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mod72: wonderful DT!
mepal: that was great! hope to see ya back here soon!
ALIYOS REFOEL ZEV Divrei Torah and Mussar on the Yomim Tovim
?????? ???? ????? ????? ?’ ???? ??? “?? ?? ?’ ???? ??? ? “?
AROUSING TEARS
The Gemara in Meseches Berachos (Daf 6b) tells us that the reward for a eulogy is the raising of the voice. Rashi explains, that the goal of a eulogy is to arouse emotion, and when a person raises his voice in wailing, this will evoke tears; and thus the goal of the hesped will be realized.
MACHLOKES
By: Benjamin Lintz
It seems that one of the main issues within Klal Yisroel at the time of the Destruction of the Second Bais HaMikdash was that of machlokes – controversy. The Chofetz Chaim writes in his Sefer Shmiras Haloshon (ii) that there are two components regarding not having machlokes: 1. Rectifying any existing machlokes and 2. Preempting the issue so that it never even happens in the first place.
The Chofetz Chaim writes (ix) a piece of advice that I found very interesting. He suggests that people set aside a sum of money for the year that they can use to avoid machlokes. So, if ever a person can easily avoid a potential controversy by paying this money, it is worth while doing so. The Chofetz Chaim reasons that there are several mitzvos one must spend money on, such as Arba Minim and Tztzis, and a lot of people are willing to even splurge somewhat to beautify the mitzvah. Avoiding machlokes is a great mitzvah, so if it can be achieved by spending a reasonable amount of money it is definitely worth fulfilling.
i Gittin 55:,56.
ii End of Shaar Hazechira, and beginning of Chasimas Hasefer Chelek Aleph
iii Siddur: Birchas Hashachar
iv Shabbos 127.
v Shmiras HaLoshon, last paragraph of Shaar Hazechira
vi Bamidbar 16:12
vii Bamidbar 26:55
viii Toeles 4 on ibid.
ix Shmiras HaLoshon, beginning of Chasima Hasefer Chelek Aleph
11 Av 5769 Vol. 10, No. 40 Parashas Vaeschanan
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handle with care!
What exactly is up with this weeks parsha?
Try to think of the top 5 most annoying thing your older sibling/bully/ annoying friend. etc etc etc ever did to u. I am sure that one of the top 5 by most of u is very simillar to the following description (remember i am NOT very good at telling stories). U just finished eating at a very large and satisfying bbq, ur r absolutely stuffed and have room only for one more thing….ICECREAM! problem is the only ice cream around is dairy, now unless ur dutch there really isn’t much u can do. u already come to terms with the fact that u won’t be getting your ice cream, and after calling g-d a big big meanie (r”l) ur ready to move on with your life, and……in steps the aforementioned annoying person and says as follows, “i heard u want some ice cream but ur fleishik, now i know i can’t actually give u some, but if u want i can come and show u some, i’ll even let u watch me eat it if u want”, isn’t that nice of him? NO!!!!! that is mean, annoying, and quite frankly SD (slap deserving……laugh now, but in a couple of months “SD” is gonna be the hottest slang word!!!). To summarize our story, the last thing u want when u want something (go back to the beginning of that sentence and read it again) is to see that thing dangled in front of your face without having the ability to actually get it!
The very religious amongst u might understand what i am getting at, the less religious r waiting for me to crack some corny joke, and the the unaffiliated are probably out eating ice cream by now. So what exactly does this have to do with this weeks parsha? EVERYTHING!
Moshe is begging to get into eretz yisroel, he is making a last ditch effort, giving it all he’s got, and how does hashem , the merciful, react? he doesn’t let him in, but…………… he lets him see the land. HUH?????????????? that (at face value of course) is the worst thing hashem could have done to moshe!!!!!! if he isn’t gonna let him in, don’t TEASE him!!!!!! what in the world is going on? what is the point of letting moshe se the land?????????
The answer to this question lays in a very simple yesod, a yesod which solves so many mix ups and misunderstandings in our wonderful world of olam hasheker.
