I must say, I really am appreciating this page!!! Thanks to everyone who is adding. Nossond- shticky! Yashrus- interesting! I think beacon was just teasing that the yeshivish computer and yeshivish spelling go "hand" in "hand" (sorry nossond thought it was cute to throw it in here).
Make sure it's "yashrus" though that you are hackin into the internet in your yeshiva :)
mod i am probably gonna send it on to you on monday tthough, if that is ok with you.
i will see what i can get joseph.
thanx everyone the drav torahs were great!!!!!
chazak chazak venischazek ;)
by the way anyone remember the brachos of Bnei Yaakov baal peh from way back when?? just curious. Every year I remember it when I skim over it in shul but the whole thing.... um Reuven Bechori atah koichi verishis oni.... ok ok I wont go thru the whole thing... I dont remember all of t w/o looking in anyway!
shkoyach: great idea pal!!!
Shkoyach-oh dont worry its yashrus, and besides i need to be m'yasher the feministic world. (i wouldent be yotze zein my post if i didnt say a ma shehu thats chauvanistic lol srry).
Ill make you a deal let me do a day next week and ill come up w/ a nice jewish-feminstic vort. Deal??
Brooklyn19-Breath?? come on. What type a guy u want? I have freinds, mestama joseph has friends...we all do. Its like u have a whole family looking out for u!
that's wonderful, yashrus20 - you can get back to me pesach time. till then i'm not even talking about it. seriously, i need a beak.
Mussar HaTorah
Torah Insights into Human Nature – Dedicated in memory of Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz zt"l
14 Teves 5769 Vol. 10, No. 12 Parashas Vayechi
“And now, fear not, I [Yosef] will feed you and your children…” (Bereishis 50:21)
After Yaakov’s death, Yosef reassured his brothers that he bore no grudge against them. He then promised that he would continue to provide food for them and their families. He overlooked the wrongs that the brothers had perpetrated
against him and instead of punishment, he treated them with kindness
Six hundred years later, Dovid HaMelech pointed to Yosef’s righteous conduct
as he beseeched Hashem to have compassion on B’nei Yisrael despite their improper behavior. Dovid said (Tehilim 80:2), “Shepherd of Israel, hear us, [You] lead Yosef like sheep.” The Metzudas Dovid explains that Dovid asked Hashem to lead and sustain Yosef – a reference to the Jewish people – like a shepherd tends to his sheep. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Tehilim 80), however, explains this pasuk on a deeper level: “Yosef” is used because Dovid was pleading with Hashem, “The brothers treated Yosef badly, yet Yosef treated them well; so too, Hashem, we have treated You poorly, nevertheless, act kindly to us.” In other words, Dovid HaMelech holds Yosef up as a role model worthy of emulation, asking Hashem to follow suit and deal kindly with us despite our sins.
Isn’t Dovid’s request disrespectful? Imagine a rebellious subject appearing before a powerful monarch, pleading to save his own life and to receive continued
sustenance. Aware that his criminal behavior would justifiably provoke the king to deny his request, he turns to the King and proclaims, “Your majesty, last year the mayor of a small village was kind to a citizen who, decades earlier, had severely beaten the mayor as a child; now you too, your majesty, be as kind and forgiving as he was.” This would surely be considered insolence and disrespect! “How dare you compare the king to one of his servants and tell him to act in the same manner?! Are you trying to tell the king what to do?” These would be understandable
reactions of the king to such a brazen request. How could Dovid HaMelech have uttered such a prayer?
In truth, Dovid HaMelech’s entreaty would have been improper with a mortal monarch. It is chutzpa to ask a king to emulate the example of one of his subjects. However, Hashem’s relationship with us is far beyond that of a human king and subject. Dovid was able to offer a prayer in this direct fashion because he fully understood Hashem’s infinite love for us. In fact, Hashem’s love for the Jewish people is even greater than the love of a father for his son, for it would be insolent even for a son to make such a request of his father. Hashem is so eager to hear our tefilos that we can pray with a different set of rules than would normally apply. He desires nothing more than to shower us with His blessings and give us our needs; He doesn’t need our supplications to motivate Him to agree. Our tefilos are an additional chesed from Hashem that allows us to draw closer to Him by standing before Him in prayer.
