"Bircas HaChammah" Free pdf. from ARTSCROLL and Important Note

Bircas HaChammah free pdf.

(See top and bottom for Important Notes)

The Blessing of "Bircas HaChammah" is Recited this Wednesday morning, April 8, 2009 - י"ד ניסן, התשס"ט (see pdf. for more precise information on times - i.e., if necessary, up until chatzos - halachic midday (according to Jewish law)). This blessing is recited thanking HaShem. L'havdil, any service - which I've heard some may be performing, involving a "salute to the sun" - i.e. in Yoga, or any other prayer or action directed at the sun is completely contrary to Judaism and The Torah. The blessing is to HaShem (G-d) with respect to His Creation of the Sun. Praying to the Sun, whether through word/s or action/s is idolatrous, a great sin, and absolutely an abomination and repugnant to Judaism. (Worshipping the Sun in any way is competely contrary to Judaim, as we can see in the pasuk (verse) from sefer "Yechezkel" (Book of Ezekiel) (8; 16).

Artscroll has just put out a free pdf. booklet for "Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה" ("Bircas HaChamah), which can be found by clicking on this link. The booklet includes the zmanim (times) to recite "Bircas HaChammah" - a short section for the Tefillos (with English), and some important laws.

Happy Pesach and meaningful "Bircas HaChammah", this one being the last - and 12th - one on erev Pesach before the year 6,000. This is very meaningful for us for the good.

Though the accepted opinion is to recite "Bircas HaChammah" on Wednesday (see the linked pdf. for the zmanim - times - for your city (or close to it)), there is an opinion of the "Aderes" - Rabbi Rabinowitz (quoted in the Artscroll "Bircas HaChammah"), that the blessing should be recited on Tuesday - closest to the time of the Tekufah (i.e. the time when the Sun is at the initial place in which it occupied when it was put in the Heavens). This is at approximately 6:39 PM Jerusalem, Israel time. Again, the blessing should be recited on Wednesday morning. See this link for the pdf. that includes times for the blessing, halachos (some important Jewish laws related to this blessing), and a section for some special tefillos (prayers) related to the blessing.

Enjoy and Happy and Kosher Pesach - פסח - and enjoyable and meaningful "Bircas HaChammah".

Remember, one should briefly look at the Sun and then recite the blessing to HaShem (G-d), it being, among other things, a recongition that HaShem was The One involved in Creation.

PDF's of "Bircas HaChammah" Prayer - Available for Download

Hi. Please find below PDF's of "Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה":

http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-BIRCHASHACHAMA5769text.PDF

Halachos: http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-BirchasHachama.htm (Discusses when to recite the blessing and what to do if the sun is obscured by clouds.

"Bircas HaChammah"

I have started a new blog at http://bircashachammah.blogspot.com, though I don't know whether the site can be found except by those who enter the link location. In light of this, I am including the text from those posts, as follows:

Post #1:

Bircas HaChammah - Erev Pesach - In One Week

"Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה" - occurs once every 28 years and is the time when the sun assumes it original place, as it was at the time of creation, this being the 207th time it will occur. However, the occurrence on erev Pesach, according to calculations, has occurred only 11 times, this time being the 12th and last time for this event to occur on this date prior to the Jewish year 6,000. I plan to be posting some Torah with relation to "Bircas HaChammah" and hopefully the tefillah as well, so stay tuned. However, perhaps each of these 12 occurrences can relate to a Jewish month of the year, this one being related to Adar. May we merit to see the Mashiach revealed to the world in this cycle of "Bircas HaChammah", if not earlier.

Post #2

Bircas HaChammah on erev Pesach - 12th time

Pesach (Passover) is the holiday that relates to the freedom of The Jewish People from bondage - we were freed from Mitzrayim (Egypt) on the 15th of Nissan in the year 2448 so that we would accept The Torah, which we did just over 7 weeks later, on the 6th of Sivan (which is the date for the holiday of Shavuos).

