RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: 07/01/2017

Friday, July 28, 2017

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: HILTON HEAD JEWISH WEDDINGS: TRADITIONAL, INTERFAITH, CUSTOM CEREMONIES,SMALL OR GRAND

SHALOM: PLEASE WISH DARRIN AND LEIGH MAZEL TOV ON THEIR PRIVATE JEWISH WEDDING CEREMONY, HELD IN OUR HOME, IN HILTON HEAD PLANTATION, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA. IT WAS INTIMATE AND BEAUTIFUL!!!

To Book your Dream Wedding or Jewish recommitment vow renewal ceremony for Hilton Head Island, Charleston, Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, Okatie, Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms all in South Carolina, and Savannah, Sea Islands, Cloister, Jekyll Island all in Georgia, or Amelia Island and Jacksonville Beaches in Florida, or Cruise ship weddings, or foreign weddings, please email :

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL AT RABBIASEGAL@AOL.COM .

(Traditional Jewish, Modern Jewish, Interfaith, Co-officiating, Destination, or Locals)

www.HiltonHeadJewishWeddings.com ; www.HiltonHeadJewishInterfaithWeddings.com ; www.SavannahJewishWeddings.com

JEWISH WEDDINGS OFFICIATED BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: TRADITIONAL, INTERFAITH, CO-OFFICIANT, DESTINATION

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: HILTON HEAD JEWISH INTERFAITH WEDDINGS: DAUFUSKIE ISLAND

Shalom Y'all! Please wish Mazel Tov and Congratulations to Aaron and Kaitlyn who were married this evening at Rose Hill Mansion, in Historic Bluffton, SC, with CELEBRATIONS catering & events with Molly Kennedy, and Expert Photos done by Mark Staff Photography with Mark W. Staff and Lisa Staff. It's great to work with our LowCountry Wedding Pros! And to be in Bluffton, SC under the auspices of great friend Mayor Lisa Sulka! Many Blessings and Shavua tov, a good week! Love, RABBI DR Arthur Segal of Rabbi Arthur Segal's Jewish Spiritual Renewal of Hilton Head Island South Carolina

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL AT RABBIASEGAL@AOL.COM .

(Traditional Jewish, Modern Jewish, Interfaith, Co-officiating, Destination, or Locals)

www.HiltonHeadJewishWeddings.com ; www.HiltonHeadJewishInterfaithWeddings.com ; www.SavannahJewishWeddings.com

JEWISH WEDDINGS OFFICIATED BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: TRADITIONAL, INTERFAITH, CO-OFFICIANT, DESTINATION

http://jewish.server272.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/262868_10150265476508494_113476883493_7846773_2284419_n.jpg

"One of the Joys of being a Rabbi," says Rabbi Arthur Segal," is working closely with the bride and groom and officiating at their wedding." He can do this with couples living nearby or with couples having a destination wedding in the greater beautiful Hilton Head Island area.

Rabbi Arthur Segal helps develop a custom ceremony with the couple so that each word in the ceremony rings true to them. His ceremonies can range from the very traditional to whatever the couples desires. Rabbi opines that this is the couple's special day, and to treat each wedding as unique.

For those who are having an interfaith wedding, Rabbi takes special care to respect both traditions, again with total input from the couple. He will be pleased to co-officiate at weddings, using non-Trinitarian language.

http://jewish.server272.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/RABBI+ARTHUR+SEGAL+OFFICIATING+AT+BEACH+WEDDING+HILTON+HEAD+ISLAND+SC-781513.jpg

Rabbi Arthur Segal also will do recommitment marriage ceremonies with the same care as he does weddings.

Rabbi will work closely with the wedding planner and/or caterer to make sure the wedding is seamless, and the bride and groom can totally enjoy themselves on their special day.

Rabbi Arthur Segal is available, and actually prefers, to be at the rehearsal, to ensure all is going smoothly, and to get to know the bridal party, and family, before the actual wedding day.

For those that wish to have a Ketubah, rabbi will work closely to make sure everyone's name has correct calligraphy on the document, in English and Hebrew, so the signing ceremony is flawless.

