Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul!

Heres a beautiful piece from Rabbi Shimshon Rephael Hirsch on the time that we're holding in.

The summer is drawing to a close. The earth receives the final glow of the sun and its fruits approach theri full maturity. Everything that grows and lives seeks to extract the maximum of ripeness from the last rays of the year. The apple paints itself with its final shade of red, the wine receives its richest sparkle. The ground gives its last sap, the corn-stalks grow to their limit. The bee seeks the last drop of honey in the flower cup before it vanishes. The squirrel drags the last grain of corn to his winter store. The returning swallow carries the last straw to the nest. There is no time to be lost; the end is in sight. The Master will soon call. Everything seeks while there is still time to attain and to achieve the best that is in it. It does not wish to appear before its Master with fragmentary an half-finished work, with its years performance still defective. The worm, the grasshopper, the beast, the bird, the stalk, the herb, the seed, the fruit, everything seeks "to fulfill the will of the Master, to perform the task He has laid upon it." Shall then negligence, remissness and perversity dwell in the haunts of man? Shall he harbour in his heart the spirit of thoughtlessness which lives in a dream-world for the day only, without ever thinking that the end is close and the Master is calling, without looking into and round himself, without looking before and after as to seize the speeding hour bu its pinions and using the vanishing moment in order to prepare himself for eternity?

Its that time again! So lets take advantage, instead of just sitting back and looking on! Let's start making changes!

peace & joy,
etan

Enjoy life!

But always remember to use rabbinic guidance! Taken from ASimpleJew

Says Rav Kook [Mishnato shel HaRav Kook]:

"It is a mean eye that causes one to see only ugliness and impurity in everything beyond the bounds of Israel, the unique nation. This is one of the most awful, debased forms of darkness. It damages the entire edifice of spiritual virtue, the light of which every spiritual soul seeks."

Chokhmah ba-umos taamin!

Hope everyone is having a great week!
peace & joy,
Etan

How true! How True!

A beautiful line from the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe, who writes this in the name of his grandfather...

What good is Chassidus and piety if the main quality is lacking - Ahavat Yisrael, love of another - even to the extent of causing (G-d forbid) anguish to another!

What more need be said? Piety that's strictly in the relationship with G-d, but ignores the relationship with fellow man, not only is worthless, it's damaging!

Bircas Hamazon Breslov style!!!

V'achalta v'savata u'beirachta es Hashem Elokecha al ha'aretz ha'tova asher nasan lach/After you eat and are satisfied, you will bless God your Lord for the good land that He has given you.”
(Devarim 8:10)
I found this collection of different teachings from Reb Nachman and Reb Nosson, z'ya, on bentching. Bircas Hamazon is one of the main keys to parnasah, so lets start learning and tryinf to understand so that we could open up those gates of shefa! Enjoy, and have a wonderful Shabbos!
peace & joy,
Etan

[1] When one recites birkat hamazon, God makes Himself known in the world.

The Alef-Bet Book, Eating II:3

[2] The recitation of birkat hamazon brings the government relief from strife and war.

ibid. :4

[3] Rebbe Nachman related that when he was young, after his meals he did not content himself with the regular birkat hamazon. He also gave thanks to God in Yiddish for everything that he had eaten. He improvised and made mention of all the things he had been given to eat that day in order. For example, he might have started off with a drop of spirits and a piece of cake. Next, before his meal, they might have served radishes as an appetizer, followed by the meal itself. The Rebbe would offer thanks for each individual item, one by one. [Note that this was in addition to, not in place of the regular birkat hamazon.]

Tzaddik #237

[4] We know that body and soul maintain their connection, allowing a person to live, by eating. When one eats in a holy manner (namely, by eating only kosher food, [which begins with kosher money], only a proper amount that he needs, with proper table manners), then one's soul is from the side of holiness The main source of the food we eat is the Holy Land and so the major focus of birkat hamazon is to thank Hashem for granting us the Land of Israel.

Likutey Halakhot, Hilkhot Devarim HaNohagim B'Seudah 4:6

[5] The food we eat becomes more and more spiritually refined with each mitzvah we perform in its preparation. The blessing we say before we eat is an additional refinement, as is how we eat. The final stage or refinement, of wringing out the last bit of holiness from the food, is the reciting of birkat hamazon. That is why the Land of Israel is prominent in the Grace after Meals: The special sanctity of the Holy Land is manifested through those mitzvot which can be performed only there, all of which relate to food.

ibid., Hilkhot Betziyat HaPat 5:8

[6] A Jew does not wander around the roomãand certainly not from room to room!ã when eating. Instead he is KoVeiA makom (sets a place) to sit and eat. By doing so he is able to draw spiritual energy from batei midrash (study halls) and yeshivas which are places KaVuA (set, fixed) for Torah study.

ibid., section 45

[7] All foods contain sparks of souls. (This is why we are forbidden to handle food disrespectfully, e.g. to throw food or to pour a drink over it, both of which could ruin the food.) These souls are elevated from one spiritual level to the next when they pass through –the air of the Land of Israel,” which has the same purity as the breath of innocent school children who study Torah.

By making the appropriate blessings on the food we eat we are declaring God to be the Creator of all that exists. This declaration plays a major role in making the Holy Land holy (see Rashi on Genesis 1:1). Thus, when we recite a blessing on food, our very breath becomes –the air of the Land of Israel” and infuses the soul-sparks with the holiness they need to evolve to the next higher level of holiness. This is especially true of birkat hamazon in which the Land of Israel figures so prominently.

ibid., Hilkhot Birkhot HaPeirot 2:1