Aish.com Daily - 28 Tishrei

Daily Email Form   Torah Reading: Bereishit 28 Tishrei 5776 / October 11, 2015     DAILY LIFT TODAY IN JEWISH HISTORY GROWING EACH DAY ASK THE RABBI QUOTE PHOTO Print Entire Mailing #495   Review Your Speech Print Version » Every week, review the things you've recently spoken about. If you find that you were careful not to have spoken negatively about others, feel joy and offer a prayer of gratitude. (see Chofetz Chaim - Chovas Hashmirah, p.20; Rabbi Pliskin's "Gateway to Happiness," p.110) See Rabbi Pliskin's new book "Self-Confidence" Tishrei 28 Print Version » In 1930, the British government issued the Passfield White Paper, a formal statement of policy in Palestine. The paper was an attempt to appease the Arabs in the aftermath of the 1929 riots: During six days of Arab rioting in Jerusalem, Gaza, Hebron and Tzfat, 135 Jews were killed and more than 300 wounded. The White Paper criticized the Jewish Agency for promoting Jewish employment opportunities, claiming that it damaged economic development of the Arab population. Further, the paper required that Jews obtain permission from the British authorities to purchase land. The result was that Jewish immigration was greatly curtailed. Tishrei 28 Print Version » Behold, He stands behind our walls, looking through the windows, and peering through the lattices (Song of Songs 2:9). "Whether God watches through the windows or through the lattices," said Rabbi Yisrael of Salant, "God watches over us. The difference is that sometimes it is through a window, and then we can see Him just as He sees us. At other times, it is through a crack in the partition, where He can see us, but we do not see Him." Both in the history of the nation and in our personal lives, there have been times when Divine intervention was manifest. There have also been times when we were in great distress and felt abandoned, but even then, though God seemed to be absent, He was watching over us. The Torah foretold that there would be times of anguish when we would feel that God is not among us. At such times we must strengthen our faith and declare, "Behold, the Keeper of Israel does not sleep nor slumber." Commenting on the verse, He does great marvels alone (Psalms 136:4), our Sages tell us that "alone" means that only God is aware of some of the miracles He performs for us, because we are unable to recognize them as such. Those who failed to see the protective hand of God when the Iraqis rained scuds on Israel were morally and psychologically blind; anyone should have been aware of God's protection. But even when His intervention is less evident, we must know that He watches over us, albeit "through cracks in the lattices." Today I shall ... try to reinforce my faith in the everpresent watchfulness of God over Israel as a whole, and over me as an individual.See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com   Tishrei 28 Print Version » Halloween - Trick or Treat? One of my fondest memories growing up was taking my little orange UNICEF box and collecting pennies - as well as yummy treats - on Halloween. It was also a great day for acting rowdy and causing a little trouble around the neighborhood. Now that I have my own kids, I'm wondering - what is the Jewish position on Halloween? The Aish Rabbi Replies: Halloween has its roots in paganism, and was later adopted by Christians as All-Saints Day. (see Halloween history at: http://ift.tt/1OsPQms) Today, of course, the decorations and dressing up for Halloween in the U.S. is an innocuous secular holiday. As for participating in such celebrations, one should not feel the need to “add” holidays to the existing Jewish calendar. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein writes regarding the secular holiday of Thanksgiving, for example, that Jews can celebrate the day without declaring it as a regular holiday or declaring steady customs like eating a special meal of turkey on that day. ("Igros Moshe" Y.D. 4:11-12) I once heard a representative of the Jewish community being interviewed on the radio on the topic of Purim. "What is the significance of the Purim holiday?" asked the radio host. Explained the Jew: "Just as the Irish have a springtime drinking holiday called St. Patrick's Day, so too the Sages instituted Judaism's own springtime drinking holiday called Purim." Absurd. In truth, Purim is the Jewish costume day! Which reminds me of a wonderful story: A man moved from the U.S. to Israel, and for some reason, in the middle of March, trick-or-treaters of every shape and size were buzzing around the streets of Jerusalem. Many of the costumes were incredible, and even some adults were dressed up. When the doorbell rang, this man panicked. He didn't have a drop of candy in the house to give out. Who knew what tricks this crowd was capable of playing if he turned them away without a treat. Remember: "Trick or treat - double treat to smell my feet!" And what a nightmare the morning after could be, cleaning up the damage done by kids I that hadn't been "treated" well enough. He opened the door, and standing there, grinning from ear-to-ear, were five costumed pre-teens, each holding a fancier stash of goodies than he'd ever imagined. "I'm really sorry, guys," he started to say. "I just don't have anything to give you. I didn't know today was Halloween, please don't vandalize my house." The kids gave each other a puzzled look and began to giggle. Finally the biggest boy quieted the others and said, "Mister, I don't think you understand. We didn't come to take anything from you. We came here to give you something." And with that, each of them handed him a beautifully wrapped gift baskets. "Today is Purim," said a boy in a gorilla suit. "These are 'shalach manos' baskets. We all go around today and bring gifts of food to our friends and neighbors. Happy Purim!" With that, they turned and left. Empty-handed and happy. Think about it. In Jewish consciousness, the real “trick” for having joy in life is not to take... but to give. Tishrei 28 Tishrei 28 Daniel Malkiel stunning photo of the Temple Mount and Western Wall, where people from all around the world come to pour out their prayers at the gateway to heaven.   Featured at Aish.com       An Open Letter to Roger Waters   Netanyahu’s 44 Seconds of Silence at the UN   #Human: A Story from Bergen-Belsen     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. 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