Holidays

• The Divine Plan

  Mar 5, 2024 Admin 0 Comments

  In Megilat Esther, Chapter 2, Pasuk 7, we find something interesting and shocking.
  
  וַיְהִ֨י אֹמֵ֜ן אֶת־הֲדַסָּ֗ה הִ֤יא אֶסְתֵּר֙ בַּת־דֹּד֔וֹ כִּ֛י אֵ֥ין לָ֖הּ אָ֣ב וָאֵ֑ם וְהַנַּעֲרָ֤ה יְפַת־תֹּ֙אַר֙ וְטוֹבַ֣ת מַרְאֶ֔ה וּבְמ֤וֹת אָבִ֙יהָ֙ וְאִמָּ֔הּ לְקָחָ֧הּ מׇרְדֳּכַ֛י ל֖וֹ לְבַֽת׃ - He was foster father to Hadassah—that is, Esther—his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young girl was beautiful and good-looking, and when her father and mother died, Mordechai adopted her as his own daughter. 
  
  Some commentators translate the לְקָחָ֧הּ מׇרְדֳּכַ֛י ל֖וֹ לְבַֽת - Mordechai adopted her as his daughter; instead, they say that Mordechai took Esther as his wife.
  
  So, the shocking part would be that when Achashverosh was looking for a wife, Esther ended up as a contestant in a beauty pageant and later as the wife of Achashverosh. 
  
  Wow! How did that happen? A married Jewish lady, who never got a get, was never officially divorced, still had a living husband, ends up as the wife of another man, a non-Jew, a Persian monarch, a ruler of many nations?! Why would anyone agree to this? Why would Esther agree to this? Why would Mordechai allow his wife to go and live with another man? What would people say? The story says that Achashverosh didn't know she was Jewish because she hid that fact, but the local Jewish community—they were no fools —knew her and Mordechai, and they knew she was still his wife. Imagine the daily slander floating in the community as if Hashem canceled out the laws of lashon hara - the stories, the dirt, the looks - the daily new insights.
  
  This is a very serious issue —how do we understand it? It seems like Mordechai and Esther were driven by something. But what can it be? To understand this, we need to look at a different episode in the Torah, which I believe is where they drew their inspiration.
  
  In Parashat Vayera, Chapter 19, the Torah tells us how two angels came to save Lot and his family by taking them out of Sodom before it was destroyed. So the two daughters and father, Lot, end up in some cave outside the city. And this is where I would like to draw your attention.
  
  The two daughters of Lot thought that there was no man left in the world, so they decided to be with their father to continue mankind. To accomplish this, they decide to intoxicate their father with wine. And that’s exactly how they did it. 
  
  Chapter 19:36-38 - וַֽתַּהֲרֶ֛יןָ שְׁתֵּ֥י בְנֽוֹת־ל֖וֹט מֵאֲבִיהֶֽן׃  - Thus the two daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 
  וַתֵּ֤לֶד הַבְּכִירָה֙ בֵּ֔ן וַתִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ מוֹאָ֑ב ה֥וּא אֲבִֽי־מוֹאָ֖ב עַד־הַיּֽוֹם׃ - The older one bore a son and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 
  וְהַצְּעִירָ֤ה גַם־הִוא֙ יָ֣לְדָה בֵּ֔ן וַתִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ בֶּן־עַמִּ֑י ה֛וּא אֲבִ֥י בְנֵֽי־עַמּ֖וֹן עַד־הַיּֽוֹם׃ - And the younger also bore a son, and she called him Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. 
  
  So, the oldest daughter named him Moav—another way to read מוֹאָ֑ב is Me Av, which means "From My Father" (as if she were declaring it to the world).
  
  Whaaaaaaat?? Why would anyone name their son this way? Didn't she realize that people will point their fingers in his face and tell him that he came into this world not in a kosher way, and there is a whole lot wrong with his lineage? Why would a mother put her son through so much shame and put herself through shame as well? The second daughter named her son Ben-Ammi, the Son of My Nation, which could be anyone and nothing shameful. You could say that she had a blissful life with no worries or concerns.
  
  But the oldest asked for trouble by naming her son this way, and she got plenty of it. But because she chose to be honest, unlike her other sister, with no made-up stories, accepted her situation, and went through that shame and suffering in life, so as not to mislead anyone, she merited to have royalty come from her lineage - King David, King Solomon, all the way to the King Messiah.
  
