BAISVAAD

Pesach - True Freedom

2011-04-14T17:22:00.001+03:00

It was the year 1942 and the ghetto of Krakow was completely judenrien. The Great city of Krakow - the epicenter of Judaism in Poland for over five hundred years, was now devoid of Jews, all systematically uprooted by the Nazi beasts. In the middle of this desolation two brothers were hiding, running from bunker to bunker, trying to stay alive amidst all the insanity. The Holiday of Passover was fast approaching and those two brothers had something of great significance on their mind. They had to find a way to eat matzah on the first night of Passover. It took a lot of inventiveness and sacrifice - getting caught meant getting shot - but they built themselves a makeshift oven and found some flour. They were able to bake a small amount of Matzah for themselves. The night of Passover came and they sat down to their makeshift seder - celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt. In years past they had sat at a beautiful set table with the finest silver and surrounded by family. Tonight they sat down in a dark attic, all alone in the world, running from the Nazis, their very lives in danger, with a bit of Matzah that they sacrificed their lives for. The younger brother- a 21 year old - calls to his older brother; "There is no way I can have a seder tonight. The seder is to celebrate our freedom, our going out of exile- yet here we sit, our lives in danger, the tragedy unspeakable- our family is all gone, the entire city is up in flames and the Nazis won't be happy until every Jew is dead. Isn't this worse then the lives the Jews had in Egypt? Back then their lives weren't in danger as it is in our time- what kind of freedom are we celebrating tonight?" The older brother answered; "Every night in the evening prayers we praise Hashem for taking us out of Egypt to an 'everlasting freedom'. The everlasting freedom that we gained and are thankful for isn't a physical freedom - that is only a byproduct of what we got that night. Rather it's the spiritual freedom that we recognize. Passover celebrates the birth of a nation, when we went from being Egyptian slaves to becoming a newly born Jewish nation - a nation that G-d could call his own. When we sit down at the seder we celebrate something bigger then life, a going out of slavery into the embracing hands of our father in heaven- becoming 'A G-dley nation'. This is something that no one can ever take away from us - no matter how much they beat, torture and even kill us, we will always remain standing, free to serve G-d. G-d will always have his nation roaming the earth". With those words two brothers- my grandfather and his older brother- sat down to a Seder that only consisted of dangoursly earned matzah and a little bit of borscht which they used as a substitution for wine. Yet this was most probably the most magnificent seder ever experienced.

Parshas Ki Sisah

2011-02-18T11:46:00.000+02:00

The Chafetz Chaim- who was a Kohen- once asked R’ Shimon Schwab “Why aren’t you a Kohen?” R’ Schwab, not knowing what that Chafetz Chaim wanted, answered, “because my father wasn’t a Kohen and nor was his father”. The Chafetz Chaim said that after Klal Yisroel made the Eigal Moshe said ‘Mi l’Hashem alai’ and my great grand father- who was from Shevet Levi answered the call, that is why this Shevet was imbued with extra kedusha. Only Shevet Levi had the courage to stand up for what was right and not get swept up with the masses. That is why i am a Kohen and your not.
How was it that every single descendent of Levi had that courage and not one other Jew was able to join them?

The Rambam in the beginning of hilchos Avodah Zara says that the teachings of Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov- Yichud Hashem- that Hashem is the sole creator of the universe and he is the only one that runs the world- was all but forgotten from the world- even from Klal Yisroel while they were enslaved in Egypt. The only ones that held on to the teachings of the Avos were the descendants of Levi, the belief in Hashem and his Oneness never left them. Every single descendant of Levi from when they were a newborn in the cradle was ingrained with the emunah of Hashem. The Alter from Navordik says that it is this that gave them the clarity of mind when the world had gone insane. The fact that this teaching wasn’t something they merely learned- but rather it was a deeply rooted tradition that was part of their essence of who they were. When all of Klal Yisroel was lost and was wondering if the true way to serve Hashem is through the Golden Calf- Shevet Levi was able to remain true to their upbringing. The deeper understanding of this is; if something is proven through logic and even if it’s clearly shown to us – it can be disproved if questioned under the wrong circumstances. But if we truly believe in Hashem and believe that he’s that great that we cannot fathom his greatness, then no question or circumstance can change our mind for our belief and tradition is deeper and greater then anything in this world.

Parshas Tetzava

2011-02-11T12:31:00.000+02:00

The Baal Haturim points out that Moshe’s name is not mentioned in this weeks Parsha. One of the reasons he says, is that when Moshe was begging Hashem to forgive Klal Yisroel after the sin of the Eigal, he said to Hashem forgive them or erase my name from the Torah. It would seem that this was a punishment for him - offering to be erased from the Torah - so Hashem erased his name from just one Parsha. This is hard to believe for he sacrificed himself for the sake of Klal Yisroel, so why would he be punished? The Chidushai Harim explains this with a Gemorah. The Gemorah (Baba Kamah 60b) says that if one puts himself in danger for the sake of divrei Torah, we don’t say over Halacha in his name. This also is hard to believe that it is a punishment.
Every member of Klal Yisroel’s neshoma is in essence Torah (Yisroel, Torah and Hashem are all one). The only thing that divides us from the Torah is our guf- our physical bodies.
When one puts his life on the line for the sake of Torah, he is detaching his body from his soul and thus all that remains is just the neshoma which is in essence the same as Torah itself. We cannot say over the Torah in his name for being that the Torah is detached from his physical being it’s not his in a phyiscal sense - it’s/he's pure Torah. So too Moshe, being that he gave himself up for the sake of Klal Yisroel got to the level that the torah doesn’t speak about him as it does in the other Parshas, but rather he becomes synonymous with Torah and is addressed just by the word “Vatah”. For in this weeks Parsha Moshe and Torah are one.
P.S. Further study has to be done why this is expressed in Parshas Tetzaveh and not any other parsha. Take a peek at the Alshich in this weeks Parsha, and Masseh Rokeach on the Mishkan.

Parsha Beshalach

2011-01-14T15:09:00.000+02:00

As Klal Yisroel was standing at the edge of the Red Sea, in obvious danger, they yelled out to Hashem (14;10). Rashi tell us that they davened as their forefathers had davened.
The Avos, even at the peaceful times of their lives, davened their tefilos were always the same- as if they were under distress and their only salvation could come from Hashem. The first time Klal Yisroel was faced with a danger and could not rely on nature was at the Yam Suf. The Egyptians were at their back and the water was in front of them, nowhere to go, no one to rely on, they called out to Hashem- their only salvation. That is what the prayers of the Avos looked like everyday- every tefila was of total reliance on Hashem.
R’ Yerucham Levovitz zatza’l explains that this concept is basic in our relationship with Hashem. The nations of the world’s relationship with Hashem is through teva- nature. Everything they want or need can be found in nature and that is who they turn to when they’re in need- אֵלֶּה בָרֶכֶב וְאֵלֶּה בַסּוּסִים .Klal Yisroel has a personal relationship with Hashem everything we receive is directly from Him. We rely purely on Hashem and His will and nothing in nature can or does influence our relationship. וַאֲנַחְנוּ בְּשֵׁם-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ נַזְכִּיר -there is no nature at all. This relationship changes what our prayers are to look like. You can rely on nature to sustain you, on horses and chariots to lead you to war. If you do, there will be many times that you don’t have to beg and plead to get what you need- if you plant, you will harvest, if you work hard you will see results- naturally. In your everyday life there will be no need for tefila. Klal Yisroel relies solely on Hashem, everything we get or do is directly from him. If we need a fruit to eat or if we need the waters to split- to Hashem they are all the same- all we have to do is yell out and ask Him. The Avos- who lived with this recognition that every breath, every meal, every miniscule happening in this world, is a direct gift from Hashem, when they davened their tefila was one of total reliance on Him- for that is all we can rely on.
R’ Shimshon Pincus says that purpose of many of the tzoras we suffer, is to come to the realization that everything- big or small, is from Hashem. If we would daven- before calamity strikes, the way we do when we are under distress- a tefila of total reliance on hashem, there would be no need for most of the difficulties we face.

A very Happy Birthday to Zevi B.

Parshas Shemos

2010-12-23T23:41:00.005+02:00

The Parsha begins with the recounting of the twelve children of Yaakov. The Ohr Hachaim says that the Torah is praising them for going down and staying in Mitzrayim. They could have left - they had gone back to Eretz Yisroel to bury Yaakov - and yet they stayed in Mitzrayim, for that they deserve to be mentioned again.
Pesach night we begin the narrative of yetzias Mitzrayim saying that Esav settled in his land - Sayir, while Yakov and his sons went down to Mitzrayim. Who invited Esav to the Seder? Why do we mention him in our narrative of Mitzrayim?

The Medrash says that the land of C'naan was promised to Avrohom and Yitzchok. Of Yitzchok's two sons it remained unclear who should inherit the Eretz Yisroel - Yaakov or Esav. The catch was that Eretz Yisroel comes with a price. It is one of the things that can only be acquired with yisurim. Avrohom was told that his descendants would have to travel through 400 years of golus before they returned to Eretz Yisroel. The golus mitzrayim was the first step to us acquiring Eretz Yisroel. Esav knew all of this and he made a decision that he does not want the yisurim, nor Eretz Yisroel. It's not worth it. Esav took his family and nation and left Eretz Yisroel to settle in Sayir where he was happy and complete. Yaakov on the other hand was focused on the long term. He knew that there was a bumpy road ahead, but he also knew that it was rewarding. Instead of choosing to settle anywhere with his family and be content, he went down to Mitzrayim. He had a nation of Hashem to build. He had to start in golus.

We begin the Pesach seder with the realization that golus is not a punishment, but rather the growing pains to acquire Eretz Yisroel. These are the hardships that Esav chose to give up. So to the Torah begins the golus Mitzrayim giving a special mention to Yaakov and the shevatim for choosing the path of golus in order to inherit the land that was promised to Avrohom.

I would like to wish a warm welcome to Eretz Yisroel to Moshe Krohn and Family! May it be a 'gut yishuv'!

Vayichi

2010-12-17T14:39:00.001+02:00

Sorry this is the unedited version due to time constraints.

After Yakov died the Shevatim asked Yossef for forgivness. Yosef answered; וְאַתֶּם חֲשַׁבְתֶּם עָלַי רָעָה אֱלֹהִים, חֲשָׁבָהּ לְטֹבָה, לְמַעַן עֲשֹׂה כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה, לְהַחֲיֹת עַם-רָב.. You thought that you were doing bad but in reality it was for the good – for today I am here and I am able to feed you all.
The Ohr Hachaim says that Yosef answered his brothers; you’re totally innocent. If someone who thinks he is eating trief meat and while not realizing it, it is really kosher meat - he is innocent. The punishment depends on the outcome, is it a good or bad deed. So to, Yosef told his brothers, even though you thought to harm me since it led to good, there is no wrongdoing on your part and you’re free of any punishment. (On a side note- this seems to contradict the famous Chazal that the Shevatim were not totally forgiven and the asarah harugai malchus were an atonement for them.)
The Gemora in Nedarim says; if a lady makes a vow, her father or husband can be nullify it. If it happened that a woman made a vow and goes ahead and breaks the vow. Unbeknown to her at the time of the transgression her neder had been nullified already and in reality she did nothing wrong – she still needs a kaporah for her intention. In light of this halacha the Ohr Hachaim is obviously perplexing. The Shevatim had done wrong – they sold their own brother as a slave. How can they be totally innocent? Even if the end of the story was that it all was for the good, their intention wasn’t for the good and would be enough to warrant a kapporah.
The Pardes Yossef offers an answer that while it may not fit into the words of the Ohr Hachaim it clarifies an issue. What the Shevatim were thinking when the sold Yosef is beyond our comprehension. We cannot begin to understand the machlokas that went on between yosef and his brothers. But there is one thing that we have to know; They all were 100 percent leshaim shomaim – not a tiny bit of their own selves involved. The argument wasn’t a petty one of jealousy, rather a machlokas of two different ways of how to serve Hashem. The Shevatim clearly felt that what Yossef was doing warranted them selling him amd even killing him- his death or his selling- (Just like Sorah and Rivka threw out Yismael and Esav from the family, they to felt that Yossef should be thrown out.) Their intentions bein adom lemokom were one hundred percent to do the right thing.
The Halacha of the Gemora in Nedarim is true when someone has bad intentions and yet his actions are innocent that is when he needs forgiveness. Yosef told his brothers; Being that your intentions were clearly good and so is the outcome – it is just the middle that seemed bad – there is no need to ask for forgiveness, you are totally innocent.

Parsha Point to Ponder - Vayigash

2010-12-10T13:02:00.000+02:00

In Parshas Vyeshev Rashi tells us that all the Torah Yaakov learned in the yeshiva of Shem and Ever, he taught to his son Yosef.
Why did Yaakov send Yehudah to Mitzraim to open a Yeshiva and not give the job to Yosef who was in Mitzraim already?

Chanukah

2010-12-03T14:38:00.000+02:00

By definition golus is when one is exiled in a foreign land. The third golus we went through as a nation- the one that gave us Chanukah, was that of Yavan- the Greek empire. Yet we were in our homeland, with the Bais Hamikdosh standing, all along. What about the struggles we went through with the Greeks is categorized as golus? The Marsha (Megillah 11a) answers: The objective of the Greeks in their conflict with Yisroel was to take the kedusha out of Am Yisroel. The Greek philosophy was that there is no kedusha in the world, nothing is holier then the next thing- Yisroel is just like any other nation, the Torah is just as mundane as any other subject and the Holyland, Eretz Yisroel, is just like any other land in the world. In their fight against Yisroel the Greeks were successful in uprooting the kedusha from Eretz Yisroel thus making our homeland foreign to us. The three golios that took place outside of Eretz Yisroel are compared to a son that is lost and far away from his father. The golus of Yavan is compared to a son who doesn’t recognize his father’s house, thus feeling like a foreigner while he is in his own home. With the kedusha taken out of Eretz Yisroel, Eretz Yisroel itself became the foreign land we were exiled to. The victory of Chanukah had to have included in it the freedom from this struggle. With the Neis of Chanukah the kedusha was put back into Eretz Yisroel and was once again the home of Klal Yisroel.
Chanukah was the completion of the dedication of the second Bais Hamikdosh. Chasmal tell us that when they returned to Eretz Yisroel to build the second Bais Hamikdosh, Ezra sanctified the land for eternity- ‘kudsha leshata ul’usid lavoh’. R’ S. R. Hirsch (Bamidbor 15;18) explains this to mean, that the goal of the second Bais Hamikdosh was to equip Klal Yisroel and prepare them for the centuries of dispersion that lay ahead of them. The victory over the mighty Greeks completed the work of sanctifying the land that Ezra had started, making the kedusha of Eretz Yisroel a reality for eternity. Bringing the second Bais Hamikdosh and the kedusha of Eretz Yisroel to completion- a kedusha to last for eternity.

2010-11-19T14:15:00.000+02:00

As Yaakov was in battle with the angel, the malach said, “Let me go for it's morning" Chazal tell us that he meant that 'it's time for me to sing shira to Hashem'.
The Koshnitzer Maggid asks - If he knew that he has to sing shira at a appointed time why did he pick a fight with Yaakov so close to that time? Wouldn’t it have been smarter for him to fight with Yaakov after he sang shira?
The answer lies in the understanding of who the angel was and what his tachlis- purpose on this world. Chazal teach us that the angel was the 'sar shel Esav' also known as the yetzer horah.
On the last day of creation it says, (bereishes 1;31) "Hashem saw all that he had made, and lo! It was very good." The medrish explains that 'It was good' refers to the yetzer tov, while the 'very good' refers to the yetzer horah. The meforshim explain that life would be nice and calm without an evil inclination, but without any tests we wouldn't be able to grow. Being challenged by the yetzer horah and overcoming it is what makes this world 'very good'. The whole purpose of creation in general and the evil inclination in particular is to help us grow by overcoming the obstacles we are faced with and when we do, the evil inclination has accomplished it's purpose of creation.
Shira is sang to Hakodosh borech hu when a mission has been accomplished. The precise second that the angel saw that he could not win over Yaakov, that in fact Yaakov had overcome his fight with the yetzer horah, his mission was completed successfully and thus was able to sing shira to Hashem.

Parshas Va'yietzai

2010-11-12T13:57:00.000+02:00

Avraham referred to the makom hamikdosh as har Hashem- the mountain of Hashem. Yitzchok called that same spot sadeh- a field. In this week's parsha Yaakov calls it bais Elokim- the house of Hashem.

Maseh Avos siman l'bonim- everything that the Torah tells us that transpired to the Avos, is a sign to what their children will go through. Yaakov was the Av that taught us how to live life in golus. He was the one that lived through exile, in a hostile environment and flourished and grew despite the antogonism of Lavan and Esav. We are to learn about the life of Yaakov and learn the lessons of how to live through the long golus.

As Yaakov was leaving Eretz Yisroel- running away from a brother who wanted to kill him, running to live by an uncle who wanted to destroy him- he first stopped at the Makom Hamikdosh to daven. How would he be able to survive the hostilities he was about to face in the house of Lavan- so far from the kedusha of the house of Yitzchok? His hope was to build a house of kedusha for only a house can protect him from the outside influences. His last stop before going into exile was the makom hamikdosh- the source of kedusha in this world. He built himself a house of kedusha in that spot to take along with him on his journey through golus.

אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵֽאֵת־יְהֹוָה אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵֽית־יְהֹוָה כָּל־יְמֵי חַיַּי - Dovid hamelech asks Hashem for one thing- to dwell in the house of Hashem all the days of his life. Isn't that request a bit unrealistic? Dovid had to take care of his kingly duties, to take heed of and solve the problems of the country and of the Jewish people. He had to deal with other kingdoms, meet with his ministers, and make crucial decisions accourding to the will of Hashem. How could he pray to dwell in the house of Hashem ALL the days of his life? Reb. Sarah Schenirer (Carry Me In Your Heart by Pearl Benisch, Feldheim Publisherd- pg. 127) answers: The whole universe is a House of Hashem. Wherever we go, whatever place we occupy, we can make it a dwelling for Hashem. Whatever we do, every day and every minute of our lives, we dwell in Hashem's house if we do everything with His will in mind. Everything we do, say, and feel, in dealing with people or in practicing our professions with honesty and truth according to Hashem's commandments, we dwell in Hashem's House all our lives. Dovid's wish was that he be able to live his life and yet never leave the house of Hashem.

