85: Chanuka: Fiery Determination to Sanctify God's Name

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“You should show by your example, and bear witness by your deeds, that the true son and true daughter of Israel hold nothing higher than God and fulfillment of His Divine Will. And you shall, if it be necessary, willingly seal this testimony with your life, in that, if it must be, you offer it up in order to preserve your loyalty to God and to inspire such loyalty in your brethren. You will achieve more by your death than by your life, for you leave behind to the congregation of Israel an eternal example of faith which will inspire your children and your children’s children to a life of saintliness. 

"But if you sacrifice yourself to the hallowing of the Holy Name, do not expect a miracle to save you. Leave it in God’s hands. He alone can judge which is more worthwhile: death in the present or the life that might be left to you.” 

— Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, "Kiddush Hashem"

Handouts:

Pachad Yitzchak Chanuka Maamar A

Baruch Gozer UMekayem | Gevura as Ultimate Chessed

75: Yiras Shamayim as the great stabilizer in our lives • Intro to Pesukei DeZimra V

"Yiras Hashem means, strictly, to see God everywhere and to feel your own littleness in His greatness.” (Horeb, Yirah)

“…contemplate the all-conquering omnipotence of God. Here, too, we learn that unshakable trust which enables us to withstand all the vicissitudes of life and even death itself, and which enables all those pervaded with the genuine fear of God to unlearn the fear of human power or natural force, and in its place to acquire the skill of passing calmly and serenely through all the trials that are part of daily living.” (Hirsch Siddur, Gevuros)

74: Give Voice to Creation! • Intro to Pesukei DeZimra IV

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Zimra: Pruning and directing growth; joyous song

"...[behold] how He, and He alone, is in everything, in the greatest as in the smallest, and the whole universe is enclosed in His greatness, so do you everywhere stand Sinai, let God everywhere reveal Himself to you, in everything great and small. Seek Him everywhere. Everything which has been, which is, which will be -- above all, everything which has happened and will happen to you, refer everywhere and always to God, and think of it as being only from God. So will every creature, even the smallest, every change, even the slightest, every fleeting moment, recall 'God' to you. The omnipotent, holy God will be everywhere present to you in His all-embracing greatness, so that you may be servants to Him and not sin...."  (Horeb, Yirah)

71: High-Level Overview • Intro to Pesukei DeZimra I

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"משכנותיך. ... God's Sanctuary, as a rule, is described in the Psalms in accordance with its several chambers, דביר, היכל, and עזרה; ... These "abodes" with all that they symbolize, teach, give and stimulate, are the friends and advancers of all our spiritual and moral lives. ..."

"The Sanctuary of the Law is not called משכן here, but משכנות, which is a plural form, and quite properly so. For, as we have repeatedly noted, the Sanctuary encompassed three chambers... All three of these chambers are משכנות ה׳; they are abodes honored by the presence of the Lord. He is near not only to the ideal of the perfect fulfillment of the tasks set by Him. He is present also there where we are still engaged in the upward struggle from the bondage of sensuality to the freedom of self-discipline and of self-sacrificing devotion to the fulfillment of His will.”

— Hirsch on Tehillim 84:2 and 132:5

67: Ruling Yitzros with Ratzon Hashem and Asher Yatzar - יצר הרע ויצר הטוב משעבדים לרצון השם

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Serving Hashem with our Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hara: What does Hashem want from me in this moment? What is my role here?

"Value your life not according to possessions and enjoyment, but according to good deeds; and again value your actions only according to the relation to that means which you possess and acquire. It is not how much or how little you have that makes you great or small, but how much or how little you are with what you have, how much or how little you utilize what has been lent to you for action in the service of God – that is it which makes you great or small." 

– Rav S.R. Hirsch, Horeb, pg. 46 par. 105. 

Post Shiur Discussions:

P.S 1: “Stop and Think”: Implementing God’s Will in the moment of choice.

P.S. 2: A New Angle on the bracha of Asher Yatzar.