  As Mordechai approached Esther, he told her that, for that generation to merit the next Bet Hamikdash, just as the oldest daughter of Lot merited kings, the only way was for Esther to marry Achashverosh.
  
  When everything was done and over and the nation was saved, Queen Esther had a son, Darius, who became King Darius II. She brought him up to be favorable toward the Jews, and he eventually lifted the ban on rebuilding the Bet Hamikdash, freed the nation, and helped them rebuild the Second Temple in Jerusalem.  
  
  So now, let’s talk about the Messiah. The holy books say that Mashiach will suffer greatly. Let’s try to understand that.
  
  The book of Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 53:10, says, “Hashem desired to oppress him, and He afflicted him.” In 53:7, “He was persecuted and afflicted.” In 53:5, “He was pained because of our rebellious sins and oppressed through our iniquities; the chastisement upon him was for our benefit, and through his wounds, we were healed.” In 53:4, “But in truth, it was our ills that he bore, and our pains that he carried.”
  
  Just as the oldest daughter of Lot endured her pain and humiliation, she merited the lineage of kings. Ruth the Moabite and her grandson, King David, went through their trials, which merited the nation the First Bet Hamikdash. The Queen Esther went through her difficulties and merited the nation the Second Bet Hamikdash. So the Righteous Messiah will go through pain and suffering just to atone for his generation, and eventually to merit the Third Bet Hamikdash in Yerushalayim.
  
  May Hashem bring about the events for the rebuilding of the Third Bet Hamikdash, and we see it rebuilt speedily in our days, Amen!!
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• The Mystery of The Lit Candle

  Apr 11, 2022 Admin 0 Comments

  Have you ever wondered why we light a candle during the Bedikat Chametz, or the Search for the Leavened Bread? This may seem like an ancient ceremony to the outsider, but as always, there may be reasons for it, and we should look into it.
  
  On the night of Bedikat Chametz, we use a candle and look for 10 pieces of bread that we hid before. Also, let me mention that we use a lit candle on Motzeh Shabbat during Havdalah. Why do we do that? Is there a connection between these two candles? There is, so let's examine it closely.
  
  The first time the fire is mentioned is in the Midrash for Parashat Bereshit, when Adam and Chavah left Gan Eden. When the night falls, it says that Adam gets scared since this is the first time he has experienced nighttime. Hashem told him not to worry since it is a normal occurrence. He taught him how to start a fire with stones, which gave Adam peace of mind and calmed him down. But more could be added to this Midrash, or explained from a different angle.

   

  Let's start with a question: how come Adam and Chavah ended up outside of Gan Eden?

   

  In Parashat Bereshit, right after Hashem created the world, Hashem told Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge; in turn, Adam told Chavah not to touch the tree. Later, when Adam wasn't around, Chavah was approached by a Nachash, a primordial snake. This is when the snake persuaded her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge by telling her Lashon Hara, or slandering Hashem, and she fell for it. There are several opinions about the tree's fruit - apple, grape, bread, and others... but I strongly believe this tree had ready-to-eat bread growing as fruit. 

   

  So there was Chavah - she took the fruit of that tree - a piece of bread from the Tree of Knowledge, and right before she ate it, the snake placed his poison into it - and Chavah ate the poisoned bread. And at that moment, the Yetzer Hara, or an Evil Inclination, went into her, and then she made Adam eat it as well. There they were, with Yetzer Hara, or Evil Inclination — also known as the bad character traits, such as jealousy, anger, hatred, dishonesty, rudeness, and more — deeply rooted in them and passed on to billions of people throughout the generations until today, all across the world.

   

  Hashem wasn't happy about this. He punished Adam, Chavah, and the snake, but humanity was still infected, and Hashem had to figure out how to somehow cleanse the people from it.

   

  And this is what Hashem did.

   

  Remember the time when Moshe Rabbeinu came to Egypt and took the Jewish nation out of Mitzrayim? In Parashat Beshalach, Hashem has given us manna in the desert—pure bread—food for the angels. It was bread that was digested fully by the body with no waste. There's a reason why Hashem has put millions of people in the desert on this diet—only one reason—to raise the nation spiritually to the level Adam HaRishon was at when he was in Gan Eden. 

   

  But later, when we get to Parashat Shelach, suddenly, the selected few get the idea of spying out the Land. Hashem is not so excited about this idea, but He still lets Moshe send out an expedition, which he does. After forty days, when they come back, what do they do? This time, they slander the Land of Israel. Hashem tried to cleanse the nation from that original sin that happened in Gan Eden, and raise the nation to high spiritual levels by giving them manna, but they fell for the same sin again, and this time by slandering the Land. So, Hashem decided to kill all the males between the ages of 20 and 60 years old of that generation, and only their children went to Israel years later. 