Yaakov was the first one to go into exile. On his way he was taught an important lesson. One can be doing the most mundane things and yet be dwelling in the house of Hashem. Hashem made sure that Yaakov went to sleep at the makom hamikdash, to teach him that if you build a house of Hashem, a house of kedusha- anywhere in the world, anything you do in it- even sleep, if it is done to bring you closer to Hashem, is the highest form of service of Hashem.

Parshas Vayietzai Ponderable Points:
Why is it important for the Torah to tell us the give and take between Yakoov and the shepherds about the rock on top of the well and that Yakoov (The 'ish tam') was able to roll it off himself?

Why did Yakoov offer to work for seven years?
(In the Torah we find we find the concept of working for six- days, years and resting the seventh. Shabbos, Shmitta and eved evrey)

Is there a significance that all the Shvotim where named by their mothers? (With the exception of Levi)

How come Yakoov left Lavans house before his mother called for him, as she said she will?

Parshas Toldas

2010-11-05T00:15:00.002+02:00

The world knew that there is a set of twins growing up in the house of Yitzchok that were vastly different. Yaakov was אִישׁ תָּם יֹשֵׁב אֹהָלִים, while Esav was אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד אִישׁ שָׂדֶה. It was quite obvious that yakov would be the bearer of the mesora handed down from Avraham. It was clear to all - except to Yitzchok. וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת-עֵשָׂו כִּי-צַיִד בְּפִיו. Yitzchok was apparently fooled by Esavs behavior not just did he love him but he also wanted to bestow the brochas on Esav before he died. How do we understand that Yitzchok was shortsighted and didn’t see the faults of his son? Why did he want to give the brochas to Esav over Yakov?
The example we are given of how Esav fooled Yitzchok is that he would ask ‘how does one tithe salt?’ Is their any significance to this question or is it just a random example of the kind of questions Esav would ask?
There is a partnership known to Jews as 'Yissoschar - Zevulan' partnership. The people of Yissoschar were known to be the greatest Torah scholars- they toiled in the Torah all day. Who was to support them? Where would they have the money to live on? The answer is in the tribe which neighbored them. The people of Zevulan were tradesmen. The piece of land that they were allotted was strategically situated near the port - they made their fortune by trading. But what would be of their Torah learning? If they worked all day when would they learn? Zevulan was to support Yissoschor, it was to be a fifty- fifty partnership. Half the money that the people of Zevulan profited in their trade was to go to the people of Yissoschor as means of support. In return the people of Zevulan received half of the Torah learning done by the people of Yissoschor. When Yaakov and Moshe- respectively - blessed Klal Yisroel before their deaths they both blessed Zevulan before Yissaschor. They made the point to teach us that both of the partners had an equal share in the learning of Yissoschar. Both the learners and the supporters would share the reward.
The Imrai Noam (R’ Mier of Dzikev) explains; Yitzchok was not fooled by Esav – he knew exactly what his strengths were. He realized that Yaakov and Esav had two different personalities, that Yaakov was the studious type while Esav was a man of the fields. Yitzchok envisioned a world where these two opposite personalities would come together and form one group. His hope was for Esav and Yaakov to build a Yissoschar – Zevulan type of relationship. It would be the only way for Esav to lead a fulfilling life. Esav would go out and make the money supporting Yaakov who would sit and learn torah- bringing ultimate harmony to the world, and both Yaakov and Esav would share the reward. It is precisely in this respect where Esav fooled his father. He wanted to know the exact halachos of masser and tzedaka, he tried to impress upon – and succeeded in fooling - Yitzchok that he was fulfilling his part of the deal, he was ready to give tzedakah even from salt in order to support Yaakov.
The Brochos of Yitzchok were blessings of an abundance of wealth – the pleasures of this world. Yitzchok wanted to give Esav the wealth and that he should share it with Yaakov leaving him free to spend his days learning- thus giving Esav a part of the world to come.
P.S. It is worthwhile to read R’ Shamshan Refoel’s essay on Yaakov and Esav in Collected Writings volume 7. He explains the two personalities of Yaakov and Esav as we did.

Parshas Chai Sora

2010-10-29T15:27:00.001+02:00

When Eliezer went out to find a wife for Yitzchok, he planned a simple 'test' to see which girl would be right for Yitzchok. He would request a drink of water from a girl. If she would give him and then offer his camels to drink, she would surely be the right wife for Yitzchok.There are two middos that seemingly are the same, but are vastly different- the midda of chesed and that of rachamim. Both look the same, for both involve giving to someone anything that he lacks. Yet the difference is elementary. A baal rachamim dosn't just give out of the goodness in his heart. If a pauper comes his way he feels bad and hurt for the fellow and helps him accordingly. As much mercy as he has on the poor man, that's how much he will help him- he is there to fill the needs of others. A baal chesed on the other hand is much greater. He is someone that feels a need to give, a need to help others. This need stems from his own feeling that he must give and goes out to find people that he can do favors for. That was the middah of Avraham- chessed. On a scorching hot day he sat outside looking and running after guests- for he felt a need to give and couldn't rest unless he was helping someone else. Eliezer was looking for someone who was ready to join the house of Avraham and the most important quality she had to posses was that of chessed. He devised a plan to see if the girl was a baalas rachamim or was she on the higher level of a baalas chessed. He would ask her for a drink - if she was a baalas rachamim she would gladly offer him- a wary travler- some water to drink. But he was looking for much more. He wanted to see if she would go the extra mile and do extra for him. Would she out do her duty and find a way to give more- was she a baalas chessed? If she offered the camels a drink also, she did more then she was asked- then she was the right one to join the house of chessed.
In the zemiros of Friday night we say, דורשי יי זרע אברהם אוהבו. המאחרים לצאת מן השבת וממהרים לבא
Why do we refer to Klal Yisroel as the children of Avraham when we say that they anxiously wait for Shabbos to begin?All mitzvahs have an exact time and place when and how they can and should be done. We have no right to add or subtract fom any mitzvah. We don't have permission to do a mitzvah more then we are told to do just because we want to do more - it is baal tosef. The only mitzvah we could add to is Shabbos. We can accept Shabbos a little early and extend it a few hours into the night after nightfall- the mitzva of Tosfes Shabbos. That is the way we show Hashem that we serve him not because we are told, but rather because it's what we really want to do- our middah of chessed in doing mitzvahs. The middah of Avraham is what gave us the zechus of Tosfes Shabbos.

Parshas V'yaira

2010-10-21T23:53:00.005+02:00

The T'az gives two reasons for the minhag to say Parshas H'akeidah every morning. Firstly, to invoke the memory of the akeidah and z'chus avos. Secondly, to help us in our fight against the yetzer horah. Just as Yitzchak was moser nefesh for Hashem's will, so too can we fight the yetzer horah in own selves.

The Tanya goes to great lengths to explain that every Jew - even the simplest Jew - is ready and willing to die for Hashem's sake. There is an emunah p'shuta inherint in every Jew that is above anything in this world. It doesn't have to be proven; it can't be proven. No logic can explain a Jew's inner belief that Hashem is one and the creator of all. It's factual and facts need no logic. (The seforim explain that while it is good to learn inyanim that deal with proving Hashem and his existence, your belief in Him should be only with pure emunah. For any proof or logic you have can be disproven by someone smarter or more logical than you. However, emunah cannot be discussed and is not in danger of being disproven. The Baal Shem Tov used to say of himself: "After all the levels I have reached, my emunah in Hashem is like that of a little kid - I just believe.")

If a Jew is faced with the choice to worship avodah zarah or die, even if all his senses tell him to bow down, if logic dictates that he bow down. It is his inner emunah that screams, "How can you? How can you deny Hashem's existence for even a second? How can you not give up your life for Hashem?" This voice is louder and will defy any common sense.

The Tanya goes on and brings this into the everyday life of a Jew. When faced with an inclination to do something against the will of Hashem, remind yourself of this. You would be willing to die for Hashem's will. How big is your taivah to do wrong? Can it be bigger than dying? If you're willing to die for not being separated from Hashem for even a second, you should be able to overcome any desire you have and not go against His will.

Yitzchak is the av that taught us mesiras nefesh. He went to the akeidah on the basis of pure emunah. (Hashem didn't speak to him, only Avraham heard directly from Hashem). He was ready to give up his life for Hashem. It didn't make sense for him to go, yet he listened to his father - for he knew that it was what he must do. It is from him that we learn to overcome our everyday yetzer horah.

Parshes Lech Lecha

2010-10-14T23:34:00.003+02:00

After Avraham got to the land of Cannan, the land was struck by a famine and Avraham - putting his wife in moral danger, went down to Mitzraim. How was it that Avraham left the land to which he was directed and did not trust Hashem the one who knows how to provide in hunger and desert? How did he seemingly expose the moral well-being of his wife to such a danger just to save himself? The Ramban writes; "Avraham comitted a grave sin in his behaviour towards his wife and even deserting the land to which he had been directed was already a sin". All the meforshim are bothered and try to explain this Ramban; How can- and for what purpose- does the Ramban write that Avraham sinned? R' S. R. Hirsch Zatza"l offers us an insight into the way the Torah looks at- and teaches us about- our forefathers and great men. (The following is a direct quote taken from the R' Isaac Levy - Judaica Press traslation.)
"This statement should not worry or mislead us. The Torah never presents our great men as being perfect and says of none "here you have the ideal, in this man the divine becomes human". Altogether it puts the life of no man before us as the pattern out of which we are to learn what is right and good, what are we to do, what to refrain from doing. Where the word of Hashem would set a pattern for us to imitate - it places no man born of dust - there Hashem says "look at me, imitate me, wander in my ways". We are never to say: This must be right for did not so-and-so do it! The Torah isn't "collection of examples of saints". It relates what occurred, not because it was exemplary, but because it did occur.
The Torah never hides from us the faults, errors and weaknesses of our great men. Just by that it gives the stamp of veracity to what it relates. But in truth, by the knowledge which is given us of their faults and weaknesses, our great men are in no wise made lesser but actually greater and more instructive. If they stood before us as the purest models of perfection we should attribute them to having a different nature, which has been denied to us. Were they without passion, without internal struggles, their virtues would seem to us as an outcome of some higher nature, hardly a merit and certainly no model that we could hope to emulate. Take for instance Moshe's humility. Did we not see that he could also fly into a passion, his meekness and modesty would seem to us to be his natural disposition, and lost to us as an example. Just his שמעו נא המורים gives his humility its true greatness, shows it to us as a result of a great work of self-control and self ennoblement which we all should copy- for we all could copy."

Parsha Point To Ponder- Chukas

2010-06-18T18:47:00.000+03:00

We find that Moshe davened 515 tefillos trying to reverse the decree that he cannot go into Eretz Yisroel.
Why do we not find Aron - who recieved the same decree at the same time- davening at all for the privilge to enter the holy land?

Parshas Shelach- Tzitzis

2010-06-04T11:57:00.004+03:00

A huge Mazel Tov to Y.H. and M. Brachfeld on the birth of a baby girl. May you see tons of nachas from her and the boys!

Rashi says that the blue string on the Tzitzis is to remind one of the sea which is blue, which in turn reminds one of the sky, which is supposed to remind one of the heavenly throne of Hashem. A lot of the meforshim ask, if Tzitzis is supposed to remind us of the throne, why does rashi give us the connection in a roundabout way? Futhermore, the Torah tells us that Tzitzis, by merely looking at them (The Charaidem says that it is positive commandment to just look at you Tzitzis), reminds us of the 613 mitzvos and offers protection from the temptations of this world. (The Bach- siman 8, Mishna Berurah- holds that to properly perform the mitzva you have to have keep in mind that tzitzis reminds us of the 613 mitzvos.) What is about Tzitzis that the Torah tells us will help us remember the Mitzvos of Hashem and protect us from the temptations of Olam hazeh?

R’ S. R. Hirsch explains; the protection that Tzitzis provides against the temptations of this world, isn’t just magic- but rather a practical suggestion by the Torah. The pleasures of this world stare us in the face. The ‘reward’ of following your heart and eyes are instant, the pleasures of this world offer instant gratification. As opposed to spiritual reward- by nature- is hidden from us, we cannot see or feel it in our life time. It takes deep self introspection to realize that doing what the Torah says is the right thing to do. The only way to fight the temptations that are right in front of us is to really look at the options and see what is it that we are giving up for that quick pleasure. When you look at your Tzitzis what is it that you see? Is it just random strings? That is all you’ll see if you look at it superficially and you’ll then struggle with the ‘taavis’ of the world around you. Rashi is telling us to take a deeper look and see a connection- albeit one that’s not so recognizable, but definitely there- a real and deep lasting connection to Hashem. Tzitzis are blue strings that links you all the way to the heavenly throne and offers a path to rise above the struggles of this world. Just like the Tzitzis the beginning you will feel all tied up and restricted, but you’ll come to the realization that you’re the freest person in the world!

Parshas B'eholoscha

2010-05-28T14:41:00.003+03:00

In this week’s Parsha we learn that the first Pesach in the desert- a year after they left Mitzrayim- Klal Yisroel sacrificed the Korban Pesach. This was the only korban Pesach they sacrificed in all the forty years they spent in the midbar. Rashi says that this was an embarrassment to Klal Yisroel. The reason they didn’t offer the Pesach any of the other forty years was because they were not able to circumcise their children in the desert, because there was a danger involved. Iif one has a son who isn’t circumcised he is not permitted to eat from the Korban Pesach. The Ramban asks: if they had a valid reason not to eat the Korban Pesach- which they did have- why does Rashi say it was an embarrassment to them?
The pesukim that follow tell of a few Jews who were impure and unable to participate in that first Pesach. They came to Moshe complaining, “Why should we be kept back from offering the korban at the appointed time in the midst of Bnei Yisroel?” Since their yearning was earnest Hashem told Moshe of a new mitzvah- the mitzvah of Pesach Sheini. The Chidushai Harim explains; Klal Yisroel had a valid reason not to bring the Korban Pesach and so did the people were impure the first year. The ones that were impure that first year didn’t give up- they had a real yearning to participate in the festivities. It was their yearning - at a time when they truly were excused from the mitzvah - that changed the reality and created a new mitzvah. Had Klal Yisroel- in all their forty years in the Midbar, really felt like they were missing out on something, had they had that true yearning- something would’ve changed, there would have been a way for them to bring the Korban Pesach. They were excused from bringing the Korban Pesach and that wasn’t anything to be ashamed of. The embarrassment was that they were passive about not being able to bring the Korban Pesach. They were missing that yearning, that real desire to do the mitzvah. There are many things in our lives that we cannot do- all for very good reasons, but do we really have that yearning and drive to do good?

Shevuos

2010-05-17T23:19:00.004+03:00

The phrase 'naase v'nishma' and its sequence which places 'naase'- doing- before 'nishma'- hearing, originates with the Malachei Hashareis. It could be said only by them, for it expresses the fact that hearing is not essential to angels, nor is it what brings them to do the will of Hashem. Malachim have no free will, they have no reality except to do the will of Hashem. Obviously, they must hear if they are to know what they are to do, but their actual doing needs no causes. Their very name identifies them- malach means messenger - they have no existence except to be sent and to serve. 'No malach can be sent on more then one mission' because their mission becomes their essence, and they cannot have more than one essence. Precisely because all reality for malachim is in their doing- they are beings that do, naase must precede nishma.
And this became the precise nature and character of the new creation which emerged at Sinai. From the moment of Matan Torah there exists upon this earth a creation whose essential reality, whose entire existence, is to do the will of Hashem. The name of this creation is Klal Yisroel. Reb Yerucham Levovitz once said; "The greatest act of bechira is to choose to lose your bechira". When we proclaimed in unity 'naase v'nishma' we chose as a nation to become angel like, to have only one reality- to do the will of Hashem.
The supreme achievement of Matan Torah was not that heaven descended upon earth, the supreme achievement was the fusion of heaven and earth into one entity and the concerns of heaven are the only reality upon earth. Hashem, Yisroel and Torah became one. Hearing is no longer essential to Klal Yisroel, nor is it the cause for doing. Doing now comes because we are one with Hashem. And so Klal Yisroel also said 'naase' before 'nishma'- just like the Malachim.
(Pachad Yitzchok Shevuos Maamer 4:7- traslation from; Citadal And Tower I page 82)

Today In Jewish History- Rosh Chodesh Sivan

2010-05-14T00:09:00.002+03:00

The Torah begins the narative of Kabolas Hatorah on Rosh Chodesh Sivan: בַּחֹדֶשׁ, הַשְּׁלִישִׁי, לְצֵאת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם--בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה, בָּאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינָי. On that day the arrived at Midbar Sinai. The Torah then continues the narrative: וַיִּסְעוּ מֵרְפִידִים, וַיָּבֹאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינַי, וַיַּחֲנוּ, בַּמִּדְבָּר. They left Rifidim (Klal Yisroel's previous dwelling) and came to Midbar Sinai, and rested in the Midbar.
The Ohr Hachaim asks; Why does the Torah tell us that they arrived at Midbar Sinai before it tells us where they came from and then returns and begins the story all over again?
The Ohr hachaim answers: The day K'Y arrived at Sinai, ready to receive the Torah- was awaited for by the creator, the Torah and the world. From the day the world was created, the universe was eagerly awaiting- when will Klal Yisroel get to Midbar Sinai. At the moment they arrived, the Torah just blurted out- without having patience to go through the entire narrative- בָּאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינָי- the day we're anticipating for so long is here- Klal Yisroel arrived at Sinai!- the heavens and earth were rejoicing! It is only after that that the narrative with all the details can be said.

