Happy Lag B’Omer.
We had a great turnout this week despite the fact that we lost some attendees to Lag B’Omer celebrations this week.
This week Connections was the second of a series of classes about the history, philosophy, structure and benefits to Torah study.
In preparation for Shavuos, when the Jewish people accepted the Torah, this was [...]
Posts under ‘Classes’
Structure and Philosophy of Torah 2 | Connections 5/4/09
Mesillas Yesharim 05/10/09
Moving right along in Chapter 5
We quickly reviewed last week and continued until we wrapped up category number 1 of “things to avoid’ so as not to hinder our “Zehirus”.
The main idea is to avoid overwhelming oneself in materiality.
Also, a discussion ensued regarding our natural resistance to morality. It’s like a magnet pulling us towards [...]
Structure and Philosophy of Torah | Connections 5/4/09
This week Connections was the first of a series of classes about the history, philosophy, structure and benefits to Torah study.
In preparation for Shavuos, when the Jewish people accepted the Torah, this was the perfect time to begin the series.
This class is the foundation for the next few classes so I highly recommend checking it [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 05/03/09
Mesillas Yesharim was electric today!
The 5th Chapter is all about avoiding the things that may hinder our ability to be “watchful”. We need to know what we are doing before we can improve our actions. We need to avoid traps that will take our minds off of watching what we are doing.
This is in the [...]
Israel & The Jewish People | Connections 4/27/09
With the upcoming Yom Haatzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim holidays I felt it was a perfect time to discuss the role Israel plays within the Torah system.
For many people Israel serves as a bastion of democracy in the Middle East, for others it is a Jewish homeland where no Jew will be denied access, for others [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 04/26/09
…And we’re back. After a brief hiatus the Mesillas Yesharim class returned today with a bang.
We completed the fourth chapter of Mesillas Yesharim!
We began our class today with a re-reading of what we studied during our last class (just added – sorry about that).
It was just as incredible as the first time we studied this [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 03/15/09
Incredible.
Today we learned about an amazing concept in Judaism. We learned Ramchal’s reconciliation of a very important conceptual contradiction.
We learned recently that we believe GD’s judgment is exact. He is truth and truth is absolute justice. We use this to contemplate the consequences of our actions. When we contemplate the consequences of our actions we [...]
Purim Night! | Connections 3/9/09
Purim Night at the Shul on the Beach was amazing.
On Sunday a number of volunteers from the community distributed Hamentaschen to passersby on the Venice Boardwalk. They met so many interesting Jewish people from Venice / Santa Monica and the rest of the world.
A lot of those people joined us for the Purim Party at [...]
Messilas Yesharim 03/08/09
We changed the clocks the night previous to this class. You can tell because I sound extra groggy!
Walking along Ramchal’s “straight path” we continued to analyze the impact of our actions.
There are no small things, nothing gets brushed under the carpet. Meditating on this idea can help us remember that all of our actions all [...]
Yom Kippur and Purim | Connections 3/2/09
As we have learned more and more about Purim many people have danced around the subject of Yom Kippur and Purim.
There is a connection there and tonight we explored that connection. Quoting great Rabbis like the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer and R’ Yitzchak Hutner we went deeper than ever before into the world of [...]
Messilas Yesharim 03/01/09
We had a really exciting class today. We began the most practical method for instilling watchfulness in our lives and this sparked a very vibrant discussion.
Ramchal mentions many situations where great people in Jewish history going back to Biblical times found that their actions, while nearly perfect, demanded retribution from GD.
The questions were insightful and [...]
Purim, Doubt, Clarity and Amalek | Connections 2/23/09
Last week we began our Purim learning. (Recommended listening)
Tonight we continued our learning about Purim. Often misunderstood and misused, Purim deserves better treatment than that.
We journeyed through the book of Genesis, The Scroll of Esther and the Talmud in search of meaning and reason. Why is Purim named after the lottery that Haman cast? Why [...]
