Yom Kha’mee’shee, Iyar 15, 5771 • 5 19, 2011
*Topics in the news
The Eurozone financial leaders approve a €78-billion bailout package for Portugal, making it the third country, after Ireland and Greece, to receive a bailout in the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on its final mission, delivering the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (artist's rendering pictured) for installation on the International Space Station.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, is held without bail in New York City on charges of sexual assault.
At least 12 Arab protesters are killed during Nakba Day protests and marches on Israel's borders.
Kenyan long-distance runner Samuel Wanjiru, who won the men's marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics, dies at the age of 24.
*Current events of 05-19-2011
• Business and finance
Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault charge:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn offers his resignation as head of the International Monetary Fund following the charges. (BBC), (CBS News)
Strauss-Kahn has another bail hearing in the US city of New York, after being charged with rape. (Reuters), (BBC)
The Japanese economy officially goes into recession, in part due to the effects of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (AP via Yahoo! News)
• Politics and elections
Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland Garret FitzGerald dies in Dublin aged 85. (RTE)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigns as head of IMF
*Today in Judaism
Today is: Yom Shee’shee, Iyar 15, 5771 • 5 19, 2011
Omer: Day 30 - Gevurah sheb'Hod
*Today's Laws & Customs
• Count "Thirty-One Days to the Omer" Tonight
Tomorrow is the thirty-first day of the Omer Count. Since, on the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall of the previous evening, we count the omer for tomorrow's date tonight, after nightfall: "Today is thirty-one days, which are four weeks and three days, to the Omer." (If you miss the count tonight, you can count the omer all day tomorrow, but without the preceding blessing).
The 49-day "Counting of the Omer" retraces our ancestors' seven-week spiritual journey from the Exodus to Sinai. Each evening we recite a special blessing and count the days and weeks that have passed since the Omer; the 50th day is Shavuot, the festival celebrating the Giving of the Torah at Sinai.
Tonight's Sefirah: Tifferet sheb'Hod -- "Harmony in Humility"
The teachings of Kabbalah explain that there are seven "Divine Attributes" -- Sefirot -- that G-d assumes through which to relate to our existence: Chessed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut ("Love", "Strength", "Beauty", "Victory", "Splendor", "Foundation" and "Sovereignty"). In the human being, created in the "image of G-d," the seven sefirot are mirrored in the seven "emotional attributes" of the human soul: Kindness, Restraint, Harmony, Ambition, Humility, Connection and Receptiveness. Each of the seven attributes contain elements of all seven--i.e., "Kindness in Kindness", "Restraint in Kindness", "Harmony in Kindness", etc.--making for a total of forty-nine traits. The 49-day Omer Count is thus a 49-step process of self-refinement, with each day devoted to the "rectification" and perfection of one the forty-nine "sefirot."
*Today in Jewish History
• Matzah Depleted (1313 BCE)
The supply of matzah (unleavened bread) which the Jewish people brought out of Egypt--enough for 60 meals--was exhausted on the 15th of Iyar, the 30th day after the Exodus. The people complained to Moses that they have nothing to eat. G-d notified them that He will rain down "bread from heaven" to sustain them (Exodus 16; see "Today in Jewish History" for tomorrow, Iyar 16).
• Jews Expelled from Ukraine (1727)
A few months prior to her death, Empress Catherine I, the second wife of Peter the Great, expelled all Jews from the Ukraine.
• Riots in Rostov-on-Don (1883)
Rostov-on-Don, Russia, was home to 14 Synagogues and many communal institutions. With the encouragement of local Russian officials, a wave of anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) swept the city on the 15th of Iyar of 1883.
*Daily Quote
The great crocodile who couches in the midst of his streams, who says: My river is my own, and I have made myself
- The prophet Ezekiel describing the pharaonic ego as the root of evil (Ezekiel 29:3)
*Daily Study
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Bechukotai, 5th Portion Leviticus 27:16-27:21 with Rashi
Tehillim: Chapters 77 - 78
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 48
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
• 1 Chapter: Hilchot Nizkei Mammon Chapter Five
• 3 Chapters: Shevitat Yom Tov Chapter One, Shevitat Yom Tov Chapter Two, Shevitat Yom Tov Chapter Three
*Hayom Yom:
*Daily Mitzvah (Maimonides)
Iyar 15, 5771 • 5 19, 2011Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
• Positive Commandment 159
• Resting on the First Day of Passover
"And on the first day, there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We sanctify the fifteenth of Nissan, the first day of Passover, by resting on that day—defined as abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
• Negative Commandment 323
• Working on the First Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the fifteenth of Nissan, the First Day of Passover.
• Positive Commandment 160
• Resting on the Seventh Day of Passover
"And on the seventh day [of Passover] there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We are commanded to rest on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover, by abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
• Negative Commandment 324
• Working on the Seventh Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover.
THE SACREDNESS OF EACH DAY IN TORAH
Genesis Chapter 1
בְּרֵאשִׁית
Yom Khah´mee´shee.. Fifth day-Creation of Creatures Of Water and Air
כ וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים--יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם, שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה; וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל-הָאָרֶץ, עַל-פְּנֵי רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמָיִם. 20
And God said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'
כא וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-הַתַּנִּינִם הַגְּדֹלִים; וְאֵת כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת אֲשֶׁר שָׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם לְמִינֵהֶם, וְאֵת כָּל-עוֹף כָּנָף לְמִינֵהוּ, וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-טוֹב. 21
And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that creepeth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
כב וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם אֱלֹהִים, לֵאמֹר: פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ, וּמִלְאוּ אֶת-הַמַּיִם בַּיַּמִּים, וְהָעוֹף, יִרֶב בָּאָרֶץ. 22 And God blessed them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'
כג וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם חֲמִישִׁי. {פ} 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. {P}
*Topics in the news
The Eurozone financial leaders approve a €78-billion bailout package for Portugal, making it the third country, after Ireland and Greece, to receive a bailout in the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on its final mission, delivering the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (artist's rendering pictured) for installation on the International Space Station.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, is held without bail in New York City on charges of sexual assault.
