Author: Rabbi Milder

Posted on

Vayakhel – Siman Tov and Mazel Tov

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.

Very important note: This is not the haftorah for this week since it is Shabbos Shekalim. However, there is a very nice message learned from this haftorah and I apologize for any inconveniences. Enjoy the dvar Torah for the sake of learning, lihagdil Torah viya’adir!

In years where we read the haftorah for the Torah portion of Vayakhel, the Sefardim read from Melachim Alef perek 7 pesukim 13-26. The haftorah discusses pillars that were erected in the Beis Hamikdash, just as the Torah portion discusses the actual building of the Mishkan.

There is a commentary on the Mishna by the Tiferes Yisrael referred to as Yachin Boaz. This name comes from a pasuk in this haftorah. In pasuk 21 it states, “He erected the pillars by the hall of the Sanctuary; he erected the right pillar and called its name Yachin and he erected the left pillar and called its name Boaz.”

The Radak on this pasuk explains why each pillar was given a name. “The fact that he called each pillar  was as a siman tov, a good sign, because they were in the entrance of the house, therefore he gave them names as a good sign. One was called Yachin, which comes from the word that means preparation, that the house should be set up forever as it says, “Like the moon it shall be set up forever.” Boaz comes from the word that means strength and it’s actually a combination of a word that means ‘in it shall be strength,’ meaning G-D shall give it strength so that it will last, as it says, “Hashem is the source of strength for his nation.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Was King Shlomo really so superstitious that he needed to erect good signs, siman tov, to the entrance of the Beis Hamikdash? What was the point of the pillars? The Beis Hamikdash was the palace on earth for Hashem, the Almighty King Of All Kings, and there were ten miracles that constantly occurred during the First Beis HaMikdash. So why were good signs needed, seemingly to protect the Temple? Furthermore, we know that the Beis Hamikdash was actually destroyed because of our sins. So, it was absolutely pointless to have “a good luck charm” of sorts on the entrance. If so, why did King Shlomo do this?

It’s true that the permanency of the structure of the Temple depended upon our loyalty to Hashem; but we must say that there really is something to having good signs, and at the very least it adds, even if it is not needed.

We see from here that there really is a concept of an ayin hara, evil eye, and ayin tov, a good eye. A good sign, siman tov, is something of value which should be treated seriously, assuming that there is a basis for it in our mesora, our tradition, and not something which was just made up or borrowed from other people.

However, what’s important to realize is that good signs are not what drives a successful existence rather it is doing G-D’s will, being scrupulous in serving Hashem which brings us success and plenty, the good signs are just an added plus, a reinforcing of the good quality of life that we are living by serving Hashem properly.

Posted on

Sefer Chofetz Chaim Hilchos Rechilus chapter 1 halachos 1, 2

Even though many halachos that apply to lashon hara will be repeated in Hilchos Rechilus but it’s worth it to repeat and not have you figure it out by yourself to ensure no mistakes. Essentially rechilus is tattletaling. It is a severe sin which is the main sin of “Don’t be a tale bearer amongst your people” (Vayikra 19:16). It causes much murder amongst the Jews as we see by the case of Does HaAdomi and that is why the pasuk right after this one is “You should not stand over the blood of your friend.” Because of Doeg HaAdomi a whole city of Kobanim, Nov, was wiped out. Doeg HaAdomi told King Shaul that Achimelech gave David bread and Goliath’s sword. This normally would not have been a big deal and if Shaul would have asked Achimelech if he gave David the sword when David was found with it he would have admitted to it since Achimelech thought he was doing King Shaul a favor by giving his son-in-law, who was respected in his household bread to eat and the sword of the enemy he defeated. However, Doeg knew that Shaul had insane jealousy for David and when he told King Shaul the news he knew Shaul would get upset and he murdered a whole city who was helping David. That is the power of rechilus.

 Besides this sin you are able to transgress other sins as discussed in the beginning of the sefer just like by lashon hara. What exactly constitutes rechilus? It’s peddling words from one person to another. For example, as the Sma”g (lav 9) states, If one tells you something in private about someone and then you go over to that guy and say, so and so was just talking about you and this is what he said about you (and said negatively) that is the classic example of rechilus, as the Shaarei Teshuva says (222). Also, if Reuvain says to Shimon, this is what Levi did to you, or I heard this is what Levi did to you or wants to do to you. All this constitutes rechilus assuming there is no positive purpose of telling what happened, which will be discussed in chapter 9.

