| Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com | | | | | The Three Musketeers at the Kotel | | | | | | Hoshana Rabbah (Aramaic: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא, lit. 'Great Hoshana/Supplication') is the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the 21st day of the month of Tishrei. This day is marked by a special synagogue service, the Hoshana Rabbah, in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their lulav and etrog, while the congregation recites Hoshanot. It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the ark during this procession. In a few communities, a shofar is sounded after each circuit. Contents Final judgment Hoshana Rabbah is known as the last of the Days of Judgment, which begins on Rosh Hashana. The Zohar says that while the judgment for the new year is sealed on Yom Kippur, it is not "delivered" until the end of Sukkot (i.e., Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot), during which time one can still alter their verdict and decree for the new year. Consequently, an Aramaic blessing that Jews give each other on Hoshana Rabbah, פתקא טבא (Pitka Tava or piska tava), which in Yiddish is "A guten kvitel", or "A good note", is a wish that the verdict will be positive. In this spirit, it is a custom in many congregations that the cantor wears a kittel as on the High Holidays. Since Hoshana Rabbah blends elements of the High Holy Days, Chol HaMoed, and Yom Tov, in the Ashkenazic tradition, the cantor recites the service using High Holiday, Festival, Weekday, and Sabbath melodies interchangeably. Among Sephardi Jews, prayers known as Selichot (forgiveness) are recited before the regular morning service (these are the same prayers recited before Rosh Hashanah). In the different prayers of this day, Syrian Jews pray in the same maqam (melody) as on the high holidays. In Amsterdam and in a few places in England, America, and elsewhere, the shofar is also sounded in connection with the processions. The latter practice reflects the idea that Hoshana Rabbah is the end of the High Holy Day season, when the world is judged for the coming year. Because Hoshanah Rabbah is also linked to the high holidays as well as being a joy-filled day some Hasidic communities such as Satmar have the custom of having Birchat Cohanim/Priestly Blessing recited during the Mussaf service. The evening prior to Hoshana Rabbah It is customary to read the whole of Tehillim (Psalms) on Hoshana Rabbah eve. There is also a custom to read the book of Deuteronomy on the night of Hoshana Rabbah. The reasons for many of the customs of the day are rooted in Kabbalah. Seven hoshanot The modern-day observance of the rituals of Hoshana Rabbah are reminiscent of the practices that existed in the times of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. During Sukkot, the four species are taken in a circuit around (inscribing the perimeter, not circumscribing the actual building) the synagogue once daily. On Hoshana Rabbah, there are seven circuits. Making a circuit around the bimah on Sukkot while each person holds the four species in his hands has its origin in the Temple service, as recorded in the Mishnah: "It was customary to make one procession around the altar on each day of Sukkot, and seven on the seventh day" (Sukkah 4:5). The priests carried the palm branches or willows in their hands. The entire ceremony is to demonstrate rejoicing and gratitude for a blessed and fruitful year. Moreover, it serves to tear down the iron wall that separates us from our Father in Heaven, as the wall of Jericho was encompassed "and the wall fell down flat" (Joshua 6:20). Furthermore, the seven circuits correspond to the seven Hebrew words in Psalms 26:6 - "I wash my hands in purity and circle around Your altar, O Lord". Each "hoshana" is done in honor of a patriarch, prophet or king. Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses (the most important Hebrew prophet) Aaron (Moses's brother, the first high priest) Joseph (Jacob's most famous son) David (the most important king of Israel)
