jewish marriage. Abraham's servant Eliezer asked God for a sign: the right girl would give him water and also offer to water his camels. Why the double condition? Giving water when asked is reactive kindness, responding to a need one sees. Offering water to the camels unasked is proactive kindness: seeking out needs before they confront you, as Abraham did when he sat outside his tent in his pain, waiting for guests, until God sent three angels disguised as men. God shows both kinds as well. Seeing our suffering in exile and acting to relieve it is reactive kindness, while creating the world, when there was no suffering to respond to, was proactive kindness, because God desires kindness. After Mashiach comes and all suffering is removed, God will return to proactive kindness. The lesson for the last days of exile is not to be satisfied with answering needs, but to go out and look for Jews and others to help, materially and spiritually. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7w_ZbuAwri0 287 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/kabbalah/reality-in-3-dimensions/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MAbAXzQD94A/hqdefault.jpg Reality in 3 Dimensions Rabbi Greenberg explains how the written Torah, the oral Torah and the mystical teachings give three dimensions to the story of Jacob and Esau in Parshas Toldos. The written text alone can make Esau look obedient and refined and Jacob look like the one who took the birthright and blessings by deception. The oral tradition shows the opposite: Esau deceived his father with pious-sounding questions, and on the day Abraham passed away he committed terrible crimes and came home demanding the lentils cooked for the mourners. Rabbi Greenberg compares this to "an eye for an eye," which, following Maimonides, means the offender pays in place of his own eye. The third dimension, from Kabbalah and Chassidic teachings, is that Esau's spiritual source was higher than Jacob's, but it only hovered over him (makif) and he could not internalize it. Isaac hoped to help him do so; Rebecca knew it was not possible and directed the blessings to Jacob, whose descendants would refine the world until, in the messianic age, even Esau's descendants are refined. Likewise, the world's glitter and its corruption are both surface views; its essence is the transcendent energy we must bring into it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MAbAXzQD94A 907 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gratitude/redefining-gratitude/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LSAsJA7l_mQ/hqdefault.jpg Redefining Gratitude Rabbi Greenberg explains what real gratitude means in Judaism and why it must be directed toward someone. Gratitude runs through Jewish life: the day begins with Modeh Ani, the Amidah contains a blessing of thanks, the holidays are based on thanking God, and many commentators see honoring parents as gratitude to those who gave us life. The first mention of gratitude in the Torah is in Parshas Vayeitzei, when Leah names her fourth son Yehudah because she received more than her share of Jacob's twelve sons. That name became the name of the Jewish people, Yehudi, the people who show gratitude. Gratitude, he says, must be constant, and it must be addressed to someone. Thanking acknowledges that another person, or God, contributed to one's good fortune. Saying "I'm thankful for my health" without directing it to anyone is only feeling good about one's luck, which keeps the focus on oneself. The ultimate gratitude will come in the messianic age, when the thanksgiving offering will remain even after other private offerings cease, and Mashiach will descend from King David, a descendant of Yehudah. https://www.youtube.com/embed/LSAsJA7l_mQ 250 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/six-steps-to-being-happy-and-wealthy/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xNRi_bp8ADQ/hqdefault.jpg Six Steps to Being Happy and Wealthy Rabbi Greenberg explains how wealth can be a positive thing that brings happiness, using the letters of the word "wealth" as six steps. He notes that the patriarchs, Joseph, Moses, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Judah HaNasi were all wealthy, yet the sages say a rich person is one who is satisfied with his lot; the answer, he says, lies in one's attitude to wealth. W is knowing where it comes from: all wealth is like the manna, a gift from God, though a person must create a vessel to receive the blessing, as he illustrates with a gallon of water poured from a vending machine with no container. E is energy: the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom DovBer, told a Chassid who had immersed himself in a boot business that he had seen feet in boots, but never a head. A is accomplishment: Shabbos lets a person stop working and savor what was achieved, as God did after six days. L is license and legitimacy: a Midrash says gold was created for the Sanctuary, meaning wealth is meant to make one's home and life a sanctuary for God, which gives life the meaning many wealthy people lack. T is tzedakah: the giver gains more than the recipient, because a mitzvah connects him to the infinite. H is happiness: wealth cannot be enjoyed without physical health and a soul nourished by mitzvos. In the Messianic age, he concludes, physical wealth will reflect spiritual wealth. