#tzaddik

[jewish-hot-takes]

Having photos of rebbeim in one's house is borderline idolatry. Admire tzaddikim all you like, but it's weird and approaching avodah zara to have big photos of them on the wall.

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[tomorrowusa]

My Statement on the Passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sixty years ago, Ruth Bader Ginsburg applied to be a Supreme Court clerk. She’d studied at two of our finest law schools and had ringing…

President Barack Obama pays tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Over a long career on both sides of the bench — as a relentless litigator and an incisive jurist — Justice Ginsburg helped us see that discrimination on the basis of sex isn’t about an abstract ideal of equality; that it doesn’t only harm women; that it has real consequences for all of us. It’s about who we are — and who we can be.

TIL from Ruth Franklin on Twitter:

RBG may now be a tzaddik but Donald Trump has always been a schmuck.

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

This picture of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her youth, looking exhausted, as if she knew all the fight that still lay ahead of her, made my heart shatter last night. But as Brittany Packnett Cunningham says below, she didn’t live her life that way. She never stopped fighting for equality and justice. We take up that fight and keep carrying it forward. May her memory be a revolution. Repost from @mspackyetti • This sucks. Ain’t no way around that. But we don’t give up. We scream. We cry. We get angry. And we fight like hell. RBG earned the tag ‘notorious’ and so must we. We fight for her. We fight for ourselves. We vote because she needs us to. We fight because we need us to. We use every lever we have because the struggle does not begin or end on November 3rd. We do not give up. Not now. Not ever. I choose the discipline of hope over the ease of cynicism. I choose fortitude over fatalism. I choose to be who my ancestors protected and my creator formed. I choose to be more than a conqueror. RBG could do it. So can we. #rbg #mayhermemorybearevolution #mayhermemorybeablessing #ruthbaderginsburg #notoriousrbg #dontmournorganize #tzaddik #supremecourt #standupfightback #whentherearenine #genderequality #womensrights #humanrights #vote #vote2020 #votelikeyourlifedependsonit #fightfascism #heroes #justice https://www.instagram.com/p/CFUVQYlgCpT/?igshid=kr845hc7lxbu

[rebbestorah]

The People’s Mishkan

וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרֹן אֵת הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אֶתֵּן אֵלֶיךָ (שמות כה, טז) AND YOU SHALL PLACE INTO THE ARK THE TESTIMONY, WHICH I WILL GIVE YOU. (SHEMOS 25:16) 

The Talmud (Berachos 8b) teaches that the Aron contained both the broken remnants of the first set of Luchos, as well as the complete and unbroken second Luchos.

The first Luchos were given to Moshe immediately after the Revelation at Sinai, before Bnei Yisrael sinned and worshipped the Golden Calf. At that point, they were spiritually perfect, (see Talmud, Shabbos 146a: “At the Giving of the Torah, their filth departed”), thus the remnants of the first Luchos represent the tzaddik—the Jew in his most perfect and elevated state.

The second set of Luchos were given to Moshe on Yom Kippur after G-d pardoned Bnei Yisrael for the sin of the Golden Calf. These Luchos represent the baal teshuva—a person who may have strayed from the Torah’s ways in the past but has since repented.

Both the tzaddik and baal teshuvah were thus represented in the Aron, by the first and second Luchos, respectively. There is, however, a third possible state in which a Jew may find himself: having transgressed the Torah but not yet made amends. The first Luchos, the Luchos of flawlessness, no longer represent him. The second Luchos, the Luchos of repentance, do not yet represent him either. But this Jew, too, is represented in the Aron—by the broken state of the first Luchos.

By representing all three categories of Jews in the Aron, the Torah highlights that the commandment to build a Mishkan—and likewise, the eternal lesson we learn from this mitzvah—applies to every Jew equally. Regardless of your current spiritual state, whether perfect or far from it, you must endeavor to elevate your material life to serve exclusively as a home for G-d.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 6, pp. 156-157

[madewithonerib]

[madewithonerib]

Personal Tanya Day 36: Mind Over Matter (CH17.1) | Dovid Vigler 2025-01-27 Mon, 27 Tevet 5785 | Beinoni Rule Body w Mindful Love

Scripture: Romans 12:2 | Transformed by Renewing of Your Mind

Yorkshire Pudding Recipe || Glen & Friends

Discover the secrets to making perfect Yorkshire puddings every time! In this episode, we dive into the history and evolution of this classic dish, exploring its roots in 17th and 18th-century English cookbooks like Robert May's The Accomplisht Cook and Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery. While traditional recipes vary, we uncover why the method matters more than the ingredients.