According to Rabbi David Bleich's book on "Bircas HaChammah" (92), if one were to extend the make-up of Hillel's calendar to the time of Creation, then the upcoming date of Bircas HaChammah would be the 12th time in history to have occurred on erev Pesach - the day prior to the date of our Redemption. In reference to the 15th of Nisan - the date of our Redemption from Mitzrayim - the pasuk (Shmos: 12; 42) mentions the word "שמרים" - "safeguarding" - two times - "It is a night of safeguarding" and "...safeguarding for all of The Children of Israel for their generations". I learned that the commentary "Ba'al HaTurim" - "בעל הטורים" says that there are two mentions of the word "שמרים" - "safeguarding" - as one of the usages refers to the future Redemption, concerning which the 15th of Nisan - the first day of Pesach - פסח - is an auspicious time for the future Redemption to occur.

We learn in The Torah that the month of Nisan is the first of the months. (Shmos: 12; 2) The fact there appears to be 12 occurrences of Bircas HaChammah - ברכת החמה - on erev Pesach during the 6000 years of history perhaps can refer to the twelve months of the year, concerning which the current one can relate to Adar.

See part II tomorrow...

Part 3:

The B'racha for "Bircas HaChammah"

There are various laws with respect to the recitation of "Bircas HaChammah" - "ברכת החמה". The blessing should be recited early in the day, if possible prior to the third halachic hour of the day - i.e. the latest time for the recitation of Shema (קריאת שמע).

Though there is a whole order - seder - סדר - of psalms and other sections from The Torah, which many recite for "Bircas HaChammah", in order to fulfill one's obligation, the person must recite the below blessing. The blessing may only be recited if the sun is visible. If - we hope hypothetically - the entire day is overcast, the blessing would not be able to be recited.

The Blessing for "Bircas HaChammah" (Blessing of the Sun) - ברכת החמה

ברוך אתה י-ה-ו-ה א-להינו מלך העולם, עושה מעשה בראשית:

Transliteration:

Baw'ruch atta A-doe-nawy Elo-hei-nu Me'lech ha'Oh'lawm, oh'seh ma'asei v'rei'shees:

You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, are The Source of Blessing, Who Performs the Actions of Creation:

For those who wish to recite the whole order of prayers for "Bircas HaChammah", you can search for one, find it in Rabbi David Bleich's "Bircas HaChammah", or, im Yirtzeh HaShem, I will be able to post and/or link to the Tefillos.

In the Artscroll book of "Bircas HaChammah", the order of the tefillos is as follows:

The following is a list of the tefillos included in the Artscroll
"Birchas HaChammah" by Rav David Bleich:

1. Beings with "ויהי נעם" - Tehillim: 90; 17

2. Section of "Pasach Eliyahu" from the "Tikkunei Zohar" (17a)

3. Section from The Torah - Bereishis: 1; 14 - 19

4. Yirmiyahu: 31; 34 - 39

5. Tehillim: 136; 1 - 9

6. A special "לשם יחוד" - varying opinions regarding whether it's
recommended to say it or not recommended. (See Artscroll "Birchas
HaChammah")

7. Tehillim: 84; 12

8. Tehillim: 72; 5

9. Tehillim: 75; 2

10. Malachi: 3; 20

11. Tehillim: 97; 6

12. Tehillim: 148; 1 - 6

13. The B'racha of "עושה מעשה בראשית"

14. The tefillah of "אנא בכח" (the tefillah that is also recited by
many before Shacharis and Mincha)

15. Tehillim - Chapter 67

16. Tehillim - Chapter 150 (recited by some congregations)

17. Tehillim - Chapter 8 (recited by some congregations)

18. Tehillim - Chapter 19

19. Tehillim - Chapter 121

20. Baraisa from maseches "B'rachos" (59b) the complete text in the
following section: "תנו רבנן: הרואה חמה...דתלת נגהי ארבע".

21. The section from "Perek Shirah" of the sun - beginning with "שמש
אומר" and quoting the sun's shirah - Chabakuk: 3; 11. Artscroll then
writes "ואומר" and includes the pasuk from Yeshayahu: 60; 1. I don't
think I've seen a "Perek Shirah" with the pasuk from Yeshayahu for the
sun, but maybe there's such a girsa, as it is included in Artscroll.
(I wonder if this pasuk is included in the Artscroll "Perek Shirah".)

