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Parshas Masei-פרשת מסעי

July 28, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

We find in this weeks parsha that Hashem tells Moshe rabbeinu about the mitzvah of designating the arei miklat. An arei miklat is a refugee city for someone who killed another person accidentally. One lives there until the death of the Kohen Gadol and is thus spared from the deceased relatives retaliating against him. Hashem tells Moshe to designate three arei miklat in aiver hayarden and another three in eretz Yisroel.

There were only two and a half shevatim on that side of the yarden. Why was there the same number of arei miklat as there was for the rest of klal yisroel in eretz Yisroel? The gemara in Makos answers that since there were many murders there, they had that amount. The question asked by many rishonim is, that the arei miklat was for accidents-not murderers? They answer, that being that the people of those towns were living around death so often-and that murder was so common-many of them lost their appreciation towards human life. Perhaps, had they lived elsewhere the arei miklats would not have been necessary. It seemed that losing a life wasn’t so immoral after all and unfortunately the arei miklats were needed quite often. We see from here how important it is to choose where you live and who you are surrounded by.

The mishna in makkos (9b) says that the three arei miklat that were aiver hayarden were not activated until the three in eretz Yisroel were activated. They didn’t have the ability to protect anyone until the three in eretz Yisroel were set up and ready to be used. But why was it setup like that? Why the need to wait until the three in eretz Yisroel were setup before the ones that were aiver hayarden protected people and why were these three bound and dependent upon the latter?

Meshech Chochma offers a fascinating answer.

A person was to stay in galus until the Kohen Gadol died. The Kohen Gadol at that time was Elazar haKohen. The pasuk specifically prophesies that Elazar haKohen was going to be alive by the dividing of the land, in eretz Yisroel. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Elazar was going to be alive at the time when klal yisroel was going to enter into eretz Yisroel. That means that at the time they were in aiver hayarden-had the arei miklat worked -whoever had to run there knew they had no hope of survival because they knew Elazar haKohen would enter eretz Yisroel alive! The anticipation of being a free man one day was gone! The Torah is sensitive to a person’s feelings, thoughts and emotions. Had the cities been up and running, a refugee would have nothing to hope for all the while the yidden weren’t in eretz Yisroel. Such hopelessness is something the Torah deemed as the worst thing possible for a person. For that, Hashem didn’t allow them to open unless they all did so simultaneously.

The Ribono Shel Olam will never put us in a galus without the hope of surviving and without having the hope that we will be redeemed. We all know there’s a geulah coming and that alone gives each of us not only the strength to continue but the reason to strive to greater heights. One must never forget that Hashem promised us a geula shleima and that He would never have put us here if not for allowing us to live with that hope. For if we had nothing to look forward to, the arei miklat would have been up and running prior to us entering eretz Yisroel.

May we all be zoche to outlive this galus and to witness the coming of Moshiach-the ultimate redemption-speedily in our days.

(search by: parshas maasei; masei; meshech chochma; elazar hakohen; makos; arei miklat; killing accidentally; choosing your surroundings; anticipating redemption; aiver hayarden)

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Parshas Matos-פרשת מטות

July 21, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: , ) |  No Comments

At the end of this week’s parsha the Torah relates how Moshe was going to divide eretz Cana’an amongst the shevatim. The pasukim begin by stating that Moshe gave a portion to bnei Reuven and bnei Gad, and then gave a significantly larger portion to chatzi shevet Menashe. The pasuk then goes back and discusses what Moshe gave to bnei Reuven and bnei Gad. There are three questions that come to mind when reading these pasukim. Firstly, why does the pasuk “squeeze in” which portions were given to chatzi shevet Menashe while relating what Moshe gave to bnei Reuven and bnei Gad? Secondly, we find that Moshe made a condition with bnei Gad and bnei Reuven that they may only cross back over the Yarden after they fight together with the rest of klal Yisroel to conquer eretz Cana’an Why were there no conditions made with chatzi shevet Menashe? Lastly, why did chatzi shevet Menashe receive a significantly larger portion than bnei Gad and bnei Reuven. How did they merit such a large parcel of land?

The Netziv answers that Moshe looked at the piece of land where bnei Gad and bnei Reuven had requested as their inheritance and realized that the Torah there would be very weak. They were setting up homes and a community across the Yarden, but they would be neglecting Torah study. He understood that they couldn’t last there without Torah. It was known that shevet Menashe produced eminent Torah scholars; tremendous talmidei chachamim. Moshe wanted to ensure the spiritual success of this community, so he convinced chatzi shevet Menashe to stay behind, and help start up this new community on the other side of the Yarden. However, they didn’t want to move there. So Moshe had to influence them to move there by offering them a large portion of land. He placed them right in the middle of the areas of bnei Reuven and bnei Gad because it was this shevet, chatzi shevet Menashe, which strengthened and molded the spiritual aspect of this new community.

