[1] Rebe said: Which is the straight path that a person should choose for himself? That which is honorable for him who adopts it, and brings him honor from people.
The focus of this Mishneh is positive character traits. In essence, Rebe teaches the proper approach to good character traits is to walk the middle road. Hence, extremes of either too much or too little, should be avoided in setting one's course in character traits.
For instance, a person should set fixed times for Torah study. At the same time, he must be aware that Torah study does not exempt him from performing acts of kindness. He needs a balanced blend that is comprised both of Torah study and the performance of kindness. If one only studies Torah, and refuses to help others, his relationship to both Torah and kindness is flawed.
The middle path in character traits is honorable for him who adopts it because it engenders a pure heart and awakens a new spirit within him. In other words, adherence to the middle path in character virtues fills one's soul with nobility. One's carefulness to apply the proper trait - in its correct measure - invigorates the human spirit because conducting oneself in a harmonious fashion creates an inner harmony.
And brings him honor from people because the middle path trains him to conduct himself pleasantly with people. For instance, concerning the trait of generosity, one should be neither stingy nor a spendthrift. Rather he should value and protect his money. He should distribute charity intelligently. This involves taking counsel and keeping an organized record of his contributions. If he follows this plan he will have sufficient funds to benefit those causes which are deserving of his support. In this way, he will be honored by people who recognize the structured way he organizes his affairs in order to show consideration to others.
This teaching has illuminated the path that leads both to self-respect, as well as, respect from others. May we walk the middle path so that we feel an inner sense of dignity, and also are dignified in the eyes of others.
[Based on Rabenu Yonah's commentary to Pirkei Avos]
TODAY: Before acting today, ask yourself: Is this an honorable endeavor, and will it bring me honor from others.
The Torah in Parashat Ki-Tisa reiterates the command to observe the Shabbat, emphasizing the unique severity of Shabbat desecration, which is considered a capital offense of the highest level and punishable by court execution.
Shabbat is the most frequent of all Jewish holidays. There is a Halachic principle known as "Tadir Ve'she'eno Tadir Tadir Kodem," which means that when we have two Misvot to perform at the same time, we first perform the more frequent Misva. This rule demonstrates that the importance of a more frequent Misva exceeds that of a less frequent Misva. And the logic is clear: the Torah requires us to observe a law more frequently specifically because of its importance. Shabbat, then, is, without question, the most important of the Jewish holidays - even more important than Yom Kippur! - as evidenced by the fact that it is observed each and every week.
In fact, Shabbat is as important as our spouses. If we can consider for a few moments how important our spouses are to us, how vital a role they play in our lives and how much they mean to us, we can get a sense of the centrality of Shabbat observance in Jewish life.
The Zohar comments that at the time of creation, Shabbat, the seventh day, brought a complaint to God, so-to-speak. The other six days of the week each have a pair - Sunday and Monday form a pair, as do Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday. Shabbat is left as "the odd man out." God responded to Shabbat's complaint by explaining that Am Yisrael is its "pair." We are "married" to Shabbat; our relationship to Shabbat is like that of a husband and wife.
This explains a number of intriguing passages in our liturgy and in the Talmud. For example, the Lecha Dodi hymn which we sing in the synagogue on Friday night describes Shabbat as a bride whom we go out to greet. The onset of Shabbat is the "wedding," when we "marry" Shabbat, and we therefore wear our finest clothing and, with singing and festivity, go to greet and welcome the "bride."
The Talmud, in Masechet Kiddushin, discusses the concept of "Shelihut" with regard to marriage, which means that a person can assign a Shaliah (messenger) to betroth a woman on his behalf. If a person assigns somebody else to give a girl in a different city an article of value for the purpose of betrothal, and she accepts it, they are betrothed - even if the bride and groom never met. However, the Gemara says, it is always preferable to perform a Misva - such as the Misva of marriage - personally, rather than through an agent. The Gemara gives as an example of this principle the stories of certain great Rabbis who made Shabbat preparations personally, rather than assigning this task to one of their many servants. Revealingly, the Gemara speaks of Shabbat preparations as an example relevant to the context of betrothal. Indeed, our preparation for Shabbat is like our engagement, when we are busy preparing for the great "wedding" between us and Shabbat.
This also explains why we sing "Eshet Hayil," a chapter in Mishleh extolling the virtues of the "woman of valor," on Friday night. On one level, of course, we sing this chapter to give praise and express our gratitude and admiration for the woman of the house who worked so hard to make a beautiful Shabbat. But in addition, this chapter is sung in honor of the "bride," Shabbat, whom we "marry" on Friday night. For the same reason, the Talmud teaches that two angels escort a person home from the synagogue on Friday night. Kiddushin (betrothal) must be performed in the presence of two witnesses. As we "marry" Shabbat on Friday night, Hashem sends two angels to serve as witnesses to the act of "marriage." And this may also be why we recite Kiddush. Just as the wedding ceremony begins with the recitation of a special Beracha over a cup of wine, we begin Shabbat, too, with this ritual, as Shabbat is also a marriage - a marriage between the Jewish people on Shabbat.
On Shabbat, it is customary to extend to one another the greeting of "Shabbat Shalom." The foundation of marriage is "Shalom," peace and harmony between husband and wife. Therefore, on Shabbat, we wish each other that our "marriage" to Shabbat should be peaceful and serene, just as we want our marriages to be.
What might we learn from this association between Shabbat and marriage?
In marriage, our spouse potentially serves as a source of great blessing, joy and gratification - but only if we ourselves are committed, loyal and devoted spouses. Marriage succeeds when it is a bilateral relationship of mutual sacrifice and unconditional giving. When we sacrifice for our spouses, we receive the great blessings and joy of marriage.
And this is precisely our relationship with Shabbat. In the Lecha Dodi hymn, we describe Shabbat as "Mekor Ha'beracha" - the source of blessing. Shabbat can be a source of blessing and prosperity, but only if we are a committed "spouse." We must be loyal and devoted to Shabbat. If we spend the day sleeping, then we are not investing in the relationship. If we do not study and observe the laws and obligations of Shabbat, then we are not fulfilling our part of the relationship. Just as in marriage, the more we invest in the relationship, the more we will receive from the relationship. Let us, then, make a special effort each week to give Shabbat the attention, care and devotion it deserves, and we will then receive the incomparable blessings, joy and satisfaction that only Shabbat - and marriage - can provide.
The last of the Hashem's thirteen attributes is
"nakeh lo y'nakeh" (Shemos 34, 7). The literal
translation, "And cleanses, He does not cleanse," is
quite obscure, and therefore the Targum adds a few
words to elucidate the pasuk: "And He will cleanse
those who return to the Torah, and He will not cleanse
those who do not return to the Torah."
Rav Wolbe (Alei Shur vol. I pg. 237) notes
that the Targum is introducing a new concept of
teshuva. The prevalent perception of teshuva is not,
"returning to the Torah"; rather returning to Hashem.
The truth is that we also find this idea of returning
to the Torah in Shemoneh Esrei. In the fourth bracha
we ask Hashem, "Return us, our Father, to Your Torah."
Why is the emphasis placed on returning to the Torah,
and not on returning to Hashem?
The answer is that all aveiros are rooted
in a laxity in the area of limud hatorah. Each
individual must decide the exact area in which he was
lax. One's aveiros might be attributed to a disregard
for his fixed times for Torah study or to his learning
without the proper depth. Maybe he could have learned
more but opted to settle for less, or perhaps he
neglected his obligations because he failed to review
what he learned. Perhaps he didn't take the time to
study mussar, or even if he did, maybe he didn't
internalize what he saw in the mussar sefer. Whatever
the case may be, had one not slacked off in his Torah
study, he would not have sinned. Hence, teshuva must
entail returning to the proper study of Torah.
This concept can be applied in a very practical way.
