Shavuos

for personal reasons I have been too busy to post so I am putting a link to previous Shavuos posts:

http://tiforoa.blogspot.com/search/label/Shavuos

The power of Tea

Since the only free "food" that I have is my herb tea I found this post very inspiring.  It is from Shirat Devorah http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com/2011/05/rebbe-elimelechs-tea-mug.html

Rebbe Elimelech's Tea Mug

Reb Mordechai of Neschiz was a disciple of Rebbe Elimelech. When the Rebbe passed away, Reb Mordechai inherited the Rebbe’s tea mug. The Rebbe would say that when one drinks tea, he is in the spiritual realm of Asiyah, the World of Action, and he can do many things that otherwise he could not do.

Once, a barren woman asked Reb Mordechai to intercede on her behalf to Rebbe Elimelech that he should pray for her to bear children since the doctors had given up hope. “Go to him during tea time,” was Reb Mordechai’s advice. She did and received a blessing. Indeed, Reb Mordechai used to say, “Many barren women were blessed with children because their plight was mentioned to me while I drank tea from Rebbe Elimelech’s mug.”

The holy Rebbe Meir of Premishlan taught that this is hinted at in the prayer “Tehei hasha’ah hazos she’as rachamim — May this time be an auspicious time of mercy.” The word for “may,” תהא, can be read as תה, “tea.” Therefore the prayer can be read: “Tea time is a time of mercy.” In fact, the Gerrer Rebbe, the Chiddushei HaRim, used to say that Reb Mordechai of Neschiz was able to resurrect the dead using the tea mug of his Rebbe, Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk.

[Ohel Elimelech 130]

ps: I recently discovered :

Rooibos (Red Bush) is a reddish plant used to make an infusion and grown in South Africa. In the US it is sometimes called red tea. It has many of the antioxidant benefits of green tea, but because it does not come from tea leaves, it has no caffeine.

Join Rav Itamar Shwartz, shlita, the author Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh the week before Shavous to prepare for "Kabbalas haTorah."

To register for a Intensive Seminar  or for additional info please call 516.668.6397 or email info@bilvavi.us



Sunday May 29th - Flatbush -

Intensive Seminar 1:30, 2:45, & 4:00 (3 different shiurim) - Ateres Shloime (29th & K) Flatbush - Men and women are invited – Appointments available before and after - No charge for admission - $20 donation comes with your choice of a CD of MP3s of shiurim by Rav Shwartz or shiurim by Rav Moshe Weinberger teaching Bilvavi and Da Es Atzmecha - $200 donation comes with CD and sefer of your choice. Contact 516-668-6397



Monday May 30th - Monsey -

Memorial Day - Intensive Seminar 3:00, 4:15, & 5:30 (3 different shiurim) NOTE: 5:30 shiur with english translation - Men and women are invited – Ohr Someach, 244 Route 306, Monsey- Appointments available after. No charge for admission - $20 donation comes with your choice of a CD of MP3s of shiurim by Rav Shwartz or shiurim by Rav Moshe Weinberger teaching Bilvavi and Da Es Atzmecha - $200 donation comes with CD and sefer of your choice. Contact 914-645-4199



Tuesday May 31st - Atlanta, GA -

8:30 PM: Drasha at Beth Jacob - 1855 Lavista Road NE, Atlanta - Men and women are invited. Sponsorships still needed. Contact: 404-290-8927



Wednesday June 1 - Boro Park -

8:30 PM: Talmud Torah Toldos Yaakov Yosef Sqvare– 1373 43rd St. (men only) Sponsorships still needed. Contact: 516-668-6397



Thursday June 2nd - Lakewood -

• 8:30 PM: "The Avodah of Chodesh Sivan" @Beis Medresh of Westgate, 49 Radin, Lakewood • 10 PM: Maariv followed by a a siyum and a seuda and a drasha @ Cong. Shemen L'Mincha, 11 Engleberg Terrace, Lakewood. (men only) Contact 732-966-7743



Shabbos - June 4th - Woodmere & Far Rockaway

• 9:30 PM Friday night Oneg Shabbos - Niggunim - at the Nudman's home @361 Sutton Pl., Woodmere • 8 AM Shacharis - drasha after davening - Kahal Nesiv Hatorah – Rav Binyomin Forst: 444 Beach 6th Street, Far Rockaway • Shabbos afternoon drasha 6:45 PM in Congregation Aish Kodesh, Woodmere. Sponsorships still needed. Contact 516-668-6397



INTENSIVE SEMINARS (of three consecutive drashas) in either FLATBUSH or MONSEY. Men and women are invited. No charge for admission - $20 donation comes with your choice of a CD of MP3s of shiurim by Rav Shwartz or shiurim by Rav Moshe Weinberger teaching Bilvavi and Da Es Atzmecha - $200 donation comes with CD and sefer of your choice. For additional info please call 516.668.6397.



The sponsorship for a full drasha is $1,800. Sponsorship for Intensive Seminar is $200.



Contributions are tax deductible pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.



Sponsorships are available for smaller amounts. Please fill in the amount and select which drasha you would like to sponsor. If you would like to dedicate your sponsorship as a merit for someone, please include that in the comments section (In memory of.. In honor of...).