There r 2 apposing….um……. THINGS (couldn’t think of a better word) in our world, RUCHNIYUS and GASHMIYUS, some of us have cravings for gashmiyus while others (apparently ppl like this do indeed exist) crave ruchniyus. Now (and later as well), when u crave something which is physical it is an impure craving, an animalistic urge, the exact urge we were sent down here to battle, and your whole intent is to render yoursel satisfied, and therefore if things don’t work out the way u wanted them to, u will be left totally unsatisfied, disappointed and even angry. However, when u crave something spiritual (this is what i’m told) ur not simply trying to satisfy some itch, ur trying to GROW , ur trying to raise your spiritual level to the next, the exact growth which we were put down here for, and therefore if u end up falling a bit short oF your goal ur not totally disappointed, u might be a bit annoyed that u didn’t fully achieve your goal, however ur still very happy that u managed to grow even a bit, to step up to the next rung even if the step was a baby step.
Moshe’s “ta’ava” to go into israel was obviously not a gashmy one (if u disagree with me……… don’t forget to send my regards to gehenom when u get there), it was purely a ruchny one, he felt (and this is true, sadly enough for all u america, and other places, dwellers) that going into israel would help him reach an even higher spiritual level, that is why he wanted it so badly, hashem understood this, and therefore after deciding that moshe would not be granted a visa (for whatever reason) he still wanted to allow him to at least see it, to at least allow him to grow as much as possible. For moshe it wasn’t a TEASE, for moshe it was a TREAT! he was thankful to hashem for allowing him to at least see it.
To end off (FINALLY!) if we wanna see if what we are striving (or starving) for is right or wrong, all we have to do is the “moshe test”, if we only get a part of what we were hoping to get and we r totally devastated we r obviously not heading in the right direction, but on the other hand if we end up happy with what we have, and thankful for the opportunity hashem gave us to grow even a bit……..we just might have a chance.
One time a Jew of questionable ethics and hashkafos came trying to meet the sfas emes with following question. We know that Hashem does not make miracles for naught, so why by matan Torah did we have the miracle of “roim es a kolos” (seeing the sounds). The Sfas Emes refused to see this person (because of the prohibition of seeing the face of a rasha). The son of the Sfas Emes (R’ Avraham Mordechai) who knew of this person and his writings told him that he was the reason for the miracle.
?? ????, ??? ????; ??? ????
At Har Sinai he would have heard the above words as ?? ????, ??? ????; ??? ????. Meaning that as opposed to it being a prohibition, Hashem was instructing certain people that there job was to be murderers, thieves etc. Therefore to prevent anyone from misunderstanding anything, the miracle was created so that everyone understood it was ?? ????, ??? ????; ??? ???? with an alef.
?? ????? ???? ?’ ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ??
The Alshlich HaKadosh points out an interesting lesson about Chinuch from Krias Shema (and last weeks Parsha).
If a person wants Torah to be an integral part of their child’s life, they themselves will first need to be a Yid who learn Torah.
First it says ??????? ??????????? ???????? … ??? ???????? first it talks about it being in your own heart, only then can one successfully do the next step, ?????????????? ?????????, teaching our children.
********** Mepal’s Wednesday D’var Torah-Parshas Eikev **********
Killer Torah
by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky
This week’s portion is called Ekev. Simply translated, Ekev means,”if”. The Torah promises its bounty of blessing upon the Jewish nation. Hashem will watch you, love you, bless your children and your flocks — in addition to five other verses all filled with various blessings. There is one caveat, however. These blessing are only bestowed with one condition — “Ekev tishmaoon,” if you shall listen to the word of Hashem and fulfill his commandments. Rashi, who usually concentrates on the simple explanations and clarifies nuances in Hebrew terminology, deviates from his norm. In his only commentary to the opening line of the portion, he translates the word Ekev in an entirely different light. He explains that the word ekev translates as heel. Thus, he explains the verse homiletically. “If you will observe Mitzvos that are ordinarily trampled on by the heel of your foot,” then the blessings of Hashem shall follow.
Many commentaries pose the following question: Rashi’s usual modus operandi is to first explain a verse in its pashut p’shat, simple explanation. That achieved, he then proceeds to expound the verse in a Midrashic light. In this case, Rashi uses only a Midrashic explanation. Why?
