Rabbi Mordechai Becher explains that it is the failure (the darkness) that produces the greatest success (light). As the Gemora says, "because I fell, that is why I got up!" View this video directly on Vimeo.
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The fast day of the 10th of Tevet is approaching, so before I discuss its history, just a brief introduction to the idea of fasting in general. Six days a year we are forbidden to eat or drink. About eighty days of the year we are commanded to feast — a 13 to 1 ratio of feasting to fasting. Rather than being ascetic, Judaism clearly rejoices in life and seeks ...
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Chanukah is a celebration of the miracle of Jewish spiritual survival. After millennia of attempts to assimilate us, whether through force or persuasion, we are still here. But, it is not mere physical survival that we celebrate. After all, the genes of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Greeks have also physically survived. The miracle of Jewish survival is that we have survived with our spiritual heritage intact. When we ...
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – By the Light…Of the Silvery Menorah – Chanukah 5779
Rabbi Mordechai Becher explains several Chanukah symbols and traditions, and also how everything is really a miracle. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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Chanukah begins on Sunday night (Dec 2, 2018) so here is a little historical introduction to the Chanukah festival, to which we will hopefully add some spiritual insights in the coming weeks. Approximately 200 years before the events of Chanukah, hundreds of thousands of Jews returned from the Babylonian exile to the Land of Israel. In time, they rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem and established an independent Jewish monarchy. Meanwhile in ...
Read MoreG-d wants us to go beyond our personal comfort zone - to take spiritual risks. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – Angels Ascending and Angels Descending – Vayeitzei 5779
Jacob lost his Angels when he was on his way out of Israel, because it all depends on where one is headed. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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In this week’s parsha, VaYetzei, Jacob has a vision of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, on which angels ascend and descend. At the top of the ladder, in his dream, he “sees” G-d standing over him. Now, there are many, many prophetic visions in the Torah, and many expressions that seem to assign some type of form or even body to G-d. We always understand these as allegory and ...
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Rabbi Becher's VLOG
Rabbi Mordechai Becher’s VLog – Tragedy, Yes. Kristallnacht, No! – Chayei Sarah 5779
On October 27, 2018, a deranged man entered a synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, and murdered 11 innocent Jews. Rabbi Mordechai Becher noticed that many people have been comparing this tragedy to the infamous "Kritallnacht" which occurred in Germany 9–10 November 1938, however, he takes exception to this comparison and explains why in this video. View this video directly on Vimeo.
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In this week’s parsha, Abraham mourns the passing of his wife, Sarah, and we, in the Jeiwsh world also are mourning the tragic deaths of eleven innocent Jews, gunned down by a rabid anti-Semite in Pittsburgh. I felt that it would be appropriate, for both ancient and current mourning to discuss some ideas about the soul, death, and the afterlife. The Jewish view of the human being encompasses both physical ...
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