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"

Points To Ponder- Peasach

Why is it that most of the mitzvos of the Sedar are related to the mouth. We eat matzah, drink wine, say the haggadah etc.
Furthermore when we talk about the Korban Peasach (Reb Gamliel omar...) we talk about the point of eating it and not that of the korban aspect.

Why is it that the number four is so significant by the Sedar? Four sons, questions, cups, four expressions of geulah. Any more?

Why is it that we say Hallal at night?

My Zaideh- Moshe Ben Yosef Hillel zatza'l

Late last night 9 Nissen, my grandfather- Moshe Ben Yosef Hillel zatzal, was nifter. A yid that lived through the fires of the holacust and all of his life, with great misiras nefesh for Hashem and his mitzvos. For the six years of the war under the most horrific conditions he and his brother almost never missed a day of wearing Tefilin. That mesiras nefesh never left him. My brother was once carrying his Tefilin casually Zaidy started to scream at him "I was willing to give my life for the mitzva of tefilin- you should at least carry it with respect!". To him mitzvos wasn't something you 'just do' rather he put his very life into doing Hashems will. He wasn't from the six million that died 'Al kiddish Hashem'. He was from the endless number of Yidden that lived their lives al kiddish Hashem. Hopefully we will never have to serve hashem with all our being. How sad is it that we will never reach that level of serving Hashem.

A New Blog

Coming soon a new blog.
The story of two brothers (the same ones of the 'peasach story') during the Holocaust.

The story is written in Yiddish, I will try to translate it and share it with the world.

brothersthroughfire.blogspot.com
Just click the new link to the right.

Peasach Story

It was the year 1942 the ghetto of Krakow was judenrien already, but there were two brothers hiding and trying to stay alive amidst all the insanity. The Yom Tov of peasach was approaching and those two brothers had to find a way to eat matzah. They found a way to make matzah, but with great mesiras nefes and found a little borscht that they would use instead of wine.
They sat down to their makeshift seder- To celebrate Klal Yisroels going out of Mitzraim. Instead of a beautiful laid table with the nicest silver, they sat down in an attic running from the Nazi beasts with Matzah that they sacrificed their lives for. The younger brother- a mere 21 year old calls to his brother that there is no way he can have a seder tonight. The sedar is to celebrate our freedom, our going out of exile- but here we sit, our lives in danger the tragedy unspeakable- our family is all gone, what kind of freedom are we celebrating tonight? The older brother answered that the 'cheiris olam'- the everlasting freedom that we gained on Peasach wasn't a physical freedom. Rather it's the spiritual freedom that was recognized. Peasach is the birth of a nation- not just any nation but the birth of a nation that Hashem could call his own. We celebrate something that no one can take away from us, a going out of slavery into the embracing hands of our father in heaven- having the zechus to be called 'eved Hashem'. With those words two brothers sat down to a Sedar that only had matzah and borsht but most probably was the most magnificent sedar ever experienced.

Parshas Hachodesh

There are two opposite ways that Hashem runs the world. One is 'hashgachah klallis' That the world runs just like a worldly kingdom. The king sits on his throne taking advice from his aides and making decisions for his kingdom. When a decision comes forth from the king he relays it to the minister in charge of that aspect and the minister thus relays it to the local governors and so on and so forth until everyone that is affected by the kings decision knows about it and the police enforce it. So too Hashem runs his world e.g. that rain should fall in New York- Hashem decrees that it shall rain and sends forth his decision to the angels in charge of the region of New York they 'arrange' that the rain ministers should send rain. Those ministers thus gather the clouds who make the rain. Everything is run in the most orderly fashion.
The second way hashem runs this world is that Hashem alone is in charge of every aspect. Hashem makes and carries out all his decrees personally- without any intermediaries.
The world in general runs according to te first way. The second fashion is reserved for Klal Yisroel- and that started at Yitzias Mitzraim when Hashem himself- not thru a angel - took the Jews out of exile.
The two approaches are exhibited in our yearly calendar. While most most of the world (There is an obvious question someone please ask it) goes according to the sun-the solar calendar, Klal Yisroel counts the months according to the lunar calendar- but is still influenced by the solar calendar which leaves us with leap years.
The seforim explain that the sun's cycle is just a natural go around, every year it goes around the earth. This would symbolise the first way that Hashem runs his world. A world in which Hashem stays behind the scenes and everything is carried out through different emissaries. As apposed to the moon which is not just a natural cycle but rather Hashem actually recreates the moon every month. (Hence we say Kiddush Halevonah every month). This is an exact parallel to the relationship between Hashem and Yisroel. Hashem is actively recreating and intimately involved in our every move.
With the above in mind we understand why the mitzva of Kiddush Hachodesh was given right before Yitzias Metzraim- and that we read Parshas Hachodesh this week. For the moon is an exact example of the relationship Klal Yisroel forged with Hashem at Yitzias Mitzraim.