Everyone must study the laws that apply to his daily
life. We all must know the laws of Shabbos and
kashrus. Additionally, the Mishna Berurah writes that
one must study mussar every day. Learning halachos and
mussar arms one with knowledge of what's permissible
and what's forbidden and the ability to keep his
yetzer hara in check. Why not try learning some
hilchos Shabbos by the Shabbos table? Maybe take a
thought from the Mesillas Yesharim and discuss it over
lunch. An investment in Torah is not only a great
mitzvah in and of itself; it is also a means of
facilitating the mitzvah of teshuva.
Yud Chet: "And the fish that are in the water shall die, ..."
Cuf Alef: "And the fish that were in the water died, ... "
So when I first read this I became very upset, rather confused even. I thought to myself. Why are the fish getting punished ? What did they do wrong that they all had to die? Are not fish likened to Tzadikkim? Righteous ones? As we learn from Parshas Noah. In that terrible destruction of the world the fish survived, and Rashi tells us that they survived because they were separate, under the water, and did not get involved in the sins of that generation. So also here, what could you say that the fish did wrong to deserve to be singled out to die. Not once, but twice they were specifically mentioned for death.
I heard an answer from at friend and it goes like this. Just like an animal or a tree that is used for idol worship and has to be killed or uprooted,(even though the cow or the tree wasn't doing anything wrong) so too you have the fish in the Nile. The Egyptians didn't just worship the Nile as a deity, but they worshiped everything in the Nile as well, including the fish. So accordingly now the fish had to die. However there is one difficulty with this answer and that is for the law of destruction to fall on the worshiped object it must also be owned by the worshiper. So in this case we must say that the Nile belonged to the people of Egypt, It was their God and everything that was in it. According to this answer the fish come out really sinless, a Tzadik as they always were and rather as a korbon (sacrifice) of this first plague.
The Soforno has a different approach. He writes that there was no form of the water left at all. It has the consistency of blood and all the other attributes of blood. "Therefore", the Soforno says "the fish died. " In other words it was blood, and not even Tadikkim Fish can survive in blood.
The Or Ha Chaiim writes on Pasuk 21. This dying of the fish was a siman, a sign, that this plague was not the work of shadim (demons), and not the work of magic, because what would you think if the water turned to blood and the fish didn't die ? You would think that its a trick and the water is not really blood.
So we see that according to most of the commentators the fish remained sinless tzadikkim and to quote the Or Ha Chaiim "and this will be a sign forever that this was an act of G-d. It was an act of truth and not an illusion."
And finally there is the Even Ezra which simply states that when the Torah uses the word Hadaga, in both Pasukim, it is to be understood in a general way, meaning not specifically fish, but all the swarming things in the water.
How could it be that Yosef put his life in danger and sent everyone out of the room, before he revealed to his brothers who he was?
The brothers were just waiting for the right moment - each one his hand on their sword, and then Yosef sends everyone out. Imagine their surprise. - what a fool they were thinking - how could Yosef do such a thing and put his life in so much danger?
I heard today one possible answer: That's exactly what he did. He put his life in danger, - bekavana, with intention, as we recently learned with Tamar. Better to be thrown in the Kivshon Ha Aish (the fiery furnace), then to embarrass another. So that's what Yosef was doing, risking death in order not to embarrass his brothers in front of the Egyptians. (Mitzri)
Hi Kids, I hope this finds you all well and happy. All week I was thinking about writing about the subject of "Ta’amei Hamitzvos" - the taste ( note - not reason ) of the Mitzvos, but I have switched gears in the wake of Talia’s graduation ( mazel tov !!) and the hearing of the following story. Very briefly, the background to the story is the "sin" of Moshe regarding hitting instead of speaking to the rock. R’ Vallach develops the issue of "Emunah" - trust in Hashem, and how there are myriad levels of trust that we can have in all sorts of things, and certainly in Hashem in whom there is truly the possibility of realistic absolute trust. My understanding of the shiur is that while virtually all Jews have inherited from Avrohom, the gift of trust in and closeness to Hashem, we do not always have the awareness, cognizance and emotional strength to translate that relationship with Hashem into action. Moshe too, as we would say in our vernacular, ’took his eye off the ball’ for a split second in his otherwise perfect life, and was called on it. I hope I will tell the story in the way that will clarify this idea. It happenned in Morocco around the year 1930 ce. The French had conquered the southern part of the country after many years of fighting the indigenous arabs. While the Spanish hold on the north, it seems, was more solid, there were still pockets of resistance battling the French. In around 1925, this resistance managed to re-capture a number of cities. They were barbaric, disorganized tribal clans who vengefully brutalized the conquered French governors and authority-figures. The Frenchmen were brought in front of mock military tribunals, declared guilty of treason etc., and tortured and murdered. The Jews too, were of course caught in the middle at this fearful time and tried to remain neutral so as not to raise the ire and suspicion of the often crazed arabs. The great Tzaddik, "Baba Sali", ZT"L (1890 - 1984) was the Rabbi of the city of Mundiv, one of the cities re-taken by the arabs. The French governor stationed in the city surrendered, and was being led in chains through the streets to the makeshift courthouse. He requested of the arab officer that the route they take, be through the Jewish quarter. The officer, perhaps somewhat suspicious that the Jews had some close connection to the French side and curious to investigate, agreed to the request. When they passed the Rabbi’s house, the Frenchman stopped and asked the officer to call out the Rabbi. The increasingly curious officer sent some men in to get the Rabbi who at first did not want to go, fearing suspicions of complicity and collusion with the French. They forced him anyway and he came out to face the arab horde and the pathetic French prisoner. The Frenchman didn’t waste any time. " Rabbi, is it not correct that you have a son," he asked. The Rav of course said that he did (his son Meyer grew to be a great tzaddik in his own right). " I want you to bless him," demanded the prisoner. The Rav was somewhat surprised at this unusual request, but trying to avoid any controversy, he complied and muttered a terse bracha for his son. " Is that how a father blesses a son ?" the Frenchman exclaimed. " I meant for you to think for a minute and bless your son with all of your heart - a real blessing !!" There was silence on the street as the Baba Sali closed his eyes for what seemed like a few minutes, before he began lavishing upon his beloved son the most beautiful and comprehensive of brachos. When he finally concluded, the prisoner leaned closer to him and pleaded," now please bless me too, Rabbi." Baba Sali obliged and blessed and prayed for the poor condemned man. Prayers and blessings of tzaddikim like the Baba Sali bear fruit. Miraculously, this French governor was found not guilty and acquitted of all charges and released. Some years passed and by 1934, the French had regained control of all of southern Morocco once again. The former prisoner was re-instated as governor of Mundiv. The first thing he did after settling into his office was to summon the Rabbi. The Rav entered the office not knowing what to expect. The governor spoke. " Rabbi, I just wanted to express my gratitude to you for saving my life at that terrible time. I know that it was your blessing alone that caused the miracle for me and I want to offer you anything you might want or need - I am at your service always." The Rav replied modestly that he had no personal needs at all but would be more than satisfied with a guarantee from the governor that the Jewish community would be protected and allowed to thrive spiritually and materially. The Frenchman was happy to offer such a promise, but pressed the Rav again as to whether he had any personal requests. The Rav finally conceded," Okay, I do have one personal request - could the governor clarify to me what he was thinking when he asked me to bless my son." The man smiled at the Rav and explained." I fully believe that the blessings of the Jews, work. I knew then and I know now, with absolute certainty that the blessing from a man of your holiness and stature, could affect miracles. As desperate as I was, I knew that those blessings only work if they are given by an open and loving heart. I also knew that in those fearful times and particularly at that very tense moment being closely observed by the arabs surrounding us, a request for a blessing by a condemned stranger might not elicit from you a blessing powerful enough to save me. I therefore asked that you bless your son - but not just a simple terse blessing - rather to invoke the image of your son in your mind which would open your heart, from which would flow the most wonderful of blessings. Then, with your heart wide open, I pushed my way into it and asked you to let me tag along in the blessing - and thank G-D, here I am today." Did the Baba Sali not love his son enough to give him a heartfelt bracha without being prodded by the desperate prisoner ? NO, of course he loved his son very much. But just as it is with Emunah, trust in Hashem, the object of your love is not always in the forefront of your mind and in those moments the feelings of trust and love may not be at their most inspired. We all can admit this and sadly, I as a parent whose children live far away, am acutely aware of the fact that in my busy and harried life, I am not always thinking about you all. But as I watched my youngest child pass successfully through one important stage of her chinuch (and B"H eagerly await the next stage), it invoked within me memories of all of you and your respective transitions. As I quietly blessed my baby, turned lovely, sweet young woman (through my tears - I was a basket-case throughout the ceremony), I blessed all of you with a heartfelt bracha that was mentioned in one of the speeches, taken from a gemarah I recently learned. I paraphrase - May all your needs be met and your fate be eternal life in Olam Habah. May your hearts think with wisdom, your mouths speak with knowledge, your tongues sing joyous praises to Hashem. May your eyes see clearly the path of Torah and may the light of Torah shine through your eyes. May your lips express wisdom, determination and integrity and may you all always run in pursuit of Hashem’s truth. Have a wonderful shabbos everyone. We can’t wait to see you all soon IY"H. I DO love you all always, ’d’
I hope this finds you all well and happy. I have had a very crazy week because I was north of the Arctic watershed for two days and can’t seem to catch up. I don’t think I will be able to write you again before Shavuos and I wanted to find a blockbuster story for Yom Tov. Mistakenly thinking that the next story would be even better, I finally ran out of time. I have settled on a story I found in R’ Vallach’s new sefer. Interestingly enough, it took place in Toronto in the not too distant past.