May we appreciate how beloved we are to Hashem, as His chosen people and His precious children. When we have the privilege of speaking to the King of all kings in prayer, let us always feel His affection towards us, despite our mistakes and shortcomings. Let us beg Him for all that we need, knowing in our hearts that He waits so longingly to grant us blessings of peace, health, happiness
and all that is good for us
Based on the talks of Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz zt”l, Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim – RSA
© 2008 by Rabbi Aryeh Striks & Rabbi Shimon Zehnwirth. For more information call (818) 505-7999 or e-mail mht@vths.org
Brooklyn19-No prob.
Mods! i was serious i wanna give a dvar torah this week, and it will be a nice feministic vort to make up for my chauvanistic comments (not that im going back on them).
You have Tuesday. Thanks. YW Moderator-72
MOTZEI SHABBOS VORT
by rebetzin BYM
Parshas vaYechi tells us that Yaakov wanted to tell the Shevatim when the Geulah would come. Rashi says he wanted "l'galos es haKetz" (to reveal the end), but "Nistama nevua malav", Nevuah was taken away form him.
the Maharal asks, why is this Passuk even mentioned in the Torah? to tell us, we were SUPPOSED to be told when the Geulah would come, but only to have Yaakov suddenly forget?the Maharal beatifully sums it up in just a few words: the point of this passuk was in order to tell the Shevtaim, and future generations,
"L'galos SHEYAISH ketz"---that there WILL be an end to our galus--we dont know when, but we are assured by the Torah that there will be.
may the ketz come NOW
gut voch
--sorry so late, for all the israel habitants
shkoyach, i think the known phrase is "past nisht"....its a fave of my friend's :)
oh and i agree.
anyway, nossond: i didnt read the Bais haLevi, only the sefer Bikorei Shimo by R' Shmuel Birnbaum, who brought the Bais haLevi, but thank you for that addition...
getting back to the shidduch situation at hand here....
that last dvar Torah will be as a zechus iyH that e/o in the CR that needs a shidduch will find their bashert bizmano/bizmanah, and may that be as soon as possible!
just one more shtickl dvar Torah... (this is great the CR gives me a chance to use all my yiddish phrases!)
has to do a little with parshas vaYigash...
here goes
"Shivim Nefesh"--there were 70 people that went down to Mitzrayim...we all know that really, there were 69, but Yocheved was born on the threshold of Mitzrayim, right before they entered Mitzrayim, to galus.
the Maharal says that the reason Yocheved is born right before entering galus Mitzrayim, that she is one of the 70, is to show us that whenever Hashem brings galus, brings a Makkah, there is ALWAYS a refuah taht comes before it; whats the refuah?
Yocheved was the mother of Moshe Rabbeinu--who is called "moshia shel Yisrael."
even BEFORE we entered Mitzrayim to galus as shivim nefesh, Hashem created the refuah--
"Hashem makdim refuah lamakkah"---always, even in our times.
may we be zoche to see that Refuah speedily in our days!
--this one will be iyH as a zechus for the chayalim fighting on our behalf in Eretz Yisrael...may they have hatzlacha and shmirah in all they do.
I can do wednesday or thursday
Wednesday it is. Thanks. YW Moderator-72
bym: nice dvar torahs tonight!!! your on a roll here!!!
thank you, asdfghjkl.
one more:
Parshas Vayechi talks about right before Yaakov Avinu's petirah--so why is it called vayechi? because Yaakov till today still lives through two things:
a) his children
b) his legacy
we still have that legacy and we are his children!
also, "tzadik lo mes"--he lives on
let's try to keep to the topic here.
thanks
Whilst not on the Parsha, I feel this d’var torah is pertains to the current situation in Eretz Yisroel. I said this Vort at the Shalom Zachor of my son a few weeks ago.
At the end of Parshas Vayetzei it says “then Lavan went and returned to his place. Ya’akov went on his way...”
