A Burst of Clarity

Passover, by itself, is “the time of our freedom,” because the desire and commitment to do good, is the essence of and key to freedom.

The goal of Passover, expressed by the matzah, is a pure and simple commitment to a life of morality and a relationship with G-d.

#passover #jewish #clarity #philosophy ... See more

Passover is probably the most widely known of all of the Jewish holidays.

The central focus of Passover is the journey of the Jewish people from slavery to freedom.

At the beginning of the Seder, we refer to Passover as the “time of our freedom.”

Pirkei Avot (6:2) declares — “There is no free person other than one who is immersed in the study of the Torah.”

But shouldn't “immersion in the study of the Torah” actually limit our freedom, since the Torah is filled with lots of obligations and prohibitions? ... See more

The most important point in life is personal rectification.

Nothing else really matters, which will become crystal clear to every one of us on our final day of judgment.

Many people simply live from day to day, without any clear purpose or understanding of what the opportunity of life actually is.

People are often born and later die, having accomplished very little in terms of personal rectification.

#motivation #jewish #principles #meaning #accomplishment #life #personal #live #opportunity ... See more

The Moral Imperative Proof is one of the classical arguments for the existence of G-d. It asks us to consider what type of a world would exist if there were no absolute, objective morality.

I hope that you find it interesting, provocative, and helpful.https://mailchi.mp/e9f1a623550d/tisha-bav-and-communal-difficulties-13575722 ... See more

The obligation to pray for the community is enormous.

There is an obligation to feel the pain of others, which is actually able to help the situation of the other person.

As it says in Ta'anit 11a: Whoever separates from the community and does not share their pain, will not see their consolation.

Also- "Whoever pains himself with the community will merit to see the consolation of the community."

#jewish #clarity #community #obligation ... See more

The Miracle of the #Menorah, by Rabbi Asher Resnick:

Rav Hirsch (in his commentary on the Torah – Parshas Terumah) explains that the menorah, the vehicle for the miracle of #Chanukah, beautifully expressed this #Torah perspective. To appreciate his words, we first need to understand the symbolism of the numbers six, seven, and eight:
a. Six (as in the first six days of creation) expresses the idea of physicality exclusively for the sake of the physical — i.e., as an end in itself.
b. Seven (as in Shabbat — the seventh day of the week) — expresses the concept of physical for the sake of that which is beyond the physical — i.e., as a means to connect to G-d and the spiritual realm.
c. Eight (as in circumcision — ideally done on the eighth day) — expresses the notion of the spiritual realm and reality — i.e., entirely beyond the physical.
Rav Hirsch wrote that the menorah had seven branches arranged in a configuration of six plus one (i.e., one single central branch — like the trunk of a tree, with three branches extending outward on either side). The six outer lights all had their wicks pointing inward towards the seventh one — which itself pointed towards the Kodesh Kodashim (holy of holies) in the Temple. This expressed the #Jewish concept of the number seven — the physical for the sake of that which is beyond the physical. ... See more

Whether we should relate to beauty as a means or as an end is one of the core areas of conflict between the physicality/superficiality of Greek values and the spirituality/depth of Torah values.

While both the Greeks and the Jews had an appreciation of the physical world, this value stemmed from fundamentally different perspectives — i.e., whether the physical was an end in and of itself — as the Greeks believed, or a means to a higher-end — as the Jews believed.

See more here: https://jewishclarity.com/mitzvot-and-jewish-holidays/chanukah/

#jewish #holiday #chanukah #holidays ... See more

The specific event we celebrate on the first night of Chanukah is the actual finding of the pure oil. This pure flask in the midst of the Greek defilement of the Temple is symbolic of the pintele yid — the Jewishness deep within every Jew, no matter how far away he happens to be from Judaism. And once we are able to ignite this dormant Jewishness, it will continue to radiate light."

See more here: https://jewishclarity.com/mitzvot-and-jewish-holidays/chanukah/

Have a happy Chanukah from Jewish Clarity!

#jewish #clarity #chanukah ... See more

Proper dedication, the very meaning of Chanukah, is the essence of Jewish life.

The battle of Chanukah, the clash between Greek and Jewish values, is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.

#chanukah #jewish #holidays ... See more