Attending a "kiruv" seminar was a bright young doctor who was showing great interest in all that was being presented. He listened very intently, asked pointed questions politely yet persistently and by the end of the event he was convinced of the veracity and truth of everything he had heard… except for one thing - he could not accept the idea of kosher shechittah. He was still an active member of an animal rights group and could not understand why the orthodox Jews refuse to switch their means of slaughter from shechittah to electrocution. Surely, he felt, despite the risks involved with electricity, the chances of animals dying painlessly were much greater that way than via the knife of a schochet. Our young doctor was not shy, and as vocal as he was when he agreed with the Rabbis at the seminar, he was no less vocal when in conflict. Sometime during the event, an impromptu debate emerged between the presiding Rabbi and the young man.
The Rabbi asked the first question. " When the halachah demands that the slaughtering knife be absolutely nick-free, does that not indicate that the Torah cares about the pain of animals ?" " Yes," the man replied, "but…"
The Rabbi interrupted, " We’ll get to the ’buts’ later. Let me ask this - when the Torah says that shechittah must be done quickly to be kosher, and if there was some kind of break or delay during the cutting, the animal is not kosher; does that also not show the concern the Torah has to try and bring on death in the fastest most painless way possible ?" " I agree there too " said the young man, "but…"
" One minute," the Rabbi stopped him, " another consideration of the Torah for the pain of the animal - the knife must pass swiftly through the windpipe, esophagus and the main artery of the neck so that almost all the blood in the head is drained immediately rendering the animal unconscious and no longer able to feel any pain - do you not agree ?" " That is true," the doctor replied, " but they do not cut the spinal artery - the blood from there still flows into the brain after shechittah, thus keeping the animal conscious enough to feel pain !" The young physician thought that he had stymied his opponent but the Rabbi had expected this. The doctor was not the first person to make this claim. The Rabbi got up and leaned forward on the desk in front of him. " What if I tell you that I agree with you - that you are correct about the spinal artery," he said looking right into the young man’s eyes. The man did not expect the Rabbi to concede the argument so soon and he began to smile. "However," the Rabbi continued, " that would only be true for unkosher animals such as horses, pigs and camels, etc. In all the kosher animals, the spinal artery does not go back into the head but it takes a turn and connects to the neck artery ( precisely to reduce the pain ). Therefore once the neck artery gets cut, ALL the blood drains out at once and the animal feels no pain." " Not possible," the young doctor exclaimed, " what could possibly be the rationale for only these animals to have their arteries connected in this convoluted way ?" " Why, you ask ," the Rabbi thundered back, " do you think you have cornered the market on compassion ? Hashem is the first with compassion as Dovid says in Tehillim (end of ’Ashrei’) - " And his compassion is on all his creatures " ! " The stunned young doctor was annoyed and a bit angry at the Rabbi when he said, " Listen Rabbi, I am leaving the seminar now and will thoroughly investigate what you have just said. If you turn out to be correct, I will be at the next seminar wearing a big kippah showing my absolute commitment to the Torah and its way of life." The onlookers clapped at the heartfelt words as the young man walked out. When the Rabbi returned to Toronto a few months later to the next seminar, he found himself working together with the fully convinced kippah-adorned doctor - a man who had jumped many hurdles to find his faith. I could have told you many stories displaying the deep and wide wisdom of the Torah and how it is truly the expression of the creator, Hashem. Everything, literally, is in the Torah and Hashem gave it to us directly at Mt. Sinai and it is available to all of us to learn from and to live by. May the brachos of this coming Yom Tov of Shavuos, particularly the bracha of Hashem giving and we being worthy recipients of Torah, rain down on us all. May it make our connection to Torah deeper and stronger. Have a wonderful Shabbos and Yom Tov everyone. I love you all, ’d’
After celebrating seven days of Sukkoth, we celebrate an additional festival called SheminiAtzeret.Sukkoth is time of intense closeness with HaShem. When the time comes for us to separate from HaShem, He doesn’t want His children to leave. So He pleads with us, "My children, please stay with Me another day. It is hard for Me to bear your leaving."
We were in the King’s presence for seven days celebrating together the joys of the Sukkoth festival. The joy, the love, the holiness is so beautiful. Just as it is hard for HaShem to separate from us, it is just as difficult for us to separate from Him. Therefore, we need one more day to be in His presence, to delay our departure. We simply love Him so much that we just can’t bear to leave His sweet light and pleasant blessings.
So too, the times that we separate from our loved ones are poignant and tender. The day of separation is a time to be spent together. An opportunity to express our love and admiration and to convey to our loved one just how difficult separation will be. These sensitivities are the cornerstone of relationships; building lasting and durable foundations of love, commitment, and joy.
May we be blessed with loving relationships with our fellow man and with HaShem.
[Based on Da’as Torah of Rav Yerucham]
TODAY: Express your love and care to a family member or friend.
Toward the end of this week’s parsha the Torah states, "On the pure menorah he should arrange lamps before Hashem ’tamid’ (continually)" (Vayikra 24, 4). Rashi explains that "tamid" does not mean that the menorah must be lit at all times. Rather, it means that Aharon must light the menorah every single night. The Ramban adds that we are to deduce from the word "tamid" which connotes something constant, that the menorah is to be lit even on Shabbos and even when in a state of impurity.
Rav Wolbe (Shiurei Chumash) comments that we can glean from this pasuk the appropriate definition of a "masmid." A masmid is not necessarily one who learns Torah day and night. Rather, it is he who sets definite times for Torah study. It is not the quantity of the Torah study, but the consistency of the Torah study. It is he who sets a concrete time for his learning: day in and day out - even on Shabbos and even when things get tough - who can rightfully be termed a masmid.
Nevertheless, says Rav Wolbe (Alei Shur vol. II pg. 322), there are situations that arise where even one who has set concrete times for his Torah, tefillah, or avodas Hashem, must rearrange his schedule to fit the occasion. For example, Chazal tell us that one must interrupt his study of Torah to fulfill a mitzvah that cannot be performed by anyone else. This rule applies even when the mitzvah arises during the specific time that one has allotted for learning.
