The Seruf for Iyar is a Yud and Heh followed by a Heh and Vav based on the pasuk: “יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידוע אותי” — “Let the one who praises, praise only through understanding and knowing Me.”

Based on the Teachings of:

The Peri Tzaddik (פרי צדיק) is the name of a famous sefer written by Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin (1823–1900). He was a major Chassidic thinker, originally from a Lithuanian, non-Chassidic background, but later became a close disciple of the Izbicer Rebbe, the Mei HaShiloach.

AND Sefer Chayyim VaChesed by Rebbe Chaim Chaykl of Amdur (ר' חיים חייקל מאמדור), one of the great early Chassidic Rebbes from Lithuania, a talmid of the Maggid of Mezeritch, and a powerful force in spreading Chassidut into the Lithuanian world. It appears that the sefer was printed posthumously, in 1891 — long after his petirah — based on manuscripts and traditions from his students.

This Rosh Chodesh Iyar, we journey into the secret of healing through small, mindful actions. Discover how listening, da’at, and refining our daily life connect
even the simplest moments back to Hashem — and reveal hidden light.

Chodesh Iyar, we journey into the secret of healing through small, mindful
actions. Discover how listening, da’at, and refining our daily life connect
even the simplest moments back to Hashem — and reveal hidden light.

Parshat Shemini, a parsha that holds an astonishing secret: the exact midpoint of the Torah — both in words and in letters — is found here. But it’s not just a cool
trivia fact. This secret reveals a deeper message about Torah, support for
Torah, and the spiritual roles we play.

The Torah's Midpoints — More Than Math In Vayikra 10:16, we find the phrase: 'ואת שעיר
החטאת דרש דרש משה והנה שרף' “Moshe inquired insistently about the goat
of the sin-offering, and behold, it had been burned.'

Now here’s
the gematria-level nugget: the word 'דרש' appears twice
— and this double appearance marks the midpoint of the words of the Torah.

Then in Vayikra 11:42, in the list of forbidden creeping creatures, we read: 'כל
הולך על גחון' “Anything that moves on its belly...' The letter 'vav'
in the word 'גחון' is the midpoint of the letters of the Torah — and it’s traditionally written larger than normal. The Gemara in Kiddushin 30a and Maseches Sofrim teach us that our sages were called 'sofrim' — counters — precisely because they counted every letter and word.

But why would Hashem arrange for these midpoints to land here?

Today’s parashah is Shemini—a portion filled with fire and silence, Divine closeness, and the holiness of separation. But today, we’re going to zoom in on something subtle. Almost hidden. A moment tucked into the laws of kashrut, that
carries a whisper of deep mussar.

And it
begins with a story.

A 24-year-old boy is sitting on the train with his father.

Suddenly, he turns to his dad and shouts out, excitedly:

“Dad, Dad, look outside the window! The trees—they’re rushing past us!”

An elderly couple sitting nearby looks over, clearly confused and even pitying. Why is a grown man acting like a child?

A few minutes later, the boy shouts again:

“Dad! The clouds—they’re running with us!”

The father just smiles. The elderly couple can’t help themselves. One of them leans over and whispers: “Maybe you should take your son to see a doctor…?”

The father smiles gently and says,

“Actually—we just came from the doctor.”

“You see, my son has been blind since birth. And this—this is the first day of his life that he’s ever been able to see.”