Parashas Vayigash

I'd like to start with an expression of thanks to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as this week apparently marks the one year anniversay of this blog. Baruch shehechiyanu v'kimanu, v'higianu lazman hazeh. If anyone has been inspired by any of the thoughts here, I am grateful to Hashem for allowing me to be the vehicle for that inspiration. I am also grateful to you, dear reader, who actually takes the time to read my musings.

In this weeks’ parashah, Yosef, Viceroy of Egypt, reveals his identity to his brothers. As he sends them back to Canaan to bring Yaakov and their families down to Egypt, he admonishes them “אַל תִּרְגְּזוּ בַּדָּרֶךְ, do not quarrel along the way.”

Rashi explains that the simple understanding of this statement is that Yosef was worried (“she’haya do’eg”) that the brothers might quarrel among themselves, blaming one another for his sale; accusing one another of having gossiped about him, leading to his becoming hated. Yosef therefore cautioned them not to argue, for this was all part of a Divine Plan.

Why would their internal dispute be a source of worry to Yosef? How would that affect him?

There are different reasons that people seek to resolve disputes.

There are those who simply want to move past their disagreements to live in peace and harmony, without the stress and challenges of conflict.

Others are prepared to forego their legitimate gripes against others in order that the Heavenly Court will be more forgiving toward them.

Then there are those who are more selfless, and who are committed to avoid or resolve discord as a matter principle, because they recognize the wrongness of disharmony and just want no part of it.

Others, however, are on a higher level.

Dovid Hamelech tells us: “...יִרְאַת ד' אֲלַמֶּדְכֶם... בַּקֵּשׁ שָׁלוֹם וְרָדְפֵהוּ; …I will teach you Fear of Hashem: Who is the man who wants life?...He seeks peace and purses it.” (Tehillim 34:12, 15)

For the person who fears Hashem, it is not enough to “seek peace” in his own life, he also “pursues peace” between others. The goal of such a person is universal peace and harmony, as Chazal (Berachos 64a) tell us “Torah scholars increase peace in the world,” i.e., among everyone.

Yosef’s words offer us a glimpse into of the purity of his motivations.

He was committed to increasing peace. Thus, he was worried that now that he and his brothers had buried the hatchet, they may get into a fight among themselves. Resolving his own issues with them by engendering a new conflict would be self-defeating. This is why he implored them to maintain peace among themselves.

Unfortunately, the resolution of one fight often leads to recriminations against others. That is not what Hashem wants. This parashah shows us what the true Torah approach is.

“לֹא מָצָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כְּלִי מַחֲזִיק בְּרָכָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלָּא הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, ד' עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן ד' יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם, Hashem found no vessel that holds blessing for the Jewish Nation, only peace, for it says: May Hashem give strength to His Nation, may Hashem bless His Nation with peace.” (Ukztin 3:12)

May we all maintain and promote peace and harmony, and may Hashem fill our “vessel of peace” with blessings for the entire Nation, and may he bring the ultimate geulah, when there will be “neither hunger, nor war, nor jealousy or discord” (Rambam Hil Melachim 12:5).

Gut Shabbos.

Chanukah / Parashas Mikeitz

There is a well known disagreement between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel (Shabbos 21b) regarding how many lights are lit each night of Chanukah. Beis Shammai maintains that eight lights are lit on the first night and that one light fewer is lit each subsequent night, while Beis Hillel maintains that we begin with one light and add and additional light each day. One reason for this is that Beis Shammai follows the model of the offerings brought over the festival of Succos, where the number of cows brought as offerings was diminished each day (13 cows were offered the first day, 12 on the second day, etc.); Hillel follows the rule that “we go up holiness, and do not go down.”

Chazal teach us (Beitzah 16a) that Shammai and Hillel also had different approaches to Shabbos preparations. Whenever in the Shammai would find a good food, he would purchase it for Shabbos. If he later found a better item, he would buy the better item for Shabbos and eat the first one. Hillel, on the other hand, “all of whose actions were for the sake of Heaven” taught “baruch Hashem yom yom, bless Hashem every day,” and he purchased his Shabbos supplies only when he needed them.

Perhaps these two disagreements are related.

What relationship does Beis Shammai see between the lights of Chanukah and the offers of Succos?

Over the course of Succos, 70 cows were brought as offerings, one for each of the nations of the world. We are told to diminish the number each day as an omen for the ultimate demise of those nations (see Rashi to Bamdbar 29:18).

Chanukah is the last festival to have been established. Prophecy had ceased. Even as the Nation lived in its own land, it did so under the dominion of others. The sefarim explain that Chanukah was the Yom Tov that was to carry the Jews through the long and bitter Exile that was to come, the Exile we experience to this day.

Shammai lived his entire week working for Shabbos. He did not live the weekday as a weekday, but as a means toward an end: Shabbos, the day of me’ein Olam Habah, a bit of the World to Come. He views the celebration of Chanukah similarly – we live in Exile for the purpose of hastening its end. We start with eight light, and we diminish them, our function is to end the galus.

