Like Chol Hamoed

Praiseworthy is the person who does not let a moment pass during these days without engaging in the service of Hashem or reflecting on teshuvah.  According to the holy Arizal, during these ten days one should conduct himself as on Chol Hamoed, limiting himself to only the most essential work, and spending the rest of the day meditating on teshuvah. Happy is the person who focuses his thoughts on G-d’s kindness and arouses people who are spiritually asleep, urging them to do teshuvah. ~ R’ Yonasan Eibes

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Seize the Moment

The gemara says that Hashem is most accessible between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. ~ Rosh Hashanah 18a

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Great Opportunity & Powerful Video

I try to post this every year before Rosh Hashana because it is just such an amazing opportunity that everyone should try to take advantage of right now.

Many years ago, the Lubavitcher Rebbe established “Keren Hashana,” a fund that will disburse your tzedaka (charity) to worthy causes, daily, giving you the benefit of this mitzvah every day of the year!

You can donate as little as 5 cents per day ($17.65 for the year) for you and each of your family members to ensure that you and your family don’t go a day without giving tzedaka.

Right now, before Rosh Hashana is the perfect time to set it up.  You can easily do it online by using this link https://lubavitch.com/donate.html?o=2026760  If you wish, you can then email hq@lubavitch.com to send the names of your family members so that it is clear that the charity is coming from each member of your family.   If you prefer to call them, the phone number is 718 774.4000.

Don’t wait!  Now is the time to take care of this.

It is really brilliant and I hope you take advantage of it.


And here is a powerful video that I found to be pretty powerful:

Rosh Hashana – Unetanah Tokef 5777 2016

Click Here

If you are reading this email and do not see the “Click Here” link to the video, then just click “Great Opportunity & Powerful Video” above which will take you to the site and you can watch it there.

Have a happy, healthy and sweet new year!

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Practical guide and Segulot for Rosh Hashanah

I just wanted to share this email that was sent out from HaRav Avraham Moyal Shlita that I highly recommend reading and printing out.

SPECIAL PREPARATIONS FOR ROSH HASHANA:

• It’s vital everyday not to get angry, but in particular on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, this is the day the Jewish people are judged, the gentiles are judged on the second day.  On this day there is strict judgment in Shamayim and it is a must not  to get angry at all, not even to think in an angry way.  Don’t invite guests that you know will ‘push your buttons’ that you will not be able to control, wait to host on the second day. Don’t get stuck in worry, anger and definitely not in sadness. The way the year begins, is the way it will flow the coming year.  Don’t allow yourself to speak badly.

• Before sitting down at the Seder look at everyone’s eyes and bless them each individually, feel forgiveness for everyone around you. Allow love and peace to enter your heart. Everyone should say a ‘L’Chaim’ out loud and bless each other with complete simcha.

• The Rosh Hashanah table should be filled with abundance of colors, different types of foods.

• Apples and honey:  use red apples, it is a segula for a zivug, to find one’s soul mate/shalom bayit and for getting pregnant. It is an et ratzon, special holy time, before eating the apple, smell the apple and ask for whatever you want.  It was at this time that Ya’akov received the blessing from his father Yitzchak.  When he smelled Ya’akov he smelled the fragrance of Gan Eden, of the apple, and even though he was undeserving of the bracha, due to the fact that it was supposed to go to Esav, he still received it. Ask for anything you wish.

• Pomegranate and rubia: ask Hashem to bring out your potential. We all have never ending potential, do we use it all? Ask Hashem for help.. just like it’s hard to take apart the seeds, please Hashem help us realize our potential and be who we are meant to be.

• Leeks, beets, dates: ask Hashem to take away any feelings of resentment, anger, bitterness towards anyone.  Ask Hashem to help us throw these feelings away from ourselves and remove them from our heart. Ask Hashem to enable you to be able to rebuild your feelings and relationship with these people.

• Fish head: ask Hashem that you should lead your household and not anyone else (like our children who tend to control us…) when looking at the fish, ask Hashem to protect you from the evil eye.

• All throughout the seder, ask Hashem to make your home a palace: your wife the queen and you the king, your children the prince/princesses.  Ask Hashem to make you all children of the King,  this requires us to act like children of the King, meaning again: DO NOT GET ANGRY, WORRIED, DISTRESSED, be royal.

• Get up early on Rosh Hashanah; this blesses the coming year with ease. A year that your wishes will be fulfilled quickly.  Try to postpone your afternoon rest until after 1:00 pm.

• It is vital to daven for parnassah on Rosh Hashanah, according to Rav Dessler ztk’l.  This proclaims that we trust in Hashem and know that everything is from Him. Ask to be a giver of tzadakah.

• Very important to dress festively, even wear white and be HAPPY‼

• Before hearing the shofar accept upon yourself: v’Ahavta L’Reiacha Kamocha (Love your neighbour as you love yourself).  If you hold a grudge towards someone in the shul, the shofar will not be able to ascend and sweeten the judgments.

• During the shofar:  think of the following:  resurrection of the dead, that Hashem can revive anything that has ‘died out’ in you be it physically and spiritually.    Don’t talk during the shofar blowing. Think about all that you want to be.  We are being reborn!

• Very important to shed a tear during the shofar and to wipe the tear over your forehead (to wipe away transgressions {AriZal zt’l}).  This serves as a shield for the entire year against any bad things i.e. illness. Whoever is able to shed a tear then can be rest assured that he or she is being judged at that moment and if he or she comes back to teshuvah at that point, she will be blessed with a good year.

• During the first blow of shofar, take one particular transgression that you did and ask for forgiveness. During the second blows of the shofar, the shevarim, hurt/cry for those who are in pain and in sorrow, i.e. the families of terror victims, the families that lost their loved ones, those who are ill….

• During the next set of blows accept upon yourself a new mitzvah: learning Torah, tefillah, tzedakah…  The intention should be in your heart without uttering a word.

• During Mussaf prayer when the chazzan says the word: ayeh, each time you can ask for one of three things, whisper to yourself:

1) Parnassah2) Ruach Hakodesh3) Righteous Children

• Once we hear the shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the judgments are lessened and sweetened and there is less stringency in Shamayim.

• Don’t eat anything sour or spicy on Rosh Hashanah, only sweet foods.  Everything that you do makes an impact on the entire year.  Don’t use walnuts or black grapes.

Other segulos:
1) Prepare the seder table early in the afternoon, it is a segula that no troubles will come upon you the entire year, B’H.
2) Try to do ta’anit dibur, not to speak, the morning of erev Rosh Hashanah (speak only words of Torah).  If possible fast as well; this way 1/3 of your transgressions will be wiped away.  This comes out on sunday morning!!!
3) Candles for Rosh Hashanah:  before lighting give 18 of ‘something (coins, bills) to tzedakah: 18 cents, 18 dollars, etc.. This serves as a pidyon nefesh.  Ask Hashem that if something bad c’v is supposed to happen, let the tzedakah stand as a protector against it.
4) Buy a new knife and use it on Rosh Hashanah eve to cut open the challah and apple.  It is a segula for a long life and for parnassah.
5) Women bake challahs: they should bake it in the shapes of a circle.
6) Birkat Hamazon: the first one said on Erev Rosh Hashanah say it with enthusiasm and joy, it is a segula for an abundance of parnassah.
7) Recite the following perakim of Tehillim Alef, Beit, Gimmel and Daled before sleeping on both nights to prevent bad dreams.
8) Buy a new clothing for Rosh Hashanah. Intend on this new article when reciting the bracha of She’hechiyanu

ALSO IT IS THE YAHRZEIT OF SARAH IMEINU ON THE FIRST DAY OF ROSH HASHANAH, HAVE YOUR WIFE LIGHT A CANDLE AND PRAY IN HER ZECHUT THAT WOMEN SHOULD ALL BE ZOCHE TO BE WONDERFUL WIVES AND MOTHERS AS SHE WAS A TRUE TZADEKES…
ויהי רצון מלפני אדון כל הנשמות ריבון כל המעשים  שתתחדש  בחסד וברחמים  ברכת רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע כהן גדול :
יהי רצון מלפניך שיכבשו רחמיך את כעסך ויגולו רחמיך על מידותיך ותתנהג עמנו לפנים משורת הדין

HAVE A WONDERFUL CHAG AND
GEULAH BEKAROV TO AM YISRAEL!!

bebirkat HaTorah

e”h avraham moyal

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Can I have an Apple?

