I have written on AMOS Read My Essay
Even so, this article is just to good not to post. The Orignial is at the OU site here: Read OU Original
And what were the transgressions of the House of Yehudah?
"Thus says the L-rd,
'For three transgressions of Yehudah, I would have forgiven,
But not for four,
Because they have rejected the Torah of G-d,
And have not kept His statutes,
And their lies have caused them to err,
After which their fathers did walk.
So will I send a fire upon Yehudah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Yerushalayim.' "
(Amos 2:4-5)
And the sins of the House of Israel?
"Thus says the L-rd,
'For three transgressions of Israel I would have forgiven,
But not for four,
Because they sell the righteous for silver,
And the needy for a pair of shoes;
…And a man and his father lie with the same woman,
In order to profane My Holy Name!' "
(Amos 2:6-7)
The Prophet gives advice,
"Seek good and not evil, that you may live…"
"Hate the evil, and love the good,
And establish justice in the gate;
It may be that the L-rd, the G-d of Hosts,
will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph." (Amos 5:14-15)
He declares what HaShem hates,
"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,
And to them that are secure in the mountains of Samariah…"
"That lie upon beds of ivory,
And stretch themselves upon their couches…"
"That drink wine in bowls,
And anoint themselves with the excellent ointments;
But they are not grieved for the hurt of Joseph."
(Amos 6:1,3,6)
For the result will be disaster,
"The L-rd G-d has sworn by Himself,
Says the L-rd, the G-d of Hosts:
'I abhor the pride of Jacob,
and hate his palaces;
And I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.' "
(Amos 6:8)
But, at the "end of days,"
"In that day will I raise up
The tabernacle of David that has fallen,
And I will raise up his ruins,
And I will build it as the days of old."
(Amos 9:11)
"And I will return the captivity of My People Israel,
And they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them…
And I will plant them upon their land,
And they shall no more be plucked up
Out of their land which I have given them,
Says the L-rd your G-d."
(Amos 9: 14-15)
According to the RAMBAM, Amos was a link in the Chain of "Mesorah," and received the Tradition of Torah from Hoshea and his court.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Fever Prayer
I am fire of fire, I create and I destroy.
Oh L*rd give me balance, help me back to meaning.
I was given what all men seek and I judged it not good enough.
Oh L*rd restore my soul!
I am the fool, I have leapt from the earth.
Oh L*rd I praise you, thank you for your mercy
You gave me what I needed, I squandered it in pride
Oh L*rd heal me.
I will live and die a man of Israel
Oh L*rd refuge of the righteous, I turn to you.
Return your exhiles, free jerusalem and the soul of the world
Oh L*rd hear me in Egypt.
I appeal to you for my fathers Abraham, Yitzak, and Yakov
Oh L*rd give Israel to its Chassidim,
Break the power of the arrogant as you broke me
Oh L*rd my knee is bent.
I am a singer of the Psalms, alone and sick
Oh L*rd fill me with piety, sustain my loved ones
Spare the faithful and crush the enemies of your Truth.
Oh L*rd, Holy G*d there is no other.
Blessed art though, eternity on eternity
it is right we give you thanks and praise.
Life
The first generation even Moshe Rabbenu died before entering the Holy Land. This is because the only way to enter the Holy Land is to Live ones entire life INSIDE the Torah for the sake of G*d who is the King of the Universe. Praise and Thanks be to the L*rd there is no other.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Chizkiyahu Ben Ahaz
The following is not original writing but I have merged several articles OU, Wikipedia etc.
I sometimes do this as a method of study.
King Chizkiyahu Ben Ahaz [Hezekiah} the fifteenth king of Judah. Ruled at the time the northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Sargon's Assyrians in c 720 BCE.
Hezekiah was king of Judah during the invasion and siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 BC.
He enacted sweeping religious reforms, during which he removed the worship of foreign deities from the Temple in Jerusalem,
Isaiah and Micah prophesied during his reign.
The main accounts of Hezekiah's reign are found in 2 Kings 18-20, Isaiah 36-39, and 2 Chronicles 29-32 of the Hebrew Testament. Proverbs 25 attests that it is a
collection of King Solomon’s proverbs that were “copied” “by the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah” Proverbs 25:1. His reign is also referred to in the books of the
prophets Jeremiah, Hosea, and Micah.
