Posts Tagged ‘ teshuva ’

Elul – Getting Ready

September 3, 2011
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A Chassidic story: A wealthy merchant would regularly visit the Baal Shem Tov and would donate large sums of money for the Rebbe’s charitable causes. Eventually his fortune changed and his business failed, leaving him nearly penniless. When he went to visit the Rebbe again the Baal Shem, undoubtedly aware of the man’s dire straits, asked him for a huge donation of 400 rubles to aid the victims of an earthquake in the holy city of Tzvat. The man left upset and angry. How could the Rebbe be so insensitive as to request such a huge sum from him...

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Just Dance

September 2, 2011
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It was told that in the shul of the great Chassidic Master, the Chozeh (Seer) of Lublin, they sang and danced on the night of Rosh Hashanah. When the Misnagdim, the anti-Chassidic proponents, heard of this they were taken aback. How could the so called great Rebbe allow dancing on the awesome Day of Judgment? They decided to send a spy to the Chozeh’s synagogue to investigate. The undercover Misnaged traveled to Lublin on the eve of the new year and witnessed the community diligently preparing for the holy day. That night in the synagogue of the Chozeh the...

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A Paradox

September 1, 2011
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The High Holidays present us with a paradox. On the one hand, we stand before the heavenly court in judgment, unsure of our verdict, anxious about our fate for the coming year. On the other hand, we celebrate Rosh Hashanah and the day before Yom Kippur with joyous feasting in a festive atmosphere. How do we reconcile this paradox? The traditional answer is that we, the Jewish People, are confident that God will have mercy on us and rule leniently in our case, as He promised our forefathers He would. Therefore, we can rejoice even as we are judged....

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Elul – Getting Ready

August 27, 2009
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A Chassidic story: A wealthy merchant would regularly visit the Baal Shem Tov and would donate large sums of money for the Rebbe’s charitable causes. Eventually his fortune changed and his business failed, leaving him nearly penniless. When he went to visit the Rebbe again the Baal Shem, undoubtedly aware of the man’s dire straits, asked him for a huge donation of 400 rubles to aid the victims of an earthquake in the holy city of Tzvat. The man left upset and angry. How could the Rebbe be so insensitive as to request such a huge sum from him...

Read more »

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