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Parshas Mikeitz/Shabbos Chanuka-פרשת מקץ ושבת חנוכה

December 22, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah, Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

In this weeks parsha Yosef is taken out of jail and brought in front of Pharaoh to interpret his dreams.  Yosef interprets them and proceeds to inform Pharaoh of the seven years of abundance and subsequently, the seven years of hunger. As a result, the country must start saving up food lest they run out when the seven years of hunger arrive. Yosef ends off with a suggestion, ‘and now Pharaoh shall seek out a wise and discerning man and appoint him over the land of Egypt’ (41; 33). The loshon Yosef uses is ‘איש נבון וחכם’. The person Pharaoh shall appoint has to be a chacham; a wise man.

What bothers me here is why does the person appointed for such a task have to be a chacham? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if for seven years you will have plenty of food, and immediately following that you will have seven years of hunger, you may want to start saving up food in storage houses-now-for the future. Why do you need a person who’s davka a ‘chacham’? You need a foreman who is able to oversee the project.  Anybody with managerial capabilities would seem fit for this job. Why a chacham?

The gemara in Yoma (35b) says that after 120 years, in the world to come, we will all be asked the following question: Why didn’t you make time for Torah? If the rich say I was pre-occupied with my possessions, they will be answered ‘look at R’ Elazar ben Chursom’. He was extremely wealthy yet he made time to reach great heights in learning. If the poor say they were too busy trying to get food, they will be answered ‘look at Hillel.’ He was the poorest of the poor and yet he became one of the greatest scholars because he made time for learning. If the bad say I was too busy running after my desires, the Beis Din Shel Ma’aleh will answer ‘take a look at Yosef. ‘ He was able to fill his earthly desires, yet with the wife of his master he held himself back and he still had time to learn and become great.

The question here is how did the gemara know that Yosef learned Torah? Where does it say anywhere that he learned Torah in Mitzrayim? Where did the gemarah know this from?

Reb Leib Chasman Zt”L, answers that the gemara ends off by saying that Yosef knew if he was mezanah and caved into his desires the consequences would not end in this world. Yes, he would live with her on this world but he would also be with her in the world to come. (As the gemarah in avoda zora says if a person is mezaneh with a goy she’s bound to him like a dog in the next world). A person who has the ability to see beyond the present and what’s in front of him is a person who is a learned man; a man of Torah. Now we can understand why Yosef told Pharaoh that he would need a chacham.  In order to prepare for the seven years of hunger you need someone who has the ability to see past the present. You can tell a person from today until tomorrow how to store away food and how to ‘plan ahead’; but if times are good it is hard to comprehend. To fully understand and perceive how to plan accordingly, you need to have the ability to see ahead of the present. For that you need a chacham. Yosef knew and understood this and felt that the only way Mitzrayim would get through this, would be by Pharaoh appointing an ‘איש נבון וחכם’.

We live in a day and age when everything is quick and instant. The ‘i’ age. That’s great, but it does have its shortcoming. We do things without thinking. (Or perhaps we can now think things and it will get done through an app, who knows what lies ahead). What we can learn from here though, is that we have to say to ourselves-stop! Think! How will this affect the big picture of our lives? Is it worth it in the long run? Never plan just for the present. Like Yosef, one must always keep the bigger picture in mind.

With this idea in mind, we should be able grow and have the koach to be in full control of our lives. May the light of Chanukah illuminate our desire towards reaching our peak in avodas Hashem until He will allow us the opportunity, in the near future, to once again see the Menorah lit in the Bais Hamikdash, b’karov!

A FREILICHEN CHANUKAH!

(Search by: mikeitz; Shabbos chanuka; reb leib chasman; thinking long term; gemarah in yoma; pharaoh appointing a chacham; being a chacham; seeing past the present; Hillel obligating the poor; R’ Elazar ben Chursom obligating the rich; Yosef obligating the bad/evil)

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Succos 5772-חג הסוכות תשע”ב

October 11, 2011 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

The Yom Tov of Succos is the culmination of the Yomim Noyraim. The mitzvah of lulav is a symbol of our victory in din, akin to someone raising their hands high in victory upon leaving a courthouse in triumph.

Rav Nosson Wachtfogel Zt”l, asks, what connection does Succos have to the yom hadin? There seems to be no connection between the fasting and praying of Yom Kippur and the feasting and joyous atmosphere of Succos.   

The Lakewood Mashgiach, zt”l, gives a beautiful and inspiring explanation.

There is a Gemara that details the terrible yesurim of Rebbi. The gemara says that the yesurim came because of a specific ‘incident’ and it left because of another specific ‘incident’. What was the ‘incident that the gemara is referring to? The gemara states that one day while Rebbi was walking, a small calf which had run away from the slaughterhouse curled up against his leg and crawled under his coat. It seemed as if it was seeking shelter. Rebbi looked at the little calf and said “go…shew….for this is what you were created for.  You have to be slaughtered.” It was because of this incident that he suffered terribly for the rest of his life.