Rav Eliyahu Lopian raised funds for his Yeshiva in England. He once visited one of England’s wealthiest Jews. The man was known to contribute to any Yeshiva or Rabbi who asked. The man himself, however, was not the least bit observant. Other than his adoration of Rabbis and support of Yeshivos, the philanthropist had hardly a connection with anything Jewish.
Rabbi Lopian went to visit the man out of respect, but decided not ask him for a contribution.
Upon arriving at the opulent mansion, Rav Lopian was greeted warmly, offered hot tea, and was shown to a place in the man’s living room. Rabbi Lopian got to the point quickly. “I see that you are not an observant Jew. However, your magnanimity to Yeshivos and Rabbis is remarkable. Tell me, please, why?”
The man settled back and began his tale. “My parents were very wealthy and equally religious. I was very rebellious. They wanted me to go to the Chofetz Chaim’s Yeshiva in Radin. I was not in the least bit interested, but I agreed to take an examination. I failed with flying colors and was ever the more happy for that. But I had one request. It was getting late and I had to sleep over. I asked if I could sleep in the dormitory for the evening. The Rabbi who had interviewed me did not know how to respond. I think he was afraid to have me in the Yeshiva even for a night and I could not blame him! He consulted with the Chofetz Chaim.
“The Chofetz Chaim explained to us both, ‘a boy that cannot be in the dorm for a year cannot be there for a night. But that does not mean he cannot stay in my home.’
“The Chofetz Chaim took me to his home. He fed me as if I was the most important visitor in the world. He made a bed for me and made sure I went to sleep. A few hours later, in the middle of the night, I heard the door of the tiny room open. The old man was muttering. ‘Oy, it’s too cold in here. What will I do?’ With that he took off his jacket and put it on top of me and tucked it in. It may not have been the most spiritual act he ever did, but I will tell you one thing. That jacket still gives me warmth whenever I see old Rabbis!
Perhaps Rashi is not expostulating. He is telling us the secret of spiritual survival. He is relating the formula that may be the secret to the Jew’s existence and continuity. It’s the small things that merit the blessings. It’s the Mitzvos we tend to forget. Those we trample with our heel.
There are certain Mitzvos that anyone who prides himself as a Jew would not forgo. Yom Kippur and Passover are high on the list. Mezuzah and Kosher rank quite high, too. But there are too many others that get trampled. Rashi explains the verse by stating that if the little Mitzvos are ignored, it will not take long before the major Mitzvos join the little ones on their trek to oblivion. The Torah promises us the bounty of its blessing if we observe the mitzvos. But Rashi gives us a lesson in assuring continuity. Rashi is telling us the Poshut P’shat (the simple meaning)! Don’t tread on the little Mitzvos. Watch the Mitzvos that everyone tends to forget. If those heel commandments will be considered important, then all the Mitzvos will ultimately be observed. That’s not allegorical discourse. That’s the fact!
i just caught up in this thread! all great DTs! keep it up!
Mazal Tov to nooseisko on the birth of a son!
Bli Neder I will post a DT if he is unable to tonight
Mazel Tov Mr. and Mrs. nooseisko! YW Moderator-72
The following is from the Shlah HaKadosh
?? ???? ?????, ???? ????? ???? ????; ???? ????, ???????. ?? ????, ???
The Shlah offers a slightly different interpretation than Rashi. ??, meaning, ??, If you say in your heart (and kudos for being truthful) that since the enemy is greater, therefore there is no way to defeat them Derech HaTeva (naturally), thus I, Hashem, promise you victory, ?? ????, ???. Hashem will assist.
However, If you come with the feeling ???? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???, Then you have reason to be fearful.
Wow! Mazel tov! I’ll give 80 the honor of transfering that post to the Mazel Tov thread!
Mussar HaTorah
18 Av, 5769 Vol. 10, No. 41 Parashas Eikev
[Mount Sinai and your declaration]
Adapted from Sefer Ohr HaTzafun by Rabbi Eliezer Grunberg
PARSHAS Eikev 5769 ???? ??????
????? ?????? ????
?????? ???? ?? ?????
The following is from the Avnei Shoham
??-???? ?????? ????????? ????? ??????? ????????????:
In the 1st bracha of Shmoneh Esrei all the letters of the Alef Beis appear. This is what we refer to when we say the above passuk, ?????, and all the sounds (i.e. letters) which we emanate from our mouth, ??????? ???????????? will recite your praises.
