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The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Hana Bat Haim
Just as it is not permissible to offer up upon the earthly altar any but the cleanest flour, sifted through thirteen sieves (Menachot 76b), and therefore entirely free of any impurity, so is it impossible to offer up upon the Heavenly altar any but the choicest of actions, entirely free of imperfections, so that they will be accepted as representing perfect, choice, Divine service.
This is what King David said, "Your word is very pure and Your servant loves it" (Psalms 119:114). The fact of the matter is that true Divine service must be far purer than gold and silver, as David says about the Torah, "The words of God are pure words, silver purified in a crucible upon the earth, refined seven times" (ibid. 12:7). The words of the Torah are purified and refined, and so should be Divine service, pure and refined of any ulterior motive.
Pathways in Personality Development (52)
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
29 - 29. Abstinence Leads to Purity
30 - 30. Proper Intention When Serving God
31 - 31. The Service of the Pious
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Our sages said, "Do things for the sake of their Creator and speak about them for their own sake," for when a person performs the commandments for the sake of Heaven and learns Torah for its own sake he ascends to the level of the Torah and is strengthened through it. He nullifies himself before the Torah and becomes filled with all of its virtues. This idea is expressed by the sages of the Mishnah: "Whoever learns Torah for its own sake merits many thing" (Avot).
How can a person even imagine studying God's Torah for ulterior motives, to use the Torah for some base personal goal, for personal gain, honor, etc? It is obvious that in order to purify the heart completely considerable spiritual refinement must be achieved. This comes through profound contemplation of the gravity of serving God. Before performing any commandment or studying Torah one must stop and consider what it is he is about to do and before Whom he is doing it.
One must also be aware of the negative effects and baseness of external distractions and alien thoughts. One must realize the degree to which selfish intentions devalue a persons actions and study. The deeper and more thorough this awareness, the more it allows a person to serve God in purity and with all of one's heart.
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Some of the material in the above article was taken from or based upon "The Path of the Just" (Feldheim), a translation of Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto's "Mesillat Yesharim."
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
