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THE ALTER on THE PARSHA
Adapted from Sefer Ohr HaTzafun by Rabbi Eliezer Grunberg
PARSHAS Yisro 5769
Kocha Shel Nikudah Ruchniyus
We tend to measure our spiritual achievements by the number of our positive acts and great
feats we perform. When performing small spiritual acts or when holding back and not doing wrong, we sometimes may question what affect is it having on our spiritual growth. Does it make such a difference? Are we really accomplishing? When we learn a little Mussar, does it really help?
The Gemara in Pesachim tells us that until the age of 40, Rebbi Akiva was ignorant of Torah
understand. Rebbi Akiva uprooted his hate for the Torah and its learners and came to love them. The
Gemara in Berachos teaches us that his love for Hashem was such that every day he yearned for the
What caused this transformation in Rebbi Akiva? Chazal (Avos D’Rebbi Nosson 87) tell us that one day Rebbi Akiva was standing near a well and saw that the constant drip of water had bore an
immediately went to study Torah.
that resulted in him reaching such levels of spirituality.
While our actions and even holding back from acting seem small and insignificant, from
Chazal we see that this is not the case. We live in an era when so many are ignorant of the Torah and the influences of society constantly lure more away. The power of a small dose of inspiration can go a long way in returning a Jew to his heritage. Every little step in the right direction and every time we deliberately hold back for the sake of Hashem can be a spiritual achievement beyond our imagination.
Lizchus Refuah Shelaima Tinok ben Ilana Yocheved
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Mussar HaTorah
20 Shevat, 5769 Vol. 10, No. 17 Parashas Yisro
qwertyuiop, Why don’t you download Firefox?. It’s simple, just click the link. The add-ons in Firefox are great. I haven’t tried this one yet though it sounds very useful. I use AdBlock Plus to get rid of ads, FlashBlock to stop flash videos from automatically starting, and I use ImgLikeOpera to turn off images.
Jothar,
I think that Shlumiel Ben Tzurishadi was Zimri ben Salu, the Nasi who was killed by Pinchas which explains the derogatory use of the name. What does not having his korbon fall out on Shabbos have to do with anything?
I was thinking about the part of your last post that you left out and it reminded me of a story. A young chasidishe boy once said “a gutten Shabbos” to a man and the man answered, “Shabbat Shalom”. The boy responded, “If you don’t speak Yiddish, how will you speak to the Eibishter when you get to Olam Habbah?”
Today is the last day to get a free gift at the YTC Chinese Auction. Baruch Hashem sales have been up today which proves the point that these free gifts actually do work. The question is how many of today’s sales would have happened without the free gift and does that make it financially. For instance, if the Yeshiva spends $1000 on free gifts but makes $2000 in extra sales because of it then they gained $1000. Even if they only make $1000 in extra sales it is worth it because it gets people to not procrastinate. There are many people who want to give but like to wait until the last minute. Yeshivas are generally tight on money and would rather have the money sooner than later, especially close to a big event such as an auction. The free gift deadline is a hechrech for people to get it over with and buy the auction tickets. Some yeshivas have auctions where you can submit your ticket order and they will bill you. If they have free gifts or other deals they will usually only give those things if the money is paid by the deadline date so simply turning in the order form without money isn’t enouigh and it is therefore a hechrech for them to actually pay right away.
Will Hill, they are discussing a video recording that went around after the Mumbai tragedy: http://hamercaz.com/hamercaz/site/mfile.php?id=3815
No! There is no heter to smoke on Purim. This was discussed in the smoking thread here
Unfortunately, there was a tragedy a few days ago where a young man running on a treadmill was niftar: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=30062
In the comments somebody posted that there are some young people who have certain heart conditions that can make exercise dangerous.
Another for Beshalach:
13 Shevat, 5769 Vol. 10, No. 16 Parashas Beshalach
The Yalkut Shimoni continues to tell us that the descendants of Ephraim had excessive pride because of their royal lineage (Yosef, the royal viceroy, was their ancestor) and because they were great warriors. This hubris caused them to take their families and attempt to leave Egypt. The Egyptians gathered their troops, went to battle and killed the warriors of Ephraim and their families.
to escape? How could they endanger their families in such folly?
