בס"ד

Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin’s Pearls from the Wellspring

Tevet 5764

Teachings from the Upcoming Month
By Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum

Every Shevat on the New Year of Trees the rainwater of the winter months begin to ascend into the veins of the tree and bring it new life. The Mazal (constellation) of the month of Shevat is "d'lee" (Aquarius - water-carrier) The deli represents the ascent of water in general. The root of d'lee means "to lift up," as in the verse, "I will extol You, O Hashem, for you have lifted me up, (d'leetani)…" (Tehillim 30:2) Meeting a water-carrier carrying pitchers full of water is a sign of blessing. Although Israel is above the constellations, the bucket, D'lee, is the sign of Israel because its sole purpose is to draw water, and water is a symbol for Torah. The task of the Jew is to draw from the wisdom of the Torah and give drink to the rest of the world. "Alas! All of you thirsty, come to the water…" (Yeshauyahu 55:1)
The letters of D'lee are the same as in yeled (child) éìã or éåìã (giving birth) which indicate creativity. The month of Shevat is a time when anyone, no matter how far he is from holiness, may easily renew herself. People born in the month of Shevat have a talent for originality, and energy of fundamental change, a clear break from the negative past.

In this month’s issue:

The Ancient Egyptian version of Arbeit Macht Frei? by Devorah Fraunhauffer (the chokma) and Yakova Devorah Baum (the bina)

Composting is Cool! By our dorm mother- Yael ben Yehuda

Shabbat in a Pile of Peels From the heart of Shefa Ora

Redefining the Fast By Yakova Devorah Baum

Repairing the Inner Child By Rivka Leah Dubitsky

To Confront or to Not Confront By Yakova Devorah Baum

The Ancient Egyptian version of Arbeit Macht Frei?
by Devorah Fraunhauffer (the chokma)
and Yakova Devorah Baum (the bina)

We are currently in exile, still waiting for redemption. The Diaspora began in Parshat Shmot and yet unfortunately still continues today. Hashem wanted us to settle in Goshen, but instead we jumped on the opportunity to set up shop in Egypt. We accepted their invite with eager herts, soaking up the Egyptian culture- to the point of assimilation. Soon after Joseph Ha-Tzaddik's generation died out, a new Pharaoh arose and decided that the Jewish nation was becoming too many and too strong, that something had to be done about "the Jewish Problem". There are feasible yet unsettling connections between Pharaoh's reign and Hitler's (y'mach sh'mo) dictatorship.
1. Implanting the destruction of Bnei Yisrael into the consciousness of their people, in a gradual step- by- step process by ostracizing and normalizing hatred of the Jews.
2. Injustices such as; heavy taxation, forced labor, killing off the weak and helpless, searching our homes, stealing our personal belongings.
3. Causing disunity by turning Jew against Jew (kapos, informants, overseers, Jewish midwives)
The history of anti-Semitism repeats itself time and again as long as the Jews aren't dwelling in their homeland. What exactly is a home or a homeland? A place where a person goes to feel safe, sheltered, secure and at rest, in their own personal space. Neither Egypt nor Germany and not even the United States seems to fit this description of what a true home should be.
Never again should another sun set over Jews being oppressed in chutz l'aretz. I think that sometimes Jews get so caught up in our integration into the cultural norms of the far-off societies in which we hebetate, that we forget that at the end of the day that any culture outside of our homeland, is foreign. By living there, we enclothe ourselves in their false garments and forget our own strengths and merits as the Chosen Nation.
So what must we learn from all this? We need to fight the tendency to be corrupted by our own desires for the materialistic aspects of life, so easily upheld in places like America.
We must choose not to be blinded by the illusions, nor live within a 'funhouse' culture where the reality is naught but smoke screens and mirrors.
Please let us all leave our current dwelling places and return home.
As states the verse from a psalm that many say before bentching,
"Hashem loves (us to be at) the gates of Zion, rather than all the other dwelling places of Yaakov." (Psalm 87:2)
History and 'the Jewish Problem' will not go away, until we return home and let the Creator be the only sovereign we serve.

Composting is Cool!
By our dorm mother- Yael ben Yehuda

In this day and age, soil is often depleted of nutrients that plants need to draw from in order to grow. Without these nutrients, plants cannot produce the protein needed to function properly. Instead starches and weaker fibers are formed, which are inadequate in offering a protective barrier against external destructive forces such as insects. Unlike manure, which often contains too much nitrogen, an element that can damage the plants; composting is the perfect solution since through the recycling of decomposing food, nutrients are released into the earth and the soil is replenished.