| | | | | | | Simchat Torah outside the land of Israel | | | | | Simchat Torah The practice of reading the last of the weekly Torah portions on Shemini Atzeret is documented in the Talmud. That Talmudic source does not refer to the occasion as "Simchat Torah", but simply as [the second day of] Shemini Atzeret. The Simchat Torah celebration of today is of later rabbinic and customary origin. The day (but not the name) is mentioned in the siddur of Rav Amram Gaon (9th century CE); the assignment of the first chapter of Joshua as the haftarah of the day is mentioned there. The reading of the first section of Genesis immediately upon the conclusion of the last section of Deuteronomy—as well as the name "Simchat Torah"—can be found in the 14th century halachic work Arba'ah Turim. By the 16th century CE, most of the features of the modern celebration of Simchat Torah were in place in some form. The Simchat Torah celebration is now the most distinctive feature of this festival—so much so that in the Land of Israel, where Shemini Atzeret lasts only one day, it is more common to refer to the day as "Simchat Torah" than as "Shemini Atzeret". In the 20th century, Simchat Torah came to symbolize the public assertion of Jewish identity. The Jews of the Soviet Union, in particular, would celebrate the festival en masse in the streets of Moscow. On October 14, 1973, more than 100,000 Jews took part in a post-Simchat Torah rally in New York City on behalf of refuseniks and Soviet Jewry. Dancing in the street with the Torah has become part of the holiday's ritual in various Jewish congregations in the United States as well. In Israel, many communities conduct Hakafot shniyot, or "Second hakafot", on the day after Shemini Atzeret. In part, this shows solidarity with Jewish communities outside Israel, which are still celebrating Simchat Torah (on the second day of the festival). At the same time, it allows for a Simchat Torah celebration unconstrained by festival work restrictions, since the festival is over in Israel according to Jewish law. Outside Israel, where Shemini Atzeret is observed for two days, Simchat Torah is deferred to the second day, when all agree there is no obligation of the sukkah. Sukkot celebration In Israel-none of the unique observances of Sukkot (sukkah, lulav, and etrog) carry over to Shemini Atzeret. Shemini Atzeret is a holiday in its own right, without sukkah, lulav, and etrog. At the same time, by the rabbinic decree to add one day to all holidays outside the Land of Israel, both Passover and Sukkot, although described in the Torah as seven-day holidays, are observed outside the Land of Israel for eight days. Accordingly, the "eighth day of Sukkot" outside Israel coincides with the separate holiday of Shemini Atzeret. Psalm 27, which is recited in most communities twice daily starting at the beginning of Elul, continues to be recited on Shemini Atzeret outside the Land of Israel. When Shemini Atzeret falls on the Shabbat, the Scroll of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet (קהלת, otherwise read in Ashkenazi synagogues on the Shabbat of Sukkot), is read on that day outside the Land of Israel. In the Land of Israel, it would have been read on the first day of Sukkot, which would also have been on Shabbat. The Torah reading (Deuteronomy 14:22–16:17) is the same as on the Final Day of Passover and Second Day of Shavuot. However, unlike Passover and Shavuot, the full length of the Torah reading is included on Shemini Atzeret even when the day does not fall on the Shabbat because the reading refers to the separation of agricultural gifts (like tithes and terumah), which are due at this time of the year. The Haftarah describes the people's blessing of King Solomon at the end of the dedication of the First Temple. Taking the lulav and etrog and sleeping in the sukkah The prevalent practice is that one eats in the sukkah on the eighth day, but without reciting the blessing (berakhah) for sitting in a sukkah.[39] However, one does not take the lulav and etrog (nor does one sleep in the sukkah according to most opinions) on the eighth day. If someone sees a neighbor on the street with a lulav and etrog on the eighth day, the rabbi's reason, s/he might mistakenly assume that it is still the seventh day (ḥol hamoed), when the lulav and etrog are still needed. S/he might then violate prohibitions of the Yom tov of the eighth day. For that reason, the rabbis ruled that one should not take the lulav and etrog on the eighth day, even outside the Land of Israel. They are therefore muktzah; that is, one may not even move them on a holiday where they are not needed. Sleeping in the sukkah brings a similar discussion. Additionally, most people would prefer to sleep indoors at this point in the year due to the weather, so sleeping in the sukkah may impinge on one's own joy during the festival. This is why the rabbis ruled that one does not sleep in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret, even outside the Land of Israel. Other rabbis, such as the Vilna Gaon, ruled that one should sleep in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret outside the Land of Israel. Eating in the sukkah Eating in the sukkah does not cause a parallel problem because many people simply enjoy eating outdoors in the shade of a sukkah. Hence, seeing someone eating in a sukkah does not per se lead one to assume it is still ḥol hamoed. Likewise, eating in the sukkah does not per se impinge on one's own celebration of Shemini Atzeret. Therefore, the prevalent practice is to eat in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret outside the Land of Israel, but not to recite the berakhah for sitting in a sukkah, as reciting it would "impinge" on the unique status of Shemini Atzeret.