At least 12 Arab protesters are killed during Nakba Day protests and marches on Israel's borders.
Kenyan long-distance runner Samuel Wanjiru, who won the men's marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics, dies at the age of 24.
*Current events of 05-19-2011
• Business and finance
Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault charge:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn offers his resignation as head of the International Monetary Fund following the charges. (BBC), (CBS News)
Strauss-Kahn has another bail hearing in the US city of New York, after being charged with rape. (Reuters), (BBC)
The Japanese economy officially goes into recession, in part due to the effects of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. (AP via Yahoo! News)
• Politics and elections
Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland Garret FitzGerald dies in Dublin aged 85. (RTE)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigns as head of IMF
*Today in Judaism
Today is: Yom Shee’shee, Iyar 15, 5771 • 5 19, 2011
Omer: Day 30 - Gevurah sheb'Hod
*Today's Laws & Customs
• Count "Thirty-One Days to the Omer" Tonight
Tomorrow is the thirty-first day of the Omer Count. Since, on the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall of the previous evening, we count the omer for tomorrow's date tonight, after nightfall: "Today is thirty-one days, which are four weeks and three days, to the Omer." (If you miss the count tonight, you can count the omer all day tomorrow, but without the preceding blessing).
The 49-day "Counting of the Omer" retraces our ancestors' seven-week spiritual journey from the Exodus to Sinai. Each evening we recite a special blessing and count the days and weeks that have passed since the Omer; the 50th day is Shavuot, the festival celebrating the Giving of the Torah at Sinai.
Tonight's Sefirah: Tifferet sheb'Hod -- "Harmony in Humility"
The teachings of Kabbalah explain that there are seven "Divine Attributes" -- Sefirot -- that G-d assumes through which to relate to our existence: Chessed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut ("Love", "Strength", "Beauty", "Victory", "Splendor", "Foundation" and "Sovereignty"). In the human being, created in the "image of G-d," the seven sefirot are mirrored in the seven "emotional attributes" of the human soul: Kindness, Restraint, Harmony, Ambition, Humility, Connection and Receptiveness. Each of the seven attributes contain elements of all seven--i.e., "Kindness in Kindness", "Restraint in Kindness", "Harmony in Kindness", etc.--making for a total of forty-nine traits. The 49-day Omer Count is thus a 49-step process of self-refinement, with each day devoted to the "rectification" and perfection of one the forty-nine "sefirot."
*Today in Jewish History
• Matzah Depleted (1313 BCE)
The supply of matzah (unleavened bread) which the Jewish people brought out of Egypt--enough for 60 meals--was exhausted on the 15th of Iyar, the 30th day after the Exodus. The people complained to Moses that they have nothing to eat. G-d notified them that He will rain down "bread from heaven" to sustain them (Exodus 16; see "Today in Jewish History" for tomorrow, Iyar 16).
• Jews Expelled from Ukraine (1727)
A few months prior to her death, Empress Catherine I, the second wife of Peter the Great, expelled all Jews from the Ukraine.
• Riots in Rostov-on-Don (1883)
Rostov-on-Don, Russia, was home to 14 Synagogues and many communal institutions. With the encouragement of local Russian officials, a wave of anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) swept the city on the 15th of Iyar of 1883.
*Daily Quote
The great crocodile who couches in the midst of his streams, who says: My river is my own, and I have made myself
- The prophet Ezekiel describing the pharaonic ego as the root of evil (Ezekiel 29:3)
*Daily Study
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Bechukotai, 5th Portion Leviticus 27:16-27:21 with Rashi
Tehillim: Chapters 77 - 78
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 48
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
• 1 Chapter: Hilchot Nizkei Mammon Chapter Five
• 3 Chapters: Shevitat Yom Tov Chapter One, Shevitat Yom Tov Chapter Two, Shevitat Yom Tov Chapter Three
*Hayom Yom:
*Daily Mitzvah (Maimonides)
Iyar 15, 5771 • 5 19, 2011Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
• Positive Commandment 159
• Resting on the First Day of Passover
"And on the first day, there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We sanctify the fifteenth of Nissan, the first day of Passover, by resting on that day—defined as abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
• Negative Commandment 323
• Working on the First Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the fifteenth of Nissan, the First Day of Passover.
• Positive Commandment 160
• Resting on the Seventh Day of Passover
"And on the seventh day [of Passover] there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We are commanded to rest on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover, by abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
• Negative Commandment 324
• Working on the Seventh Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover.
THE SACREDNESS OF EACH DAY IN TORAH
Genesis Chapter 1
בְּרֵאשִׁית
Yom Khah´mee´shee.. Fifth day-Creation of Creatures Of Water and Air
כ וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים--יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם, שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה; וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל-הָאָרֶץ, עַל-פְּנֵי רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמָיִם. 20
And God said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'
כא וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-הַתַּנִּינִם הַגְּדֹלִים; וְאֵת כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת אֲשֶׁר שָׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם לְמִינֵהֶם, וְאֵת כָּל-עוֹף כָּנָף לְמִינֵהוּ, וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-טוֹב. 21
And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that creepeth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
כב וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם אֱלֹהִים, לֵאמֹר: פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ, וּמִלְאוּ אֶת-הַמַּיִם בַּיַּמִּים, וְהָעוֹף, יִרֶב בָּאָרֶץ. 22 And God blessed them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'
כג וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם חֲמִישִׁי. {פ} 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. {P}
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