However, the gemara asks “the end result for an animal is to be killed” so what was the terrible sin of Rebbi. In essence he was speaking the truth and doing the ‘proper thing?’

The yesod is as follows: even if a person is undeserving of any hospitality, if he arrives at your doorstop and wants to be taken under your wings, you must show rachamim. There’s a different level of accountability once someone is in your domain; you have to treat him properly and respect him. Indeed the little calf was created to get killed, but not withstanding that fact when he came under the coat of Rebbi, he should have been extra sensitive and showed special pity towards it. Since Rebbi neglected to do that, he suffered terribly for the rest of his life. As Succos follows Yom Kippur, it’s always when we have just finished a day of forgiveness, fasting and judgment and we don’t know what our fate will be.  But we quickly jump and enter into a Succah, which is the house of Hashem. Why? What is the connection? Because no matter what our judgment is, when we’re in the house of Hashem, the baal habayis has to show us mercy even if we’re undeserving. And while we are in the Succah, we can rest assured that we will get that extra special mercy!

Every day of the chag while we’re sitting in the Succah, we should remember idea this and know that when we’re in the house of Hashem he will treat us with his special care. On the flip side, we must behave accordingly because we are in his house; the two go hand in hand. With this I hope we all had an easy and meaningful fast and with the help of Hashem this should be the last yom tov in golus and iy”h next year we should all be in Succos Bais Dovid….in Yerushalayim.

(Search by: succos; rav nosson; rav nosson wachtfogel; having rachmanis; having mercy; rebbi’s suffering; yoma; the connection between yom kippur and succos; the house of Hashem; the Lakewood mashgiach; emerging victorious out of court)

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Yom Kippur 5772-יום כיפור תשע”ב

October 6, 2011 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva writes, ‘What is a true teshuva? First, one must stop doing the aveira, then remove it from his thoughts and lastly accept in his heart to never do it again. Finally, regret what you did’. He ends off by saying, ‘and Hashem himself has to testify on behalf of the person-that he will never do it again’; meaning, a person has to be so adamant about never committing the sin again that Hashem can testify on his behalf. That is how strong his desire to never do that aveira again must be.

The question that bothers me is that there are unfortunately very common aveiros that people commit daily. If the Rambam is stating that real teshuva is when one sincerely regrets his acts to the extent that Hashem can testify for him-this seems to imply if he were to ever do that aveira again, his original teshuva was not accepted? That testimonial sounds very frightening. It would come out you that one would never be forgiven. Can it be that no one is ever forgiven except for the person who never ever did that same aveira again?

The gemara in Rosh Hashana (16b) says ‘the Ribono Shel Olam judges a person according to how he is acting right now.’ The gemara brings proof from the Torah from Yishmael. Rashi quotes a Medrash “the Angels in heaven asked Hashem “why save Yishmael if he will only destroy your grandchildren in future generations?” Hashem replied “Right now, is he a tzadik or a rasha?” The Angels responded “He is a tzadik.” Said Hashem, “I judge the (people in the) world in the present state that they are in right now.”

Rabbeinu Chananel brings a Yerushalmi which says that when Hashem judges a person he doesn’t ask if he was pure and straight, but rather is he pure and straight right now.

Explains the Mahabit (in Sefer Bais Elokim-Sha’ar haTeshuva) that when Hashem judges us, it’s a special chesed for klal yisroel. It’s a day in which in of itself is holy and Hashem says to us ‘My children, I am coming down to judge you.  And you should know, that I will judge you by your behavior on that day.’ What’s in your heart right now? What do you want to be right now? How are you right now? The Chayei Adam uses the same language as the Rambam but he adds two very important words, which are: ‘b’osah sha’ah.’- at that time. Hashem, with his extraordinary power of chesed, judges us by how we act on Yom Kippur itself.

The moment a person is standing in shul-and beating his chest-is the moment that a person is on a level that if he were to remain on that level all year long and an aveira were to come his way, he would be able to overcome his yetzer hara and avoid sinning; that is ba’asher hu shum. Climb the ladder; strive to get to that level; you’re then a ba’al teshuva. Hashem is able to testify at that moment that you’ll never do the aveira again. (If a person does indeed sin after that, the reason must be because he’s not on that level anymore. Of course his teshuva was accepted but he slipped from his level.) That’s the avodah of Yom Kippur; to push ourselves to get to that level.

If we were to take this a step further we can ask ourselves, is this really true? All a person needs is to be on that level for one minute for his teshuva to be accepted? How is that possible and how does that work?

To answer this let us ask a basic question: how does teshuva work? Ramchal answers this by asking, what if someone kills a person but later regrets it? Does his regret really work? The person is still dead. Just because he regrets it does not undo what was done. How does a person undo something if it can’t be reversed?