2010-04-30T01:44:00.000+03:00

The pure righteous do not complain of the dark, but increase the light; they do not complain of evil, but increase justice; they do not complain of heresy, but increase faith; they do not complain of ignorance, but increase wisdom. - Rav Kook

Parshas Achrai

2010-04-22T23:09:00.003+03:00

The Kohen Gadol was not allowed to wear any gold when he entered the Kodesh Hakedoshim on Yom Kippur. Rashi explains that since the eigel was gold, we don’t want that sin to be remembered at the holiest time of the year- ‘The prosecution cannot become the defense’. The korban Ahron offered for himself and the Kohanim on Yom Kippur was par- a cow.
Why is it that no gold was worn for there is to be no reference to the eigel, yet the offering of the Kohen Gadol was an adult eigel- a cow? Why wasn’t that a reminder- one that we were trying to avoid- of the eigel?
To properly understand Klal Yisroel’s sin of the eigal is beyond the scope of our understanding. However we can learn the words of Chazal and how they explained it to us. We are taught that on some level Klal Yisroel was guilty of worshiping Avodah Zorah. That was Klal Yisroel. Ahron, however, made the eigal. How is it possible that Ahron- the Kohen Gadol, the head of Shevet Levi- who was the only tribe completely innocent of any wrongdoing at the eigel- stumbled so low to actually build an idol?
The Chein Tov, (I would like to publicly thank my uncle Yossi for sharing this piece with me and for opening the glorious sefer to the general public) in the name of R’ Shlome Alkavetz- the Baal Lecha Dodi- explains that Ahron, by making the eigel, was glorifying Hashem’s name. The Gemora says that if one contemplates committing a sin, he is not punished, except for the sin of avodah zorah. If one merely contemplates and thinks of worshiping avodah zorah his thoughts are like deeds and he is guilty of sinning. Klal Yisroel came to Ahron. They wanted to make an idol. Ahron realized that at that point - they were planning and wanted to worship avodah zorah - they were guilty already, even before they took any action. Klal Yisroel would be punished for their thoughts and no one would know why they were punished- for only Hashem knows people’s thoughts. Ahron felt that a great chillul Hashem would ensue had Klal Yisroel been punished for no apparent reason. By building the eigel, Ahron demonstrated for all to realize that Klal Yisroel was deserving of punishment.
The sin of the eigal was a shameful episode for Klal Yisroel. Hence when the kohan Gadol went into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur he did not wear any gold for it reminds of that shameful act. Ahron in his own avodah on that Holy day- when he asks for forgiveness for himself and all of the Kohanim- has nothing to be ashamed of, he wasn’t guilty of any sin at the eigel. Thus Ahron can bring a porah on Yom Kippur.

Parshas Hachodesh

2010-03-12T01:14:00.001+02:00

Blissful are those on whom the sun of fortune shines continuously, whose sky is not overcast, and who bathe in the warm noontime rays of light. Happier still are the redeemed ones who exclaim with joy at the sunrise of liberation having experienced the loneliness of the night. Blissful are the angels who, without blemish and sin, eternally pure, perform their Divine service at the throne of G-d. Even more joyful are those who raise themselves from the mire of sin to light and purity, who struggle for the light, who battle for purity, who vanquish the power of darkness and depravity. - R' S. R. Hirsch on Parshas Hachodesh.

Story Time

2010-03-09T08:00:00.001+02:00

Rav Ezriel Hildesheimer was one of the big German gedolim that saved German Jewry from the enlightenment movement in the mid 1800s. Together with gedolim like Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch he implemented the yeshiva system of 'torah im derech eretz' where as part of the yeshiva curriculum they taught secular studies. For twelve years he was the head of the Yeshiva in Eisenstadt, Hungary. He was just the third German rav to be appointed rav in Hungary, and was the first one to open a yeshiva in Hungary that taught 'Torah im derech eretz'.
A certain rabbi, one of Rav Hildesheimer's own friends, was visiting the yeshiva. He was also present when secular instruction was being given. "We often speak of you," said the guest, "and we ask ourselves how you find time for lessons in secular subjects". "The time you spend speaking about me I use for teaching these general subjects, without detriment to my shiurim", answered Rav Hildesheimer.

PURIM

2010-02-26T15:35:00.002+02:00

Hashem’s name isn’t mentioned in all of Megilahs Esther. Chazal tell us that every time the word ‘Hamelech’ is mentioned it refers to the king of all kings- Hashem.
When one says a story of ‘the rebbe’ or ‘the rosh yeshiva’, he can mean a few different people- it depends on who his rebbe/ rosh yeshiva is, who he’s talking to or the context of the conversation. But if there is a central rebbe/ rosh yeshiva that everyone looks up to and everyone recognizes, then when you mention ‘the rebbe/rosh yeshiva’ it can be assumed that you’re referring to him.
Dovid Hamelech praises Hashem for לְעֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת לְבַדּוֹ– He alone performs great wonders. Why is it a praise that he does so himself? Isn’t that obvious, if it’s truly wondrous, then it came from Hashem himself. The Yosef Lekach on Megilas Esther explains; Hashem does wondrous things that only he himself knows that their truly wondrous. We live our everyday life not realizing that everything that’s going on around us is being orchestrated by Hashem, for our benefit. The miracle of Purim is when we saw this crystal clear. We saw and lived through events that made no sense and even seemed horrific. A Jewish girl was taken against her will, to be Queen, yet no one knew that she was Jewish. Imagine how the Jews felt, they have one of their own living in the palace and yet she cannot do anything to benefit them- for no one knows she’s Jewish. All this and many other circumstances were all part of the divine plan to wondrously save Klal Yisroel. לְעֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת לְבַדּוֹ -Only Hashem knows how truly wondrous he runs the world.
Purim we saw that everything in this world is run by Hashem. That even the mightiest human king cannot stand in the way of Hashem’s daily wonders. When we read the megilah we come to the realization that every Hamelech is indeed Hashem.

For Parshas Zachor go here.

Mazel Tov to Babbi, Uncle Yossi and Yisroel Dov on the birth of a baby boy!

Parshas Mishpotim

2010-02-12T01:10:00.006+02:00

The Divrei Yoel writes; on Tuesday night parshas Lech Lecha he dreamt that it was Friday night parshas Mishpotim and a thought came to him. The medrash compares the words וְאֵלֶּה, הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם with the words of Thillem- מַגִּיד דְּבָרָו לְיַעֲקֹב; חֻקָּיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו לְיִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא עָשָׂה כֵן, לְכָל-גּוֹי וּמִשְׁפָּטִים בַּל-יְדָעוּם . . The posuk starts with saying that Hashem gave chukim and mishpatim to Klal Yisroel, and continues to say that he did not teach mishpotim to the goyim. Shouldn’t the second posuk also read that the goyim weren’t taught chukim and mishpotim? Even more so the definition of chukim is something without a reason- one would think that that was given only to us, while the goyim were given mishpotim - the logical commandments?
When Klal Yisroel received the Torah, we got much more than a set of commandments. We received the permission to understand them and to learn them according to our ability. We have the responsibility to interpret the holy words of the Torah and apply them to our lives. The basic meaning and understanding of the dinim could, and do change according to Klal Yisroel’s understanding. We were given chukim- laws without meaning, just a set of commandments chiseled in stone. Through our toil in Torah we turn the chukim into mishpatim- laws that we understand and relate to. The nations of the world only received a set of rules to abide to. They were not given the ability to understand them and so for them it remains chukim.
Rashi writes that Hashem told Moshe וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם– teach the laws to Yisroel. Don’t just teach them the halachos once and twice, rather lay them out like a set table. (For a nice thought on this Rashi click here) Moshe thought that all he is to teach Klal Yisroel was the dinim he learned. The tammai mitzvos - the depth of the mitzvos - he thought wasn't meant for them. Hashem told him, don't just teach them the dry dinim- the chukim, teach them the ways of learning and understanding Torah. Teach them the Torah as mishpotim.

Parshas Yisro

2010-02-05T14:27:00.000+02:00

The Aseres Hadibros are written twice in chumash, with a number of differences. We tend to believe, based on Chazal, that the version in this week’s parsha is what was written on luchas rishonim- the one we received on 7th day of Sivan and was broken when we sinned with the eigal. The version that we read in Parshas V’eschanan is luchas shneios- what was returned to us on Yom Kippur after we were forgiven for the eigal. One of the differences is the way the commandment for Shabbos is stated. In luchas reshomin it starts with the word ‘zachor’- remember the Shabbos. This is the mitzvas asseh- positive commandment of Shabbos. In luchas shneios we are told the negative commandment of Shabbos- the commandment opens with the word ‘shomer’- watch the Shabbos. Clearly both versions were said and heard at kabolas hatorah at Sinai as we are taught; זכור ושמור בדיבור אחד נאמרו. The two different versions of aseres hadibros was what we understood from it. Luchas rishonim, when we heard zachor and shomer we understood that the focal point was zachor and shomer was just an added dimension. At luchas shneios we understood shomer, and zachor was just an added dimension.
One can contemplate who brings more pleasure to Hashem, a tzadik- one who dedicates his life to Hashem and never did anything against His will- or a baal teshuvah- one who struggles in his fight with the yetzer horah. If we judge them by their deeds, the tzadik is definitely greater. A perfect tzadik has never strayed from Hashem’s ways. Every deed he does, every word he utters, every step he takes, every detail in his life brings glory to Hashem’s name. His very nature is one of perfection and deveikus b’Hashem. On the other hand, a baal teshuvah, while he struggles to be close to Hashem, he still does many things that distance him from Hashem. He does not enjoy the deveikus b’Hashem that a tzadik does.
Yet we are taught במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין אין צדיקים גמורין יכולין לעמוד. In a sense a baal teshuva is greater than even the greatest tzadik. We can judge them by the hard work they put into their avodas Hashem. For a tzadik to do good comes natural, his body and soul are programmed to do Hashem’s will. A baal teshuvah struggles all his life for Hashem’s glory, every waking hour of his day he is a soldier fighting to do what’s right. The toil he puts in to do what’s right, is what makes him greater.
Luchos rishonim was given to Klal Yisroel at their point of perfection. Klal Yisroel, with the luchos rishonim were to be free of sin, free of the yetzer horah and free of death - a nation of tzadikim only capable of glorifying Hashem’s name. Had we physically gotten the luchos we would have kept that level and been an eternally perfect nation and brought perfection to the world. But we didn’t manage to bring the luchos down to the world. With the sin of the eigel, we lost the luchos, the handiwork of Hashem was smashed before our eyes, the broken pieces lie at the foot of the mountain. We put ourselves back into the world of imperfection. We now struggle to keep ourselves holy and close to Hashem. We are a nation of baalei teshuvah.
One, who is pure in all ways and has distanced himself from all wrongdoing, must be told only of the positive commandments. His main avodah is running after mitzvos. His greatest pleasure is to actively serve Hashem with love. The negative commandments aren’t really necessary for him for there is no will to do any wrong. A baal teshuvah, on the other hand, must first be told of what not to do- the negative commandments, and only then can he be told of the positive mitzvos, how to actively serve Hashem.
Parshas Yisro relates to the level we were on when we received the first luchos- on the level of tzadikim. In luchos reshonim Shabbos is given to them as a positive commandment- zachor. In parshas V’eschanan Klal Yisroel was after the sin of the eigal- on a lower level, a level of baalei teshuvah. Luchos achronim came to an imperfect nation, what they had to hear was the negative commandment- shomer.

Parsha Point To Ponder- Parshas Yisro

2010-02-05T10:04:00.008+02:00

“Aseres Hadibros” עשרת הדברותis usually translated as the “Ten Commandments”. This translation apparently has no basis from Jewish sources.

The Rambam counts fourteen Mitzvahs in the Parsha of the Aseres Hadibros.עשרת הדברות

1. אלקיך אנכי ה'
2. לא יהיה לך אלקים אחרים על פני
3. לא תעשה לך פסל כל תמונה
4. לא תשתחוה
5. ולא תעבדם
6. לא תשא שמה שוא
7. זכור את יום השבת לקדשו
8. לא תעשה כל מלאכה
9. כבד את אביך ואת אמך
10. לא תרצח
11. לא תגנב
12. לא תנאף
13. לא תענה ברעך
14. לא תחמד

Amongst the Rishonim there is a disagreement as to which- and exactly how many, of these are in fact included in the Taryag mitzvahs (Bhag does not count Anochi as a Mitzvah but rather as a fact that Klal Yisroel had to hear before they were able to hear the Mitzvahs) - but I think that all if not most will agree that there are more then Ten Mitzvahs- commandments in the Parsha.
That there were ten- is a Posuk in Parshas Veschanan that says there were ten ‘Devarim’ on two tablets. The Ramban (Drush Torahs Hashem Temima) points out that the posuk calls them Devarim and not mitzvahs. We see that there can be more then Ten Commandments on the luchas but as many as there are they make up the Ten Devarim.
There are many Shuls around the world that have a display of the Aseres Hadibros on the Aron- which has a basis in the Rishonim. I haven’t seen a disagreement as to which ten make up the Aseres Hadibros. The question is, what constitutes a dibur? It isn’t a Mitzva on its own nor is it every Parsha on its own for Anochi and Lo Yeheyah are in the same parsha.

Tefilah Point to Ponder

2010-01-12T23:12:00.003+02:00

Every Yom Tov shemona esrah includes the tefilah of 'Atah bechartanu'. Shabbos tefilos do not include this insert. The Levush explains that Shabbos preceeded the choosing of Klal Yisroel, we received the mitzva of Shabbos before kabbolas hatorah. The mussaf of Rosh Chodesh is also missing the insert of 'Atah bechartanu'- the reasoning of the Levush can be applied here as well.
Why is it that when Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbos (as the coming Shabbos) in Mussaf we find the words 'Atah bechartanu'?

A Huge Mazel Tov to L. Sheinfeld on the birth of a baby boy!

Parshas Shemos

2010-01-08T14:12:00.005+02:00

Parshas Shemos begins with the naming of the twelve sons of Yaakov. Rashi explains: The counting of Klal Yisroel express Hashem’s love for us, just like he counts the stars everyday he counts Yisroel over and over.
The Sefer of Shemos speaks of the redemption and birth of Klal Yisroel (hence the translation- Exodus). The birth of the nation of Yisroel started with exile. Golus in Mitzraim is compared to a fetus in a womb, it is what made the birth of Klal Yisroel possible. Through the darkness of the exile, in the lowest state, as we were wallowing in our blood , וָאֶעֱבֹר עָלַיִךְ וָאֶרְאֵךְ מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת בְּדָמָי Hashem gave us a new life- a life to be dedicated to Himוָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי, וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי.. One of the highlights (at least for kids) Pesach/Seder night is the saying/singing of דַּיֵּינוּ–we thank Hashem for all the good he did for us as we left Egypt. The culmination of that experience is
וְהִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבָנָה לָנוּ אֶת בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה לְכַפֵּר עַל כָּל עֲוֹנוֹתֵינוּ. -that we entered Eretz Yisroel and built the Bais Hamikdosh. The purpose of 210 years of bitter exile, of all the miracles that were done to take us out, were all in order that we should strive to dwell in Hashem’s land and build a dwelling for Hashem.
The Brisker Rav (parshas Vayichi) says that Eretz Yisroel was given to the twelve shevatim. It is only through the twelve tribes that we were able to settle the land of Yisroel. The Kedushas Levi explains - All twelve names of the Shevatim are references and suggest hashgacha pratis. Eretz Yisroel is the land where hashgacha is most profound. It is only throught the realization/zechus of the hashgacha demonstrated in the Shevatim that we were zoche to settle in Eretz Yisroel.
Every star is named by Hashem everyday - providing each and everyone its own special hashgacha. Golus Mitzraim is prefaced by the names of the twelve shevatim- comparing them to the stars. The goal of the exile is that we should learn and appreciate this special hashgacha Hashem offers Klal Yisroel- a nation of Shevatim, in a land of Hashgacha.

Parshas Vayichi

2010-01-01T12:55:00.004+02:00

כב וַאֲנִי נָתַתִּי לְךָ, שְׁכֶם אַחַד--עַל-אַחֶיךָ: אֲשֶׁר לָקַחְתִּי מִיַּד הָאֱמֹרִי, בְּחַרְבִּי וּבְקַשְׁתִּי
The Targum and Rashi explain the words 'sword and arrow' to relate to tefilah. The Brisker Rav explains that there are two types of prayers. We have the Siddur, the daily tefilos that the Anshe knesses Hagdolah implemented. We also have prayers that a Jew can say anytime - speak directly to Hashem- our own words our own tefilah. The difference between them is the same difference between a sword and an arrow. A sword is sharp and can do damage even when a small child is carrying it- it's own sharpness is what damages. An arrow does not have its own power, it needs a bow and someone to shoot it in order for it to damage. The strength of the shooter is what damages. The prayers that Chazal were misaken are like a sword. There is a sharpness to them, the words are potent and full of meaning. When a jew says the words of the Siddur- as weak and lowly as he feels- they can cut through the heavens and have a desired effect. The Nefesh Hachaim says that one should daven from a siddur, for the words and letters themselves, without the meaning of the words, have a certain strength to them. Then we have prayers that are like arrows- the words are made up by us, but they don't have the sharpness of Chazal. In order for those tefilos to have the desired effect we must put our strength into them. We must really direct all of our energies to the prayer to shoot it through the heavens. That is the reason why when one is troubled he goes to a gadol to pray for him. The tefilos we say when we are in trouble, the ones that we say on our own, need more power then the ones that we say everyday.

Mazel Tov to my grandmother, Uncle Yossi and Mendy B. on the birth of a baby boy. May he be a source of nachas for the whole family.

Parshas Va'yigash

2009-12-25T12:45:00.000+02:00

When Yosef revealed himself to his brothers he proved himself by saying “And behold your eyes see…. That it is my mouth that I’m speaking unto you”. Rashi explains that he spoke to them in ‘Lashon Hakodesh’- Hebrew. The Ramban asks, anyone can learn to speak any language so what kind of proof was that he was their long lost brother by speaking Hebrew?
The Chasam Sofer explains Rashi with a basic understanding of this language and what makes it ‘Hakodesh’- holy.
When the Jews went into their first exile, Bavel after the first churban they forgot their native language of Hebrew. How was it that they were a mere seventy years removed from their homeland and Hebrew was almost forgotten? Why is it that in today’s day some of us were brought up with a ‘Jewish’ language- Yiddish and yet Biblical Hebrew is all but forgotten?
Unlike any other language Hebrew is not made up of mere words but each and every word is the actual essence of what it describes. The classic example is: The word used for ‘said’ and the word used for ‘thing’ are very similar ‘Deeber’ and ‘Davar’- for they are in essence the same thing the word and how it’s said is just a way of expressing the thing. The holiness of Hebrew is that it is Hashem’s language, it is the language that was used to create and build the world. Hashem created the world with ten utterances, he actually build the entire universe with the words of Lashon Hakodesh as his ‘tools’. Everything in the world was build and is being sustained by Hashem ‘saying’ the word. Hence it is called holy, for it is the key to creation.
To be able to properly speak Lashon Hakodesh,to construct words and sentences of this holy language, one most be holy himself. That is why throughout the galus we forgot this holy language for we aren’t on the level of kedusha to be able to speak it. Yosef told his brothers look at me I spent 22 years here in the spiritual wasteland of Egypt and yet I retained my holiness and can still properly speak the awesome language of Hashem.

