Why did I choose this video? Why didn’t I choose one of the big Torah scholars on YouTube? Why do I feel he articulates such a beautiful message, despite the imperfections in his enunciation?

Because “Words which emanate from the heart, enter the heart.”

Shabbat Shalom!

(source: Ohr Somayach)

Dear Rabbi,

While on a plane from Boston to Philadelphia two weeks ago, I happened to look at the cover of the book the man seated next to me was reading. On the back cover of the book, the following quotation appeared: “Words written from the heart, enter the heart.” As a scholar and professor, I was very moved by the quotation and wrote it down for my own keeping. The quote was attributed to “The Sages.”

I would like to ask: Where do these words appear in the vast writings of The Sages? I would be very grateful if you could find the time to provide me with an exact reference so that I might consult the entire text and see in what context the statement was made.

Dear Dr. C.,

“Words which emanate from the heart, enter the heart” is sometimes quoted in the name of “the Sages,” meaning that it is from the Mishnah, Talmud or Midrash. But the truth is that the source for this phrase is a bit of a mystery! Although it has indeed become an accepted Jewish teaching, it does not seem to appear in any of the above mentioned sources!

…

I would like to propose that the phrase is an application of the principle taught by King Solomon in Proverbs: “As water [reflecting] the face is to the face, so a man’s heart is to [his fellow] man.” Meaning that the human heart intuits the emotions of others, and thus if one speaks with an open heart, the heart of the listener will be open as well.

In the late 1800’s Poland issued a ban against shechita (ritual slaughter of animals). It is told that Rabbi Yisrael Meyer Kagan, the Chafetz Chaim, came before the Polish officials to plead for the rescinding of this decree which would cause tremendous hardship for Poland’s Jews. The Chafetz Chaim pleaded passionately, in Yiddish. When he’d finished and the translator began translating into Polish, the official said, “Stop. You don’t need to translate.” He was so moved by the Chafetz Chaim’s words, even though he hadn’t understood them, that he agreed to do all he could to help rescind the decree.

Sources:

* Tractate Berachot 6b
* Proverbs 27:19, see Metzudot David

Guest Post by Noahide Alice Jonsson
Source: BreslovWorld.com

I’m going to go out on a limb and declare that there is an experience that unites all B’nei Noach. Regardless of age, race, socio-economic strata, gender, or nationality; Democrat, Republican, Cherokee, Israeli, former Christian, former Atheist.

It is the confused — nay, incredulous — face a person makes when hearing about B’nei Noach for the first time.

“So what religion are you?”
“Well, OK, so you know what a Jew is right?”
“Oh, so you’re Jewish.”
“No. I believe in Judaism but..”

“So you’re not a Jew.”
“Right. See Jews have to follow 613 commandments and…”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, I know, it’s a lot. And B’nei Noach follow only seven. So..”
“Banana who?”
“No. OK, so you know who Noah was, right?”

“The guy with the boat.”
“Yeah! So there are some laws from the time of Noah, and…don’t go! I’m not crazy!”

When I first became a Bat Noach these reactions bothered me. I’m not the kind of girl who appreciates being looked at like I’m a religious wacko. I like my religion Orthodox and old school. No make-it-up-as-we-go, new-fangled stuff. When someone looks at me like I’m a member of a cult, not good. Not confidence inspiring. However, as wobbly as I was, I recovered from these awkward moments quickly. Why? Because Hashem reassured me with concrete, visceral results from my prayer - custom fit for my predicament.

When I started talking to Hashem, I felt I had plugged in to a source of power that was alarming to me. Previously, I thought religious people were talking to the sky or to something in their heads and that this somehow had a therapeutic effect. I thought some of them were clearly bonkers. And that most of them were a little bonkers. What they believe in sounds like fiction, weird fiction.

But when I do what our rabbi says, even when I cannot believe it will actually work, it works so thoroughly — and often with such speed — I know this “fiction” is true, like I know my mother loves me. Example: When my husband and I were doing in vitro fertilization — I’m talking the kind that costs as much as a new car — the doctors were throwing bills at us like confetti.

“Ma’am, we’ve decided to give you an ultrasound today. That’ll be $464. Cash. Now. And that’s the discounted price so wipe that look off your face.”