Hillel, on the other hand, asserted that we “bless Hashem every day.” While we anticipate and look forward to Shabbos, we must bless Hashem for the weekdays as well, and we must seek to make the most of them. Similarly, Chanukah marks what Hashem has given us now, even as we are in galus. Of course we pine for the end of this exile, but while we are hear we must add holiness every day.

Shabbos Chanukah generally corresponds to Parashas Mikeitz. In Parashas Vayeishev, the prelude to Chanukah –and continuing through this week’s parashah – we find that in every difficult circumstance, Yosef makes the most of what he has. Certainly he thought of his father and reuniting with him, but until that could happen, he lived baruch Hashem yom yom, focusing on sanctifying Hashem’s Name in his current circumstances.

May we all live each day to the fullest, thanking Hashem for whatever mission he has given us for that day, and may we soon merit the end of our galus.

Gut Shabbos and a freilichen, lichtigen Chanukah.

Parashas Vayeishev

This week's parashah concludes with correctly Yosef interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh's Chief Butler and Chief Baker.

The Butler had a vision of himself squeezing grapes into the cup of Pharaoh and placing the cup into the king's hand. Yosef explained that this foretold that the man would be reinstated to his position.

 

 

The Baker had seen himself with baskets on his head, the top one filled with the special pastries he would serve Pharaoh, and birds were eating from the baskets. Yosef explained this dream to mean that  the Baker would be hanged.

 

Many explanations have been given for how one dream indicated the restoration of the person's former stature while the other indicated he would be killed,

 

Some years ago (I think it was in 1977), Rabbi Moshe Weitman zichrono levrachah, founder of Torah Academy for Girls in Far Rockaway, spoke at a melaveh malkah at the Yeshivah of Staten Island, and offered the following insight:

 

Both the Butler and the Baker were providing food.

 

But the Butler was active; he was alive. He would regain his position.

 

The Baker, on the other hand, was passive; he did nothing. He was dead.

 

The true measure of life is not about how much we know. It is about whether we worked to achieve our knowledge. It isn't about how many people are helped though our being passive (although that, too, is rewarded), but through our efforts to help others.

 

Perhaps Descartes was wrong: I think AND DO, therefore I am.

 

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Vayishlach

This week's parashah recounts how the angel who is Master of Eisav engaged Yaakov in a combat. Although he was unable to overcome Yaakov, he succeeded in injuring Yaakov's thigh at the gid hanasheh, "and therefore the Children of Israel do not eat of the gid hanasheh..."

 

Following their battle, Yaakov insists that the angel bless him. In response, the Angel changes him name from Yaakov to Yisrael, "for you have fought with angels and with men, and you have succeeded."

 

Perhaps we can understand the symbolism and import of this very esoteric episode in the following light:

 

Yaakov/Yisrael was now entering a new phase in his life -- and in the life of the nation that would bear his name.

 

Although he had been living with challenges and in galus for many years, he had been dealing with them, as his name implied, though v'yaakveini, circling around and avoiding or outsmarting his nemesis. He extracted the bechorah from Eisav, he left home when he was later threatened by him, he stayed out in the fields when he worked for Lavan.

 

Now, however, he would be directly engaging with Eisav, sending him gifts, bowing to him, hugging ang kissing him. His children would be going into Shechem -- and leaving booty that included idols and more. Yosef would live in the home of Potiphar and then in the Egyptian palace. And, in the thousands of years since then, living in cultures throughout the world.

 

The blessing of the angel was that when he faces these new challenges, he should emerge victorious. When Avrom's name was changed to Avrohom, he could no longer be called Avrom because his mission, his essence, had fundamentally changed. Yaakov/Yisrael, however, retained both names, because both approaches -- avoiding confrontation and engagement -- were required, depending on the circumstances.

 

The interactions of Yisrael were and are perilous and fraught with dangers both physical and spiritual. But, as the Chinuch explains, the "reasoning" behind the prohibition of gid hanasheh is to encourage the Jew. Although we may be buffeted by the tribulations of exile, we will -- like Yaakov -- emerge victorious.

 

May we merit to soon see that victory.

 

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Vayeitzei

At the start of this week's parashah we find Yaakov leaving his home, and the Yeshivah of Shem V'ever, to go to the home  of his uncle Lavan in Charan.

 

The sun set suddenly, and he prepared to spend the night at Har Hamoriah, the site where Avrohom had offered Yitzchok as a sacrifice and where the Beis HaMikdash would later stand.

 

The Torah tells us: , וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו, and he took from the stones of that place and he placed them at his head. Rashi explains that he placed them around his head for protection.

 

Why does the Torah tell us "He took from the stones of that place"? It could simply have told us וַיִּקַּח אַבָנִים he took stones. From where else would he have taken stones? Would we expect him to have traveled carrying a bag of rocks?

 

Perhaps the lesson is that Yaakov had arrived in a new place, and he knew that he had to protect himself against the dangers there.

 

But how does he do that?

 

He realized that the "stones" of Beer Sheva and Shem V'Ever would do him no good at Har Hamoria, as holy a place as it may be. He needed to understand the threats of this new place, and he needed to protect himself against them in an appropriate and effective way.

 

That is why we are told that Yaakov took from the stones of that place to protect himself.