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xNRi_bp8ADQ 1239 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/standing-on-the-river/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9QSn4HnjRwE/hqdefault.jpg Standing on the River Rabbi Greenberg explains the difference between Judaism and all other "isms" through a detail in Pharaoh's dreams, which set in motion the events that led to the Exodus and the giving of the Torah. The Torah says Pharaoh dreamed he was standing on the Nile, but when he told the dream to Joseph he said he stood on the riverbank. According to the Midrash, Joseph corrected him: you were standing on the river itself. The Nile was Egypt's god and the source of its sustenance, so Pharaoh was embarrassed to admit he stood on his god. Yet that is the truth of pagan gods: people create them in their own image, and their many gods reflect human traits, mostly bad ones, which can then justify any behavior. Man-made ideologies always mix in human weakness. Judaism holds that we are created in God's image, and in the messianic age the world will recognize that God is not our creation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9QSn4HnjRwE 259 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/judaism/ten-to-discover-the-one/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iRPgHxfKi6w/hqdefault.jpg Ten to Discover the One Rabbi Greenberg explains where the requirement of ten men for a minyan, a prayer quorum, comes from and what each source teaches. God says "I will be sanctified among the children of Israel," and the ten spies who slandered the Land are called a community, so a community is ten. The Rebbe explains that the spies were idealists who wanted to stay in the spiritual life of the desert; their conclusion was wrong, but prayer should carry their longing to rise closer to God, drawing inspiration to make this world a dwelling place for Him. The Jerusalem Talmud finds a second source in parshas Miketz, where Joseph's ten brothers come to Egypt "among those who came." The letters of "those who came" allude to the four exiles of Babylon, Edom, Greece and Media, and Rabbi Greenberg explains that exile hides a great spiritual energy that can only be revealed from within it. Like the shepherds who needed everyone to roll the stone off the well, which Jacob did alone, individuals need a minyan to uncover that hidden holiness. The same applies to studying Torah together, which the Rebbe strongly emphasized. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iRPgHxfKi6w 1043 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-five-expressions-of-redemption/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A03Eks82OB4/hqdefault.jpg The Five Expressions of Redemption Rabbi Greenberg explains why God used four expressions of redemption when sending Moses to the Jewish people in Egypt, and what the fifth expression adds. One simple reading sees four stages: an end to torturous labor, an end to slavery itself, freedom to leave, and finally the Torah given at Sinai, since a person who is free without spiritual life becomes enslaved to many other masters. He then offers another explanation based on a Midrash that the Jews in Egypt merited redemption for four qualities: they kept their Hebrew names, kept their language, did not slander one another, and kept their family life pure. He links each to one expression: keeping their own identity rather than their masters'; thinking with Jewish content, as in Rabbi Zalman Posner's book "Speak English but Think Jewish"; unity, which made the Exodus a collective one "with an outstretched arm"; and control over their drives, made possible when God made Himself their source of life. The fifth expression, "I will bring you to the land," corresponds to the cup set aside for Elijah, and to faith and yearning for the redemption with Mashiach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/A03Eks82OB4 883 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/holidays/the-jewish-holiday-that-breaks-all-boundaries/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dcFc8LNN7hM/hqdefault.jpg The Jewish Holiday That Breaks All Boundaries Rabbi Greenberg explains why Simchas Torah is so joyous and why its celebration is built on circles. On Simchas Torah we finish