22. The tefillah of "E-l Adon..."

23. The paragraph of "שמך ה א-להינו יתקדש... ועל מאורי אור שעשית,
יפארוך סלה"

24. Tehillim - Chapter 33 (recited by some congregations)

25. The entire עלינו tefillah.

26. Tehillim - Chapter 74 (recited by some congregations)

27. The paragraph of "אין כא-להינו" through "אתה הוא מושיענו" (recited
by some congregations)

28. The short tefillah of "רבי חנניא בן עקשיא אומר...יגדיל תורה
ויאדיר"

29. Kaddish D'Rabbanan

30. A special short "מודים" tefillah for Birchas HaChammah.

31. A special "ויהי רצון" for Birchas HaChammah.

32. "Adon Olam..." (recited by some congregations)

Gluten-Free Oat Matzahs (Matzos) -- IMPORTANT - RECOMMENDED SELLERS AND PRICES (מצות שבולת שועל -- כשר לפסח ולסדרים)

GLUTEN INTOLERANT/WHEAT ALLERGY - IMPORTANT INFO. ON AVAILABILITY AND PRICES OF OAT-MATZAH -- SELLS FOR AS LOW AS $15 PER-BOX (see section below for recommended price and sellers) - please scroll down

I write this post for every Jewish person celebrating Pesach, but especially for the benefit of the thousands of people who wish to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzah this Pesach (Passover/פסח) but who are unable to eat wheat matzahs, whether due to their having celiacs, having a wheat-allergy, or are gluten-intolerant in general.

Dayan Rabbi Ephraim Kestenbaum of Golders Green in London has been producing certified gluten-free matzos for about twenty-years. The matzos that are sold all are shmura and can be used to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of eating matzah during the sedarim (seders). In addition, these matzos have a high-standard of kashrus and are certified kosher with hashgachos from a number of good hashgacha organizations (kosher certifications).

Below -- Picture of Box of Shmura Matzah

QUANTITY PER-BOX:

Machine-made gluten-free oat shmura matzos (oat matzahs) (מצה שמורה) come in 1-pound (lb.) boxes (16 ounces) and include approximately 10 - 13 matzos per-box.

Hand-made gluten-free oat shmura comes 3 per-box and is about .767 pounds for the box.

Matzah meal that is gluten-free is also available.

My recommendation is to buy the machine-made as there is more quantity and weight per-box and the machine-made matzos are more stable (i.e. more likely to stay together). The machine-made matzos tend to have a pretty good "track-record" of staying together, though the hand-made are more likely to be fragile.

RECOMMENDED SELLERS AND PRICES:

Recommended Price: According to the producers of the oat-matzah, the recommended retail price is $23 in the U.S., 70 shekalim in Israel, and £ 13 in England. This price doesn't included the packing and shipping costs (which, for a cross country shipment of 10 boxes, should be roughly in the range of $10 - $20 - you can check with UPS or FedEx to get the prices, but can vary somewhat, based on type of packaging, where it's packaged, etc.).

Distributors are located in the U.S., Canada, England, Israel, Australia, Belgium, and South Africa.

For Rabbi Kestenbaum's matzos, there is a list of distributors located internationally, which can be found on the oat matzah website, at the distributor section.

U.S. RECOMMENDED DISTRIBUTOR:

There are many distributors in the U.S.

For Shipping Anywhere in the United States, please contact Karen Beleck - oatmatza@gmail.com Tel. 410 358 9580. fax: 410 764 0777

Karen has great prices and I highly recommend you contact her if you are interested in buying gluten-free matzos. She is also careful to charge for shipment after sending the package out, so that the shipment price reflects the actual cost to ship. Also, if you e-mail her, she can send you all the important information via e-mail.

KAREN'S PRICE: The prices for the matzah have gone down.

