Back in 1996, Rabbi Finman was asked to speak to the niece of one of his students. After spending many hours answering her questions, the woman gave Rabbi Finman her e-mail address. Rabbi Finman wrote the woman a note and included in it a short insight into that week's Parsha and a short Chasidic story.
Realizing that this was something no one was yet doing,, Rabbi Finman sent the missive to his mailing list of about 30 people. Requests from recipients friends came pouring in. The next week Rabbi Finman sent the e-Parsha to 100 people. Within a year more than 2000 people were receiving it. Today, more than 14,000 receive the e-Parsha weekly and the requests keep coming in.
Ki Keitsei 5784
Shorftim 5784
Re'eh 5784
Eikev 5784
Vaeschonan 5784
Ki Keitsei 5784
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YouParsha Ki Teitsei - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQKr5b99N68&t=62s . The Rebellious Son.
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This week's Parsha is Ki Teitsei - Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19. One of the 74 commandments discussed is the prohibition of wearing shatnez - a garment made of wool and linen. The Talmud writes that wearing shatznez is on the same level as eating pig. No reason is given for this prohibition. Even King Solomon could not understand it.
There are, however, many allegories for the prohibition. Cain was jealous of Abel because G'd accepted Abel's sacrifice. Abel brought a sheep (wool) while Cain brought flax (linen). The result of their conflict perpetuated death in this world, making it (the world) a vehicle for conveying evil. By refraining from wearing shatnez, we cut off the nurture to that evil force. Following this reasoning; an anagram for shatznez is satan oz (it works in Hebrew) - the strength of Satan.
Immediately following the prohibition of shatnez is the commandment of putting tsit tsits on the corners of your garments. The Torah here does not call them tsit tsits - fringes, but rather g'dolim - growths. By adhering to this commandment, we not only cut ourselves off from the forces of evil (as is known the story of the yeshiva student who controlled his passions when his tsit tsits began smacking him in the face) but we grow in holiness.
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Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Zeitlin was born in Montreal. By age Three, he was still not speaking. Doctors and professionals were left scratching their heads.
Around that time, Yosef Yitzchok's mother, was traveling to the yearly Chabad women's convention, held around the holiday of Shavuos in Crown Heights. Customarily after the Rebbe's general address to the women, the participants would have the opportunity to pass by the Rebbe and ask for a blessing. When it came her turn, his mother asked for a blessing for her non-speaking son. The Rebbe advised her to treat him with Amino - Acids. As the Rebbe mentioned the name of the medication, Rivka was nervous that she might forget. To her surprise, the Rebbe wrote down the prescription on a note and handed it to her.
When she returned to Montreal, she immediately set out to fetch this medication. At first, the doctors advised her not to use it, because, although it had been used before, it was currently not recommended. Nevertheless, she insisted and got hold of that medication. Needless to say, her son started talking like a pro just a few weeks later.
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