Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh's blog
Posted in Noach on Oct 19th, 2012
In Parashat Noach, humanity undergoes two great catastrophes. The first is the flood – the holocaust that annihilates all of humanity and all land-life except those who survive in Noach’s ark. The second catastrophe is the dispersal of humanity to all ends of the earth as a result of the collapse of the Tower of [...]
Posted in Questions in the Bible on Jun 3rd, 2011
An angel asked Hagar, Sarai’s maid, “where are you coming from and where are you going?” She answered, “I’m fleeing from Sarai my mistress” (“אֵי מִזֶּה בָאת וְאָנָה תֵלֵכִי וַתֹּאמֶר מִפְּנֵי שָׂרַי גְּבִרְתִּי אָנֹכִי בֹּרַחַת”). This is the first appearance in the Torah of the question “where [are you going]?” (Note that the form of the [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Mar 17th, 2011
The two great exiles of the Jewish People in our days: Edom (אדום, 51) and Ishmael (ישמעאל, 451) equal 502 = “Cursed be Haman” (ארור המן) = “Blessed be Mordechai” (ברוך מרדכי). The joyous wine of Purim takes us to a place where we are unable to distinguish between “Cursed be Haman” and “Blessed be [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
Meditative prayer lifts us up and out of our mundane reality. The early chasidim would meditate an hour, pray an hour, then meditate an additional hour. What is meditation? Breaking through hard shells, peeling away soft shells, and eating the fruit. * The 10 blessings of Isaac to Jacob are the connective intermediate between the [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
When we perform a mitzvah we hug God (and He hugs us) as it were. When we learn the sweet words of Torah we kiss. In prayer we cling. Isaac prayed for children in one corner of the room and Rebecca in another corner. As the prayers ascended they united and became one. Rebecca’s prayer [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
Photosynthesis harvests the sun’s energy. It is the biological process that transforms light into life. Much can be learnt from it. Both blue and red light activate photosynthesis, but red light works better than blue light. Why is this so and what can we learn from it? Because of its higher frequency a blue photon [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
“And these are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham, Abraham begat Isaac.” Know who your father really is; he can make you potent. Isaac and Rebecca had two sons, Jacob and Esau, one righteous and one wicked. Isaac and Rebecca are in our mind, Jacob and Esau in our heart. Jacob and Esau [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
Sarah, although not physically present, was the catalyst in the Binding of Isaac to unite father and son. In the Binding of Isaac, “the two (Abraham and Isaac) walked together” appears twice, before Isaac knew that he was the sacrifice and after. “The two walked together” = 505 = Sarah. She was there, uniting her [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
The first 3 verses of the Torah correspond to the first 3 weekly portions. “In the beginning God created…” corresponds to Genesis “And the earth was formless and void…” alludes to the 2nd weekly portion, Noah. The deluge wiped life off the face of the earth. “… and the spirit of God hovered over the [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
Noah was a “complete tzadik.” A tzadik clings to truth, is consistent. Thus Noah was both complete and consistent, but in a confined system. Shneur Zalman (the first Rebbe of Chabad) = “complete tzadik” (said of Noah). He was complete and consistent, in a larger system than Noah’s. After the deluge Noah planted a vineyard, [...]