R’ Moshe Shternbuch in his sefer, Ta’am V’daas, says that this passuk encapsulates the relationship between Lavan and Ya’akov. Despite the fact that Chazal say “Oy L’Rasha, Oy, L’shechayno, Tov L’Tzadik, Tov L’shechayno (Woe, to the wicked and woe on their neighbor, Good for the righteous, good for their neighbor) this was not the case between Lavan and Ya’akov. Despite the wicked nature of Lavan, Ya’akov did not fall in his level of holiness. Likewise, despite the holiness of Ya’akov, Lavan remained the Rasha that he was. The Rasha “return to their place” they stay at the same level. The Tzadik is always growing “and Ya’akov went on his way”.
There is the famous question as to why Avraham Avinu waited to be commanded to do the mitzva of Bris Mila, after all, he do all the other mitzvas before they were commanded, why wait by Bris Mila? R’ Yaakov Naiman quotes the Brisker Rov who say the following: There is also a prohibition against mutilation of the body. One cannot remove a body part because they want to. So Avraham would have been guilty of this aveira had he done the bris before Hashem told him, that now, the orlah is a mum, and it must be removed.
If one does a bris on their son at 5 days old, they have not done a mitzva. We are commanded that for the first seven days the orlah must remain, and only on the eighth day must it be removed. Perhaps one of the lessons we can see from a bris is that: What was good enough yesterday is not good enough for today, and what is good enough for today, should not be good enough for tomorrow.
As Klal Yisroel is currently in this Eis Tzara, we must take it upon ourselves to fight the Yetzer Hara known as complacency. We must learn for Ya’akov Avinu and realize that Yidden need to constantly grow in their Ruchnius and their Avodas Hashem.
jaymatt19: great vort there!! thanx!!!
Ravizzy- if you would like to give a dvar torah one night send an email to mod 72:
moderator72 at theyeshivaworld.com
JayMatt - Excellent and Mazel Tov!
jaymatt excellent vort.
thanks j-man, and mazal tov!
really enjoyed the vort JayMatt, thanks.
Thanks, JayMatt!
mod do you know what the developer tools means it just popped up.
***Please Post On MONDAY NITE***. thanx
Parshas Shemos
Rabbi Label Lam
In Preparation- to Save a Nation
The priest of Midian had seven daughters; they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s sheep. The shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and saved them and watered their sheep. They came to Reuel their father. He said, “How could you come so quickly today?” They replied, “An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds and he even drew water for us and watered the sheep.” (Shemos 2:16-19)
“An Egyptian man saved us…” This is comparable to someone who was trying to save himself from the danger of another donkey bite and ran to the water’s edge. There he noticed a child drowning in the river. He saved the child. The child told him, “If it had not had been for you I would have died.” The man told him, “I didn’t save you, the donkey did! I ran from him to the water and that allowed me to save you.” So it was between the daughters of Jethro and Moses. They said, “Thank you so much for saving us from the shepherds!” Moshe answered them, “That Egyptian that I killed he saved you!” And therefore they said to their father, “An Egyptian man saved us…” Meaning: Who caused that the Hebrew man should come to our rescue at that time? It was the Egyptian man that he had confronted and killed. (Shemos Rabbah)
What does the seeming farfetched story in the Midrash mean to teach us? Perhaps its aim is to help us to make better sense of the events in our lives. In a New Yorker cartoon, written on a sign in the library above two arrows were the words; “Fiction” (In one direction) and “Stranger Than...” (In the other) Events that happen in life that is often stranger than anything we could ever dream up on our own.
In Yaffa Illiach’s “Chassidic Tales of the Holocaust” she relates a story she gleaned from a survivor she had met up-state New York at a bungalow. He told her about the terrible day when the Nazis overran his town and abducted his beautiful sister. He was so outraged and angry that in an act of almost insane defiance he stormed their newly established headquarters and demanded that his sister be released. To add insult to injury the presiding officer called his colleagues to witness the pitiful spectacle of this desperate Jew. They threatened that if he didn’t leave immediately they would kill him.
He persisted and insisted that he wouldn’t leave until they handed over his sister. The officer taunted him cruelly and told him, “I’ll release you sister! Sure I’ll release your sister when hair grows on the palm of your hand!” They laughed and jeered at him. Then he lifted his hand and showed them a full growth of hair on the palm of his hand. All were silenced with shock. They shouted, “He must be the devil!” In an instant his sister was let go and both managed to survive the war.