Nevertheless, one should take a minute or so to prepare himself in a way that will allow him to attend to this interruption in the most time-efficient manner possible, thereby enabling him to return to his schedule of avodas Hashem. If we have a set time for work, and a set time for meals, all the more so we should have concrete times for avodas Hashem. Moreover, if we are hesitant to let anything get in the way of those times that we set for work and meals, then certainly we should not let anything get in the way of the times we have set (or will set) for avodas Hashem.
"Ben Hei Hei says: The reward is proportional to the exertion."
Our Sages tell us that the generation that received the Torah at Mount Sinai attained the highest level of holiness. Therefore, the spirituality of each successive generation diminishes because they are further from the great light of Sinai. Notwithstanding, the revelation of HaShem during the Messianic era will surpass the Sinaic age, elevating the entire nation with holiness and purity.
In light of this, a deep question arises: The eternal delight that HaShem grants in Gan Eden is commensurate with our deeds. Yet, the level of Torah, good deeds, and purity of character traits of the earlier generations far exceeds our level.If so, it would seem that our share in the World to Come will be far less than the share received by the righteous people who preceded us.
However, our deeds are less qualitative than the earlier generations not because of our deficiency but rather because we are plagued with far more spiritual deterrents. Although we are on a lower rung of the ladder than our ancestors, nevertheless, our dedication might be just as great.
Accordingly, the Mishneh teaches: "The reward is proportional to the effort." Yes, there is a great difference between our holy Patriarchs and us. Nevertheless, HaShem in his great compassion, does not judge us according to our accomplishments but rather according to our devotion.
HaShem takes into consideration the context of our lives and computes our reward correspondingly. He sees the great environmental difficulties that interfere with our desire to fulfill the Torah.Therefore, a person from the later generations, who knows far less than the earlier Sages, is allotted the same opportunity of reward of our saintly ancestors. May we be encouraged by the Mitzvoth that we do perform, knowing that HaShem values them as if they were done by the greatest of our Sages. (Based on the commentary of the Chidah to Pirkei Avos)
TODAY: When you do a Mitzvah remember that HaShem values your effort as if you performed the highest Mitzvah
Hi Kids,
I hope this finds you all well and happy. The excitement is building for Pesach being less than three weeks away and we can be together again at least for the chag IY"H. I know for myself, having long-distance relationships with my children and grand-children, seems insufficient to say the least. However, Hashem has good reasons for these things and B"H H-E gives us these occassional opportunities to renew and invigorate our kesher. In the meantime we make the best of it with the phone and these divrei Torah.
The Torah, near the end of Vayakhel, tells us that the "kiyor" the washing station in the Mishkan, was made not of regular copper but out of the copper mirrors donated by the women of Israel. These were the mirrors they used in Egypt to help make themselves attractive to their husbands who toiled all day as slaves. Despite their wretched conditions, the women were determined to insure the continuity of the Jewish people. Hashem valued this donation over all others. The commentary "Rekanati" explains that the mirrors were put to good use because the Kohen had to see the person who was bringing the sacrifice and could somehow discern exactly what kind of teshuvah they required ( I just read today that according to Kabala, there is a spiritual force that radiates from the face of a person, based on his actions ). If a woman would be bringing the sacrifice, to preserve the tznius of the situation, instead of looking directly at her, he would be able to see her briefly through the mirror. The question remains - why use the washing-station for this purpose ? This R' Vallach story will explain.
The "Toldos Yaakov Yosef" (1705 - 1784) was a great Torah giant at the time that the Baal Shem Tov was introducing his new movement of Chasidus to the world. R' Yaakov Yosef remained skeptical of this new philosophy and was a staunch opponent. Being a person who would never hide from investigating the truth, and having heard so many wondrous and wonderful things about the Baal Shem Tov, he decided to travel to Mezhibozh and debate the issues with the Baal Shem himself, confident that the truth would lead him in the right direction. After arrival and introductions, they immediately plunged into the deepest of discussions. For hours they went back and forth, from topic to topic. R' Yaakov Yosef was convinced point by point, by the arguments of the Baal Shem. Suddenly, in the middle of a heated debate, there was a knock on the window. A gruff voice called out, " Srulche, ( A knickname for 'Yisrael' - the Baal Shem's name ) do you have any old junk that you want to sell or need to have fixed ?" It was Igor the gentile 'junk-man' looking for work. The Baal Shem called back to him, "No thanks, I have gotten rid of all my junk and have nothing that needs repair." Igor though, was persistent," Srulche, check again - I'm sure you will find something !" At that point, the Baal Shem excused himself from his guest, went into the back room and brought out a somewhat mangled pot. " Here Igor, I have something that needs repair," the rabbi called out. They quickly negotiated that Igor would fix the pot for X amount and the Baal Shem returned to his guest. R' Yaakov Yosef had an annoyed-looking smile on his face and did not hesitate to say what was on his mind. " Rebbe ", he asked, " We are here in the middle of an extremely important conversation about the loftiest of subjects on the deepest levels - why did you allow us to be interrupted by this 'junkman' - couldn't you simply tell him to come back tomorrow ?" The Baal Shem tried to explain. " When Igor came, I too was cognizant of the high level of our conversation. But I asked myself - why did he come and why did he come right now - the correct way to phrase the question though is why was he sent to me right now. I then listened to Igor's words again in my mind and heard the real meaning - Srulche, while you sit there and convince your guest of the truth of your cause and you are feeling so right, are you sure you have discarded all your bad middos and repaired all your good ones ? I answered him that I was sure that I had done so, but he persisted and I realized that before continuing our discussion, I had better make sure. So I excused myself and went to check. I did find something in need of repair and my ego was cut down a notch seeing this as a sign that indeed I was not perfect. Thus Hashem sent Igor just then to temper my ego and go on with our talk that much more objectively."
R' Yaakov Yosef nodded and smiled. They continued for a few more hours and by then R' Yaakov Yosef had done ' a 180' and became a staunch chasid of the Baal Shem Tov. He was putting on his coat to depart and said to the Baal Shem," Rebbe you have thoroughly won every argument and I am now your student. There is one thing however that I cannot accept - the idea that petty occurances such as a junkman knocking looking for business, are actually messages from Hashem, is going too far - I just can't believe that those things are meaningful." The Rebbe smiled and replied, " Don't tell me you can't accept it, be honest and admit that you refuse to accept it because accepting it forces you to look differently at everything that happens to you. It makes you responsible to raise your awareness so much more !" R' Yaakov Yosef insisted that truly he didn't feel it was correct and not because he did not want to accept it. They said their goodbyes and R' Yaakov Yosef stepped out into the slushy, muddy wintery street of Mezhibozh as the Baal Shem closed his door.
He had barely started walking when he heard someone yelling, " Hey you, Jew, come over here and help me pick up my wagon ! " A gentile wagon-driver couldn't navigate his wagon through the muddy street - the wheels had gotten stuck in the mud and the wagon had tipped over. R' Yaakov Yosef looked at the scene and called back, " I can't help you, I'm too weak." The desperate driver snidely called back," C'mon, don't tell me you can't - at least be honest and tell me that you don't want to! " R' Yaakov Yosef, embarrassed, was also thunderstruck by the 'coincidence' of the gentile's statement. He rushed over and together they were able to get the wagon upright. Exhausted and muddied, he marched right back to the house of the Baal Shem Tov and knocked. When the Rebbe came to the door, R' Yaakov Yosef admitted, " Rebbe, I have just been shown that you were correct on this point too." ( He became an absolute chasid of the Baal Shem and in fact wrote the first book of chasidus entitled " Toldos Yaakov Yosef" ).
