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Articles from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg | Selfgrowth.com
- Spiritual Matters - by Submitted on Dec 23, 2010 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergPharaoh had a problem. It doesn’t seem too serious, but it has the potential to explode. Moses arrived with Aaron to demand; “Let My people Go!” The people in question are not there. Oh! They set out with Moses and his brother to confront Pharaoh, but they dropped off, one by one, and by the ...
Views: 780(1 vote) - That Day At Sinai - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergJose Saramago, writing in “The Notebook” about Lisbon, describes communal memory: “In physical terms we inhabit space, but in emotional terms we are inhabited by memory. A memory composed of a space and a time, a memory inside which we live, like an island between two oceans-one the past, the ...
Views: 787(1 vote) - The Story of The Two Pebbles – Judgment Calls Part Two - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergMany years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry ...
Views: 1501(1 vote) - Where’s Moshe? - by Submitted on Feb 22, 2010 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergIn December 1974 the Austrian economist Friedrich August von Hayek received one of the first Nobel Prizes in economics. Hayek titled his speech “The Pretence of Knowledge.” Concluding his speech, he warned, “If man is not to do more harm than good in his efforts to improve the social order, he ...
Views: 670(2 votes) - Does God Love You? - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergI love asking people if they feel that God loves them. Most respond,"Yes!"; I then ask the more challenging question: "How do you know?"; That's when it becomes interesting. I invite you to join me in raising a toast to God, Who made it very clear to me, once again, that He must really love ...
Views: 901(3 votes) - A Different Perspective - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergFrom that moment the screaming began that continued for three days, and was so terrible that one could not hear it through two closed doors without horror. At the moment he answered his wife realized that he was lost, that there was no return, that the end had come, the very and, and his doubts ...
Views: 883(1 vote) - Every Man for Himself - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergSay the word and I’ll turn you loose I got mine now you get yours Just like you I’ve got my price Sure is nice that someone paid I’ve got my ticket out of here But for you, I fear, it’s much too late It’s nothing you can blame me for In love and war It’s every man for ...
Views: 1189(1 vote) - Thing or Person - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergI was called to perform an emergency Taharah – the ritual cleansing and preparation of a body for burial. I was the rabbi of a large congregation, and although I had participated in Taharot in this funeral home, I had never been summoned for an “emergency Taharah.” The manager of the funeral ...
Views: 848(3 votes) - Apples and Oranges: The Comparison Game - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg“Why can’t you be like other kids who behave perfectly?” is a refrain I often hear parents complaining to their children. Yes, there were and are certainly moments when I wish my children were as “perfect” as other kids, but those moments are rare. I am more than happy for my kids to be ...
Views: 900(3 votes) - A Walk In The Garden - by Submitted on May 28, 2010 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergI wish that I could have walked behind Elijah and Elisha as they headed to where Elijah would rise up to heaven in a storm. I can’t even imagine what the two giants, Rebbi and student, were discussing as they walked. I wish I could have walked alongside Moses as he led the Children of Israel ...
Views: 1252(1 vote) - Inspiring Good - by Submitted on Jul 27, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg“And those who bring the people to do the right thing shall be as the stars, eternal (Daniel 12:3).” The Midrash comments: Just as one sees the light of the stars from one end of the world to the other, so, too, one sees the light of Good People from one end of the world to the other. Just as ...
Views: 730(1 vote) - Job Descriptions - by Submitted on Jan 18, 2010 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThe Sages teach us that the Egyptians gave everyone jobs at which they were not skilled in order to increase their frustration and prevent them from having any sense of accomplishment. How did the Sages know? The Foundation Stone™ did some serious research on this issue and found an ...
Views: 685(2 votes) - Living On The Edge - by Submitted on Dec 02, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergStanding on the corner of 95th and Broadway, I had a perfect opportunity to observe peoples’ faces. I love the fact that New York provides a glimpse of people from all over the world. I tried counting how many different countries were represented by the people climbing up from the subway, when I ...
