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Parshas Terumah-פרשת תרומה

February 23, 2012 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

In this weeks parsha, the Torah relays how the Ribono Shel Olam instructed Moshe on how to build the many vessels that were to be used in the Mishkan. When the Torah describes the Menorah, the pasuk says ‘And you shall make a Menorah of pure gold. The Menorah shall be made of hammered work; its base and its stem, its goblets, its knobs, and its flowers shall [all] be one piece with it (25; 31).’

Rashi says that the Menorah was made ‘by itself. Since Moshe had difficulty figuring out how to form the Menorah, Hashem said to him, “Throw the block [of gold] into the fire, and it will be made by itself.’

Why did Moshe have such difficulty making the Menorah over all the other vessels? What was so unique and special about this that Hashem had to tell him to throw it into the fire so that it will emerge on its own?

Chofetz Chaim says that it is well known that the vessels of the Mishkan and Bais Hamikdash represented very lofty and spiritual elements compared to a human being. For example, the Aron represented the ultimate in wisdom-which a person can only reach through prophecy. The Shulchan, which displayed the lechem hapanim, symbolized the mundane and materialistic part of klal Yisroel. The Menorah, which had the ner ma’aravi-that was never distinguished-symbolized that klal Yisroel is eternal and that we will exist forever.

Furthermore, writes the Zohar, Hashem commanded the Malachim to replicate the Menorah for the heavens and at the time the Kohen lights the Menorah in the Mishkan, or the Bais Hamikdash, this corresponding Menorah was to be lit as well in shomayim. That means that at the time Moshe was assembling and putting together the different vessels he had to have in mind what each item represented on a spiritual level. However, when it came for Moshe to construct the Menorah, he looked into the future of klal Yisroel and he saw the many different eras that bnei Yisroel would be challenged with and he saw some extremely trying times. He saw moments when bnei Yisroel would be murdered, persecuted, and exiled. Seeing this, he had a very difficult time building the actual Menorah. He thought ‘how can I have in mind the representation of eternity? How will bnei Yisroel be able to overcome all the Inquisitions and the Holocaust? How will they be able to overcome all these difficulties?’ This was the worry Moshe had while building the Menorah.

Hashem responded to Moshe by telling him to take the piece of gold and throw it into the fire so he will see what will emerge. The Ribono Shel Olam had a greater perspective than that of us human beings. Hashem understood that bnei Yisroel would thrive and emerge beautifully from these situations. From the fire they will rise up to the challenge and when the dust settles, they will be there-better, stronger and more determined than ever. Usually, when something gets thrown into a fire it gets destroyed. How can this represent that bnei Yisroel is eternal? Hashem showed him by telling him to take the gold and throw it in the fire and watch what will come forward. Klal Yisroel is brazen and they will never give up. The actual difficulty Moshe had was in the kavanah of what the Menorah represented.

Nitziv says that by Matan Torah it says ‘The sound of the shofar grew increasingly stronger (it intensified with its length); Moses would speak and God would answer him with a voice (19;19).’

Usually when you start off and blow an instrument, the sound begins to fade as its sound lengthens. However, over here the opposite occurred. Says Nitziv the sound of the shofar emerged from within the smoke of Matan Torah. The smoke symbolized the darkness of all the tzoras. We can’t see clearly and we don’t have an understanding of what is happening, but from within the smoke the sound of the shofar got stronger and stronger and stronger. Pshat is that the darker the galus is, the stronger the Torah is that will emerge from the galus. That’s why the sound came specifically from within the smoke.

This idea is not only relevant to klal Yisroel as a whole but to every individual in their personal life as well. Whatever a person struggles with, whatever nisayon a person is constantly fighting, says Rav Tzadok, is the area that he’s destined to excel in-contrary to popular belief. Most times people say I’ll be good in all other areas-but Rav Tzadok explains that the opposite is true. The area that you have a hard time with is the area that you are supposed to be excellent in. If a person has difficulty in watching what he sees, by working on himself he can accomplish so much by maintaining a level of kedusha.