The chiddush is that once a person removes and regrets the desire that he had at the time of the act-we view it as an action that he didn’t desire. If you’re able to remove the willingness and consent from the action, you’re in essence removing your will from the action and you just disassociated yourself from this action! Once a person gets to that level-even for a minute-what you have accomplished was that you removed your will from the action-and since you’re not associated with it anymore we can now accept your teshuva!

When dealing with teshuva one has to try to distance themselves from the actions they have done. That is done by taking away the will; even for a minute-if you get to the madrega that you regret it so strong that Hashem can testify on your behalf-you have achieved removing your will from the action.

One should acknowledge that it’s a fabulous chesed that Hashem only judges us on this day, at this time- the time we are in shul-and not any other time of the year-and He allows us to be judged when everyone’s mind and hearts are set on doing the right thing. A person has to work on himself from the beginning of Yom Kippur to the end of Yom Kippur and try to climb the ladder to attain the level that if he were to maintain that madrega all year, he would not commit a sin. If one does that he can be sure that his teshuva will be valid and acceptable.

Wishing all my readers, and all of klal Yisroel a Gmar Chasim Tova & a Gut Gebentched Yur.

(Search by: Yom Kippur; teshuva; Ramchal; Mahabit; Mabit; Gemara Rosh Hashana; removing the desire from the aveira; ridding the will from the action; chayei adam; rabbeinu chananel; yerushalmi; attaining a loftier level; Hashem judging us in our current state; Hashems infinite kindness towards bnei Yisroel)

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Rosh Hashana 5772-ראש השנה תשע”ב

September 27, 2011 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

The Brisker Rav relates the following parable:

There was a man who earned his livelihood by smuggling illegal goods across the border from one country to another. He would have customers in different cities, that he would sell to once he got there. How did he actually transport the goods? He would hire an unassuming wagon driver, load up the back and settle down for the journey. The smuggler himself knew exactly what he was carrying and knew the repercussions of what he was doing. He understood he was committing a crime.  A few hours before they would even reach the border he would begin to get extremely edgy and nervous, for he understood what was at stake. The wagon driver, on the other hand, had no reason to be nervous. As they approached the actual border the wagon driver would get a little nervous, naturally, for there were times when you can encounter a nasty border guard who could cause problems if he so desires. The only one, who had no fear at all, as they approached the border, was the horses. They were oblivious to what was going on, had no clue what they were carrying and unaware of the ramifications that could have existed should they get caught.

Says the Brisker Rav, people who understand the magnitude of the Yom HaDin-are nervous for months. They understand the severity of what can occur. The ones who don’t really have a complete grasp of what’s going on only get anxious a day two before. The only ones who don’t get nervous at all are the horses-the people who have no inkling of what is at stake.

There’s a frightening Medrash in parshas V’zos haBracha (ois 6). The Medrash states ‘there are ten pasukim in the Torah that refers to the death of Moshe Rabeinu. It teaches us that even though the Torah alludes to the death of Moshe ten times; his fate had not been sealed until the Beis Din Hagadol saw ’shehaya kal b’eini Moshe.’ The aveira that Moshe committed was ‘light’ in his eyes. Moshe says to the Ribono Shel Olam ‘klal Yisroel did many more aveiros than I ever did and each time they sinned I was able to daven to you for them and you forgave them. But I commit one aveira -just one-and I’m punished so severely and I can’t be forgiven?’ It was at that point that Hashem swore by His heavenly name that Moshe would not merit entering eretz Yisroel.’

There are certain times when we sin, and we have an attitude of ‘nu nu, everyone does it’ or ‘I’m no worse than him.’ What we don’t realize is that the attitude of ‘no fear’ can sometimes carry more weight than the actual aveira itself. Man was created with a yetzer hara whose job it is to see that we commit as many aveiros as possible and ‘live life to the fullest.’ But he doesn’t stop there; he tries to get you to make light of it and say ‘you’re not the only one that does this. It’s not the end of the world.’ As rough of a battle that one may have with the yetzer hara-even in a not so severe situation-one must be careful not to make light of it as by doing so will only add to the severity of it-and possibly outweigh the sin.

One who approaches the Yom Hadin without the proper fear and understanding of what is at stake-that itself can sometimes be worse than the actual aveira. The opposite can be true too-a person who works on himself to develop a fear of what’s at stake and of what’s about to happen-that pachad hadin (fear of judgment) itself, says Reb Yisroel Salanter, can actually save someone from a negative judgment.

We find this idea in the Mishna Berura (siman תקפד ס’ק א’) which says ‘even though we all go into Rosh Hashana hoping to come out in favor of a good judgment, nevertheless, one must approach with fear, and tremble from the intensity of the din-and in that zechus we will emerge victorious.’

Wishing everyone a כתיבה וחתימה טובה and a שנת גאולה שנת רפואה ושנת ישועה. May we merit the coming of Moshiach this year, speedily-in our days.

לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו לאלתר לחיים לטובים ולשלום!

