Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares why is was so important for Jewish soldiers to carry a shovel with them – to clean up after themselves and how this separation of the clean from the unclean teaches us the essence of how to conduct ourselves and in turn improve our spirituality.
Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares how we can take some pretty unusual laws in this weekly Torah reading and not only explain them but how we can learn from it in our life today. Another interesting topic of how we need to tread lightly in our spiritual advancement to make sure we don’t go to quickly and trip ourselves up in the process. Slowly but surely for the long haul.
Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares interesting aspects of this past Shabbat’s weekly parasha. One of the interesting ideas is why do our Sages say that while Moshe Rabeinu was 10 amot tall and Pharaoh was 1 amot tall. The example he gives is his experience meeting celebrities who were “larger than life” but in person they were very small. Similarly, Pharaoh was the leader the most important country in the World at this time but was very small, while Moshe Rabeinu was the humblest person to ever walk the Earth but was large in stature.
Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares about the upcoming the weekly parasha (Balak) that we read last Shabbat. The beginning of the class focuses on how important it is to be a decent human being and to not use one’s religiousness as an excuse not to be (good common sense advice).
Three good videos for Shabbat by Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz, Rabbi Dovid Kaplan, and Rabbi Avraham Trugman. Rabbi Breitowitz talks about Bilaam who wanted to curse the Jews but ended up blessing them against his will. Rabbi Kaplan talks about Bilaam showing us the negative of not having the ability to overcome our desire for pleasure when lasting happiness ironically has nothing to do with pleasure. And, Rabbi Trugman speak about Bilaam’s innate ability in finding the right specific moment in time to curse.
Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares about the upcoming weekly parasha (Chukas) – some interesting tidbits including:
The story of Dovid Hamelech (King David) and how he tried to protect himself from the Angel of Death by learning Torah and where it’s alluded to in this parasha.
Keeping our eyes on the long term benefits of doing the right thing and living the right way. Being mocked for being religious Jews but a life of meaning shines through over time.
Not everything in life has to be understood.
Shlomo Hamelech (King Solomon) and Moshe Rabeinu and their lack of understand and understanding of the Red Cow mitzvah expressed in a pasek. Pasek Yud Zion (840 9 lines from bottom) – take from the tamei person the ashes of the chatat – first letter of word latamei, and subsequent words spells limoshe jumble letters it spells shlomo.
Also, two different ways to purify oneself – mikva full immersion otherwise is doesn’t take vs. red cow water only a drop that nicks your ear makes you pure. Represents full change versus a bit at a time – different types of teshuva.
Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares about the upcoming weekly parasha (Korach) – and what we can learn from the interactions between Moshe Rabeinu and Korah, Datan, and Aviram.
There is a prohibition to be a rabble-rouser. In other words, stay away from a fight (even if you are right):
Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares about what the upcoming weekly parsha. The Menorah represents Torah and Aaron HaKohen lighting the Menorah is like a Torah teacher lighting his students.
Rabbi David Kaplan – Shares about what the deep meaning behind the names of the tribal leaders in the desert and how we can take those names for our learning for this upcoming weekly Torah reading.
Rabbi Dovid Kaplan – Gives a nice short explanation of the oil, wick, and flame and how they represent the Jewish people and Hashem connected by prayer.