Pride has the ability to twist and distort the human mind. It can mislead even intelligent and great people into accepting completely baseless ideas. Even as the Ephraimites were being enslaved in total subjugation, their arrogance created the delusion that it was safe to escape. Lulled by this sense of invincibility,
they fooled themselves into believing a false prophet they normally would have rejected, who led them and their families on a path to total destruction.
Let us realize the dangers of arrogance, and protect ourselves against its insidious and pervasive influence, through the powerful and essential tool of daily mussar study. If we constantly work on our humility, we will not merely become better spouses, parents, neighbors or friends; we will also gain the clarity
of vision and judgement to know that our decisions will based on reality, sound reasoning and the eternal values of our Torah.
THE ALTER on THE PARSHA
Adapted from Sefer Ohr HaTzafun by Rabbi Eliezer Grunberg
PARSHAS Beshalach 5769
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The Egyptians had oppressed the Jewish people for many years. They clearly saw the Hand of
Hashem in ways that we could never imagine and they still did not repent. Although Hashem was punishing them for their evil behavior, He took no pleasure in their downfall – the Egyptians were also His creations and though He punished them with death they were still His children. Consequently he would not permit the daily praise to be sung. Hashem even questioned the angels for considering singing while they were drowning.
Yam Suf, punishing them with death for their evil actions against the Jewish people. Yet, in the midst of His wrath, Hashem was still concerned for these wicked people. They were entitled to a proper burial and they received it.
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What do you call a stubborn oriental?
A Chinese Auction!
Any news?
asdfghjkl said:
…
moish: i would never give my kid an englsh name, due to in mitzrayim the great thing was they never changed their names!!!!! a Yiddish one is from the old country, a hebrew name, even not biblical is still a hebrew name!!!!
In the midbar, did the Jews use Mitzri names to be like the old country? Yiddish might be the language of our ancestors in Europe but Lashon HaKodesh (Hebrew) is the language of our forefathers. If you don’t want to use English names, so use Hebrew, a holy language, not Yiddish.
Joseph said:
Yiddish is used by the Gedolim and has a holyness to it (certainly less than Loshon HaKodesh) since it was used by Yidden for 1,000+ years to learn Torah.
Hebrew has been used to learn Torah for longer. English is used by thousands around the world to learn Torah through Artscroll.
tentwenty30 said:
I don’t know whether it is holy or not, but i do know this … some of the phrases that are commonly used in yiddish (heilege abbaye, heilege rava) would sound very funny in any other language, but in yiddish retain an authentic meaning
That’s because it is what you are used to. A Sephardi might say “abbaye hakadosh” instead. If you people would use it then it would become common.
I don’t know Joseph, but I do know some people involved in the auction. xoxo, do I know you?
Yes, Joseph. Yeshivas Toras Chaim is a great Yeshiva. And so is the guy who set up the auction! I encourage everyone to support them:
YW Moderator-72. I’d rather not commit to do it every Erev Shabbos as they can sometimes be busy. But I will try to post every Thursday night or Friday if I have a chance.
Hey Joseph, I get those emails too! To subscribe send an email to [email protected]
I keep a pocket Mishnayos with me so I can learn during 5 minute breaks here and there. Im Yirtzeh Hashem I will finish Shas Mishnayos for the 3rd time Erev Pesach. A few mishnayos a day can go a long way over time.
Mussar HaTorah
6 Shevat, 5769 Vol. 10, No. 15 Parashas Bo
We must at all times remember that we are here in this world to do our job and to fulfill our personal responsibilities. Ultimately, Hashem is in charge of running the world. Let us humbly accept our mission in life, and by keeping the laws of the Shulchan Aruch, we will bring about the greatest kiddush Hashem possible.
RI, about your post a little further up about your nephew: I agree that that is a totally tznius, kosher way of using OnlySimchas but why couldn’t you share those pictures using email? Do the pictures have to be up there for the whole world to see? I understand that sometimes people want to share pictures with family or friends across the globe, but that is not an excuse to have the whole wprld see them. There are other, more tznius ways, to share pictures online, the most obvious being email.
I heard from a chashuveh posek that if someone is davening in the middle of the aisle or by the door he is considered a “bor birshus harabim” and it is muttar to walk in front of him.