[40] There are, however, those who have different minhagim (customs). Many Hasidic groups have a tradition to recite the morning kiddush and then have refreshments (such as cake) in the sukkah, but to eat both the evening and morning main meals inside, notwithstanding the Talmudic ruling to the contrary. Others eat the evening meal of Shemini Atzeret indoors but the day meal in the sukkah. Each of these approaches addresses aspects of the dual nature of Shemini Atzeret. Other customs The Land of Israel's agriculture depends heavily on rains that come only seasonally, so Jewish prayers for rain, such as Tefillat Geshem or Tikun Geshem (Rain Prayer) are prominent during the Land of Israel's rainy (winter) half of the year. The rainy season starts just after the fall of Jewish holidays. Because of that, and because the sukkah (and, by extension, pleasant weather) is no longer required on Shemini Atzeret, Jews begin to ask for rain starting with the Musaf Amidah prayer of Shemini Atzeret. This prayer is recited in a traditional, distinctive, plaintive melody during the cantor's repetition of the Amidah. In most Ashkenazi synagogues, the cantor is clad in a white kittel, a symbol of piety, owing to the vitality of a positive judgment for rain. A brief mention of rain continues to be inserted in the Amidah until Passover. The Yizkor memorial service is also recited in Ashkenazi synagogues on this day. Recital of the Yizkor prayer is said to bring the person "closer to the cold and brittle part of mourning", and is necessary to promote the healing of a broken heart. | | | | | Rap Daddy D - Simchat Torah Rap - שמחת תורה ראפ | | | | |  | | | . | | | | | Trump Advisor Dr Atlas Claims COVID-19 Deaths, Hospitalizations and Emergency Room Visits Are Down. Dr. Atlas was on with Laura Ingraham on Thursday night. This was a very important interview. | | | | | | | Europe: if God is dead, death becomes God In the midst of the pandemic that killed 30,000, Spain is passing a euthanasia law, part of Europe's destruction of the individual. Op-ed. "Our attitude towards death is ambivalent," French historian and philosopher Rémi Brague told Le Figaro last April. "Look at Friedrich Nietzsche's famous phrase, 'God is dead'. It implies that death is more divine than the God it has overcome. In this way, 'God is dead' logically turns to 'death is God'". In the midst of a pandemic that has caused the deaths of nearly 30,000 of its people, the Spanish government is pushing ahead with a bill to advance euthanasia. The "right to die", initially considered by the Congress last February, has just managed to overcome two amendments presented by the Popular Party and by Vox. Vox MP, María Ruiz Solás, accused the Socialists of betting "once again on death rather than on the defense of life. This is what they have always done. They did so with the abortion law and with the elderly in nursing homes in the hardest moments of the pandemic when it was preferred to sedate them with morphine instead of taking them to intensive care to try to save their lives". Alejandro Macarron Larumbe, essayist, demographic expert and director of the Fundación Renacimiento Demográfico, in a conversation we had, pointed out the paradox of a country with the lowest birth rate in Europe betting on the end of life, rather than on new lives: "It's incomprehensible. The obsession in favor of euthanasia would have only one logical, profoundly anti-humanist explanation: that the state saves on pensions and medical care for the elderly. On the other hand, not investing in life, in a Spain and in a Europe that are dying little by little from lack of births, is a betrayal of our nations and our ancestors". Without net immigration, the population of Spain would go from 47 to 23 million in two generations. "These figures are similar to 18th century Spain in terms of births" explained me Macarron Larumbe. "And they're even worse than the Civil War birth rates. In 1939, 422,000 children were born in a desolate Spain with twenty million fewer inhabitants. This year there will be 359,000. Collectively, we do not have the moral right to seriously deteriorate the social heritage we receive from our ancestors. But this will have a price: we will pay very dearly for the decline of our societies." Brague said it all: "The death that threatens us today in the form of a pandemic is the same death with which Europe, with its demographics in freefall, has been flirting for a long time". This European obsession with death, to end connection with life, to "die with dignity", to legislate in every aspect the self-destruction of an individual (one's sex, one's identity, one's religion, one's family and now one's own death) indicates a lethal impulse that underlies the soul of our societies. | | | | | Kamala Harris Lied About Abraham Lincoln and the Supreme Court BY TYLER O'NEIL OCT 08, 2020 Kamala Harris must have been so proud of herself. During the vice-presidential debate on Wednesday, she argued that President Donald Trump should not have nominated Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and she cited as her precedent none other than Abraham Lincoln himself — "Honest Abe." As it turns out, however, Kamala Harris was being less than honest in her portrayal of Abraham Lincoln's record. "In 1864… Abraham Lincoln was up for reelection, and it was 27 days before the election, and a seat became open on the United States Supreme Court. Abraham Lincoln's party was in charge not only of the White House but the Senate," Harris began. "But Honest Abe said, 'It's not the right thing to do. The American people deserve to make the decision about who will be the next president of the United States and then that person can select who will serve for a lifetime on the highest court of our land.'" Yet Lincoln said no such thing. In fact, the polarization of the Supreme Court is a fairly recent phenomenon, dating back to the living Constitution approach of activist judges amending the Constitution by fiat — "discovering" a right to abortion in the Fourteenth Amendment, for example. Before Roe v. Wade (1973), and really before Joe Biden led the smear campaign against Robert Bork in 1987, Supreme Court nominations often proceeded as a matter of course. Harris was correct that when Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney died on October 12, 1864, President Lincoln did not nominate his successor, Salmon P. Chase, until after the election. This had nothing to do with letting "the next president" choose the nominee, however.
As National Review's Dan McLaughlin explained, Lincoln delayed because the Senate was not in session when Taney died. In fact, the Senate session ended on July 4, 1864, and did not convene again until December 5, 1864. "It was once common for the Senate to be out of session for much of the summer and fall," McLaughlin wrote. The Senate session calendar confirms this. As McLaughlin noted, Lincoln nominated Chase on the very day that the Senate reconvened, and the Senate confirmed him that day. In fact, historian David Donald claimed that Lincoln dangled a potential Supreme Court nomination before Chase in the hopes that Chase — a former senator, governor, secretary of the Treasury, and presidential candidate — would support Lincoln's reelection. He did so, and the president won reelection—a reelection that was vital to winning the Civil War. Lincoln did not delay the nomination out of some high democratic principle. He certainly did not do so in order to prevent President Donald Trump from nominating a successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg 156 years hence. He did so because the Senate was out of session, and that may have worked to his benefit in corralling Chase to support his reelection. Make no mistake: Kamala Harris twisted history on Lincoln and the Supreme Court — and she did so in order to dodge a far more pertinent question: whether she and Joe Biden support packing the Court, fundamentally changing the rules of the game to support the very "living Constitution" judicial activism that politicized the Court in the first place.
Tyler O'Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil. | | | | Rabbi YY Jacobson: When the Jewish Boy Jumped onto the Carriage of King George Rabbi YY Jacobson addressing High School students of Hanna Sacks Bais
Yaakov of Chicago, on Thursday, 28 Elul, 5780, September 17, 2020. | | | | | Today is Hoshana Rabbah (Aramaic: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא, lit. 'Great
Hoshana/Supplication') is the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of
Sukkot, the 21st day of the month of Tishrei. Tomorrow, Saturday at the same time as Shabbat comes Shemini Atzeret.
See you on Sunday bli neder when the holiday is over in Israel but Simchas Torah our of Israel. We need Moshiach now. Love Yehuda Lave | | | | |
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