Matzah produced in July 2008 is now sold for $15 per box. The newer batch of matzos, produced in December 2008 cost $22 per-box. (offered on sale)

If you're ordering last minute or wish to buy the matzah locally (i.e. within a couple days of Pesach), I'd recommend going to the distributor list, which is pretty extensive, and look up where you can buy the matzos.

If it turns out your local place also has a good price, you can pick it up locally without shipping if that suits you better. Also, just because there are a few distributors that I recommend, it is important to note that I have not looked at the prices the matzos are sold at by many of the distributors and therefore would recommend looking at the list to find other distributors which may also have good prices who may be in your local area.

I believe that the Kollel store in Lakewood has good prices:

Kollel Food Store
(R' Avrohom Moshe & R' Chaim)
411 Clifton Avenue
Lakewood NJ 08701
Tel: 732 363 8102
Fax: 732 363 1475
E-mail: kfs403@msn.com

ISRAEL RECOMMENDED DISTRIBUTOR:

For Worldwide Internet and orders, contact : www.GlutenFree.co.il
or +(972) -3-919-1025

Cost per-box: 70 shekalim

See their website for the cost of shipping. They do subtract the 16.5% tax for international (i.e. orders that are shipped to areas outside of Israel).

If you have any questions about distributors and orders, you can also contact Rabbi Kestenbaum Rabbi E Kestenbaum of London at Tel: 011 44 208 455 9476
Fax: 011 44 208 455 3212, E-mail: sula@waitrose.com

You can also visit his website at http://www.glutenfreeoatmatzos.com/distributors.html for distributor information or at http://www.glutenfreeoatmatzos.com/ for general information.

Note: If you have seen these matzos sold for about $40 a box, please keep in mind that you can buy them at the above mentioned distributors for significantly lower.

Enjoyable and Happy Pesach - חג כשר ושמח!

Prayer for a Good, Kosher Esrog - To Be Recited on Tu B'Shvat

To all of those for whom it is still Tu B'Shvat - ט"ו בשבט - I wish you a Shanah Tovah!

A special tefillah for a kosher esrog, for trees, and many other things, are recited on this day. For all of those for whom it is still ט"ו בשבט (i.e. Western U.S., Alaska, and some other places), you can still recite this prayer, which is from the "Ben Ish Chai" (HaRav Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) - the "Prayer for a [Good] Esrog" - "תפילה לאתרוג נאה" is found below:


An English translation of the tefillah and another Hebrew version can be found by clicking on the following: "Prayer for a Good Esrog" - "תפילה לאתרוג נאה".

The above tefillah (תפילה) in Hebrew was found on "The Right Word" blog. This tefillah (I believe the same version, can be found at 613.org, by clicking on these words.

Again, Happy Tu B'Sh'vat for all of you for whom it is still Tu B'Shevat and all of the applicable b'rachos for all of The B'nei Yisrael.

ט"ו בשבט שמח!:-)

The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart: Enabling or Withholding Free Will?

The Torah readings of the 10-plagues which befell the Egyptians discuss HaShem making Pharaoh's heart "hardened" and "heavy" (Shmos: 10; 1). HaShem says that Pharaoh's heart was hardened in order to place all of HaShem's signs in Pharoah's midst. (10; 1) The fact that Pharaoh's heart was hardened was not a removal of Pharaoh's free-will by HaShem. Pharaoh was opposed to freeing The B'nei Yisrael consistently. After experiencing the plagues, Pharaoh was feeling compelled to go against his own feeling and desires in order to be spared of such great suffering. HaShem was enabling Pharaoh to act in accordance with his desires, that being to keep The B'nei Yisrael enslaved, notwithstanding the plagues. Had Pharaoh, in his heart, decided that enslaving The B'nei Yisrael was wrong and had he performed teshuvah, he would have been able to free The B'nei Yisrael. However, this was not the case and was not supposed to be the case. Therefore, Pharaoh's free-will was enabled to withstand such punishment brought against Mitzrayim, enabling all of the plagues to come (for the reasons they occurred) and The B'nei Yisrael to be free from Egypt at the precise time of The Redemption - 430 years into the exile - to the day, at high-noon, this being the 15th of Nisan, a day of protection for The Jewish People throughout time. (Shmos: 12; 40 - 42) (see Rash"i on these verses)