The main accounts of Hezekiah's reign are found in 2 Kings 18-20, Isaiah 36-39, and 2 Chronicles 29-32.
Proverbs 25 attests that it is a collection of King Solomon’s proverbs that were “copied” “by the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah”
Hezekiah's reign is also referred to in the books of the prophets Jeremiah, Hosea, and Micah.
Hezekiah was born in c. 739 BC as the son of King Ahaz and Abijah (2 Chronicles 29:1). His mother, Abijah (also called Abi), was a daughter of the high priest
Zechariah (2 Kings 18:1-2). He was married to Hephzi-bah. (2 Kings 21:1) He died from natural causes around 687 BC when he was 54, and was succeeded by his son
Manasseh(2 Kings 20:21).
The Talmud (Bava Batra 15a) credits Hezekiah with overseeing the compilation of the biblical books of Isaiah, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.
According to Jewish tradition, the victory over the Assyrians and Hezekiah's return to health happened at the same time, the first night of Passover.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Counting the Omer
How to Count the Omer A guide.
By Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America. She previously served as the Rabbi-in-Residence for the Jewish Funds for Justice.
See Original Article
The omer refers to the forty-nine day period between the second night of Passover (Pesach) and the holiday of Shavuot. This period marks the beginning of the barley harvest when, in ancient times, Jews would bring the first sheaves to the Temple as a means of thanking God for the harvest. The word omer literally means "sheaf" and refers to these early offerings.
The Torah itself dictates the counting of the seven weeks following Pesach:
Day 12 Today is twelve days,
which is one week and five days of the Omer. "You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days, and you shall present a new meal offering to God (Leviticus 23:15-16)."
In its biblical context, this counting appears only to connect the first grain offering to the offering made at the peak of the harvest. As the holiday of Shavuot became associated with the giving of the Torah, and not only with a celebration of agricultural bounty, the omer period began to symbolize the thematic link between Peach and Shavuot.
While Pesach celebrates the initial liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, Shavuot marks the culmination of the process of liberation, when the Jews became an autonomous community with their own laws and standards. Counting up to Shavuot reminds us of this process of moving from a slave mentality to a more liberated one.
When to Count the Omer
The counting of the omer begins on the second night of Pesach. Jews in the Diaspora generally integrate this counting into the second seder.
The omer is counted each evening after sundown. The counting of the omer is generally appended to the end of Ma'ariv (the evening service), as well.
What to Say. . . and What Not to Say
One stands when counting the omer, and begins by reciting the following blessing:
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha'Olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tizivanu al sefirat ha'omer.
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.
After the blessing, one recites the appropriate day of the count. For example:
Hayom yom echad la'omer
Today is the first day of the omer.
After the first six days, one also includes the number of weeks that one has counted. For example:
Hayom sh'losha asar yom, she'hem shavuah echad v'shisha yamim la'omer
Today is thirteen days, which is one week and six days of the omer
The inclusion of both the day (thirteen) and the week (one week and six days) stems from a rabbinic argument about whether the Torah mandates counting days or weeks. On the one hand, the biblical text instructs, "you shall count fifty days;" on the other hand, the text also says to "count. . . seven complete weeks." The compromise position, manifested in the ritual, is to count both days and weeks.
The blessing for counting the omer, as well as the language for each day of counting, appears in most prayer books at the end of the text for the evening service.
Because the blessing should precede the counting (and not the other way around), many Jews will not say what day of the omer it is until after the ritual counting. Thus, the reminder about what day to count is often phrased as "yesterday was the fifth day of the omer."
Many people precede the counting of the omer with a meditation that states one's intention to fulfill the commandment. This meditation serves to focus the individual on the task at hand and to remind him/her of the biblical basis of the commandment:
Hineni muchan um'zuman l'kayem mitzvat aseh shel s'firat ha'omer k'mo shekatuv baTorah: Us'fartem lakhem mimaharat hashabbat miyom havi'echem et omer hat'nufa, sheva shabbatot t'mimot tihiyenah. Ad mimaharat hashabbat hash'vi'it tisp'ru chamishim yom.
Behold, I am ready and prepared to fulfill the mitzvah of counting the omer, as it says in the Torah: You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days.
Whoops. . .
One rabbinic debate considers whether there is one cohesive mitzvah to count seven weeks and fifty days or whether each night of counting constitutes a separate mitzvah. This debate would seem immaterial, if not for the proscription against reciting a blessing "in vain"--that is, not for the purpose of doing a mitzvah.
