Friday, May 25, 2012

You Shall Take of the First of All the Fruit

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

The Temple Institute?

So that through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

"You shall take of the first of all the fruit"
(Deuteronomy 26:2)
Sivan 4, 5772/May 24, 2012
Forty eighth day of the Omer

As parents we give our all to our children. We try to create for them a safe, warm and loving environment. We try to teach them the difference between right and wrong, set them on a path of virtue and instill within them a yearning for truth and righteousness. As they grow and begin to display, G-d willing, the qualities that we have strived to imbue them with, we sigh a sigh of great relief and deep gratification.

Some kids, from an early age absorb and reflect in their behavior those values that we strive to impart to them, and other children seem positively oblivious to our best efforts at parenting until years later, as they themselves enter adulthood. We pray that, sooner or later, they all will grow up to be true and righteous and meriting of G-d's love and protection.

But without a doubt, the most precious, most beautiful, moving and rewarding feedback that we receive as parents from our children, is that first gift. When our young son or daughter is holding something that they made with their own hands and presents it to us, this is truly a watershed moment, an epic, historical moment, if you will, in which all our endless, unrelenting efforts to give, to impart, to imbue love to our children, is rewarded. It doesn't matter what our child is holding in his hands, whether he made it in the classroom or in the back yard, it is simply the most incredible and beautiful thing in the world. It's beauty derives from it being the work of his small hands. Its grace and loveliness derives from it being the inspiration of his tender heart and the desire of his precious soul to give this gift to us. "Mom, Dad, I made this for you." "For you." An entire world is contained in these words. No greater gift can be given from a child to a parent. These are the gifts that we treasure forever. We display them proudly in our homes, and with the passage of time, we store them carefully in cabinets and closets and attics. Decades later we return to these simple gifts and, perhaps with a tear in our eye, we relive the moment we first received them. In our darkest moments they can revive our hearts. Till the end of our days they bring us joy.

So it is with the G-d of Israel. Before He formed us as a nation He took us out of the hostile environment of Egypt. He instructed us to build for Him a sanctuary, a place of safety and comfort, which we then encamped around, as described in this week's Torah reading of Bamidbar. He gave us Torah at Mount Sinai and instructed us in its ways of truth. He provided for us water from a rock and manna from heaven; a cloud of glory for shelter, and saw to it that our clothes would not grow threadbare. So when Israel entered Canaan and took its first steps as a free and independent nation in its own land, and the people began to provide for themselves; as they inherited the land and plowed it and planted in it, it was only natural that the children of Israel would desire to bring the first fruits of their own labors, the first tangible evidence that they are indeed living the life that G-d has set out for them, and present their precious gifts to G-d at His altar in the Holy Temple. This is the holiday of Shavuot. This is the bikkurim - the offering of the first fruits.

On Passover we celebrate all that G-d did for us. On Shavuot we celebrate all that we can give to G-d in return. Torah, G-d's immeasurable gift to Israel has taught us and inspired us. How puny, how insignificant are our first fruits to G-d! Yet they are everything in the world to G-d. They are the reason He created the world. He has given us all that He has given us, the stars in the heaven, the Torah on Sinai, and the fruits on the trees, in order to experience this one moment and to hear this one sentiment: "I made this for You." G-d created His world in order to bestow goodness upon His creation. By striving to bestow goodness in return, we have made it all worthwhile for our Father in heaven.

Shavuot is the true festival of gift giving. It is the day that marks the gift that we received from G-d at Sinai. And it is the day upon which we bring our gifts of recognition and thanks to G-d. May we always treasure G-d's great gift to us, and may we always strive to express to G-d our love by bringing to Him the gifts of our hands and hearts, whether they be the first fruits of our fields or the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Chag Shavuot Sameach - a Joyful Shavuot to all!

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven take a long look at how not to build the Holy Temple. "Take my tears!" sings the legendary Jewish singer and entertainer, Avraham Fried, in his special guest appearance. He's referring to a plea to G-d, to use our tears to build the Third Holy Temple. Wait a minute... am I hearing you right? What Torah is this written in? What planet are we on? Well, as another great Jewish singer and entertainer sings, "People are crazy and times are strange." In this week's uncut, unprecedented, uncensored Shavuot edition of Temple Talk, Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman, together with all of Israel, prepare to receive the Torah anew at Mount Sinai. But our hosts ask: Just what is the Torah we will be receiving? And how will it change us? And how will it change the world? And just what does it mean to be a Jew? "Take the rags away from your face, now ain't the time for your tears" sings our favorite perennial Jewish poet. Tune into this week's explosive, exclusive and unchained all-time special Temple Talk... but it will cost you. Be prepared to accept responsibility. Be prepared to hear the truth.