   

  But the Evil Inclination still dwelt in those who went to Eretz Yisrael.

   

  So, in Parashat Bo 12:11 it says, "So shall you eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You shall eat it in haste. It is a Passover offering to G-d." It continues in 12:34 & 39: "The people picked up its dough before it could become leavened, their leftovers bound up in their garments upon their shoulders. They baked the dough they took out of Egypt into unleavened cakes, for they could not be leavened, for they were driven from Egypt, for they could not delay." 

   

  So, for generations, eating unleavened bread—matzah, a pure bread with no chametz—has been set as a holiday of Pesach. 

   

  The Sages teach us to celebrate the night of Pesach and feel as if we are leaving Mitzrayim. But I don't believe that by leaving Mitzrayim, they meant that we should leave any physical location. Our Mitzrayim is our OK with the current situation, our contentment with it, and our will to continue living in it. Because the moment we understand what happened, we realize we have lost—and we have lost BIG.

   

  On Motzeh Shabbat, when we make the blessing for a lit candle, we look at our fingernails, which remind us of Adam HaRishon, since it says in the Midrash that his whole skin was covered by fingernails like skin, but now we have nails only on our fingers and toes. But this is not the only loss; it should remind us of others. It should remind us that we no longer live in the Gan Eden. No longer have ready-to-eat bread growing on the trees, and have to toil daily for a piece of bread. We no longer have a close relationship with Hashem and thus live in the darkness. No Bet Hamikdash, and no Eretz Yisrael, with wars, diseases, hunger, death, conflicts, and a whole lot of troubles across the globe.

   

  Therefore, while we look for chametz with a lit candle and gather the pieces of chametz—the leavened bread —we realize: Chametz, it is because of you that we have lost so much. The life we have, and the life the whole world has is not what Hashem initially intended it to be - and instead, we suffer today because of the poison the snake put into the bread - which is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge - which in turn has infected us, humans, with the Yetzer Hara or Evil Inclination from which we suffer daily. We take that bread and burn it, and with it, we annul all the Chametz that may be in our possession -- thus weakening its influence over us for the next 7 days.

   

  And to all those who think that G-d has abandoned the Jewish nation, should know that He has neither abandoned nor given up on us.

   

  He has commanded us to celebrate the Holiday of Pesach for seven days. And on this holiday, we are commanded to eat unleavened bread—the bread with zero chametz—the matzah. When we eat the matzah, we grow in our belief in G-d, and most importantly, in holiness. And this eventually will lead to the ultimate redemption, Mashiach, and Third Bet Hamikdash. May this happen speedily in our days. Amen!!

   

  Shmuel Katanov
  
  

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• Why men are obligated to light the Chanukah candles?

  Dec 15, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

  In the story of Chanukah, when the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem, they entered the Temple and removed all the idols that the army of Antiochus had placed there. When they wanted to light the menorah, they found only a small jug of pure olive oil bearing the seal of Rabbi Yochanan Cohen Hagadol. It was sufficient to light only for one day. By a miracle of Hashem, it continued to burn for eight days, till new oil was made available. That miracle proved that Hashem had again taken His people under His protection. In memory of this, our sages appointed these eight days for annual thanksgiving and candle lighting.

  
  Chachamim z"l tell us that the Second Temple was destroyed for only one sin - Sinat Chinam - Baseless Hatred. Only one sin brought down the House of G-d, and I believe we are still battling with it till today. There's no unity, and plenty of lashon hara, dislike, and ill will floating between the communities and among people. I believe that the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash is the sin of the men - this is something we as men are responsible for. 
  
  That's why the obligation to light the Chanukah menorah lies on men, and we have eight days to do it - in our own homes, each one, no matter what part of the world he is in, or what the situation he may be in. In addition, the Sages say that there's a segulah in looking at burning candles, and hopefully this will give us chidushim — new insights — into the Torah. But maybe it could also mean that we should look at the candles and ponder: how can we fix the divisiveness, the hatred, and the distancing between communities and people? We got the whole eight days to think,  and the rest of the year to carry out the plan. If anyone can do it, then it is we, men.
  
  Since the destruction of the Second Temple, Hashem has no home to reside in; the Shechina is in exile; the nation is spread around the world; and there are plenty of problems in families, the nation, and the world as a whole. 
  