The washing-station in the Mishkan was where the Kohen cleansed himself before performing the sacrificial rituals. It is significant that during his cleansing process he would look at the Jew who was bringing the sacrifice, but through a mirror - because he would ask himself - why this Jew now and why am I designated to 'service' him - perhaps it is because I should see in myself, the same flaws I see in him. In this way the Kohen was able in a very personal way, to relate to the Jew he was appointed to help.
We shouldn't go crazy thinking about everything happenning around us - it could end up to be self-destructive. At the very least though, the lesson from all of this is that Hashem is very interested in every detail of our lives because H-E loves us and wants us to live life to the maximum of our capabilities. H-E does send us road-signs in many different forms. May we all be zocheh to be aware of them and to have the courage and strength to act on them. Have a wonderful Shabbos everyone.
Divrei hesped written by the Mashgiach, Harav Shlomo Wolbe, z"l, following the petirah of the Bais Yisrael of Ger, zy"a, on 2 Adar, 5737/1977.
Excerpted from the new sefer Daas Shlomo - Maamarei Ge’ulah, just printed.
Following the passing of the Gerrer Rebbe z"l
Tuesday Parashas Ki Sisa, 5737
The Rishonim explain the cheit ha’eigel, that Klal Yisrael felt that they could no longer be without Moshe Rabbeinu, and therefore decided to make for themselves an image that would remind them of their leader. Although this was forbidden, their motivations were positive: because they so deeply felt the need for a leader and guide they could not wait even another day. Aharon Hakohein, who helped them make the eigel, shared this sentiment: "He [Aharon Hakohein] saw that Chur had been killed [for not going along with the initiative for chet ha’eigel], and said, if I don’t go along with them, they will do to me as they did to Chur, and fulfill with me ’Im yeihareg bemikdash Hashem Kohein venavi-if a kohein [Aharon] and navi [Chur] are killed," there will be no takanah for this forever. It is better that they serve the eigel-perhaps they will be able to attain a takanah through teshuvah. (Sanhedrin 7a) The Maharsha there says, "This aveirah has no atonement because the Torah was given to us to listen to chachmei Torah, the Kohein and Navi, and punishes those who don’t listen to them with death." As such, the ties that Klal Yisrael have with its chachamim are so fundamental that there is no atonement and forgiveness for severing those ties. Even the eigel, despite being a serious sin, was atonable comparatively. If this matter is so crucial for Klal Yisrael, and everything is contingent on whether there are chachamim and morei derech for the nation, how awesome are the words in Yeshayahu Hanavi, (29, 13-14): "And Hashem says, ’... with its mouth and lips it [the nation] has honored Me and its soul it has distanced from Me, and their fear of Me has become automatic and routine, therefore, ’Hinneni yosif lehafli es ha’am hazeh hafle vafele’ and the wisdom of its wise men will be lost and the insight of its sages will be concealed." Rashi explains, "Hafleh vapeleh means a cover upon a cover, a seal over a seal. What does it mean? The demise of chachmei Yisrael is double as hard as the churban Bais Hamikdash and all the curses in Sefer Devarim, because all those are one hafla’ah, as it says, ’Vehafleh Hashem es makosecha’, and here it says the word hafle vapele, twice." The sin of Am Yisrael was "their hearts have been distanced from Me." They do the mitzvos, learn Torah, daven, make brachos, but without the soul. Not only are their souls distant from what the mouth says, but they distance their souls to all sorts of other matters. Their yiras Hashem is habitual, as a mother gets a child used to doing in his youth, what the melamed has taught him in cheder. It is all just taught and performed; there is no soul and real feeling. We know that punishments from Above come in the form of making our nisyonos more challenging for us. If until now, things were automatic, without soul- now it will be much harder for us to reach true feeling in our Torah and mitzvos: The demise of chachamim makes it more difficult. Up to this point, Chachamim taught and rebuked, but things still remained habitual, without any feeling. And now, there won’t even be rebuke; there won’t be anyone to awaken us, which will make it doubly difficult to reach any true feeling. This punishment is much more serious than the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash. Even the Bais Hamikdash cannot bring to an awakening if there is no prophet or chacham. Neither will the curses in the tochachah effect the desired results if there are no chachmei Yisrael who understand why Klal Yisrael was given the rebuke and the curses. The loss of chachamim, the concealment of the sages, is a "double blow, a cover upon a cover, a seal upon a seal" (Rashi above)-on the soul! The soul that was so distant from yirah has now been double sealed off and covered; how much more difficult the avodah shebalev will become with all these coverings! However, as with all punishments in the Torah, this one too, has a remedy for the nation: If they did not listen to Gedolei Yisrael in their lifetimes, then their deaths have a staggering impact. "And when are divrei Torah fulfilled? When their masters are taken from them" (Yalkut Koheles 12), and in this way tzaddikim are greater in their deaths than in their lifetimes (Chulin, 7b). What they were unable to effect with their rebuke during their lifetimes, the horror of their passing will accomplish, because then everyone awakens and recognizes their situation and their hearts suddenly desire to strengthen in avodas Hashem. This is the feeling after the passing of the Gerrer Rebbe, ztvk"l. He has led his flock for nearly thirty years b’chessed elyon, with deep concern for every aspect of the lives of every one of his thousands of chassidim. There is no area of life that he was not involved in. Gerrer shtieblach are full every morning to the capacity from four until seven in the morning, because the Rebbe instructed his chassidim to learn during these hours. How he worried for chinuch, and for Chinuch Atzmai! He was strongly involved in the holiness of bachurim and avreichim. What an organized community! Those who came to him for advice and to consult him on whether to perform dangerous operations and the like were not exclusively his chassidim. This is a loss for his chassidim and for Klal Yisrael in general! *** It is impossible to imagine this generation without the chassidic world, and we must concede that besides for the yeshivah world, only chassidus enables Klal Yisrael to exist. Let us look into the words of my Rebbe and teacher, Harav Yeruchem Levovitz, zy"a, (Daas Chachmah Umussar, Part 2, Maamar 78): "Whoever is familiar with chassidus, knows that it only took hold with tremendous mesirus nefesh, and its leaders risked their lives to imbue chassidus within Klal Yisrael. This is proof of the intent of l’sheim Shamayim that its founders had. Chassidus is not a new Torah; it is a new emphasis ("a naye kneitsch") that they found in the Torah. If so, why were they so energized to the extent that they were ready to be moser nefesh to spread this new "knietsch" in the world? Would Torah not have been the same Torah without it? It must be that this l’sheim Shamayim was the biggest mofess (wonder) of the shitah of chassidus. Because it was l’sheim Shamayim, it was Torah Hakedoshah to them, for which one is required to be moser nefesh, because every single word, every dagesh, every emphasis in Torah, requires a commitment to the point of mesirus nefesh."