(Search by: Brisker rav; rosh hashana; yom hadin; mishna berura; wagon driver; smuggling illegal goods; having a ‘no fear’ attitude; attitude outweighing the aveira; moshe rabeinu’s death; vzos habracha; medrash in vzos habracha; reb yisroel salanter)

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Shavous 5771-חג השבועות תשע”א

June 7, 2011 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

(Reprinted)

It is well known that one of the highlights of Shavous is that the entire klal Yisroel learns the entire night until the morning. The question can be asked, why? What is the source of this minhag? The Magen Avraham says the reason is, because klal Yisorel overslept the morning of matan Torah and in order to make up for it we stay up every year on that night to rectify our wrongdoing.  However, if you look in parshas Yisro you will notice that the loshon used there is a bit different. The pasuk (19:1) says ‘it was the third month since bnei Yisroel left Egypt and on that day they “came” to the Sinai desert’. Whenever the Torah mentions that bnei Yisroel reached their destination the pasuk usually said ‘vayachanu’ or a similar loshon of settling.  Why here did the Torah write ba’u, which means ‘arrives’? The Ramban answers that since bnei Yisroel were so excited for matan Torah they didn’t have time to setup their tents; to setup shop. If this is so, then how do these two pshatim, the Magen Avraham and the Ramban coincide?

Rav Chatzkel Levenstein, ZT”L answers with a powerful thought.

Inspiration is an emotion that passes with time; it comes and it goes. When a person is inspired in order for it to last one has to make it tangible, they need to act on it. A person has to make it into something concrete by either making a kabalah or doing something physical with it. Klal Yisroel was extremely inspired at that moment of reaching midbar Sinai but the actual giving over of the Torah to bnei Yisroel wasn’t until three days later. By that time the inspiration had already evaporated because they did nothing with it and they ultimately lost it.

There’s a famous gemarah (avodah zara 17a) regarding reb Elazar ben Durdia. The gemarah recounts there wasn’t a zonah in the world he didn’t visit. Once, he heard of a certain zonah overseas that charged an exorbitant amount for her services; a purse of dinars. He packed the money and traveled across seven seas to meet her. When they were together, she blew a small breath of air from her mouth and said ‘just as this current of air cannot retrieve its place of origin so too in heaven they will not accept elazar ben durdia for teshuva‘. At that moment Elazar ben Durdia called out to the mountains, the heaven, the earth, the sun, moon, stars and constellations asking all of them individually to help him and beseech mercy from above on his behalf; he wanted to repent. (The gemarah goes into more detail) When he saw his pleas falling on deaf ears he placed his head in between his knees, realizing the teshuva can only come from him, and began to weep. He 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 gemarah 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.’ The obvious question here, asked by 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.

On Shavous night, like we mentioned earlier, we have a minhag to stay up. But we’re not just staying up to be misaken that we overslept. We have to be able to be misaken the fact that we lost that excitement; that lost chance. How does one do so? By finding something that excites him in Torah, taking that moment and internalizing it.

The pasuk in Shir HaShirim (7:2) says מה יפו פעמיך בנעלים-which can be loosely translated to mean ‘your footsteps are so lovely in shoes’. However, the gemarah says it refers to ‘how beautiful it is that klal Yisroel comes to be oleh regel for Hashem. Asks Rav Shimon Schwab ZT”L if its talking by oleh regel then why would it use a loshon of בנעלים? We know that when one is standing in the beis hamikdash he is not allowed to wear shoes?

He answers that it’s not pshat that Hashem is proud of us when we’re there in the beis hamikdash but rather when we are leaving on our way home; when we’re wearing our shoes again a day after yom tov or a week after yom tov and he sees what we have taken with us from that yom tov! This is also pshat in the beracha in shemoneh esrei that we say on yom tov, V’haseainu. We ask Hashem to load us up to be able to carry us through the year until the next yom tov.

May we all have an inspiring and uplifting yom tov and may we all be zoche to take something from this yom tov; something that was michazek us and to hold onto it throughout the whole year until next year when we will be in yerushalayim together with Moshiach tzidkeinu b’mheira v’yameinu amen!

(Search by: shavous; avodah zara; rebbi crying; rav chatzkel levenstein; rav shimon schwab; getting inspired; reb elazar ben durdia; acting on the inspiration you’ve received; making the inspirational tangible; passing up opportunities; passing up on being inspired; lost chances; magen avraham; ramban; matan torah; being inspired; kala yirsoel oversleeping; staying up all night; shir hashirim; taking the inspiration with you; v’haseainu)

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Pesach 5771-פסח תשע”א

April 17, 2011 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

Who knows one? As the Seder is winding down, and we continuously struggle to fend off the fatigue that has been creeping up on us all night, the final, yet still a most integral part of the Haggadah begins. With the conclusion of the Seder we would naturally expect a lofty and uplifting climax, some sort of “grand finale” that could enable us to preserve and internalize the spirituality of the night. Instead we encounter some seemingly strange lyrics, a countdown of numbers related to various icons in our religion. They inherently beg for some sort of explanation. Though they were undoubtedly composed and based upon the sacred foundations of the hidden Torah and have been taught by the ancient, accepted Mekubalim to their Talmidim, the simple Jew may perceive these words as seemingly meaningless poetry or childish parables and songs.  What could have been the Baal Hahaggada’s intention in inserting these songs at the conclusion of this glorious night?