 

Rav Moshe Feinstein used to ascribe the complete failure of many chadorim in America to the fact that they tried to emulate the European shtel-approach here. But the challenges of America were different than they were in "der heim". And if there was to be even a slim chance of small success, it had to be with the understanding of the new challenges and with an effort to address them.

 

Indeed, later on, we find that Yaakov taught Yosef everything he had learned in the Yeshivah of Shem V'Ever (37:3). Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky asks: What could Yaakov have learned there that he did not already learn in the house of Yitzchok?

 

Rav Yaakov answers that under Shem V'Ever Yaakov learned the Torah of how a Jew survives in Galus. Yitzchok never left Eretz Yisrael; that was all Yaakov had experienced until then. Shem V'Ever prepared Yaakov for their future.

 

It was that lesson which guided Yaakov as he took from the stones of that place, and it is a lesson we must all understand if we are to succeed in overcoming challenges -- for ourselves and for our children.

 

May Hashem grant us the wisdom and siyata Dishmaya to succeed.

 

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Toldos

In this week's parashah, we are told how Yitzchok and Rivkah prayed for children and that Hashem responded to Yitzchok's plea and granted them children.
 
Rashi quotes the well known Chazal that the efficacy of the prayer of a tzaddik who is the child of a tzaddik is far greater than the tefillah of tzaddik who is the child of a wicked person, so much so that they are not even comparable.
 
What is the Torah's purpose in telling us this? What lesson is there?
 
It's noteworthy that Yitzchok himself was not the descendant of a long line of righteous people. He had only one generation of righteous forebears, Avrohom and Sarah.
 
One generation of righteousness enhanced the power and efficacy of Yitzchok's tefillah so exponentially that the two were “eino domeh,” beyond compare.
 
The Torah may be trying to impress upon us how profound an impact our choices and deeds have, not only on our own spiritual level and destiny, but also on that of generations to come.
 
Our actions have amazing potential to spiritually empower and strengthen our progeny.
 
May we merit to make the right choices and be motivated to do the proper actions, and may we have the siyata d'Shmaya to succeed for ourselves and for the doros who follow.
 
Gut Shabbos.

Chayei Sarah

This week’s parashah tells the story of the shidduch of Yitzchak and Rivkah.
Rivkah, we are told, was righteous even as a child (see 24:16). She was so great that the water in the well rose up toward her (Rashi 24:17). When she left home to marry Yitzchak – at the age of 3 – she was brought to Sarah’s tent. Upon her entry the miraculous blessings that had ceased with Sarah’s demise – the candles would remain lit from one Friday to the next; the dough was blessed, so that people were satisfied with only a small amount; and a Divine cloud hovered above the tent – all returned (Rashi 24:67).

How could a young girl grow up in a wicked city and a family and know not to act like them?

When Eliezer describes to Rivkah’s family how he met her, they respond “MeiHashem Yatzah hadavar, this is clearly Divine intervention…Hinei Rivkah lifanecha, kach va’leich, behold Rivkah is before you, take her and go… (24:50-51)” Yet, as Eliezer is about to leave with her, they suggest “teishev hanaarah itanu yamim o assor, let the girl remain with us for a year or 10 months (v.55).”

What’s going on?

Later, when Rivkah is leaving to get married, they wish her that the blessings Hashem gave Avrohom following the akeidah should be fulfilled in her children (Rashi 24:60). Apparently, they were well aware of the blessings and firmly believed they would come true. In fact, we continue to invoke their words to this day (see, for example Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 147:3).

So did they believe in Hashem or did they not?

It seems that Rivkah grew up in a family that, intellectually, recognized the truth. The problem was they did nothing about it. Even as they recognized the clear hashgachah pratis and declared, “here is Rivkah, take her and go,” they still tried to stop it. Even as they believed that Avrohom was blessed by Hashem, they could not embrace the Truth of his teachings.

This was nothing new, their grandfather, Terach, had similarly conceded to Avrohom that his idols were powerless. Yet despite this, he continued to worship them and even gave his son over to be killed for challenging their efficacy.

The difference between a righteous person and an evil one isn’t in what they believe, it is in whether the person conducts his life based on his beliefs.

Rivkah grew up in a home where she was exposed to the truth. What distinguished her from those around her was that she – like her uncle Avrohom and aunt Sarah – behaved in accordance with the values she held dear.

Anyone in Rivkah’s family had the tools to become great; only Rivkah used those tools to become a Mother of Klal Yisrael.

May we all learn from her example to live our lives according to the Torah, so that we, too, can “be all that we can be.”

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Vayeira

This week’s parashah includes the story of the Akeidah.

Avrohom Avinu, now 137 years old, is commanded to bring his son – the son for whom he had waited 100 years and who was his designated heir – as an offering to Hashem.

Rather than ask questions, Avrohom rises early in the morning and saddles his own donkey for the trip. As Chazal note – ahavah mekalkeles es hashurah, Avrohom’s boundless love for Hashem led him to act with zealousness even as he was going to sacrifice his own son.

