The half-second before we act — the one thing only a human being can do.
Download the sheet (PDF, one page)
Print it for your table or your shul.
Has a lion ever stopped mid-chase to ask whether he should?
Rabbi Dovid Kaplan — has taught at Yeshivas Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem since 1987
Nowhere in the six days before him does anyone get an “except that.” The animals don’t. An animal runs on a simple program: if it looks good, smells good, and tastes good, indulge. There has never in history been a lion who chased down a zebra, got him cornered, and then paused to think, “You know what, I really shouldn’t. This is a little beneath me.” No leopard mid-chase has ever thought, “Uh-oh, if I eat this now I’ll be fleishig for six hours.” That’s not a thing. The animal wants, the animal takes. End of story.
Man is the first creature in the world who gets told: you can want something, and still not take it.
“That pause is not a cage the Torah put around your life to make it smaller. That pause is your life.”
Rabbi Dovid Kaplan, Parsha Impact!, “Just Do It”, pp. 15–18. Sources: Bereishis 2:16–17.
Machshava: Why did Creation stop where it did?
“[It] is because the world stopped at this point that we have free will. Had there been more creation, Hashem’s presence would be overwhelmingly evident. Less creation, and He would be undetectable.”
Rabbi Yehoshua Alt, Astounding Torah Insights about the Human Body, p. 118
This week: Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan: Sunday–Monday, 11–12 October (molad as announced in your shul). Ya’aleh V’yavo; half Hallel.
“Shabbos is a holy day because Hashem said so, and that’s a set thing. However, Rosh Chodesh is determined by beis din and by witness testimony. Whenever beis din decides that it is Rosh Chodesh, Torah accepts that Rosh Chodesh is that day, and based on that we will see on which day Yom Tov will be. Hashem will assign kedusha, holiness, to a day based on a decision made by a Yid in this world.”
Rabbi Nachman Wilhelm, Prayer Points, p. 223
At the table
Ask around the table: what is one thing you wanted this week, and didn’t take?
For the children: Find it!
- the lamb next to the lion
- two monkeys in a tree
- the tortoise
- the peacock
- two hedgehogs
- the snail
- two bees
- the baby deer
If you could name a new animal, what would you call it?
This week’s question
On which day were the animals of the land created? Send your answer after Shabbos to info@yampolskys.com. One correct answer, drawn at random, wins a dedicated sefer.
Download the sheet (PDF, one page)
This week’s Shabbos Minute is available for dedication — l’ilui nishmas, in honour of, or in thanks. Dedications: info@yampolskys.com · +41 76 233 56 32
The Shabbos Minute for Parshas Bereishis — also written Parashat Bereshit, Parashat Bereishit (פרשת בראשית). A one-page sheet for the Shabbos / Shabbat table.