Thieves don’t rob and don’t attempt to steal from poor people because there’s nothing for them to gain. They go after the rich folks because they have what to gain from. The same is true by the yetzer hara. If he’s bothering you in a specific area it’s obvious that you have something he feels threatened by. It’s through that nisayon that a person’s greatness can sprout and blossom from.

May we all be zoche.

(Search by: terumah; zohar; chofetz chaim; nitziv; rav tzadok; making the vessels of the mishkan; building the menorah; moshes difficulty with building the menorah; klal yisroel is eternal; the darker the galus the stronger the torah; your biggest challenge is your area of excellence; blossoming through ones tzoras)

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Parshas Mishpatim-פרשת משפטים

February 17, 2012 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

Parshas Mishpatim begins with all the applicable laws that pertain to the owning of a Jewish slave.  Isn’t it   a little ironic that the first set of laws/mitzvos that Moshe tells bnei Yisroel is not a very common mitzvah and not really relevant to everyone (as it’s only for people who steal and don’t have money to pay back, etc.) What pshat can we provide here that can show us why the Torah chose to begin with this mitzvah, immediately following the giving of the Torah?

Moreover, the Torah says that if the slave wants to remain with his master for longer than six years, we pierce his ear. Why was the ear chosen to be bored and not another organ in the body? Rashi (21, 6) says ‘RabbanYochanan ben Zakkai said: The ear that heard on Har Sinai, “You shall not steal” (20; 13) and [then] went and stole shall be bored. And if [the text is referring to] one who sold himself [into servitude, the reason is that] the ear that heard, “For the BneiYisroel are slaves to Me”(Devarim 25; 55) and [then] went and acquired a master for himself, [this ear] shall be bored.

This Rashi is problematic, for those two ‘sayings’ were not said by Har Sinai! The commandment of Lo Signov that was said was referring to kidnapping a person; not to stealing money from another person. The latter one, ‘ki li Bnei Yisroel avadim’, was also not even mentioned until later! This Rashi needs an explanation!

Perhaps the answer can be as follows.

There’s a famous Chazal that says that Hashem went to all of the other nations and offered them his precious Torah, prior to offering it to Bnei Yisroel. Every nation refused it for a different reason. Why? What is the reason that they refused the Torah and said that it wasn’t for them? Don’t they have to keep the seven mitzvos of Noach anyways?

In reference to the seven mitzvos of Noach they were very clear; it is a general ‘don’t do this and that ‘. For example, if a gentile doesn’t physically kill another, he will not get punished. But nowhere else does it say that he can’t embarrass someone in public. Nowhere else does it state that there is an issur yichud and nowhere else does it say there is an issur ervah by seeing another married women’s hair. All it says is that one may not be mezaneh with someone else’s wife. It also says that one cannot steal. It doesn’t say anything about gezel sheina (stealing ones sleep) and no gezel da’as either; there are no boundaries or barriers. However, by our Torah there are so many subcategories and so many different levels that a person has to delve in the subject matter. The other nations were plain and simple not interested in all the different categories and sublevels. That was the difference between our obligations and theirs.

At the end of the parsha it says that all of the taryag mitzvos are built into the Aseres Hadibros. If a person was to examine them properly, he can find and discover within every single mitzvah all of the 613 mitzvos. When a yid was standing at Har Sinai, had he been listening properly he would’ve understood that these 10 dibros include all forms of kidnapping, stealing, cheating, etc. If he would have heard them properly he would realize what was underneath the Av, as the dibros are commonly referred to, and understood what the true aspirations of Hashem were from us. Yes, it wasn’t SAID but he was expected to understand that it’s not just cut and dry. There are many different facets to the mitzvos and we understood that when we accepted the Torah.

Yes, we have a long road ahead of us. But with following the traditions from our leaders and perseverance, we can feel that we are on our way and proceeding in the proper path.

