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<a style="font-family:Trebuchet MS, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:18px;" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Aspaqlaria/~3/397292066/emunah-bitachon.shtml">Emunah and Bitachon</a>
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<p style="font-size:12px;color:#555;margin:9px 0 3px 0;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;line-height:140%;font-size:12px;">
<span>Posted:</span> 19 Sep 2008 10:25 AM CDT</p>
<div style="margin:0;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;line-height:140%;font-size:12px;color:#000000;"><p>There is a halakhah of <em>semikhas ge’ulah letefillah</em>, that one must finish the last <em>berakhah </em>after Shema, that about the redemption, immediately before the Shemoneh Esrei, with no interruptions. The Mishnah Berurah even advises that in Shacharis the <em>chazan</em> should whisper the end of the <em>berakhah</em> to himself, so that the congregation would not be obligated to interrupt between their own <em>birkhas Ge’ulah</em> and <em>Shemoneh Esrei</em> by having to answer <em>amein</em>.</p>
<p>In <em>Ma’ariv</em>, we insert “<em>Hashkiveinu</em>“, a <em>berakhah</em> about peace, and outside of Israel most communities also say “<em>Barukh Hashem leOlam</em>“. These are generally justified because <em>Hashkiveinu</em> is also on the broader subject of redemption, and <em>Barukh Hashem leOlam</em> is a surrogate for <em>Shemoneh Esrei</em>. So the concepts of <em>ge’ulah</em> and <em>tefillah</em> are still juxtaposed. A full discussion is off topic, but even in the case of Ma’ariv, R’ JB Soloveitchik would limit his responses to the intervening <em>Qaddish </em>to just “<em>Amein. Yehei Shemei rabba…</em>” and the final “<em>amein</em>” since these interruptions are mandatory, whereas the other reponses to <em>Qaddish</em> are custom.</p>
<p>Why the need to so closely preface <em>ge’ulah</em> to <em>tefillah</em>?</p>
<p><em>Ga’al Yisrael</em> speaks of past redemption. We point to the miracle at the Red Sea and other redemptions as a source of <em>emunah</em>, of belief in the existance and involvement of the A-lmighty. We establish the foundation that there is a G-d capable of aiding us and we know this because He has in the past. It is only with that concept that Hashem is Omnipotent and involved in human affairs that it is meaningful to engage in the praise, requests and thanks of <em>tefillah</em>, to expect His involvement in our own lives.That’s <em>bitachon</em>, the belief of Hashem’s actual involvement in the present and future, that He can be relied upon..</p><div class="feedflare">
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<a style="font-family:Trebuchet MS, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:18px;" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Aspaqlaria/~3/397197935/mussar-kallah-vi-new-york-november-16.shtml">Mussar Kallah VI — New York — November 16</a>
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<p style="font-size:12px;color:#555;margin:9px 0 3px 0;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;line-height:140%;font-size:12px;">
<span>Posted:</span> 19 Sep 2008 08:19 AM CDT</p>
<div style="margin:0;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;line-height:140%;font-size:12px;color:#000000;"><p><a title="This external link will open in a new window" href="http://www.mussarinstitute.org/" target="_blank"><img src="http://mussarinstitute.org/images/mussar-institute-header.gif" border="0" alt="" width="759" /></a></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: small;">Dear friends,</span></em></p>
<p><em></em></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>The extraordinary gathering that is the Mussar Kallah will take place on Sunday November 16 at the JCC in Manhattan in New York. This is your opportunity to learn from some of this generation’s foremost teachers of the profound and ancient Jewish spiritual discipline of Mussar, and to gather with the growing community of people walking a Jewish path with heart. </em></span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Whether you have little or no knowledge of Mussar or if you are an experienced student, the Mussar Kallah is your opportunity to meet and learn with:</em></span></p>
<p><em></em></p>
<ul>
<li><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;">
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Rabbi Micha Berger, founder of the AishDas Society</span></p>
<p></span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;">
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Rabbi Yaacov Feldman, translator of “The Duties of the Heart” and “The Path of the Just”</span></p>
<p></span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;">
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Rabbi David Lapin, great-nephew and student of the Mussar master Rabbi Elya Lopian, and creator of the website iawaken.org</span></p>
<p></span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;">
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Rabbi Dr. Meir Levin, author of “Novarodock”</span></p>
<p></span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;">
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Rabbi Zvi Miller, director of the Salant Foundation, translator of “Ohr Yisrael”</span></p>
<p></span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;">
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Dr. Alan Morinis, author of “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” and “Everyday Holiness”</span></p>
<p></span></em></li>
</ul>
