Genesis Chapter 6

All this text is from the JPS 1917 Edition on Mechon-mamre.org 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives, whomsoever they chose. 3 And the LORD said: 'My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.' 4 The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. {P} 5 And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said: 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.' 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. {P} 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. {S} 13 And God said unto Noah: 'The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; with rooms shalt thou make the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17 And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; every thing that is in the earth shall perish. 18 But I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.' 22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Genesis Chapter 5

All this text is from the JPS 1917 Edition on Mechon-mamre.org 1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; 2 male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3 And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. 4 And the days of Adam after he begot Seth were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters. 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. {S} 6 And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. 7 And Seth lived after he begot Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. {S} 9 And Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Kenan. 10 And Enosh lived after he begot Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 11 And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. {S} 12 And Kenan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 And Kenan lived after he begot Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and begot sons and daughters. 14 And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. {S} 15 And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begot Jared. 16 And Mahalalel lived after he begot Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. 17 And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety and five years; and he died. {S} 18 And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and begot Enoch. 19 And Jared lived after he begot Enoch eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years; and he died. {S} 21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him. {S} 25 And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 And Methuselah lived after he begot Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begot sons and daughters. 27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years; and he died. {S} 28 And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begot a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying: 'This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh from the ground which the LORD hath cursed.' 30 And Lamech lived after he begot Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begot sons and daughters. 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years; and he died. {S} 32 And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Niggun Ga'aguim: Melody of Yearning

Shlomo Katz and Rabbi Lazer play one of Rabbi Lazer's original melodies known as the "Niggun Ga'aguim," or melody of yearning.
Sometimes a person tries to speak to Hashem, longing to pour his or her heart out, but the words don't come. When you get too choked up to speak, hum this melody- first the tears will come, then your heart will open up and the words will come pouring forth.

Standing in the Need of Prayer

The Zion Mountain Boys sing Jewgrass (Jewish Bluegrass) version of an old gospel favorite, "Standing in the Need of Prayer"

Judaism is Indeed rational! Don't think so? Read this and be open minded and hearted.

http://moshiach.com/what-will-happen/the-moshiach-in-our-time.html

Re'eh 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Thoughts on the weekly parsha from Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

Listen to these stories. Behind them lies an extraordinary insight into the nature of Jewish ethics:

Story 1. Rabbi Abba used to bind money in his scarf, sling it on his back, and place it at the disposal of the poor. [Ketubot 67b]

Story 2. Mar Ukba had a poor man in his neighbourhood into whose door socket he used to throw four coins every day. Once the poor man thought, "I will go and see who does me this kindness." That day Mar Ukba stayed late at the house of study and his wife was coming home with him. As soon as the poor man saw them moving the door [to leave the coins] he ran out after them, but they fled from him and hid. Why did they do this? Because it was taught: One should throw himself into a fiery furnace rather than publicly put his neighbour to shame. [Ketubot 67b]

Story 3. When Rabbi Jonah saw a man of good family who had lost his money and was ashamed to accept charity, he would go and say to him, "I have heard that an inheritance has come your way in a city across the sea. So here is an article of some value. Sell it and use the proceeds. When you are more affluent, you will repay me." As soon as the man took it, Rabbi Jonah would say, "It's yours is a gift." [Vayikra Rabbah 34:1]

These stories all have to do with the mitzvah of tzedakah whose source is in this week's parsha:

If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need . . . Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. [Deut. 15: 7-8, 10-11]

What we have here is a unique and still remarkable programme for the elimination of poverty.

Shlomo Carlebach - The Alphabet & the letters story

........... http://rebshlomocarlebach.blogspot.com/ ..... Reb Shlomo Carlebach the Alphabet & the letters story

Ekev 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Thoughts on the weekly parsha from Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

What is the real challenge of maintaining a free society? In parshat Ekev, Moses springs his great surprise. Here are his words:

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God . . . Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery . . . You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." . . . . If you ever forget the Lord your God . . . I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. (Deut. 8: 11-19)

You thought, Moses says to the new generation, that the forty years of wandering in the wilderness were the real challenge, and that once you conquer and settle the land, your problems will be over. The truth is, that it is then that the real challenge will begin. It will be precisely when all your physical needs are met -- when you have land and sovereignty and rich harvests and safe homes -- that your spiritual trial will begin.

The real challenge is not poverty but affluence, not insecurity but security, not slavery but freedom. Moses, for the first time in history, is hinting at a law of history. Many centuries later it was articulated by the great 14th century Islamic thinker, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), by the Italian political philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668-1744), and most recently by the Harvard historian Niall Ferguson. Moses is giving an account of the decline and fall of civilizations.

beautiful Israel

Just some pictures I found from different sites. What we Jews need is prayer and unity

Shlomo Carlebach - Singing Nice Old "Yiddish" songs ייִדיש

.... http://rebshlomocarlebach.blogspot.com/ shlomo carlebach singing yiddish nice old songs - 1 - Oyfen Pripetchik - "Aleph-Bet" - 2 - hava nagila - 3 - ahvramele mahlamid

Va'etchanan 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Thoughts on the weekly parsha from the Chief Rabbi

It is one of the great stories of all time, and Moses foresaw it three thousand years before it happened. Here he is speaking in this week's parsha:

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people" . . . What other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? (Deut. 4: 5-8)

Moses believed that there would come a time when the idea of a nation founded on a covenant with God would inspire other nations with its vision of a society based not on a hierarchy of power but on the equal dignity of all under the sovereignty and in the image of God; and on the rule of justice and compassion. "The nations" would appreciate the wisdom of the Torah and its "righteous decrees and laws". It happened. As I have argued many times, we see this most clearly in the political culture and language of the United States.