If there is a separate mitzvah to count each night, then forgetting one night would have no effect on one's ability to count subsequent nights. If, however, there is one collective mitzvah to count the entire period, then missing one night disrupts the entire count.
The rabbis effectively split the difference, and conclude that a person who forgets to count the omer on a particular night may count the next morning without reciting a blessing, and then may continue counting as usual--with a blessing--that night.
If, however, one forgets to count the omer at night and also forgets to count in the morning, one should still count the omer on every subsequent night, but should no longer recite a blessing before counting.
By Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America. She previously served as the Rabbi-in-Residence for the Jewish Funds for Justice.
See Original Article
The omer refers to the forty-nine day period between the second night of Passover (Pesach) and the holiday of Shavuot. This period marks the beginning of the barley harvest when, in ancient times, Jews would bring the first sheaves to the Temple as a means of thanking God for the harvest. The word omer literally means "sheaf" and refers to these early offerings.
The Torah itself dictates the counting of the seven weeks following Pesach:
Day 12 Today is twelve days,
which is one week and five days of the Omer. "You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days, and you shall present a new meal offering to God (Leviticus 23:15-16)."
In its biblical context, this counting appears only to connect the first grain offering to the offering made at the peak of the harvest. As the holiday of Shavuot became associated with the giving of the Torah, and not only with a celebration of agricultural bounty, the omer period began to symbolize the thematic link between Peach and Shavuot.
While Pesach celebrates the initial liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, Shavuot marks the culmination of the process of liberation, when the Jews became an autonomous community with their own laws and standards. Counting up to Shavuot reminds us of this process of moving from a slave mentality to a more liberated one.
When to Count the Omer
The counting of the omer begins on the second night of Pesach. Jews in the Diaspora generally integrate this counting into the second seder.
The omer is counted each evening after sundown. The counting of the omer is generally appended to the end of Ma'ariv (the evening service), as well.
What to Say. . . and What Not to Say
One stands when counting the omer, and begins by reciting the following blessing:
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha'Olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tizivanu al sefirat ha'omer.
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.
After the blessing, one recites the appropriate day of the count. For example:
Hayom yom echad la'omer
Today is the first day of the omer.
After the first six days, one also includes the number of weeks that one has counted. For example:
Hayom sh'losha asar yom, she'hem shavuah echad v'shisha yamim la'omer
Today is thirteen days, which is one week and six days of the omer
The inclusion of both the day (thirteen) and the week (one week and six days) stems from a rabbinic argument about whether the Torah mandates counting days or weeks. On the one hand, the biblical text instructs, "you shall count fifty days;" on the other hand, the text also says to "count. . . seven complete weeks." The compromise position, manifested in the ritual, is to count both days and weeks.
The blessing for counting the omer, as well as the language for each day of counting, appears in most prayer books at the end of the text for the evening service.
Because the blessing should precede the counting (and not the other way around), many Jews will not say what day of the omer it is until after the ritual counting. Thus, the reminder about what day to count is often phrased as "yesterday was the fifth day of the omer."
Many people precede the counting of the omer with a meditation that states one's intention to fulfill the commandment. This meditation serves to focus the individual on the task at hand and to remind him/her of the biblical basis of the commandment:
Hineni muchan um'zuman l'kayem mitzvat aseh shel s'firat ha'omer k'mo shekatuv baTorah: Us'fartem lakhem mimaharat hashabbat miyom havi'echem et omer hat'nufa, sheva shabbatot t'mimot tihiyenah. Ad mimaharat hashabbat hash'vi'it tisp'ru chamishim yom.
Behold, I am ready and prepared to fulfill the mitzvah of counting the omer, as it says in the Torah: You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days.
Whoops. . .
One rabbinic debate considers whether there is one cohesive mitzvah to count seven weeks and fifty days or whether each night of counting constitutes a separate mitzvah. This debate would seem immaterial, if not for the proscription against reciting a blessing "in vain"--that is, not for the purpose of doing a mitzvah.
If there is a separate mitzvah to count each night, then forgetting one night would have no effect on one's ability to count subsequent nights. If, however, there is one collective mitzvah to count the entire period, then missing one night disrupts the entire count.