(Search by: mishpatim; seven mitzvos of noach; tradition; the other nations refusing the Torah; not being cut n dry; subcategories of mitzvos; piercing the ear of a Jewish slave; goyim have no boundaries; reading between the lines)

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Parshas Yisro-פרשת יתרו

February 8, 2012 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

As klal Yisroel advances towards Har Sinai to receive the Torah, Yisro hears about all the miracles that Hashem had performed to the yidden and decides to jump on the bandwagon. The pasuk informs us that Yisro comes to Moshe, with his wife and children, as the pasuk says ‘And her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, because Moshe said, “I was a stranger in a foreign land.  And one who was named Eliezer, because Moshe said, The God of my father came to my aid and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword.’ (18; 3, 4)

To begin, the pasuk seems out of order chronologically.Why did Moshe feel it necessary to name his children in that order? The incident of being saved from Pharaoh’s sword occurred before he was a Ger in a foreign land.

Furthermore, why does the Torah feel the need to mention again the reasoning behind name of Gershom, being that it was already mentioned in parshas Shemos? (2, 22) The pasuk could’ve just read that Yisro approached Moshe with ‘his two sons…’ without any detail.  Why did the Torah feel it important to inform us again why Moshe chose the names for his sons?

Meshech Chochma says that the reason why the Torah mentioned how Moshe selected the names was to reveal the incredible ma’aleh was on. Moshe developed such a strong kesher towards bnei Yisroel even though he barely knew them. He grew up in a palace full of luxuries and had everything he wanted at his fingertips, brought to him on a silver platter.  He was not involved in the day to day enslavement of the rest of klal Yisroel. What’s more is that when Moshe eventually went to Midyan, Yisro was also a king and he continued living the high life when he settled there. Wherever he found himself, he attracted himself to a rich and famous environment even though bnei Yisroel was going through terrible hardships. Despite all this, he called himself a Ger.  Why? Because all the while that bnei Yisroel were in Mitzrayim, he felt connected to Mitzrayim and considered Mitzrayim to be his home. The country that his people were in was his country. He could not celebrate his own personal salvation while knowing that klal Yisroel was suffering in Mitzrayim. Moshe couldn’t name his first son Eliezer (with the reasoning of ‘The God of my father came to my aid and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword’) while knowing and feeling the travesties that klal Yisroel were enduring.  The initial thought and feeling that Moshe had, was the suffering of his nation and how he longed to be amongst them.

It is for this reason, despite being in Midyan for a long period of time, that he always had Mitzrayim on his mind. He couldn’t consider himself a Midyan guy while his people were in Mitzrayim.

We learn from this here how a person has to be able to feel for another Yid.  Just because it’s not happening to ‘me’ doesn’t give us the right to ignore someone else’s hardships. We have to strive to continuously try to feel and share in other people’s misfortunes. Just as Moshe always considered himself a stranger because his beloved people were enslaved and going through terrible hardships.

May we all be zoche to feel for our fellow Yid until the achdus is so strong that there is nothing holding back the coming of Moshiach, b’karov.

(search by: yisro; bnei yisroel advancing towards matan Torah; meshech chochma; feeling for another yid; the reason for moshe naming his sons; reiterating how moshe chose to name his sons; feeling for someone elses burden; moshes unconditional love towards klal Yisroel)

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Parshas Beshalach-פרשת בשלח

February 2, 2012 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah (Tags: ) |  No Comments

As we continue our voyage out of Mitzayim and into the desert, we reach a pinnacle in our illustrious history; bnei Yisroel crossing the yam suf.  After klal Yisroel finishes walking through the sea and the Mitzriyim drown, the pasuk says ‘Az yashir Moshe…’(15; 1)Then, Moshe and bnei Yisroel sang shira to Hashem.

There’s a very interesting Medrash which says that Chazal say that Moshe Rabbeinu had sinned towards Hashem with the word Az and then rectified that sin with the same word, Az.