What makes rechilus so bad is that if Shimon would have confronted Levi by himself then Levi might not have denied any allegations, or if Levi did nothing wrong and the truth is with him, or the intent is not what was originally thought then nothing bad could have come out. But now that Reuvain tells over the story to Shimon of what Levi said or did then he might put a negative spin on the issue and an argument will ensue or wrong implications will be concluded that will lead to fights and potential murder That is why rechilus is so bad.

Posted on

Ki Sisa – Proactive Positive Reinforcement

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.

The Tur (581) begins the halachos of Rosh Hashana by quoting a medrish, in the Pirkei DiRebbe Eliezer (46), which is related to this week’s Torah portion of Ki Sisa. The medrish relates the chronological events that took place before and after the sin of the golden calf:

“Rebbe Yehoshua ben Karcha said, ’Forty days Moshe was there on the mountain, he read the Written Torah by day and learned the Oral Torah by night. After 40 days he took the tablets and went down to the camp. On the 17th of Tammuz, he shattered the tablets and killed the accursed of the Jews. He was involved in the camp for 40 days with burning the golden calf, and pulverizing it into the dust of the earth, and he killed all who kissed the golden calf. He also cut out any lasting semblance of idolatry from amongst the Jews and set up each tribe in their perspective place. On Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first of the month of Elul, Hashem told Moshe, ‘Go up the mountain to Me and they blew the shofar throughout the entire encampment for Moshe was going up the mountain so that they won’t be tricked again into idolatry. Hashem was elevated on that day by that shofar as it says, ‘G-D was elevated by the shofar blast, Hashem with the voice of the shofar’ (Tehillim 47:6). Therefore, the Rabbis enacted the shofar to be blown on Rosh Chodesh Elul every year.”

The Bayis HaGadol comments on the line “and they blew the shofar through the entire encampment for Moshe was going up the mountain;” this means that because of the shofar blasts everyone came together, and they told them that Moshe was to go up the mountain. Since one could say that if they had simply made an announcement, that would have traveled  around to everyone and been sufficient to prevent anyone from sinning, and there was therefore no point to the shofar, it was therefore necessary to say that Hashem was uplifted on that day with the shofar. As it says, ‘G-D was elevated by the shofar blast…’ meaning Hashem was uplifted by the blast which refers to the blast of Rosh Hashana as it says by it, ‘A day of blast shall be for you’. However, the end of the pasuk, ‘Hashem with a voice of the shofar’ is superfluous, and must be written to teach us about the voice of the shofar in the desert. That because of it they went after Hashem, and they didn’t have any other mistaken beliefs. Also, in this way, Hashem was elevated and therefore it was enacted that the shofar will be blown on Rosh Chodesh Elul every year to remember that shofar blast. The Bayis HaGadol goes on to say that the Tur concludes that the custom of blowing the shofar throughout the entire month of Elul, in addition to the first day, is to arouse us to repent; but the blowing on the first day is specifically dedicated to remembering the blast which announced Moshe going back up the mountain to receive the second set of tablets which he brought back on Yom Kippur.(Click here for Hebrew text.)

It would seem according to this medrish that on some level the sin of the golden calf had to do with idolatry. The Prisha (2) on the Tur also comments that because Hashem was elevated by the same shofar that saved the Jews from sinning, that is why we blow it on Rosh Chodesh Elul. Elaborating on the Bayis HaGadol’s question, why was the Shofar needed to ensure everyone knew Moshe was going up the mountain another time for 40 days so that they will be careful not to succumb to idolatry again? Isn’t it safe to assume that there was a 99.9% chance that they would not make a mistake going down the same path again, especially after just seeing thousands of people killed for the sin of the golden calf? In addition, the golden calf was melted down and pulverized into ashes, and any other remanence of idolatry were wiped out of the camp; therefore wouldn’t the feelings of yiras ha’onesh, fear of punishment, be running very high at that moment? Furthermore, nowhere does it say that Hashem ceased giving them manna from heaven, water from the rock, and clouds of glory by day and fire by night just because of the sin of the golden calf. Fear of punishment coupled with a sense of gratitude knowing Hashem was still performing open miracles for them even though they rebelled against Him should have been enough to deter them from falling into the trap of idolatry again; so why was the Shofar blast needed?

