Beyond BT Spiritual Growth for Jews. Rav Itamar Shwarz, the author of the Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh. Download a number of Drashos on Elul. The days of Elul are here, and a new year is before us, approaching. There is no Jewish soul during these days who isnt inspired at least on a minimal level. Every Jew has some feeling, at least a tiny feeling, to do teshuvah repentance, to change. Let us try to understand a bit more about this matter, so that we can have a clearer and deeper understanding of it. Everyone has many things in his life that he wants. A husband wants his wife to be a good wife to him, a wife wants to have a good husband, and they both want good children, good health, ample livelihood, and a comfortable home. Each person has many more things to add onto this list as well. Now lets come to a person and ask him Now that youve listed all these things that you want, from all of these 5. Theres a saying in Israel going around, HaIkar, Berius The main thing, is health. A 2. Only when people get older do they start to worry about their health. Judaism and Jewish resources in a popular and wellorganized index, carefully monitored to ensure that all links are active. On the web since 1993. Among followers of Judaism, Jesus is viewed as having been the most influential, and consequently the most damaging, of all false messiahs. However, since the. Written By C. Sapir, You can read part 1 here. You can read part 2 here. You can read part 3 here. One day, Ben mentioned that he had taken a client out to eat, and I. Ahasuerus and Vashti The Story Megillat Esther Does Not Tell You. How the rabbis came to imagine Ahasuerus as a usurper who halted the rebuilding of the Temple and. Aish Hatorah Rabbinical Program' title='Aish Hatorah Rabbinical Program' />And if they have good health, what, then, do people think about Happiness. The truth is, however, that even if a person would have both complete health and happiness, he would be in a lot of danger spiritually speaking. Why Because he would grow complacent and feel, I have everythingEvery person, as we said, has many desires. But what is the main thing that a person wants in lifeOne needs to think about this at times. Its possible for a person to live 7. What is the thing I truly want, more than anything, in my lifeOf course, a person might give a quick answer to this. But it wont be truthful. Early years. Moses Sofer was born in Frankfurt am Main, on September 24, 1762, during the Seven Years War. Tishrei 5523 on the Hebrew calendar. The latest news and information on all the Aish HaTorah branches and programs throughout the world. Tolerance. com This site promotes the work of the Institute for Jewish Communal Tolerance and serves to enhance the mission of promoting tolerance and unity among all. It is not a question that you can answer so quickly. It needs more than half a years worth of time to answerBorn in New York City, Rabbi Yehuda Appel has spent a third of his life in New York, a third, in Jerusalem, and a third in Cleveland. He is married to noted speaker. UK Jewish Charity List. Please click on charities in bold type to see full contact details and further information about their work, and to access their DONATE BUTTONS. Aish Hatorah Rabbinical Program' title='Aish Hatorah Rabbinical Program' />If Elijah the Prophet would reveal himself to a person and say to him Hashem has decreed that whatever you asked for, will happen. You can now ask one thing, as in the verse One thing I seek from Hashem, that is which I sought what would a person ask That his oldest daughter should become engaged That the bank shouldnt put his house in foreclosureWhat would a person ask for As long as a person hasnt yet thought about this, he remains unclear about the main point of life. If he is unclear about it, he is like a person who has many important businesses yet he is unaware of what his main one is. He will invest most of his money in the businesses that are less important, and the main business will be financially neglected for the most part. His main business will surely fail with this approach clear and simple. So a person first needs to become clear what the main point of life is that he is living for. The question is How much is a person willing to invest, in order to figure out what he truly wants in life When a person goes for a blood test and the results dont come back good, he goes back for more blood tests, until they tell him, We see that something here is abnormal. But we dont know exactly what it is. Maybe go to a certain doctor for this, Dr. X. He is an expert and he will almost definitely know what the problem is. In such a situation, a person would be prepared to spend much money in order to find out what the illness is in his body. It is directly affecting his health and his entire life. Now How much is a person willing to invest in knowing what he truly wants in lifeIf a person is sure that his main interest in life is money, a nice house, a nice car, or getting lots of honor, then he also has a problem to deal with. It is clear that such a person is living for a purpose that is clearly not the purpose of life, and he will have to deal with this problem. The first thing, then, that a person needs to do, is to try to figure out to himself what the main thing is that he wants in life. After that he can begin to understand on what level his Avodas Hashem is. Before a person figures this out, chances are that he