<p><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;"><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;"><em></em></span></span></em></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>… among other sweet and deep souls who will share their wisdom and experience with you, to help you guide the journey that is your life. </em></em></span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>The theme of this year’s Kallah is “Lifting the Veils to Relationship.” The day’s full program of sessions will focus on learning, insight and practice to remove the obstacles to relating to yourself, to other people, and to HaShem.</em></em></span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>Though little known outside the Orthodox world, and even neglected there over the last decades, the embers of Mussar have continued to glow, and this tradition is being reinvigorated today. Mussar addesses the spiritual yearning that is arising in every corner of the Jewish world today. </em></em></span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em><strong>Only 200 places are available! Register now to reserve your place.</strong> </em></em></span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>For more information and to register, please visit <a title="This external link will open in a new window" href="http://www.jccmanhattan.org/category.aspx?catid=1557" target="_blank">the JCC website</a> or email <a title="This external link will open in a new window" href="http://webmail.aishdas.org/src/compose.php?send_to=hsowalsky@bethelwh.org" target="_blank">info@mussarinstitute.org</a>. </em></em></span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>If you are coming to New York from out-of-town, or if you are already a student of Mussar, you are invited to join in the rich and intimate Shabbaton that will precede the Kallah. Information on the Shabbaton is also available at <a title="This external link will open in a new window" href="http://www.jccmanhattan.org/category.aspx?catid=1557" target="_blank">the JCC website</a>, where you can register as well.</em></em></span></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>Warm wishes for a shanah tovah,</em></em></span></p>
<p><img src="http://www.mussarinstitute.org/images/signature-white.gif" border="0" alt="Alan" width="105" height="41" /></p>
<p><em><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;"><span style="font-family: Berkeley-BoldItalic;"><em></em></span></span></em></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>Alan Morinis<br />
</em></em></span><em><em><a title="This external link will open in a new window" href="http://www.mussarinstitute.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">The Mussar Institute </span></a></em></em></p>
<p align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><em>P.S. If you know of other souls who might benefit from this day, please forward this email to them. I look forward to meeting you there.</em></em></span></p>
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<a style="font-family:Trebuchet MS, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:18px;" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Aspaqlaria/~3/396450545/lehman.shtml">Lehman Brothers and Bitachon</a>
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<p style="font-size:12px;color:#555;margin:9px 0 3px 0;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;line-height:140%;font-size:12px;">
<span>Posted:</span> 18 Sep 2008 01:30 PM CDT</p>
<div style="margin:0;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;line-height:140%;font-size:12px;color:#000000;"><p style="text-align: justify;">During last night’s commute home, someone asked me how my preparations for Rosh haShanah were going. I had to admit, not well, as I had no thoughts as to which particular issues were calling for my attention this year, which were the battles to choose to fight.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Thank G-d, this morning I saw <a title="Divrei Chaim: The Credit Crunch" href="http://divreichaim.blogspot.com/2008/09/credit-crunch.html" target="_blank">the following</a> by R’ Chaim Brown on his blog “<a href="http://divreichaim.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Divrei Chaim</a>“:</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">… Sometimes a ma’aseh turns out so badly that it seems only Divine intervention can explain what happened. When you consider a 158 year old company (Lehman Bros.) drive to bankrupcy in the course of weeks, insurance giants (AIG) reduced to nothing, banks one after the other on the verge of failure, one is faced with either assuming the best minds in business simultaneously have all been overtaken by a bout of very contagious stupid disease, or someone up there is pulling the strings in ways that are just out of everyone’s control.</p>
<p>R’ Elchanan in one of his ma’amarim, which if I recall correctly has no date attached but must have been written in the ’30s, writes that the failing of the economy (at the time of his writing) was not caused by a lack of money, as plenty of people still had fortunes and great wealth. The economy failed because of a loss of confidence in the institutions of finance - a loss of faith in the economic system. What was true then is certainly true today, as the credit crunch is primarily a loss of confidence and trust. The key to understanding this phenomenon is the principle of <em>middah k’neged middah</em>. R’ Elchahan writes that a loss of faith in worldly institutions comes about because of the greater loss of faith in our spiritual institutions - a failing of emunah. And only through the strengthening of emunah can we find the tools to emerge from such a crisis.</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As I spend much of my waking hours providing software support for traders, the air I’m breathing is thick with this insecurity. And then to note that our self-confidence is being shaken within Elul… I’m not sure how Hashem could have made His point much clearer.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This isn’t an attempt to play prophet, to claim one knows the reasons G-d chooses to do something. Rather than prophecy, this is wisdom, as in “איזהו חכם? הרואה את הנולד — Who is wise? One who sees upcoming consequences.” (Tamid 32a) The conclusion emerges from simply looking at the impact of the events — we are now worried about our own financial stability, about our savings for the future, of the stability of all the support systems we usually rely upon. To not use that emotional shift in our <em>avodas Hashem</em> by leveraging it with a constructive alternative would be foolhardy.</p><div class="feedflare">
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