FRESH - Shmini/Omer/Yom Hashoah

Shared From Dorash Moshe(The English Edition)

וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְׁמִינִי קָרָא מֹשֶׁה לְאַהֲרן וּלְבָנָיו

It was on the eighth day, Moses summoned Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 9:1).

The word קְרָא summoned, appears inappropriate. After all, Aaron and his sons were working with Moses for the past seven days. For what reason did Moses feel it necessary to summon them? He should have merely ordered them to bring the mandated sacrifices.

This teaches us that although Aaron and his sons had just finished performing the mitzvos of the 'milluim' and that of sitting in the Courtyard, they still required preparation and intent for a new mitzvah, just as if they were entering anew. The reason for this was so that they should rejoice with this mitzvah just as with the acceptance of the previous one, similar to the joy at the giving of the Torah. One must perform each mitzvah as though this was the only mitzvah given to him at the time. So should it be with Torah study as well, for this will afford one joy and pleasure from the mitzvah. If approached in this fashion, one will remember his learning very well, as well as if he had learned it in his youth, when he had only that to remember. In one's adulthood, one must do the same. When one comes home from work, he should make an effort to take his mind off all mundane affairs and concentrate completely on learning.

Alternatively, we learn from here that in spite of any preparations one may have made to become holy, he must still feel as if he is just starting out. One must realize that to serve in sanctity he must sense that he is not prepared at all.

With this idea from Reb Moshe Z”l, we can approach the counting of the Omer(when we count days and weeks from the 2nd night of Passover until Shavuos- to learn more about the Omer - https://aish.com/holidays/counting-omer/). Every day we count as part of our growth journey towards the best version of ourselves and to prepare ourselves to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai on Shavuos. Every day has another trait to focus on, which helps us to keep things fresh and approach our Judaism in a youthful excited fashion. Here’s a great resource to help on this journey - https://aish.com/daily-omer-meditation/.

Have an amazing Shabbos and meaningful Yom Hashoah!

Noach, Miriam and The Whole Karp Family

MJX:Memphis Jewish Experience

YOM HASHOAH

Every year on Yom Hashoah, I try and take a few mintues to watch this short, less than 10min video about the mixed emotions one may have when reflecting on the horrors of the Holocaust. I hope you can take a few minutes and do so. I would love to hear your thoughts and reflections.

May their memories be for a blessing and may we continue to make them proud. We need to live our lives in a proud Jewish way because they died for being Jewish.

https://aish.com/78397677/