Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Parshas Shelach
The parsha begins with the preparations for the Jewish nation to enter Eretz Yisrael. “שלח לך אנשים” Send forth righteous men, to Israel and survey the land. What began as excitement ended in tragedy, as the decree to wander the desert for 40 years came as a direct result of the once righteous men who reported ill of the land and brought 40 years of exile upon the entire nation.
The Maggid, the malach chevrusa of Rav Yosef Karo, author the Beis Yosef and Shulchan Aruch, explains what happened as follows:
When the spies returned they were not content with slandering the land before Moshe, they sent representatives to every member of their tribe, tent by tent, saying over all that we know, they said Amalek is waiting to crush them, the Emori are huge and powerful, and we saw giants that towered the heavens and made us feel like grasshoppers.
So the slander was carried to each and every member of clal Yisrael. This is why they cried that night, the 9th of Av, and why it was enshrined as a day of weeping for our nation.
The Ramban discusses the pesukim surrounding the spies as proof that the mitzva to conquer and live in Israel is one of the 613 mitzvos. He uses the verse “ותמרו את פי הי” to prove it was a bitul mitzvas asei, or negation of a positive commandment to not ascend to Eretz Yisrael, no short of rebellion against the word of G-d.
The spies were considered the elite, the most righteous of each tribe, yet they were more inclined to exile than to conquering the land. The comfortable exile of mann, and Moshe Rabbeinu where our enemies fell before us and all wars were won, where shoes never wore out their soles and clothes never soiled, the water was miraculous and the clouds of glory surrounded them as a shield. Why rock the boat, in essence. It is more important to learn Torah from Moshe than to keep it in Israel without him…… This was their error.
The Gemara in Brochos tells over the story of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi who encountered Eliyahu HaNavi and asked him where is Mashiach and when is he coming? Eliyahu said, he is at the gates of Rome, and go ask him yourself. So Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi went to Mashiach at the gates of Rome and asked him, when will you come? Mashiach answered “today”. Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi waited all day, and Mashiach did not come. He saw Eliyahu HaNavi the next day and said “Mashiach lied to me” . Eliyahu asked “What did he say to you” ? Rabbi Yehoshua answered “today”. Eliyahu answered, “today, if you listen to my voice”.
What this means is that when we do not listen to his voice…..the voice of G-d via his fulfilling his mitzvos, Mashiach is delayed. This means the spies, who violated the fulfilliment of Torah, delayed the redemption in Eretz Yisrael until the time of David HaMelech, a loss of hundreds of years. Why wasn’t learning Torah with Moshe in the exile enough? Why did it cause a decree of death to the entire generation above 20 and 40 years of exile?
The answer is learning Torah without the mitzva of living in Israel is pasul, a rebellion against G-d’s will, and results in death and exile for our people.
This is why today, when the mitzva of our generation, without doubt, is the mitzva of aliyah and kibutz galiyous, the spies are alive and well, and they will have simanim. They will be chashuvim, anshei shem, people of tremendous prestige and well respected in your neighborhood, and they will despise the land of Israel, saying “Better to stay in exile and learn Torah, than to risk not keeping it in Israel”. They will say Eretz Yisrael is a land that will destroy your children….. ארץ אוכלת ילדיה. They will have dozens or hundreds or thousands hang on their every word, and be great names known throughout the world. These are the spies of today, extending death and exile to the nation once again. They will teach you every dvar Torah on this weeks parsha, and not mention aliyah once, and it will sound beautiful and mirror truth to all those who hear it. It will not be the Torah we need to hear today. Let me say it clearly without hesitation for all to see.
The mitzva of living in Israel, mentioned in the Gemara Kesuvos is equal to all the other mitzvos combined. The desire to leave exile must become a voice inside, a distant voice at first, that becomes louder and louder, until it pierces the walls of inaction and becomes a passion that nothing can stop you from achieving. It is that passion that is the key to successful aliyah, the knowledge that you are truly keeping Torah, the moment you set your eyes and your heart towards Yerushalayim, and every step you take from here on in will be towards reuniting with our nation home in Israel. This is the lesson of Parshas Shelach we must hear, it is time to leave the exile and come home where we belong, it is time to come home.