We had tried for many years. This was our chance. Rabbi said to go for a walk and to tell God we need some help and that we need some money. Truthfully, this seemed really tacky to me. I mean money is dirty and God is clean and there are hungry people. Surely a lightning bolt would fry me the second I opened my mouth to ask. But I go and I explain the situation to Hashem, apologetically.

The walk was uneventful. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I closed the sliding door, at least feeling refreshed from the cool fall air, brushed the grass and the burrs off my jeans, meandered around the house for maybe ten minutes, and the phone rings. It’s the mail order pharmaceutical company the doctor recommended to acquire the giant box (literally) of drugs that I would be administering from home. The patient woman who’d been helping us decided to resubmit our drug order to the insurance company one more time, just for the heck of it.

This was a bill for an amount so large it’d pay for a few classes at an Ivy League school, for a procedure not covered in our state. Period. And guess what? Despite the fact that the insurance company had just the day before categorically refused to pay for the drugs, they had agreed to cover our request. She calculated how much money we saved on the first few items on the list and it was at two grand in a few seconds. She was laughing and bubbly and was clearly loving the moment right there with me.

Ten months later, a very chubby little boy was born. And our lives went from black and white to color.

What tickles me most about how that specific event went down was how perfectly God knows me. He knows that I can be quite shallow and that a sure-fire way to get my attention is to make money fall out of the sky so I can pay a bill. There is nothing theoretical about a bill being paid. And most importantly, there is nothing theoretical about the gorgeous toddler hanging out in our living room. It all makes awkward religious discussions about bananas and Noah feel like nothing. Knowing that Hashem will meet me right where I am, (with no pretense) and that sometimes He even likes my plans, is everything.

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Guest post by Reb Ari

I recently verified this story from the grandson of the couple involved.

My friend’s elderly grandmother, Miriam, remarried a number of years ago to R’ Shalom. They live in Jerusalem. R’ Shalom is now in his mid nineties and in his youth he studied in yeshiva in Mir in Poland and had the opportunity to spend a week at the home of the Chofetz Chaim (R’ Yisroel Meir Hacohen Kagan, zs’kl). A few nights ago, in the middle of the night he woke and told his wife that the Chofetz Chaim had appeared to him in a dream and simply said that Moshiach will be here soon. The Chofetz Chaim said that it is time to get ready and to spread the message. My friend’s father (Miriam’s son) asked his rav, Rav Asher Weiss if this is something to take seriously. His response was that we are clearly standing right before Moshiach, and it certainly should be taken seriously and we should undertake to do Teshuva.

The second story I heard directly from the people involved.

There is a young girl about eight years old who needs a refuah (אביבא מלכה בת לאה) - she is currently in the hospital with loss of vision. Please pray for her. She has been in and out of the hospital for chemotherapy, and she has had multiple complications. A few months ago she had been in a coma for an extended period of time. When she finally came out of the coma, one of the first things she said was, “Did I miss the weddings? Did I miss Moshiach coming?” Her two older sisters were not engaged yet (I don’t even know if Aviva knew they were dating), but both became engaged and were married over the following few months. I was at the sheva brachos (post-wedding celebration).

May Hashem heal Aviva Malka bat Leah along with all the ill people of Israel with the coming of Moshiach, Amen.

—————————————————————-
Reb Ari wrote a beautiful inspiring song about the coming of Moshiach: To listen, click here

Lyrics of “Finally Here”
As he walked home from yeshiva,
a sound reached his ears
clear and majestic, unmistakably near
Joy filled his heart
HE’S FINALLY HERE!!! Moshiach’s finally here!!!
He ran all the way home
said to his dad,
“Did you hear it - the shofar
or am I going mad?”
“Not now, my son,
can it wait ’til later, when the business news is done.”

CHORUS:
Where is our hope, our faith, our pride?
Where’s the desire, the love deep inside?
When we say we want Ben Dovid to come
We can’t fool ourselves or the Holy One.