Using a simple 1:1:1 ratio of eggs, milk, and flour, I’ll show you the step-by-step process to achieve golden, airy Yorkshire puddings with a crisp exterior and no stodgy middle. From using a popover pan or cast iron to resting the batter overnight and mastering oven temperatures, this video has everything you need to impress at your next Sunday roast.

Plus, hear why fine flour and clever marketing gave Yorkshire pudding its name and learn how to tweak this timeless recipe for ultimate results. Whether you’re serving them with beef drippings or a dollop of jam, these Yorkshire puddings are a must-try!

Sky High Yorkshire Pudding Recipe: Equal parts by volume of egg, milk and flour. For example: Crack 4 eggs into a measure cup, note volume. Mix those eggs with the same volume of flour, then Mix in the same again volume of milk. Add a pinch of salt.

Method:

This batter (any Yorkshire pudding batter for that matter) works best if let rest in the fridge for 12 - 24 hours.

If you let it rest, don’t add the salt until just before baking.

Pre-heat your oven and (dry) pan to 475ºF.

Once pan is heated, add a high smoke point oil to each cup.

Now heat the pan & oil again, until oil is just about smoking.

Quickly fill each cup ½ of the way & place back in the oven.

Bake at 475ºF until Yorkshires stopped growing ~15min.

Turn oven down to 350ºF & bake 15-20 minutes more.

Chocolate Pie Lattice | Duck's Umbrella

I've held off on making these in the past bc it always seemed the ppl who made these were severely overweight..but here is a video on the best essential fat for mitochondria | Dr. Liu

Here's what you need to know to eat essential fats and why others spike your blood sugars. [14:18] Fat inhibits the metabolism of carbohydrates, so when you eat fat you make your body more insulin resistant which then increases your blood sugar. But you only see that increase when you eat carbohydrates, so when you eat carbohydrates, you see a higher increase in insulin response.

If you want to increase weight then insulin is a growth hormone to have in high amounts. But the real answer isn't as simply as avoid fat or eat mostly fat, both diets are extremely hard to do bc they both don't taste so good. The nutrition label is incomplete, so it is not ideal to tell you which is the best fat.

When it comes to weight gain, even though all fats are equal in potential energy or stored energy--in reality, not every fat has the same effects on your body, even if you eat the exact same fats in the exact same amounts.

Fats that are solid at room temperature like butter & coconut oil have higher concentration of saturated fats, only the fish oil supplement has no SF, SF is the worse bc it is found to build up fat in the liver & pancreas & skeletal muscle. These are our three metabolic organs.

They are not our fat storage organs so fat doesn't belong in these organs but they help us metabolize fats & carbohydrates. SF have been shown to be a mitochondrial toxin, when we poison [damage] our mitochondria, we slow down our metabolism.

This damages our ability to burn fat, process glucose, and gain weight.

These SF will add more plaque in the arteries, Reduce overall immunity, on top of the weight gain.

Remember we don't have to eat SF to create SF, which can be made from any excess calories we eat, regardless if it is from: Alcohol, carbohydrates, protein, or fat. [17:28] The quickest way to poison your metabolism & to gain weight is make your body make more fat. That's with ultra processed foods, which gives you more [simple] or pure proteins/carbohydrates/fats; and when we have more access to those nutrients faster, we overwhelm our metabolism & our body can't have these things floating in our bloodstream all the time so it's going to rapidly convert & store them as fat.

But if we keep the fat in the matrix of a whole food, like eating the olive instead of the olive oil, or the avocado instead of the avocado oil, an apple instead of drinking the juice...

Then we will change how quickly our body seizes these caloric nutrients, which will then allow our body time to metabolize the calories we are eating.

Man made Trash: Trans Fats [21:30]

Increase insulin resistance

Less energy

Increase oxidative stress

Increase inflammation

Raises LDL cholesterol

Lower HDL cholesterol

Heat turns fats into trans fats, so fast foods where they re-use the fat over & over again to make fried foods are a source of trans fats.

Artificial food is any processed food, which is man made.

