One day Rabbi Akiva approached Rabbi Tarfon, who was very wealthy and asked him if he wanted to invest in purchasing a city.

Rabbi Tarfon said yes and gave Rabbi Akiva four thousand golden coins. Rabbi Akiva distributed these coins among the poor people. Some time later he asked to see his investment. Rabbi Akiva showed him a Beit Hamidrash, a study hall, where children were learning Torah, through Rabbi Tarfon's investment. The children were reading Tehilim, until they came to the posuk that one should spread his money to the poor, and the reward will remain for ever. Rabbi Akiva said this is the city I purchased.

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The concept of elevating our pleasures to Hashem is reflected in Asher, the tribe associated with the month of Shevat. The word Asher means "to praise." As it is explained in the Targum Yonason, this tribe wil be praised for their good fruits, which will be grown from their portion in the land of Israel. The word Asher, when rearranged, spells Rosh, meaning "head."

"For Man is likened to the tree of the field." (Deut. 20:19)

The fifteenth of Shevat is the New Year for the trees. (Talmud Rosh Hashanah 2A). It marks the day on which the trees of the Holy Land emerge from their state of dormancy and the sap begins once again to flow within their inward structure. Shevat is also the month in which Moses chose to review with clarity the entire Torah in their last year of wandering (Deut 1:5).

Blood circulation in the human being is the equivalent of the tree's sap flow. Ut serves the purpose of maintaining life within the extremely complicated structure that is the human body. Our bodies undergo a continuous process of deterioration and regeneration. more

The Children's Maggid of Miami Beach, an innovator in Jewish education, Rabbi Gedalya Glatt has a message for every type of audence as well as the talent and wherewithall to make the delivery of that message an exhilarating experience for all.