When Under Attack Israel Uses it's Army and it's Voices

The Jewish People have a special blessing - a power, not only in conducting war, with The Help of HaShem, but of overcoming our enemies through the power of our speech. Some people might wonder how words can have a great effect on something such as a war, whether positive or negative. The fact is that not only have wars begun due to words uttered, but wars have concluded due to words. There is a special power of speech, in our prayers, our Torah study, and our words in general. At such a time that The Jewish People finds ourselves under attack, even if we are not soldiers, we can assist very greatly in the war effort against our enemies by employing the power of speech - "The voice is the voice of Ya'akov..." (B'reishis: 27; 22) (see the "Torah T'mimah" on this pasuk) We have a special power in our speech. Not only is prayer and Torah study so powerful for the good and for the defeat of the enemies of The Jewish People, but avoiding forbidden speech is also very powerful. If a person has a desire or is about to say something which is fobidden, such as libel or slander (with certain exceptions, as noted in "Chofetz Chaim" - truly understand these exceptions before saying something to determine whether it is forbidden and should be avoided). Once we are careful with our speech, to avoid deterimental speech, that can serve as a great protection against those who wish to bring harm up The Jewish People. Furthermore, studying Torah, prayer, and maintaining peace amongst The B'nei Yisrael also serves to this end. For a true Chanukah miracle, in addition to the physical military action, let's take the above actions with the power of our speech and, G-d Willing see miracles in the present day and the defeat of the enemies of The Jewish People. Amein!

The Struggle with the Yetzer HaRa is The Jewish Struggle Throughout Time

We are constantly in a war -that war being agianst our Yetzer HaRa - evil-inclination. There are many battles that each person faces are part of this great war, until the ultimate demise of the Yetzer HaRa when the Mashiach (Messianic age) will arrive. In contrast to many other wars, the great war against our evil-inclination is a war that we decide who wins. Not only that, but every single battle can be won by us, as long as we decide to win and fight appropriately against our Yetzer HaRa. HaShem told Kayin not to be angry and downtrodden, for though Kayin didn't bring the appropriate sacrifice to HaShem, Kayin can improve in the future. HaShem tells Kayin that it is within his power to improve his actions and not to allow himself to be overtaken by his evil-inclination, for though the evil-inclination desires get the person to sin, it is the person who "rules over him (i.e. over the Yetzer HaRa)". (see (B'reishis: 4; 6 - 7)

The Jewish War Thoughout Time is Against our Yetzer HaRa

In next week's parsha, "VaYishlach", we read of the account of our forefather Ya'akov's struggle with the angel by the Yabok crossing of the Jordan River. (see (B'reishis: 32; 22 - 30) for the account of Ya'akov's struggle with the angel) RaSh"I, quoting "B'reishis Rabbah" (77; 3), points out that the "mysterious" man - ish - who Ya'akov struggles with is none other than the ministering angel who represents his brother, Eisav. This angel is also known as the "Satan". Ya'akov's struggle with the Satan is a sign of one of the central missions of his descendants - The Jewish People. We are to also struggle - with our evil-inclinations. By overcoming our battles with our evil-inclination, we are winning the battle with the Satan - this being the same battle. There is something very important with the incident involving this struggle between Ya'akov and the Angel of Eisav (Satan), that being that the angel "saw that he couldn't overcome him (i.e. couldn't overcome Ya'akov) (32; 26), for, as HaShem told Kayin, we are the master over our evil-inclination - we decide whether we'll be victorious. The angel told Ya'akov that due to his having overcome him (as well as Lavan and Eisav), HaShem would call Ya'akov "Yisrael", signifying Ya'akov superiority over perhaps seemingly powerful forces. (32; 29) This is one of our central missions as member of The Jewish People - overcome our evil-inclination. By working to overcome our evil-inclinations, HaShem will assist us. Remember, victory over our evil-inclination is very powerful - not "only" are we achieving victory in the battle over our evil-inclination, but we are bringing great victory both in this world and in Heaven, over the evil-forces who behave as if they rule and they can't be overcome. It is truly we who cannot be overcome - all we have to do is believe that and act on that, watching the "powerful" evil forces fall before us. We must not become too confident though, for though we may win a battle - or many battles - we must constantly be vigilant and prepared to fight the future battles, until the ultimate demise of the Yetzer HaRa with the coming of the Mashiach, G-d Willing speedily and in our days. Amein!

