Requests for Sources (#18)
$39.00
- Breathing Space – Many breathing exercises are techniques recommended by health care professionals to manage anxiety. But some of these are practiced by Eastern religions that are associated with idolatry. Are there breathing practices that are sourced in Kabbalah or Chassidus that are Kosher?
- A Father’s Pain, a Child’s Secret – The joyous reunion of Yaakov and Yosef, a father and son separated for over twenty years, is shadowed by a powerful question: why did Yosef not tell Yaakov he was alive? He was the viceroy of Egypt, the second most powerful man in the land – surely he could have told Yaakov that he lived? How could he let his father anguish in sorrow for no apparent reason?
- Blessing a Pretzel – The twisty curves of the Pretzel befuddles the mind with its simple query: what Brochah do you make on me? Learn the correct Brochah for a Pretzel.
- Where is Israel? – With the current crises in Israel, knowing the exact boundaries the Torah set for Ertetz Yisroel has never been more crucial, and has never been more difficult. Where are those borders now? How are we to find those lands on modern maps? Where are the three lands that were promised as an inheritance to us when Moshiach comes?
- Legend of a Cookie – The Purim cookie. Three corners, folded to swathe a filling. Supposedly it is named after the wicked Haman from the Purim story. How is this cookie reminiscent of the wicked Haman?
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מנהג העולם לברך את החתן והכלה בברכת ׳מזל טוב׳ תיכף אחר שבירת הכוס תחת החופה. אלא שיש וקראו תגר על מנהג זה מחד, ויש שיישבו את המנהג מאידך. מזל טוב?
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Love is not bound by time. Even after a loved one passes on, they continue to live on in our hearts; we treasure the memories of the times we spent together and immortalize them through noble deeds.
But may we communicate with them after they’ve gone? The Torah (Devarim 18:11) instructs us to avoid all occult arts, such as sorcery, divination and necromancy. What are the details of these laws and what practical relevance do they have?
Related: Familial Bonds in the Hereafter and תפלה על קברי צדיקים
(21 PAGES)
Query from a Shliach in France
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In recent decades, thousands of Jews have gravitated to the East in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. More recently, several Eastern Practices have been secularized, popularized, and repackaged as physical and meditative exercises. Does this make them kosher? Which practices are problematic and should be avoided? And what was the Rebbe’s response to the popularization of Yoga and Transcendental Meditation back in the '70s?
(67 pages)
Submitted by a Shliach in New York
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Where should a mezuzah go? An analysis of the Chabad approach, where the mezuzah is placed on the doorpost opposite the hinges.
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מגדולי הניסים והנפלאות שנעשו לאבותינו הוא ללא ספק הנס של קריעת ים סוף. אך מה קרה שם בדיוק? האומנם נקרע היום ועברו ישראל ביבשה מעבר אחד לעבר השני? או שמא היה הנס באופן אחר מהמשמעות הפשוטה? על קריעת הים וסוד מטרת הנס לאור החסידות.
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רגילים אנו לציין לפרק זה או אחר בתורה. אך מי אכן עומד מאחורי חלוקה זו? שקלא וטריא על מקורה של חלוקת התורה לפרקים והתייחסותם של גדולי ישראל בעד או נגד אימוץ חלוקה זו אל תוך ספרות היהודית המסורתית.
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עיון על רמת האחריות החלה על ישראל לפרנס גם את שאר עניי אומות העולם. דרכיה דרכי נועם.
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Many natural substances have psychoactive (mind-altering) properties that can significantly impact one’s mental state and affect one’s mood.
May an observant Jew avail himself of such stimulants? Is such recreation acceptable from a halachic standpoint, or does it contravene one’s Torah obligations? How would we judge actions taken while under the influence of drugs and alcohol?
See also: “The Drugs Debate” on the appropriate legislative attitude towards controlling the proliferation of potentially harmful substances.
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Machon Shmuel is proud to offer a collection of papers on a variety of topics relevant to Shavuos.
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In 1903 professor Simon Newcomb argued that human flight was a “mathematical impossibility,” but that same year, the Wright Brothers successfully launched the first powered airplane.
Having your travel route shortened and arriving at your destination almost momentarily is known in Biblical terms as Kefitzas Ha-derech. It may be “naturally impossible,” but miracles do happen! From Avraham to the Baal Shem Tov, some of our greatest heroes experienced this firsthand.
Read this paper to explore this fantastic feat, its history and halachic ramifications. Have a safe trip!
(67 pages)
Submitted by a Shliach in Florida
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Harmonizing two monumental works of the Rambam, in the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
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