Chanukah 2- Kedushas Eretz Yisroel

2009-12-18T13:31:00.001+02:00

Chanukah

2009-12-11T12:55:00.002+02:00

There are seven Rabbinical mitzvahs and all are prefaced with the brocha that suggests a Divine command. ‘Asher kiddeshuno bmitzvosov vetzeivanu…’ Nowhere does the Gemora question this concept of Hashem commanding a rabbinical ordained mitzvah. Except Ner Chanukah. The Gemora asks ‘Where did Hashem command us to light Ner Chanukah? (Shabbos 23a).
When the Mishkon was inaugurated the twelve nasiem each brought a set of korbanos to dedicate the Mishkon. Rashi (the beginning of Parshas Behaloscha) says that Ahron was distressed why he wasn’t part of the chanukas hamishkon. Hashem told him that his portion is greater than theirs for he will light the menorah. The Ramban says “Korbanos are limited to the Bais Hamikdash. They can be brought only as long as the Bais Hamikdash stands. This is true with the menorah in the Bais Hamikdash. With the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash came an end to all avodah- including korbanos and Menorah. Kohanim, however still continue to serve even after the churban- they bless Klal Yisroel. Similarly, the Menorah continues even after the churban. This is the Ner of Chanukah that is ongoing even in exile. Hence Ahron’s mitzvah is greater than the Nasiem- for in every generation we light the Menorah. Note that the dedication of the Mishkon is preceded with Birchas Kohanim and followed by reference to Ner Chanukah. These two Mitzvahs continue to proclaim the grandeur of Ahron.”
There is a fundamental difference between these two mitzvah- Birchas Kohanim and Menorah. Birchas Kohanim does not require the Bais Hamikdash it can be said anywhere that there are ten Jews gathered. Not so the Menorah, the Menorah was an avodah of the Bais Hamikdash. Yet the Chachomim took the Menorah of the Bais Hamikdash and gave us an opportunity to bring it into our homes and transform our homes into a sanctuary. The Baal Hamoer explains that this is the reason we cannot derive any pleasure from the Ner Chanukah, for it is the Menorah of the Bais Hamikdash that we are lighting- transferred thru time and space into our own homes. Chanukah is a time when every Jewish home shines with the holy light of the Bais Hamikdash.
The Gemora was never bothered with how the Rabbonim can ordain a new mitzvah. The Gemora’s question of ‘Where did Hashem command us to light Ner Chanukah?’ is, where do we find that the Rabbonim can take the avodah out of the Bais Hamikdash and into our homes.

Adopted from Citadel and Tower by Reb Meir Belsky Volume 2 pg. 157.

May we all be blessed with a lichtiga Chanukah!!

Parshas Vayaitzai

2009-11-26T23:46:00.006+02:00

Point to Ponder- Tefillah

2009-11-23T20:22:00.003+02:00

All brachas in shemona esrah speak of ourselves- Klal Yisroel- in first person, רְפָאֵנוּ- heal us, שְׁמַע קולֵנוּ,- hear our prayers etc. We ask Hashem to help us- me, included in Klal Yisroel. There is one bracha that speaks of Klal Yisroel and yet speaks of Yisroel in third person.רְצֵה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ בְּעַמְּךָ יִשרָאֵל וּבִתְפִלָּתָם .....וְאִשֵּׁי יִשרָאֵל וּתְפִלָּת . Take pleasure in your people and their prayer...
What is different in this bracha that we change the way we relate to ourselves- from first person to third person?

Parshas Toldas

2009-11-20T14:02:00.002+02:00

Yitzchok and Rivka prayed to be blessed with a child. Both of their tefilos were the same, yet the posuk tells us that Hashem listened to the tefilos of Yitzchok over Rivka. Rashi explains that the tefilos of a tzaddik who is the son of a tzaddik are much more powerful than that of a tzaddik who is the son of a rasha, hence Yitzchok's tefilos were preferred over Rivka's.
The obvious question is: If both were great tzadikim why does it make a difference what their parents were like? Or better yet, Rivka's tefilos should have been more dear to Hashem being that she had to work on herself as opposed to Yitzhock whose greatness came naturally?
I heard the following answer from R' Yakov Salomon (b'shem Rav Dessler Vol 2 pg 205) at the bris of his grandchild, Yeudah Garfinkel- (mazel tov!). For the son of a wicked person- someone who wasn't brought up with the teachings of Hashem- to find hashem on his own is very noteworthy. Though once he finds Hashem the path he takes in serving him comes naturally- for he has nothing to emulate. On the other hand the son of a tzadik knows from the day he was born that there is a creator of the world, yet he still faces great challenges. His challenge is to find his own path in avodas Hashem- not just to serve Hashem the way his father did- rather he has to serve Hashem because that is what he himself feels and knows is right.
We start shemona esrai with 'Elokai Avraham Elokai Yitzchok v'Elokai Yakov'. Why dont we just say 'Elokai Avraham Yitzchok v'Yakov? Why do we preface each of the Avos with Elokai? Avraham found Hashem through the middah of chessed. He realized that Hashem is the fountain of chessed in the world and therefore sought to emulate Him by living a life entirely made up of doing chessed. Yitzchok could've just served hashem the same way, the way he was brought up by his parents- chessed. Yet he went out and found Hashem on his own, through his own middah of gevurah. So too, Yakov found Hashem on his own through the middah of emes. We say 'Elokai' before each Av for each one found Hashem on his own, with his own strenthgh and own personality. It is this that gave us three Avos, each one with his own distinct avodah. All three together form a unit that was able to father Klal Yisroel.
With this in mind we can now understand why Hashem prefers the Tefilos of the Tzaddik the son of a Tzaddik (Yitzchok) over the Tefilos of a Tzaddik the son of a rasha (Rivka).

Thank you Menachem Schwartz from yerushlaim for his input.

Parsha Chayai Sorah

2009-11-02T20:19:00.008+02:00

When Eliezer went out to find a wife for Yitzchok, he planned a simple 'test' to see which girl would be right for Yitzchok. He would request a drink of water from a girl. If she would give him and then offer his camels to drink, she would surely be the right wife for Yitzchok.
There are two middos that seemingly are the same, but are vastly different- the midda of chesed and that of rachamim. Both look the same, for both involve giving to someone anything that he lacks. Yet the difference is elementary. A baal rachamim dosn't just give out of the goodness in his heart. If a pauper comes his way he feels bad and hurt for the fellow and helps him accordingly. As much mercy as he has on the poor man, that's how much he will help him- he is there to fill the needs of others. A baal chesed on the other hand is much greater. He is someone that feels a need to give, a need to help others. This need stems from his own feeling that he must give and goes out to find people that he can do favors for. That was the middah of Avraham- chessed. On a scorching hot day he sat outside looking and running after guests- for he felt a need to give and couldn't rest unless he was helping someone else. Eliezer was looking for someone who was ready to join the house of Avraham and the most important quality she had to posses was that of chessed. He devised a plan to see if the girl was a baalas rachamim or was she on the higher level of a baalas chessed. He would ask her for a drink - if she was a baalas rachamim she would gladly offer him- a wary travler- some water to drink. But he was looking for much more. He wanted to see if she would go the extra mile and do extra for him. Would she out do her duty and find a way to give more- was she a baalas chessed? If she offered the camels a drink also, she did more then she was asked- then she was the right one to join the house of chessed.

In the zemiros of Friday night we say, דורשי יי זרע אברהם אוהבו. המאחרים לצאת מן השבת וממהרים לבא

Why do we refer to Klal Yisroel as the children of Avraham when we say that they anxiously wait for Shabbos to begin?
All mitzvahs have an exact time and place when and how they can and should be done. We have no right to add or subtract fom any mitzvah. We don't have permission to do a mitzvah more then we are told to do just because we want to do more - it is baal tosef. The only mitzvah we could add to is Shabbos. We can accept Shabbos a little early and extend it a few hours into the night after nightfall- the mitzva of Tosfes Shabbos. That is the way we show Hashem that we serve him not because we are told, but rather because it's what we really want to do- our middah of chessed in doing mitzvahs. The middah of Avraham is what gave us the zechus of Tosfes Shabbos.

Lzchus refuah shleima for Shaindel bas Golda

Parshas Lech Lecha

2009-10-30T00:38:00.005+02:00

Parshas Noach opens with an introduction to who Noach was and why he deserved to be chosen by Hashem. Parshas Lech Lecha jumps straight into the story of Avraham and fails to tell us what Avraham did and why he was chosen by Hashem.
Adam was created by the hands of Hashem and his neshoma was the highest and most pure. Adam didn't have to be chosen to be the first man, by default he was the first man - it wasn't possible to have prior merits.
Since Adam's creation every human has to work on himself and create himself, in order to be special and find favor in the eyes of Hashem. The Maharal says that is true for everyone except for Avraham. Noach had to merit to be the one to be saved from the mabul and be the one that rebuilt the world. Avraham was created special and prechosen to be the one to start the nation of Yisroel. Just like Adam was a new creation not like anything that preceeded him, so too Avraham as the father of Klal Yisroel had to be a total new creation created from the very start for the purpose of being Hashem's children.

Happy birthday to Yakov Simcha K.!

Parshas Noach

2009-10-21T19:32:00.007+02:00

וְיוֹם וָלַיְלָה--לֹא יִשְׁבֹּתוּ. The Gemora learns from this verse that a Ben Noach who rests on Shabbos is punishable by death.

We know that the Avos observed the entire Torah before it was given. What did they do on Shabbos- if they rested on Shabbos, as a Ben Noach they would have been guilty of death?

The Panim Yafos answers: The issur for a Ben Noach to rest on Shabbos is 'Yomam Vlayla'- day and then night as the words of the posuk go. While Shabbos for Yisroel is night before day. The Avos did melacha on the night of Shabbos (Motzei Shabbos), thus avoiding the problem of a Ben Noach resting on Shabbos. (The problem would arise if Yom Kippur fell on a Sunday and no melacha is permitted motzei Shabbos - R' Akiva Eiger deals with this issue)

The Aruch L'ner (Tshuvas Binyan Tzion 126) says that this question is a relevant halachic question. He states a case where a child is found and we don't know if it's a Jew or not. The Rambam says that he has to keep the stringencies of a Jew. The question is what does this person do on Shabbos? The Aruch L'ner says that the Panim Yafos's deduction from the posuk- that the Shabbos of a ben Noach is day before night, is not accurate. The wording of the posuk cannot be taken literal to mean that the prohibition is only day before night. We know that night comes before day, from the pesukim in Bereishis 'Vayihi erev vayihi boker'- night before day. Since that was said at the time of creation it applies to all of creation- including a Ben Noach. The Posuk of Yomam Vlayla does not come to teach us that in this case the opposite is true. For in most places in tanach we find reference to the day before night, because the day is more important then night. Only four places in all of Tanach is the order reversed- night before day- and each has a specific reason for it. The Aruch L'ner has a different solution. On shabbos we must rest from 'melocha'- work. How do we define work? The basic defenition is 'to exert oneself by doing mental or physical work'- strenuous activity. If that were the case then it would be assur to move a heavy object across a room, while walking out of your house into a public domain with a key in your pocket would be totally permitted. Yet we know the opposite to be true. To Klal Yisroel the meaning of melocha was defined by the mishkon- work that was done to build the mishkon remains assur on Shabbos. We got that definition when we recieved the Torah. Since the Bnei Noach didn't receive the Torah and it's new definition of melocha, they are prohibited from doing melocha in its most literal translation- strenuous work. The solution for someone that dosn't know if he is jewish would be to move something heavy in a private domain. It's a melocha for a Ben Noach to be working and yet as a Yisroel he wouldn't be guilty of transgressing Shabbos. The flip side of this is that a Ben Noach that walks out of his house with a key in his pocket will still be called resting on Shabbos and thus deserving of death.

A huge Mazel Tov to the Ginzberg family on the birth of a baby boy!
And a huge Mazel Tov to a loyal reader and commenter- MFS- C. Neuhoff and family and the entire Edelstein family on the birth of their little princess!

Parshas Bereishis

2009-10-14T02:04:00.004+02:00

The shir of Shabbos begins with an introduction מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת this is the shir of Shabbos. (Point to ponder: why doesn't any other shir shel yom start with the same introduction?) If you read and learn the rest of the chapter you will not find a single reference to Shabbos. How did this chapter become the chapter of Shabbos? Why when you say this chapter, do some poskim hold that you were mekabel Shabbos?
Let us learn the chapter of Tehilim to get a better understanding. טוֹב לְהֹדוֹת לַיהֹוָה וּלְזַמֵּר לְשִׁמְךָ עֶלְיֽוֹן- everything Hashem does is perfect and should be praised. לְהַגִּיד בַּבֹּקֶר חַסְֽדֶּךָ - in the dawn when everything is bright, tell the world of Hashem's chesed. וֶאֱמֽוּנָֽתְךָ בַּלֵּילֽוֹת- when it's dark and there's no hope in sight, talk of your faith in Him. Dovid Hamelech goes on to answer the question that has bothered everyone since Moshe: בִּפְרֹחַ רְשָׁעִים כְּֽמוֹ עֵשֶׂב - Why do the wicked florish? Why is it that the evil can enjoy the world while the rightous suffer? To this King Dovid answers: לְהִשָּֽׁמְדָם עֲדֵי־עַֽד - they will be lost forever. The wicked enjoy this world for it is all they have, they don't have a part in the world to come. צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר יִפְרָח כְּאֶרֶז בַּלְּבָנוֹן יִשְׂגֶּֽה- The righteous don't need the pleasures of this world. שְׁתוּלִים בְּבֵית יְהֹוָה בְּחַצְרוֹת אֱלֹהֵינוּ יַפְרִֽיחוּ - they will florish and enjoy the house of Hashem in the world to come. The theme of the mizmor is perfection. If you look at the world through Hashem's lens you will not see any bad in the world- every good deed is payed in full, while no bad deed will go unaccounted for. We just dont have the eyes to see it and sometimes we need to rely on our faith, לְהַגִּיד כִּֽי־יָשָׁר יְהֹוָה צוּרִי וְֽלֹא עַוְלָתָה בּֽוֹ - that all of Hashems ways are perfect.
The final posuk of the six days of creation- the posuk that ushered in the first Shabbos is: וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וְהִנֵּה-טוֹב מְאֹד - Hashem looked at the entire creation, at everthing that will ever traspire in the world- the yetzar tov and the yetzar horah, the good and the evil, everything- and it was very good- perfect. וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי - with that knowledge the world was ready to enter Shabbos. Shabbos is 'Yom shekulo tov' the day when all in the world is perfect, a day that we leave all of our worries of the week and we enter the world of Hashem- the world of perfection.
What is a more appropriate shir to welcome the Shabbos then the shir that sings of the perfection of the world?

Adopted from Pachad Yitzchok- Shabbos mamer 2.

Simchas Torah

2009-10-08T22:35:00.003+02:00

R' Moshe Weintraub (a rebbi in Torah Vodaath) once said: The world says that mikvah is a big mitzva, for it encompasses all of your body without a separation. Succah is a bigger mitzva for you enter your succah even with your muddy clothing. I say that simcha is the biggest mitzva, for you can sit in a succah and yet your mind can be somewhere else, whereas when you are besimcha your entire mind is filled with simcha.
We can say that this refers to the days of Tishrai. Yom Kipper is like a mikvah, for there is nothing that separates us from Hashem on that day. On Succos we come into our succah with our muddy clothing. The climax of Tishrai is Simchas Torah when all of our mind in filled with simcha. We have no mitzvas execpt to fill our minds with happiness.

Mazel Tov to a dear reader (I hope) Luzy Steinmetz on the birth of a baby girl!

Sukkos

2009-10-02T14:01:00.003+02:00

We end Neilah with the recitation of the posuk "Hashem hu haElokim" seven times. (R' C. Kompel claims that throughout Tanach we find the words "Hashem Hu Elokim" exactly seven times!) The Levush explains that at the end of Yom Kippur we escort Hashem back to his heavenly throne. We recite the verse seven times to escort Hashem through the seven heavens.
When you escort someone you don't just watch him walk off, you walk with him. Yom Kippur ends with us walking Hashem through the heavens to his throne. It is there- at Hashem's side- that we begin the Yom Tov Sukkos. When we sit in the Sukka we are sitting in Hashem's shadow, being embrached by Him- the place where we escorted him on Yom Kippur. My Shvugger Zalmen Leib told me a insight into the Ushpizen that he heard from R' Aron Fogel. What is special about Sukkos that we greet the Ushpizen into our sukka? When we are seated near Hashem in the heavens - which is where our Sukkas are located- who do we expect to meet? - the ones that mingle there all the time, the Ushpizen. They aren't guests at our table, rather we are guests in their world.

Shabbos Teshuva

2009-09-25T10:26:00.005+03:00

There was a Ruv in Germany who had been a Ruv in a small shtetel in Poland and then in England before coming to Germany. One Yom Kipper he started his Drasha saying "One day I met the Yetzar Horah and he seemed to be relaxing- he was sitting in a park drinking a coffe and had plenty time to shmooze. I asked him 'Why is it that when I used to meet you in the shtetel and said hello, on most days you had enough time to give me a quick greeting, but nothing more. When I met you in England you didn't even have time to return my greeting you seemed so busy. And here I meet you and you seem to have all the time in the world?' The Yetzer Horah answered 'Back in the shtetel the Yidden were mostly good and G-d fearing people, I was busy just trying to drum up business, but there wasn't much i could do so I had time fora quick greeting. In England business was booming. I was busy running around getting people to do wrong, I didn't have a spare second to even say hello. Here in Germany all my work is being done by other people- the reformers demolished all of yiddishkeit - I have all the time in the world - there is no work left for me."
The Gemora says that Yom Kipper the Yetzer Horah doesn't have any power to influence us in any way. Why is it that even on Yom Kipper we find that we are not 100 percent perfect? There are things that we do that are wrong but they don't define us as bad people. The things that the yetzar Horah gets us when we have a weak moment. Then there are things which are deeply ingrained in nature, that we do it on our own without the help of the Yetzar Horah. On Yom Kipper we have one day to see who we are. We see what wrong doings can we blame on the Yetzar Horah and what wrongdoings are so ingrained in us that the Yetzar Horah can relax knowing well that his work is being done by us. The work of Yom Kipper and teshuva is to say and truly believe, that I am a new reborn person. The person whose mind strays during davening was me, but is not me anymore. If we truly believe that then we would be flawless on that most Holy Day.

Mazel Tov to Mishpachas Bleeman on the birth of a little boy!!!!

Sorry if the grammer/understanding is not to great, it's getting late. Gut Shabbos!

Point to ponder- Yomim Noraim

2009-09-15T08:52:00.000+03:00

During our weekday Shemona Esrah we have one brocha where we daven for the abolishing of the wicked- 'velamalshienim'. And one brocha asking for the welfare of the righteous 'al hatzadikim'. In the shemona esrah of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, both of these tefillos are found in the brocha of 'Ata Kodosh'. We say 'U'vechain Tzadikim'- where we ask that the Tzadikim should live to and enjoy the times of Moshiach. Then we ask 'Vechol haresha kula kason techleh'- the evil in the world should disintegrate.
Why is it that during the year we first ask for the abolishment of evil- sur m'rah and then the asai tov- the longevity of the righteous, while on the Yomim Noraim we switch the order to first aseh tov and then sur m'rah?

Parshas Netzavim

2009-09-11T12:54:00.002+03:00

הַנִּסְתָּרֹת--לַיהוָה, אֱלֹהֵינוּ; וְהַנִּגְלֹת לָנוּ וּלְבָנֵינוּ, עַד-עוֹלָם--לַעֲשׂוֹת, אֶת-כָּל-דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת

"The hidden is for Hashem, that which is revealed is for us and our children forever, to upkeep all the words of this Torah."

The Chassam Sofer has a few nice peshutim on this posak.

There are many miracles that happen in this world. Most of them are hidden miracels that the human mind can't fathom and the eye cannot see. These are the miracles of everyday life, the things we take for granted. You happened to meet the right person, saw that something you need is on sale etc. and most of all just that we are alive and healthy. These are the 'nistoras' the hidden which only Hashem sees. There is one miracle that is 'niglah'- open for all to see. The fact that Klal Yisroel, after two thousand years of a dark bitter golus, is still around and we are still learning Hashem's Torah. That we survived a churban, Spanish inquisition, forced conversions, pogroms, holocausts and much more and we are still standing tall and Torah and mitzvos are growing is the greatest miracle that us and our children should see - that nothing stands in the way of 'lasos es kol divrie ha'Torah hazos"

A second prashat.
Every mitzva has many reasons why we do them and what consequences they cause in heaven. That is 'nistoras' the hidden part of the Torah. That part we have no need to know- that's for Hashem. What we do have to learn and internalize is the practicalities of the mitzvos and what they mean to us. The 'niglah' of Torah is for us and our childern to learn.
Theres a story told about the students of the Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem told them that the world stands on the Shofer blowing of the Noda B'Yehuda. So the students traveled to Prague- were the Noda B'yehuda was Rav, for Rosh hashana, to hear his shofer blowing. The Noda b'Yehuda got up before the tekias and gave a speech. He opened a Gemora Rosh Hashana. The Gemora asks why to we blow shofer on Rosh Hashana? The Gemora quickly interjects 'Why do we blow? The Torah commanded us to blow' The Gemmora then goes on to clarify what the question was. The Noda B'Yehuda just read that passage of 'Why do we blow? The Torah said to blow' closed the Gemora and thus finished his speech and started the tekias. The students were agahst, they traveled all this way just to hear the Gemora? And they asked their rebbi was this realy what kept the world going? The Baal Shem Tov answered that all the reasons that we know about performing any mitzva are called 'tammai hamitzvos' - the reasons of mitzvos. 'Tammai' can also mean just a taste. The highest leval of doing mitzvos is doing them because Hashem told us to do it. He explained to them that those that cannot get the right feeling of the mitzvos by just listening to Hashem - they need extra flavour, a taste the hidden meaning of the Mitzvas.

Ki Savo

2009-09-03T23:00:00.006+03:00

.תַּחַת, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-עָבַדְתָּ אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּשִׂמְחָה, וּבְטוּב לֵבָב--מֵרֹב, כֹּל

The literal translation of the posuk suggests that the Tochacha comes as a punishment for not serving Hashem with love and joy. The meforshim ask, why is the punishment for not being bsimcha so harsh, deserving of all 98 curses?
R' Yitzchok Hutner Zatzal explains. We are bound to serve hashem. We can do it out of our love for him- with joy. Or we will be forced to do his will- through the tochacha.
If one has weak eyesight there are two ways he can cure and strengthen it. He can cure it naturally, by exercising and strengthening his eyesight on his own until his sight is back to it's natural level. Or he can have surgery to cure him. The second option offers an effortless cure. All he has to do is sleep through the surgery and wait a few days or weeks to recover and his sight will as good as new. This sounds like the easier and better option, but it is fraught with danger and pain. There will be days that he will be bandaged and not be able to see anything. And there will be days that will be filled with pain. After all the difficulties he will have healthy eyes. The first option might be harder work, but is safer and pain free.
Klal Yisroel in galous is blinded. Hashem and his glory are hidden from us. The Kotzker once said "Where can you find Hashem? Where ever you let him in." We have to lift the darkness off our eyes and let Hashem into our lives. We can do it on our own through hard work. Every mitzva we do, every bit of avodas hashem we do, we come closer to Hashem. It's hard work but if we try and start, we are guaranteed to succeed. The other option is for Hashem to 'surgically' remove us from the darkness by shining his great light onto the world. If we choose this option we have to realize that the darkness will get darker and more painful before we are cleansed from the darkness. Only after the birth pangs of moshiach will we be redeemed.
We could, and should, serve Hashem on our own because we want to, with joy- bsimcha uvtov levov. If we refuse to do the hard work the only way we will leave this galous is through the tochacha. It will not be as a punishment, but as the last resort to save us and bring us home to our loving father Hashem.

Parshas V'eschanan- Shema Yisroel

2009-07-31T17:20:00.004+03:00

Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokainu Hashem echod. This sentence is usually one of the first and the last uttered by all Jews- the posuk of kabolas ol malchas shamaim. The words 'Hashem Elokainu Hashem echod' are generally accepted as the main part of the declaration of Hashem's kingship and the first two words are just a prefix. Is that true? Or are the words Shema yisroel a vital part of kabolas ol malchus?

After tachnun we address Hashem as 'Shomer'- we daven that he watches over us- with three different merits. The first is for we are Yisroel and we say "Shema Yisroel". The second is for we are one nation as we say "Hashem echod" and the third protect the holy nation who say "kadosh kadosh kadosh". Let us concentrate on the first two. When we ask Hashem to protect us in the merit of saying "Shema Yisroel" what does that mean? Are we referring to the verse as a whole and we just say only the words "Shema Yisroel" for they fit poetically, but in essence we mean the words that follow which are "Hashem Elokainu Hashem Echad"? If so what it is the same as the second merit. Or is there a deeper meaning to the specific words "Shema Yisroel"?
I once heard in the name of R' Y. David Shlita (then found it in a wonderful book 'tachnun') a beautiful answer. To accept Hashem's kingship is the first thing every Jew must do, but there is one thing which we must do before we can even start. In order to talk of Hashem we must first and foremost be part of Knesses Yisroel, we must belong to the nation which is one with Hashem. After we accept upon us the achdus of the entire nation of Yisroel may we address Hashem and accept his oneness. We start the most awesome verse with a prefix "Shema Yisroel" - I am a part of the great nation of Yisroel and I am ready to proclaim to the world "Hashem Echad". Our first tefillah is to protect us because we are the nation of Yisroel- that alone is a reason for meriting divine protection.

Story Time- Nechama

2009-07-31T08:25:00.003+03:00

On Friday the 17th day of Av 1929 truckloads of Arabs carried out a terrible massacre on the Yidden of Chevron. By the 20th of Av, the florishing yishuv of Chevron had ended.
The first Rosh Hashana after the massacre the survivors of Chevron with their families, gathered together to daven in yerushlaim. The room wore an air of pain and deep anguish, of dejection bordering on despair. The mashgiach R' Lieb Chasman asked a bucher R' Betzalel Shikovitzky to lead the Yeshiva with marriv the first night. After the conregation finished the second bracha- Ahavas olam, the chazzen began "V'ahavascha al tasir mimenu l'olamim"- And never, ever remove your love from us. Tears choked his throat as he said the words once and then a second time and kept on repeating the words- Hashem always did and continues to love us- over and over again. Like one person all present all the ones that had witnessed that terrible tragedy repeated along with the chazzen "V'ahavascha al tasir mimenu l'olamim". It was that tfillah that gave them strength to accept Hashem judgment with love.

Parsha Point to Ponder

2009-07-27T17:41:00.005+03:00

Story Time

2009-07-23T06:57:00.003+03:00

A few Hours late but today was the Yartziet of Reb Shlome ben Ben-Tzion Halbershtam- the Rebbie of Bobov Zatzal.
On a normal weekday the Bobover Ruv- R' Shlome Halbershtam, would daven shachris with the balai batim in the main Shul of Bobov. Being that most of the minyan was made up of people that had to be at work, the Ruv made sure to daven at a regular pace in order to be finished on time. When he was on vacation he was able to spend more time on Shachris and made sure to take advantage of it. It is said that Birchas Krias Shema- that usually takes five to ten minutes would take him at least twenty! One day while on vacation the Gabbi realized that the RUv was crying when he said the words 'Baal milchomos'- praising Hashem that he is the leader of war. The Gabbi was perplexed by this behavior for it was a time that the world was at peace and no war was being held, so he asked the Ruv what was he crying about? The Ruv answered that when he was in New York around the Chassidim the Chassidim had someone to look up to and be inspired by and thus their fight against the Yetzar Horah was easier. Being that he is away for awhile it's easy for the chassidim to forget him and loose some power in the fight for good and growth. When he praised Hashem that he leads wars he wasn't referring to the physical wars that go on in the world, he was praising Hashem and begging him to help his Chassidim back home to stay connected and be able to overcome the yetzer horah and not falter one bit from their connection to Hashem.

Striking Point Parshas Massai

2009-07-17T17:05:00.003+03:00

Those who were jailed in the Ir Miklat (city of refuge for one that killed someone by accident) were freed upon the death of the Kohen Gadol. The only such clause in the Torah were one has to wait for someones death.

The ONLY death recorded in the Torah with a date of his petira, is that of Ahron- the Kohen Gadol.
Both are mentioned in this weeks Parsha.

The Three Weeks Part 2

2009-07-15T21:45:00.002+03:00

"Al naharos Bavel shom yushavnu gam bochienuh" As we sat on the shores of Bavel our first experience of galus as a nation. We were driven from our homeland in brutal fashion with hundreds of thousands dead, our nation in ruins. What were they crying for? Dovid Hamelach continues the Pasuk "Bezachrainu ess Tzion." At the moment they got to Bavel they didn't cry for themselves in exile far from their home, not for all the pain and suffering they went through, not for the uncertainty that lay ahead or even all their lost and tortured brethren. They cried for one thing "Tzion". All that was bothering them was that they didn't have the Bais Hamikdosh and that they were so far removed from Hashem. They- the Yidden that had lived and breathed the air of the Bais Hamikdosh- knew what they had lost, they knew what the Bais Hamikdosh was. All they yearned for was that closeness to Hashem that they had lost when they witnessed Hashems House go up in flames. They knew what was the cause to all their misfortune and troubles.

The Three Weeks

2009-07-09T15:47:00.002+03:00

A story is told of a Jewish couple living in Russia. The husband comes home from the Ein Yaakov shiur and tells his wife, "The rav says that we should pack our bags, we are going to Eretz Yisroel, Moshiach is coming any day!" His wife asked him, "Who is Moshiach. Why are we going with him?" He answered, "The Rav said that he's going to rebuild the Bais Hamikdosh where we'll bring Korbonas. The Leviem will sing the shira, were going to live with spiritual bliss". The wife answered, "Why do I have to go to Eretz Yisroel to be happy? I have my cow that gives me milk, the chickens for some food, I even have time to daven and say some Tehillem - I'm perfectly happy here." The yid not knowing what to answer ran to the Rav and told him that his wife doesn't want to come along with Moshiach. "Tell her", said the Rav, "that when Moshiach comes the Cossacks won't come along with us and they won't bother us anymore". He runs home to tell his wife this wonderful news to which his wife starts thinking, maybe that's a good idea after all no Cossacks means we will be able to live in peace. Then she came up with a brainstorm, she tells her husband, "Go tell the Rav that when Moshiach comes he should take the Cossacks to Eretz Yisroel and we will live in peace without even moving!"
What are we mourning in the three weeks? Are we just crying over all the lives we have lost and over all the torture we've been through? Or are we crying for the Shechina that's also in Galos?

Reb Elchonon Wasserman Zatza'l on His Yahrtzeit. His last Shmooze.

2009-07-03T13:56:00.007+03:00

R' Efraim Oshry was an eyewitness to R' Elchonon Wasserman Zatzal's last shmooze before he was taken away by the cursed Lithuanians and shot Al Kiddush Hashem H'yd. It was the 11th of Tamuz 1941. As the reshoim were going door to door rounding up the Jews of the Kovno ghetto, R' Elchonon closed the gemora he was giving a shiur from. R' Oshry (printed in the introduction to Kovetz Shuirim) recounts; "R' Elchonon spoke calmly and slow, just as usual, even his voice did not falter. His face displayed the same seriousness as usual. He didn't use a special tone of voice nor did he take leave of his son Naftuli - lying in bed with a broken leg. He spoke to all - to the entire Klal Yirsoel. "In heaven they must think of us as a righteous people, for they want us to atone for klal Yisroel with our bodies. We must do teshuva right here and now. Time is short, the ninth fort - the place the kedoshai Kovno-Slabodka were taken to be killed - is close by. We have to bear in mind that we will be the ultimate Korban. If we do teshuva we will be able to save our brothers and sisters in America. None of us should have a bad intention that can void our korban. We are about to fufill the greatest mitzva. The fire that will consume our bodies is the very fire that will be used to rebuild Klal Yisroel." It was with these words that the leader of Klal Yisroel was taken away to be brutally killed. May Hashem avenge their blood.
Living in a time that Klal Yisroel was being brutally uprooted from the continent that they were living in for hundreds of years, R' Flchonon was able to look past it and past the nightmare going on around him and see America as the next home for Klal Yisroel. Klal Yisroel is eternal and is not tied down to a land. Even the land of Eretz Yisroel is only ours to be able to fufill the special mitzvos of the land, but once we stop doing Hashem's will there is no need for us to have our own country.
Billam said of Klal Yisroel 'They are a nation that dwells alone and among nations they aren't counted'. הֶן-עָם לְבָדָד יִשְׁכֹּן, וּבַגּוֹיִם לֹא יִתְחַשָּׁב. R' Elchonon is quoted to say a pshat. הֶן-עָם לְבָדָד יִשְׁכֹּן, as a nation we have no one to rely on except for Hashem. No nation in the world can be relied upon to come to our asisstance. Just look through our long history, where repeatedly the nations of the world turned a blind eye to the pains and needs of Yisroel. It is only Hashem that we can turn to and he in turn will never forsake us. The definition of גּוֹיִם is a nation that shares a land, that has a country that unites them and not just a set of ideals. וּבַגּוֹיִם לֹא יִתְחַשָּׁב unlike the nations of the world Yisroel does not need a land in order to be called a nation. We have survived and grown for two thousand years away from our homeland. R' S. R. Hirsch says that the reason why when we went out of Mitzraim and we didn't go directly into Eretz Yisroel is to teach us that what unites us is not the land but rather the Torah. We become a nation- not just a religon, when we are united in hearing the call of the Torah and doing the will of Hashem.
Zichuso Yagen Aleinu.

Parshas Chukas- Kedushas Sefer Torah

2009-06-26T14:42:00.004+03:00

The Maharal Diskin as a young boy would sit at the entrance of his father's study and any question that would come before his father would be told to him first. After his father had ruled he would compare his own psak with that of his father's. He once said that he always thought of the same psak as his father, except for once. A qustion came before his father regarding a Sefer Torah that was burned. As the questioner was leaving the Maharal asked what was his father's answer. He said that his father upon hearing that a Sefer Torah was burnt fainted, it hurt him just as if a close friend was killed. That reaction of closeness to the living Sefer Torah the Maharal Diskin didn't have as a young child.
On Erev Shabbos Parshas Chukas Tzadikim fast for it was a day that twenty crates of Seforim were burnt in France. The Rishonim said that it was the the week of Chukas and not the day of the month that caused the tragedy. The Ramchal explains that the highest leval of tumah is death - the departure of the soul from the body. This tumah can only be rectified through Parah Adumah. The Ramchal says that in today's day when we are in exile and we ourselves distance our souls from our bodies through sin, there are two options instead of the Parah Adumah. The first punishment would be death c'v. Hashem in his infinite mercy is moser nefesh himself for our sake. The Marsha says that the Torah is made up of Hashem's names and is in essence Hashem himself. When a Torah is burnt Hashem himself is letting himself be burnt for Klal Yisroel's sake- just like the Parah Adumah in the times of the Bais Hamikdosh. The way we could save the Torah is if we are moser nefesh for Hashem and his Torah, as the Gemora derives from the Parsha of Parah Aduma- that Torah cannot be acquired only if one kills himself for its sake. This seems like an impossible level to attain, if one is dead how does he acquire torah?
The Chazon Ish (Igress Chazon Ish chelek aleph pg. 27) explains that Chazal aren’t referring to death in its actual meaning, rather a superficial death. A person is defined by his actions, the character traits he was born with. If one by nature is easily angered, by definition he’s an angry person. Every time this person doesn’t get angry he’s in essence ‘killing’ himself. With every bad middah we overcome we leave our previous lives and live a new life on a higher plane then before. That is what the Chazal teach us, Torah can only be acquired if we work on our middos, kill the bad traits we were born with and live the life that the Torah prescribes for us.
This week - Parshas Chukas in Eretz Yisroel- eight Sefri Torah were burnt. Did we even feel the pain? Was our reaction anywhere near that of fainting? Can you hear Hashem calling to us children look i'm putting myself into the fire just to protect you! Are we ready to sacrifice anything for His sake?

Mazel Tov to family Hollander on the birth of their adorable little girl.

Parshas Korach

2009-06-18T21:47:00.005+03:00

The fifth Perek of Avos deals with numbers- the world was created with ten utterances, ten miracles happened at krias Yam suf and so on. The last few Mishnas of the chapter deal with subjects that apparently are off topic. The 20th Mishna states that any controvery that with a noble purpose- like those of Hillel and Shammai, will in the end endure. But one that is not for a noble purpose- like the argument of Korach, in the end will not endure. What is this Mishna doing in the chapter that deals with the numbers of creation?

The world was created with opposites- dark and light, fire and water, sun and moon etc. The Maharal explains that the reason for this is that we are supposed to be looking at the two opposing forces of nature and through that realize that there is one creater that brings them together to work in harmony. That is why the Mishna regarding machlokes is at the end of the perek that deals with numbers. This teaches that the fact that there are two opinions is a way of the world- just like the ten utterances of creation- and a vital part of Torah study. It is all a way to bring us to believe in Hashem Echod- that only the creator is One. When two people are arguing for the sake of heaven, like Hillel and Shammai, when both opposites are true- 'eylu veylu divrie Elokim chaim', it is that that shows us the Oneness of Hashem. That his Torah is supernatural where two opposite opinions are both true. On the other hand when there is an argument that's for personal gain- like that of Korach, it brings to the forefront that the individual is important and that it is 'I' that makes a difference in the world, that diminishes the kavod of Hashem.

If there is an 'I' in a contoversy it is a clear sign that it intent is personal gain. Hillel and Shammai had no problem getting along peacefully with eachother, even though when you look thru the Mishna they come across as fierce enemies. It all shows that thier arguments did not have a personal agenda, it was pure Torah study. As opposed to Korach (note there is no mention of Moshe in the Mishna) his agenda was why not him, why was he not the one that was chosen. He might of been right that he was ready for the role of leadership in Klal Yisroel but he got caught up in the kovod of it. Just look at the difference between him and Moshe. Moshe spend seven days begging Hashem not to send him, that he was not big enough to lead the holy nation. Korach was the exact opposite he asked why not I? Thus Moshe was able to say "for me and Aron are nothing" we are void of any personal agendas and Korach went down in history as a classic example of machlokas.

Parshas Shelach

2009-06-12T13:39:00.010+03:00

Rashi says that the story of the mekoshesh eitzim comes to tell us the downfall of Klal Yisroel. They kept the first Shabbos, but the second Shabbos they were mechalel. (Point to ponder; why was all of Klal Yisroel guilty of chilul Shabbos if only one person was guilty) The Mahral explains that Rashi saw from the Pesukim that the story happened when they were commanded about Shabbos. He asks how does Rashi Know that it happened the second Shabbos and not the first?
The 16th day of Iyar a Sunday, the Mon started to fall. That Friday the 21st of the month a double portion of mon fell and Yisroel was told of the hilchos Shabbos. The posuk tells us that on Shabbos Klal Yisroel went out to look for the Mon and they found none. The Marahal says it was that Shabbos that was the first one that Klal Yisroel rested and is the first time that the seventh day of the week is called Shabbos. Up until Parshas Beshalach- Parshas Hamon- there is no mention of the word Shabbos. The day only got the name Shabbos after klal Yisroel rested on that day. That is what Rashi means when they kept the first Shabbos- for had they not it wouldn't have been Shabbos at all. The first possible Shabbos that the story was able to take place was thus the second Shabbos.
What needs explanation is what does the term Shabbos mean and why was it only applied after Klal Yisroel rested?

The reason we have a Shabbos is to show our belief that Hashem created the world from nothing. The Bnie Noach are also obligated to believe in one G-d, so why is it a Goy that rests on Shabbos is punished by death?
The basic concept of the number seven s that every physical object has six sides- the seventh element is the inside- the hidden, that keeps it together. There are six day of the week and the seventh day- the belief in Hashem, is what keeps the world together. Every single society has a seven day week, nowhere in the world- to my knowledge- did they change that yet. For everyone has this basic belief ingrained in them. Klal Yisroels Shabbos is more then that. When we rest on Shabbos we connect to the source of creation- Hashem! Shabbos takes Klal Yisroel to 'Yom sheculo tov' out of the phyisical and into the world of Hashem. To that world the goyim have no connection. Up untill Klal Yisroel first forged that connection the seventh day was just that- the seventh day. No inherent kedusha, just the fact and belief that there is one G-d. When Klal Yisroel rested that first Shabbos they created a new reality- a reality called Shabbos, one that connects us to Olam Haba and the world of pure spirituality.

Halachic Point to Ponder- Parshas Behaloscha

2009-06-03T23:02:00.006+03:00

A huge MAZEL TOV to the Singer family on the birth of their adorable prince. We cannot wait for the shalom zachor and bris. May we share many many simchas together!

Rashi (perek 11;8) says the Mon became ground and cooked- it changed it's physical nature- at the wish of the one eating it. If you wanted a cake all you had to do is want the Mon to taste like cake and so it became. In Parshas Beshalach when we learn of the Mon Moshe tells Klal Yisroel that all their cooking and baking of the mon that was needed for Shabbos should be done by Friday. The Moshav Zekainim (a Baal Tosfes) asks what kind of prohibition was there in cooking and baking Mon? If you were able to make it taste by just thinking of the food you wanted it to be why would that be assur on Shabbos? He answers that when you made it taste to your liking you are liable for the issur tikkun.
The question is what kind of tikkun would you be doing? There are two options and both of them are problematic. It can either be bishul or makeh bepatesh. The definition of the issur bishul is changing the form of an object through the medium of fire. That surely didn't apply here becuase there was no fire involved - only words or thoughts. The Pri Megadim says that one can be liable for makeh bepatesh when preparing food. The Mishna Berurah (simin 318 in the Beir Halacha) brings many proofs that that is not the case and that there is no issur of makeh bepatesh in regard to food preparation. Can we say that the Moshev Zekainim is a proof to the Pri Megadim?

R' Chaim Kanievski (Derech Emunah hilchos Shmita perek 1) raises another point. He ponders if one is permitted to do a melacha if it's not done in a natural teva way. He states a Shela Hakodosh that asks how was Moshe able to write thirteen Sifre Torah the day he died if it was Shabbos? The Shela answers that he didn't write it - he made the Sifre Torah through shaimos- pronounching Hashem's name. You see from there that doing a miraculous act and accomplishing somthing that is assur is permitted on Shabbos. If so the question of the Moshev Zekainim is stronger. What would be the problem with preparing the Mon on Shabbos?

Parshas Naso

2009-05-28T16:08:00.003+03:00

Here in Eretz Yisroel this week Shabbos we lien Parshas Naso.
The Torah gives a special blessing to a sotah who is found to be innocent. The Posuk (5;28) states that if she drinks the bitter water and she is pure and innocent she is blessed with children. This woman was someone that definatly wasn't a tzadaikis, she was someone that her husband accused her of the worst and lowliest acts of betryal. Why is it that she is blessed with such a special bracha?
R' Yaakov Kaminetzky answers that the institution of marriage is such that if there is a serious accusition as the one of sotah, naturally there is no way for the peace in the home to return. The Shalom Bais of this couple needs special intervention from above and only a promise from the Torah can restore the peace. The shalom bais of every couple is so important, that even the marriage of this accused woman warrants special attention from Hashem.

Nassah Vnishma

2009-05-27T00:11:00.003+03:00

The second day of Sivon Klal Yisroel said "Kol asher debar Hashem nasah" Everything Hashem says we will do. Before we were offered the Torah Hashem went to all the nations of the world and asked if they would like the Torah when they asked whats in it Hashem told each nation something which is their weakness e.g. Edom was told "Tho shall not kill". Hearing this all nations rejected the Torah but Klal Yisroel said "Nasah V'nishma" we will do and then hear. What exactly went on here? What did Hashem offer? Why did he tell them precisely what he knew they wouldn't agree to? What does nasah v'nisha mean?
Hashem came down to this world to find a bride for the Torah- something that was created before the world, meaning that's its outer worldly. To be able to marry the Torah one has to be someone that's willing to go out of this world, to be able to live a life of total sacrifice to what it says in it. The first step in this marriage is, willing to change ones self, to change your outlook, your will, your earnings in order to conform to that of Hashem and his Torah. Accepting the Torah means living your life, as hard as it may be according to Hashems will. The first stop in looking for a bride was to the nations of the world. When they asked whats in it that showed that they wanted the Torah to confirm to them, to their own needs and will. That is why Hashem told them about a mitzva that was opposite then their respective personalities and of course the answer was a no, they were not willing to change, they wanted to stay part of this world and all its tyvas. Not so was the case when Klal Yisroel was asked, we answered nasah v'nishma we are willing to make your will, whatever it might be and entail, our will. We are willing to go trough fire and water, to give up our lives, and most of all to change ourselves, our own personalities all for Hashem and his Torah. Even before we knew what was in it we said we are willing to go through the struggle whatever it might cost us to have the privilege to marry the Torah. We have made some mistakes through the years, forty days later there was the sin of the eigal- the golden calf- but that didn't deter us from the pass on which we started, striving to be that perfect nation living life according to the perfect Torah. (That is why the dancing with the Torah doesn't happen happen on Shevous only on Simchas Torah. Recieving the Torah is no simple task it means sacrifice and hard work so we don't dance. Yet we know that even if we make mistakes theres a Yom Kipper and then a Succos showing that we're married to Hashem and to his Torah and hes always waiting for us with open hands.) That is the preperation for Kabbolas Hatorah willing to change yourself and conform to Hashems. Nassah we will do anything for Hashem!

Mazel Tov to Yitz and S. H. on the birth of a baby boy! Hope to see you see him soon!

Parshas B'har- Bechukoshai

2009-05-15T17:52:00.003+03:00

All our readers join in wishing our dear writer and editer a huge mazel tov on the birth of their cutest little princess!
Sorry there was no vaad this week I was a tad busy.
May we all join in eachothers simchas and in the ultimate simcha- the comming of Moshiach soon in our days!

Parshas Emor

2009-05-08T17:49:00.000+03:00

In Parshas Emor we find a few posukim that talk about the Lechem Haponim that were set on the Shulchan. The Posuk (24;8) says “Beyom hashabbos beyom hashabbos yarchenu lefnai Hashem” loosely translated - Each Shabbos he shall set it before Hashem. What has to be understood is why does the Torah repeat the words “beyom hashabbos”? The Alshich explains this by pointing out that the Lechem Haponim were actually on the Shulchan for eight days. The day they were put on- Shabbos, is day one and taken off the following Shabbos which is day eight- the point of it being eight days is of great significance, but we’ll leave that for now. That is what the meaning behind the writing two times “beyom hashabbos”.
Chazal say (Shabbos 118) that if Klal Yisroel would keep two Shabbosim they would be redeemed. The Sedurai Shel Shabbos in his hakdomah explains that Shabbos lasts until the following Tuesday. The new Shabbos comes in on the Wednesday before. (Hence we end off the Shiur of Wednesday with the first posak of lecha nerannenah). He says that if we really kept Shabbos it would take us through the week up until the next Shabbos. The Gemorah is telling us that is we keep two Shabbosim- meaning we connect the two Shabbosim. If Shabbos lasts us till Tuesday and we are ready for Shabbos Wednesday then our whole week is one big Shabbos and that is what can bring the Geulah. May we suggest that this is the lesson of the Lechem Haponim. It rested in the Mishkan from Shabbos to Shabbos for Eight days thus connecting the two Shabbosim- making it one day “shekoolo Shabbos”.

Story Time

2009-05-06T22:12:00.002+03:00

A Yid who had gone through all the nightmares of the churban Europe once came to the Slonime Rebbi.
He thought that after he came out of that hell the least he expected was that he wouldn't have a yetzar hora- a desire for anything bad- ever again. He asked the Rebbi how is it that he still is plagued by it? The Rebbi answered that there is no outside force in the world that can affect who you are and what you do, the only thing that can and does change a person is the person himself. Hashem sends us many messages throughout our days it is up to us to hear them and internalize them.

Pesach- Freedom

2009-04-08T14:20:00.002+03:00

We start the Seder Pesach night with the saying of ‘Hu Lachmana Anu’- This- the matzah- is the poor man’s bread that our forefathers ate in Egypt. We relate to the matzah as bread of slavery. The bread we ate as slaves in Egypt it’s to remind us of the hardships we endured there. Later on in the Haggadah we have a different look at the matzah. We relate to the matzah as the food we ate as we hastily left Egypt and didn’t have time for dough to rise. The matzah is to remind us of the freedom we earned the night of Pesach.
What is matzah commemorating our bondage or our freedom?
Had we gone out of Mitzrayim on our own free will then we would have taken enough food to last us for the trip. Hashem wanted to make sure we realize that he is the one that’s giving us our freedom. Being freed by Hashem comes with a price tag - we became His servant. We were freed from the bondages of Paroh but we forever remain subjected to Hashem. R’ Shamshon R. Hirsch Zatza”l explains, that is the two aspects of matzah. Hashem when he took us out of Egypt made sure we knew that he is in charge by feeding us the same food that we ate as slaves in Mitzrayim- matzah. It is the bread of our affliction that we ate when we were freed that shows that we became and will always be servants to Hashem. As Chazal tell us ‘One is not free unless he toils in Torah’. Eating the matzah is to teach us that when we break our will, our wants and our desires for the will of Hashem’s - that shows that we truly are free men.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and free Pesach!

Pesach - True Freedom

2009-04-03T16:12:00.005+03:00

It was the year 1942 and the ghetto of Krakow was completely judenrien. The Great city of Krakow - the epicenter of Judaism in Poland for over five hundred years, was now devoid of Jews, all systematically uprooted by the Nazi beasts. There were two brothers hiding, running from bunker to bunker, trying to stay alive amidst all the insanity. The Holiday of Passover was fast approaching and those two brothers had something far greater on their mind. They had to find a way to eat matzah on the first night of Passover. It took a lot of inventiveness and sacrifice - getting caught meant getting shot - but they build themselves a makeshift oven and found some flour. They were able to bake a small amount of Matzah for themselves. The night of Passover came and they sat down to their makeshift seder - celebrating the Jews exodus from Egypt. In years past they had sat at a beautifully laid table with the finest silver and surrounded by family. Tonight they sat down in a dark attic, all alone in the world, running from the Nazis, their very lives in danger, with a bit of Matzah that they sacrificed their lives for. The younger brother- a mere 21 year old - calls to his older brother; "There is no way I can have a seder tonight. The seder is to celebrate our freedom, our going out of exile- yet here we sit, our lives in danger, the tragedy unspeakable- our family is all gone, the entire city is up in flames and the Nazis won't be happy until every Jew is dead. Isn't this worse then the life the Jews had in Egypt? Back then their lives weren't in danger as it is in our time- what kind of freedom are we celebrating tonight?" The older brother answered; "Every night in the evening prayers we praise Hashem for taking us out of Egypt to an 'Everlasting freedom'. The everlasting freedom that we gained and are thankful for isn't a physical freedom - that is only a byproduct of what we got that night. Rather it's the spiritual freedom that was recognized. Passover celebrates the birth of a nation, when we went from being Egyptian slaves to becoming a newly born Jewish nation - a nation that G-d could call his own. When we sit down at the seder we celebrate something bigger then life, a going out of slavery into the embracing hands of our father in heaven- having the opportunity to be called 'A G-dley nation'. This is something that no one can ever take away from us - no matter how much they beat, torture and even kill us, we will always remain standing, free to serve G-d. G-d will always have his nation roaming the earth". With those words two brothers- my Grandfather and his older brother- sat down to a Seder that consisted of hard earned matzah and a little bit of borsht, yet was most probably the most magnificent seder ever experienced.

Korbonos

2009-03-27T14:50:00.000+03:00

Humans are made up of two opposite entities, the physical and the spiritual. Our physical being - our bodies - want to enjoy the life of this world and all the pleasures it brings along. The spiritual being in us- the soul - wants to live a life of doing the will and attaching itself to our creator, Hashem. Our purpose in this world is to uplift our physical being that its only will is to serve Hashem. (When one dies everything returns to its origin, our physical to the earth while our souls go up back to Hashem.) The ending of the Bracha of Asher Yatzor is ‘Umafli lasos’. The Remah explains that the ‘pelah’ of the human is that the spiritual and physical can live together in the same body.
R’ Yitzchok Hutner says that the force that keeps these beings together is food. Food is a totally physical entity that keeps our souls in our bodies and sustains us.
There are four levels of creations in this world. The first is ‘domaim’- inanimate objects i.e. stones. Then comes ‘tzomaiach’- growing species i.e. grass, trees etc. The third level is ‘baal chai’- living beings i.e. the animal kingdom. And above all them is a ‘medaber’- speaking beings or humans. (The kuzri points out that there is a fifth level- don’t tell this to the goyim- which is the Jew.) The Ramban says that each level of creations feeds off the level below them and uplifts them to a higher madraigah. Trees get their nutrients from the soil thus uplifting the soil to the category of ‘tzomaiach’. Animals in turn eat the growing species. (There is a question that should be asked here I’ll leave that to you). Humans feast on the animal kingdom and thus uplift the baal chai to the highest level, and thus uplifting the ‘tzomaiach’- which was uplifted by the animal and the ‘domaim’ which was uplifted by the ‘tzmomaiach’. When a Jew eats with the right intentions he has the possibility to uplift the entire creation. (That is why Yitchok liked eating meat- not for its taste but rather for the opportunity to elevate the world). That is why when it comes Shabbos, Yom Tov or a simcha shel mitzvah we celebrate by eating- and preferably eating meat- for at those elevated times it’s easier to tap into the kedusha and uplift the world. That is why it is food that connects the soul and body- for it’s our opportunity to not just elevate ourselves but show that we are on a higher plane then any other creation in the world- it is they that sustain us.
This is why the highest form of serving Hashem is thru sacrificing animals for him. We are using and uplifting the world around us to his service and thus connecting ourselves to the omnipotent Hashem.

On Rosh Chodesh Nissan the day Klal Yisroel build the mishkon, Hashem told Moshe upon the deaths of Nadav and Avuhu, ‘bekrovai akodesh’- by those near me will I be sanctified. This year the first two days of Nissan Klal Yisroel lost two Torah giants. On Rosh Chodesh the great leader and backbone of Klal Yisroel R’ Elya Svei was taken from us. On the 2nd day of the month R’ Yakov Zakhiem a great Talmud chochem and a link to prewar yeshivas was summoned to the heavenly Yeshiva. May their death inspire us to go in their ways and be able to sanctify Hashem in our lifetime.

A Quote on Parshas Hachodesh

2009-03-20T14:03:00.001+02:00

Parshas Hachodesh

2009-03-20T01:27:00.003+02:00

The Ramban says that Sefer Shemos details Yitzias Mitzraim which was the creation and birth of the nation of Yisroel and ends with the building of the Mishkon which was a creation and building of a home for Hashem in this world. (We find that the building of the Mishkon parallels the creation of the world - hence the thirty nine melochos of Shabbos are the same as the thirty nine melochos of the building of the Mishkon.) We also find the creation and giving of the Torah in the sefer of Shemos. In each of thees three 'creations' we find that Rosh Chodesh plays a role. The Mitzva Klal Yisroel was given before they started the preparations for the night they became a nation was Rosh Chodesh. The Shelah says that the creation of Klal Yisroel was actualy on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. (That is why we say in the Haggadah 'Yachol m'Rosh Chodesh'- One would think the mitzva of sepor yitzias Mitzraim starts on Rosh Chodesh Nissan.) Incidentally (or is it?) Rashi in Parshas Beraishis points out that it would've been proper to start the Torah from that point with the Mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. The Mishkon was finished in Kislev but wasn't dedicated until Nissan on Rosh Chodesh. We find the same thing at the creation of the world. (After all, all of these creations mirror each other for they are all the same thing as we say Shabbos by Mincha- "Atah Echod - the world, veshimcha echod - the Torah, umi K'amcha Yisroel goy echod- Klal Yisroel.") The last day of creation- the first Friday was also Rosh Chodesh.

What is it about the day of Rosh Chodesh that plays such a prominent role in the creation of the universe and of Klal Yisroel?

We end the middle brocha of the Shabbos Shemona Esrah with "mekadash haShabbos"- Hashem is the one who sanctifies Shabbos. While on Yom Tov we say "Mekadash Yisroel v'hazmanim"- He sanctifies Yisroel who in turn sanctify the seasons. Shabbos comes every week and its kedusha is given to us as a gift from Hashem, we don't have to do anything to make the day holy- that's Hashems 'job'. Yom Tov on the other hand gets its kedusha from Klal Yisroel. The process in which Bais Din decides what day Rosh Chodesh will be is called 'Kiddush Hachodesh'- Bais Din, as the representatives of Klal Yisroel go ahead and impart Kedusha into the day of Rosh Chodesh and thus sanctifying the whole month.

The message of Rosh Chodesh is that Klal Yisroel has the power to sanctify the whole creation with their deeds. No creation was ever complete without the contribution from us humans. When we act with kedusha all of the universe is uplifted and sanctified.

Based on my understanding of a Mamor from R' Meir Belsky Shlita.

For another look at Parshas Hachodesh click here.

Parshas Zachor Point to Ponder

2009-03-06T11:34:00.004+02:00

The halacha is that we don't read less then three pesukim from a Torah in each aliyah. On days where we only take out one Sefer Torah when we must have three aliyahs- the total always adds up to at least ten, more than the minimal requirement. The lone exception to this is Purim morning when we read about the story of Amalek, the leining is split up into three aliyahs while each one gets exactly three pesukim.
On occasions when we take out a second Sefer Torah for a maftir, there must also be at least three pesukim read in the second Sefer Torah, but we always lein more than that. The lone exception to this is Shabbos Zachor when we read exactly three verses of the story of Amalek and not one more.
Is it a coincidence that the two times we read of Amalek are the two shortest leinings of the whole year?

You can read about Parshas Zachor here.

And about Parshas Tetzava here.

Parshas Teruma

2009-02-27T13:11:00.002+02:00

This is the rough draft due to unseen circumstances I don't have a chance to polish it up sorry.

The Aron was made of a wooden box that was gold plated. The Rishonim ask, “Why was the holiest of vessels in the Mishkan not made of pure gold?” The Chizkuni answers that it was made of wood for wood is lighter and Hashem had mercy on the ones that had to carry it so he had it made of wood and gold. The Baal Zekainim M’baal Tosfes asks - We know that the Aron miraculously carried the ones that carried it, so what difference did it make how heavy it was if no one actually did any physical carrying of it? He answers that the miracle of the Aron carrying itself wasn’t a constant miracle, but rather an occurrence that happened when the need arose. He asks, if so why was Uzah- in Shmuel B 6;6- punished when he tried to save the Aron from falling? Was he supposed to expect the miracle to suddenly come about?
R’ Dovid Orlofsky said a beautiful answer. Hashem has no problem running the world on his own - he doesn’t need us to do anything for the world to go on. But he gave us a zechus to help out and make us feel like we are actually holding up the world. We have to realize that our efforts are basically useless for we can be replaced by Hashem himself and the world will still run as it’s supposed to. All the energy and hishtadlus we do to keep the world spinning is an honor that He lets us do something for him. Hashem had no problem making the Aron float on its own, for that was its natural tendency. He only applied the miracle when the need arose in order that the ones carrying it should be honored with the privilege of carrying this holy vessel. That is why it had to be made of a lighter material in order to make it easier to be carried. Uzah was supposed to realize that its impossible for the Aron Hakodesh to actually fall to the ground- it can carry itself when needed. Hashem laid down rules and no matter how much we think we have to save the world we must obey the halacha. He had no right to go against halacha in order to save Hashem’s holy vessel from disgrace. We must do all that we can to help the world- but we must know that it’s a privilege and an honor that was given to us.

A huge Happy 25th Birthday to Y.Y.H.

Shabbos Sheqalim

2009-02-20T14:11:00.002+02:00

The Medrish says that the giving of the Machtzis Ha’sheqal was an atonement for the sin of the golden calf.
At the giving of the Torah Hashem threatened Klal Yisroel if they won’t accept the Torah they will be buried under the mountain. The question is asked: Klal Yisroel had said naaseh vnishma, what was the need of Hashem forcing the nation to accept the Torah? One of the answers that is given, is that Klal Yisroel accepted Torah shel bekesav- the written Torah, but were reluctant- and thus had to be forced- to accept Torah shel bal peh- the oral Torah. The Bobover Rebbi explains that the reluctance to accept the oral Torah is what led to the sin of the eigal. When Klal Yisroel saw that Moshe was in heaven for forty days they got scared that he won’t return. Their fear was based that they knew Moshe was the one that brought down the oral Torah but now that he was gone they where scared that that was the end of the process of the Written Torah, and all that was left for them was the Oral Torah which they weren’t so excited to accept and work on. It was this that led them to the grave mistake of the eigal. The atonement was that when they gave a Half Sheqal, they showed Hashem that they were willing to give and toil with, their half of Torah- Torah shel baal peh.
The Oral Torah which was forced upon us at Har Sinai was fully accepted by Klal Yisroel after the miracle of Purim. Klal Yisroel expressing their gratitude to Hashem over the miracle took upon themselves the learning of Torah shel baal peh. Thus leading into the period of the Anshe Kenesses Hagdolah- The Men of the Great Assembly- who were the ones that started the Mishna and Torah shel baal peh (see the 1st mishna in Avos). That is why we read Parshas Sheqalem before Purim for the miracle of Purim is when we expressed our willingness to give Hashem our portion of the Torah- the Oral Torah.

Mazel Tov to Jewmaican on the birth of a baby boy!

Parshas Beshalach

2009-02-05T23:59:00.007+02:00

At the end of the Parsha we learn of the war Amalek waged with Klal Yisroel. The Posuk tells us that when Moshe raised his hands Klal Yisroel would win the war.
The Sefas Emes asks why then did Moshe ever cease from holding his hands raised?

The Mishna asks “Is it the hands of Moshe that wins wars?” To which the Mishna answers “When Klal Yisroel would look up to the heavens and devout their hearts to Hashem they would be victorious.”

Why is it so hard to fathom that it was Moshe’s hands that helped Klal Yisroel win? Klal Yisroel just came out of Mitzraim where Moshe’s hands brought devastation onto a country and split the Red Sea for them, why is the Mishna bothered about the powers of Moshe’s hands?
The kochos of a leader are only as powerful as the people he is representing. In Egypt the miracles were performed as the messenger of Hashem and thus Moshe and Aaron were quiet successful. At this stage of history Moshe acted as a messenger of Klal Yisroel and thus his powers came from the merits of the nation. The Mishna wants to know where did Moshe get the kochos to keep his hands raised high? To which the answer is, if Klal Yisroel keeps their eyes on Hahsem and their hearts and souls devoted to Him, then they can help Moshe and give him the strength to keep his hands up towards the heavens and in his merit be victorious.

Amalek held that we don’t have bechira and our actions are meaningless. (See last years Vaad on Parshas Zachor)To teach Klal Yisroel that our actions and deeds can- and do- affect and shake the entire world, they were given this very lesson as they were fighting their spiritual enemy- Amalek.

Parshas Bo

2009-01-30T12:49:00.006+02:00

The mitzvah of pidyon haben the Torah tells us to consecrate our firstborn sons to Hashem’s service, for Hashem killed all of the Egyptian bechorim and the jewish ones were saved.
What is the reasoning behind this - because Hashem punished the Egyptians through their firstborns all the future firstborns born into Klal Yisroel become holy? Why is there a need for a tradeoff?
Let us try to understand why was it that the firstborns were the ones who were punished.
One of the basic concepts in yehadus is that Hashem is the beginning of everything. It is He who created and preceded the world and before that there was nothing but He. Paroh and the Egyptians didn’t want to accept that as the truth. Thus they worshiped sheep which is the first of the horoscopes to show that the beginning and everything that comes after that is contributed to the stars and mazalim. As Hashem created his nation and thus made his name known to the world He wanted to show and prove that it is He who was first. The way to do this was by wiping out anything that was viewed as a ‘competition’ to his oneness. That is why Klal Yisroel slaughtered the sheep for their korban Peasach and that is why all the firstborns- including those of the slaves had to be killed. In order for the bechorim of Klal Yisroel to be saved they had to purify themselves and consecrate themselves to Hashem and his oneness. Only through them being a light onto nations and showing that all beginnings channel back to Hashem could they be saved.

A HUGE Mazel Tov to my Parents, Grandmothers and oldest brother- Mr. S. on the birth of their great/grand/son may he see much nachas from him and the him and the whole family!
And a Mazel Tov to my cousin T. R. on the birth of his son!

2009-01-23T14:20:00.003+02:00

The first sign that Moshe showed Paroh that Hashem was ruler of the universe was that he threw his stick to the ground and it turned into a snake. The Kotzker has a short vort where he says that this sign was to prove that Klal Yisroel was the chosen nation. He doesn't explain what about the stick turning into a snake proves that.
I was thinking we could understand this with a Rashi in last week's Parsha. Rashi says that the first time Hashem told Moshe about this sign it was a sign to Moshe that he spoke lashon horah about Klal Yisroel. The sign to Paroh was that Moshe who only spoke about Klal Yisroel was punished, so too Paroh who enslaved them would definitely be punished.

Parshas Shemos

2009-01-15T23:58:00.004+02:00

We know that 'Ain haShechina shora elah metoch simcha'- the divine presence doesn't manifest itself only when one is in a state of happiness. Moshe as being worthy of leading Klal Yisroel- definitely felt the pain of what Klal Yisroel was going through. Reb Klonimus Kalman Zatzal Hy'd, in his sefer Aish Kodesh (the torah he said in the Warsaw ghetto) asks, how was Moshe able to manage thees two conflicting emotions of being b'simcha and that of feeling the anguish of his fellow Jew?
He answers that the above mentioned rule that one must be b'simcha to be able to reach the level of prophecy is only in a time that the Shechina is in a state of happiness. But the times in history when Klal Yisroel was going through hardships and the Shechina was in pain, the only way to reach the Shechina was through feeling the pain of Klal Yisroel and thus being in the same state of mind as the Shechina itself. This may be a symbolism of the burning bush. The first prophecy that Moshe saw taught him this lesson- that the only way to climb the ladder of spiritual success is through feeling and living with the pain that our fellow brothers are feeling.

Point to Ponder Vayichi

2009-01-09T14:00:00.007+02:00

When Yaakov blessed Yosef's sons Ephraim and Menashe he 'guided his hands' so that his right one should be on the head of the younger brother Ephraim even though Yosef had set them up in the correct order, the older Minasha on the right.
If for whatever reason Yaakov felt that Ephraim desereved to be blessed with the right hand, why didn't he move Ephraim to his right side? Why did he only move his hands and yet let them stand in the correct order?

Parshas Vayichi

2009-01-09T10:58:00.005+02:00

When the Shevatim went to bury their father Yaakov in Mearas Hamachpaelah, Esav countered that the final burial spot in the cave belonged to him and not Yaakov. The Shevatim started arguing and tried to prove to him that Yaakov was the legitimate heir and they sent Naftuli down to Mitzraim to bring the deed to prove it. Dan had a son by the name of Chushim, who was deaf. Seeing that Yaakov wasn't being buried he asked someone what the problem was and they told him that Esav was preventing them from burying Yaakov, so he went and killed Esav.
Why was it that no one else had the courage to do what was seemingly right? Why was Chushim the only one who knew what had to be done?
R' Henoch Liebowitz Zatza"l explains that when a person is caught up in a argument or debate he can't focus, all he looks for is a way to prove that he's right and he looses sight of the objective. That's what happened to the Shevatim. They were trying to prove that they were right and failed to see that this was all a disgrace to Yaakov whose body was in front of them. The only one that wasn't involved and all worked up- was Chushim. He couldn't hear and therefore wasn't caught up in the political aspect of it, all he saw was a great Chillul Hames - and thus was able to see and do what had to be done.

Happy Anniversary to Reb Z!!!

Point To Ponder- Parshes Vayigash

2009-01-02T13:52:00.004+02:00

Just a Thought- The Life of Yosef

2009-01-02T13:15:00.004+02:00

After being sold by his own brothers, Yosef - a seemingly unwanted individual, finally gets some stability in his life when he was working as a head butler for Poteifar, a minister in Mitzraim. We all know the story of how he overcame the great test and didn't succumb to his yetzer harah. What was his reward for all this? He was thrown into prison once again unwanted and downtrodden. What would our reaction be? We would say "Hashem enough of all this. This is the reward I get for withstanding the greatest challenge of my life, to be thrown down once again!". But that is not how Yosef looked at it. In every stage of his exile we see that Hashem was with him, he always saw the good in what was happening, always found strength from his connection to Hashem and even in a foreign prison all alone he kept his head held high and was successful there. At the end of the story we see where this all lead him. Because he was in jail he was able to interpret the dream of the 'sar hamashkim' and thus start the process of becoming the king of Eygpt. It was because he was in jail- the excuse for him to give up on all hope - that gave him the opportunity to become a king.

A Menorah Point to Ponder

2008-12-24T18:22:00.002+02:00

Why is there no mention of the lighting of the Menora- that happened everyday in the Bais Hamikdosh- in our daily prayers- just like the Korban Tomid and Ketoras?

Chanukah- First Night

2008-12-17T19:52:00.006+02:00

After the 12 leaders of Klal Yisroel brought their Korbonas in honor of the new Mishkon (Parshas nasso) we learn the Mitzva of Hadlokos Neiros of the Kohanim (Pasrshas Bhaloscha). The Ramban brings a Medrish that says that Aharon was promised that even at a time when Klal Yisroel won't have the services of the Korbonos they will always have the Mitzva of menora. The Ramban explains that the Mitzva the Medrish is referring to is the mitzva of Ner Chanukah.
If one doesn't light Chanukah candles, he has to make a bracha when he sees lit candles. R' Yitchok Hutner asks, why is the mitzva of Chanukah Candles different than all other mitzvos, that you make a bracha just upon seeing the candles?
There is a Halacha that says if one passes a 'Makom shnaseh bo nes' a place where a miracle happened- he's obligated to recite a bracha of she'asa nissim.
The Neiros Chanukah aren't merely objects of a mitzva, but rather the candles themselves are a place where a nes happened to all of us. The candles every jew lights on Chanukah are actually the same candles that Kohanim lit in the Bais Hamikdosh, transported in time and space to every Jewish home.
That is what the Ramban is referring to when he says that Aharon was promised that the Menora will be eternal, for in every Jewish home we fulfill the same mitzva as the Kohanim did in the Bais Hamikdosh.

Parsha Point to Ponder- Parshas V'yaishev

2008-12-17T16:30:00.007+02:00

Who knows Eleven?
At the end of the Peasach Seder there is a song that we sing- Echod me yodaiah- who knows one. It's a song that goes through numbers one through thirteen describing what they represent.
The number eleven is represented by the stars in Yosef's dream- where he dreamt that eleven stars were bowing down to him. The eleven stars represented his eleven brothers and that he would be king. What is the significance of this number? We know the number twelve represents the Shevatim - the tweleve sons of Yaakov. All the number eleven is is the Shevatim- 12 minus one- Yosef - whom they were bowing to. So why is it that in the song the number eleven is represented by something that's seemingly not an entity on its own?

