Aspaqlaria

Keeping Torah and Values in Focus

Category: Shema

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Shema / Theology

Tefillah Meanings: Light and Dark

The Avudraham explains that Hashem created far more space and potential than He filled. It is humanity’s job to paint the rest of the canvas.

In his opinion darkness isn’t a thing, it’s the absence of light. When Hashem is borei space without filling all of it with light, He created darkness. Similarly, there is no such thing as evil….

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Shema

Tefillah Meanings: Parsing Borkhu

What is “le’olam va’ed” (forever)? The blessing we are giving Hashem, or His inherent Blesséd nature?

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Shema

Tefillah Meanings: What is a Davar Shebiqdusha?

… It would seem, therefore, that a defining feature of a Davar shebiQdushah is that it expresses the idea of making Hashem’s Holiness manifest in this world, as a part of getting to a more complete experience of Him.

In this world, we have different berakhos for major events: For good ones, “Shechiyanu” or “haTov vehaMeitiv” if many are impacted. And for ones we experience as tragic — “Dayan haEmes”. But when we get to Olam haBa, we get a clearer picture …

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Shema / Teshuvah

Ideals and Yokes

The question I started with was wondering about the first two paragraphs of Shema. (Which is what Arukh haShulchan Yomi is up to.) The first paragraph is an exercise of accepting ol Malkhus Shamayim,...

Minyan Saying Shema 1

Other-Focused O / Other-Focused Orthodoxy / Shema

Shema Yisrael

Also, the titles were added by Rabbi Phillips. I think the second one missed the point. So I changed it here from “PLACING COMMUNITY BEFORE BELIEF IN UNITY” to what you see below. THE...

Barukh Sheim 0

Shema

Barukh Sheim

Reciting Shema on Yom Kippur is unique in that we say the second line, “בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד — Blessed is the name of the Glory of His Rule for all eternity.”...

What does אחָד in שמע ישראל actually mean? 0

Shema

What does אחָד in שמע ישראל actually mean?

Shoaib asked on Mi Yodeya: In the Shema the word used for the oneness of God is אחָד (ref.). This is startling for a Muslim, as they find in the Quran almost a transliteration...

VeAhavta 0

5- Devarim / Shema / Yahrzeits

VeAhavta

My rebbe, Rav Dovid Lifshitz, passed away on 9 Tammuz 5753, 20 years ago today. I am posting a gemara that rebbe would often refer to in his shmuessin. Yuma 86a: At Rabbi Yanai[‘s...

Don’t Present Oneself as a Liar! 0

Shema

Don’t Present Oneself as a Liar!

צריך שיהיו תפילין עליו בשעת ק”ש ותפלה. A man must have tefillin on at the time of reading Shema and prayer [Shemoneh Esrei]. – Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 25:4 בשעת ק”ש ותפלה: ר”ל לכל...

Parashas Tzitzis 0

Audio / Shema

Parashas Tzitzis

This week’s shiur rounds out our discussion of Shema with the third paragraph. In the first paragraph we accept Hashem as King, and that evolves to the theme of Vehayah im Shomo’ah, accepting the...

Vehayah im Shamoa 0

Audio / Shema

Vehayah im Shamoa

We entered Shema last week by following the detailed look at the text started with Birchas Ahavah, Kel Melekh Ne’eman and the rich first sentence of Shema. This week we looked at the second...

Veahavta 0

Audio / Shema

Veahavta

In this shiur, we look at the rest of the first paragraph of Shema. Some of the issues discussed are: Why do we say “Barukh sheim“? How can a person choose to fulfill the...

Shema Yisrael 0

Audio / Shema

Shema Yisrael

In this week’s shiur we concluded Birkhas Ahavah and started Shema with the origin of “Kel Melekh Ne’eman” and some thoughts on its first sentence. Some of the topics discussed: Veha’eir eineinu beSorasekha —...

Birkhas Ahavah 0

Audio / Shema

Birkhas Ahavah

The Tefillah: Beyond the Words shiur resumed this week, picking up where we left off, with birkhas Ahavah.Some of the topics discussed: Two dimensions for discussing a middah: “Ahavah Rabba” and “Ahavas Olam” How...

Yotzeir Or, part III 0

Audio / Shema

Yotzeir Or, part III

See the previous discussions of Yotzeir Or here (part I) and here (part II). This week we concluded our discussion of the berakhah of Yotzeir Or, as well as the shiur’s run until after...

Yotzeir Or, part II 0

Audio / Shema

Yotzeir Or, part II

In this second of three parts on the berakhah of Yotzeir Or we continued our look at the problem of evil. (The shiur was given during the Three Weeks.) The previous shiur focused on...

Tzitzis, Advance and Retreat 0

4- Bamidbar / Clothing / Shema

Tzitzis, Advance and Retreat

There are two descriptions of the mitzvah of tzitzis. First, from parashas Shelach (and Qeri’as Shema): … [T]hey should make for themselves tzitzis on the corners of their garments (bigdeihem) throughout their generations, and...

Saying Shema Together 0

Shema

Saying Shema Together

When I was in High School, we would all say Shema together, with trop. Since then, I’ve only seen this practice a few times; amongst a minyan of descendents of students of the Gra...