Weekly Parsha

Refuah Sheimah: "May it be Your will, LORD my G-d, and the G-d of my forefathers, that You quickly send refuah sh'lemah (complete healing) from heaven, spiritual healing and physical healing to Aryeh ben Leah, Esther bat Simcha, Stuart Holtzclaw and Randy Shute from Syracuse, NY.

Continue praying for: Teddy Welz, Miriam (Mariana) "bat Zulay", Adina (Heidi) "bat Sarah" e Yosefa (Josie) "bat Sharon", Rafael ben Gladis e Esther Bracha "bat Sarah".

Kedoshim

Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27

Kedoshim, K'doshim, or Qedoshim (קְדֹשִׁים‎—Hebrew for "holy ones," the 14th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 30th weekly Torah portion ( פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the Book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 19:1–20:27.

This is the portion that invokes the Jewish people to be holy! It then proceeds with the spiritual directions on how to achieve holiness, closeness to the Almighty. Within it lie the secrets and the prescription for Jewish continuity. If any group of people is to survive as an entity, it must have common values and goals -- a direction and a meaning. By analyzing this portion we can learn much about our personal and national destiny. It is truly a "must read!"

Some of the mitzvot: Revere your parents, observe Shabbat, no idol worship, gifts to the poor, deal honestly, love your fellow Jew, refrain from immoral sexual relationships, honor old people, love the proselyte, don't engage in sorcery or superstition, do not pervert justice, observe kashruth and more. The portion ends, "You shall observe all My decrees and ordinances ... you shall be holy ... I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine."

"You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measure of length, in weight, or in measures of content. Just scales, just weights and a just Ephah (a dry measure) and a just Hin (a liquid measure) shall you have" (Lev. 19:35-36).

The Torah forbids us to deceive both Jews and non-Jews when measuring or weighing (Choshen Mishpot 231:1; Chinuch 258). Furthermore, it is the fulfillment of a positive commandment to weigh and measure accurately (Chinuch 259).

The Chofetz Chaim wrote that the Torah enumerated scales, weights, ephah and hin to stress the severity of this prohibition; every type of deception being explicitly prohibited. A person must be very careful to ensure that whenever he sells something, he gives the customer the correct amount.

Life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself. This is the way to achieve your dreams: by creating from your choices. It's not what you are that holds you back, it's what you think you're not. It's never too late to be the person you could have been.

Shabbat Shalom!

R. Ovadiah Tank

Online Learning 

Rabbi Tank is a professor at the American Jewish College in New York, where he teaches classes on Talmud, Jewish History, and Contemporary Jewish Law. Rabbi Tank is dedicated to finding modern utility and meaning in ancient wisdom texts and is pleased to provide spiritual, cultural, social and educational programming to communities around the world. 

Rabbi Tank was educated at Yeshivas in New York and Miami. He studied Biblical Archeology at Bar Ilan University and Jewish Studies at Harvard University. Rabbi Tank has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and he is also graduated in International Economic Development from the University of Oxford. 

Rabbi Tank is actively involved in peace negotiations and relief operations. Rabbi Tank is the director of international affairs at the World Jewish Confederation in the United States and He is member of the White House National Religious Leaders , an Executive Office of the President of the United States in Washington, D.C.

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