Forest Hills Blog

A mountain, a field, a house & Elazar Bar Kapara

Sunday, November 26, 2017 - 4:49 PM

A mountain, a field, a house & Elazar Bar Kapara:

On Men, women and Children

With Rabbi Mordechai Z. Hecht: 6/52

A student of the great 19th century codifier, the Chasam Sofer notes in a brilliant essay that the sages Abraham, Isaac and Jacob correspond to (3) different stages in the order of descent of humanity via the way in which they refer to the place of the Holy Temple.

Abraham refers to it as Har – the mountain, as in the verse: “He called it the mountain of G-d and…on the mountain of G-d you shall be seen”. (Bereishis 24,14) For it was Abraham who introduced the idea of monotheism for all, into the world. Yet, people were still steeped in paganism and idolatry and honor and ego were necessary … Read More »

"On not going back to sleep"

Monday, November 20, 2017 - 4:08 PM

ויצא

with Rabbi Mordechai Zev Ben Harav Sholem Dovber Hecht

Anshe Sholom Chabad, Kew Gardens, NY

“ויקרא לאחיו לאכל לחם (רש"י) אוהביו”

(Bereshis 31,44)

ויאמר לאחיו לקטו אבנים (רש"י) בניו שהיו לו אחים נגשים אליו לצרה ולמלחמה

(Bereshis 31,46)

TO EAT & SERVE

There are those who come to Shul לאכל לחם – “to eat bread”, perhaps for the coffee and cake, the kiddush, the hot cholent, they will attend functions and dinners and truth be told that’s very nice, participation in any and every form is wonderful. In turn, there are those, as Rashi so eloquently puts it, the אוהביו - the friends and patronizers of the shul or community center.

But what does a shul really need, what r… Read More »

Every U.S. State a Gunman?!

Thursday, November 9, 2017 - 12:55 PM

EVERY U.S. STATE A GUN MAN?!

Hear this:
"וְיָצְאוּ ישְׁבֵי עָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִעֲרוּ
וְהִשִּׁיקוּ בְּנֶשֶׁק וּמָגֵן וְצִנָּה בְּקֶשֶׁת וּבְחִצִּים וּבְמַקֵּל יָד וּבְרֹמַח וּבִעֲרוּ בָהֶם אֵשׁ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים" (יחזקאל לט,
פסוק ט)

"And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and use them as fuel, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years". (Amen)

This is a verse which is a source in ancient Biblical Hebrew for the word Gun or weapon.

Ironically, it is also the same letters and is the same root word of the word in this following verse, which me… Read More »