It would seem that the shofar blast was a positive physical oractive reinforcement, that being in this case the royal trumpet blasts uplifting Hashem’s sovereignty and majesty over everything, to ensure that there was no room for making a mistake and turning to idolatry again.

We can take a lesson from this that even though a person might feel a tremendous amount of love and fear for Hashem, positive proactive reinforcement still helps to ensure a person will not mistakenly turn down the wrong path and is worthwhile to use even if it seems highly unlikely that a mistake could happen.

We find this lesson in the beginning of this medrish as well. The medrish said that Moshe read the Written Torah by day and learned the Oral Torah by night. The Bayis HaGadol quoting a Medrish Tanchuma says this means that Hashem taught Moshe the Written Torah by day and the Oral Torah by night. The Bayis HaGadol explains that the intent is to show us that even at night the mind (literally in the Hebrew text, the heart) of a person does not rest, and if one cannot look into a book, he should learn Torah by heart and it should flow from his lips.
Everyone knows there is a mitzva to learn Torah 24/7 as it says in Yehoshua 1:8, “This book of the Torah shall not leave your mouth; you shall meditate therein day and night.” So why does Hashem have to specifically teach Moshe the written Torah by day and the Oral Torah by night? Isn’t it obvious that if there is a mitzva to learn at night we can figure out logically on our own how to do it even if it is hard to read at night, especially if we know there is such thing as an Oral Torah? Why then did Hashem specifically teach Moshe the Torah in this manner in order to teach us this lesson?

The answer must be that positive reinforcement is worthwhile to be done to ensure people won’t make up any excuses that one’s heart or mind is meant to shut down at night, and obviously, if you can’t see there is no obligation of Torah learning at night even though it is extremely clear that the obligation of Torah study never stops, therefore this positive reinforcement emphasizes otherwise.

No matter how confident you are positive proactive reinforcement helps.

Posted on

Sefer Chofetz Chaim hilchos lashon hara chapter 10 halachos 16, 17

  Halacha 16: One has to be very careful not to fall into the mistake and think because I found out he spoke lashon hara about me behind my back I can now tell other people that he spoke lashon hara about me behind his back A. You can’t accept the lashon hara that he spoke lashon hara about you as truth. B. Even if it is true that doesn’t give you the right to tell anyone else what they did. Two wrongs don’t make a right!

Halacha 17: The last halacha ends with what might be the most common scenario of lashon hara. Reuvain asked Shimon, “who did it?” Suspecting he did it. Still, it’s not so easy to say he can reveal who did it, rather Shimon should say “I didn’t do it.” However, if Reuvain can figure out who did it if you say I didn’t do it because the choice is only two perpetrators then it gets more complicating. First off, we have to clarify that in situations where a real sin was done between man and his fellow man and retribution is needed or the perpetrator has to be stopped from doing the sin and all the prerequisites are met then of course you can tell who did it. Even in cases of a sin between man and Hashem and all the prerequisites are met then of course you can tell who did it. The scenario where the Chofetz Chaim says you have to say, “I didn’t do it” and not say who did it is when the issue is a gray area which not everyone would say is a problem, for example Reuvain says who call Jamal a black man they should have referred to him as an African American. If Shimon feels he is being blamed, he can say I didn’t do it. Just because someone asks you a question that does not mean you have to give an answer even if you saw and know what happened, even you feel they are trying to put the blame on you. Again, if it is a real black and white problem which has to be fixed then you can say I didn’t do it even if there is only two possibilities of who did and you said I didn’t but if the problem isn’t black and white then it’s not so simple to say I don’t know, because automatically the other will be at fault for what the speaker claims is a problem in his eyes what should you do? The Shulchan Aruch in Choshen Mishpat 384:2 in the Rema it says if you see damage going to happen to you it is permissible to save yourself from it even though by doing so you might cause damage to others. The Sem”a says that if the damage has already happened to you, you can’t get out of it at the expense of someone else. The Gr”a agrees with the Sem”a. This applies to physical damages as well as psychological damage therefore in terms of our situation of verbal abuse where a person decides someone did something wrong and he confronts him to see if actually did it it’s possible that one is forbidden to say who really did it because the damage is already done since in his eyes you are the culprit if not it might be permissible to deflect blame, but the Chofetz Chaim concludes that he is unsure of this matter. All this is in a situation where a third party is trying to figure out what happened if the victim is trying to figure out who did or said something, that will be discussed in the next volume, 9:14,15 of hilchos rechilus. Also, all thus is according to the strict letter of the law, but a person of higher standards should go beyond the letter when possible and take the blame on himself rather than someone becoming embarrassed even if the other person is the guilty party. Two examples of this are found in Sanhedrin 11a where Rabban Gamliel asked for 7 people to get together early with him and 8 showed up. He said whoever was invited walk out and Shnuel Hakatan walked out even though he was invited in order not to embarrass the uninvited. Another time Rebbe was giving shiur and he smelled a strong stench of garlic and he said who ever Ate garlic walk out. Rebbe Chiya got up and walked out and then everyone else followed suit. Rebbe Shimon the son of Rebbe asked Rebbe Chiya if he really was the one who caused his father anguish and Rebbe Chiya responded, no, chas vishalom.