Views: 822(1 vote) - Fifty Gates - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergI turned 50 years old last night, the fourth night of Chanukah. Debbie had presented me with a list of extravagant gluten-free desserts and offered to make the one of my choice. Having difficulty with decisions regarding Debbie’s treats, I told her that for such an important birthday, it ...
Views: 886(2 votes) - Temptations - by Submitted on Dec 14, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergWhich temptation was more challenging? Was it Potiphar’s wife or, perhaps it was the temptation to ask Pharaoh’s wine steward to help him get out of jail? All I know is that I would not want to be challenged by either, although I suspect that we constantly face them in different ...
Views: 787(1 vote) - The Security of The Succah - by Submitted on Oct 07, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThe twelve-hour drive from Toronto for our annual Succot visit with my grandparents left me bruised, battered, and drained by all the fights my sister began with me. (I, of course, never started a fight.) We arrived in 1968, post riots Baltimore. Although I did not see burned out cars on my ...
Views: 756(1 vote) - The Study Partner - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2010 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergI recently took out a sefer – holy book – that I studied in the summer of 1980 in order to certify as a Shochet – a ritual slaughterer. I was surprised to find that it was a far more enjoyable study and challenge than the first time. The book is highly technical and my chavrusa, or study ...
Views: 636(1 vote) - Timeless: The Timeless Soul - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered (zacharti) God. My prayer came to You in Your Holy Sanctuary.” (Jonah 2:8) The Midrash (Shocher Tov 62) on the verse “Every breath shall praise the Lord,” (Psalm 150:6) teaches that with every breath the soul attempts to escape the confines of the ...
Views: 816(2 votes) - Orchids and Dandelions - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThe Swedish refer to children who are highly sensitive to their environment, especially to the quality of parenting they receive, as Orkidebarn, Orchid Children. If neglected, Orchid Children promptly wither, but if nurtured, they flourish. An Orchid Child becomes “a flower of unusual delicacy ...
Views: 1321(1 vote) - A Special Kind of Beauty - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergDebbie and I were walking around Central Park when we heard magnificent singing. We followed the sound until we found a family singing a song from the Sound of Music. Their voices were angelic. It was the Boyd Family, and what a beautiful family it is! (You can email Mr. Boyd to purchase his ...
Views: 1029 - Acquiring Torah 25: Humility to Remember - by Submitted on May 29, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergRabbi Mattena expounded: What is the deeper meaning of the Scriptural text: “And from the wilderness to Mattanah?” If a man allows himself to be treated as a wilderness on which everybody treads, his study will be retained by him, otherwise it will not. (Eiruvin 54a) Rabbi Mattena does ...
Views: 1101 - Acquiring Torah 26: Having One Rebbi - by Submitted on May 22, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergRaba expounded in the name of Rabbi Sehora who had it from Rabbi Huna: What is the purport of the text: “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathers little by little shall increase?” If a man studies much at a time his learning decreases, and if he does not do so but ...
Views: 948 - Acquiring Torah 29: Inside Outside - by Submitted on May 16, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergOn one occasion, Rabbi issued an order that they should not teach disciples in the open public market place. What was his exposition? “How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O prince's daughter! The roundings of your thighs are like the links of a chain, the work of the hands of a skilled ...
Views: 1041 - Acquiring Torah 32: Rashbi: Illuminating Others With Our Eyes - by Submitted on May 09, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergRabbi Yehudah taught: The generation of whom Rabbi Shimon is one are all righteous, saintly and fearful of sin, and the Divine Presence abides among them as among no other generation. Therefore these things are stated openly and not concealed, whereas in former generations supernal mysteries ...
Views: 1283 - Acquiring Torah 36: Derech Eitz haChaim II: Three Gates - by Submitted on May 02, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThere are two factors in understanding: human intellect and the Torah which aids human intellect. Concerning the Torah, it is said, “Is not My word like fire, says God (Jeremiah 23:29).” He thus informed us that the Torah is an actual light bestowed on Israel for illumination. Unlike ...