  Perhaps, this is the time we say: We've had enough of it?!
  
  Perhaps, this is the time to approach this consciously?!
  
  Either, we can keep on lighting our menorahs for years to come - in exile and in our warm homes, distanced from each other, comfortable and in disagreements, or we put our egos aside, make up with each other, unite as a nation and light the Golden Menorah next year in the House of Hashem - our own Bet Hamikdash Shlishi?!!
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• Why do we light bonfires on Lag BaOmer?

  May 13, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

  Imagine it is dark, and hundreds of people are dancing around a huge bonfire, which lights up the excited faces of everyone present. But let me ask you, why have we had this tradition for hundreds of years?
  
  It says in the Zohar: "Rabbi Shimon said: All my life, I've been begging to reveal this secret. And up until today, my request has been turned down. But today, I received permission. I decree that this day does not turn into the night like any ordinary day. This day belongs to me, as I begin to reveal the secrets..." Rabbi Shimon sat down to engage in the Divine Torah. Rabbi Aba sat down in front of him and took notes... A fire burned around them, and the sun did not set. He revealed hidden Torah secrets from the Kabbalah until he reached the verse "... For there the L‑rd commanded the blessing, life forever." Rabbi Aba said: "Our teacher had not finished enunciating the word chaim ('life') when his words began to become increasingly imperceptible... Throughout the day, a fire burned in the house, and no one could come near him because he was engulfed by light and fire."
  
  Why was the daylight extended until he finished teaching? The Bnei Yissaschar explains that it was to signify that all the lights of the world were created for the Torah. Our bonfires mirror the sunlight that shone in honor of this special day.
  
  Another explanation: the bonfire lit is the fire within every individual, which may have been extinguished and is rekindled. This person will carry this light and light others who may not have been present at the bonfire event or who feel down in their service of HaShem, so they can also feel the excitement, see the beauty, and taste the sweetness of Torah and mitzvot.
  
  But there may be another explanation which I would like to present to you today.
  
  Interestingly, if you have ever been to this event, whether in Meron or in your neighborhood, you may have noticed that people are holding a small jug of oil. Some have candles, and during dancing, they throw them into the fire. Why do they do that?
  
  We observe Sefirat HaOmer because Rabbi Akiva's students did not treat each other with respect, did not see eye to eye, could not agree on their opinions, and did not accept each other's differences. As a punishment, they started dying, and on the 33rd day, they stopped passing away.
  
  From the first day of Omer to Lag BaOmer, we count 33 days, which, Kabalistically, represent different Kavanot. But in simple terms, we are required to work on our middot—the character traits—during this time of year and, day by day, become better people than we used to be.
  
  So here we are, dancing around the fire, and holding our jug of oil in our hands, and suddenly we see that guy, yes, that guy that did bad to us, spoke bad about us, or brought suffering upon us - simply someone we can't stand. So what do we do? Rabbi Akiva's students died because they mistreated each other, and we are not supposed to repeat their mistake, and we need to fix the situation - make the Tikun. But we can't, as we are circling the fire. The fire casts different shadows that make that person even more unbearable and cause us much agony.
  
  There's a story in the Zohar of the day when Rabbi Shimon came out of the cave. "When the father and son left the cave, they passed a field where they saw Jewish farmers working on the land; they said, 'Imagine people giving up the sacred study of the Torah for worldly matters!'"
  
  When they uttered these words, all the field produce rose in smoke. Then they heard a Heavenly voice saying, "Have you come out to destroy My world? Go back to your cave!" They returned to the cave for another 12 months and left it only after hearing the same Heavenly voice calling them to leave.
  
  Seeing a Jew carrying two bunches of myrtle, rushing home on Friday afternoon, they asked him what he was going to do with the myrtle.
  
  "It is to adorn my house in honor of the Shabbat," the man replied.
  
  "Would not one bunch of myrtle be sufficient to fill your house with fragrance?" they asked.
  
  The stranger replied, "I am taking two bunches, one for 'Remember the Shabbat day' and the other for 'Keep the Shabbat Day holy.'"
  
  Rabbi Shimon said to his son, "See how precious the mitzvot are to our brothers! Despite all the decrees and persecution of the Romans, the Jews still observed the commandments, especially the Shabbat. Rabbi Shimon and his son felt greatly encouraged."
  
  Many times in the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is referred to as butzina kadisha - "The Holy Candle" since he brought to light the secrets of the Torah, and was able to rise to the levels where he was able to have a different outlook on life.
  