There’s a Yerushalmi in Bikurim that says one may not bring Bikurim from across the Yarden. The two reasons given are: 1) Because the pasuk says it must be from a land where ‘milk and honey flows’ (i.e. eretz Yisroel) and this is not considered eretz Yisroel; 2) because the pasuk says ‘from the land that I have given to you,’ and we deduce from here that it excludes the ‘land that you took’. What’s the difference between these two reasons?

The answer is chatzi shevet Menashe. They didn’t take the land, it was given to them. They were convinced to accept it. Based on the second reason given, they could very well bring Bikurim.

The gemarah in Shabbos says that Yerushalayim was only destroyed due to the lack of proper respect given to talmidei chachomim. What about the other reasons we’ve learnt, such as sinas chinum?

The answer is when you live amongst talmidei chochomim, they ensure that your city stays alive; they’re a shield which protects the city. But once they’re disgraced and belittled, they lose their shield and their ability to defend. One of the ways we can start to rebuild the Bais Hamikdash is by appreciating talmidei chachomim and realizing the positive effects and the benefits we all have from them in our midst.

There was a Russian yid that would go to a daf yomi shiur every night. Week in week out he came every shiur, without fail, and within one minute he was out cold. He slept throughout the whole shiur.

One night the magid shiur walks over to him and asks, why do you even bother to come to the shiur? Every night for the last three years I watch you come, take your seat and fall asleep. I understand it’s tough, but why bother attending?

This yid answered him as follows.  When I was a young boy I was sitting around with some friends and we were speaking against the Government and the KGB. All of my friends were coming up with ideas of how they can sabotage them and how they will try to take over. One day, the KGB stormed in and arrested everyone in the room, myself included. It eventually came the day when we all had to appear in court. The Judge would read out loud your name, what you were guilty of committing and the verdict with the punishments. By every one of my friends they did just that; but at my name, all the Judge said was my name and Siberia. I immediately stood up and protested. I said to the judge ‘you haven’t announced what I’m guilty of-all you said was that I’m going to Siberia! I haven’t said a bad word about the government in that room! The judge looked at me and answered: “az du zitz mit zey, dist du mit zey-if u sit with them you’re with them!

True, I’m not listening to you; but I’m sitting with you and I want to be treated like you and be part of your chabura. I hope that by me sitting here every single night I can one day be able to have the strength to stay up and be able to grasp the Torah. I hope Hashem treats me as if I’m part of this chabura.

It’s not enough to just to ‘have’ talmidei Chachamim around but to be around them and to be a part of them is something special; it’s something we must all strive for. Hopefully, in this merit we can be treated like them by the Ribono Shel Olam who in return can grant us our ultimate redemption: the coming of Moshiach.

(Search by: chumash; matos; parshas matos; bais hamikdash; netziv; splitting up eretz yisroel; talmidei chochomim; gemarah in Shabbos; yerushalmi; bikurim; sinas chinam; learning torah; chatzei shevet menashe; az du zitz mit zey, dist du mit zey )

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Parshas Pinchus-פרשת פנחס

July 14, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

This week’s parsha begins (25; 11) ‘Pinchas the son of Elazar the son of Aaron the Kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal.’

Medrash Raba comments by saying ‘din hu sheyitol sicharo’. He was deserving of receiving his proper schar. This comment seems a bit baffling. What exactly is the Medrash coming to add or tell us by saying that Pinchas deserved his reward?

Yeshaus Yaakov offers a beautiful idea. Chazal say that tzadikim do not ask Hashem to reward them for their actions but rather, they request from Hashem a gift; tzadikim feel they don’t deserve it so they ask Hashem to give it to them for free. Why? The reason is that ’schar mitzvah b’hay alma leka; reward in this world does not exist (Kedushin 39b).’

Let us take this idea a step deeper, why not? Why is there no reward in this world? Maybe they should receive a small portion of pleasure? What is wrong with that?

Chofetz Chaim explains pshat through the following parable. Imagine you have a child of a young age who is in receipt of a gold coin. He walks into a candy store and asks the clerk how much candy he can purchase with this shiny coin? The clerk responds that he can fill up five garbage bags of nosh for the coin. The boy proceeds to do just that. When he is finished he walks home with the bags of nosh. Upon his arrival at home his father notices that his son has garbage bags full of nosh and inquires about the recent purchase. The little boy answers that he traded it in for the gold coin. Furious, the father runs to back to the store and yells at the clerk how could he trick his son like that! The clerk answered that he made a sale and that the sale was final. The father counter claims that his son didn’t know the value of the coin and had no clue that it was worth much more than five bags of nosh!

Continues the Chofetz Chaim, the same is true here. We have no concept of Olam Haba. For if we did, we would understand ’schar mitzvah b’hay alma leka- reward in this world does not exist.’ If we had the smallest inkling of what Olam Haba is we wouldn’t trade it for anything; especially for some mundane pleasure in this world.

Yeshuas Yaakov explains a different reason and says that the reason why there is no reward in this world is because maybe the person will change his ways and he will become undeserving of this reward and it will be a chilul Hashem-who knows-so we rather not give any reward. It is for this reason that Chazal say ‘anyone who provides the public with a zechus-Hashem makes sure he won’t sin. (Avos 5; 18) Therefore, since Pinchas killed Zimrie and Cuzbi he was destined not to sin and therefore was fit for reward in this world! That’s how Yeshous Yaakov explains this Medrash.