Shabbat in a Pile of Peels
From the heart of Shefa Ora

Coming directly from California to live and learn in the West Bank has been quite an experience. Two and half months of consistent intensity left me yearning for each and every Shabbat. Little did I know that Hashem had a very sweet and fruit-filled Shabbat in store for me.

It was the 9th of Tevet and I was invited for the 1st time to a family for the Shabbat evening meal. I knocked at the door and was welcomed like a long lost family member.

The Shabbat meal was amazing. The children served the food and cleared the table. The oldest daughter prepared the main entree. Another dish was made by the by the next youngest daughter. The father made a beautiful kiddush unlike anything I've ever heard before. In between his interactive Torah with his children in Hebrew, he sang zemirot beautifully accompanied by his wife's polished voice. During the meal the wife told me that her husband loves to read. One of his favorite topics is history of all sorts. The benching was simply gavault. One could feel the unity of this family. After benching the father returned to his reading chair, which happened to be the very same chair he was in when I arrived.

Schmoozing around the table the youngest boy asked for some fruit. The mother sitting at the head of the table took the choices of fruit and placed them on a plate in front of her. The mother began peeling and cutting up the fruit. As she cut each new piece she handed it to one of the children including me. Sitting around the table, delighting in the various fruits of the trees, we made a sweet Shabbat kesher with laughter, as we learned from each other in both Hebrew and English. During our pile of peels, the father interjected words that reflected his awareness of our fruit-filled conversation. Then we all joined in laughter once again.
One would never expect that talking Torah, sharing stories, laughter and learning Hebrew and English from each other would bring a tinnok shenishba (referring to a person raised without Torah) like myself, so much joy hidden within the peels. May we find delight in everything and feel love and compassion for all yidden no matter where they are holding. May Hashem bless us all with an open Shabbat table of joy!

