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Parshas Mishpatim-פרשת משפטים

January 27, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

‘…and flesh in the field that has been torn you shall not eat; you shall throw it to the dog.’ (22; 30).

Rashi comments on the above pasuk ‘this is coming to teach us that Hashem does not deprive any creature of its reward.’ Since the dogs did not bark when we left Mitzrayim, Hashem said ‘give them their reward.’

The gemarah in Bava Basra (8a) recalls how rebbi opened up his private storage house, in the time of hunger, to give people food. He made an announcement, and specified, anyone who learns mishnayos, chumash, gemarah or hagaddah can come and eat from his food; however, no simple people (am ha’aratzim) were welcome. R’ Yonasan ben Amram pushed his way through the door and said ‘rebbi, please feed me!’ He answered him by asking, ‘did you learn any of which I mentioned?’ R’ Yonasan answered, ‘no’. Rebbi then responded and asked ‘with what shall I feed you with?’ With what zechus should I sustain you, if you’re not learning? R’ Yonasan answered and said ‘feed me like a dog and like a raven.’

The Chasam Sofer offers a novel p’shat into the conversation. First we have to understand; why did rebbi do this? Why did he open up his private storage house and announce that he’s only feeding talmidei Chachamim? The reason must be because he felt that the only people that earned such reward were those who learned Torah, the talmidei chachamim. As opposed to someone who did not learn, he did not yet earn his food. However, R’ Yonasan came along and teaches us us something new. He was telling us that there are two ways that people may partake in the zechus (reward) of Torah, even if they themselves aren’t actually learning. One is by supporting Torah and the other is by appreciating, respecting and not talking derogatory remarks about talmidei chachamim.

When Eliyahu Hanavi was in hiding, the ravens came every day-once in the morning and once in the evening. They dropped off bread for him, sustaining him as long as he was hiding. We also know that as we left Mitzrayim the dogs did not bark. Says the Chasam Sofer, it was in the zechus of these two animals that R’ Yonasan was asking rebbi to feed him. The ravens respected Eliyahu Hanavi and didn’t speak derogatory about him and the dogs kept their mouths closed and didn’t talk back to klal Yisroel. R’ Yonasan was saying ‘I’m no different than these two animals; I may not be a learned person but feed me in the zechus of the raven and dog’. Although I’m not a talmid chochom I’ve earned my reward through other ways. The zechus of my not talking derogatory should allow me to be sustained through you.

I once heard from a rebbi of mine, that he remembers his grandfather telling him that when he was a young child, in Lita, there were yeshiva bochurim that would eat by his house every week. As a nine year old boy, he remembers his mother (the rav’s great-grandmother) taking the food off his plate to give the bochurim to eat! He would repeat this story over and over and each time he said it, a bigger smile would be found on his face. He would say it with such pride; his parents understood, and instilled in him, the importance of supporting Torah and future generations. He was then able to pass this middah down to his children and his children’s children.

We, as a nation, have to understand that although we may not all be talmidei chachamim, we must appreciate and respect those who are. We must never talk derogatory about them, whether we agree with them or not. Behaving this way will enable them and allow them to continue learning Torah-which in essence is holding us and the entire world up. It’s through these two ways that will also allow us to benefit from the reward set aside for talmidei chachamim.

(Search by: chumash; torah; mishpatim; parshas mishpatim; bava basra; chasam sofer; appreciating talmidei chachamim; respecting talmidei chachamim; the raven and the dog; dogs not barking; getting reward through respecting scholars; eliyahu hanavi; r yonasan; rebbi opening his storage house)

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Parshas Yisro-פרשת יתרו

January 20, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

‘And Yisro heard all that Hashem had done for Moshe and for klal Yisroel……that Hashem took bnei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim’ (18; 1)

Rashi asks: ‘what was it that he heard that made him join klal Yisroel in the desert ? Krias yam suf and the war with amalek’, it was these two occurrences that inspired him to join our illustrious nation.