Accompanied by his faithful servant and disciple Eliezer, his older son Yishmael, and, of course, Yitzchak, they journeyed 3 days toward their destination. Midrash Tanchumah describes how, over the course of those three days, the Satan attempted various ruses to dissuade Avrohom from his mission, ultimately placing a river in their path. But Avrohom was undeterred.

Finally, on the third day, vayaar es hamakom meirachok, Avrohom saw the place from a distance. Chazal explain that haMakom here referes to Hashem; from the distance, Avrohom perceived a cloud, representing the Shechinah, hovering over Mount Moriah.

He asked the others what they saw. Yitzchak, too, saw the cloud, but Eliezer and Yishmael did not see anything. So Avrohom took Yitzchok, and told the others to stay behind with the donkey – as if to say, teaches the Midrash, that they are just like the donkey that was also unable to see the cloud.

But just because Eliezer and Yishmael had not achieved the elevated level of Avrohom and Yitzchok, does that mean they are as low as animals?

Perhaps the problem was not that Eliezer and Yishmael were unable to see the cloud, but that they did not know where to look for it.

After three days of a challenging mission, Avrohom and Yitzchok looked around until they found the Shechinah, and they saw it was still in the distance. Eliezer and Yishmael, on the other hand, did not look far away. After overcoming the tests of the trip, they expected to see the Shechinah right before their eyes. Perhaps they never looked in the distance. Like a donkey, they expected their gratification to be delivered to them.

Avrohom teaches us that we must not be discouraged when, after overcoming a nisayon, we do not immediately find fulfillment. Sometimes Hashem is still in the distance. It does not mean our efforts were for naught, or that our service is being rejected, it simply means our mission is not yet complete. In fact, seeing Hashem from afar means that we have, indeed, reached the level of being “people.”

May the zechus of the Akeidah protect us, and may we be merit to perceive the Shechinah up close in our own everyday lives, and, soon, as a nation, b’vias goel tzedek.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Lech Lecha

In this week’s parashah, we are told of the battle between the four kings and the five kings.

After introducing the kings, we are told, “כָּל אֵלֶּה חָבְרוּ אֶל עֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים הוּא יָם הַמֶּלַח, All these joined in the Valley of the Fields, this is the Dead Sea.” Rashi explains that the Valley, which was then full of fields, later became the Dead Sea.

The Torah then describes the juggernaut of the four kings as they vanquished nation after nation, until the five kings went out to wage battle with the four kings בְּעֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים in the Valley of the Fields…וְעֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים בֶּאֱרֹת בֶּאֱרֹת חֵמָר וַיָּנֻסוּ מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה וַיִּפְּלוּ שָׁמָּה..., And the Valley of the Fields had many pits of clay, and the Kings of Sodom and Gomorah fled, and fell there…

Why does the Torah need to tell us where the kings joined together? And why is it important for us to know where they battled? And according to Rashi, the pits were empty holes from which people had previously dug out earth for use in construction. If so, the point is that the Valley had pits, why do we need to be told that they had been formed by digging out the earth for use as clay?

Perhaps this homiletical interpretation can resolve these questions:

The war between the kings was not a battle for basics, but a battle for wealth.

It wasn’t just that the kings got together at a location called The Valley of the Fields. The Torah tells us that the catalyst that brought them together was “the fields,” the draw of property and wealth.

These were fields abundant with pits of cheimar, the dangers associated with the pursuit of chumriyos, materialism.

It was this avarice that had attracted Lot to Sodom and its environs. It was this unfettered greed that defined the people there and into which the kings of Sodom and Gomora fled and fell – it would ultimately lead to their doom. 

The message is that the “Valley of Fields,” materialism, is, in reality, Yam Hamelach, the Dead Sea; a place of such utter desolation that no life can exist there. The field is the mirage that draws man to his own undoing.

May we be granted true blessing and abundance, with success and possessions and that bring life in this world and the next.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Noach

At the beginning of this week’s parashah, Noach is described as a tzaddik, a righteous person, b’dorosav, in his generations.

Rashi tells us that there are two approaches in Chazal to understanding the import of the word b’dorosav.

Some understand it positively: Noach managed to be righteous even in his own generation, at a time when everyone else was wicked. Imagine how much greater he would have been in the generation of Avrohom, when others were righteous as well.

Others, however, understand b’dorosav as deprecating Noach: Noach was only considered great in his own times, when everyone else was wicked. Had truly righteous people, like Avrohom, been on the scene, Noach would not have been considered righteous at all.

Why would one opinion choose to diminish Noach’s stature? After all, Noach was Hashem’s choice to be the individual from whom all future generations would descend. Noach, who was still childless at the age of 480, did not hesitate to heed Hashem’s command to build a teivah, a project that took 120 years and earned him the scorn and ridicule of all those around him.

Why not understanding the passuk as positively as possible?

When the Torah describes a person or event, it does so not only to convey historical and biographical information, but also to teach us a lesson for life.

The Torah’s ambiguous modifier gives us insight into how to approach to two different circumstances, within ourselves and with others.

When a person is seeking to grow in avodas Hashem but is hampered by obstacles beyond his control, and is now in danger of surrendering to despair, we tell him: Look a Noach! He could have been so much more righteous, but he lived in his own generation, not Avrohom’s. The Torah recognized his circumstances and validated that, considering his surroundings, he was a tzaddik.