  So as we dance around the bonfire, suddenly we realize that the 33 days of Omer that we have been counting have not done their job, and we still have a lot to fix. And at that moment, one thought gives us hope, that we still have another 16 days of Omer left to work on our middot. And that moment before throwing a jug of oil into the bonfire, we say our prayer: "Ribbono Shel Olam, please accept my small jug of oil and make it a Butzina Kadisha - 'the holy candle' that should join the grand fire and make my flame be part of it. Just like Rabbi Shimon was able to change his view of the world, to accept everyone and become the holy candle, so I should be able to do the same, since a bonfire is a collection of flames that dance together in unison and make one flame, a big bonfire - so is the community, that has all sorts of people as each individual flame burning away in one big fire called Life.”
  
  As Shavuot approaches, we have the remaining 16 days to achieve that level of Butzina Kadisha—"The Holy Candle"—and truly become one flame, be together as one community and one nation—Ba Lev Echad and Guf Echad—one in Heart and one in Body, and accept the Torah once again on the night of Shavuot as One Nation under G-d.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• За что была наказана община в древнем Иерусалиме?

  Aug 11, 2019 Admin 0 Comments

  9 Ава - это один из жутких и тёмных дней в истории Еврейского народа. Тысячное войско римлян подошло к  стенам Иерусалима и девятого Ава Иерусалим горел. А почему? Что такое сделали евреи чтоб такое произошло с народом?
  
  Талмуд Гиттин 55-56 рассказывает, что Второй Храм был разрушен из-за раздора двух людей Камцы и Бар Камцы. Однажды один человек сделал пир и пригласил множество гостей, и сказал своему слуге позвать его друга Камцу. Но слуга перепутал и случайно позвал его врага Бар Камцу. Уже в разгаре пира, хозяин торжества заметил что его враг сидит за столом. Подойдя к нему он с удивлением спросил его, что он здесь делает? Тот вежливо объяснил что его пригласил его же слуга. Поняв ошибку своего слуги, он потребовал чтобы тот немедленно покинул торжество. Тогда "незваный гость" предложил заплатить за своё место за что он получил отказ. Тогда он предложил заплатить за половину торжества, а после и за всё торжество, но он опять получил отказ и был выставлен за двери. 
  
  Талмуд говорит, что присутствующие гости, а именно знатоки Торы молча сидели и не остановили хозяина во время стычки с этим гостем. Талмуд очень осуждает это поведение и говорит в конце, что это и послужило причиной разрушения Второго Храма. 
  
  Любой спор сопровождается сплетнями и разносами ложных слухов. 
  
  Такое же повторяется много раз в истории нашего народа, и каждый раз ответная реакция Г-спода очень суровая. 
  
  - Ёсеф говорил негативно своему отцу Яакову про своих братьев, за что они его ненавидели. Это поведение привело к тому что его продали и вся семья должна была переселиться в Египет. (Берешит глава 37, и Берешит Раба 84:7)
  
  - Моше удивлялся почему Еврейскому народу досталась такая тяжелая участь быть рабами в Египте. Но когда он узнал что среди них есть разносчики слухов, он понял почему у них такая судьба. (Шемот и Раши 2:14) 
  
  - Когда разведчики оклеветали землю Израиль то поверившие им люди поплатились жизнью и никто не попал в Израиль. (Глава Шелах)
  
  - Доэг, Глава Санхедрина, был виноват в бойне всего Города Коэнов. (Шмуэль 22:9) 
  
  - Армии Царя Шауля проигрывали бои с Филистимлянами потому что люди пускали слухи про (уже помазанного и будущего) Царя Давида. (Мидраш Шохер Тов 7:8)
  
  Есть много других историй где клеветали, и все они имеют что-то одно общее в себе - все эти события нарушают один запрет: Запрет Лашон Ара - что означает говорить о ком-то плохо, даже если это правда. (Шулхан Арух, Орах Хаим 156:10)
  
  - Запрещено повторять что-то о ком-то, даже если это не негативное, это называется Рехилут (Ваикра 19:16, Мишней Тора, Хильхот Деот Глава 7)
  
  - Запрещено слушать когда говорят о ком-то плохо. Человек должен сделать говорящему выговор, а если это невозможно, просто убрать себя из этой ситуации. (Хафец Хаим 6:2 основываясь на Талмуд Кетубот 5А и на другие источники)
  
  - И даже если человек услышал что то негативное о ком-то, то ему запрещено этому верить. Наоборот, человек должен оправдать того человека и всегда судить другого человека в хорошую сторону. (Талмуд Песахим 118А, а также в комментариях Рашбама в Пэрэк ХаМекабэль).
  