An obvious question that immediately comes to mind is, what is rashi’s point of the question? The pasuk clearly states ‘he heard all that Hashem had done for klal Yisroel……’?

Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Zt”l related a story that will help us answer this.

When he was a young boy, learning in yeshivas eitz chaim-on yafo street, there was a police station located across the street. At the entrance way to their headquarters there were two stone pillars, one on either side, and on top of each pillar was a stone lion. One day his rebbi came in and was describing to his class the beauty of music; how it has a special koach to bring joy to people and inspire people to higher levels. He said to them ‘if you would play your musical instruments and the lions would hear you- even they, would spring into a dance!’

That evening, the boys ran home and came back with their instruments to play for the lions. Needless to say, they were disappointed when they started playing and the lions didn’t flinch. The next day they related to the rebbi what had happened. The rebbi smiled to the class and said ‘boys, you completely misunderstood what I said to you. What I said was that if the lions could hear you they would dance. Yes, you played, but they couldn’t hear you.’

Many times we all see and hear things; music can be playing all around us. But it’s the koach ha’shmia-the ability to hear and to listen; the ability to accept, that inspires a person and changes him for the good. Yisro heard everything but two details really penetrated him; the war with amalek and krias yam suf.

Let us delve a little deeper as to what was so special about these two miracles that caused Yisro to not only listen, but to accept and change his ways.

We read in Az Yashir everyday-’vayiru ha’am es Hashem vayaminu b’Hashem uv’Moshe avdo’. The Nitziv asks what did they see at that moment that they declared their fear for Hashem and their trust in Moshe? They saw that each Egyptian was receiving a different punishment. The mitzriyim that were rodfim (soldiers) died quickly; they had no choice in what they did because they were following orders. The ‘sonayhem’-the people who hated us just because they wanted to-died a slow, miserable and painful death. When bnei Yisroel saw that every person was getting exactly what they deserved, this strengthened their emunah in the Ribono Shel Olam.

Next, comes Amalek and attacks us-but how were they able to assault us if we had the ananei hakavod protecting us? How were they able to infiltrate the ananei hakovod?

The answer is, as the pasuk says, ‘Vayizanev bichoh kol hanechesholim acharechoh’, they attacked the yidden that were lingering behind the ananei hakovod. Who were these yidden that did not merit being included in the safe and secure confines of the ananei hakovod? Chazal tell us that anyone who served Avoda Zoroh was miraculously removed from the ananei hakovod. The eruv rav and those who were tomai also had no place within these heavenly clouds and were forced out of them. If it wasn’t befitting for one to be inside the ananei hakavod, they were miraculously ejected and had to travel with klal Yisroel outside of the clouds. These Divine clouds were exclusively for the elite of Klal Yisroel.

It was these less fortunate people that Amalek had access to and waged war against. The majority of klal Yisroel who were inside the clouds, secure and well protected, saw what was occurring and sprang into action to protect their brethren. They left their comfort zone from within the clouds and confronted Amalek for the sake of the less fortunate Jews. This is what inspired Yisro! The demonstration of caring and compassion the yidden showed as they left their secure area to confront an enemy that was attacking their less fortunate brothers. He said wow…I want to be part of such a nation! A nation that cares so much about each and every individual, regardless of their spiritual status, is worth joining.

We, as a nation, cannot give up on anyone; a yid is a yid; we take care of ever yid as if it was our own child. No one is taken for granted and everyone is cared for. They were willing to wage war in order to protect every single member of klal Yisroel.

This is what Yisro ‘heard’ about and it was thia that inspired him to become part of the best nation in the world.

May we all continue to emulate this middah and B’ezras Hashem through the compassion that we show to our brothers, may Hashem have compassion on klal Yisroel and bring Moshiach to redeem us b’karov.