She heard it, at first faintly
a note long and clear
steadily the sound grew
’til it was all she could hear
Joy filled her heart
HE’S FINALLY HERE!!! Moshiach’s finally here!!!
She rushed to the kitchen,
got on the phone.
“Sister, can you hear it
or is it me alone?”
“Can you call back tonight?
I’m facebooking now, so I hope it’s alright…”
CHORUS

When we finally hear the shofar
After all these many years
Our emotions can run deeply
moving us to tears
Joy will fill our hearts
WHEN HE’S FINALLY HERE!!! When Moshiach’s finally here!!!

We must strengthen our hope, our faith, our pride.
We can find the desire, the love deep inside.
When we say we want Moshiach to come
We can reconnect to the Holy One.

The Torah demands different things from Jews and Bnei Noach.

I recently read that according to the Zohar, when a non-Jew learns Torah in the same manner and depth that a Jews is obligated to learn Torah, great destruction is wrought - both on the Ben/Bat Noach’s soul and on the World as a whole.

Just as there are natural boundaries in the physical world, there are natural boundaries in the spiritual world.

We cannot be subjective and say, “That doesn’t jive with me - I won’t listen to that.” That’s like saying, “Gravity doesn’t jive with me” and then jumping off a bridge.

Or as one of my friends said in an essay on avodah zarah (idol worship):

[A fence] keeps people on the outside from what they are trying to obtain on the inside. But on the other hand, a fence can be used to allow one to go further, allowing one to get as close to the edge as possible without falling over.

I will try my best to continue posting within the bounds of my current understanding of which type of Torah material will not damage the souls of Bnei Noach. There is virtually no limit to what can be learned and studied from within these bounds of Torah - this is G-d’s Torah!

But I do not want to be a stumbling block for the Bnei Noah who strive to live according to G-d’s Will and Wisdom — that is to say, according to Hashem’s Torah.

Excerpt from “The Path of the Righteous Gentile” (p. 41-42). The parts in square brackets [ ] are insertions for additional clarification:
(source: AskNoah.org).  The following are forbidden:¹

c. Studying those parts [and branches] of the Torah [specifically parts of the Oral Torah] that do not apply to [or enhance] the Noahides’ service of [and belief in] G-d.

(Note: A prime purpose of the Seven Universal Laws is to teach the Children of Noah about the Oneness of G-d, and therefore those parts of Torah that pertain to this knowledge [including many Chassidic teachings] are permissible for him to study. This includes the entirety of the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Scriptures. Also, the study of any part of the Torah that brings one to greater knowledge concerning the performance of the Seven Noahide Commandments is permissible. But Talmudic [study], or [in-depth] Halakhic [i.e. Torah law] study of subjects that pertain exclusively to the Jew’s service of G-d is forbidden [for Noahides].)

[In Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, Chap. 10, Maimonides (the "Rambam") states that a Gentile is in general forbidden to be "osek ba'Torah" - which means to delve and strive into Torah learning in the manner that a Jew is commanded. A Gentile is however allowed to be "osek ba'Torah" in matters which relate to the Seven Noahide Commandments, but he is not commanded to do so.

Therefore it is very important to have competent Rabbinic guidance in choosing what to study, if one goes beyond the permissible text of the 24 Books of the Hebrew Bible and their basic traditional commentaries/explanations.]

Much blessings to everyone,

Daniel

Hashem is your keeper; Hashem is your shadow upon your right hand. (Psalms 121: 5)

Hashem acts with us midah kneged midah - measure for measure. Like the shadow of your hand, which follows the movements of your hand perfectly. When we are kind, Hashem does us kindness. When we act strictly, and harshly with others…r”l.

This can be observed in great matters, and in small matters. I have a small matter to share:

The other day we had a repairman working on our house around 10:00pm. He worked really hard, and still had another home to work on before he could go back to his home for the night.

So before the repairman left, I made him some pizza on challah bread and gave him a slice of watermelon. He was very grateful.

I was happy to do a chesed (a kindness), which is it’s own reward.

But the next day, a family from our synagogue baked us a homemade pizza from scratch! (because my dad was in an accident, so they wanted to do a chesed for us)

Hashem tzilcha al yad yeminecha - Hashem is your shadow of your right hand.

Here’s a mind-blowing story about Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen that blows reciprocal pizza dinners out of the water:

We Are Never Alone (stream)
We Are Never Alone (download)