reading the Five Books of Moses and, instead of moving on to the next book, go back to the beginning, and we dance with the Torah in circles. A circle has no beginning and no end, and this, he explains, expresses the infinity of the Torah: it is wisdom we can learn and grasp, but it is divine wisdom, and just as God is infinite, so is His wisdom. The Hebrew word for song, shir or shirah, also means a ring, since a song, too, starts over when it ends. For the same reason a ring is given at a wedding, to bring the divine and infinite into a marriage rather than base it on give-and-take. Rabbi Greenberg adds that Simchas Torah has two meanings: we rejoice with the Torah, and the Torah rejoices with us, because our soul also holds a power of infinity that the Torah reveals. When Mashiach comes, he will reveal the Torah's deepest secrets. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dcFc8LNN7hM 200 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/kabbalah/the-kabbalah-of-gratitude-part-2/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DVZLUlR5SOo/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Gratitude - Part 2 Rabbi Greenberg sets out four rules that distinguish genuine gratitude from gratitude that is false or insufficient. Ego, not money, is the root of all evil, he says, and gratitude is the ability to set the ego aside and recognize someone beyond oneself. That is why humble people can be happy: everything they receive is an undeserved gift. First, the focus cannot be on "I"; in the morning prayer Modeh Ani the word "thank" comes before "I." Second, gratitude must be directed to someone. Saying only "I'm grateful for my health" celebrates one's own good fortune, and even if God or a benefactor is meant, saying it aloud strengthens the conviction. Third, it should be specific, which is why we thank someone again after opening a gift and why each food has its own blessing. The Talmud records Rabbi Yehuda, whose name comes from the word for thanks, calling for a separate blessing on leafy vegetables, while the general after-blessing is not considered a full blessing because it is not specific, as the Rashba explains, though it teaches gratitude even for ordinary things. Fourth, gratitude must grow over time. Rabbi Greenberg tells of Rabbi Saadiah Gaon, who explained his intense repentance with a story about an innkeeper who begged forgiveness once he learned who his guest had been: as his understanding of God grew, so did his sense of what he owed. The class ends with the thanksgiving offering of the messianic era. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DVZLUlR5SOo 1312 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-kabbalah-of-gratitude-part-3/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0FbADYuqxxw/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Gratitude - Part 3 Rabbi Greenberg explains the fourth rule of authentic gratitude, that it must grow, and a form of gratitude that goes beyond quid pro quo. After reviewing the first three rules (minimize the "I," direct thanks to someone, and be specific), he turns to the Talmud's story of Dama ben Nesina, a Roman official who would not wake his sleeping father to sell a jewel for the High Priest's breastplate, giving up a much higher offer. God rewarded him with a red cow. Based on the Chiddushei HaRim, Rabbi Greenberg explains that the Jewish people then paid a fortune for a red cow, used in a mitzvah beyond logic, showing that their gratitude to God is not merely repayment for benefits. A real relationship, especially marriage, is a covenant, not a contract: each side gives a hundred percent. The Amidah's blessing "All those who are alive will thank You" links gratitude with life itself, since human life means going out of oneself toward others; for the same reason gratitude and happiness go together. The Hebrew word for alive is plural because life means living with and for another. The letters of that word also stand for four dangers after which one must thank God: illness, imprisonment, the sea and the desert. Rabbi Greenberg applies them to relationships that are lifeless, controlling, turbulent or abusive. A relationship that rises above these is eternal and grows stronger over time, and when Mashiach comes the only private offering will be the thanksgiving offering. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0FbADYuqxxw 1673 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/gratitude/the-kabbalah-of-gratitude/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AAZiCOtmTMU/hqdefault.jpg The Kabbalah of Gratitude Rabbi Greenberg explains the role of gratitude in Judaism, organized around the letters of the word THANKS. T is for transgression: Adam's first real sin was not eating the forbidden fruit, which God had made almost irresistible, but blaming "the woman You gave me" instead of thanking God for a partner. H is for holidays and health: Pesach, Sukkos, Shavuos, Chanukah and Purim give thanks for miracles, while the Asher Yatzar blessing thanks God for a body that works. A is for awakening: Modeh Ani, said on waking, puts the thanks first and the "I" second. N is for the name: "Jew" comes from Yehudah, named when Leah thanked God for a fourth son, more than her share of Jacob's twelve; Mordechai was called "the Jew" for acknowledging only one God. K is for korban todah, the thanksgiving offering, which the sages say will remain in the messianic age when other private offerings end. S is for sustenance: the first fruits once brought to the Beis HaMikdash and the blessings before and after eating. Moses did not strike the river or the earth that had saved him, teaching sensitivity and gratitude even toward inanimate things. https://www.youtube.com/embed/AAZiCOtmTMU 952 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/the-two-prong-approach/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zYEgFo_bJDc/hqdefault.jpg The Two Prong Approach Rabbi Greenberg explains why the Jewish people were given two specific commandments, the Pesach offering and circumcision, before leaving Egypt. The Midrash says they were "naked," lacking virtues, and he explains that freedom without real virtues is as much a threat as slavery and would not have lasted. Citing the Rebbe, he says two commandments were needed because redemption requires both doing good and removing evil. Circumcision, a dedication to God imprinted on the body and done at some risk, was the positive act. The Pesach offering was the repudiation of the negative: the lamb was an Egyptian idol, and slaughtering it rejected the idolatry the people had fallen into, at the risk of harm from the Egyptians. Our own redemption, Rabbi Greenberg concludes, likewise depends on adding mitzvos while suppressing the desires that pull us away from God. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zYEgFo_bJDc 242 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/there-is-someone-who-needs-your-help/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aw5sOCKIFWE/hqdefault.jpg There Is Someone Who Needs Your Help Rabbi Greenberg, speaking on behalf of Colel Chabad, explains why kindness is the one thing the Jewish people never abandoned. The Talmud stresses that the daily blessing mentioning Abraham, Isaac and Jacob concludes with Abraham alone. The patriarchs represent the three pillars on which the world stands: Jacob stands for Torah, Isaac, who was offered as a sacrifice, for divine service, and Abraham for loving kindness. There were times when Torah study was banned, by the Romans, the Greeks and the Soviet Union, and times when offerings could not be brought after the Temple was destroyed, but even Jews who knew little of Torah or prayer knew how to help another and give tzedakah. He recounts a story told by Sam Friedman, a congregant and Holocaust survivor: in Auschwitz, after a day of slave labor, Polish Jews would not go to sleep until they had dragged the newly arrived Hungarian Jews to be doused with cold water to keep them alive. Just as the blessing ends with Abraham, the exile will end through kindness. When CNN asked the Rebbe for his message about Mashiach, he answered: a little more goodness and a little more kindness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/aw5sOCKIFWE 422 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/transforming-the-rebels/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9x93wr4QPXQ/hqdefault.jpg Transforming the Rebels Rabbi Greenberg explains a Chassidic reading of the Talmud's deadline for lighting the Chanukah menorah: until the Tarmuda'ei, a nation of the Talmud's time, are no longer walking in the street. Rearranged, the letters of their name spell a word meaning "rebellious," and the word for their leaving also means "consumed." The menorah's light, he teaches, is meant to absorb even our rebellious streak and transform it into holiness. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9x93wr4QPXQ 84 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/we-envy-you/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vuu4civLqPk/hqdefault.jpg We Envy You Rabbi Greenberg explains the three questions Jacob expected Esau to ask his servants: whose are you, where are you going, and whose are these things before you. The Chiddushei HaRim notes that they parallel the three reflections that Ethics of the Fathers says keep a person from sin: where you come from, where you are going, and before whom you will give an accounting. Esau, however, asks them to demoralize. He is the inner obstacle that tells us we have no pedigree to change the world, that the road to the goal, the final redemption, is too long, and that even if we