Interestingly, there is one letter missing in the 1st bracha, that being the letter ?. Therefore, Chazal, in their wisdom, added the passuk ??-???? ?????? ????????? ????? ??????? ???????????? to the beginning of the Shmoneh Esrei, which contains the letter ? 3 times, in order to ensure all letters are said.
Only with this passuk can we truly claim that our mouths will praise Hashem will all his letters.
This fact shows us that this passuk is actually quite vital to our Amida.
?? ???? ???? ??, ???? ????
In Parshas Re’eh, the above passuk appears. R’ Moshe Sternbuch says that the word ?? here comes to teach us an important lesson.
The same way that the succah is considered a temporary dwelling, so to Olam HaZeh, where all pleasures are temporary ones. Your permanent home is in the next world.
The word ?? is telling us that we must view our place on this world in the same vein as our succah. By doing so may we be zocheh to building beautiful palaces for ourselves in the world to come.
Can someone take me over for tomorrow? thanx in advance.
Kapusta, for this week I’ll do it for you.
***************Mondays DT Parshas Re’eh**************
by:Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky
(in place of kapusta)
Parshas Re’eh
The Meat of the Matter
Surely there is a deeper connotation to the prohibition of the strange concoction of nefesh and meat.
Rav Yehuda Laib Chasman was considered to be one of the luminaries of the mussar movement. Before he immersed himself completely in the world of Torah and mussar, he had a business that sold flour to bakers. He would devote a portion of his day to his business and the remaining time he would spend at the famed Talmud Torah of Kelm under the tutelage of Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the illustrious Alter of Kelm. One day on the way into the Yeshiva, Rav Ziv called Reb Yehuda Laib over to the side and pointed to the white powder that covered the sleeve of his jacket. Rabbi Chasman took this observation to be a clear moralistic evaluation.
With that, he made a personal decision that changed his life completely. He returned home, and figured out together with his wife that the amount of their current assets would more than cover any outstanding debts and allow them to sustain themselves. They sold the business, and Rabbi Chasman enrolled full-time at the Volozhiner Yeshiva, eventually emerging the great luminary whom we all revere.
mepal, wonderful DT, thanx again for posting!
JayMatt19: thank you for filling in you your friend nooseisko! shkoyach on all the latest DT’s here!
chofetzchaim: well done with those 2 DTs!
mepal: great DT!
Wow! Great DT, Jax!
Thank you 72 for posting!
**************Wednesdays D’var Torah-Parshas Re’eh**************
The Long and Binding Road
by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky
This week the Torah teaches us the laws of ma’aser sheni. Ma’aser sheni constitutes a tithe in which the apportioned produce is consumed by the owner. It is not necessarily distributed to the poor or the Levite like other tithes. However, there is one requirement. The entire tithe must be eaten in Jerusalem. That being the case, the owner of 10,000 bushels would have to haul 1,000 bushels to Jerusalem to be eaten. That may be quite a difficult task. So the Torah has a way out.
“And if the road will be too long, because you will not be able to carry it (the produce) as the place where Hashem chose to rest His name is far from you(r home) – then you may exchange (the produce) for money. You shall take the money instead to Jerusalem and spend it on, cattle, flocks, wine or other alcoholic beverages whatever your heart desires and eat it before Hashem (in Jerusalem) and rejoice with your family” (Deuteronomy 14:24-26).
Thus the Torah teaches us that the owner can redeem the produce through money and spend the money on any food items in Jerusalem, avoiding an arduous chore of shipping the food to Jerusalem. The money will help stimulate the economy of the Holy City, thus establishing a protocol that has lasted centuries – supporting the merchants of Jerusalem.
Yet if you analyze the actual wording in the Torah you will notice something strange. The Torah does not say, “if you will not be able to carry it because the road will be too long, then you can redeem the fruit with money.” The Torah seems to reverse the cause and effect. It tells us that “if the road will be too long, because you will not be able to carry it…” (Deuteronomy 14:24). It seems that the Torah is saying that the road is long because you cannot carry it. Isn’t the opposite true? If the road is long, it is not _because_ you cannot schlep, you _cannot_ schlep because the road is long. Why did the Torah reverse the phrase? Perhaps the Torah is telling us a subtle message.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein once met an affluent Jew whose father came to these shores long before laws were passed to guarantee that a person could remain Shabbos-observant in the workforce. The man’s father went from job to job, having been told not to report on Monday if he would not come to work on Saturday. The old man was persistent and never desecrated the Shabbos. Yet his son was not observant at all.