Gut Shabbos
Peretz Teller
Finally someone is making sense here …. ישר כחך
Try that reasoning at the shiva, go to the families sitting shiva and explain to them that it is wrong to judge someone, and those that contributed to the passing of your loved one to Corona, who purposely did not wear a mask, how that person who is now a partner in your precious loved ones passing, was righteous, amd those who judged them wrong. What you call “disgusting” is a cover up of you being in the category of those who can’t judge because they are not familiar with the way Torah law works. You are so busy with Lashon Hara laws (which usually bears the extent of your knowledge of Jewish law) that you missed the section that states Pikuach Nefesh overrides all and you also missed the section in Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 425, as well as 426. Feel free to look them up, it would be a great teshuva for you to gain knowledge of Jewish law and not be so quick to call “disgusting” judging that which the Torah calls disgusting…… Too quick to judge here too….. Guilty of your own crime, Gmar Tova
Massive protests are not OK, and davening in an indoor minyan is not ok, davening indoors without a mask is not ok, but Corona seems to clarify who cares about others quite clearly, with those who refuse to wear masks in the category of “I do not care for others”, and those who do “I do care for others”, and those who want to daven indoors and do not, as ” I care a great deal for others”, and those who daven in their houses even more so. Its just clear, how much one cares for others, in stores, on the street, in schul, and its now out in the open for all to see. I would call it an “adverse effect” of Coronavirus. We are months or even days from the vaccines and people are so tired of Corona restrictions, that schools were opened against all better judgements, in a blind frenzy of “schools must be open”, even at the cost of spreading this deadly illness, and it was the parents who actively aided and even demanded so. Even if it means killing someone down the line, all in the name of a good Torah education of course. Both in Israel and the exile this occurred. Shame upon us for opening our schools and not transitioning to 100% remote learning. Shame on those who publicly walk through crowded places without a mask. For those who care have a good year and for those who dont, I hope you end up caring one day so that you should have a good year too.
Read “The Jewish Idea” by Rabbi Meor Kahane, it is a comprehensive must read for all Jews and future Jews. If you accept and internalize what is written there, nothing will stop you from becoming Jewish. You are slso free to look up my shiur on Torahcafe. Hatzlacha, may you becone a blessing to the Jewish people. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Peretz Teller
grandmamma What will you do if Biden wins? Or if the left succeeds in defunding the police? Will you stick it out to get a front-row seat to the pogroms or will you leave for your true home, Israel.
Neril, look at the contradiction in your own words. This is what you wrote: And as long as they dont attack the jews or jewish interest. Response: So dividing Israel in half is considered ok with Jewish interests?
Then we really shouldnt be complaining. Not if all you care about is the USA and dividing Israel and forcing Israel to give in to a terrorist state is OK……..then yes you should not be complaining…..
Voting only be wary of if the next candidate is friends with Iran and its views on Israel. If they are friends of the jews. That’s all we should care about. Hashem in His mercy gave us a ‘stupid president’ dont complain!! Just know we are in golus.
Is there a greater golus than thinking that even if Trump is plotting to destroy Israel all is well so long as USA Jewish interests are served????
Challenging Trump on the “Deal of the Century” strikes at the heart of the galus Jew and rips his Republican heart in two. As much as he wants to support his people, land and his true home, he can’t. That is because deep down he is afraid of the goyim, wishes to be sheltered under their protection, and wishes to pretend he is waiting for Mashiach……All the while deepening his ties to the exile……as he watches his very exile crumble via disease, riots, and dea dly attacks on Jews……So long as he is safe all is well……This is the galus Jew, who praises Trump to no end……Who watches silently as he tries to slice Israel up into pieces, and is more concerned with Trump than Israel, Jews or Jewish life. Its about being American…..first and foremost……He would not dare to dream of returning to the eternal home of his people…..its “too much change” for him…..and of course he has denigrated living in Israel into some “Maaleh”, some voluntary icing on a Jewish cake……He davens each day for the success of his real Mashiach Trump…..He commits each day to return to his real “Tziyon”, Boro Park and Williamsburg…….His real Yerushalauim, capital of his real promised land…..this is his happiness……This is what he devotes his life to. So when those who just can’t stomach talking down Mein Trumpf….Know it is a pure sign of a true galus Yid…..whose real connection to Torah is based on a good cholent and gefilte fish.
Trump was what I call “The Great White Hope”…….except his “Mushy” plan to strangle Israel is a slow way to choke the Jews out of their home and make way for a terrorist state……exactly what the Middle East needs to bring more peace……It is scary hiw they try to cover over the facts in their simplicity…..