The rabbis effectively split the difference, and conclude that a person who forgets to count the omer on a particular night may count the next morning without reciting a blessing, and then may continue counting as usual--with a blessing--that night.
If, however, one forgets to count the omer at night and also forgets to count in the morning, one should still count the omer on every subsequent night, but should no longer recite a blessing before counting.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Trei Asar
This Article is so conscise and well written that I am copying it from the OU site.
See original here :Trei Asar
"Trei-Asar" - meaning "Twelve" in Aramaic, which was the language spoken in the time of CHAZAL, specifically, the Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah, the Men of the Great Assembly, who by their holy intuition and use of logical principles, established the contents of the "TANACH" (an acronym standing for Torah, Neviim, K'tuvim)
The "Twelve" refers to a group of Prophets who prophesied over a period greater than two hundred years. This period begins towards the end of the Kingdom of Israel (as opposed to the Kingdom of Yehudah) in Shomron (ca. 722 B.C.E.) that involved the Exile of the "Ten Tribes," until and including the time of "Shivat Zion," the "Return to Zion" and the rebuilding of the First Temple in Jerusalem (ca. 516 B.C.E.).
The order of these Prophets, according to CHAZAL, that takes into account mainly chronology, but also thematic issues, is Hoshea, Yoel, Amos, Ovadiah, Yonah, Michah, Nachum, Chavakuk, Tzefaniah, Chaggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
These twelve also "belonged" to a group called "Minor Prophets," called that only because the volume of their recorded prophecies was relatively small, compared to the other Books of the Bible, but qualitatively, their works have significance "l'dorot," for all generations.
As a group, they rebuked the Jewish People about their continuous idol-worship and, possibly worse, for their worship of HaShem with the proper outward trappings, but with none of the required inwardness, reducing their great religion to a mockery and a meaningless shell of ritual.
They also harshly criticized the People for their lack of social justice, whereby they trampled upon the rights of the underprivileged. And yet another great theme was their reliance on foreign nations for their salvation, rather than upon HaShem, Who had stood by them always and had saved them from Egypt, the Seven Nations, Amalek and on and on.
But they also had immortal words of comfort for their People, of Redemption and Salvation to come, if the People of Israel would only do "Teshuvah," return to HaShem with all their heart and all their soul.
See original here :Trei Asar
"Trei-Asar" - meaning "Twelve" in Aramaic, which was the language spoken in the time of CHAZAL, specifically, the Anshei K'nesset HaGedolah, the Men of the Great Assembly, who by their holy intuition and use of logical principles, established the contents of the "TANACH" (an acronym standing for Torah, Neviim, K'tuvim)
The "Twelve" refers to a group of Prophets who prophesied over a period greater than two hundred years. This period begins towards the end of the Kingdom of Israel (as opposed to the Kingdom of Yehudah) in Shomron (ca. 722 B.C.E.) that involved the Exile of the "Ten Tribes," until and including the time of "Shivat Zion," the "Return to Zion" and the rebuilding of the First Temple in Jerusalem (ca. 516 B.C.E.).
The order of these Prophets, according to CHAZAL, that takes into account mainly chronology, but also thematic issues, is Hoshea, Yoel, Amos, Ovadiah, Yonah, Michah, Nachum, Chavakuk, Tzefaniah, Chaggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
These twelve also "belonged" to a group called "Minor Prophets," called that only because the volume of their recorded prophecies was relatively small, compared to the other Books of the Bible, but qualitatively, their works have significance "l'dorot," for all generations.
As a group, they rebuked the Jewish People about their continuous idol-worship and, possibly worse, for their worship of HaShem with the proper outward trappings, but with none of the required inwardness, reducing their great religion to a mockery and a meaningless shell of ritual.
They also harshly criticized the People for their lack of social justice, whereby they trampled upon the rights of the underprivileged. And yet another great theme was their reliance on foreign nations for their salvation, rather than upon HaShem, Who had stood by them always and had saved them from Egypt, the Seven Nations, Amalek and on and on.
But they also had immortal words of comfort for their People, of Redemption and Salvation to come, if the People of Israel would only do "Teshuvah," return to HaShem with all their heart and all their soul.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Maot Chitim
"When you help others to celebrate a joyous holiday, G‑d will certainly reciprocate in kind, and grant you and yours a happy and kosher, a meaningful and liberating, holiday of Passover!" - Chabad
Maot Chitim
Maot Chitim
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