What had happened? Years earlier this young man had been in a terrible accident. His hand was mangled in a machine and he needed skin grafting. Ever since that tragic day he had suffered daily with an embarrassing reminder of the event. Strangely hair started to grow wildly on the palm of his hand.
I can only imagine that he must have been haunted by existential nausea on some conscious or sub-conscious level asking, “Why me G-d? Why is this happening like this to me?” Whether aware or not we all most likely whisper those types of questions when “tough stuff” is happening to us. However, one day the answer came to him like a lightning bolt. That which looked like the worst thing that had ever happened to him in his life actually was the key to saving not just himself but his beloved sister too.
It could be that in retrospect we can begin to appreciate that many of the best tools we gained to be able help others were gotten through our most rugged experiences in life. Moses, still in the grooming stage, had already developed a positive appreciation for even
it came up when i opened this threaad.
Jewsishfeminist-Are u gonna check out my dvar torah tom.! Ill even may it b'zchus anything u want (except to make me a feminist).
In my Dvar Torah about Dovid and hands I made a typo. This is how it should end.
Memeilah, Zerach stook out his hand. He wanted Dovid to come from him! But his hand was pulled back and Peretz broke forth! So Dovid descended from him!
I will add another Dvar Torah that expands on the theme of areivus.
I mentioned how Yehuda's areivus for Binyamin was a wonderful thing to repair the hatred between the sons of Leah and Rachel, and that klal Yisrael are areivim ze la ze. In areivus we don't overide each other, but work together in peace and friendship.
In halacha there are three eiruvs, and they are also about promoting peace and frienship. An eiruv techumin allows you to go to someones kidush or bris (that live far away) and promotes peace and friendship among people. The eiruv chateiros allows you to carry in your neighborhood and promotes peace and friendship among neighbors. The eiruv tavshilin lets you cook on Yom Tov for Shabbos and promotes peace and frienship between husband and wife.
Here is the amazing part. עירובין is the mesechta in shas that discusses eiruv techumin and eiruv chateiros. עירובין spelled backwards is ניב ורע, which alludes to peace and friendship. ניב alludes to the pasuk בורא ניב שפתים שלום שלום לרחוק ולקרוב. So ניב is peace, and a רע (Raya) is a friend. So ניב ורע is peace and friendship.
Please see the nightly D'var Torah submitted by qwertyuiop posted above.
thanx mod.
Another typo.
עירובין spelled backwards is ניב וריע, peace and frienship.
qwertyuiop: great dvar torah!!! i really enjoyed it!! seemed like you didn't even google it!! jk
Tonights D'var Torah
When all the shivtei ka died, The posuk says "vtimalie haaretz osam". Frekd my rosh yeshiva, that they were supposed to live in goshen. That was the vision of Yaakov, as as yosef told reuven that mishpachas yaakov was supposed to live there for 5 yrs. So what happened?? Earlier on Yaakov when he reaches be'er sheva..he gets the chills, b/c he realizes once he goes down to mitzraim it wont be so easy to get back. Why?? So what happened?? Vatimale haaretz osam means that they filled the land with the mitzriem. As the posuk says in mitzraim they spread out quilkly through the land. Zugd my rosh they wanted to become one nation. They decided to assimulate with them.
In the time of the yivanim it says they were "moshech alav". Back then they used to do sporting events when arum, so they could see who was jewish. So to be like everyone else they were moshech aluv. Its some sort of surgery to lift up the skin. They are still yotze mila d'aarisa but not drabanan.
Nowadays, Everyone says we need internet or newspapers arent so bad. You need to be worldly, and theres nothing wrong with it. The problem here is the Torah was not given to us so that we could look at what were are allowed to do and based on that assimulate ourselves amongst the goyim. B/c even though your not doing anything assur...by reading, and assimulating yourselves with them even in a muttar way is a massive sakana. There thought procces will become your thought procces, You midos will change and eventialy even though you started out very makpid, your gvulim will break. Why?? B/c musser in essential for a yid. With learning alone its hard to work on your yiras shamayim. Al achas kama v'kama when your hearing the views of the goyim. cont...