Redefining the Fast
By Yakova Devorah Baum

On the 10th of Tevet, I found myself in Kfar Tapuach, where the Yishuv with the help of the Jewish Legion was dedicating a new sefer Torah to their newly built shul. I wandered about a bit, broke my fast on some cookies, wondering what all the fuss was about, nothing seemed to be happening. In the mean time, my mom called, arguing with me about my current 'nomadic and irresponsible' living situation. She wants me home, but I want me here. Yet despite my protests, a seed of doubt was planted in my fertile thought processes. Could it be possible that a prerequisite for beginning my 'real life' is to be in chutz l'aretz?
Just as the family dispute was winding down, an incredulous sight snaked through my line of vision. A procession of Jews, Israel's Jews, my Jews- dancing, twirling, writhing bodies outlined by the torchlight. In the midst of that thriving nest of activity, moved the chupah; velvet of royalty, and lavishly garnished with decorations. Enfolded within the protective borders of the holy canopy, danced the holy scroll. The man- the carrier- nullified to just that- a carrier, merely a merkava (vehicle) to carry out the higher Will of divinity manifest- the new sefer Torah.
Instantaneously I was pulled out of my dour mood and drawn into the procession of dancing, thriving life. We courageously journeyed onward, upward, with each step we moved out of the relative safety and shelter of the Yishuv and through the forbidding wadi. The no man's land that serves as a bumper zone between the two nations and their fierce hatred and intolerance of one another. The hostilities are so harsh, so tangible - a raging fire that scorches both the air and the people, continuously fed by those blinded by it.
But tonight was not a night of hate for the celebrators. This night was a night of hope,
of simcha, of praise, of courage and fierce determination. The residents' firm resolve to continue making their ideologies a reality - a reality they find worth living and dying for. On this night, the 11th of Tevet, the parade of Jews lit up the dark path with their mesirat nefesh. Our destination- the seemingly lonely community (Tapuach West) atop an adjourning hill.
It was there; on this ridge that the miracles took place. In just two weeks hardworking visionaries turned a grassy lot into a synagogue- nearly complete with electricity, mezuzot and a bima. The only missing ingredient was the sefer Torah. Witnessing the incredulous scene before my eyes, it was difficult to imagine the wooden structure of the synagogue not being there a few short weeks ago. Its frame now bursting with life, finally complete with its sefer Torah- the Shechina's glow radiating outward, competing with the moonlight from above. In the lights amidst the darkness, I witnessed old men in kippot srugot dancing with Chassidim in shtrymels circling the Sefer Torah. Women both young and old, laughing, eating, joining in the festivities and bringing down their own light and divine radiance. Everyone did his part in bringing the masterpiece of this night to shlaymot.
I was reminded of the Torah verse,
"Hashem your God will bring you back from captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in from all the peoples to which Hashem your God has scattered you. He will bring you to the land that your forefathers possessed and you shall posses it..." (Deut. 30:3,5)
For I encountered Jews who returned from their own personal exile in places like Morocco, Peru, Britain, Yemen, and Germany. Connected by a common thread of lashon hakodesh and their love and dedication to both Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.
Even the soldiers played a role in the evening, charged with the mission of guarding our festivities from possible terrorist threat. One soldier took the time to share his thoughts with me. Though he himself did not understand the logic of Jews risking their lives to settle atop this land, exposed to the harsh elements and harsher inhabitants- who time and again bring fatalities upon the Jews here, he could not deny the magic of the scene set before us; how it warmed his soul, and filled his heart. Dancing, singing, feasting, a concert performed by the musical champion of the settlements, Dov Shurin, and a simple wooden structure no more, now a dirah b'tachtonim, bursting at its seams with light and joy. What a contradiction to the decree set upon this building that very day- by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who ordered earlier that afternoon, on the 10th of Tevet, that it would be torn down before sunset.
By Hashem's divine rachamim, the synagogue in question, a fresh new lighthouse amidst the dark rolling hills of the Shomron- is as of this moment, still standing, despite Sharon's death sentence, no signs of destruction crews are in sight.
There's no way to tell what tomorrow will bring but that's o.k. Our avodah isn't to prophesize the future nor to dwell in the past- rather it is to soak up the present and make the most of this very moment- treasure the trials and triumphs of life, as we know it - now. This- is what Jews who have made their homes in the settlements, have learned to do best.
For residents of the Yishuv and the Jewish Legion, the building of the synagogue was in memory of their role model and spiritual leader- Rabbi Meir Kahane z''l. His message of strength and unification that are kept alive by his family and followers has unfolded into nearly prophetic reality in the years since his passing.
As I think back to my earlier doubts about settling in Israel, they now seem as distant and murky, incredulous and foreign to me as the news of the Prime Minister's order of disabling Givat Tapuach's first and only House of Prayer. Was I really considering leaving this hallowed and historical land of mine to venture back into the dark and muddy waters of chutz l'aretz?
I urge that every settlement take note of the shining example that the brave people of Tapuach set on this night of rebuilding, relighting the land- in the wake of our mourning of the 10th of Tevet. We must follow in the footsteps of our Tapuach brethren and transform the tears of our broken hearts into sweat of our bodies - struggling onward towards rebuilding dirah b'tachtonim for our Creator.
It is no accident, no quirk of fate that the Prime Minister ordered the tearing down of the synagogue on the 10th of Tevet, which was historically, the beginning of the end of the Temple period of the Jewish nation- a foretaste of the exile we were headed towards.
It is also no accident that unlike King Chizkiyahu's fall to the Assyrians, the residents of Tapuach did not experience destruction on this anniversary of the prior destruction. Hopefully we have succeeded in learning from Chizkiyahu's mistakes. Unlike this ill-fated king, we did not close up the wellsprings of our abode- instead we opened them to all Jews- urged our people to come and celebrate with us- together as one. We proclaimed, "Come and join in our celebrations, taste of our sweet wellsprings and then go back to your own abodes, spreading the taste, the experience, and the light of its water!"

***On the 26th of Tevet, Sharon gave an order to tear tear down the new Beit Knesset and a few of the residences.
Every Jew should put his thoughts and prayers into bringing about a happy ending to this tumultuous situation.

Repairing the Inner Child

By Rivka Leah Dubitsky

For many of us at B'erot, the healing of childhood wounds has been a major aspect of our teshuva process. As we gradually peel away the layers of shmutz and scar tissue, we become increasingly vulnerable. For some of us, such complete and unfamiliar exposure can dislodge old, unprocessed negative memories and feelings. A healthy approach in dealing with this negativity is to explore these disintegrated aspects of the self through a dialogue with our inner selves. The following dialogue is a personal example of how we can learn from our present day negative reactions by discovering their root in past negative experiences:

Adult Realization When I use force or assert my power, I notice that I feel in danger of attack, separated.

Inner Child (regression to the past to the time and place where those feelings were first triggered) I'm scared. I feel small, powerless, hurt, angry and trapped. Someone more powerful is challenging me, forcing me to become what I don't want to be.

