Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Behar
counting of the Omer – the semi-mourning customs
observed between Pesach & Shavuot are suspended
(in many customs, are concluded) since the plague
which killed the students of Rabbi Akiva broke on
that day (or they died during this time of the
year for 33 days, which are now concluded). Also
on this day, the Kabbalist Rav Shimon bar Yochai
("Rashbi") of Meron died, & he urged us to
rejoice on his Yahrtzeit ("Hillula"). Customs
include using bows & arrows, alluding to the
keshet (rainbow) which, by tradition, did not
appear in bar Yochai's era, as his merit alone
was enough to protect us; & cutting the hair of
children who have reached the age of 3 (a custom
known as the "Upsharen"). Many weddings are also
held on this day. The lighting of bonfires
symbolize bar Yochai's mystical insights in the
Kabbalistic work the Zohar, which illuminated the
world; if done at all, these fires must be
carefully supervised & adult-controlled.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