There are two chiddushim here, in addition to the appreciation of the shitah of chassidus: The first is that the mesirus nefesh displayed for an emphasis in Torah proves the l’sheim Shamayim involved; the second is that something that is totally l’sheim Shamayim is Torah. The source of the first chiddush is from Shimon Hatzaddik, who did not eat the [korban] asham nazir of any nazir who became impure except a specific one who came from the south (Nazir 4b). Tosafos there explains that he did not eat from the asham nazir because he was afraid that once the nazir became impure he may have regretted his promise to become a nazir. This would make the korban chullin, an invalid korban. He did eat from that specific nazir because "It is regarding you that the passuk says ’lehazir l’Hashem,’ meaning that the beginning of his neder was completely l’sheim Shamayim so Shimon Hatzaddik was not worried that the nazir would regret his promise even if he became impure. But the others who made promises when in a state of distress or because of an aveirah that they had done and did it as atonement, as the days pass from their decision, they regret their undertaking." From this Tosafos we see that only when an action is completely l’sheim Shamayim can we be sure that the person will carry through until the end, even if it will take longer than he thought, because that is the power of "lishmah." So when we see how they were ready to give up their lives for one emphasis in Torah and withstood the most difficult challenges, this is proof that their intentions were completely l’sheim Shamayim. If not, they would not have withstood the tests. The source of the second chiddush - that something that is l’sheim Shamayim is "Torah Hakedoshah": The Gemara in Brachos 63a says, "Bar Kaparah taught, on what small parashah are all bodies of Torah contingent? Bechal deracheca da’eihu vehu yeyasher orchosecha." Rabbeinu Yonah writes in Mishlei on this passuk that one meaning of this is that the intentions of everything one does should be l’sheim Shamayim. According to this, all the bodies of Torah are contingent on the "lishmah," and the purpose of the whole Torah and all the mitzvos is to bring a person to do them lishmah. The Rambam also explains this in his Peirush Hamishnayos at the end of Makkos. We learn from this that if an action or emphasis is completely l’sheim Shamayim, this is Torah Hakedoshah-because "lishmah" is Torah itself! Rav Yeruchem continues: "We see the same regarding the study of mussar. Reb Yisrael [Salanter] z"l introduced the "kneitsch" of mussar and fought the whole world for it with mesirus nefesh. What was all the fuss about for the study of mussar a few minutes a day? These few minutes would seem to be so trivial, but Reb Yisrael devoted his entire life solely to this purpose of spreading mussar in the world. This shows that his intention was entirely l’sheim Shamayim." Mussar and Chassidus are both a new "kneitsch" in the holy Torah. Fundamentally, both of them may not be that distant one from the other.The Arizal said before his passing that he had not managed to reveal the entire Toras Hakabbalah, and promised that he would return again to complete the task. A recently published sefer says that he did just that: In the subsequent generations came the Baal Shem Tov, the Ramchal and the Vilna Gaon, who completed the revelation of his Torah. What was this revelation if the Arizal said that all of his words were from Chazal? He did not reveal the nimshal, and only his close confidant, Harav Chaim Vital, zt"l, with his great depth and wisdom, understood it but he, too, concealed it. And so, these three tzaddikim were the ones who revealed the nimshal in Kabbalah. When these three are compared we can see the similarities between them. The nimshal in Kabbalah is the very foundation of the path of the Baal Shem Tov as well as the Torah of the Gra in Toras Hanistar, and this is the basis of the teachings of his talmidim after him until Rav Yisrael Salanter. The common denominator between mussar and chassidus is the battle against melumadah, rote in Torah and mitzvos; they both vigorously oppose an approach to avodas Hashem that is just "with the lips and the mouth they have honored Me but their souls are distant from Me!" The passing of the Gerrer Rebbe should awaken us all: If we have lost the wisdom of our wise men, then we are guilty that our yiras Hashem is melumadah, without soul, without substance! The consolation for the grieving kehillah is that baruch Hashem, it has a continuation. The chassidus is a flourishing tree, and it has not waned to this day. Those who say that only the early founders of Chassidus were great, but today it has declined and is no longer the same chassidus, are lying. That is the way of historians: they only look back in retrospect; they do not see and do not want to see life in the present. Of course, our generation cannot compare itself to past generations, but based on this generation, Chassidus is alive and thriving, and it bears fruit and will continue. And Halevai we should merit to see a continuation of the study of mussar and the avodas hamussar and to see great baalei mussar as well, because we know today that, if chas veshalom the mussar derech will not continue, it means that Torah is being forgotten, Rachmana litzlan. It is imperative that mussar should also have a hemshech, both in learning and in practical implementation and by having baalei mussar, b’ezras Hashem!
I hope this finds you all well and happy. Especially now that we are in Adar, let me remind myself first and all of us to take some time everyday to count our blessings and thank Hashem for them - it would certainly enhance our level of "simcha" and help prepare us for the upcoming Yom Tov of Purim.
R' Yerucham of Mir tells us that even the wisest of men, Shlomo Hamelech, needed to use examples and illustrations to be able to plumb the depths of Torah. The only one who surpassed that level, was Moshe. The Mishkan - Tabernacle, beneath its physical properties, was a complex system of symbols representing various ideas and principles of the Torah. R' Yerucham tells us that rather than having to be shown the physical symbol in order to learn the concepts behind it, Moshe was able to be told the idea, and from that, construct the physical manifestation. The Medrash praises Moshe for this superhuman intellectual effort. At the end I will try to explain the significance that I found in that phenomena, but surely Moshe's ability to accomplish this had a lot to do with his unmatched middah of "anivus" - humility - his absolute conviction that Hashem gets all the credit for everything and that without Hashem, all of his own efforts would be for naught; a person who lives like that has no reason to claim any glory for himself and sees everything objectively and clearly. The "Aron Hakodesh" - holy Ark - arguably the most important 'vessel' in the Mishkan, Chazal tell us, symbolizes the talmid chacham (or more specifically, the rebbe). Some of its features were its being a container for the entire Torah. It also consisted of two outer boxes of pure gold (representing the idea that a talmid chacham should always be consistent both inside and out - he should not be hypocritical in any way), sandwiching a box of wood. The symbolism of having a wooden box - the 'humblest' of substances - between boxes of dazzling pure gold, tells us that the very essence of the great talmid chacham is his inherent humility. This is a very and maybe uniquely 'Jewish' value which takes great effort to perfect, and it is interesting that the symbol for it - the wood - is hidden from view, and that finally brings me to my story via R' Vallach.
R' Zvi Hirsh of Zidichov(Galicia - 1763-1831) ZT"L, sat with his chasidim one day and decided to inspire them regarding this lofty middah of humility. He told them of the great Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller (1578 - 1654) ZT"L, who was for a certain amount of time, the chief Rabbi of the famous community of Prague. The people noticed that he had a rather strange daily practice - around mid-day he would go home, seclude himself in his office for about twenty minutes and then come out and continue his busy day. Curiosity morphed into rumor until one fellow with chutzpa decided to find out once and for all, what the Rav was up to. He snuck into the Rav's house, hid under the bed in the office and waited. Shortly after, the Rav entered, opened the back door and escorted his goat in from the backyard (it was common for people to have a household goat for milk, cheese, etc. ). The Rav then removed his very respectable looking hat and frock, and proceeded to hop onto the goat and ride it around the room like a child on a 'horsey'. After 15 - 20 minutes he had had enough, let the goat out back, put on his proper clothing and returned to being the great Rav. R' Zvi Hirsh was trying to get across the message that to achieve great levels of humility, sometimes one must fight off those things that would make him feel too proud of himself. Rabbi Heller was terrified that all the honor accorded to him in his position as chief Rabbi, would get to his head and destroy his character, so he took the time everyday to remind himself that he wasn't such a 'hot-shot'. All the chasidim liked the story and seemed to grasp the lesson.
That night, R' Zvi Hirsh was preparing to begin saying "tikun chatzos" around mid-night. His gabbai brought out all the books the Rebbe would need when suddenly strange noises of thumping came from the supposedly empty attic. " Go up please, and see what is making that racket and bring it downstairs," the Rebbe said to the gabbai. Too many stories of ghosts and demons in vacant attics, had their affect on the poor gabbai. "But Rebbe," he stuttered," what if the demons attack me - I'm too scared." "Don't worry," the Rebbe assured him," I personally guarantee your safety - you will not be harmed." The shaking gabbai cautiously made his way up the creaking staicase and disappeared into the attic. A minute later he appeared looking relieved, dragging a goat together with one of the chasidim, Mechel. " I found Mechel up there riding around the room on this goat," the gabbai informed the Rebbe. The Rebbe looked at Mechel," what were you doing ," he inquired. " The Rebbe inspired us today with the wonderful story of R' Heller and I thought I would adopt the same practice to fight my own sense of haughtiness," said Mechel innocently. " That is indeed commendable Mechel, but R' Heller did that in absolute privacy, not on top of my head !" the Rebbe said smiling. Mechel replied, " Yes I know Rebbe, but if I would have done it in the privacy of my own home, the Rebbe would never have known what kind of chasid he had !" The lesson is of course that certainly one should work on his middos, but this work is very personal and private - it is cheapened when it is done for an audience. That is the symbolism of the wooden box of the Aron being hidden by the 2 golden boxes.
