Parshat Ha'azinu

Parshat Ha'azinu is the song that Moshe did sing,
These were his final words of parting,
With a description of Hashem's kindness the song does begin,
But it predicts that eventually the Jews wouldn't listen.

It continues with the evil that Hashem will send,
But the song closes by saying that the Jews will rejoice in the end,
In the Beit Hamikdash during the Musaf offering,
The Levites sang Ha'azinu although it speaks of our suffering.

Into six parts the song was divided,
Each week one part was recited,
The parts sung on week one, two, and six, were indeed inspiring,
But what about the weeks in between, which speak of suffering?

The point of all the songs was to bring joy,
Why would they sing words which would bring feelings of "oy,"
How would singing the sad parts,
Uplift the Jewish people's hearts?

When the Levites sang the bitter parts of the song,
They were teaching us how to cope when things go wrong,
When tragedy strikes, to our faith we must hold,
We need to patiently wait for the song to unfold.

There will be days that the song we won't hear playing in our ears,
There will be days that we will shed tears,
But the hard times are one stanza of a larger song for sure,
We must come back the next week to hear more!

When we are tested we grow,
Our commitment to Hashem we show,
No matter what life brings we know that we are in middle of a song,
We will discover that even during the hard times there was music all along.

Souvenir: music pencil

Parshat Vayeilech

Before Moshe's soul would take flight,
The entire Torah he did write,
He gave it to the tribe of Levi,
Whose job it was the ark to carry.

On a shelf in the holy of holies, the Torah was placed,
Or in the ark, the tablets it faced,
Why was it necessary for a physical Torah scroll to be,
In a place that represented infinity?

The holy of holies was unique,
No one was allowed to go in or take a peek,
Besides for the high priest on Yom Kippur day,
When for all the Jews he would pray.

The holy of holies measured twenty Amot long and wide,
Miraculously, the ark didn't take up any space inside,
The letters on the tablets didn't have an existence of their own,
They were engraved into the stone.

Its letters were miraculous it's true,
They were engraved through and through,
The inside of the letters Samach and Mem stood in mid air,
In the holy of holies, Hashem's presence was clear.

The Torah doesn't belong in the holy of holies we would think,
Because it is hand written on parchment with ink,
Unlike the letters of the tablets which represent humility,
The letters in the Torah scroll exist independently.

The purpose of the holy of holies is that it should reach,
Every corner of the world and teach,
That Hashem is the creator who is found in every place,
He is infinite, above time and space.

How can we reach this goal?
Through the physical Torah scroll,
To draw down the holiness, the Torah is the tool,
Until the world recognizes that Hashem does rule.

On Rosh Hashana we stand before Hashem with humility,
We accept upon ourselves Hashem's kingship and sovereignty,
We need to draw from this inspiration throughout the year,
And always remember that Hashem is truly everywhere.

Souvenir: mini plush Torah

Parshat Nitzavim

Parshat Nitzavim is read,
On the Shabbos before the year's head,
"You are ALL standing today"
Refers to Rosh Hashana day.

We will be judged favorably,
When we stand together in unity,
Because what brings the most joy to our heavenly father,
Is when we get along with each other.

Every word in the Torah is exact,
There are no extra words, it is a fact,
So why does the Torah mention ten categories of Jews,
Which the word כולכם״ - ALL of you" includes?

Every Jew is as special as can be,
With a unique mission and responsibility,
It doesn't matter who you are,
Every Jew is a shining star!

To a human body the Jewish people compare,
We each need to do our share,
To ensure that our body stays healthy,
Every organ, muscle and cell must function properly.

We have to love each other,
Because we are dependent on each other,
As great as the head may be,
To carry the body is the feet's responsibility.

Wether you are a leader,
Or a wood chopper,
You are needed and you matter,
Every minute of every hour!

Souvenir: standing person

Parshat Ki Tavo

In Parshat Ki Tavo we find the Mitzvah of Bikkurim,
Farmers would bring their first fruit to Yerushalayim,
They were as thankful as could be,
For a land flowing with milk and honey.

This Mitzvah is special because it does show,
That the farmer does know,
That although he worked hard to plant and sow,
Hashem is the one who makes things grow.

We say Modeh Ani before we get out of bed,
Before eating food a Bracha is said,
With "Thank You"s the Jewish day is packed,
Bikkurim is different because it is an act.

It is easy to say thank you,
But to show our appreciation, action we must do,
Just like Bikkurim fruit so sweet,
A sweet act, makes our gratitude complete.

Since Rosh Hashana is on the way,
And for a sweet new year we pray,
A story of our Rebbe so dear,
Let us learn from and share.

About every Jew the Rebbe did care,
He would bless thousands of Jews with a good and sweet year,
A gentleman once asked the Rebbe why "sweet" was necessary to say,
Wouldn't a blessing for a good year be O.K.?

The Rebbe answered that a good year we will have for sure,
Because from Hashem comes only goodness galore,
Our request is that the goodness should be felt physically,
Our lives should be as sweet as honey!

Hashem please bless every Jew,
With an abundance of fruit so that we could serve you,
We will thank you for fruit so sweet and tasty,
With sweet deeds that will bring Moshiach speedily!

Souvenir: