Story Time

R' Tzvi Kunstlinger Zatza"l who was a rav in Yerushalayim mid century, lost a few kids during his lifetime. His escape- just like any gadol- was a blatt gemora, he would immerse himself in learning and forget all his worries. One of his sons was nifter at the age of 35, on the operating table. The family didn't know how to break the news to him and decided on a plan. When he was learning they approached him and said that they asked the Belzer Rebbe Zatza”l how to do the operation but the doctors weren't successful. He looked up from his Gemora and said, "silly children you don’t ask a Rebbe how to operate you ask if you should operate” and with that went back to his Gemora.

Take A Deep Look

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? 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!

Tzitzis Point to Ponder

Why is it that of all the Mitzvos(that i can think of), only Tzitzis has two different ways to mekaim it- Talis gadol and katan? Why is a talis gadol only worn during Teffilah and- according to many minhogim- only after marriage?

Shevuos

The Mishna in Avos states that the world stands on three pillars, Torah, Avodah and Gemilas Chasodim. On Shavuous- the day that the reason for creation of the world was realized, we have symbolism to all three. Torah is obvious- Shavuous is Yom Matan Torah. Avodah is represented with the Korban Shnei Lechem which was brought on Shavuous- as the Torah calls it "Yom Bekurim". To represent Gemilas Chasodim, we read the Megilah of Ruth which is based on the chassodim of Ruth and Boaz.

Parshas Naso

The last part of the Parsha talks about the chanukas hamishkan and the twelve days that followed. (Interesting to note that that day in history- the First of Nissan- is mentioned in Sefarim Shemos, Vayikra and Bamidbor). The narrative begins with "B'yom kalous Moshe lhokim es hamishkan"- The day Moshe set up the Mishkan. The Medrish compares the Mishkan to the creation of the world and ends off with the comparison of the word ‘kalous’ with the word “Vayichal’ Elokim bayom hashevie” - from the posak that completed the creation of the world. The Alshach explains this with a famous Medrish. The Medrish says that the Seven days prior to the building of the Mishkan, Moshe would set up the Mishkan and dismantle it twice a day- once for the morning Korban Tomid and one for the evening one. What needs understanding is- why did Moshe have to dismantle it every day? Couldn’t he just leave it standing throughout the week? The Alshach explains that the Mishkan couldn’t stand naturally, only through a nes. The Mishkan in its mere physical state could not stand, it needed the Kedusha, the Neshoma from Hashem. That is why the days prior to the inauguration it just couldn’t stand so Moshe had to dismantle it. The same is true with the world at large. Hashem created the world in six days, the state of the world was that of a ‘golam’ until Shabbos came along and gave it its spark, its life- its kedusha and neshoma. The six days of the week would not be able to last if it were not for Shabbos that comes every Seventh day.
This is what the Medrish is comparing, the day of Shabbos when the world was complete- which was the day that gave it the possibility to go on. To the Mishkan the day that it was complete- the First day of Nissin- gave it the power to stand.

A Comment From Reb Z. on The Shavuos Question

I heard a very nice speech yesterday which in a nutshell explained that what we really are celebrating Shavuos is (not the actual matan torah, but) the level that we reached through the avodah over the 49 days of sefirah.. a level which brought us to the possibility of receiving the Torah. Each Jew in his own way can strive to reach that level with the proper focus and work each and every year by realizing that even the seemingly mundane and unholy (working the field)can be raised to a level of kedusha. This can be accomplished by working on ourselves to come to the realization that the benefits we reap from our work in the field (and in business) is all from Hashem and we have no control over it. Once we reach that level we can be vessels ready to receive the Torah properly. This explains why on Pesach we bring the Omer made of barley (animal feed) and on Shavuos we bring the Two Loaves made of Chametz, which symbolizes the Yetzer Hara; we are showing that before we start working on ourselves (Pesach) we are not on the level to bring chametz, but after the days of sefira we are now on a level where we can bring chametz to demostrate that even the our evil inclination can be raised to be used to do acts of kedusha. And indeed the Torah makes no mention of Matan Torah when it mentions Shavuos! This explains why we celebrate Shavuos! COmments are welcome...

Parshas Bechukosai

"Im bechukosai talaicho" Rashi explains it to mean, if you toil in torah. Explanation is needed why toiling in torah is expressed as a 'chok'- something done without knowing the reason behind it.
The Or Hachaim starts this weeks Parsha with forty two different ways to explain the first posok. In his first explanation he says that while all learning of torah is important, that's not what the special brochas of the Parsha are for. Rather it's for the learning one does for the sake of learning, the third, forth and fifth time one learns, when he already knows what is being said, but learns it just as it would be his first time. It is this learning that the Torah calls a 'chok' something we do for no apparent reason. When Klal Yisroel's learning is on such an elevated level, then they're zoche to the brochos stated in this weeks Parsha.

Shevuas- The Question

Yomim Tovim by Jews are not mere days of 'we were threatened, Hashem saved us, lets celebrate!'. Rather we celebrate days that allow us to tap into the nissim that transpired and the siritual levels that were gained through them.
Klal Yisroel were given the Luchas, twice. On Shavuous we were given the first set of Luchas- which Moshe broke the 17th day of Tamuz, the day that Klal Yisroel made the golden calf. The second Luchas was given after Klal Yisroel did Teshuva and were forgiven, on Yom Kippur. There were intrinsic differences between them. The first one was written on stone taken from heaven- had we been zoche we would have had a actual piece from shmayim down in our midst. Being that is was so great it would have made a bigger impression on us. There wouldn't have been any forgetting of torah or any sin. We would have reached the tachlis of creation. All that would have been the case had the luchas come down from Hashem and not been broken. But we sinned and were not ready for that level of serving Hashem, so Moshe broke the Luchas. After eighty days of doing teshuva and begging for forgiveness we were given a new set of tablets. This one was made up of stone from down here on earth, written with the finger of Hashem. It was lacking that spiritual benefit of being straight from Hashem and we were left to toil in the Torah and fight the Yetzar Horah.
The Torah we have today is from the second Luchas the one that humans can relate to, the one we got on Yom Kippur. The Question is- why do we celebrate Shavuous if we can't (seemingly) tap into the levels of Luchas reshonim?

Parshas Emor

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”.

The Alter of Salbodkah once said "It's harder for a human to live without kavod- self respect, than to live without air"