Reb Moshe asked him point blank. “Why is it that your father kept the mitzvos with great sacrifice, but you did not follow in his footsteps?”
The businessman answered with complete honesty. “It’s true that Pop did not miss a Shabbos or even a prayer. But before he did a mitzvah he would give a krechtz and declare, ‘Oy! Iz shver tzu zain a frummer yid (It is terribly hard to be an observant Jew!)’ After years of hearing my dad complain, I decided that the burden would be too much for me to bear. I decided never to permit myself to attempt those difficulties and I gave up religious observance.”
After hearing this story, I thought, homiletically, that perhaps the Torah is telling us an important message in the psyche of mitzvah observance. “The road will be too long, because will not be able to carry it.” No one says the road is too long because of sheer distance. It is too long because you do not want to carry the load. If one, however, carries his package with joy then the road is not a long one. If one decides that he is carrying a heavy burden, then the road, no matter the distance, will always be to long.
Rabbi Feinstein commented that no matter how difficult a mitzvah seems, if one observes it with a smile, with joy and with pleasure, he will be able to carry the mitzvah for long distances. He will not only carry it a long distance him or herself, he will carry it for generations to come. (torah.org)
Jax, and mepal, both great DTs!
mepal: awesome DT!
hey, sorry i bailed on you guys last week, had a baby bla bla bla 🙂
BUT I’M BACK!
A dude walks up to you and tells you that at 3 o’clock this afternoon the sun will quickly set and then rise again 10 minutes later, you obviously pay no attention to him, and most probably try to cross the street or make believe you have a phone call, you continue on your liesurly walk wondering why hashem created such weirdos when suddenly everything around you seems to be getting darker, you pick your shades up but to no avail the sun is actually setting at 3 o’clock in the afternoon! it’s the weirdest scariest most amazing thing that you have ever experienced, everyone just stops in the street staring, bewildered, and then the weird dude shows up again and says that he is a prophet, the messenger of g-d and that all jews must from now on start keeping shabbat on tuesday, wear only pink socks, and call themselves a name which rhymes with Bob, as he says this the sun begins to rise again (exactly like he said it would) and as everyone turns their attention from the “prophet” to the sky, he quickly disappears as if into thin air.
What would your reaction be? as a straight thinking intelligent human being? you would as quickly as you can try to get some contact in china to ship 10 million pairs of pink socks so youcan make the deal of your life when everyone starts buying em. would you believe the guy? possibly not, but how bout if he does the same thing 3 days straight and lets u pick when the sun should set and rise? you would be left with “no choice” but to believe him! end of story. well let’s see what g-d has to say bout our “prophet”.
The torah tells us straight out that if a person shows up and starts doing tricks, no matter how supernatural they r, if the dude tells you to do something against the torah we MUST NOT believe him. ok fine, no prob, i just won’t believe him! BUT HE MADE THE SUN SET IN MIDDAY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!! how can hashem expect us to not listen to this guy? if he catches me without pink socks he will probably turn me into a frog or something!!!! seriously, where r we supposed to get the “power” to not listen to such a person? HOW???? i’ll show you!
HISTORY (huh??????)
Think back to the future, if someone from nowadays would go back in time and whip out an i-pod ppl would most probably consider him a g-d, they would worship him kiss the ground (and pink socks) which he walks upon and do as he says. We have the “experience” of seeing that things change so much with time, many scientific “facts” from the past have now been proven to be no more than…WRONG (don’t ask me which ones cuz i have not the slightest clue, but a smart person told me that once so i believe him!), things which ppl would have been willing to swear by! things which today are common were considered totally impossible just 50 years ago.
And so, no matter how good the tricks look, it very well might be that in 50 years ppl will be able to make the sun set with a snap of the fingers, as hard as it is to believe now…just try to think of ppl that lived without electricity, Internet……. what goes on in our world is as unbelievable to them as the sun setting is to us.