A lovely little boy was holding two apples with both hands.  His mother came in and softly asked her little boy with a smile:

My sweetie, could you give your mom one of your two apples?

The boy looked up as his mom for some seconds, then he suddenly took a quick bite on one apple, and then quickly on the other.

The mom tried hard not to reveal her disappointment.

Then the little boy handed one of his bitten apples to his mom and said:

Mommy, here you are.  This is the sweeter one.

No matter who you are, how experienced you are, and how knowledgeable you think you are, always delay judgment.  Give others the privilege to explain themselves.  What you see may not be the reality.  Never conclude for others.

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How to Eat and Drink

If one eats beef and drinks wine not out of physical desire, but in order to broaden his mind for the service of G‑d and Torah, as Rava said, “Wine and fragrance make my mind more receptive,” or in order to fulfill the commandment to enjoy the Sabbath/ festivals, so his eating and drinking aren’t merely the means to a spiritual end, but are mitzvahs themselves, as we’re enjoined to enjoy the Sabbath/festivals through eating meat and drinking wine.

When one eats and drinks in this manner, the vitality of the meat and wine…is then extracted from the evil and ascends to G‑d like a burnt offering and sacrifice. ~ R’ Schneur Zalman of Liadi zt”l

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Your Most Heroic Acts

Your most heroic acts are those of which you may not even be aware.

Like the time you could have gotten even with the guy in the next cubicle, and nobody would have known. And you really wanted to. But you didn’t, just because it’s not right.

You may not have been impressed—you may even have been disappointed with yourself. But the angels burst into song, as all your world rose up a notch. It may have been the most elevating act of a lifetime.

Heroic acts are not heroic if they’re second nature. It’s when you break out of your nature that you enter the realm of the divine. ~ R’ Tzvi Freeman

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Filling Your Head with Torah

You have to learn seforim that enlighten your mind. It’s of utmost importance to learn seforim like Mesillas Yeshorim. You must learn the Rambam Hilchos Dei’os and Hilchos Teshuva, Sha’arei Teshuva d’Rabbeinu Yonah and Chovos Ha’levovos.

Seforim like that put so much into your mind that the truth is, like the Rambam says, once your mind is full of these valid, solid ideas then the wrong ideas won’t have place to come in.

But when there’s a vacuum in your head, your mind is empty, then the foolishness of the world comes into your head. The Rambam also says this with regards to immorality – ideas and thoughts of immorality can easily enter the mind when the mind is empty. But when your head is full of Torah ideas, its not so easy for wrong thoughts to enter your mind. ~ R’ Avigdor Miller zt”l

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Always Connected

A Jew is connected with Hashem, not only while he Davens or engages in a mitzvah,  but during every moment of his life.  The moment he opens his eyes in the morning and recites Modeh Ani, he declares that he is aware that he is in Hashem’s presence.

When he retires at night, he does not go to sleep until he reaffirms his commitment to Hashem by reciting the Shema. ~ R’ Shimshon Pincus z”tl

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Menorah on Your Face

Every person has an image of a beautiful menorah on his face. If we draw imaginary lines between a person’s two ears, two eyes, two nostrils and mouth in the middle, we have a beautiful drawing of a menorah with seven candlesticks.  The Zohar says that the holiness of the brain depends on the holiness of these seven organs, which are the seven candlesticks that illuminate a person’s brain.

The righteous men of holy spirit would look at a person and see all his deeds, whether he did sins or good deeds, for everything was revealed on the person’s face where Divine light reflects from, if he merited the illumination or if his face was darkness, all according to the seven candles. ~ R’ Shalom Arush

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