The Yom Tov of Pesach commemorates Yetzias Mitzrayim and the birth of our nation, beginning with the birth pangs of the ruthless labor we were subjected to by the villainous Mitzriyim, and climaxing with the glorious redemption that distinguished our Master’s mightiness throughout the universe and crowned us as the chosen Nation.  Countless numbers of Mitzvos have been instituted to serve as reminders of Yetzias Mitzrayim in an effort to retain and convey the awesome miracles that occurred, thus giving testimony to the existence and strength of our Father in heaven. So much so that the Mitzvah that is considered to be the most fundamental and integral to our Nation is directly linked to Yetzias Mitzrayim. The first Dibrah of the Aseres Hadibros, voiced by Hakodosh Baruch Hu Alone was the Mitzvah of Emuna. And in the midst of the commandment dedicated to ingrain in our hearts and minds that all that occurs in the world is meticulously coordinated by The One Above, we are reminded of Yetzias Mitzrayim, clearly showing that our essence which is Emunah, begins and ends with Yetzias Mitzrayim.

The Seder night has been intentionally patterned with obligations and customs to reminisce and relive our most monumental redemption. We attempt to portray and convey to our families the harsh and ruthless predicament that our forefathers suffered. From the Matzo and the bitter Marror, to the saltwater and the charoises we desperately seek to comprehend even minimally, the extreme brutalities they constantly confronted. Grasping this aspect of the Seder is vital, for ones appreciation of freedom is limited entirely to one’s perception of slavery. The Rambam altering the Mishna’s wording slightly writes; “in every generation one is obligated to portray oneself as if he had “just been” redeemed from Mitzrayim.” The experience of the Seder night is not ancient history but it is something that has happened to us, tonight. We may now have shed some light on the intriguing poem “Who knows one” at our Seders finale. Following our extensive efforts to utilize the evening’s opportunities of attaining new heights in our belief, and deriving a keen spiritual perspective by way of virtually experiencing the great miracles of Yetzias Mitzrayim, we are expected to perceive the world in a more spiritual light. We naturally assume, without contemplation, an overseas trip will be by means of an airplane. People of spiritual heights upon hearing the number one can naturally contemplate nothing but Hashem. The lasting message of the Seder to its now loftier participants with their Emuna enhanced perspectives is to see Hashems hand even in things as mundane as numbers. One is Hashem, two are Luchos etc. The world must appear in a different light to freshly inspired Ballei Emuna.

May we, Balei Emuna, be zocheh to see the world in the light of Hashem.

Wishing all my readers and all of klal Yisroel a Chag Kosher v’Sameach and a happy and healthy Pesach.

(Search by: Pesach; Rambam; exodus from Egypt; the seder; emunah)

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Parshas Tzav/Zachar-פרשת צו ופרשת זכור

March 17, 2011 // Posted in Weekly Parsha Divrei Torah, Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

The minhag on Purim is that during the reading of the megilah, certain parts are read with a sad and cheerless tune; the same tune that is used when we read Megilas Eicha. Amongst them are ‘v’kaylim m’kaylim shonim’ and ‘asher heglah m’yerushalaim im yichunya melech yehuda’…..

On the surface we can comprehend the second pasuk since it depicts the beginning of the galus. The first pasuk, however, does not. If this is so, then why do we read it in that tune? The gemarah answers that it is also associated with the galus, since the pasuk is referring to the kaylim of the Bais Hamikdash.  Achashveirosh had the audacity to use the vessels of the Bais Hamikdash for his personal pleasure; we therefore read those words in the niggun of Eicha.

They say over, that in the spirit of Purim, someone asked the Satmar Rebbe why we lain these pasukim in Eicha tune? The answer given was that we wanted to ensure that the litvaks would be happy on Purim. He asked further, if so, why don’t we lein the whole megilah in that tune? He answered; ‘We don’t want things to get out of control.’ Although there are those yichidim that bring their milk crates and crocs to megilah reading for those few pasukim that we read in the tune of Eicha, this custom has yet to be universally accepted : - )

Rav Hutner, Zt”l, in the Pachad Yitzchok, asks a striking question. The pasuk earlier says ‘v’es yikar tiferes gedulaso’ which chazal learn from there, that Achashveirosh himself wore the bigdei kehuna. Based on what we said earlier, shouldn’t these words also be read in the tune of Eicha?