Its just something ppl dont thinkabout is that Right and wrong is not everything. The point of the torah is to make us better ppl and if were doing the right thing and assimulating with everone its only a matter of time b4 our walls of kedusha fall.
When klal yisroel assimulated in mitzraim mestama they were like us...if were gonna live in mitzraim were gonna need this or that. Sound familar! If they can fall the einicklach of yaavov forsure we can. Distinct....unique....special....are what we are supposed to be. There is a halacha eisav soneh et yaakov. But we have a bracha that as long as we do what is yashar in the eyes of our creater we are fine. So as long as we dont assimulate with the goyim were fine. But once we try being like the other nations thats when we have to worry. Just like mitzraim! Does anyone know where the enlightenment of Judiasm to assimulate came from in the early 1900's....from gremany. When we try to assimulate the halach of eisav soneh et yaakov goes into effect! By purim we tried to assimulate with achashveirosh by going to his party....BUT IT WAS KOSHER MORDECHIA WAS THE MASHGIACH! It was muter wink wink....When we let our gaurd down that when they get us. Mi kamcha yisroel...So we should be proud of who we are not Chas Vishalom ashamed of it.
By: My Rosh
I feel a bit embarrassed that there has not been any action on this board basically all day.
Since multiple divrei torah are permitted, here goes:
The Vilna Gaon was once asked why the notes "Kadma V'azla" were assigned to the words "V'yimarriru es chayeyhem" (and he embittered their lives), since they are notes generally used for happier instances.
The Vilna Gaon replied that since the Egyptians embittered the lives of Bnei Yisroel, "Kadmu V'Azlu" Benei Yisroel got up (Kadmu) and left (azlu) 190 years earlier than destined.
Additionally, Kadman V'Azla is gematria 190
Ill Try Again
So srry it couldent be a feministic vort...I simply couldent find anything.....Hamaivin Yavin.
j-matt....short sweet and to the point :)
yashrus...not as short but still sweet and to the point.
thanks to both of you.
a little early, but here's something on parshas shemos:
"And Moshe stood up and saved them" (2:17)
The Torah tells us here how Moshe saved Tziporah, who at that time was a complete stranger. later on we read how measure for measure, Tziporah saved Moshe's life (4:24-25). We see from this, says the Chofetz Chaim, that all the kindness that a person does for someone else is eventually repaid to him.
Whenever you do a favor for someone else, you benefit yourself. Definitely, the highest level is to do kindness for others for the sake of a mitzvah without thinking of personal gain. But whenever you find it difficult to do an act of chessed for others, at least do it for the reason that good things will occur to you in the future because of your act. When you are kind to others, they will be kinder to you. If not right away, then in time you will be repaid.
*Rabbi Zelig Pliskin
BYM-thanks, and for a girl youve got quite the divrie torah! Listen i need a chavrusa u available....you seem alot more knoledgeble than all my others lol.
Feministic Vort
Why is it that men say shelo asani isha and women say sheasani kirtzono...sounds chauvanistic no??
in truth the opposite is true...theres a pirush on davening that explains: If u notice Men ussualy are more easily persueded to do aveiros, men tend to have worse midos. While we get to learn more torah, women are technichly born alot holier than men. Thats pshat kirtzono..they were created to go acc. to his will. Its in their tevah to be good ppl. Notice how they are more emotionaly simpathetic to others...b/c that hakadosh boruch hus will. We men should learn a lesson from women and how they act.
according to that vort - why in the world would you say she'lo asani isha? don't you at least aspire to be like an isha?
(jfem incognito :})
yashrus, I approve :). really very nice..
yashrus20: great vorts!!! you & BYM would make a great chavrusa team!!!
(This is not for my wednesday vort).
The ratzon of HaShem in the creation was the creation of man. The pasuk says Elokim said to make man in his image of Elokim. In Kabbalah, Elokim is in the gevurah realm, which is female.
The other ratzon of HaShem was His resting on Shabbos on the seventh day. The seventh day in kabbalah is malchus, which is female. Shabbos is therefore a queen, and it contains the word bas (daughter). Moreover, in the beracha for Naftali (in Devarim) it states Naftali שבע רצון. This is a remez for the connection between שבע, the seventh day, and ratzon.