At the end of parshas Shemos, the first time Moshe goes to Pharoah, he is humiliated and degraded. Not only that, but after Moshe is banished from the palace the workload for bnei Yisroel is intensified. Immediately thereafter, the pasuk says ‘So Moshe returned to Hashem and said, why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people.” (5; 22, 23) And Hashem said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.” (6; 1)

Firstly, is this a play on the words Az and Az? What does it mean that since Moshe sinned with this word (Az) he had to rectify it with the same word (Az)?

Secondly, the actual words ‘Az Yashir’ were not said by Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah was informing us at which point klal Yisroel started saying Shira! What is the explanation of this Chazal?

My Rebbi wants to offer the following explanation:

Throughout one’s life there are ups and downs; life is often compared to a roller coaster. There are times when our ruchniyos and/or gashmios are on a high, while at other times they can be on a low, and we stagger. The truth is that whenever something happens to a person, the outcome all depends on their reaction. When a person is at a very low point, he has to be careful not to make any long term decisions. Hopefully, things will spiral upwards in the very near future and he doesn’t want to regret the decisions he made while he was in that state of mind. Yet, on the contrary, when a person is inspired tremendously and is on a spiritual high, he needs to act on that inspiration or he is in jeopardy of losing it as quickly as it came. The worst thing for a person, who is in the midst of a challenging nisayon, is to say ‘this is who I am and this is what my life is about.’ Right now he may be shallow and in a bad situation; but there are moments in a person’s life in which they have to tread water and then there are moments that they need to embrace the situation, in order not to lose the inspiration and to savor the moment.

The word Az is translated to mean ‘then’; it was precisely then, when Moshe returned from Midyan and was sent to Pharaoh, where he ultimately got ridiculed and thrown out of the palace. This caused Klal Yisroel‘s situation to go from bad to worse. Moshe reacted and started asking questions. He said: Hashem, why did you send me here? The whole idea doesn’t seem as if it was going to work out and he felt that he was in a rut. But now, after krias yam suf everything was crystal clear. Klal Yisroel was saying ‘zeh kayli v’anvayhu’; they saw everything. It was at that moment where Moshe felt that high-so he embraced it and reacted by singing shira-he took that moment and used it to his benefit!

For a person to have the ability to take the moment-the moment he is inspired-and allow it to change them, is what turns them into a ‘Moshe.’ It wasn’t the literal word Az, but it was his reaction. The fact that Moshe took that moment and acted on it is what Chazal were referring to.

There’s a famous gemara (avodah zara 17a) regarding reb Elazar ben Durdia. The gemara recounts in detail how there wasn’t a zonah in the world he didn’t visit. When he decided to repent and he saw his pleas were falling on deaf ears, he placed his head in between his knees, realizing the teshuva can only come from him. He began to cry and wept until his soul departed from his body. At that moment a bas kol was heard saying ‘REB Elazar ben Durdia is now been ready for olam haba’.

The gemara continues and say that Rebbi cried when he heard this; he said ‘one can acquire his portion in the world to come in a single moment.’ Asks Rav Elyashav Shlit”a (and many others) is why was Rebbi crying? This should have been the most inspiring moment for anyone? To see a person who lived his whole life doing aveiros and at the time of his death a bas kol calls out and names him “Reb“? This should’ve given Rebbi so much chizuk, why was he crying?

The answer is this same point. Rebbi was crying because he saw how one moment-in a flash-a person can change their lives forever and he understood-how often do these opportunities come around and we pass up on it? How often do we get inspired and allow it to just pass away without grabbing onto it and helping it change us? That is why Rebbi was crying.

We all have moments in our lives but what do we do with it? It’s all in our reactions. A person can react and through that reaction it can be a game changer and they can turn their lives around. We must all strive to internalize those moments by acting upon them. Through the proper reactions we can elevate uorselves to a loftier level that will allow us to improve our daily avodas Hashem.

May we all be zoche.

(Search by: beshalach; shabbos shira; reb elazar ben durdia; It’s all in our reactions; az yashir; reaction on inspiration; lifes ups and downs; taking the moment and acting on it; gemara avoda zara; seizing the moment; not allowing opportunities to pass)

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