(Search by: chumash; parsha; torah; yisro; parshas yisro; meshech chochma; nitziv; reb Shlomo zalman aurbach; krias yam suf; war with amalek; never give up on a yid; caring for every jew; the power of music; the ability to listen)

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Parshas Beshalach-פרשת בשלח

January 13, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

“Vayikach Moshe es atzmos Yosef imoy ki hashbea hishbea es bnei Yisroel… (13; 19)”

The Gemara in Sota (13) states: ‘come and look at how special mitzvos were to Moshe rabbeinu. All of klal Yisroel was busy collecting booty and Moshe was busy with the bones of Yosef hatzadik. As Shlomo Hamelech says in Mishlai - chacham lev yikach mitzvohs-a wise person grabs mitzvos and Moshe was referred to as a ‘chahcham lev’.

On the surface it seems that the bnei Yisroel were in the wrong, but why? They were fulfilling a promise of Hashem made their forefathers that their children will leave Mitzrayim a wealthy nation. Why then is Moshe referred to as a ‘chacham lev’, which seems to be of a loftier character trait for doing the will of Hashem? The entire Jewish nation was also fulfilling the will of Hashem by collecting spoils from the Egyptians?

The Alter from Novardok offers a beautiful explanation.

The gemarah in bava metziah (32b) states that if one sees a donkey of his friend with a huge burden on its back, he is obligated to help unload the burden and then reload it at a later time. If the same scenario would happen with the donkey of your enemy-or a person who you don’t like- the same halacha would apply. The gemarah then asks what would happen if he would encounter his friends burdened donkey on one side of the street and his enemy’s burdened donkey on the other side of the street. Whose should he help unload first? The gemarah answers that he should help that of the person he doesn’t like. The reason is, that he is breaking his yetzer hara and thus strengthening his character due to the fact he is helping someone that he doesn’t like.

Says the Alter, it was much easier for everyone to collect the gold and silver from the Egyptians than to get the bones of Yosef. Moshe understood that a mitzvah done with difficulty comes with a greater reward; it is so much dearer to the Ribono Shel Olam when it is difficult to perform. That’s why Moshe rabbeinu was ‘labeled’ a chacham lev and the rest of bnei Yisroel wasn’t.

There was a ten year old boy, from the tri state area, that when he heard there would be a second snow storm he had already assumed that he would have no school the next day. It was with that mindset, that he went to bed. Upon waking up he quickly learned that he did indeed have school. Needless to say this young lad was extremely unhappy, especially after hearing his sisters did not have school that day. He was so upset that he did not have off, that he started pondering out loud as to why girls have school at all? As he reluctantly went in the car to be driven by his father to yeshiva, his father looked at him and said, ‘I want to tell you something. The reason why frum people exist today is because our grandparents learned Torah and did mitzvos when it was difficult for them to do so. You should know that you’re going to yeshiva today even though you are not interested, and it is quite difficult. My dear son this is what yiddishkeit is all about, this is what separates us from all the other nations.’

The gemarah in chagiga asks why the bnei Yisroel were chosen to be given the Torah. The Maharitz Chiyus says that it was because Hashem knew that the only nation in the world that could withstand all the suffering-persecutions, pogroms, anti-Semitism, the holocaust-and yet still stay loyal and faithful to the Torah, would be Klal Yisroel. They can bend us, but they can’t break us.

With the bitter forecast these days, no one can predict the weather we can expect tomorrow. When we see that the ground is covered in snow and the temperature is below freezing, one should keep in mind that yes-it is hard to go out late at night for maariv. But our grandparents did this day in and day out in Russia and Poland, decades before cars were invented. To walk to maariv in the cold is not geshmak at all. But one should keep in mind that when doing so the Ribono Shel Olam is looking down and smiling and saying ‘chavivim Yisroel she’nik-riu banim lamakom’.

May we all be zoche to identify the harder mitzvos that come our way and to remember never to pass them up for the easier ones-as the more difficult it seems, the dearer it is to Hashem (not to mention its reward).