The Ba’alei Mussar answer with an interesting thought.  At the party, the bigdei kehuna were only worn by Achashveirosh; he stood up and tried to make himself grand by looking like the Kohen Gadol. On the other hand, the kaylim were not only used by Achashveirosh, they were also used by all of klal Yisroel. True, it was very painful to see Achashveirosh wearing the begadim. But, the ramifications of this aveirah was much more severe, with the fact that the yidden themselves were coerced into using the holy kaylim of the Bais Hamikdash. A goy can do an aveira and a yid can do a similar aveira. But the collateral damage is different because a gentile is not empowered with a level of holiness and destiny as that of a yid.

In Nefesh Hachaim, Rav Chaim Volozhin Zt”l, says that when a yid does an aveira in his mind the destruction he causes is worse than the destruction that the evil Titus caused the time he brought a zonah in the Kodesh Kodoshim .The Kodesh Kodoshim was the holiest place on earth and z’nus is one of the worst aveirous chamuros a person can ever transgress. How can we say that an aveira in your mind is worse?! This begs for an explanation…

In Parshas Ki Sisa, after Moshe Rabeinu witnesses the Cheg HaEgel, he smashed the Luchos. At the end of his life, this act is listed as one of the greatest feats. Why? What was the great ma’aleh that Moshe did when he broke the Luchos? Rav Moshe Feinstein Zt”l says that Moshe Rabeinu was teaching klal Yisroel that when they do aveiros-don’t think you’re just doing something dreadful to yourself. When a yid does an aveira it doesn’t just affect him, it wreaks havoc on the entire klal Yisroel. A small aveira of a Yid causes more damage that the appalling acts of a goy. This was the lesson Moshe was teaching klal Yisroel.

This is rationale why only the pasukim that describe the aveira of klal Yisroel is when we read it in the niggun of Eicha, because that is factual destruction. Being that klal Yisroel is empowered with their actions they have the ability to build or demolish; create or destroy. A misdeed of a goy cannot reach the heights of a yids aveira.

As we approach Purim we should realize that the opposite is true, we should not underestimate the power of Mitzvos. As we are giving Tzedakah or eating the Seudah on Purim, realize that we are doing the will of Hashem and it is influencing the entire world.

Wishing all my readers a Freilichen Purim and a happy and joyous Yom Tov!

(Search by: Purim; baalei mussar; rav hunter; your aveiros affecting the world; Rav Chaim Volozhin; Achashveirosh wearing the bigdei kehuna; klal yisroel using the kaylim of the bais hamikdash; Rav Moshe Feinstein; leining megilah like we lein Eicha)

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Succos 5771-סוכות תשע”א

September 22, 2010 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

The Tur, in siman 417, writes in the name of his brother (Reb Yehuda), that the three yomim tovim correspond to the three Avos: Avraham symbolizes Pesach, Yitzchok Shavuos and Yaakov Succos. He quotes a Pasuk in parshas Vayishlach (33; 17) that says, “And Yaakov journeyed to Succoth and built himself a house, and for his livestock he made shelters. It seems a bit puzzling that the mere fact of Yaakov building shelters for his cattle is significant to the extent that we associate the yom tov of Succos with it. What is the meaning of these Succos that Yaakov built, and why are they so special that they are viewed as the source for Succos?

Secondly, most of us are aware of the fact that the Succos is intended to remind us of the ananei hakovod, the clouds of glory. These wondrous clouds enveloped us and protected us from the usual dangers and inconveniences associated with traveling through a desert. Yet, we are also aware of the other nissim that accompanied us through the midbar such as the be’er and the Maan. Why are we not celebrating and commemorating the other nissim that we benefitted from in the Midbar?

The Mabit offers an amazing insight which may help us appreciate the Tur as well. When the Ribono Shel Olam tells the yidin to journey through the desert, a place where there is no food and no water, he had to provide them with these basic staples. How are they to survive out there without these basic necessities? However, the ananei hakavod were not ‘necessary’ for our basic survival. Nevertheless, Hashem gave it to us anyways due to the extra compassion He had-just as a father pity’s his son. It is for this extra showing of love that we celebrate by sitting in our Succos.

In the aforementioned pasuk, quoted by the Tur in parshas Vayishlach, (33; 17) it says, “And Yaakov journeyed to Succoth and built himself a house, and for his livestock he made shelters; therefore he called the name of the place Succoth”. The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh raises an obvious question. What is the great significance of Yaakov building shelter for his cattle that they even named a city in its honor? Says the Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh, ‘up until now, we don’t find that anyone built a dwelling for animals.’ Yaakov had an abundance of pity on his animals, and he took action that was unheard of in his time. He demonstrated an exceptional sensitivity to his livestock and treated them with extra care. He taught us that when caring for others, even animals, one must try and go beyond the call of duty with their care. This was something entirely new and extraordinary on Yaakov Avinu’s part; he went above and beyond the accepted standard and built shelters for his cattle.