Messilas Yesharim 02/15/09
This week we did a review of the first way Ramchal provides to inspire us to be watchful. This is a method useful for very spiritual people who just need a small push to get them started on the path of watchfulness. Then we went over the second way to become watchful. This way is [...]
Scoffers, Purim and the Measure of a Man | Connections 2/16/09
This week at Connections we began to unlock some of the secrets of Purim.
We began with Amalek the ancient nemesis of the Jewish People. We learned about their essence and how to eradicate that flaw from within ourselves.
One of the most profound ideas I have ever heard was also discussed. How to measure a man. [...]
Sheva Brachos for Josh Magilnick
The Magilnicks of Venice / Santa Monica made a wedding last week. The Jewish custom is to celebrate the wedding with 7 days of parties if and when the bride and groom are present. Any time the bride and groom are present and there is a party there are 7 beautiful blessings which are bestowed [...]
Messilas Yesharim 02/15/09
Last week PJC was honored with a guest speaker and the Messilas Yesharim class took a one week siesta. The class returned this week.
We took another step forward along the “Pathway of the Just”. We continued Chapter 4 and learned how to channel our thirst for respect into inspiration for growth.
We also had a discussion [...]
New (Old) Audio Class Added
I have just added the first Connections class from early December.
The link to the audio is there as well as the podcasts section to the right…
The Clothes Make (or break) the Man | Connections 2/2/09
This week at Connections we talk about clothes. Apparently clothes have been on my mind a lot. If you have been reading the blog you may have noticed that the recent posts all had to do with clothes. I commented on the espn.com article about wearing pants while playing basketball and then I commented on [...]
Messilas Yesharim 02/01/09
Today we began the 4th Chapter of Messilas Yesharim.
The 4th Chapter deals with the method by which we can acquire the very useful characteristic of Zehirus (watchfulness). The fist step in the process is study of Torah. By studying sections of Torah that deal with inspiration and motivation we can give ourselves a much needed [...]
You Are What You Eat | Connections 1/26/09
Nowhere is the statement “you are what you eat” more true than in Judaism.
Our topic tonight was the dietary laws of the Torah. Tonight we dispelled many of the myths about kosher. We discussed the origins of the English word Kosher and contrasted that to the Hebrew word for Kosher.
Kosher is survival of the fittest. [...]
Messilas Yesharim 01/25/09
Today we completed the 3rd chapter of Messilas Yesharim.
Perhaps the most famous of Ramchal’s ideas is present in this week’ section. I won’t ruin it for you so you will need to check it out for yourself…
As we completed the section we talked about practical applications of “Zehirus” and in what ares we need watchfulness. [...]
Messilas Yesharim 01/18/09
As we continued the 3rd Chapter we learned more about the necessity for watchfulness. Ramchal compares each of us to merchants which must check, double check and triple check our wares to ensure their quality. Similarly, we must check our actions for their quality.
There was a tangential discussion about how the Rabbis will use verses [...]
One Month Anniversary & Best of the Blog (So Far)
Well it has been one month for me on the blogging trail. I must say, I quite like it. I like the idea of expressing myself to an infinite (sometimes reluctant) audience. If the world stops being interesting to me then the blog posts will probably end. I don’t think that is going to happen [...]
Inspiration. As easy as 1-2-3! | Connections 1/12/09
We had such a nice program tonight. The event was sponsored by Elizabeth Liber as she moves to New York to attend Stern College. Thank you for your sponsorship and we will miss you!
Our topic tonight was Inspiration. Much of our discussion was rooted in R’ Akiva Tatz’s distillation of some very profound ideas. The [...]
Messilas Yesharim 01/11/09
Today we started the 3rd Chapter of Messilas Yesharim. Ramchal has given us the importance of Zehirus (watchfulness) and has taught us that we need to integrate this idea into our lives. What remains is the definitions of Zehirus. Today we began to uncover just what Zehirus actually is. Ramchal gives us the two main [...]