Cheshvan: An Opportunity for Salvation or Misfortune

Cheshvan is a month which offers both the individual and the world a choice of great salvation or great misfortune. This choice is largely dependant on the person's actions - whether to follow The Torah and overcome his/her negative impulses, or whether to fail and give in to them. It may seem odd that Cheshvan is the month which is viewed by some as the month that is most devoid of holidays and of meaning. It can be argued that Cheshvan is the greatest of all months, for though it may be viewed as "negative" due to the beginning of the mabbul having taken place on the 17th of Cheshvan, this is also positive in that life continued to exist, as HaShem spared Noach's family and all of the life on the Ark. Similarly, it was during the month of Cheshvan that everyone on the Ark departed, in effect bringing about the continuation of life of people, animals, and insects. (B'reishis: 8; 15 - 19) Therefore, we see the greatness.

It's interesting that the month of Cheshvan is commonly referred to as "Marcheshvan", which can be translated as "bitter Cheshvan", due to the destruction related to the mabbul that began in that month. However, the word "mar" can also be translated as "water" (Yishayahu: 40; 15), water being a sign of life. It is on the seventh of Cheshvan, which falls out on the night of November 4th this year, when people is Israel start making the request that HaShem provide us with life-giving rain. (Ta'anis, 10a)

It is within our ability to affect physical events in this world, for the spiritual effects the physical. By our improving ourselves - both in our relationships with HaShem and with people, improve our middos and conquer our evil-inclination, one battle at a time, we can succeed in turning the greatest fears that may seem to be inevitably approaching, into bygone fears that, Baruch HaShem, weren't realized. It is the evil-inclination that led man to the path of destuction prior to the flood, but it was Noach alone who essentially overcame what seemed like an insurmountable evil that afflicted society - something so widespread and ingrained, where evil seemed to have the upper hand. Noach, due to his actions, his decision to stay close to and his decision to overcome his evil-inclination, that led to the unexpected defeat of evil in a major battle. We learn in the Talmud that it is the evil-inclination that seeks our ultimate downfall. It is however within our ability to avoid, both personal downfall and to have a positive effect on all of life by working to overcome our evil inclination. We have the ability to overcome our evil-inclination, as HaShem said. (B'reishis: 4; 6 - 7) We must not listen to our evil-inclination when he tries to convince us that "it's no use to try" because he acts as if he is "unbeatable". An opponent that regularly lies and misconstrues to try to dispirit his opponent is truly afraid of his opponent, because he recognizes that if his (i.e. the evil-inclinations') opponent were to stand up to him with force, it would be the evil-inclination who would end up losing. HaShem told Kayin that he shouldn't be angry and dispirited, for he can overcome his evil-inclination. Kayin didn't take HaShem's words to heart as he should have and ended up bringing defeat to himself and victory to his opponent, the evil-inclination. It is within our power to overcome our evil-inclinations, no matter how many tacks he tries to use to "ensure" his victory. However, in reality, it is us who decide who will win.

GENERATION OF THE FLOOD SERVES AS A LESSON TO US

It is the generation of the flood that serves as an example for all of mankind. Don't be dispirited, don't give up hope, don't surrender and you will succeed. It is within our ability to bring salvation and tranquility to ourselves and all of mankind, we simply have to decide to do so.

Can we overcome the evil-inclination and "inevitable" threats against us:

"My answer to you is Yes, yes we will lead instead of our Yetzer HaRa, yes we will prosper, yes we will be safer, yes we will pass on the ideals of The Torah. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom. I'm a Torah Jew and I choose to fight. Don't give hope. Be strong have courage and fight. Fight for a new direction fight for what's right. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Stand up to defend from our enemies, stand up and fight. Fight for our future. We are worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up, we never quit, we make history, we don't hide from history. Now let's go and overcome our Yetzer HaRa and show once and for all that we can overcome all those who seek to distance ourselves from HaShem and the truth that He has blessed us with."