We learn from this, how well one is protected for his actions and his role/involvement on behalf of a tzibur. Being mezakeh the public allows one that extra coat of protection against sin; as well as deserving reward on this world and the next.

The Brisker Rav was once asked what the segulah is for one to have righteous and ehrliche children. His response was ‘I don’t know the secret; but one thing I do know from experience and seeing firsthand. The common denominator that all the families had, whose children were righteous and ehrlich, were that each family was mezakeh the public in one way or the other.’ There are many organizations and programs that are already helping the community. One need not to open a new organization to be mezakeh the tzibur.  For one not to get involved in any of them is more than a mistake. Who wouldn’t want the security of knowing Hashem has provided them an extra wall of protection against sinning for the services that they are providing on behalf of the public?

Anything that will enable people to become closer to Hashem; be it learning, davening or performing acts of kindness-is considered being mezakeh the public. Look around us at what’s happening in society. The closeness of death of three Torah leaders and the brutal murder of an eight year old boy-Hashem is begging us to take action. We need zechusim. Each one of us should try to pick one area that we can work on in strengthening ourselves as well as others. Whether it’s learning extra, davening with more concentration or any other way one can be mezakeh other people. Through us taking it up a notch we should all merit to be present when Hashem will be mezakeh us with the coming of Moshiach-speedily-in our days.

(Search by: pinchus; chofetz chaim; being mezakeh the public; brisker rav; yeshuos Yaakov; mishnayos avos; fathoming the reward in olam haba; ’schar mitzvah b’hay alma leka;a child buying nosh with a gold coin; the extra coat of protection for being mezakeh the public)

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Parshas Balak-פרשת בלק

July 8, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: , ) |  No Comments

We find in this week’s parsha, Hashem tells Bilam not to go with the emissaries of Balak. As the pasuk says Hashem tells Bilam, “You shall not go with them! You shall not curse the people because they are blessed.” (22; 12)

Later on, we find that the Torah relates how Hashem grants Bilam permission to go, as it says ‘Hashem came to Bilam at night and said to him, “If these men have come to call for you, arise and go with them, but the word I speak to you-that you shall do.”(22; 20)

What happened? To the naked eye it would seem that Hashem, kaviyachol, changed his mind and allowed Bilam to go to Balak so he can curse bnei Yisroel?

The gemara in Makos (10b) says ‘B’derech sh’adam rotzeh leilech buh, molichin oso’; the path that a person chooses to follow they bring him (and allow him) to go down that road. Continues the gemara, we know this to be true from pasukim in Torah, Nevi’im and Kesuvim. The gemara then quotes the pasuk from this weeks parsha, ‘arise and go with them ‘. The gemara mentions the above concept of ‘molichin oso; ‘they’ bring him. But who are ‘they’? Who is the chaperon that brings a person to that road that he chooses?

Maharsha answers that every time a person has a desire or a thought, he creates a malach. A good thought creates a good malach; a bad thought, a bad malach. It is those malachim that are created through our thoughts that are molichin oso; they bring a person….not Hashem. It was those bad malachim created by Bilam that brought him to Balak.

There’s a fabulous Malbim that brings out this point. At the end of parshas Shelach, the pasuk says ‘and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes.’ (15; 39) Rashi quotes a Chazal which says ‘the eyes see, the heart desires and the body commits the act.’ He asks, if the action begins with the eyes why does the pasuk first say ‘‘and you shall not wander after your hearts’; shouldn’t the order be reversed and state ‘‘and you shall not wander after your eyes and after your heart?’

Malbim answers, it’s because even before the eyes see a person has already made the mental decision: will I look or not? When a person walks out his front door in the morning he has already made the decision whether they will look at their surrounding or disregard them. It all starts with your heart; what a person wants and what they want to accomplish. A person makes that mental decision before their eyes see. One who wishes to look, molichin oso-he gets assistance from those malachim he created; for those that don’t want to look they receive assistance from their malachim that they created. That’s pshat in ‘they bring him’.

The Kotzer says that there’s nothing that stands before a determined person. It’s explained, that there’s nothing that can stop a person from wanting. If a person is determined to do something and has a desire towards it nothing can stop them. Once a person is on that track and he has that rotzon, molichin oso-for good or for bad. Bilam had that rotzon; Hashem knew that; B’derech sh’adam rotzeh leilech buh, molichin oso’.

We must all be alert and be able to make the proper decisions. Once the decision is made, molichin oso-we have help. We make the ultimate decision-will it be for good or chas v’shalom not. May we all merit to have the proper thoughts and may the assistance that’s being provided for us assist us in achieving the ultimate; the coming of Moshiach b’karov.

(Search by: Bilam; Makos; Maharsha; Malbim; kotzker; making the right decisions; thoughts create malachim; B’derech sh’adam rotzeh leilech buh, molichin oso’)

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