is living in a totally delusional realm. He might be a person who has regularly fixed times for learning Torah, for an hour at night or more he might regularly give tzedakah and try to be a baal chessed and to host guests, and many other wonderful things. But what does he really want in life It is not tzedakah, hosting guests, or the hour of learning Torah he has every night. Those things rank at either 9, 1. I want. What is the main point in life that a person wants more than anything else A Big Surprise About The Reward In The World To Come. We all Baruch Hashem do the mitzvos, for the most part. We make effort to daven, to put on tefillin, to wear tallis and tzitzis, to keep Shabbos, etc. What will be our reward for all of this We will be paid back with spiritual reward. But if a person doesnt care too much for the spiritual, he cant enjoy the reward for all his mitzvos He will come upstairs to the High Heavenly Court and there is nothing physical there, only spirituality. But that is not what he wants, so he will remain there with nothing. If a person wanted a nice car more than anything else, after 1. Here is payment for all of the millions of mitzvos that you did. Here is your greatest wish the new car which came out this year. Understandably, he will not want to get into that car, realizing that he has lost his entire spiritual reward This is what is meant in the verse, A man according to his praise. This is not some kind of joke, and it is not a mere thought of mussar. If anyone is working at a job and he finds out that he will not get paid at the end of the month, what would he doWhat happens if a person finds out after 7. Does anyone have a guaranteed insurance in the World To Come that he will get paid for all the mitzvos he did Compare this to a child who did something good, so his father buys him a new car as a gift. What can the child do with the car Only after 1. Right now, he cant do anything with the car. Hashem is loyal to pay back anyone with reward, but who says that the person when he gets upstairs will be able to use the reward that was given to him Imagine a person who works for someone for a month and then at the end of the month, he is given a pair of glasses as his payment. He doesnt need glasses, he can see quite fine. This is not considered payment to him, because he doesnt need the glasses. We all Baruch Hashem make effort to do the right actions, each person on his own level. But is it clear to any of us what we want If a person wanted what they will give to him in the Next World, he can enjoy it as reward. But if this isnt what he really wanted in his life, he cannot enjoy his reward in Heaven, because this is not what he wanted. Chas vshalom, it can be the realization of the verse, He pays back his enemies. Knowing What You Really Want In Life. Every person needs to figure out for himself if Hashem is satisfied with his actions or not, and this is a very important issue to know. But that is a second question to know. The first question one needs to answer for himself is What do I want from myselfHere is an example from the physical world to illustrate what we mean. Sometimes there is a boy who is 1. To our chagrin, his parents do not really understand his soul and what he really needs, and what his true interests are. A year goes by and he still hasnt decided what he wants to do with his life perhaps he has some options now, but he hasnt yet decided. Our Staff Rev 1. Our Staff. Chrysler Diagnostic Software. Rabbi Yehuda Appel. Best Ecology Programs Undergraduate. Born in New York City, Rabbi Yehuda Appel has spent a third of his life in New York, a third, in Jerusalem, and a third in Cleveland. He is married to noted speaker Hannah Appel and they have eight children. Rabbi Appel received his ordination from the ITRI yeshiva in Jerusalem after studying at Aish Ha. Torah and before that in the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. He was the director for many years of Aish Ha. Torahs Discovery Program in Jerusalem before founding the organizations branch in Cleveland. His particular focus recently has been on setting up Aish programs on college campuses throughout the Midwest in addition to his teaching and administrative responsibilities in Cleveland. In addition to his wonderful family, he feels particularly blessed for having studied with Rabbi Noah Weinberg of blessed memory, Rav Yussel Tzenvert, Rav Lazer Nannes obm, and Rabbi Solomon Sassoon obm, and for having had as his work partner for many years, Rabbi Chaim Feld. Rabbi Chaim Feld. Rabbi Chaim Feld grew up in Springfield, New Jersey Exit 1. Parkway.  After graduating with a business degree from Emory University he backpacked through Europe. While running with the bulls in Pamplona he realized there must be much more to life, and began a journey that ultimately led him to Israel to learn more about his Judaism. After years of study, he received Rabbinic ordination and then returned to the United States to work for Aish. Passionate about teaching the power of our words both positive and negative, Rabbi Feld launched a national anti loshon gossip  campaign. He is the co founder of Words. Can. Heal. org and co author of the Words Can Heal Handbook. For the past 2. 