Now we can see the connection that Yaakov Avinu has with Succos.  Yaakov excelled at providing care beyond the basics. And perhaps, it was in this zechus that we were the beneficiaries of the Ribono Shel Oilam’s extra kindness and chessed by providing us with the ananei hakovod, that we celebrate on Succos.

This could also be why Succos is right after Yom Kippur. We’ve just finished asking Hashem for life and sustenance, yet we have to understand that He gives us much more than the life and sustenance we simply asked for.

Based on this pshat one can infer that the theme of this yom tov can be ‘going that extra mile’, just as Yaakov Avinu practiced with his cattle. With this thought in mind, as we enter the yom tov of Succos, may we all try to go above the call of duty and go the extra mile when we help a friend, family member and in our observance of all mitzvos! May this year bring us continued hatzlacha, in all aspects, and may we merit that in the zechus of all of us going above the ‘norm’, Hashem in return, bring the Moshiach speedily in our days. Amen.

(Search by: succos; mabit; tur; going the extra mile; being compassionate to animals; ohr hachaim; avos corresponding to yom tov; connecting Yaakov to succos; the connection Yaakov has to succos)

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Yom Kippur 5771-יום כיפור תשע”א

September 17, 2010 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

When Chazal describe the mood of the yamim noraim, they portray the scene of a scale. On one side the scale is weighing a person’s mitzvos and on the other side his aveiros.  The simple explanation is that one side weighs a person’s good deeds, while the other side weighs a person’s misdeeds. Whichever way the scale tips is the way that person chose to conduct himself the previous year. The scale of a beinini is even; both his good deeds and his misdeeds are equal.

The apparent question is, does Hashem really need a scale to see how many mitzvos or aveiros a person has done? If a person has four quarters sprawled out on a table, would he need to count each individual quarter out loud to confirm that it totals a dollar? Certainly not; the same is true by Hashem. He knows everything, so why the need for the scale?

The Beis HaLevi answers with an idea for all of us to think about.

The pasuk in Koheles (7; 29) says “Hashem made man straight and they sought many cheshbonos.” Rav Chaim Volozhiner expounds on this and explains as follows. At the time Hashem created Adam he was created straight; he had no inclination, from his own perspective, to do any bad. He was able to ‘choose’ bad, but had no desire to do any bad. However, when the snake seduced him into committing a sin, Adam was then infused with an influence from an outside source (i.e. yetzer hara). The gemarah in Shabbos (146) says that from that moment on, man was instilled with a natural ‘inside’ inclination that draws us to do aveiros.

On the other hand, we also have a neshoma that pushes us to act properly. Therefore, a person is born with two equal forces each pulling in the opposite direction.  As a person grows in this world, he has the ability to create inclinations; if he portrays good actions then he strengthens the yetzer tov thereby creating a desire to do what is good; or vice versa is also true.

Through his actions a person has the ability to create new inclinations. Says the Beis HaLevi, this is p’shat in the scale. When the scale is leaning towards one side it doesn’t necessarily mean that this person did more mitzvos. Rather, it shows which way a person is naturally inclined to bend! Is this the type of person who is a ruchniyos type of person and who looks to help others and learn or is he chas v’shalom, a person who doesn’t care about others and always has excuses why he can’t learn? Which side is the scale tipping? A person can create a new ‘tevah’; a new natural desire-through his actions. A beinini is a person who is drawn in both directions and has an equal inclination to do good and bad. On Yom Kippur, a person is judged by which way his natural ‘tevah’ draws him.

The Rambam and Rabbeinu Yona write that a person has to have charata, have disgust and pain when doing teshuva for his sins.

There are two questions of the Rambam and Rabbeinu Yona. Firstly, why does one require feeling pain? Secondly, what type of pain should one have?

The answer is that through this pain and remorse, one will have removed his natural draw to sin, because he views his old ways as repulsive and disgusting. When something is disgusting you won’t go near it; causing a person to stay further away from sinning.  The day of Yom Kippur is so special that the moment a person says that he has charata, Hashem cleanses him. As the pasuk says ‘lifnei Hashem teet-haru’. That is how special the day is.

Part of our avodah on Yom Kippur is to try and remove our natural draw that causes us to sin; to get rid of our inner yetzer hara. We start by asking Hashem to forgive us and by admitting our flaws and showing remorse to the Ribono Shel Olam. Then He starts by cleansing us and we hope and have full faith that He will ultimately be mechaper us-bringing us back to our original state-when we had no inner draw to do bad. On such a level we can be sure that we will be able to focus totally on serving Hashem in the Bayis shlishi. May Hashem grant this to us this coming year together with Moshiach b’mheira v’yameinu, Amen.

Wishing everyone a Gmar Chasima Tova and a gut gebentched yur.