Drashas are delivered in easy to understand Hebrew.

Sale of Bilvavi seforim and CD's at discounted prices at all drashas.

All proceeds dedicated to printing Bilvavi seforim for free distribution.

Computer Needed for a Paralized 15 year old Bochur

Do you have a computer that you no longer need? Paralized 15 year old bochur is teaching himself graphics to help add meaning to his life.

He needs a Mac Computer with an intel processor to run the software that he needs and his family can not afford to buy him one. Your unused computer can do a huge mitzvah.

if you can help contact npascal@chesed247.org

Hashem Never Ignores our Tefila

Many times when we daven and we feel like Hashem did not answer our prayers we think that it means that the answer was no.  Rabbi Nissel discusses four different ways that Hashem answers our prayers. Sometimes Hashem answers them in the way we want, and sometimes it is in the way that Hashem knows is best for us.  For a very inspiring Shiur go to:

Shelanu: 4 Ways That Hashem Answers Your Prayers # NB 678

by Nissel, Rabbi Menachem

http://www.aishaudio.com/search/results.php

We've often heard people say - I asked, but God said no. While this can be an admirable response to the denial of something we desperately want, were our prayers simply cast to the wayside? Rabbi Nissel proves that tefillah really works, even when we think we've gained nothing out of it, showing how answers can be disguised in ways we can't recognize without truly looking carefully.

Don't make other people's problems your own.

We learn that Hashem gives us the ability to handle our problems.  Sometimes we make someone else's problems our own and we feel overwhelmed.  We have to remember that Hashem does not give us the strength to handle other people's problems.

from a Shiur by Reb. Heller about Tefilah from Naaleh.

An inspiring quote from Stephen Hawking

Q. Given all you’ve experienced, what words would you offer someone who has been diagnosed with a serious illness, perhaps A.L.S.?

A. My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit, as well as physically.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/science/10hawking.html?pagewanted=2&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB

What do I want to be on the day of my death?

In a Shiur by Bilvavi Miskan Evneh, Rav Schwatz spoke about the importance of having goals that you want to meet before you are Niftar.  As I listened to my tapes of the Shiur, I kept thinking,"If I reach my goals for the end of the day I am thrilled, how can I possibly know where I want to be when I die".  The possibiltiy of meeting a long term goal never seemed real.  Now that I have learned how to set a long term goal and follow through, it is waking up new hopes for the future. 

Recently I sat next to an older woman at a Simcha.  After complementing me on my 86 pound weight loss, she told me that she figures at her age she is going to roll into the grave fat and decrepit, and what difference does it make.  This brought me to thinking back about where do I want to be on the day of my death.  One thing that I know is that I want to be a person who operates out of thought and not out of desire.  I want to make long term plans and goals and stick to them.  While I may not always meet my daily goals, I know that there is always tomorrow and with perseverance I can make major changes in my life.

Don't see the world as a finished project, see it as a symphony in progress.

Look around the world and realize that Hashem is continuing creation at every moment.

from Rebetzin Heller's Daily learning program.

I am more and more impressed with Rebbetzin Heller's daily learning project on Chovot Halevavot.  It is brief but focused and it helps you to work on one goal each day for spiritual growth.

BE more. It only takes a few minutes a day!

•What's stopping YOU from being the person you want to BE?

•What is a deep relationship?

•What does trusting G-d really mean?

http://www.tziporahheller.com/?q=duties-of-the-heart/home

I recently  joined a daily learning program from Rebetzin Heller.  It is a really excellent program.  It is well worth the cost-$14.95 a month.  Originally I wanted to go hear her speak this Sunday but it wasn't going to work out with my schedule.  Then I realized that I would have spent more then that on gas to get to the Shiur and back, so I decided to treat myself to her daily learning program.  I really love it.

The Pin Cushion

Monday, May 2, is Holocaust Day this year in Israel

In the early summer of 1939, a mere two months before the Nazis invaded Poland, Kaila Burda said to her husband Gamaliel, “I’m at wit’s end. Chasia wants to go to the summer camp with her girlfriends from school. Why not send her?”

“Kaila, these are troubled times. When will you understand that we can’t stay here any longer. Chasia is the only Jewish child in her class. I’d prefer that she stays at home.”

“But she has nothing to do but draw. She sits at home and draws pictures all day long! She needs to be outdoors and play with other children.”

Gamaliel shrugged his shoulders, “It’s not safe, but have it your way…”

Chasia went to summer camp. When her first day was over, she was a bloody mess, escorted home by one of the sixth-grade teachers. “We can’t take responsibility for your daughter,” she said in Polish to the appalled Gamaliel and Kaila on their front doorstep. “She’s the only Jewish girl in our school, and the other little girls know it. They played a game of 'seamstress' and they made your daughter the pin cushion…”

After Kristallnacht in Germany, anti-Semitism in neighboring Poland was fast on the rise too...

Continue reading The Pin Cushion, the amazing story of my own mother,(Rabbi Laser Brody) Chasia, may Hashem bless her with long and healthy days, in this week's issue of Breslev Israel web magazine.
http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/holidays_and_fast_days/holocaust_day/the_pin_cushion.aspx?id=11760&language=english