Quote from someone fighting for good.

May it be HaShem's Will that we end off this month better than we had started it. May we have success in overcoming our opponents who wish to endanger us - i.e. the evil inclination - and those who wish to endanger the world and The Jewish People. This is a month where there will be great change. It is still up to us what the change will be - whether for the great good or great decline. All we have to do is overcome our evil-inclination. Though it the past we may have failed, we still have the opportunity to right ourselves. May we truly recognize the supremacy that good has over evil - that we have over our evil-inclinations - and see the great beginning of the downfall of evil. When it seems that victory for evil is "inevitable" but hasn't been realized as of yet, especially when such evil feels it can have a major affect on individual lives and the world, it is truly an opportunity to overcome evil and take one-huge step toward ultimately overcoming it forever. Remember, it is the evil inclination that tries to throw up the smoke-screen in his desperation to try to get us to stop fighting, to give up, and "let him take over". But we aren't like the generation of the flood, we are very different. The forces of good have the power to prevail. The forces of evil look now to have a Cheshvan of "success" in their goals of "domination". However, this Cheshvan is different, we will better ourselves, we will not be dispirited by the smoke-screens of the evil-inclination, especially at a time when The Jewish People finds itself in great danger from abroad. We have the upper hand, we will decide to deny evil the victory he seeks to attain. Though this fight occurs as long as the evil-inclination exists, until at least until the Messianic-age, the great battle takes place in Cheshvan.

Let's show ourselves to be in control, in the lead, and the free-people of the world. The people who follow The Torah. We are referred to as "b'nei chorin" - "free-people", for by following The Torah, it is us who are truly free. We are free from our evil-inclinations. We learn that it was Pharaoh who worked the Jewish People so hard so that we wouldn't even focus on improvement.

This year, this month, in my opinion, will have a great impact on events leading to the time of the Mashiach (Messianic-age), whether it will come this year, in several years, or any other time. We must fight and not surrender until we have succeeded.

"Ben Zoma says: Who is the strong person? He who overcomes his evil-inclination, as it says [in "Mishlei"], "Greater is one is is slow to anger, than one who is strong, and one whe rules over his spirit [is greater] than one who conquers a city." (15; 16)" (Pirkei Avos: 4; 1)

Save the World this Rosh HaShanah

The RaMBa"M teaches each action that an individual takes can be sufficient to turn that person's judgment on Rosh HaShanah to a positive one. Not only that, the RaMBa"M continues that a person's actions can lead to a city's merits to outweight it's demerits and spare it of destruction, this being the case for a country, and even for the entire world. (Hilchos Teshuvah: 3; 4)

In addition to saving the world through our efforts to make our merits outweigh our demerits, we could literally save the world by saving a Jewish life. In fact, there is an organization in Israel dedicated to saving Jewish babies from abortion called E.F.R.A.T. (http://www.friendsofefrat.org) This organization saves Jewish babies lives for the mere cost of $1,200. Imagine saving a life for such a small price. In addition, this organization has been strongly recommended by a number of the Jewish leaders of this generation.

Each person is unique and irreplaceable - literally a world unto themselves. (Mishna “Sanhedrin”: 4; 5) We learn in the above Mishna and in maseches “Sanhedrin” (37a) that all of those who save one Jewish life, The Torah considers it as if they have saved the entire world. Furthermore, the Mishna states that it is because each individual is completely unique from all other people that they are obligated to say - “The world was Created for my sake", it being fitting to have Created the world for each individual of B'nei Yisrael.

On this Day of Judgment, not only do we have the opportunity to be judged - G-d Willing for a year of life and blessing, but we have the opportunity to play a vital role in saving a Jewish life - saving a world.

In any case, wishing you all a shanah tovah and k'siva v'chasimah tovah!