I think i got lost here a bit………
In summary- it is true that many ppl will come and be very very convincing, they will have proofs, “natural” (how can u make money if u sit and learn? where will the money come from? who will support you? g-d? come on he doesn’t do that!) or even supernatural (they will repeatedly get 21 in black jack), to what they say, they might even threaten us if we don’t listen to them, and we will sit there with an honest dilemma, maybe these ppl really r right, maybe they really have a point, how can we measure if they r the real thing? very simple. if they tell u to do different to what the torah says……… don’t even give them a second thought. no matter how hard, how tempting, how “real” they may seem. And just remember the whole history example which we gave and it really will put things into proportion.
There is only one truth in the world. g-d, and he gave us just one manual……….use it!
Thanks, kapusta & Jax!
Mazel tov, nooseisko! Check out the Mazel tov thread to read all the mazel tov wishes!
nooseisko: thank you for your amazing DT! i laughed most of the way through! it’s a true gift that you have to write such great pieces! keep em coming this way!
JayMatt: i repeat, thank you for directing him this way!
nooseisko: I echo Jax’s post above 🙂 And- it’s heartening to see you utilize your talent for the good
Hey areivim. Nice seeing ya ’round!
Mazal Tov nooseisko, I covered for you last week, but you still owe is one. I can’t ask you to do another for this week (especially with a newborn at home), so I went looking through my emails to post one of your wonderful pieces which I have saved.
(Note: nooseisko has been sending these divrei torah out via email for a long time, Only recently have I been able to convince him to post them here as well).
Here is one from the archeives, copied and pasted to maintain the same standards of grammar and editing we have come to expect from nooseisko 😉
As kids we all knew 1 thing about moshe………he stuttered, and our gentile neighabors also knew one think bout moses……..he had horns. Anytime someone made fun of a kid for having any speech impediment, the responsible adult would always say “well moshe had one too, and look how far he got”. Now i’m not actually sure what Moshes exact impediment (is that word ever used without the word “speech” coming right b4 it?), but it’s quite clear from the torah that he indeed has something going on…………..or did he?
This parsha (as well as this entire chumash [a.k.a chomesh- which is actually the correct way to pronounce it]) is one long speech from moshe rabeynu. U cant go and make such a huge, long, detailed and important speech with a speech impediment!!!
So maybe moshe was miraculously healed over the years? ( and indeed through the course of history described in the torah it seems to imply that indeed he did, we see that at first moshe describes himself as a “lo ish dvarim anochy”, and now he all of a sudden becomes a “eyle hadvarim” type of person!
So who exactly is moshe?
Lets go back to the “first” moshe, at the time of moshes dramatic afore mentioned statement, which was some sort of last ditch effore to get off the “shlichus” job, but now what type of argument was it? here is a guy that is talking to hashem for crying out loud, now if his speech is good enough for hashem, its obviously good enough for anyone else no? so why was moshe so scared, impediment and all, to speak to paro way back when?
Moshe indeed had an impediment, but he was not embarrassed of it (according to the medrash, it actually came about, by saving his life), he was not scared to speak to anyone, in any situation, and as we see in our parsha he had no problem giving a month long speech, of his own accord, to the entire jewish ppl (the nation which it is probably hardest to speak to!!!!!!), what he was scared of was speaking to a rasha.
Many ppl r very good public speakers, they know wo to speak to their peers, they know how to speak to their superiors, but they in no way know how to speak to ones under them, for that u need an exceptionally good speaker.
Moshe was never scared of his “stutter” it’s what hashem gave him, and he was more than happy with it, it never stopped him in the past, he rebuked the jew for hitting his friend, he spoke up in favor on yisros daughters, but paro……thats a different issue.
Speaking to reshaim is so complicated cuz if u do it even a bit wrong, it will be in the best case scenario pointless, and most probably even detrimental (MENTAL!!!).If u speak to a tzadik and u get mixed up a bit, the tzadiik will still judge u favorable, understand that u were just a bit nervous, and not take what u said in a harmful way, but to a rasha……………. even when u present yourself exactly in the way with which u planned it is still quite unlikely that the rasha with take your words to heart, he will simply distort what u said, and use it for his own twisted advantage.