Astonishing Footage Of Jerusalem Day Prayer, Song And Blessings On The Temple Mount! For the first time in many years, a large gathering of Jews were able to pray, sing and say blessings while on the Temple Mount, unhindered by nearby police. The contingent of Jewish worshipers was led by Knesset members Michael Ben Ari and Uri Ariel, as well as Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, founder of the Temple Institute, and other prominent rabbis and public figures. Click here to view.

Shavuot Greetings from the Temple Institute: The intimate connection between receiving Torah at Sinai and bringing the first fruits to Jerusalem is the source of the Shavuot holiday joy. Click here to view.

Shavuot as it's Meant to Be: Click here to Learn about Shavuot in the Holy Temple.

The Pilgrim Experience: The pilgrimage experience combined a sublime sense of expectation with an all-embracing feeling of total trust in HaShem, as Temple-goers left their farms and fields and made their way to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. The festival of Shavuot, which celebrates the land of Israel and commemorates the receiving of Torah at Sinai epitomizes the total pilgrimage experience. Filmed at the southern wall of the Temple Mount. Click here to Learn about Shavuot in the Holy Temple.

"If You Build It, He Will Come": Watch this three minute promotional video for Rabbi Richman's upcoming USA June tour! Click here to view.

Rabbi Chaim Richman in the USA, June 2012: "IF YOU BUILD IT, HE WILL COME"

"And He called to Moses, and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, when a man among you... " (Lev. 1)

Who is the man who hears the voice?

"The voice of Hashem comes in power! The voice of Hashem comes in majesty! The voice of Hashem breaks the cedars, the voice of Hashem strips the forests bare, while in His Temple all will proclaim 'glory!'" (Psalms 29)

Who hears the voice?

Who hears the voice that calls out every day from Mount Sinai, "Make for Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell among them?" (Ex. 25:8)

Who hears the voice that calls out, "because of My Temple which is ruined, while you run, each to his own house." (Hagai 1:9) Of all the issues we confront today, there is only one which holds the key. The key to peace, prosperity, security, and fulfillment - the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the place that G-d has chosen.

What is holding back the people of Israel from rebuilding the Temple today? How close are we? How will the nations of the world be affected? Are the obstacles really that insurmountable... or could we overcome them if we only try? Are we waiting for G-d to step in and perform a miracle... or is He waiting for us to take the initiative? How can this dream become a reality in our life time? What is the relationship between the promise of the Holy Temple, and major issues such as the peace process, Palestinian terror, America's relationship with Israel and the Iranian nuclear threat?

If you build it, he will come. With G-d's help Rabbi Richman will be visiting the United States this coming June to share the Torah's message of the immediate rebuilding of the Holy Temple, the source of blessing for the whole world. Time to roll up our sleeves and get to work!

From June 11th through June 20th, Rabbi Richman will be speaking in different cities throughout Texas and New Mexico. Click here for details.

This week's all-new Return of Prophecy teaching by Rabbi Avraham Sutton, is entitled, "Chapter 26: The Flashlight People: Our righteous teachers throughout the ages are like flashlights which reveal hitherto hidden secrets of Torah to Israel. Israel, in turn, shines the light on the nations. Each one of us can be a flashlight." Click here to view.

One man, one voice, "We will do and we will obey!" The unity of the nation of Israel expressed upon receiving Torah at Mount Sinai, and reflected each year on Jerusalem Day, which precedes the festival of Shavuot by one week, is made possible through the twelve distinct flags of the twelve distinct tribes of Israel who made their encampment in the wilderness, around the Tabernacle - the heart of the nation. Through the unity of each individual soul of Israel, Torah is brought down from heaven and made manifest on earth - here in the land of Israel! Click here to view Rabbi Richman's teaching on parashat Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20).

The 3rd Annual Temple Mount Awareness Day Happening: Part 6: Tziporra Piltz, guide and organizer of women's ascent to the Temple Mount, discusses her experiences and the growing movement of women who ascend the Temple Mount in purity. With Rabbi Chaim Richman and Lorelai Lehrer. Click here to view.

Part 5, featuring Hillel Richman and Frankie Snyder. Click here to view.

Part 4, featuring Yehudah Katz, and his band. Click here to view.

Part 3, featuring Yisrael Medad, Temple Mount activist and media expert. Click here to view.

Part 2, featuring Rabbi Nachman Kahana, beloved and highly esteemed Kohen, Torah scholar and author. Click here to view.

Part 1, featuring Moshe Feiglin, head of the Likud's Manhigut Yehudit, (Jewish Leadership), Faction. Click here to view.