Adult Realization (returning to the present and reminding oneself that there is no longer a need for these feelings) Now I'm safe because I'm strong, good and true.

Inner Child (not dismissing the feelings until after returning to the past to find out which needs weren't being met, and the source of the original wound) I need love, understanding, nurturing touch, someone to say: "It's ok baby"…soothing my raw, frazzled heart and tired lungs. Nurturing the Inner Child (talking to yourself as you wish you would have been dealt with, giving yourself love in the way you want[ed] to receive it) I trust you to make the right decisions for yourself. I support your growth and grant you freedom so you can trust me. You are loved. I'll help you get to where you need to go, the way you need to get there. I'm really listening and I really understand. I'll fulfill your needs because your desires are pure and modest, not self-indulgent. I won't disappear in the middle into the world of business or high society, leaving you alone with reckless, unconscious caretakers. There are things to be afraid of but not many. I will show you the safe places and encourage you to stay there as long and as often as you need. I'm secure enough that I don't need to challenge the full, powerful expression of your natural untamed beauty. I will not shut you down or attempt to constantly control your direction. We can learn from each other and just BE together; in quiet understanding and love.
Empowering the Inner Child (balancing nurturing with wisdom to become a more effective servant of Hashem) People don't purposely step on your toes. Listen to the voice that loves, accepts, and remains calm in all circumstances. Have faith and be strong. You are loved and appreciated and NOT ALONE. Always remember, true power is granted, not conquered. You are wise enough to wield this tool righteously. Withdrawing back into the shadows is disrespect to your Maker. Face your fear. Be powerful. Let your voice be heard. It's not yours to hide. May we all experience refuah shlemah, neshama ruach nefesh veguf!

To Confront or to Not Confront
By Yakova Devorah Baum

What a day of confrontations! I went out of the way to confront a teacher on a remark she made that I felt was both unnecessary and uncalled for. Within the hour, a fellow student rebuked me for not being confrontational enough when it comes to other students who tend to slack on their communal chores. Upon finding a connection between these two incidents, I pondered on the type of situations that have the power to draw me out of my non-confrontational approach to life. Those situations being- a direct attack on my ideals, my person or my people- nothing less.
During a recent shiur, B'erot students were learning the fascinating details of how the men of the Sanhedrin re-grouped themselves in the city of Yavne and set the groundwork for Rabbinic Judaism after the destruction of the
2nd Temple. Someone then proceeded to
pinpoint the common practice of one particular Chassidic sect who makes reference to the 3rd Temple in their ketubot. No matter their present location, whether Brooklyn or Timbuktu, at the ketuba signing, a couple who follows the traditions of Chabad Lubavitch will often add that they plan to have the chupah in Yerushalayim, unless Moshiach doesn't come (chas v'shalom) and if that be the case, they then agree to marry in their present geographical location. The person referred to this custom as silly, and commonly joked about in today's Orthodox world.
Rabbi Levi Yitchak of Berditchev himself reportedly practiced this so-called "silly" add-in to the ketuba! This minhag is not something to be passed off as comical- rather; on the contrary, it is a method of infusing our reality with Geulah-dik awareness. Perhaps this is one of the last attempts by Bnei Yisrael to keep a tenacious grip on the memory of our legacy of the Temple. No matter how silly or unrealistic it seems to do things like incorporating the ideas of Moshiach and Jerusalem into our ketuba- these are things that spark awareness and remembrance, and link us to our history as a people, as a nation.
As I approached the person after class to discuss my concern over her tasteless comment, I asked myself where my need for confrontation was coming from. It didn't come from my outraged gaavah over the pun that shed a harsh and belittling light upon Chabad Chassidim. The very sect that helped pull me out of my own personal darkness, nurturing me in my tsuva and helping to shape my current relationship with my God, my soul and my people. Nor was I propelled forth from the still- smarting sting of the lash that came down upon my heart and my pintele yid after hearing one Jew make light of another Jew's convictions.
I realized that my need to approach the teacher was borne out from a strong sense of need to take part in the survival and continuity of my people. It arose out of my convictions concerning the necessity of Jews to keep a constant awareness of the imminent redemption. To never allow our loss of the Temple and along with it, the promise of a future rebuilding- to stray far from our thoughts.
This is a tragic case of Jewish humor. The attempts by this Chassidic sect to somehow incorporate the age-old legacy and ideal of Bnei Yisrael into their lives- has become a source of mirth amongst the general population of today's observant Jews. It is wrongs such as this; committed against my people- by my people, that propel me off my high pedestal of being neutral and non- confrontational.