To make a long story short, the ratzon of HaShem is female. This is why females say sheasani keritzono, that they were made like his ratzon.
Dvar Torah for Wednesday January 14
Shemos (2:2) states about Moshe, “…and she saw him that he was טוב (good).”
Tehilim (133:1), “A song of ascents by David, behold how good and how pleasant is the dwelling of brothers also together. (133:2) Like the good oil upon the head running down upon the beard, the beard of Aharon, running down מדותיו על פי (upon his garments).”
Aharon had exemplary character traits (מדות), as we know that he sought and pursued peace. The pasuk thus states that the oil flowed upon Aharon to be the Cohen Gadol, על פי מדותיו, because of his (fine) מדות (Maharsha Horius 12b).
Since the end of the chapter speaks about Aharon, the brothers of pasuk (133:1) are Moshe and Aharon, who dwelled together in unity. Aharon helped Moshe take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. He also joined Moshe at Sinai, and Moshe inaugurated the mishkan for which Aharon was the Cohen Gadol.
The pasuk thus states, “how good and how pleasant….” Good is Moshe, as Shemos (2:2) states, “…and she saw him that he was good.” And pleasant is Aharon, because of his fine character.
Let’s now go back to the rivers of Eden. Bereishis (2:11) states, “The name of the first is Pishon, the one that circles the whole land of Chavilah, where the gold is. (2:12) And the gold of that land is good; there is the bedolach and the shoham stone.
Pishon is the Nile of Egypt (Rashi). It therefore alludes to Moshe who was born there are took us out from there. The gold is "good" is Moshe as Shemos (2:2) states, “And she saw him that he was good.” The bedolach is also Moshe. Bamidbar (11:7) states that the Manna was colored like the bedolach, and Ta’anis (9a) states that the Manna fell in the merit of Moshe. The shoham stone connects to the priestly garments, which had two of them on the shoulders. This alludes to Aharon who joined Moshe to take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt, to then become the Cohen Gadol and wear the priestly garments in the service of the Mishkan which Moshe inaugurated. Moreover, the Shoham stone on the breastplate was Yoseph’s stone, and it was Moshe who carried Yoseph’s bones throughout the desert.
nossond: great vort as usual!!!! keep em comin!!!
Just happened to see this segment in a piece from the Mevakshei Torah journal in the name of Reb Dovid Povarsky Z"L.
He brings from a Rashba the following question. How come when Chazal said not to blow the shofar on RH when it falls on Shabbos, it does not violate Bal Tigra (not to subtract from mitzvos)? The Rashba answers that takanos do not violate Bal Tigra.
But Reb Dovid asks on the Rashba, look, we know that there is a mitzva to blow shofar, yet Chazal are allowed to be oker (uproot) a mitzvah b'shev v'al taaseh (passively, not to do the act) to protect Shabbos. So why is the Rashba any more bothered by Bal Tigra which is also passive, then he is about the mitzvah of shofar in the first place. If shev v'al taaseh is a good enough heter for not blowing shofar, it should be good enough for Bal Tigra. Reb Dovid answers that apparently, a passive act by Bal Tigra is not considered Shev v'al Taaseh, but rather Kum V'aseh (active violation).
It seems to me that the pshat in Reb Dovid's words is that by definition all Bal Tigra is passive, i.e., omitting a mitzvah. So if the Torah asurs it, it must mean that even passive acts are considered an active violation of Bal Tigra. The Rashba must therefore be mechadesh that by takanos, Bal Tigra doesn't apply.
(Not a parsha vort, but thought was a geshmaker kashya.)
asdfghjkl: Thanks for the compliment. You have fine middos like Aharon, because your comments, on all the Divrei Torah, probably keep this thing going.
Pashuteh Yid: great pshat!
I will add to it. Now that we have the Rashba's teretz for the issur of ba'al tigra, why is the other heter used for the mitzva of blowing shofar, namely, that the chachamin are oker bshev v'al ta'aseh. Lichaora, you can only use the extra streangth of takanos chazal in regard to ba'al tigra becacause it is kollel all the mitzvos and chazal similarly make takanos for all the mitzvos. But on each particular mitzvah, you must use the stam heter of shev va'l ta'aseh.
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