For a beautiful gallery of Ketubahs go to www.JudaicConnection.com (My couples receive a $15 shipping discount)

http://jewish.server272.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/morris-wedding-new2.jpg

Rabbi Arthur Segal tries to limit his weddings to Hilton Head, SC, Bluffton, SC, Palmetto Bluff, SC, Savannah, GA, and Charleston, SC, but has been known to make himself available elsewhere, even out of the USA. He will also conduct weddings and recommitment ceremonies on cruise ships. In keeping with Jewish ethics, if the couple resides in Rabbi Arthur Segal's town, Rabbi will ask, unless there are some special circumstances, if the couple has first asked the local pulpit rabbi to officiate. http://jewish.server272.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/chuppah-beach.jpg

To Book your Dream Wedding or Jewish recommitment vow renewal ceremony for Hilton Head Island, Charleston, Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, Okatie, Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms all in South Carolina, and Savannah, Sea Islands, Cloister, Jekyll Island all in Georgia, or Amelia Island and Jacksonville Beaches in Florida, or Cruise ship weddings, or foreign weddings, please email :

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL AT RABBIASEGAL@AOL.COM .

(Traditional Jewish, Modern Jewish, Interfaith, Co-officiating, Destination, or Locals)

www.HiltonHeadJewishWeddings.com ; www.HiltonHeadJewishInterfaithWeddings.com; www.SavannahJewishWeddings.com

JEWISH WEDDINGS OFFICIATED BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: TRADITIONAL, INTERFAITH, CO-OFFICIANT, DESTINATION

"One of the Joys of being a Rabbi," says Rabbi Arthur Segal," is working closely with the bride and groom and officiating at their wedding." He can do this with couples living near by or with couples having a destination wedding in the greater beautiful Hilton Head Island area.

Rabbi Arthur Segal helps develop a custom ceremony with the couple so that each word in the ceremony rings true to them. His ceremonies can range from the very traditional to what ever the couples desires. Rabbi opines that this is the couple's special day, and to treat each wedding as unique.

Rabbi Arthur Segal also will do recommitment marriage ceremonies with the same care as he does weddings.

Rabbi will work closely with the wedding planer and/or caterer to make sure the wedding is seamless, and the bride and groom can totally enjoy themselves on their special day.

Rabbi Arthur Segal is available, and actually prefers, to be at the rehearsal, to ensure all is going smoothly, and to get to know the bridal party, and family, before the actual wedding day.

For those that wish to have a Ketubah, rabbi will work closely to make sure everyone's name has correct calligraphy on the document, in English and Hebrew, so the signing ceremony is flawless.

For a beautiful gallery of Ketubahs go to JudaicConnection.com (My couples receive a $15 shipping discount)

In keeping with Jewish ethics, if the couple resides in Rabbi Arthur Segal's town, Rabbi will ask, unless there are some special circumstances, if the couple has first asked the local pulpit rabbi to officiate.

RABBI DR ARTHUR SEGAL www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.com/books www.FaceBook.com/Arthur.L.Segal www.FaceBook.com/RabbiArthurSegalJewishSpiritualRenewal www.RabbiArthurSegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Hilton Head Island, SC; Bluffton, SC; Savannah, GA

SHALOM and BLESSINGS:

RABBI DR ARTHUR SEGAL

WWW.JEWISHSPIRITUALRENEWAL.COM

https://www.facebook.com/arthur.l.segal

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Solar Eclipse, The Bible and Judaism by Rabbi Dr Arthur Segal

Solar Eclipse, The Bible and Judaism by Rabbi Dr Arthur Segal

Foremost: The Book of Joel connects celestial signs with the Messianic redemption and the war of Gog and Magog at Har Megiddo. (Armageddon in Greek) ''The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives.'' {Jo. 2:31}

Basic to Jewish thought is the idea that everything in the physical world is a metaphor for a spiritual concept. What is the specific message of a solar eclipse?

The Talmud (Sukkah 29a) declares: "An eclipse of the sun is a bad omen for the world. Why? It's like a king who made a huge banquet and set up a lantern to illuminate the party. Similarly, this world is a beautiful banquet which God has prepared for us. If the lantern is covered, as in a solar eclipse, it diminishes our enjoyment of the world.''

So why would God send us such a message? The Talmud specifies that the sun is eclipsed when 4 things occur. [Talmud (Sukkah 29a)] The sages list the most important is when a rabbi is not respected properly. If a society does not show respect for a rabbi, it shows a lack of appreciation for the ethical values that he upholds. This is a bad omen – indicating a society in a state of moral and spiritual decline. ***

The Maharsha (17th century Poland) says that a rabbi is compared to the sun in that he "radiates" Torah to the people. For example, the Talmud (Bava Batra 75a) compares "the face of Moses to the face of the sun." So a solar eclipse could be called an "eclipse of the spiritual sun."

An eclipse is an opportunity to examine our own relationship with Rabbis. Do we scorn them? Or do we see them as luminaries of humanity? Did we make an effort to become close to them? Do we ignore them?

Of course, eclipses are easily predictable, and even in Talmudic times they were already able to accurately predict celestial cycles. So how can we say that they portend anything about modern society?