And we see that indeed (for a certain period of time), Aharon was appointed as moshes lips, Aron the master of making peace had much experiance with speaking to respective “reshaim” throughout his carear, therefore better equipped with dealing with such a man.
When i say rasha……i dont only mean someone like paro, each and every one of us (me) has the areas with which he is a rasha, areas in which he will under no circumstances listen to anyone trying to speak to him, areas in which he twists every word to make it fit within his own idea. And if Moshe was scared that he would not be able to reach paro in this accord, we can see just how serious this matter is………hear yee all yee talkers and listeners
Adapted from Sefer Ohr HaTzafun by Rabbi Eliezer Grunberg
With Elul right around the corner, I thought this would be a fitting Dvar Torah
R’ Chaim Shmuelovitz said the following dvar torah in Yeshivas Mir, prior to tkias shofar one year.
????, ?????, ??, ???-? ?-????
The Navi is telling everyone that teshuva needs to be complete. A person is not a ba’al teshuva if they want to remain standing in the middle. One must proceed ?? ???-? ?-????, until Hashem, otherwise one could r”l fall back into their improper ways.
The Gemarra in Sanhedrin tells us about ???, who did things which warranted the title of Rasha Nora.
However, once he did teshuva all that changed. He wrote the second half of ????? (??? ???? ????????) which, by the way is Roshei Tevos ???. When we analyze this tfilla, we see that it has no personal requests. No mention of parnassa, no mention even for chaim. All it mentions is how great Hashem is, and that his Kavod should increase in this world.
This shows us that ??? truly did teshuva ?? ???-? ?-????. For one who is able to reach the level of ?? ???-? ?-???? has no requests for his guf, and aditionally, he biews himself as nothing compared to Hashem.
Thank you JayMatt!
It’s scary to think it’s almost Elul…
??-???? ??? ??? ???-??? ??? ????, ??? ???? ?????
???-???? ???-??? ???, ??? ????–???, ???? ?????: ??-????, ??????, ???? ???, ??????.
???-???? ???-??? ???, ??? ????–???, ???? ?????: ??-????, ??????, ???? ???, ?????.
The Rambam says ??? ???? ???, ????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ?????, ???? ?? ???? ??? ????, ???? ?? ???? ????–????? “?? ???? ??? ??? ???, ??? ????? . …
????? ???? ??? ?
There is a famous question as to how the Rambam can learn this out the way he does. The Passuk 1st mentions house, then vineyard, and finally marriage. Why then does the Rambam learn FROM HERE that 1st comes parnassa (vineyard) then the home and finally marriage??
Many offer explanations to this issue. The Chassam Sofer says that the answer is quite simple. First the vineyard gets planted, then the house gets built, and finally marriage. However, due to mitzvos on the vineyard (Orla, etc.) the vineyard will not provide fruit befitting for consumption until 4 years after the planting.
Thus, despite the vineyard being mentioned after the house, this is due to the fact that the house was built during the period (post planting, pre-harvesting) of the vineyard. The Rambam saw this, and was thus able to use these pessukim to teach what he did.
So, lets recap. 1st the vineyard was planted, then the house was built (1st passuk) then the grapes became ready (4 years later, 2nd passuk) and finally marriage (3rd passuk).
Thanks, jaymatt! Very nice explanation!
kapusta’s DT for Monday
Parshas Shoftim
Just Justice
Volume 5 Issue 47
by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky
The pursuit of justice is a tenet of any wholesome society. The Torah defines that principal in a clear and unambiguous way. “Tzedek, tzedk tirdof righteousness, righteousness thou shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20 ) The Torah tells us not only to seek righteousness but to pursue it. It seems to tell us to chase justice with vigilance and fervor, but the words of the verse amplify the pursuit of righteousness more than righteousness itself.
The Torah repeats the word righteousness. It does not repeat the word pursue. Would it not have been more appropriate to stress the word pursue rather than the word righteousness? Second, what does “righteousness, righteousness” mean? Isn’t one righteousness enough? What is double righteousness?
Further, shouldn’t we double our efforts in its pursuit Shouldn’t the Torah have said, “Pursue, Oh pursue, righteousness” instead of telling us “Righteousness, righteousness though shall pursue”? Isn’t the pursuit of righteousness the main goal? Doesn’t the Torah want to stress the passionate pursuit of righteousness? Obviously the double expression, “righteousness, righteousness” contains a poignant message.
