Aish.com Daily - 18 Tishrei

Daily Email Form   Torah Reading: Sukkot 18 Tishrei 5776 / October 1, 2015     DAILY LIFT TODAY IN JEWISH HISTORY GROWING EACH DAY ASK THE RABBI QUOTE PHOTO Print Entire Mailing #485   Create A New Habit Print Version » When you consistently act a certain way to form a new habit, it will become your new nature even though previously your nature was the opposite. Think of a specific habit that you can apply this to. Start that new positive habit today. Feel joy for the initiative you are taking. (see Vilna Gaon - Proverbs 6:27; Rabbi Pliskin - "Consulting the Wise") See Rabbi Pliskin's new book "Self-Confidence" Tishrei 18 Print Version » Yahrtzeit of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810), founder of the Breslov chasidic movement. Rebbe Nachman lived in Poland and the Ukraine, where he inspired thousands of Jews to greater love of God. Though he suffered the loss of his son and wife, Rebbe Nachman said: "You may fall to the lowest depths, heaven forbid, but no matter how low you have fallen, it is still forbidden to give up hope." A few of his most famous teachings are: "It's a great mitzvah to always be happy," and "All the world is a narrow bridge -- but the main thing is not to be afraid" (now a popular Hebrew song, Kol Ha-Olam Kulo). Every year on Rosh Hashana, tens of thousands of Jews travel to Uman (Ukraine) to pray at the gravesite of Rebbe Nachman. Tishrei 18 Print Version » May the mitzvah of sitting in the succah be considered before You as though I had fulfilled it with all its details and specifications, and the six hundred thirteen mitzvos that are dependent on it (Machzor for Succos). In what way are all six hundred thirteen mitzvos dependent on the mitzvah of succah? Rabbi Bunim of Pshis'cha said, "The mitzvah of succah is so precious - because I enter into the mitzvah with my entire person, even with my boots!" All other commandments do not relate to the entire body. We study with our eyes, mouth, and brain, eat matzah with our mouths, listen to the shofar with our ears, and wear the tefillin on the arm and head. When we enter the succah, however, our whole body is enclosed within the mitzvah and, as Rabbi Bunim pointed out, nothing that is attached to us is excluded from the mitzvah, not even one's boots. Whereas total immersion into a mitzvah occurs physically only with succah, the concept of total involvement should extend to all other mitzvos. Just as King David says of prayer, All my bones declare, "O, God, who is like unto You?" (Psalms 35:10), so with all mitzvos, the intensity of performance should engulf one's whole personality. Indeed, one should feel that not only one's person, but everything that one has is devoted to the Divine will. The Kabbalists state that in addition to its manifest meaning, "something we have been commanded to do or not to do," the word mitzvah also means "joined," for one attaches oneself to God by performing His will. Contact with God should not be partial. When we relate to Him, we should do so with the totality of our being. In this way, succah teaches us how to perform all six hundred thirteen mitzvos. Today I shall ... try to involve myself totally each time I pray, study Torah, or perform any other mitzvah.See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com   Tishrei 18 Print Version » Angels What does Judaism say about angels? Are they involved in our lives? I've always felt like I have a guardian angel, but I'd like to know more. Does it have a name? How do I communicate with it? The Aish Rabbi Replies: First, let's try to understand exactly what an angel is. If you see little children flying around your head with their wings flapping happily behind them, don't think these are angels. They're hallucinations! Real angels don't have bodies, wings, or one drop of physicality. The reason, however they are quite often described as being winged humans (such as in Exodus 25:17, Isaiah 6:2, Ezekiel 1:5 and 10:18) is to help us understand something about their essence. This is similar to how the Torah describes God as having a "strong hand and outstretched arm." Of course, God doesn't have an arm! Rather, the Torah is conveying to us something about God's mighty strength in a way that we can understand. (Maimonides - Book of Knowledge 2:4) Angels are defined as metaphysical beings who are messengers of God. They are spiritual, but they have no free will. They can only do exactly what they have been commanded to do by their Creator. The word "Malach" (Hebrew for "angel") means "messenger," and it also translates as "work." In other words, an angel is a "messenger" of God who carries out His "work." Similarly, the English word "angel" comes from the Greek word "angelos" meaning "messenger" or "agent." Angels are sometimes referred to as the "Heavenly Court," due to the fact that they administer the work of the King, God. That is to say, just as a King makes the plans but his court discharges them, so too God makes the plans and His angels discharge them. This is the meaning of the Midrash which says, "No blade of grass grows without an angel telling it to 'Grow!'" This teaches us that everything on earth has a spiritual counterpart that influences it. Even a blade of grass has an angel looking over it to make sure it receives nourishment, or causes it to die at its appointed time. Nations also have angels appointed over them. For example, the Torah recounts the famous story of Jacob fighting with Samael, the angel of Esav. (see Genesis 32:5, Midrash - Genesis Rabba 10:6, and "The Way of God" 2:5:3) Each angel has only one particular task to fulfill. The most well-known angels are: • Micha'el - (literally: "Who is like God") carries out God's missions of kindness. He accompanies a person on the right side, since "right" is always associated with kindness. • Gavriel - "My strength is God" - is on the left side, which is always associated with the attributes of strength and judgment. • Uriel - "My light is God" - goes in front of a person, as if illuminating the proper path to go. • Raphael - "My healer is God" - protects a person from harm, and goes behind a person to "cover the backside." Interestingly, we find three of these angels visiting Abraham in Genesis 18:2. Micha'el (kindness) had come to bring Sarah the good news of her pregnancy, Gavriel (judgment) came to overthrow Sodom, and Raphael (healing) came to heal Abraham following his circumcision. The angels such as those who spoke to Abraham were purely spiritual forces which appeared in human form. Due to their unique nature, it is impossible to communicate with angels, although there have been stories of great Sages who were able to do so. It is certainly forbidden to pray to angels. Not only forbidden, but it would be a waste of time since angels can only do what God tells them to do anyway! However, God always has an attentive ear to his children, and He is waiting for your prayers. One good place to start is by reading the "Bedtime Shema," which includes a beautiful prayer about the four protecting angels that we mentioned above. When you perform a mitzvah, you create an angel that accompanies you. The commandments which create that attachment are the true "guardian angels" of a person. Tishrei 18 Tishrei 18 Grace & Rick Knelsen captured this lovely photograph of a young girl dressed in her holiday finest at the Western Wall.   Featured at Aish.com       Know How to Answer Christian Missionaries   A Taste of Better Times to Come   #TheAskCharlie Show: Finding Your Purpose     Follow us on Facebook What do you think of this email? Help us make these personalized newsletters — and our site — better. Send us your questions and comments to tellus@aish.com. Forward this email to a friend. Need to change your subscription? • This email was sent to: phillipphillip787@gmail.com. • You are currently subscribed to list "The Aish Daily List." • To unsubscribe from this mailing list, click here. • To modify your email account, change your e-mail address, or unsubscribe from all lists click here. Aish.com is the most complete online Jewish resource. We hope you enjoy receiving this personalized newsletter.Aish.comOne Western Wall Plaza PO Box 14149 Jerusalem 91141 Israel Tel: 972-2-628-5666 Fax: 972-2-627-3172© 2015 Aish.com Powered by MadMimi ® Unsubscribe instantly from ALL Aish.com emails by clicking here.