If you will indulge me, I also wanted to say that I thought that the significance of the Mishkan being erected by Moshe 'from the top down', is that it tells us too, how to build our own houses - our homes should be built and based on Torah ideals and principles. THEY should guide us in choosing neighborhoods, friends and how our homes should become environments condusive to raising future generations of true and good Jews. May Hashem grant us all the wisdom and courage to develop ourselves and our homes guided by H-S Torah so that we can all be of great Nachas to H-M.
Have a wonderful Shabbos everyone. I love you all,
Hi Kids,
I hope this finds you all well and happy. I'm writing this early - before the week really starts so if there is anything personal to add, I'll do it at the end. This week being the parsha of the 10 Dibros, I thought I'd say a bit about one of them - Shabbos - and our appreciation of it.
R' Reuven Karelenstein, a rosh yeshiva in Bnei Brak ( I think ), for a time, required dyalysis treatment. Three time a week for 3-4 hours at a stretch, he would have to come to the hospital and hook up to the machine that filtered his blood. There were a number of men who all came at the same time, and often they conversed with each other about various topics. One day, the hospital administrator, an orthodox man, was in the ward too, when one of the nurses entered with a bottle of wine and some cake. " Please all, drink a 'lchaim' with me," she said ecstatically, " I just became a grandmother for the first time !" She handed a cup to the smiling administrator who took a piece of the bakery cake but refused the drink saying he did not like wine. She tried to convince him to just have a little because it was really good wine, but he truly did not want any and he wished her a lchaim after biting the cake. One of the men on the machines was a man who had grown up religious and learned in yeshiva but had subsequently abandoned religion completely. He decided to ruffle some feathers. " I know why our administrator refused the wine," he taunted, " because the orthodox consider the wine of someone who doesn't keep Shabbos, treif, like the wine of a non-jew." The administrator was so embarassed and flustered that he quickly exited the ward. The man then went on ad nauseum for the next 3 hours spewing the most vile accusations and indictments against orthodox Jews and their practices. No one, including R' Reuven, could get a word in edgewise, but R' Reuven comforted himself throughout the nasty diatribe, by assuring himself that at their next session he would give his rebuttal.
A few days later, when they were all attached to their machines, the other men turned to R' Reuven," Nu is it true about the wine? " they asked. R' Reuven began explaining, " In our circles, it is traditional for a chasan to give his kallah the gift of a nice watch during engagement. Most people get pretty standard but nice ones, but a certain boy, who was particularly thrilled with his betrothed, wanted to really show her how special she was. He asked the watchmaker to show him watches fit for a queen for him to choose from. The man warned him that those pieces cost a few thousand dollars. He didn't care - he had saved up some money and he wanted to 'sweep her off her feet'. He picked out a stunning watch with a jewelled band for over six thousand dollars and couldn't wait to give it to her at their upcoming 'tinaim'. He even hired a photographer to take her picture at the moment of his giving the gift. He was sure that upon seeing such beauty, she would faint and he wanted to capture the moment. Everyone was gathered at the party when the chasan proudly walked up to his kallah presenting his prize purchase. She unwrapped the box, opened it slowly, looked at the shining watch and let out a loud "Yuchh"! The crowd was aghast and it was the chasan who almost fainted. Needless to say after that display of midos, the boy did not consider marriage to that girl."
"Hashem gives the wonderful Torah to the Jewish people. It is worth more than the greatest wealth in the world (Tehillim 19). But on top of that Chazal tell us that Hashem told Moshe that he has a special gift hidden in H-S safe - called Shabbos - which he wants to give to the Jews. H-E asks Moshe to tell the people about it and make sure they appreciate its value because it is H-S most valued gift of all." ( look back at the story I told you last year for parshas Vayakhel regarding this point ) Now R' Reuven turned to the self-hating Jew who two days before, scorned Shabbos and spewed derision at those who cherish it."Hashem gave us this great gift and this man proudly and for all to hear, declares "Yuchh"!! Has he not broken his own relationship with Hashem. Is this public betrayal not enough to justify the Torah's considering him a non-jew to a certain degree?"
The truth of R' Reuven's fiery and heartfelt words silenced the room, even the man who had so much to say only two days before.
Of course, we B"H all know how important Shabbos is, but why is it a part of the 10 "Dibros"? Briefly, Targum Yonasan has a very interesting take on the last 5 Dibros. As explained by R' Vallach, Hashem does not simply require of us not to murder or not to steal etc., but these mitzvos being part of the Dibros, require of us to 'not be murderers' etc. - meaning we should work on ourselves to the point where we completely uproot even an iota of consideration to the idea of murdering someone. My understanding of this is that the Dibros, more than ordinary mitzvos, tell us what we are capable and therefore obligated to create - we have the ability to build ourselves into perfect human beings by incorporating the ideals of not only the 'negative' side of the Dibros, but also the 'positive' side, into our very personas. I could find many stories of great sacrifice of Jews who were most definitely 'Shabbos Jews' - people for whom life without Shabbos would be worse than death. My thoughts here however, go back to our Zaidy Klein A"H, who sacrificed so much personally, and had no doubts about burdening his family with the same sacrifices, just to be able to hold fast to Shabbos observance, during the 20's, 30's and 40's. He was a deeply rooted Shabbos Jew and because of that, to my knowledge at least, every single one of his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, are Shabbos Jews today. May we all have the will and receive the strength from Hashem, to aim our lives toward perfecting these Dibros, and passing the mission on to our children.
Have a wonderful Shabbos everyone. I love you all. 'd'
Hi Kids, I hope this finds you all well and happy. Although the party is IY"H next week and the hebrew one was last Sunday, happy birthday wishes this Shabbos to Talia - may you have a wonderful and meaningful personal rosh hashanah.
The topic that I thought I’d broach this week is "emunas chachamim" - relying on and consulting with Talmidei Chachamim/Tzadikim because they will advise us and stear us in the right direction.
First a few words - the connection to the parsha is through a ’vort’ by the "Imrei Emes", a former Gerer Rebbe; in brief, he proves that when Moshe told the nation to turn around back in the direction of Egypt, the divine cloud that they were following did not turn in that direction. Nevertheless, despite the seemingly absurd instruction from Moshe AND the miraculous cloud not following Moshe’s direction, the people chose en masse to follow their leader. This is not a sign of weakness but rather an understanding by all that they had a great leader who due to his superior wisdom, righteousness and close relationship to Hashem, was privy to more than could meet their eyes - it is a very proper and appropriate humility. I could have told any of many stories of how correct these tzadikim always turn out to be, but instead I found something that may help us instill this as instinct in our kids.
R’ Silberstein tells of a certain Rosh Yeshiva who came to raise money from a wealthy man in Ramat Gan. As he waited for the man to finish his business he couldn’t help but notice that despite the fact that the man could have been labeled ’modern orthodox’, his walls were richly and extensively decorated with pictures of Torah giants, tzadikim and various paintings and photos of ’bais medrash’ scenes. It was obvious that the man possessed an extraordinary love for Torah and respect for those who learn and live it. The Rosh Yeshiva couldn’t control his curiousity and in the course of his conversation with the man, asked him from where those feelings came. The man actually appreciated the question and told the story.