Views: 943 - Acquiring Torah 44: Ramchal: Derech Eitz Hachaim X - by Submitted on Apr 18, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergNow, to return to the root of the matter, since the radiance in them derives from the stimulus of the King and the stimulus of the King from Israel’s actions, Israel is the essence of the entire creation. “How glorious is Your Name throughout the earth,” relates to the power received by the Holy ...
Views: 1006 - Acquiring Torah 48: Ramchal: Derech Eitz Hachaim XIV - by Submitted on Apr 11, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergNow since the main remedy lies in the hand of man and not in the hand of the Angels, we can be certain that he is the essence of the whole of creation and infer that this alone is the purpose for which man was created, and the activity to which he should devote himself. So it was from ...
Views: 1099 - Active Memory - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg"It happened that when Moses raised his hand, Israel grew stronger, and when he lowered his hand, Amalek was stronger (Exodus 17:11)." "Was it Moses' hands that won the battle or lost it? Rather, as long as Israel looked heavenward and subjected their heart to their Father in Heaven, they would ...
Views: 860 - Countdown to Pesach-28-Chemdah Genuzah - by Submitted on Mar 14, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThe Premishlaner said concerning the verse, “And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Exodus 6:3),” which Rashi explains, “And I appeared to the Patriarchs,” what is Rashi adding? It is customary for one whose father was a man of holiness, to be lax in his efforts to improve ...
Views: 934 - Esther’s Purim Part Four: Saul and David - by Submitted on Feb 29, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergTranscribed and prepared by Anna Beller: Now you have Shmuel but we have questions: Why does he say the sin of predicting the future is bitter, what’s he talking about netzach yisrael. What happened to Shaul? A few hours ago he couldn’t stand up to the Jewish people and now he’s ripping the coat ...
Views: 1042 - Hail To The King! From The Diary of A Former Slave VII - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2010 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergI once watched a drunken man running down the street in the rain, weaving from one side to the other. When I asked him what he was doing, he responded, “I’m running through the raindrops!” I’m not drunk. I’m not even running. I can walk, even stand between the hailstones. They just won’t fall ...
Views: 647 - Hallel Rosh Chodesh Tevet Part Three - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergParagraph Seven: “Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The Lord of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands He has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, He has made you ruler over them all. You are ...
Views: 1054 - Hearing Voices - by Submitted on Dec 20, 2010 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg(Kings II Chapter 25) “It happened in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, he and his entire army, came to wage war against Jerusalem and encamped near it, and built a siege tower around it.” Jeremiah had ...
Views: 795 - Holy Chutzpah! - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThe 1973 Jerusalem Post ad was for “Chutzpah,” by Aviva Dayan, the daughter of the celebrated hero: “Arrogant! Direct! Provoking! But at the same time refreshingly natural like the Sabras in whose image it was created!” Directly underneath the ad another perfume was touted: Mazaltov – The ...
Views: 1249 - I’m Desperate - by Submitted on May 17, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergRabbi Akiva gave five instructions to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai when Rabbi Akiva was incarcerated in prison (See Berachot 61b): Rabbi Shimon said to him, “Master! Teach me Torah!” Rabbi Akiva said, “I will not teach you (to protect his student from being imprisoned).” Rabbi Shimon said, “If you do ...
Views: 960 - Joseph’s Torture” by David Hazony - by Submitted on Jan 03, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThis week we learn of his nearly pathological efforts to ensnare, baffle, accuse, imprison, and shame his brothers—the same brothers who, decades earlier, sold him into slavery. Now he is Grand Vizier of Egypt, and he gets a chance to show them who’s boss. A famine has struck the region. ...
Views: 1000 - Joyous Trembling: God as My Advocate - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg“Judge me, Lord, and plead my cause against a nation without passion. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked. You are my Lord, my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Send Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let ...
Views: 1019 - Kinah 9: The Final Blow - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg“They drowned and slaughtered Cohanim and Leviim who once maintained the tiers of my Temple platform. When, in the valley of Hamath, my Cohanim were murdered…” The final phrase refers to Kings II 25:18-21: “And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second ...
