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Torah

Re-Building the Mishkan

By obormottel
Dear Friends, The Mishkan, and subsequently the Bais Hamikdosh, represents Klal Yisroel in the most unified state. “The Mishkon is One”, referenced in our Parshah, right after the phrase of “connecting her to her sister” implies a unity, a building of a great home for a u...
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Greater than all Other Gods

By the.guard
In Parshas Yisro, the Father in Law of Moshe Rabbeinu, having heard all the great miracles that G-d did for the Jewish people, comes to meet Moshe in the dessert and exclaims: וַיִּחַדְּ יִתְרוֹ... וַיֹּאמֶר... עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי, כִּי-גָדוֹל ה' מִכָּל-הָאֱלֹהִים, כִּי בַ...
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Revealing Our Inner Essence

By obormottel
The ultimate moment of glory for the Jewish people — their greatest hour — occurred as God revealed His Torah to them at Mount Sinai. The Israelites made an amazing proclamation: Na'aseh VeNishma — "We will do and we will listen to all that God has declared" (Ex. 24:7). T...
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The Mind Rules over the Heart... or Does It?

By obormottel
Question: I have a question for Rabbi Twerski or any Chabad rabbi who is on the GYE board. How do the 12-steps go with the concept of “moach shalit al halev” (“Mind rules over the heart”)? GYE Responds: Good question. Let's take the example of someone who has Diabetes. Fo...
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Coveting that which we don't have

By obormottel
From this article about Rabbi Levin Zatza"l Rav Levin’s rebbi, Rav Doniel, once asked, “Is man jealous of the wings of an eagle?” As the question sunk in, he responded, “No. Man is not jealous of wings. In fact, if a person would grow wings, he would be a baal mum; ther...
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Torah While Traveling

By obormottel
וישמע יתרו כהן מדין את כל אשר עשה וגומר מה שמועה שמע ובא? קריאת ים סוף ומלחמת עמלק, רש"י Why does Rashi ask what Yisro heard? the pasuk says he heard everything that Hashem did to the Mitzriyim. The Jews experienced at Krias Yam Suf things that nevi'im did not experience....
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Haoros l'parshas Yisro

By obormottel
Vayishma Yisro - Yisro heard. Yisro heard about K'riyas Yam Suf & the victory over Amalek. Vaysaper Moshe l'chasno... - And Moshe described to his Father-in-Law To draw his heart, to bring him nearer to Torah (Rashi)ess kol hatla'ah asher metza'asam baderech-all the ...
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And their Eyes were Opened

And their Eyes were Opened

By the.guard
Hashem cares for all our needs, but He asks us not to eat from just one tree: 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.' But when...
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The potential is there

By obormottel
Chazal tell us that the sea split in the merit of Yosef Hatzadik. What is the connection between running away from zenus and klal yisroel meriting to go through, why should one have a bearing on the other? I think a possible explanation is that klal yisroel were in danger...
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Addict's Priority: a lesson from Sisra

By obormottel
A lesson we can take from Sisera (that you probably never heard it Yeshiva). If you analyze it, it would appear that Sisera was a sex addict. Thus, when the women were comforting the mother of Sisera as to why her son was late, they told her don't worry, "רַחַם רַחֲמָתַי...
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Haoros l'parshas Beshalach

By obormottel
Haym ra'ah vayanos.Mah ra'ah? Arono shel Yosef ra'ah.(Midrash)Is that what the sea was afraid of? A few old bones in a box?The see was afraid of Atzmas Yosef - that atzmius of Yosef - the essence of Yosef! The sexual purity of Yosef Hatzadik that Klal Yisroel had within t...
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Parnasa, Haman, and Parshas HaMan

By the.guard
Hashem inspired me to respond as follows: That's a good question. Chazal actually ask, "Where can we find Haman in the Torah?" And they answer, from the pasuk where Hashem asks Adam Harishon if he ate from the tree that he was commanded not to: הֲמִן-הָעֵץ, אֲשֶׁר צִוִּי...
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This is a Yid!

By obormottel
I remember hearing a powerful story about Reb Moshe Leib M'Sosov who's yartzeit was this past week I think. It was on a Parshas Bo that Reb Moishe Leib was in Lizensk for shabbos as a guest of R' Elimelech. During the seuda he got up to say a vort on the parsha. The off...
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Returning the letters

By obormottel
ליל שימורים הוא להשם Amalek is determined to destroy klal yisrael. One of his primary weapons is to contaminate their personal holiness, the os bris kodesh. אשר קרך בדרך, from the same root as קרי, as Rashi says on that pasuk. Hashem says אין השם שלם ואין הכסא שלם, His Na...
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The World of the Hardened Heart

By obormottel
The sedra starts with 'come to pharoh because I have hardened his heart.' Wouldn't it have been better to say 'go' rather than 'come.' And why is the hardening of the heart a reason to go, surely it's a reason to not bother?! The word 'oilam' comes from the word 'ne'elom'...
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If Your Have To Ask You Are Not Ready Yet

By obormottel
In Parshas Shemos, the Degel Machaneh Ephraim taught that a person should elevate the machshavos zaros (strange and evil thoughts) that come to him. Regarding this topic, one commenter asked how we should practically go about elevating these thoughts. Last night, I learne...
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True Humility

By obormottel
"God's angel appeared to Moses in the heart of a fire, in the midst of a thorn-bush." (Ex. 3:2) Why did God choose a sneh, a thorn-bush to reveal Himself to Moses? A Cure for Fever The Talmud (Shabbat 67a) prescribes a peculiar procedure for those suffering from a high fe...
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The Three Shmirois that are in your hands

By obormottel
There are three areas of Tahara that we need to work on. 1) guarding the mouth 2) guarding the eyes and 3) guarding the bris. The Chida says this is hinted to in the posuk "Odom le'amal yulad." "Amal" stands for Ayin, Ma'or, Lashon. It says in Seforim Hakdoshim that t...
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