Veteran news reporter David Brinkley surveyed the Washington scene back in September of 1992 and reported a very interesting event.
Washington, DC derives a great portion of revenue from traffic tickets. In fact, $50 million a year is raised from tickets for moving violations, expired inspection stickers, overdue registrations and of course the inescapable plethora of expired parking meters.
A traffic officer was on a Washington curb writing a ticket for an illegally parked car. As he was writing the ticket, a thief had the audacity to come by with a screwdriver and steal the car’s license plate.
The officer did not stop him. He just waited until he finished. Then he gave the car another ticket for parking on a public street with no plates.
Sometimes justice is overwhelmed by the pursuit of it. The Torah tells us what type of righteousness to pursue not just plain righteousness but rather — righteous righteousness. There is just justice and there is a system of laws that often goes out of control. The Torah exhorts us not only to seek justice but to pursue a just justice.
It is said that during the 1930s, when the saintly Rabbi Yisroel Meir haCohen of Radin, better known as the Chofetz Chaim, was in his 90s, he wanted to live the last years of his life in Eretz Israel. However, he was unable to obtain a Polish passport because the Polish government required him to produce either an official birth certificate, or bring forward two witnesses who were there at his birth! All of that was in pursuit of an unjust code of law. The Torah tells us this week to be vigilant in the pursuit of righteousness, but it also tells us to be righteous in its pursuit as well!
Very nice DT, kapusta!
Jaymatt: all wonderful! shkoyach!
CC: very nice!
kapusta: great peice! good to see ya around!
********************* Jax’s Tuesday D’Var Torah – Parshas Shoftim *********************
Shoftim in the Jewish court must be careful in upholding the strict law of the Torah. At the same time they must be compassionate people. Mercy, compassion and justice are vital traits as the following true story illustrates:
“I am the little boy who sat and cried many years ago, and the Rabbi in his great kindness and generosity saved me then from my stepfather’s anger. I have come now to repay that good deed. The bakers of the city are planning a terrible plot for the holiday of Passover. Since after your holiday, the Jews buy bread from non-Jews, the bakers agreed to poison all the loaves of bread that would be sold to the Jews. I have come to warn you ahead of time of this plot. I must leave quickly. It is dangerous for me to be here with you.”
The Rabbi thanked him profusely for his warning and began planning what to do in ord er to foil the anti-Semitic bakers’ plot. If he went to the authorities, the bakers would just deny everything.
During the entire Yom Tov, the Rabbi kept quiet. On the eighth night of Pesach, the Rabbi sent messengers for everyone to gather in the main shul the next morning. There, the Rav would address the entire community. Every Jewish resident of Prague obeyed the Rav’s orders and appeared at the appointed time in the main shul.
“A mistake was made this year in our calender calculations and we started Pesach a day early,” the Rabbi of Prague announced to the astounded community, “Therefore, tomorrow is a Yom Tov. We must still eat matzah and may not eat chometz.”
All the members of the community, albeit shocked, adhered to his words without question. < /font>
At the end of the Yom Tov, the bakers could not understand why the Jews weren’t buying their bread as they did every year. Instead, policemen came and caught the bakers red handed. Seizing their loaves of bread as evidence, they arrested the plotting bakers and threw them into prison.
Mercy, compassion and justice are vital traits!
Rabbeinu Bechaye, in his introduction to this parasha, discusses the effects of laziness. He explains that one can be lazy in the upkeep of his house. If the homeowner chooses to perform normal maintenance and make minor repairs to his roof in a timely fashion, he can fix it relatively easily and inexpensively. If, on the other hand, he chooses to delay and wait, the situation will usually deteriorate into a much more costly and destructive situation. Similarly, Rabbeinu Bechaye continues, one can be lazy with the upkeep of his soul. If one chooses to put in the effort to improve his middos, he will eventually reach his goal. If, on the other hand, one allows his desires to continue on its normal path, this will eventually lead to the destruction of his body and soul. Just as an untended field grows wild thorns and weeds, so too the untended soul will grow unwanted and negative character traits (see Mishlei 24:30-33).
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