Nassah Vnishma

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Parshas Hachodesh

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

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.