Beshalach Exile and Redemption (130) Text: The Maamar Machar Chodesh 5711 Sweetening bitter with bitter The two opinions how the waters at Mara were sweetened whether through light or bitterness itself.The deeper idea is transforming bitterness to sweetness using bitterness itself.

Beshalach Exile and Redemption (129) Journeying.The Yidden leave the Yam Suf (with some cajoling from Moshe) and move out into the desert.Within days they complain (again) about water.This is the story of the divine challenge: He pushes us as fast as He thinks we can move, but we are always not ready, so… we complain…

Beshalach Exile and Redemption (126) Likutei Sichos vol 01 page 139 ff. Miriam and the women don’t only sing, they play music and dance, because for them, it wasn’t only about them, it was about the children. The lesson nowadays: Mothers concerns for the real (spiritual) welfare of the children to be Yidden and not…

הודו להוי’ קראו בשמו Class Six. This class starts with a review of the choices about הודו. The version we follow that it is before ברוך שאמר, makes it about the ארון (=Torah) and קרבנות (=Prayer), higher but perhaps less understood. Then we learned the first Possuk: הודו להוי’ה. It is Hoda’a but at least…

הודו להוי’ קראו בשמו Class One. Beginning of the Davening with a Minyan according to our custom. Half of Hodu is from one place (דברי הימים א’ ט”ז ח’ ואילך), the other half is from various Pesukim in Tehillim. The first half also is found almost identically in Tehillim 105. Hard to know when it…

קדיש Class Forty Seven. Continued from class 46. The Shalom here is culminating the Davening or Learning. Chayim Tovim means life rooted in (absolute) goodness.

קדיש Class Forty Six. Peace, in this sentence יהא שלמא רבה, means culminating the Davening or Learning, so it shouldn’t spill over hysterically. Two versions: A) 12 expressions of peace, against the 12 שבטים. B) 2 expressions (our version.) If you know detail you must use it, but if you don’t, generalization has a great…

קדיש Class Forty Five. Continued from 44. The peace at the end of עבודה and the peace as we go into the world. The two opinions of this sentence (יהא שלמא רבה) has only two ideas (שלמא רבה and חיים טובים) or twelve ideas as found in אבודרהם and many (נוסח ספרד סידורים).

קדיש Class Forty Four. שלמא רבה and עושה שלום both speak of שלום peace. But (notwithstanding the צלותא דאברהם) both are necessary. One is the peace after the struggle in תורה עבודה or גמילות חסדים The other (as explained in the רמ”ק) is the peace needed to go out into the world. The רמ”ק explains…

קדיש Class Forty Three. The end of Kaddish is really about Hashem. יתגדל ויתקדש שמי’ רבה was originally said by simple people and then became a staple of our Tefilla. These two last lines deal primarily with peace. According to the צלותא דאברהם, the idea of שלמא רבה מן שמייא isn’t about peace but a…