(search by: yom kippur; removing ones natural cause to sin; beis halevi; rav chaim volozhin; koheles; rambam; rabbeinu yona; tipping the scale; which way are you inclined to bend; avodah of yom kippur; snake seducing Adam; creating ppositive inclinations)

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Rosh Hashana 5771-ראש השנה תשע”א

September 7, 2010 // Posted in Yomim Tovim (Tags: ) |  No Comments

Did you ever think about why Rosh Hashana comes before Yom Kippur? All agree that Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, when we get judged on all our previous actions, and Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, when we are forgiven for all our sins. Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to get pardoned from our sins first and THEN go to trial? Why is it that we keep the current order and do not make Yom Kippur before Rosh Hashana?

Another interesting question to ponder is that the first two days of Rosh Hashana have another name; they are also the first two days of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. Yet, we find no mention of a chait or vidui in our Rosh HaShana davening. It doesn’t seem like we’re doing teshuva. It’s the first two days of an opportunity for us to repent and it seems as if we are passing up on it. What seems to be a logical explanation?

The gemarah in kedushin (81) speaks about a woman who makes a neder, a vow. The Torah notes that if she was to make a vow and her husband was to nullify it, even if she didn’t know that it was nullified, or she says ‘I don’t care’ and she breaks her promise, she still needs to receive a kapara from Hashem - ‘vaHashem yislach la’. The gemarah wonders about this and asks why she needs atonement, if there is no misdeed?  The gemarah answers, her intention was to sin and she did not know that her husband had nullified her vow. Since she thought she was sinning, she requires atonement. The gemarah continues and makes a kal v’chomer: If someone who thinks they sinned has to beg for forgiveness from Hashem, how much more forgiveness must one ask from Hashem for ACTUALLY sinning?

However, the above gemarah still needs some clarification because there was still no sin committed. So why then, would she need a kaparah?

R’ Elchonon Wasserman, Zt”l quotes the Chofetz Chaim who offers the following novel idea.

Every mitzvah is comprised of two elements. The first is known as tikkun-fixing the world; building up the world through good deeds. The second is known as rotzon Hashem- by you doing a mitzvah you are fulfilling the will of Hashem. Says Reb Elchonon that aveiros are also comprised of two elements; the exact opposite composition of a mitzvah. The first element is known as mikalkel-a person is causing destruction to the world by sinning. The second, as mirida-rebelling; rebelling against Hashem.

What the gemarah is saying is that when a person makes the mental decision to sin he has in essence caused destruction to the world. In order for him to fix it, they need tikkun-which comes about through mitzvos. How does one fix the fact that he rebelled against Hashem? By being mamlech Hashem; by saying that everything I do is for Hashem, like a slave who serves his master so too I am serving Hashem! Why? Because He is the king and I follow his command. This is pshat in being mamlech Hashem on Rosh Hashana.

We stated that an aveira consists of two elements; therefore, teshuva has to address these elements too because the purpose of teshuva is to rectify the elements of rebelling and destroying the world. How do we do that? Firstly, we’re mamlech Hashem. We confess and say that we rebelled; we’re sorry and are working to reaffirm our commitment to Him. This takes care of the element of rebelling, which we have with every single sin. Secondly, we have to do teshuva. We ask Hashem to forgive us for what we have done wrong and through our begging for forgiveness we fixed the element of kilkul, destroying the world, which is the second element found in every aveira.

A Rebbi of mine mentioned to me, that in last weeks parsha (vayelech 31; 18) Hashem tells Moshe what will happen to klal Yisroel after he dies. “They will stray from me and they will break the covenant they made with me. I will be angryt at them and I will hide my face from them. They will become prey and evil will encounter them. On that day it will be said ‘is it not because my God is not in my midst (and that’s why this is happening to us?)”. The pasuk continues and says ‘v’anochi hastir astir panai bayom hahu’- And I will surely have concealed my face from them [for the evil they have done; for they have turned to gods of others]“.

The Ramban notes that bnei Yisroel sinned against Hashem and even before doing teshuva they realized they erred. They recognized the void in their midst was because they betrayed Hashem. It seems from this Ramban that the beginning of every teshuva is recognizing that you rebelled against Hashem and that you have to rectify it. How?  By being mamlech Him. This is the reason why we have Rosh Hashana prior to Yom Kippur. First, we are mamlech Hashem, to fix the rebellion we had against Him and then we take care of the kilkul, the destruction, by asking forgiveness from Hashem which is on Yom Kippur.

With this thought in mind I wish all my readers a K’siva V’chasima Tova and a gut gebentched yur. May we all have a year filled with nachas, gezunt, and an abundance of parnassah. We should have all have our health, gutta kinder and the ability to excel in our limud HaTorah. May we merit hearing the shofar shel Moshiach speedily, in our days.

כתיבה וחתימה טובה

(Search by: Rosh Hashana; rav elchonon wasserman; chofetz chaim; teshuva; Yom Kippur; reb ari; being mamlech Hashem; kedushin; kaparah; tikkun; mirida; kilkul; ramban)

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