News

In 1942, the Japanese invaded the Philippines, engaging in a brutal, bloody war. Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese lieutenant, was dispatched to the Philippines to fight and was instructed that under no circumstances was he to surrender.

Part 2

There may be nothing more enchanting, mystical, and mysterious than the wonder of music. In our previous article, we began to develop a deeper understanding of the concept of music, its cyclical nature, and the Torah ideas related to circles. To review, a circle represents spiritual death. It is a geometric anomaly; it is the only shape with no newness: no turns, no corners, and no changes. It has no beginning and no end. A circle is a cycle that goes nowhere; it lacks evolution and generates no growth. No point on the circle is unique, with each point equidistant to the center. A circle simply cycles back on itself without making any progress.

Part 3

All of Jewish life appears to be a system of cycles and circles. We celebrate the same holidays every year, as we pass through the same 12 months, as we go through the same cycle of reading the Torah. However, as we have explained thus far, the ideal is not to transcend this circular system, but to uplift it, to transform the circle into a spiral, and to find deeper ways of creating newness within the circular system. When we celebrate each holiday, we do not simply commemorate a historical event; we tap into and experience the deep energies inherent at that point in time. All the chagim give us the opportunity to access unique spiritual energies in time; and fascinatingly, this same spiraling phenomenon takes place within the world of music.

There may be nothing more enchanting, mystical, and mysterious than the wonder of music. It has the ability to reach the very root of our soul. The right melody can transform our mood, bring us to tears of sadness or joy, and release emotions buried deep within our consciousness. Music unlocks the door to our heart, brings back our most closely held memories, and allows us to feel and embrace our innermost yearnings for connection. From the artist’s perspective, music is the vulnerable expression of self; from the listener’s perspective, music is permission to connect to the Divine, the means by which to transcend the shackles of mundane existence, to experience something other-worldly. Many people have a favorite song, a personal gateway to spiritual transcendence. The Rambam states that, had we not been gifted the Torah, we would have studied music in order to tap into spiritual truths. What is the secret behind the wonder of music?

“It is a time of war, a time when we need so much shemirah! How can we achieve shemirah? How can we invoke rachamei shomayim for all of Am Yisrael, for the soldiers at the front, for all those who live in Eretz Yisrael and for all Yidden around the world who are under attack?” exclaimed HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein, shlita, Rav of Ramat Elchanan and one of the leading senior poskim of our time. “The answer is simple! It is staring us in the face. It is a one-word answer. ‘Shabbos!’ Yes, when we keep Shabbos, enhance our shemiras Shabbos, Shabbos keeps us, Shabbos guards us from difficulty and tragedy!” Those passionate words of Rav Zilberstein were said at a seminal meeting with leaders of hanhalas Dirshu, led by the Nasi of Dirshu, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita.

A speaker once started his seminar by holding up a $100 bill. “Who would like this $100 bill?” he asked.

Every hand in the room went up.