Parshas Vayishlach

2008-12-12T15:30:00.005+02:00

The Posak relates that when Yaakov met Esav, Esav fell on Yaakovs neck, kissed him and they cried. The medrish says that "Esav tried biting Yaakov but Yaakovs neck turned into marble and thus didn't hurt Yaakov. Yaakov and Esav both cried Yaakov cried for his neck and Esav cried for his teeth." What is the symbolism of Yaakovs neck that Esav tried to bite it? Why is it that Yaakov cried for his neck, nothing had happened to it he should of been thankful and happy that it turned into marble?
The Maharsha (Megilah 16b) says that the Bais Hamikdos is compared to a neck of a person (as we see when Yosef met Binyomin they cried on each others necks for they knew that the bais Hamikdosh and the Mishkon will be destroyed)
The deeds of our forefathers are a sign for things to come. Esav was trying to get to Yaakovs neck- the third Bais Hamikdosh which was in zechus of Yaakov. Hashem showed Esav that he will not be able to conquer the third Bais Hamikdosh and it will always be protected by Hashem. Esav cried for he realized that at the end of time he will be doomed. Yaakov cried for his neck he realized that there will be three Bati Hamikdosh and that Esav will be able to destroy the first two.
Happy anniversary to A. and Y. B.
Mazel Tov to my future shvuger A. C. on his ufruf.
(P.S. grammar may be worse than usual, my editor is out of town)

Parshas Toldas

2008-11-27T23:21:00.004+02:00

Chazal tell us that Avraham was supposed to live until the age of 180 years. In order not to see Esav stray off the right path- which happened when Esav turned 13, Hashem took away five years from him and he died at the age of 175 years. R' Yossef Chaim Zonnefeld explains, that is why the Torah expresses Yitzchoks teffilas in such a strong manor. The consequences of Yitzchoks teffilas being answered at the time that they were meant that Avraham was going to have to die five years before his time. R' Yossef Chaim added that the gematria of the words 'Vayosar lo Hashem'- and Hashem listened to his prayers, is 748- which is also the exact value of the words 'Chomish shanim'- five years.The price Yitchok payed for his prayers to be heard was five years of his Father Avrahams life. This was told over to R' Aron Kotler Zatzal- whose yartziet is this Shabbos- his reaction was that this vort had to been of said with Ruach Hakodesh.

Lzchus, Aryeh Leibish ben Elta Nechama Maltshi (Teitelbaum), Bentzion ben Elka (Chroman), Gavriel Noach ben Freida Bluma (Holtzberg), and Rivka bas Yehudis (Holtzberg / Rosenberg), Rochel Golda bas Gittel (Pasikov)

Parshas Chai Sarah

2008-11-20T23:39:00.006+02:00

Hashem blessed Avraham with 'Bakol'- everything. What is the meaning of everything? He obviously didn't own everything in the literal sense, there were things in the world that were owned by other people, so what is the meaning of 'bakol'?
(Yitzchok and Yaakov also received the same blessing and thus we ask for it in bentching to be blessed just like our Avos 'Bakol mekol kol').
Esav made a statement that 'Yesh li rav' I have 'a lot'. Yaakov on the other hand said 'Yesh li kol' I have everything. The answer lies in understanding the difference between these two statements. If you ask anyone how to achieve a positive outlook on life, you would be told to think positive, think of all the good things you have in your life, don't dwell on what you don't have and you will see that the good outweighs the bad. While this outlook is a healthy one, it still has its downfalls, for you'll always have a natural yearning for more. Hashem blessed Avraham with everything- Hashem relieved him of the natural yearning for wanting more, thus there was nothing more that he wanted or could of possibly have- 'Bakol'.
Esav said he has 'a lot' because even though he had what he needed he wanted more. The Avos on the other hand were happy with what they had and received a special blessing of having everything they could possibly want.

Parshas V'yiarah- Tefilas Avos Tiknu

2008-11-14T13:20:00.003+02:00

The Gemora teaches us that the three tfillahs were instituted by the three Avos 'Tefilas Avos tiknu'. Someone (Y.R.) once asked me, why is it that just because the Avos davened are we obligated to daven?
R' Eliyahu Lopian explains the concept of 'Tfillahs Avos tiknu' with a parable. We all know what to do if you want to speak to someone in London- we pick up a phone and just call. Did you ever think about what it took for you to make that call? Someone (Alexander Graham Bell) had to invent the technology, investors were needed to further the idea, companies to run it and to lay down the telephone line or to send up the satellites etc.. After all that work, all we have to do is pick up the phone and dial. That is what the Avos did for us. Avraham invented and set up the technology for the Tefilah of Shachris, Yitzchok and Yaakov did the same for Mincha and Marriv. It is thanks to them that we have the ability to just stand up and talk to our Father in heaven. The Korbanos are what gave us the obligation to pray three times a day. As the Gmorah says that the Tefilas are also in place of the daily sacrifices brought in the Bais Hamikdosh. It was the Avos that gave us the opportunity to daven three times a day.

Point to ponder. Why does the Torah interupt the story of the destruction of Sedom and the salvation of Lot with the posuk that tells us that Avraham instituted Shachris?

Parshas Noach

2008-10-31T07:59:00.003+02:00

The Meshach Chochma points out that Noach started out as an 'Ish tzadik'- a man a tzadik, but later in his life the Torah describes him as 'Ish hasodeh'- man of the fields. We find the opposite by Moshe Rabbainu. In Parshas Shemos he's refered to as 'Ish Mitzri'- Egyptian man, and at the end of his life the Torah calls him 'Ish huElokim'- a G-dly man. What was the difference between these two biblical personalities? How is it that their lives were polar opposites? The Meshach Chochma answers that Moshe dedicated his life to helping people and bringing them closer to Hashem, thus he was granted extra siatah dishmaiah to grow to a G-dly level. Noach on the other hand let the people of his generation sink to the lowest level without trying to help them and thus he himself fell from the level he was on.
Rashi brings a pshat that had Noach lived in Avraham's generation he wouldn't have been a Tzaddik. This is perplexing, was he a tzadik or not? If yes then he would have been the same tzadik in any generation, why is it relative to other people?
The Massai Hashem explains that Noach believed in Hashem and knew his glory, because he had it passed down to him father to son back to Adam. Avraham grew up in a home of avodah zora, he had no mesora, he came to find Hashem on his own. Had Noach lived in a generation where he wouldn't have had the rich mesora he wouldn't have been a tzadik, for he made no effort to find the creator on his own and would have been just like every other person- devoid of the knowledge of Hashem. That is why Noach couldn't help his generation, it was to dangerous for him to expose himself to the elements and to bring them closer for he didn't possess the tools needed to prove the existence of Hashem.

Parshas Brieshes- Yartziet of Harav Levi Yitzchok Ben Sorah Sosha Zatzal

2008-10-23T11:05:00.003+02:00

'V'yikra Elokim l'or yom'- This says the Medrish, refers to the deeds of the rightous 'Velachoshech korie layla'- refer to the deeds of the wicked and which one does Hashem prefer- 'Vyar Elokim es h'or ki tov' He likes the light of the righteous. This Medrish need explanation. Why was it ever a question whose deeds are loftier - isn't it quite obvious that Hashem would like the righteous?
The Kedushas Levi says that there are two types of middos. There are character traits that are positive and there are middos that are inherently bad but can be used for doing good. For example, some people are soft spoken in nature and some are the angry type. While usually it's a bad middah to be angry, one can utilize it for the good, as in standing up for Hashem's will. The question in the Medrish is which one is a better way to serve Hashem. Should one work on becomeing an easygoing and softspoken indivdual or should he be like Pinchas and act with zealousy. To that Hashem said he'd rather the person deal with people in a pleasant manner and even when one must stand up for Hashem's honor to first and try doing it pleasantly.
Friday the 25th of Tishrei is the yahrtziet of the Kedushas Levi- R' levi Yitzchok of Berditchev. If there was anyone that served Hasham through pleasantness and an 'ein tova' it was the ultimate defender of Klal Yisroel- the 'Heiliga Berdichive'. May his memory be a blessing to all of Yisroel.

Succos

2008-10-13T15:24:00.002+02:00

The Gr"a explains the reason we celebrate succos on the fifteenth day of tishri. Klal Yisroel lost the clouds of glory that escorted them out of Mitzraim on the 17th day of Tamuz- when they made the eigal. It didn't return to them until they did something solid- when they started building the Mishkon. Hashem granted us forgiveness on the tenth day of Tishri- Yom Kipper. The next day- 11th day of Tishri- Moshe told Klal Yisroel to build the Mishkon. The next two days-12th and 13th of Tishri- Klal Yisroel donated the material for the Mishkon. On the 14th day the gathered and took inventory of what was donated. The actual building of a house for Hashem began on the 15th day of Tishri- the day known to us as the first day of Succos. On that day the Clouds of Glory were given back to Klal Yisroel and they were granted final forgiveness.
R' Yitzchok Hutner points out that at the Simcha Bais Hashovaivah there was a special song that the Baali Teshuva sang. The whole Yom Tov comes as an extension- and gives a finality- to the Yommim Noraim. The Month of Tishri starts with the fear and trepidation of the Yemai Din. It closes with days of Simcha that we can get closer and that we were successful in getting closer to Hashem. That over the Ymai Din Hashem decided that Klal Yisroel is a Nation of eternity.
(The Medrish- Vaikra Rabbah 30;2- says that that is what the Lulov shows that we came out of the courtroom with our hands held high as a sign of victory.)

(I apologize about the grammar for it's getting late)

2008-10-12T00:25:00.006+02:00

The Large Hadron Collider, trying to figure out what happened when the World was created-
$10 billion

Artscroll Stone Chumash-
$49.99

Learning what REALLY happened when the world was created-
Priceless

Parshas Hazienu

2008-10-10T09:08:00.003+02:00

The posuk in this week's parsha (32;6) calls Klal Yisroel 'foolish and not wise'. The Targum adds that 'the people that received the Torah is unwise'. What about Klal Yisroel receiving the Torah classified them unwise?
We know that the Avos kept all the mitzvos even before the Torah was given. The Rashba explains that they knew what the mitzvos were from understanding creation and realizing what was missing from the world. Klal Yisroel wasn't on that level that they were able to figure out exactly what was wanted from them so they needed the Torah to tell them what they are to do.That is what the Targum means, the fact that Klal Yisroel received the Torah shows that they weren't as smart as their ancestors, they had to be told what their purpose in life was and what they were to do.
Point to ponder- This Chasam Sofer suggests that the Avos were on a higher level because they were not commanded. How does that fit with the concept of 'gadol mitzuva veoseh' the reward for a mitzva is greater if one is commanded to do it.

Gmar Chasimah Tova to all my readers and all of Klal Yiroel May this be a year full of brocha, simcha and kedusha. Amen!

2008-10-08T14:57:00.002+02:00

Eseres Yemai Teshuva- Question

2008-10-02T14:05:00.002+03:00

One of the reasons we blow the shofer during Elul is that Klal Yisroel blew the shofer when Moshe went to get the second luchas in order not to make the mistake that they made when they made the eigal. They blew from Rosh Chodesh Elul for forty days, until Moshe came down with the luchas on Yom Kipper.
Why is it that we only blow the Shofer during Elul and not during the Eseres Yemai Teshuva?

Dip The Apple In Honey

2008-09-29T13:55:00.002+03:00

We all eat and make a big deal about the simanim- and say the appropriate yehi ratzons, on the night of Rosh Hashana. The Mishna Breurah quotes a Shlah that one should think of Teshuva and say a tefila- that being the yehi ratzons. R' Shlome Kluger says that the simanim are not a tefilah but rather an expression of emunah that the judgment will be favorable one. When we say "Yehi ratzon that this year shall be a sweet and good one" we are saying that we trust Hashem that in the judgement that he passes on the Yom Hadin we will be given a sweet and happy year. R' S. Kluger goes on to explain that this emunah alone is enough to swing the din in our favor. When Hashem sees that we put our full trust in him he has mercy and gives us what we ask for.
I once heard another nice reason for the simanim from C.K. The word we use is 'siman' which means a sign- something we use to remember something. When we dip the apple in honey we make a sign for ourselves that we want a sweet year- one that's really sweet - with holiness. In a few months when the yomim noraim are a faint memory and we are in the same place we were last year let us remind ourselves that we really wanted to be better this year and that on Rosh Hashana night we asked for a sweet year and we really wanted to change. The sign that we make for ourselves on this night will last through the long winter and we will really achieve what we set out to do.

Parshas Netzavim

2008-09-26T10:37:00.004+03:00

Rosh Hashana Mussef- Tidbits

2008-09-22T22:59:00.001+03:00

The Sefer Haikrim categorizes the thirteen ikrim into three basic categories. 1. To believe that Hashem is one 2. the Torah is from heaven 3. that there is reward and punishment. The Marasha says that the three special brochos we add to the Rosh Hashanana Mosef parallels the three ikrim. Malcheus is in lieu with the belief that Hashem is one. Zechronas represents schar and onish we say that Hashem remembers all that transpired since the beginning of time and takes it all into account when he hands out rewards. The third bracha of Shoferis represents Mamod Har Sinai, when the shofer sound was heard as Klal Yisroel was given the Torah.

Did you realise that the brochos of Malcheus and Shoferis have eleven pesukim each?

Parshas Ki Savoh- 5767

2008-09-18T23:05:00.000+03:00

All over the world Yidden on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur shed thousands of tears when we say the tefilah of “Unisaneh tokef”. If we think about it it seems as if we don’t understand what is the important part of the davening. All that tefilah is just a mussar shmooze, just telling us what happens on these exalted days. It’s not at that moment that we are being judged and it’s not the highlight of the tefilos. If anything we should be crying when we crown Hashem by saying Malchios, zichronos and shofros or when we blow the shofar. What is it about this small tefilah before Kedusha that became the highlight of our Mussaf?
Ezra implemented the reading of Parshas Ki Savoh- the Parsha that contains 98 curses, before Rosh Hashanah because “Tichlah shanah v’kililosehuh” the year and it’s curses shall come to an end. What does that mean just because we read the Parsha how does that translate into a year of blessing?
The Rma”z (one of the big chachmai kabola) writes that if one reads the curses with yiras shamaim it’s as if he lived through them. The Beer Moshe (Ozlevah Rebbah) explains, that the point of bad things befalling Klal Yisroel is that we should come to fear Hashem. To come to the realization that everything we get or don’t get, the good and the bad all come from our father in heaven. We say on Yom Kipper “Ki atah tzadik al kol haboh aleinu” For you are righteous on all that befalls us. We can translate this to mean that we put our full faith in Hashem that anything that will happen to us is coming from Hashem and is just. Standing less then two weeks away from the day of judgment, we read about curses and what can happen to us if we don’t listen to Hashem. What we have to believe is that the only thing that keeps us removed from all those terrible things stated in the Parsha, is Hashem’s loving kindness. That on our own standing we don’t deserve anything that we have or the good we ask Hashem to send us in the new year. “Whatever Hashem sends our way is righteous”. Ezra told us a deep secret, if we read the curses before Rosh Hashanah and picture ourselves going through all of it and then believing that Hashem is the one that’s saving us from every curse and in his infinite kindness gives us all the good, then there is no need to live through it.
This special gift of being able to come to Yiras Hashem just through visualizing the potential calamities was put into our Rosh Hashana mussaf by Reb. Amnon. When we say the beautiful yet frightening words of Unesanah Tokef the point is to experience the words “who will live and who will die,…who with water and who with fire….” To realize that on the day of judgment we stand there in front of Hashem deserving nothing and that anything we get is overflowing with his kindness.

Based on a shmooze given by, Reb Elyah Brudny Shlit"a.

Shesh Zechronas Tidbits

2008-09-12T14:25:00.004+03:00

In most sidurim after shachris there are the 'shesh zechronos'- six remembrances (some recite ten of them) that should be recited everyday. The six things we are to remember every day are 1. Shabbbos 2. the story of the eigal 3. the story of Amalek (this week's parsha) 4. The story of Miriam who spoke loshen horah about Moshe (also in this week's Parsha) 5. Matan Torah 6. Yitzias Mitzraim.
The Magen Avraham says the you should think about these six at the end of the tefilah of Ahavas Olam/Rabbah of shachris. The words 'uvanu vachartah' you have chosen us, represents Matan Torah. 'Vekairavtonu' brought us closer is the opposite of what Amalek wanted to do. 'Lehodos lecha' to thank you, to use our mouths for thanking Hashem and not forbidden speech. 'B'ahavah' with love, and not like we acted when we sinned with the eigal. The last two are in the last Parsha of shema. 'Uzchartem es kol mitzvos' remember all the mitzvos, by remembering Shabbos which is equal to all the mitzvos. 'Asher hotzaise eschem meretz mitzraim' that took us out of Mitzraim is quite obvious- remember yitzias Mitzraim.
There is talk amongst the reshonim which ones are a deoraisah. We all know that reading about Amalak is a mitzva deoraisah- we do it every year before Purim. the same is true of yitzias Mitzraim. The Even Ezrah says that we can fulfill the mitzva of remembering the Shabbos every day. When we say "today is yom rishon l'shabbos" when we say the shir shel yom, the counting towards Shabbos is the way to remember it. The Ramban holds that there is a mitzva- in fact he counts it as part of the 613 mitzvas, to remember in your heart and recite by mouth, what Hashem did to Miriam. The Rambam doesn't count this as a mitzva. The Minchas Chinuch stays undecided what the Ramban holds about remembering the sin of the eigal.
The question remaining is according to the Ramban how often do we hav to remember the story of Miriam? Is it like Amalak which we do once a year or like Shabbos which we could do everyday?

A special Mazel tov to B.E. and A.C.!

Parshas Shoftim

2008-09-04T22:36:00.008+03:00

When a new king is appointed there's a mitzva for him to write himself a new Sefer Torah. Just like everyone else, there is a mitzva for him to own a Sefer Torah, in addition to this he is to write a new one that he is to carry with him, at all times. The meforshim explain that this is the source of our minhag that a chosson gets an aliyah to the Torah the week before and the week after his wedding. The significance of this is that while a king has a upbringing that was vital in forming the person that he is, at the same time he has to realize that only he himself can form his life. He has a Sefer Torah and a rich mesorah handed down from his father and the previous generations. His new Sefer Torah- the one that he is to keep close at all times- is there to ingrain in him that all that was handed down to him by the previous generations is just a backdrop to which to base his decisions that he'll make on his own to which he himself will be responsible for. We try to teach the same lesson to a chosson, to take everything he was taught and experienced in his parents house along with him, but to realize that he's beginning a new stage in life and it's up to him to make sure it's an upstanding Torahdik home.
Thanks to my Father-in-law for this lesson.

Point to ponder- Yomim Noraim

2008-09-01T20:55:00.004+03:00