0 years he has been Co Director of Aish Cleveland. He lives in University Heights with his wife Barrie and a portion of their brood. Rebbitzen Barrie Feld. Rebbetzin Barrie Feld grew up in Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago. She has a fine arts degree from the University of Madison Wisconsin. Barrie has been teaching art for almost twenty five years utilizing the setting to help build childrens self esteem. Now that her kids are older, Barrie has focused her passion on starting a womans movement in Cleveland. She has brought numerous women to Israel on JWRP birthright for moms trips. Through her sincerity, passion, and true caring for people, Barrie has created a group of highly motivated women who want to make a difference. She started Aishs Chayil, the womens division of Aish, which is dedicated to bringing women from all backgrounds together through learning, acts of kindness and social events. When Barrie is not taking missions to Israel she lives in University Heights with her husband, Rabbi Chaim Feld and their younger kids still living at home. Rebbitzen Channah Appel. Rabbi Seth Cook. Originally from Ohio, Seth left his hippy days behind after graduating from Indiana University and headed to Jerusalem to study Torah and tp get some of lifes big questions answeree. Seven years later and armed with his rabbinical ordination, Seth retured to Indiana this time with his wife and family in tow to set up the Aish branch on campus in Bloomington. With Aish IU becoming one of the most popular and successful branches in North America. Rabbi Seth quickly established his reputation as one of the most dynamic and sought after speakers in the field today. A master of Jewish philosophy, foundations and law, seth is also consistently rated as one of the most popular trip leaders for Taglit Birthright Israel. Since moving to Pittsburgh in 2. Rabbi Seth has amassed hundreds of hours meeting and learning with undergraduate and graduate studets and young professionals and gained a popular following across Pittsburghts college campuses. Rebbitzen Lisa Cook. Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Lisa is a graduate of RMIT University and the University of Melbourne. In 2. 00. 4 she travelled to Israel to study Judaism in depth for 3 months. Six years later, she was finally ready to leaveFor 4 years in Bloomington, Indiana and now as co Director of Aish Pittsburgh, Lisa is immersed in all aspects of Aish programming including student engagement, 1 on 1 learning, teaching and mentoring. Lisas challah baking and gourmet cooking workshops are always in high demand. With over a decade of involvement in Jewish outreach and education, Lisa has a astute understanding of the problems facing Jewish young adults, and aims in particuar to empower young Jewish women to tap their inner potential and soar to heights of greatness. Rabbi Yaakov Hoffman and Rebbitzen Channa Hoffman. Aish Bloomington is the newest Jewish resource on campus offering a home away from home. We aim to inspire Jewish students to experience Judaism in fun meaningful ways, develop a stronger sense of who they are, and connect to the deep wisdom of their heritage. Located right across from the Forest dorms we provide weekly Shabbat meals, study space during the week, exciting weekly discussions on relevant Jewish topics, and Israel trips Rabbi Yaakov and Chana Hoffman are straight from having spent their last 6 years in Jerusalem, Israel and are excited to be on their 2nd college campus and their first as a campus team. Rabbi Yaakov grew up in San Francisco, California and graduated with a Bachelor of Music, emphasis in French Horn performance from UC Santa Barbara. After graduating he decided to check out this Jewish stuff in a deeper way and spent 6 years at Aish Ha. Torah in the Old City of Jerusalem studying Jewish philosophy with some Jewish legal stuff thrown in along the way and received his ordination in 2. He is a dynamic teacher who loves sitting down with students one on one and asking the hard questions of life. Chana Hoffman grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco, about an hour south. After receiving her degree in Environmental Science at UC Santa Barbara she also went on a spiritual search and attended seminary at Neve Yerushalayim in Har Nof Jerusalem. In her copious amounts of spare time she is an Advance certified reflexologist. And for the story of how Rabbi Yaakov and Chana metthat has to be told in personMrs. Miriam Chamberg. Mrs. Chamberg has been with the Aish Cleveland office since January 2. She is the organizations administrator as well as its program coordinator, organizing and advertising Aish events. Prior to joining the Aish family as a member of the staff, Mrs. Chamberg began learning about Judaism with Aish in 1. She loved what she learned, went to Israel on a trip with Rabbi and Rebbitzen Appel and became observant with the help of all the Aish Rabbis, learning the laws of Shabbos, Chumash and many other topics related to Judaism. Today Mrs. Chamberg attends classes three times weekly to maintain her learning. Mrs. Chamberg graduated with a Bachelors Degree and a Business Management Major from Notre Dame College in Cleveland. Previous responsibilities included working for 2. Perry Nuclear Power Plant as a Communications Specialist. She is married to Simcha, a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer. They have three children and seven grandchildren. A favorite activity is to visit them every year in Seattle and Atlanta. Mrs. Chamberg was born in Cuba and left the country in 1. She also works as a volunteer for the Chevra Kadisha and the Mikve and teaches Judaism to neophytes in Spanish.