  В Книге Шемот, Глава Ваера 18:1 - 18:33 рассказывается что когда Авраам Авину сделал себе обрезание, то к нему пришли 3 ангела. Один из ангелов сказал что он пришёл разрушить города Содом и Гоморра. Услышав это Авраам Авину попросил Г-спода не разрушать эти города в заслугу пятидесяти праведников которые там живут. В ответ Г-сподь сказал ему что там их нет. Тогда он попросил а может там сорок пять в ответ было нет. А может там тридцать, всё то же нет, а может двадцать и опять нет. И тогда Авраам Авину попробовал в последний раз и спросил а может десять, и он услышал всё то же нет. Раши говорит, что когда адвокат - Авраам Авину замолчал, Г-сподь покинул его, потому-что там не было даже десяти праведников чтобы в их заслугу спасти эти города. 
  
  В истории с Камцой и Бар Камцой не оказалось даже десяти членов общины которые думали бы о Бар Камце хорошо, и посчитали бы нужным публично за него заступиться и остановить хозяина торжества. Про Бар Камцу разносили слухи, а другие верили и разносили дальше, это было эпидемией в обществе в которой есть законы против такого вида поведения. Люди настолько были уверенны в том что Бар Камца был не прав, что они молча смотрели со стороны на их спор. Они судили его негативно потому что они уже имели о нём мнение которое уже было под влиянием слухов и которое было привито им до этой встречи. И этим поведением они нарушили законы злословия и ряд других законов, что и послужило разрушению Храма, потере миллионов жизней и изгнанию до сегодняшнего дня.
  
  Мы в изгнании, а значит этот недуг всё ещё с нами. И если среди нас есть счастливчик про которого говорят, и говорят очень даже плохо, и все верят и разносят слухи ложные или даже правдивые о нём, и этим его судят и смотрят на него по новым меркам, навязывая на него всё новые и новые ярлыки и обвинения - это и называется Лашон Ара - Злоязычие и распространение слухов, которую Тора называет в двух словах - Синат Хинам или Беспричинная Ненависть. 
  
  И если в том местечке всё ещё есть 50, 45, 30, 20 или 10 праведных людей, которые не верят всем тем слухам - наперекор общественному давлению, то всё ещё есть надежда что гнев Г-спода можно предотвратить, ну а если нет? Мы всячески должны стараться не допустить чтобы  в общине говорили и распространяли слухи, используя наше влияние, должны присекать такое поведение прямо в начале. А в случае если они были уже распространены - то у него есть работа надолго - он должен заняться чисткой - при встречах с теми кто слышал, и как далеко это пошло, переубедить их что это не правда, и просить Г-спода о пощаде. (Сефер Хафец Хаим). Иначе как было сказано в предыдущих статьях, наши Маленькие Батей Микдашим - дома, синагоги и социальные заведения на кону и стоят под ударом. 
  
  Наши Мудрецы говорят, "В том поколении в котором Храм не был построен, как будто он был разрушен в их дни" (Иерусалимский Талмуд, Трактат Ёма страница 1А). Потому что, это поколение следует по тем же стопам тех поколений из-за которых был разрушен Храм, не стараясь исправить ошибки предыдущих, а продолжая делать всё те же самые разрушающие и пакостные преступления в глазах Г-спода и народа. 
  
  Наша задача - построить сильные общины и крепкие семьи которые должны жить по законам Торы. Основываясь на наш жизненый опыт мы должны помогать людям, давая хорошие советы, помогая и подбадривая всех тех кого подкосила жизнь - и делать всё это не потому что мы им чем-то обязаны или они нам, а делать всё это просто так, или как Гемара называет: Любить и помогать другому еврею без причины - Ахават Хинам или Беспричинная Любовь к ближнему. 
  
  Этим мы способствуем росту и укреплению всего Еврейского народа, делая незабываемый вклад в мирные отношения между людьми и семьями, действие которое может по настоящему оценить и наградить только Вс-вышний. А также это возвратит обратно всех тех которые ушли от Торы, и возвратит их к Торе и исполнению митцвот. Основываясь на всё что сказано выше, мы и наши родные удостоимся увидеть Мошияха, делая свой вклад к его скорейшему приближению и полному освобождению из этого затянувшегося изгнания.
  
  Шмуэль Катанов
  
  

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