Views: 977 - Korach and Bullies: A Question - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergHaving been the poster child of the 99lb weakling for all those Charles Atlas ads in the back of my childhood comic books, I feel that I must inform my friends, and for that matter, my enemies as well, of my brute strength. My pinky can counteract the gravity of an entire planet that weighs over ...
Views: 711 - Korach and Bullies: A Question - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergHaving been the poster child of the 99lb weakling for all those Charles Atlas ads in the back of my childhood comic books, I feel that I must inform my friends, and for that matter, my enemies as well, of my brute strength. My pinky can counteract the gravity of an entire planet that weighs over ...
Views: 728 - Lamentations: Kinah 8: Line 1 - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg“Would that I could soar to the sphere of the heaven.” This phrase is usually understood to be based on: “Behold, like an eagle the enemy – Babylon – will swoop down and spread its wings against Moab.” (Jeremiah 48:40) Moab, an ancient enemy of Israel, was confident that, because there were no ...
Views: 824 - Looking Backward First - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThe further backward you will look the further forward you will see.” Winston Churchill Helenus, in the Iliad, was a difference kind of Seer. the son of Priam and Hecuba, he was the cleverest men in the Trojan army. It was he who, under torture, told the Achaeans how they would capture Troy ...
Views: 842 - Loving God 8 - by Submitted on Jun 10, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergThe verse tells us that we are challenged by false prophets; "for God, your Lord, is testing you to know whether you love God, your Lord with all your heart and all your soul." Nachmanides explains that God wills to measure our love for Him, in order that we can realize the intensity of our ...
Views: 643 - Midrash Esther Chapter Three VIII: On This World - by Submitted on Mar 20, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergAnother explanation: “From among those whose death is by Your hand, God.” How mighty are those who have received empire from Your hand. Who is this? This is Nebuchadnezar. “From among those,” namely, those who have received their portion on this world. “Whose portion is in this life,” ...
Views: 681 - Mistakes: Latznu - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergIn “Meditations on First Philosophy,” Descartes set out to determine how and if we can distinguish false beliefs from true knowledge. He began by noting that there is theoretically no limit to how wrong we could be, because, God could deliberately deceive us about even the most seemingly ...
Views: 1062 - Neighborhoods in the Sky: Succot - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2009 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergMy wife and I turned onto 26th street, between 6th and 7th, the New York City area known as ‘The Plant District’, and strange things began to happen. Storeowners ran outside and began to pull their security gates down, closing their stores. Others were rushing to cover all the plants on the ...
Views: 530 - Neighborhoods in the Sky: Succot - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergMy wife and I turned onto 26th street, between 6th and 7th, the New York City area known as ‘The Plant District’, and strange things began to happen. Storeowners ran outside and began to pull their security gates down, closing their stores. Others were rushing to cover all the plants on the ...
Views: 651 - Nicolini & The Lions - by Submitted on Jan 19, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergA great debate raged in early 18th century London: Was the lion battled by the Cavalliere Nicolini Grimaldi in the opera “Rinaldo” live, a real beast of the jungle, or was it only an actor in disguise? I often wonder about the lions we battle in our religious lives; are they real or imagined? ...
Views: 2243 - Not Moment To Moment - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2011 from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg“I was friends with one of the crew members on TWA Flight 800. I had called her because she was on my mind. It had been a while since we’d talked and I missed seeing her. I left her a message on her voice mail to call me. A few days went by and I became increasingly irritated that I had not ...
Views: 894 - Pesach Sheini Teshuva - by Submitted on Mar 21, 2012 from Rabbi Simcha WeinbergPesach Sheni ("the Second Pesach") is celebrated on the 14th of Iyar, a month after the eve of Pesach. The Torah relates that in the first year after the Exodus, when the Jewish people were preparing to bring the Pesach sacrifice: There were [certain] men who were impure because [they had ...
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