arrive we will look insignificant beside the patriarchs, Moses and the sages. Jacob's answers respond to each. "We belong to your servant Jacob": every Jew descends from the patriarchs, and the Rebbe said there is no Jew without a background. "It is a gift": like a poor person's offering, a small contribution carries one's whole soul, and the obstacle itself draws out our strength. "He is behind us": each mitzvah builds on all past generations, and by staying faithful through exile's darkness this generation earns something even the great ones lacked. The Rebbe once told a young man considering intermarriage, "I envy you." https://www.youtube.com/embed/vuu4civLqPk 1170 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/relationships/when-the-tough-gets-going-the-going-gets-tough/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/62DnKykQQXE/hqdefault.jpg When The Tough Gets Going, The Going Gets Tough Speaking at the end of Tishrei, Rabbi Greenberg explains why "all beginnings are difficult" and how to carry the strength of the new year into the rest of the year. Psychologically, people fear change. Spiritually, the evil inclination puts its greatest pressure at the start, which is why, as the Rebbe explains, Adam and Eve failed with the first commandment and the Jewish people made the golden calf forty days after Sinai. In Kabbalah, judgment precedes mercy, as night came before day. Chassidic teaching explains that light that comes out of darkness is far more powerful, like a flashlight at night. Every hidden thing is guarded by a barrier that takes effort to break through: Rabbi Yosef Karo struggled for hours over a Talmudic passage that another scholar later solved easily, and an angel told him that once he broke the barrier, anyone could understand it. The Rebbe compared challenges to a vaccine, which carries the strength to overcome them. Rabbi Greenberg concludes that in these difficult times, at the beginning of the messianic age, a little more Torah, mitzvos and kindness will break through the final barrier to the redemption. https://www.youtube.com/embed/62DnKykQQXE 992 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/chanukah/why-is-chanukah-missing-in-the-mishna/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NF5mBi6LuTQ/hqdefault.jpg Why is Chanukah missing in the Mishna? Rabbi Greenberg explains why the laws of Chanukah are missing from the Mishnah, which Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi compiled so that the oral tradition would not be forgotten. Chanukah appears there only in passing, in a law of damages about a Chanukah candle that sets fire to flax on a camel. The simplest answer is that some of its laws were already written in an earlier text, Megillas Taanis, the Scroll of Fasting. He then reinterprets an explanation attributed to the Chasam Sofer: that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, a descendant of King David, left Chanukah out because the Hasmoneans' descendants took the monarchy for themselves. Rather than a punishment, Rabbi Greenberg suggests it means Chanukah does not need a Mishnah. Had the Hasmoneans appointed a descendant of King David, the Messianic age would have come, with no exile and no need to write the Mishnah. Mishnah, Menasheh (forgetting), shemen (oil) and shmoneh (eight) share the same letters, and eight represents transcending nature and structure. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NF5mBi6LuTQ 944 2022-01-05T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg https://www.rabbigreenberg.com/video/general/rabbi-heschel-greenberg-life-s-mission/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pdB-Yepnyqc/hqdefault.jpg Rabbi Heschel Greenberg Life's Mission Rabbi Greenberg describes how he came to his life's mission of teaching Torah. Unlike people who struggle to find their purpose, he says he never hesitated: he grew up listening to his father teach, and at 14 his father had him give the advanced talk that rabbis deliver in the shul before Passover. When a colleague asked him to come to Buffalo to give classes, he could not imagine living there, but he asked the Rebbe, the Rebbe said yes, and he has now been in Buffalo almost 49 years. He credits the Rebbe as the source of most of his passion for Judaism and teaching, recalling a farbrengen (the Rebbe's gathering) where he translated the Rebbe's Yiddish talks for guests from Buffalo and saw the Rebbe look at him with great love. He observes that Jews today are more educated secularly than ever, yet never so uneducated Jewishly, and that the power to change this comes from knowledge. He announces that he is expanding his teaching and invites viewers to join his classes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pdB-Yepnyqc 242 2021-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Rabbi Heschel Greenberg