On the other hand, when a person feels that he has achieved enough, that he is already a respected scholar and tzaddik, we tell him: Look at Noach! Of course you think you’re learned and righteous, just look at those around you. If you associated with true tzaddikim and talmidei chachamim, you would recognize that you are actually undistinguished and need to set your sights higher.

We, too, live b’doroseinu.  And it’s in our hands to determine what that means.

May we each be zocheh to realize our true potential.

Gut Shabbos and a Good Chodesh.

Succos

Succos is Chag Ha’asif the Festival of the Harvest Season. It is Zeman Simchaseinu, the time of our joy, because it is now that the farmers are finally able to enjoy, literally, the fruits of their labor.

The s’chach of the Succah, the covering that is its defining feature, must be made from things that grow from the ground.

But unlike Bikkurim, the first fruits, where the farmer brings his produce in thanksgiving, s’chach cannot be made from the fruits, or any finished useable product. Instead, the covering of the Succah is made from what the gemara calls pesoles goren vayakev, the waste matter of our granaries and wineries - actually, this includes any other non-fruit or unfinished material that grew from the ground and is no longer connected to it.

Why is this so?

The farmers marks his first fruits just as they begin to sprout. He is stil unsure of how his harvest will turn out. As he surveys his field and places a band around the branch bearing the first signs of the year's crop, his heart is filled with prayers to the Almigty to grant him blessing and success.

When Succos arrives, however, he is joyous. His harvest has yielded its bounty. His silos and wine cellars are filled. He risks falling victim to vayishman yeshurun vayivat, of becoming fat with his success and rejecting or diminishing his faith in Hashem.

Now, the Torah says, is the time to leave our comfortable homes and move into the Shelter of Hashem.

When we bring bikkurim and present them to the Kohen, we offer our produce to Hashem. When we move into the Succah, we offer ourselves. We are ourselves enveloped by Hashem's Presence. We make His Divine Shadow our residence.

Pesul denotes invalidation. To commune with Hashem requires pesoles goren vayakev, rejecting and invalidating the comfort and false security of our full storehouses, choosing instead to be protected by Hashem, as our forefathers were in the Wilderness.

As we sit in our Sukkos, may we all merit to connect with Hashem, to sense His Presence, and may we experience His protection and blessing throughout Yom Tov and the year.

Gut Yom Tov.

A Quick Thought for Yom Kippur

During our tefillos on these special days, it seems to me that with the exception of life itself and for forgiveness, the most recurring request is for parnassah, sustenance. It is the subject of several lines in Avinu Malkeinu, we mention it in B’sefer Chaim, and certainly in the yehi ratzons  like those during Avinu Malkeinu and Ayei. Even the tefillah of the Kohen Gadol in the Kodesh HaKadashim was primarily for parnassah.

Parnassah is certainly vital to survival. In fact, Chazal tell us (See Pesachim 118a and Rashi there) that Tehillim 136 is called Hallel HaGadol – the Great Praise – because it includes the verse נֹתֵן לֶחֶם לְכָל בָּשָׂר He provides bread [i.e. sustenance] to all flesh. [Perenthetically, Rav Pam pointed out, based on this Gemara, the great zechus of helping someone find a job.]

Despite this, should the requests for this need – great though it be – outnumber those for health and good children?

Perhaps these many requests to Hakadosh Baruch Hu are meant to do more than simply plead with Him to shower us with plenty; perhaps we continually repeat these requests to reinforce to ourselves that He is the nosein lechem lechol bassar.

It is relatively easy to perceive that we need His help for spiritual attainments and health. But how often, as we are involved in our daily pursuits, do we fall into the trap – to a great or lesser degree – of kochi v’otzem yadi assah lie s hachyil hazeh, that we are the ones who determine our success? How frequently, when we have parnassah, do we forget that our livelihoods depend on Him, that He is the One signing our checks?

As we entreat Hashem again and again to grant us parnassah tovah, we reinforce within ourselves the knowledge that it is He Who is responsible for any of our financial success. And we hope that not only will he grant our wish, but also that we will always recognize His kindness to us in this area.

Dovid Hamelech (Tehillim  23:22) was mispalel יְהִי חַסְדְּךָ ד' עָלֵינוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר יִחַלְנוּ לָךְ , May Your kindness, Hashem, be upon us, as we have awaited You. We, too ask Hashem to shower us with kindness, to the extent and in the measure that we hope to Him for it.

May Hashem boutifully shower upon all of us, and all Klal Yisrael, a shanah tovah u’beruchah, a year filled with life, health, nachas, blessings, bounty, and everything good, in every area of life.

Gemar chasimah tovah.

Parashas Nitzavim

In this week's parashah, the Torah tells us that we are faced with choices in life:  רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם אֶת הַחַיִּים וְאֶת הַטּוֹב וְאֶת הַמָּוֶת וְאֶת הָרָע, Behold I have placed before you today, life and good, and death and evil. The Torah then goes on to convey a seemingly obvious instruction: וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶך, and you shall choose life, so that you and your children will live.