To this day American politics is based on the biblical idea of covenant. American presidents almost always invoke this idea in their Inaugural Addresses in language that owes its cadences and concepts to the book of Devarim. So, for instance, in 1985 Ronald Reagan spoke of America as "one people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream on to a waiting and hopeful world."

In his Inaugural in 1989, George Bush prayed: "There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen." In 1997 Bill Clinton said: "The promise we sought in a new land we will find again in a land of new promise."

George W Bush in 2001 said, "We are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates us equal in His image." In 2005 he declared, "From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth."

Masei 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Thoughts on the weekly Torah portion from the Chief Rabbi

The book of Bemidbar draws to a close with an account of the cities of refuge, the six cities -- three on each side of the Jordan -- set apart as places to which people found innocent of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, were sent.

In early societies, especially non-urban ones that lacked an extensive police force, there was always a danger that people would take the law into their own hands, in particular when a member of their family or tribe had been killed.

Thus would begin a cycle of vengeance and retaliation that had no natural end, one revenge-killing leading to another and another, until the community had been decimated, a phenomenon familiar to us from literature, from the Montagues and Capulets of Romeo and Juliet, to the Sharks and Jets of West Side Story, to the Corleones and Tattaglias of The Godfather.

The only viable solution is the effective and impartial rule of law. There is, though, one persisting danger. If Reuben killed Shimon and is deemed innocent of murder by the court -- it was an accident, there was no malice aforethought, the victim and perpetrator were not enemies -- then there is still the danger that the family of the victim may feel that justice has not been done. Their close relative lies dead and no one has been punished.

Mattot 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks speaks on the weekly Torah portion

Pinchas 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks speaks on the weekly Torah

Embedded in this week's parsha is one of the great principles of leadership.
The context is this: Moses, knowing that he was not destined to lead the next generation across the Jordan into the promised land, asked God to appoint a successor.
He remembered what happened when he was away from the Israelites for a mere 40 days. They panicked and made a golden calf. Even when he was present, there was a rebellion on the part of Korach and others against his leadership. The possibility of rift or schism if he died without a designated successor was immense. So he said to God:

"May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out before them and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in. Let the Lord's people not be like sheep without a shepherd." (Num, 27: 16-17)

God duly chose Joshua, and Moses inducted him. One detail in Moses' request, however, always puzzled me. Moses asked for a leader who would "go out before them and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in."
That, surely, is saying the same thing twice. If you go out before the people, you are leading them out. If you come in before the people, you are bringing them in. Why then say the same thing twice?


The answer comes from a direct experience of leadership itself.

secret to happiness

We all want happiness and we think that the more we have, the happier we are. Yes, when we get what we want, we are happy for awhile, But then want more. The way to be happy is to enjoy what we have. It's natural to focus on the negative side sometimes. What helps is to make a list of things you enjoy and are glad to have. Then we notice our blessings.

for my blog
http://abitoflight.blogspot.com

Balak 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks on the weekly torah portion

A People that Dwells Alone?

The dictionary defines epiphany as "a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something; a comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization." This is the story of an epiphany I experienced one day in May, 2001, and it changed my perception of the Jewish fate.

It was Shavuot, and we were in Jerusalem. We had gone for lunch to a former lay leader of a major Diaspora community. Also present at the table was an Israeli diplomat, together with one of the leaders of the Canadian Jewish Community.

The conversation turned to the then forthcoming -- now notorious -- United Nations' Conference against Racism at Durban. Though the conference would not take place until August, we already knew that it and the parallel gathering of NGOs would turn into a diatribe against Israel, marking a new phase in the assault against its legitimacy.

The diplomat, noting that the conversation had taken a pessimistic turn, and being a religious man, sought to comfort us. "It was ever thus," he said, and then quoted a famous phrase: "We are am levadad yishkon, the people that dwells alone."
It comes from this week's parsha. Bilam, hired to curse the Jewish people, instead repeatedly blesses them. In his first utterance he says to Balak king of Moab:

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord has not defied? From the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that dwells alone, not reckoned among the nations. (Num. 23: 8-9)

Hearing these words in that context I experienced an explosion of light in the brain. I suddenly saw how dangerous this phrase is, and how close it runs the risk of being a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you define yourself as the people that dwells alone, you are likely to find yourself alone. That is not a safe place to be.

The power of words

The words we say can make an impact either positive or negative. Even if we think a little gossip won't do anything, we don't know what might happen. It could effect people's relationships, or job and so forth. It's like this metephore of a pillow with feathers and the feathers fly away, we can't bring it back. So too, we can't bring the words back once the damage is done. Besides regular gossip, we also need to be careful not use our words as weapon to emotionally hurt others, but instead use our words to positively build people up. If we are careful with this, we can keep relationships strong, and bring blessing to ourselves and all around.
Of course, there are times when one might need to say something, but then you should talk to someone who can take care of it.

blog
http://abitoflight.blogspot.com

Korach 5771 - Covenant & Conversation - Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks speaks on the weekly torah portion

When we read the story of Korach, our attention tends to be focused on the rebels. We don't give as much reflection as we might to the response of Moses. Was it right? Was it wrong?

It's a complex story. As Ramban explains, it is no accident that the Korach rebellion happened in the aftermath of the story of the spies. So long as the people expected to enter the Promised Land, they stood to lose more than gain by challenging Moses' leadership. He had successfully negotiated all obstacles in the past. He was their best hope. But as a result of the spies, that whole generation was condemned to die in the wilderness. Now they had nothing to lose. When people have nothing to lose, rebellions happen.

seizing our oppertunities

Each day we have a chance to grow and go forward toward reaching our potential. Lets take this oppertunity
blog
http://abitoflight.blogspot.com

Behaalotecha 5771 - Covenant & Conversation

Behaalotecha 5771 - Covenant & Conversation