God knows the future, and at creation , Kabbalistically speaking, He was able to determine when rabbis and their teachings would not be properly respected. As such He set the cycle of eclipses to correspond. Of course the concept of how God is outside of time and space is difficult for us mortals to comprehend. But that's the way it is.

Kabbalah aside for a moment: From a scientific standpoint, what causes a solar eclipse?

The moon orbits the earth, and whenever the moon is lined up between the earth and the sun, the illuminated side of the moon faces away from the earth and cannot be seen. This moment is called a "new moon" and is the beginning of every Jewish month ("Rosh Chodesh").

So why isn't there a solar eclipse every month? Because the orbits of the moon and earth are tilted at an angle, and the line-up is usually not precise enough for an eclipse.

The amazing thing is that since the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, the only way that the moon could fit as a perfect cover over the sun, is because the sun is also 400 times farther away than the moon. Hence a perfect fit!

On a practical note: If you encounter a solar eclipse, even though the sun appears covered, don't look. The sun's corona is still as powerful as ever. People have gone blind after looking at an eclipse for as few as four seconds. There is no pain when the retina is being burned, and the resulting visual symptoms do not occur until at least several hours after the injury has occurred – by which time it is far too late.

Maimonides writes (Deyot 4) that it is a Torah obligation to guard one's physical health. Therefore, regardless of how tempting it is to look at the sun during the eclipse, don't do it. Sunglasses are not effective; you must use specifically approved treated plastic or glass filters, or indirectly view the sun's projection through a pin-hole.

May the Almighty illuminate our hearts, and shine His light of Torah throughout the world.

***(Talmud Bavli, Succoth 29a) teaches that the other 3 reasons for an eclipse:

1) an engaged virgin, is being raped, in a busy city, and cries out and no one helps her.

2) forced sodomy

3) if two brothers died on the same day

SHALOM and BLESSINGS:

RABBI DR ARTHUR SEGAL

WWW.JEWISHSPIRITUALRENEWAL.COM

https://www.facebook.com/arthur.l.segal

credit: Chabad dot com

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: RABBI HONI: 70 YEAR SLEEP. HILTON HEAD JEWISH WEDDINGS

Shalom:

This year we are learning a bit about Judaism's famous Talmudic rabbis and the universal lessons that they taught.

Rabbi Honi the Circle-maker,1st-century BCE lived in Judea. Honi was a miracle worker whose specialty was to pray for rain. (Talmud Ta'anit 19a).

During a drought, Honi drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, informing God that he wouldn't move until it rained. When it drizzled, Honi told God he wasn't satisfied wanting more rain. Then it poured. Honi said he wanted a calm rain, and a normal calm rain occurred.

The rabbinic court excommunicated Honi, for dishonoring God. Honi was excused ,the rabbis ruling he had '' a special relationship with God.''

According to contemporary historian Josephus, Honi during a conflict between the Jewish Talmudic Rabbinic Pharisees and the Hebraic Sadducees in 63 BCE, was captured by one group, and asked to pray for the demise of their opponents. Honi prayed: "Lord, as the besieged and the besiegers both belong to Your people, I beseech You not to answer the evil prayers of either."

Honi was troubled throughout his life concerning the meaning of Psalm 126:1: ''When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like dreamers.'' {Babylonian exile was 70 years}. Honi asked ''can one dream or sleep for 70 years? ''

Honi saw an old man planting a carob tree.

Honi asked, "How long does it take for this tree to bear fruit?"

He replied: "Seventy years."

Honi asked: "Will you live another seventy years?"

The old man replied: "I found already grown carob trees; as my forefathers planted those for me, so I too plant these for my children."

After a meal, sleep overcame Honi for seventy years.

Awakening, he saw a man gathering fruit of the carob tree. Honi asked, "Did you plant the tree?"

The man replied: "I'm his grand-son."

Honi exclaimed: "I have slept seventy years!"

Honi returned home and asked about ''Honi's'' son. The people answered, "His son died. His grandson is alive." He said: "I'm Honi the Circle-Maker!'' No one believed him.

Honi went to the study hall, overhearing the rabbis saying: "The law is clear as in the days of Rabbi Honi, because Honi would settle all difficulties.'' Honi yelled "I'm Honi!" The rabbis didn't believe him. Honi, hurt greatly, prayed for mercy, and died.

Rabbi Raba said: "Either companionship or death.' [Talmud Ta'anit 23a]

Rabbi Arthur Segal is an international lecturer, author, and teacher. Visit him at www.JewishSpiritualRenewal.org . Email at RabbiASegal@aol.com , and www.FaceBook.com/RabbiArthurSegalJewishSpiritualRenewal