"The truth is that I can actually trace my love of Torah to one particular day," he explained. "I was only 12 years old when my parents sent me to learn in a yeshiva in a town near Vilna. The journey was a very long one and the food my mother packed for me did not last. By the time I reached the yeshiva, I had already not eaten for almost 2 days and was starving. Then when I approached the administrator to be assigned a home for "tegg" ( in those days yeshivos did not have a dining room but rather the people of the community fed groups of boys on certain days (tegg=days). With great sorrow, the administrator told me that I had come too late and all the places for tegg had been filled - he had nowhere to send me. I broke down crying, begging him to try harder as I was so hungry. Finally after a few minutes he told me that he had found me a place. It was the home of an extremely poor widow with a number of children. Despite their poverty, the woman constantly asked the yeshiva to send boys to her home for meals. The yeshiva usually avoided sending boys to her because it was difficult enough for her to feed her own children, but now the administrator had no choice. He got a message to her to expect someone and he sent me there. He warned me though, that because the children are orphans and the Torah is super-careful about their treatment, I should not take any food on my own but should wait until they give it to me so that I would not be taking food from hungry orphans. I agreed and headed to the house. I couldn’t help but cry once again on the way when I reflected on my fortune - sapped of almost all my strength from hunger being sent to a destitude home where the little food that I would probably receive would be taken from the mouths of orphans.
Almost fainting, I arrived at the house, wiped my tears and knocked on the door. It was lunchtime. A bunch of small children opened the door, huge smiles of excitement came to their faces as they yelled out," Mama Mama, come see, the talmid chacham is here, come see !!" They couldn’t be talking about me, I thought - I was only 12 - but there was no one else behind me. The kids continued calling their mother while jumping for joy at the arrival of the ’talmid chacham’. The widow came out of kitchen, greeted me warmly and sensing my weak state, immediately invited me to sit at the dining room table to eat lunch with the children. There were 8 plates set for the 8 children. In the middle of the table was a platter of food and an empty plate. All 8 kids took their portions from the big platter in the center but did not start eating. The mother then asked,"my sweet children, who can tell me who the empty plate is for." They all screamed the answer at once," for the talmid chacham, for the talmid chacham !!!" Spontaneously, competition broke out as to who would be the first one to give from his portion to the talmid chacham, and who would donate the most. Within seconds, that empty plate was full and eagerly passed to me. I ended up having more food that lunch than any meal I’d ever had even in my own house on a Yom Tov. Not only that, but the kids entertained me throughout the meal singing beautiful songs in praise of Torah and dancing around the table. They especially thanked Hashem for sending them such an important guest, and wouldn’t let me leave before promising them that I would return for other meals.
I did in fact return there numerous times over the period I attended that yeshiva, and I can testify to you Rabbi, that my love and affection for Torah and yeshivos comes directly from that home. I will even admit that those memories sustained me through the horrors of the war (holocaust), and kept me as a religious Jew until today. In the merit of that widow and her 8 angels do I donate most of my wealth to learners of Torah."
That simple woman inculcated her children with such an infectious love and respect, even reverence for Torah and talmidei chachamim.
While there are many beautiful lessons we could derive from this story, the one that struck me most was this one. It is one that is most definitely in our power to emulate. Even when they are perhaps too young to realize its true value, if we would, at every opportunity, show reverence and love for Torah and tzadikim ( and not display the ’adult’ skepticism and cynicism that we sometimes feel), our kids would pick up on that message in a big way and generations emanating from us would be positively affected.
Have a wonderful Shabbos everyone. Let me take the opportunity of it being "Shabbos Shirah" to remind us all to sing on Shabbos - picture those 8 kids singing and join in - and enjoy. I love you all, ’d’
p.s. don’t forget Monday is groundhogs day - have a good one !
I had five orders of Salmon this week. It's not the wild Alaskan Salmon available in N.A., but Norwegian pond salmon. A happy customer just this second - 20 minutes before candle lighting, called me and told me its the best salmon he ever tasted. I did something different this week - a lite marinade for 7 hours. - But what I really wanted to tell you was this...
Chapter 9, verse 24, "So there was hail, and consuming fire in the midst of the hail, very heavy, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation."
A major earthquake hit the impoverished country of Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing buildings in the capital Port-au-Prince and burying residents under rubble, a Reuters reporter in the city said.
Chazal tells us that all natural disasters that occur in the world are only for the Jewish people to take it to their heart and do Teshuva.
Its a sad Shabbas for the fish, as they all died when the Nile was turned to blood. Maybe that's why they are compared to Tzadikim. For the Kapara that happened to them during the first plague in Egypt.
Chapter One, Verse seven : And the children of Israel...
"1, Peru- 2, and yishretzu 3, and yirbu 4, and ya atzumu 5, beme od 6, meod."
Rashi tells us that this verse is coming to tell us that the woman who lived at that time experienced a miracle and that at every birth there were 6 children in their bellies. This seems to come from a Midrash Rabba as The Baal Ha Turim explains. " From the six "lashonot" (different languages) that the verse uses :
1, Fruitful 2, teemed 3, increased, 4, and became strong 5, very 6, very much
We know then that every woman had 6 children at a time. Further commentators tell us that not only did our woman have six children at one time, but they all survived, a further miracle.
This week was a week full of miracles. I was merited to grill fresh ocean fish twice. Once when I wanted to try what is coming in to the land from around the world, in order to properly service my clients. So I found a Australian white grouper, - and a couple of other exotic fish that I hadn't tried for a long time. - It just so happened that my son Eleazar was coming home from his Yeshiva in Jerusalem that night to wash his clothes and say Hello on his 17th birthday. So Min Ha Shamayim, We feasted on fresh Dag Yam from around the world and gave Blessings to the birthday boy.
Then - today, last night, till one in the morning, I grilled 4 special orders that I delivered this morning in Jerusalem. I took advantage and grilled the same three fish that I had done during the week. This Lechvod Shabbas Kodesh, and also so my other children who were not at the party, could also taste the delight.
In this weeks Parsha we find Israel blessing Manasseh and
Ephraim through Yosef.
In chapter 48 verse 16 Israel blessed Yosef that his
sons should yid-gu, grow like fish.
Just like fish,- ve-yid-gu= dagim. You should
grow like dagim (fish) that multiply and increase,and no evil eye has
power over them (Rashi)
Did you ever think about the word yidgu ? It means become
like a fish.
PIRKEI AVOS/ETHICS OF THE FATHERS ________________4:4
"Rabbi
Yochanon ben Beroka said: Whoever desecrates the Name of Heaven in
private will be reprimanded in public. The same level of accountability
pertains to a person who desecrates the Name of Heaven, whether he
acted intentionally or unintentionally."
The
desecration of the Name of Heaven applies to a misdeed that weakens
other people's commitment to Mitzvah observance. For instance, let's
assume that Shimon, an observant Jew, speaks abusively to his
employees. His peers might mistakenly conclude: He is observant and he speaks abusively. Therefore it is acceptable if I also speak abusively. Shimon has desecrated the Name of Heaven because other people will adapt his disrespectful treatment of people, which is a violation of the Torah.
The term used to denote a desecration of Heaven is Chilul HaShem. The Zohar explains that the word Chilul means
hollow or void. Let us understand this enigma. The Divine Presence of
HaShem fills the entire world. However, when a person desecrates the
Name of Heaven, the Divine Presence departs from that location.
Therefore, it is as if a desecration of the Name of Heaven renders that
part of the world be "void" of HaShem.
On
the other hand, when a person sanctifies the Name of Heaven, he
performs a good deed that inspires others to strengthen their Mitzvah
observance. For instance, if an observant Jew greets people with a
friendly smile, other people will be motivated to emulate his admirable
behavior. A positive act that influences others to improve their
conduct is called Kiddush HaShem. The word Kiddush means holiness, i.e., his exemplary conduct awakens an increase of the holiness of HaShem to be revealed in the world.
[Based on the commentary of Rav Chaim Voloshin]
TODAY: Perform a good deed that encourages others to act with kindness.
Important Numbers