(Search by: chumash; torah; parsha; beshalach; parshas beshalach; maharitz chiyus; alter of novardhik; chagiga; bava metzia; sota; doing mitzvos that are difficult; the harder the mitzvah the dearer it is to Hashem; collecting spoils from the Egyptians; klal Yisroel being the chosen nation; helping a friend or enemy with their donkeys load)

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Parshas Bo-פרשת בא

January 6, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

“Bnei Yisroel did according to the word of Moshe; they requested from the Egyptians silver vessels, gold vessels and garments.” (12; 35).

The aforementioned pasuk is discussing when klal Yisroel was on the threshold of leaving Mitzrayim, amid the last makah-death to the firstborn. They were told to collect booty from the Egyptians -fulfilling the promise that Hashem made to Avraham, which was, that his children would leave their galus a wealthy nation.

Rashi adds to the above pasuk and says “vayishalu ish me’es rayaihu”- that ‘each man shall ask from his Egyptian neighbor.’

When reading this one thinks, what chiddush was Rashi adding? The pasuk just said that a man should ask from their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver vessels, just as Moshe had told them to do? Rashi seems to be superfluous?

The Vilna Goan answers very powerfully.

The gemarah in Bava Kama (37b) says that if an ox of a Jew gores an ox of a non Jew, the Jew is exempt from all payments. The reason being, that the pasuk clearly states ‘if a person’s ox will gore that of his ‘rayaihu’-his friend; and the word ‘rayaihu’ comes to exclude a non Jew.

If this is so, then how can we explain Rashi in our pasuk? It clearly says ‘vayishalu ish me’es rayaihu.’ But if that meant a Jew, then it wouldn’t make sense because we know that the Jews didn’t ask the Jews; they asked the Egyptians? What seems to be p’shat here?

Furthermore, the pasuk earlier says ‘daber nah b’aznei ha’am.’ Nah, we know, is a loshon of pleading. Hashem had to beg us to ask the Egyptians? Why the need to plead?

Says the GR“A, had a Jew walked up to an Egyptian and asked to borrow an item he would have been laughed at and told absolutely not. In order to create an atmosphere of chessed, the bnei Yisroel had to first hand each other silver and gold vessels. They had to interact and borrow from each other. These actions would have an effect on their entire surroundings. Only then, did they have the capability of borrowing from the goyim. This is p’shat in Rashi; the pasuk is telling us that they listened to Moshe and asked from the Egyptians, but they did not do this first. Rashi adds ‘vayishalu ish me’es rayaihu’-first they interacted and borrowed from each other; thus enabling them to continue and ask from the Egyptians. It was through the ‘rayaihu’ that enabled them to fulfill the promise that Hashem made to the forefathers of them leaving birchush gadol.

The gemarah in Yevamos (96b) recounts that Rav Elozor and Rav Yosi were debating a halachic issue and in the heat of their argument a Sefer Torah was inadvertently ripped. Rav Yosi ben Kisma was present at the time of this horrific scene and passionately proclaimed that it would not be shocking if this house of prayer, that experienced a blatant desecration of G-D’s honor, would eventually be transformed to a bais avodoh zorah. The Gemarah sadly concludes that it indeed occurred. Rav Shach Zt”l would say that the reason it indeed panned out this way was because a yid’s actions have an effect on their surroundings.

This is also why Hashem had to uproot the ground during the mabul; because the aveiros had seeped into the ground. That’s how much the surroundings had gotten affected by the actions of the people.

If we’re nice to each other than others will be nice to us. It’s up to us to first implement an exemplary behavior and only after we do so can we ensure that our surroundings will follow.

(Search by: parsha; bo; parshas bo; vilna goan; bava kama; chumash; Torah; an ox goring; klal Yisroel asking for booty; gra; gr’a; collecting money from the Egyptians; rav shach; silver and gold vessels; a persons actions effect his surroundings; yevamos; sefer Torah ripped; implementing exemplary behavior)

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