Essential Fats: Omega 3&6, polyunsaturated fats [24:10]

[madewithonerib]

RE: A Tzaddik can turn anything they are interacting with into an interconnection back to GOD & holiness, nice reminder

Personal Tanya Day 21: Purposeful Living (CH 10.2) | Dovid Vigler January 12, 2025 | Sabbath, 12 Tevet 5785 | Tzaddik/Righteous

Studied January 21, 2025 || Manis Friedman

Now, this level—that of the “incomplete tzaddik” who “knows evil”—is subdivided into myriads of levels, consisting of [varying degrees in] the quality of the minute remaining evil [deriving] from [any] one of the 4 “evil elements” of which the animal soul is composed (CH1).

In one tzaddik, the remaining evil may consist of the element of Water; in another, the evil may consist of a spark of the element of Fire; and so on. This subdivision of levels is qualitative, based on the type of remaining evil.

The Alter Rebbe will now describe (as it were) a quantitative subdivision, depending on the degree to which the evil loses its identity within the good. In one tzaddik, the vestigial evil may be such that the proportion of good to evil could be described as 60:1; the evil in another tzaddik may be more minute so that it is overwhelmed by a proportion of good that is 1000:1; and so on. Yet, to borrow a term from the law concerning nonkosher foodstuffs, where in certain cases of error, the rule is that even a preponderance of 60 parts (kosher) to 1 (nonkosher) is sufficient to render the entire mixture kosher (since the nonkosher food is no longer capable of tainting the mixture with its flavor), we may likewise say in our case that a preponderance of good over evil to the degree of 60:1 is also capable of preventing the expression and perception of the remaining evil. In the Alter Rebbe’s words:

[The subdivision] also takes into account the degree to which [the remaining evil] is nullified [in the good] because of its minuteness, whether in sixty [times as much good], for example, or in a thousand, or ten thousand, and so on.

These various sublevels in the ranks of “incomplete tzaddikim” are the levels of the numerous tzaddikim found in all generations, all of whom belong to the category of the “incomplete tzaddik,” as we find in the Gemara, “Eighteen thousand tzaddikim stand before the Holy One, blessed be He.” [Paraphrase of Sukkah 45b and Sanhedrin 97b]

Thus, though many attain the level of tzaddik, they are in fact “incomplete tzaddikim.”

But concerning the rank of the “complete tzaddik,” Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai’s statement applies: “I have seen ‘superior men’ (bnei aliyah), and they are but few.” [Ibid]

The reason that [the complete tzaddikim] are called bnei aliyah (literally: “men of ascent”) is that they convert evil and make it ascend to holiness.

It is similarly written in the introduction to the Zohar [Zohar I, 4a] that when Rabbi Chiyya wished to ascend to the heichal (heavenly shrine) of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, he heard a voice come out and say:

“Whichever of you, before coming here, have converted the darkness of the world to light (holiness) and [have transformed] the bitter taste of their animal soul & evil inclination to sweetness (holiness)…[only these may enter].”

Bnei Aliyah

Elevates Evil to Holiness, not only subdues darkness but transforms it into light, the bitterness into sweet. This describes the positive side of their love for GOD, which is much higher than the regular tzaddik. It is not merely to cleave to GOD, which is the soul that thirsts for GOD, though this type can study Torah. One who does kindness with his GOD, his source. He does the mitvots & studies Torah to become one with GOD. [Manis Friedman 10:00-11:54]

Another reason for their designation of bnei aliyah:

Footnote 8: The Rebbe notes two reasons are given for the use of the name bnei aliyah for the same level of tzaddikim, viz., the higher level. One reason corresponds to the appellation “complete tzaddik,” while the other corresponds to the term “tzaddik who knows only good.” (As we have seen, the “complete tzaddik” is so called because of the degree of his love of G-d; the explanation appropriate here is the latter—that his love is utterly selfless. The “tzaddik who knows only good” is so called because of his eradication and conversion of evil; the explanation appropriate to him is the former—that he elevates evil to holiness.)

Even their divine service in the area of “doing good,” in their fulfillment of Torah and its mitzvot, is for the sake of ABOVE, and their service is directed toward a MOST HIGH level, toward the loftiest heights.

Their divine service] is not [intended] merely to attach themselves to GOD by serving Him through Torah and mitzvot so as to quench the thirst of their soul which thirsts for GOD,

The divine service of tzaddikim of lower levels may indeed be for the purpose of stilling their thirst for GOD and their desire to cleave to Him, for indeed, the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvot satisfies these needs.

as it is written: “Ho, exclaims the prophet, all who are thirsty for godliness should go to the waters of Torah,” [Isaiah 55:1] i.e., let them engage in Torah, which is likened to water, as is explained elsewhere, that the “thirsty ones” of this verse refer to those who thirst for godliness.