Why did the Torah find it necessary to direct us in such a “no-brainer” of a choice?

Secondly, if we “choose life” it seems obvious that it is so that [we] may live. And thirdly why mention our children?

Rashi (29:12) mentions that the fear of curses and punishments are critical motivators to encourage us behave properly. When actively engaged moral/ethical conflict with the Yetzer Hara, we are frequently more successful in vanquishing him through fear of imminent retribution than with the more abstract promise of reward.

Perhaps the Torah is here is telling us that although this sense of fear is vital to our proper behavior, we should primarily choose life. As much as possible, we should do the right thing not to avoid punishment, avoiding “death,” but we should actively choose life, embrace goodness for its own sake and for the blessing it brings.

And that it why the Torah mentions our children: The best way to inspire our children is through joy and the positive experience of uvachata bachayim, of our affirmatively embracing life/mitzvos. As they see us choosing life – so that we live joyfully and fulfilled – they, too will see and absorb how to live, and they too will choose life.

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, may we experience the joy of Torah and mitzvos, and may we all be granted chaim and berachah in every way for ourselves and our families.

Gut Shabbos and kesivah vachasimah tovah.

Parashas Ki Savo

This week’s parashah begins with the mitzvah of bikkurim, in which people would bring their first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash, where it would be presented to the kohen. The Mishnah (Bikkurim Ch. 3) details the great joy, pomp and ceremony associated with this mitzvah.

After coming to the Beis HaMikdash, the person presenting the bikkurim would generally recite a set of verses from this week’s parashah, presenting a succinct recap of Jewish history, thanking Hashem for all his kindness. The story starts with Lavan’s efforts to destroy Yaakov, continues through the Jews’ slavery in and redemption from Egypt, and concludes with Hashem’s having given us Eretz Yisrael. Parenthetically, it is this set of pesukim that forms the basis of our retelling the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim at the Pesach Seder.

Following these pesukim, the Torah concludes its discussion of bikkurim with the following: וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל הַטּוֹב אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְךָ ד' אֱלֹקֶיךָ וּלְבֵיתֶךָ..., And you shall rejoice in all the goodness that Hashem, Your G-d has given you and to your family….

Rashi (from Pesachim 36b) notes that this verse teaches us that one only reads these verses if the bikkurim are brought during the “period of rejoicing,” during the harvest season, from Shavuos until Succos.

Would it not be more logical to teach us this rule before the verses of thanksgiving, where the Torah tells us the other details of the bikkurim ceremony?

The answer may be that to experience true joy – the וְשָׂמַחְתָּ of the Torah – requires not only that we have reap the fruits of our labor, but that we have shared it with others.

So long as we have not yet reached the Beis Hamikash and actually given the fruits to the Kohen, there can be no real וְשָׂמַחְתָּ. It is only now, that we have already completed the presentation and shared our bounty with others, that we can genuinely rejoice in all the goodness that Hashem, Your G-d has given us and our families.

This is true not only of bikkurim, but of everything – the wealth of resources, talents and abilities – with which each person is blessed. We must, of course, thank Hashem for those gifts. But if we truly want to revel in those riches, we must first share them with others.

May Hashem continue to shower his blessings on all of us and our families, and may we have the sense and the merit to thank Him for them and share them with others, so that we may truly be joyous and happy with all the good we have been granted.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Ki Seitzei

In this week's parashah, we are told "When you build a new home, you shall make a fence for your roof...lest one who falls fall from it."

Rashi, citing Sifri, explains that the person who will fall is, in fact, "one who falls" – he is a wicked person whose destiny it is to fall and die. Even so, the Torah tells the homeowner: You do not want to facilitate this occurrence, because bad things are brought about through guilty people.

Let’s think about this for a moment: If the homeowner doesn't put up a gate, the other person, who is guilty, will fall – indicating that the homeowner, too, is a guilty person in some way; yet if this same guilty homeowner puts up a gate, the world is perfect because the other fellow will not fall there.

Does the homeowner’s status change just because he put up a gate?!

Sifsei Chamaim says that it means that if s person falls, people will say that the homeowner is a guilty person. Perhaps he understands the Torah to be giving this not as a reason, but as an incentive: do this to protect your reputation.

But there is another way to understand this.

Building a new home is a tremendous undertaking, involving a myriad of details.

The Torah tells us that even when we are consumed with everything that has to be dealt with – the plans, the “surprises,” the supplies, supervising the work and coordinating all the craftsmen and deliveries – we need to remain considerate of the needs of others, even those who are guilty of sins that would justify their falling to their deaths.

Every one of us has shortcomings and failings. But if we remain sensitive to the needs of others with failings, Hashem will, middah k’neged middah, treat us with compassion.

When a person putting up his new home considers ways to protect those who are liable to fall off, Heaven views the owners shortcomings less severely. Not as a consequence of the fence, but because of the thought behind it.

Conversely, when one is consumed with himself and oblivious to the needs of others, Heaven judges him according to the full measure of his deeds. When that happens, the owner’s guilt may bring about that his negligence will bring about a death.