Tonight, Rosh Chodesh Shvat begins a new cycle of Chofetz Chaim Yomi. Please consider joining. It is 2-3 si’ifim per day and you finish all of Sefer Chofetz Chaim 3 times a year.
asdfghjkl: I once heard a story about a man who sued his own son because of an injury he suffered in his son’s house. The home owners insurance covered it so the son didn’t lose anything.
moish01: I have never smoked. I can’t even stand being around someone who has recently smoked because of the smell on their breath and clothes. I have many friends who unfortunately do smoke. I also have many friends who I believe have never tried a cigarette in their life.
yros: You asked, “where is the issur?” I ask you, if there is no issur then why don’t you do it the rest of the year and if there is an issur, why is it muttar on Purim? You also asked, “what is the difference between drinking and smoking?” If you learn through the halachos of Purim you will see that there is a mitzvah to drink wine on Purim. There are different opinions and minhagim about how to fulfill this mitzvah. Some people even extend the mitzvah to drinking alcoholic beverages other than wine. Everyone agrees that if it is damaging to your body you should not drink. No where in halacha does it say anything about a mitzvah to smoke on Purim.
Mussar HaTorah
21 Teves, 5769 Vol. 10, No. 13 Parashas Shmos
mitzvah of saving a Jewish life; how is it conceivable that Moshe would have passed it up?
We must conclude that Moshe really would have seized the chance to do this mitzvah even if there were others that were ready and able to kill the Egyptian.
The lack of response by other Jews did not determine whether Moshe would react, but rather how he would react. Moshe would not have acted with the same intensity had he known that other people were available. The Midrash is explaining that Moshe surveyed the scene and saw no one else ready to act. This knowledge did not make him hesitant, feeling alone and unsure. Instead, seeing this state of affairs filled him with courage and strength. He focused on the fact that he was the only one willing to save his Jewish brother. This knowledge
only caused Moshe to increase his zealous fervor.
How often do we find ourselves in situations that call for action, that require
Mussar HaTorah
14 Teves 5769 Vol. 10, No. 12 Parashas Vayechi
[Yosef]
against him and instead of punishment, he treated them with kindness
[You]
reactions of the king to such a brazen request. How could Dovid HaMelech have uttered such a 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
I heard the story about R’ Shachna Zohn’s dream from his son
OF BEGININGS
ALIYOS REFOEL ZEV Divrei Torah and Mussar on the Yomim Tovim
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Try putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Would you want another poster to say this about you? Even if you wouldn’t mind, think about it from the other person’s perspective. The other person might have friends who know who he is who will read the post, the other person might be more sensitive than you, etc.
The Rambam wrote (Hilchos De’os Perek 7): “Lashon Ho’rah is something which, if known to others, causes the person damage to his person or finances, or causes him pain or frightens him.” I guess the question here is whether an insult of a screen-name is considered “known to others”. I would say it is for the same reason that YW Moderator-42 wrote that some people might actually know who the person is. Even if nobody actually knows them personally, people do know them by their screen-name and insulting them can therefore still cause “damage” or “pain”. People may no longer respect that particular poster’s opinion anymore, etc.
This might be a bit of a stretch but, let’s make a comparison to insulting “The Rav of Shul Ploni” among a group of friends. Let’s say that nobody in the group knows the Rav personally or will ever actually meet him. They know him by a title. Yet, it can still cause him “damage” or “pain” if he ever finds out what was said even though he doesn’t know anybody in the group personally. If this particular Rav now issues a psak, the people in the group might treat it differently then they would have beforehand because of what was said. So too here, if you insult a particular member, it could be that nobody here knows who he is but if this member now posts an opinion, this opinion will be treated differently because of what was said previously and it could cause pain to that poster.
brooklyn19, actually breast milk is kosher. An infant is allowed to breast-feed even from a non-Jew although it is not recommended because it is mitamtem halev. Moshe Rabbainu refused to feed from mitzri women because the mouth that was destined to speak with the shechina shouldn’t drink from a mitzri. The Halacha applies this to every Jew. There are two reasons given, one by R’ Yaakov Kaminetzki and one by R’ Shach (I can’t remember which is which). One is that every parent is michuyav to bring up their children as if they were Moshe Rabbeinu because everyone has the ability to be a gadol like Moshe. The other reason is that just as Moshe spoke to the shechina we all speak to Hashem every day when we daven and say brachos so it is improper for a Jew to breast-feed from a goy.
It is assur for an adult to drink directly from the breast (it is comparable to drinking from a sheretz) but it is muttar to drink (and parve) once it is separated.