The prophet’s words prove this point.

Were he addressing those who thirst for Torah, he need not exclaim “Ho” nor direct them to its “waters.” Whoever thirsts for Torah will find it readily available for study. Rather, the prophet is addressing those who thirst for GOD, advising them to slake their thirst for HIM through Torah, which binds one to GOD.

The “men of ascent,” however, whom we have been discussing, are beyond this level of divine service. They do not study Torah or perform mitzvot with the intention of quenching their own thirst for godliness, for such service is—in a subtle sense—self-serving, as it is motivated by one’s desire for a certain spiritual profit, namely, the bliss of closeness to GOD.

Tikkunei Zohar

Rather, their service of GOD is as the Tikkunei Zohar [Introduction to Tikkunei Zohar 1b. See Zohar II, 114b; III, 222b; 281a] explains that which our Sages have said:

“Who is a pious one (chassid)? He who is benevolent (mit’chassed) toward his CREATOR (kono).” The Tikkunei Zohar comments that kono (usually translated as “his CREATOR”) is here to be interpreted as “his nest” (derived from the root ken—“nest”), and thus, the Chasid is he who is benevolent “with his Nest”—i.e., his Source, GOD. This “benevolence” toward GOD consists of “uniting the Holy ONE, blessed be HE, with HIS Shechinah (the Divine Presence) so the light of this union reach and be felt even in the lowest worlds.”

As is also explained in Raaya Mehemna on Parashat Tetze: “In the manner of a son who exerts himself for his father and mother, whom he loves more than himself, [more than] his own nefesh, ruach, and neshamah & who sacrifices his life for their sake to redeem them, should they be held in captivity,” and as is also explained elsewhere.

Men of Ascent

Such is the divine service of “men of ascent”: it is wholly altruistic, motivated only by a desire to please GOD & make HIS presence felt everywhere.

The Alter Rebbe now goes on to explain that the two aforementioned interpretations of the term “men of ascent” accord with each other and are in fact complementary.

It is a Kabbalistic axiom that the “elevation of mahn” (מ"ן—initials of mayin nukvin, lit., “feminine waters”) effects a corresponding “descent of mahd” (מ"ד—initials of mayin dechurin, lit., “masculine waters”). This means that the arousal of the “feminine” level, i.e., the recipient (which in our case means the efforts of man below in actions directed “upward” toward GOD), causes a reciprocal arousal of the “masculine” level, i.e., the giver (meaning, in our case, GOD’s benevolence as it “flows downward” and is bestowed upon man).

Applying this to the service of “men of ascent,” we find the following. That aspect of their service mentioned in the first interpretation—that they elevate evil and convert it to good—constitutes an “ascent of mahn.” The aspect mentioned in the second interpretation—that by their service of love, they draw down GOD’s Presence upon earth—constitutes a “descent of mahd,” for every mitzvah that they perform (as a channel for the descent of GOD’s Presence) is an expression of GOD’s benevolence. Thus, the two interpretations are complementary, since the “ascent of mahn” is what causes the “descent of mahd,” as stated above.

(The Alter Rebbe employs Kabbalistic terms in his explanation, which are explained in Chasidut at length; they will become clearer in the course of further study.)

In the Alter Rebbe’s words:

(Both interpretations are complementary, for by refining [the good found in] kelipat nogah, as the “men of ascent” do by converting their animal soul (which is derived from kelipat nogah) to good, one elevates “feminine waters” (mahn), effecting unions in the higher realms, so as to cause “masculine waters” (mahd) to descend to this world.

[Footnote 11: Parentheses are in the original text]

Masculine Waters: Mahd

These [“masculine waters”] are the “waters” of kindness that flow into & are contained in each of the 248 positive mitzvot, which are all in the nature of “kindness,” or benevolence, and “masculine waters.”

This term “masculine waters” as applied to mitzvot means the mitzvot draw GOD’s holiness from above, i.e., from the higher realms downward, so [GOD’s holiness] be clothed in & revealed within the lowest realms, i.e., our physical world, as explained elsewhere.) Thus, the two interpretations of the term “men of ascent” are complementary.

[judahmaccabees]