News from Room613 ~ parshas Nitzavim/Vayelech
Thursday, September 2nd 2010 @ 4:00 PM
bs"d
Lots to discuss! Where to start? We begin saying slichos this motzai Shabbos (some have already begun). The new year is upon us! Chassidut explains the profound effect that the simple shofar has, reaching to the very depths and essence of G-dliness, and bringing those levels down into the physical world. The Alter Rebbe once said that eating kugel on Shabbos is tantamount to blowing shofar!
This week I drove to upstate New York to drop my son off at mesivta. Although a long drive, one which takes the whole day, I truly enjoyed the beautiful scenic views as I traveled across New York state. I couldn’t help but compare it to the views that I took in as I drove through Israel, just two short weeks ago. New York seems much more lush and green. Mountains covered with thick green trees, farms and foliage. Israel is stony desert, plains, with its share of trees, albeit a different variety. One doesn’t see many olive groves driving through New York!
I can appreciate both vistas. But while driving through Israel, one is struck by the sheer history of it all. A history that is intrinsically connected to our bodies and souls, which seems part of the very DNA that forms us. This history is part of us, and one senses that as you traverse the land. This is the very same land that Avraham Avinu walked!
Room613 is gearing up for new classes to begin, shortly after Yom Tov. The new schedule of classes is posted on the website. It may change slightly, but you can get a good idea of what each day will look like.
The week of September 13th, and the week after, will be open house/orientation/classes, that all are invited to. (I am hoping that the Early Childhood teachers will also be ready to invite you into their rooms.) We will be learning various things about the upcoming Yomim Tovim, and shmoozing a bit, as we get reacquainted, and meet some potential new students, etc. The Open House schedule will be sent out next week.
If you are planning to sign up for classes this year, keep in mind that before classes begin, you will need to sign up as either an Unlimited Learning, or a Half-Day Learning, member. This can easily be done through the website. Please contact me with any questions. There is still plenty of time to register.
This week is parshas Nitzavim/Vayelech. Here is a teaching from the Zohar on the parsha.
At the end of this Torah portion, Moses is stated as writing "this song" and teaching it to Israel. This sparks a lengthy discussion in the Zohar as to the various types of songs and their meaning. A song refers here to any form of worship of G-d, whether in prayer or through performing the practical commandments. Rebbe Shimon teaches what is required in the best of one's "songs" to G-d: "For I will proclaim the name of G-d, ascribe greatness to our G-d...Just and right is He."
As the Zohar elucidates, this includes proper intentions and meditation on both elevating one's level of consciousness to particular spiritual states, as well as drawing down Divine influx from the higher spiritual worlds and uniting them in one's heart.
From the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; translation & commentary by Shmuel Simcha Treister
http://www.kabbalaonline.org/kabbalah
