qwertyuiop

anonymiss that doesn’t make sense does that mean non-members get 18 dollars off.

does anybody know what happened to brooklyn19 did she change screen names,is she reading her book etc.

welcome anonymiss

mod72 the 2nd sentence was forr you. lol

mod42 if your modding right now can you pleaseeeeeeeee send mod72 a 64oz. coffee (no sugar 2%milk) from me.

THANX!!!!!!!

I’m not revealing mine, and i wasn’t asking for yours, I was just saying that I probably know it.

sorry mod, curious doesnt wana teach me anything

yay i found a typo from mod72 in his comment to moish01, he said “when we WEE comments like…

it isn’t so hard to find typos from mod72 :o( especially when he is still waiting for his coffee. YW Moderator 72

MAZEL TOV i have reached 40 thread posts. MAZEL TOV

your first statement i never heard but the other ones i have

asdfghjkl-lol it sounded like you said your grandfather worked for golden flow

moish dont worry give it afew days and you will feel like you were here for months

moish its so funny because everyone always says that about asdfghjkl

here we go again with trying to figure people out lol

mod72, can i get you a coffee-2% milk, no sugar

It was in the Mishpacha also, i think.

areivim-than why did you come on

great wolf lodge is good i was there about 2 years ago, and my younger brother went to rocking horse ranch he said it was pretty good

Somebody who has connections to the police, but he said things could change during the day.

how long ago?

i happened to be looking for a dvar torah for tommorow and i found a few but then i saw the Sfas Emes so i picked it and one of the reasons were for you joseph.

agreed i said that too

********** D’VAR FOR ASARA BTEVES **********

Talmei Hamelech (Ptolomy of Egypt), King of Greece is a name that shall live in infamy. In the early days of the Bayis Sheini (2nd Temple), the Jews were ruled by the Persian empire. The Persian empire eventually gave way to the Greeks, and the Jews became subjugated to all the whims of the new Greek superpower.

In 330 b.c.e., on the 8th day of Teves, Talmei Hamelech ordered the Chachamim (Torah Sages) to appear before him. He gathered 72 Rabbis and placed them in 72 separate rooms without revealing the purpose for which he summoned them. He then went into each room individually and commanded them each to translate the Torah from Hebrew to Greek.

The fact that he placed them in separate rooms like this shows that he didn’t trust them. He suspected that they would deliberately give him a fake translation in order to keep the words of the Torah secret. Till that time, the Torah had never been translated to another language. Only the Jews who knew Hebrew had access to the Torah. But now, if the chachamim made any changes or alterations in their translation, he would know it, for it would surely show up when the 72 copies were examined and cross-checked.

Indeed, this was a superhuman task. Even if the sages were to try to produce the most accurate translation possible, Torah is so deep and rich and full of allusion, it is impossible to decide which is the best way to translate it, much less to guess what 71 others would choose. If you translate it literally you turn the Torah into an empty shell, devoid of it’s esoteric treasures. If you translate it allegorically, you lose the simple straightforward meaning. There’s often more than one meaning for a word – which one do you choose? Which one will the others choose. Further, the chachamim did not want to translate it one hundred per cent accurately. There were verses which they felt would only be misunderstood or misconstrued by the non-jews.

What a bind they were in. If their translations varied, the non-jews would claim that Torah was not true. They would assert that if it were true, then why is there disagreement. This would constitute a public desecration of G-d’s name. The fact that Talmei Hamelech put the chachamim in this position exposes the wickedness of his intent.

The sages lifted their eyes to heaven and received ruach hakodesh (holy inspiration). Hashem (G-d) put it in each one’s heart to translate exactly as the others did. No discrepancy could be found, even though there were a number of places where the sages deliberately altered the translation. This was indeed a miracle and a kiddush Hashem – a public sanctification of G-d’s name.

Still, this is considered a dark day for Israel, and is one of the reasons why we fast on Asara B’Teves. Till this point, the Torah was in the hands of the Jews and elucidated by the chachamim. The chachamim who were expert in the study of the Torah, would convey the full and accurate meaning of the Torah. Once it was translated into Greek, it was as if the Torah was divested of its reverence. Any misguided ignoramus, or any hothead with an agenda, could now gaze at the Torah and find fault, or fabricate any interpretation they fancied.

On this sad day, let us vow to counteract this tragedy by immersing ourselves in Torah study in depth. Let us delve to find the true meaning of the words of our Torah, so that we can never be swayed or led astray by falsehood and distortion of our holy Torah.

PLEASE POST TOMORROW NITE, TUESDAY

The Sfas Emes on Vayechi

(from Sfat Emes on the Torah)

The Humble Lion

The blessing of Yehuda includes the following verse: Yehuda crouches down and lies like a lion (Bereishit 49:9). What is the greatness of lying down like a lion? Since the Jewish people are referred to as “Yehudim,” (for example, in Megillat Esther), our explanation applies to the whole Jewish people.

The Chidushei HaRim, the grandfather of the Sfat Emet, explains. Even in a lowly position, Yehuda remains a lion. Even when Yehuda was exposed and shamed, like in the Tamar episode, he courageously admitted his mistake and Tamar’s innocence, rising up like a lion. This ability to retain moral power, even in difficult situations, is the seed from which the Mashiach grows.

This trait, explains the Sfat Emet himself, is rooted in Yehuda’s humility. Despite his greatness, he does not have a bloated self-image. It follows that even when he does fall, Hashem’s presence remains with him. In fact, the name Yehuda in Hebrew contains the four letters of the Divine Name, with the letter dalet in the middle, symbolizing “dal,” lowly.

This is alluded to in a slightly different expression used in Bilam’s blessings. Yaakov’s blessing says that Yehuda crouches down and springs up – “kara ravatz,” referring to his ability to rise up when lowly. The blessings of Parshat Balak (Bemidbar 24:9) say that Israel lies down like a lion – “kara shakhav,” referring to his ability to remain humble when successful.

The two expressions point to Yehuda’s and the Yehudim’s two complementary qualities; to retain our moral strength when we are down (spring up), and to remain humble when riding high (lie down). Both humility and moral strength have a common source, though, an accurate self-image. This clarity about who we are allows us to always remember our strength, but never to forget its source, G-d, whose Name is written into ours.

[prepared by Eliezer Kwass]

qaws did you go to mogen av?