In the zechus of our consideration for others, may we be granted forgiveness and a kesivah vachsimah tovah.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Shoftim

This week’s parashah begins with the following injunctions: שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ...וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט צֶדֶק: לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפָּט לֹא תַכִּיר פָּנִים וְלֹא תִקַּח שֹׁחַד כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים וִיסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִם: צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף..., Judges and enforcers shall you appoint in all your cities…and they shall judge the nation a just judgment. You shall not warp justice, you shall not be biased, and you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous. A just justice shall you pursue…

It would seem that the second verse – which appears to apply to the judges – should have been written in the third person, plural לֹא יַטוּ מִשְׁפָּט לֹא יַכִּירוּ פָּנִים..., they shall not warp justice, they shall not be biased….

It has been said that the primary role of beis din is to teach honest and well-intentioned people the proper thing to do.

So perhaps the Torah is telling us that we must certainly establish courts and enforcement mechanisms.

But first we must try to do the right thing and make the proper judgments.

The Torah is saying you – every one of us – must realize that we should live our lives properly judging situations and making decisions without the bias of groupthink and preconceptions and, to the best of our ability, ignoring our personal interests, the “bribe” human nature dangles before us.

Our commitment to honestly view and assess every situation is the best way to live our life wisely and properly.

May Hashem give us the wisdom, discernment and fortitude to fulfill this tall order.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Eikev

At the beginning of this week’s parashah, Moshe transmits Hashem’s reassurances to Klal Yisrael not to fear the Canaanite nations they will be battling as they conquer Eretz Yisrael.

He reminds them of the “Mighty Hand and Outstretched Arm” with which Hashem had taken them from Egypt and of the many miracles they had experienced since then, and Hashem’s pledge to do the same for them as they take control of the Land.

Wonderful. Great. Yetzias Mitzrayim was a magnificent one-day event (even with the makkos it took a year). They had made short shrift of Sichon and Og. So they would take over Eretz Yisrael quickly, right?

Not quite.

Hashem will remove these nations from before you very slowly, you cannot destroy them quickly, for the animals of the field may overcome you… In fact, it was a process that would take seven years.

Klal Yisrael was now changing tracks, from a Nation living on constant open miracles to a Nation living on a different plane. As Rashi (v. 22) explains, if the Jews were not to sin, they would have been able to overtake the Land quickly. But Hashem foresaw that this was not to be.

So the Torah tells us – in advance: It will take time. It may not go smoothly. But be assured, Hashem’s Mighty Hand and Outsretched Arm are there.

The seven-year conquest of the Land is no less Hashem’s guiding Hand than the instant victories over Sichon and Og. The Maker of all miracles is bringing this all about, and it’s for your benefit.

What a message of encouragement!

Whatever the challenge, if we are doing what is right, Hashem is with us, controlling the progress and the outcomes. We may not feel his presence, but He is there. It may take time and there may appear to be setbacks, but it is all His doing. We may not understand it, but it if for our benefit.

In the merit of our bitachon, may we merit to see His open berachos and yeshuos.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Va'Eschanan - Shabbos Nachamu

Parashas Va’eschanan is always read on Shabbos Nachamu, “the Shabbos of Consolation” that follows Tisha B’Av. Indeed, our parashah recounts our receiving the Torah, offering inspiration and strength as we recover from our national tragedy of churban Bayis.

Why, then, does the Torah begin with the discouraging and disconcerting episode of Hashem’s refusing to allow Moshe to enter Eretz Yisrael?

One lesson may be that, when we face Hashem’s punishment and wrath, we not be dejected, but move forward in the knowledge that He still loves us.

There were 6 arei miklat, cities of refuge, where one who killed accidentally could run for haven. Three were located in Trans-Jordan – where the Jews were encamped at the time of this parashah – and three were in the mainland of Eretz Yisrael, which was not conquered until years later. Although those in Trans-Jordan would not be functional until those in Eretz Yisrael were established, later on in the parashah, Moshe establishes the three cities he could. He wasn’t disheartened – he moved on, doing what he could. Klal Yisrael would go on, and he would be as much a part of it as possible.

The seventh day of our shivah for Tisha B’Av is Tu B’av. The culmination of the most awesome period of the Jewish year is Yom Kippur.

And it is those very days that were the most festive days on the calendar, celebrated by maidens going out to attract husbands (Taanis 26b).

We sit homebound and overcome by mourning. We quake in fear as we stand in judgment before the

Heavenly Court

. But we do not remain paralyzed. We emerge – we “go out” – confident in a brighter future, a future represented by building new homes and families.

It is a future grounded in our abiding faith in the One Above – to Whose justice we were just subject.

As we emerge from the mourning of this year’s Tisha B’Av, may we go forward to achieve and accomplish all that we can, confident in a bright future for Klal Yisroel and in the hope that next year we will celebrate Tisha B’Av b’vias goel.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Devarim - Shabbos Chazon

This week’s haftorah, which is read in the mournful chant of Eichah, is, with the possible exception of that of Tishah B’Av, the haftorah I find most terrifying.

Yeshayahu vividly describes Hashem’s utter rejection of klal Yisroel, His revulsion at their attempts at avodah. They seem to be doing mitzvos, but they are doing them all wrong.

