Welcome to a new month, with new potential for incredible growth. As we all know, if the Meraglim would have come back with the proper report, Tisha B’Av would have been marked as a day of eternal celebration, rather than a day which now lives in infamy. In the time of Bayis Sheni, Tisha B’Av was, in fact, celebrated. As it is referred to as a "Moed", it will be certainly celebrated again--may it be this year. The Targum Yonasan on last week’s Parsha explains that the Meraglim set out on their journey on 29 Sivan--just two days ago. Thus, these very days--i.e., the next 38 days ahead of us until Tisha B’Av, which are perfectly parallel to the Meraglim’s 40-day trip (as Rav Dessler, Z’tl, explains, they are more than points of recollection in time, but an actual reliving of these times), are full of the potential to bring us a happy Tisha B’Av, if we reframe and recharacterize these days into days of building rather than days of destruction; days of finding the positive instead of the negative; days of compliments and not of snide or hurtful remarks; days in which we show our love towards Eretz Yisroel and its inhabitants in some unique and special way. Yesterday, on the first day of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, the Daf Yomi began the Sugya of Ona’as Devorim (the Prohibition Against Causing Pain with Words), which will continue for the next two days. To the non-believer, this is a "coincidence." We know better. We know what we have to do. Like the Meraglim, we have a mission. Let’s succeed with flying colors--it is well within our capabilities, and the benefits and rewards will far exceed the investment and effort--as we will see when the Moshiach comes, Bimheira VeYameinu.
Hakhel Note: To get us started in the proper framework of positive outlook and appropriate speech, we provide below the following excerpt from "The Power of Words", by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, Shlita:
Ona’as Dvorim: "So your teeth hurt you, big deal. Stop complaining. You called the dentist and he gave you an appointment, now be quiet about it. You’re an adult already, why do you keep asking for sympathy?"
Positive Approach: "I’m very sorry that your teeth hurt you. A toothache can be very painful. It’s a good thing that the dentist was able to give you an early appointment. Is there anything I can get you that might make you feel better right now?"
Ona’as Dvorim: "You’re making a big fuss over nothing. So what if the meal you cooked was ruined and the guests had to eat canned food? They still had something to eat. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill."
Positive Approach: "I realize how frustrating it must have been to have made an entire meal and then had it ruined because someone forgot to turn off the oven. Most people would feel upset. But I noticed that the guests enjoyed the wonderful words of Torah that were spoken. Nobody went hungry since we had canned food that we were able to serve. It wasn’t as good as your cooking, but it served its purpose. Everyone had a very pleasant evening. I even heard a few people comment on what a fine hostess you were. They were impressed by how well you dealt with the entire situation."
Let’s get going--we have 38 days to move ourselves--and, quite literally, change the face of the world!
Special Note Two: We provide on the front page of our website at
http://www.hakhel.info a video link to a minute of thought, which, B’EH, will hopefully change the way we look at apples (and, hopefully, many other creations) for the rest of our lives.
Special Note Three: A reader supplied us with a fascinating compilation prepared by Project Tefilah of Cleveland, Ohio. According to the compilation, a person who davens Tefillah BeTzibbur over the course of a year accumulates 86,789 Mitzvos. We provide a link to this compilation
http://tinyurl.com/lpoa82 This means that a young man who has been assiduous in Davening BeTzibbur even when traveling, on vacation and otherwise, and who comes to Shul on time, has accumulated over 1 million mitzvos by the time he reaches 25! A millionaire at 25 from just one investment! What may be even more incredible is that women and girls, who are not required to daven Tefillah BeTzibbur are equal Avdei Hashem in doing what they are supposed to do--personal tefillos, tznius and chesed, among others, count in ways we never thought imaginable!
Important Numbers