Suddenly, in middle, the navi changes his tone – as reflected in our own change of tune to that of the standard haftorah:  רַחֲצוּ הִזַּכּוּ...אִם יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים כַּשֶּׁלֶג יַלְבִּינוּ..., Wash yourselves, become purified…if your sins will be as red strings, they will become as white as snow….

But it lasts for only several verses before it once again turns mournful – If you refuse... – and the litany of woe resumes.

Then, the tone changes again, this time with no apparent reason. The navi describes the corruption of the self-appointed leaders and judges, and suddenly turns around, ending with a message of hope and redemption: לָכֵן נְאֻם הָאָדוֹן ד' צְבָקוֹת אֲבִיר יִשְׂרָאֵל הוֹי אֶנָּחֵם מִצָּרַי וְאִנָּקְמָה מֵאוֹיְבָי. וְאָשִׁיבָה יָדִי עָלַיִךְ...צִיּוֹן בְּמִשְׁפָּט תִּפָּדֶה וְשָׁבֶיהָ בִּצְדָקָה., Therefore – the Word of the Lord, Hashem, Master of Legions, Might of Israel – O! I will be relieved of My oppressors and be avenged of My enemies. I will return My Hand over you …  Zion will be redeemed through justice, and its captives through charity.

What “therefore” precipitates this turnaround – the corruption and vice?

The Gemara (Berachos 17a) cites R’ Alexandri who would beseech Hashem: “It is known to You that we want to do Your Will. What holds us back? ‘The leaven in the dough’ (the Yetzer Hara) and the oppression of the nations, May it be Your Will that you save us from them and will return to perform Your Service wholeheartedly.”

Perhaps the message is that, at the very end, there will come times when everything will have run completely amok; when the situation seems beyond repair.

Therefore, says Hashem, this is the point at which I have to intervene. I will relieve Myself of My oppressors (the nations that oppress Klal Yisrael) and avenge myself of My enemies (the Yetzer Hara who dissuades people from serving Hashem).

When He does that, we will all begin to serve Him wholeheartedly, so that He returns His hand over us, and that Yerushalayim is once again called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful Village.

May we merit His Kindness, so that we can spend this Tuesday celebrating together in the streets of Yerushalayim.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Masei

In this week’s parashah, we are taught that if a person kills accidentally, he must go to an ir miklat, a City of Refuge, where he remains until the death of the Kohen Gadol. One reason to link the murderer’s freedom to the Kohen Gadol’s death, according the gemara (Makkos 11a, and cited by Rashi here), is that if the Kohen Gadol would have prayed adequately well, no one would have killed / been killed on “his watch.”

But the responsibility to protect others is not limited to the Kohen Gadol.

The gemara there recounts that a man was devoured by a lion about 8 miles from the home of R’ Yehoshua ben Levi. Because R’ Yehoshua’s prayers had not been adequate to protect the person from this horrible fate, Eliyahu Hanavi, who apparently regularly visited R’ Yehoshua, did not visit him for three days.

In our own times, a boy was hit by a car in front of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem. When they ran into the Beis Midrash told the Rosh Hayeshiva, Rav Moshe Feinstein, that a Jewish boy had been hit, he replied that the boy was not Jewish.

“But Rosh Yeshivah, I just saw his yarmulka lying next to him in the street,” a man said; but Rav Moshe insisted that the boy was not a Jew.

It soon emerged that it was, in fact, a non-Jewish teenager who had been harassing a Jewish boy. The Jewish boy ran away and the teenager gave chase. The victim’s yarmulka fell off as he ran and he was afraid to stop to pick it up. The teenager was hit by the car just where the yarmulka had fallen off.

When Reb Moshe was asked how he knew that the teenager was not Jewish, he said, “I was studying Torah in the yeshivah at the time. It is inconceivable that this could have happened to a Jewish child right outside.”

The truth is, each one of us has the ability, through our tefillos and actions, to impact the fate of others and even the entire world. The gemara (Kiddushin 40a-b) tells us that each one of us, through a single action, can tip the scales.

Last Shabbos afternoon (Parashas Mattos) a girl at the Skverer girls camp came into her bunkhouse and announced that her bunkmates had to hear what some other girl had done.

One of the other girls asked if it would be lashon hara, and the girl about to retell the story paused, grappling with whether she should continue. (Of couse, one girl shouted: “Why did you have to say that before she told the story?”) Another bunkmate then piped up, “You know, my father needs a yeshuah. Maybe don’t say the story as a zechus for him.” Indeed, the girl did not tell the story.

That night, when the girl whose father was not well called home, she learned that her father had suddenly awaken from a weeks-long coma on Shabbos afternoon, just about the time the girl refrained from sharing the story. The story was told to me Wednesday night, by the father of the bunk’s counselor who was present for the exchange and when the girl shared the good news. The family agreed that the story be spread as a zechus for the father, Yehoshua by Liba Yocheved, who has a way to go before he achieves a refuah sheleimah.

The lesson is that the power we have to influence and impact others is immeasurable to us. May we be zocheh to use it properly.

Gut Shabbos.