The Chofetz Chaim concludes this volume on the laws of lashon hara with a statement from the Sefer Chasidim (chapter 22): “If one is in a group and one person did something inappropriate, but no one knows who the perpetrator is, one should say I am the guilty party, even though he didn’t do it etc.

We have concluded the first volume of Sefer Chofetz Chaim!

Posted on

Tetzave – If You Believe it, it Will Come

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.

The beginning of this week’s haftorah for the Torah portion of Tetzave writes, “You, Son of man, describe the House to the House of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; let them measure its plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, let them know the form of the House and its scheme, its exits and its entrances, and all its forms, and all its laws and all its teachings, and write it down in their sight so that they keep the whole form thereof and the laws thereof, and do them. This is the teaching of the House; Upon the top of the mountain, all its boundary round about shall be most holy; behold, this is the teaching of the House” (Yechezkel 43:10-12).

Just as the end of the Torah portion elucidates the dimensions of the Incense Alter, so too the haftorah details the dimensions of the alter that will be built in the times of the Third Beis HaMikdash, according to the Radak, may it come speedily in our days.
The Radak says that Hashem told Yechezkel to speak to the exiles of the First Beis HaMikdash after its destruction and tell them that they were at fault for the destruction of this temple. However, a future Temple will never be destroyed because they will not sin, as it says, ‘They will distance their sins, and I will live among them forever.’ They should calculate and measure the schematics of this future temple so that they can picture it and prepare it as a sign, for it will be made in the future, when The Final Redemption takes place, and the dead will be resurrected. They should prepare it now as a sign that those who see these diagrams will live during building of this future House. This is one of the proofs for the resurrection of the dead; “and if they are ashamed” of all they had done then they should be informed of the dimensions and looks of the temple. “In their sight” that they will see the building of the temple in the future, and they will do it, but if they aren’t [ashamed, in order to repent,] then they will not [see it]. They should keep them in their hearts and believe in them, for then they will make the buildings, forms, and laws in the future. If they will not keep them in their heart and they will not believe, then they will not do them. For this is the attribute of Hashem, The Holy One Blessed Be He; He pays a person measure for measure. Whoever believes in the coming of the redemption will merit to be redeemed, and if he does not believe he does not merit it. So too, if he believes in the resurrection of the dead he will merit to be resurrected and if he does not believe he will not merit it. One cannot say “And they shall make it” is talking about making the Second Beis HaMikdash when the exiles returned from Bavel because there were many aspects of the building mentioned here which was not in the Second Beis HaMikdash. Therefore it must be referring to building in the future, and it says specifically “They shall make it” as a great proof for the resurrection of the dead. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
What if no one would believe in the Final Redemption, the building of the Third Beis HaMikdash, and the resurrection of the dead? It would seem from this Radak that they would never happen. Would that mean the atheists and non-believers are correct? G-D forbid, of course not! It would just be a tragedy!!
But how could that be? How does this make sense? It would seem that belief is the foundation of reality and existence in this world. Of course, if Hashem says something will happen it will happen, or has happened above time and this world; but that does not mean it has to manifest itself in this world if we don’t give it a chance for it to happen. That is part of our free choice. But that does not mean that the Torah is wrong, Hashem really doesn’t exist, and our belief system is flawed. Rather it means we didn’t earn or deserve what Hashem has in store for us.

Hashem is ready and willing to give all that has been promised and guaranteed to happen, which we believe through mesora, tradition, from generation to generation. The process just has to play out for us to ultimately deserve it. Just as Noach and his family were the only believers in their generation and were the only ones saved from world destruction, so too Hashem is ready and willing to bring on the Final Redemption, resurrect the dead, and build the Third Beis HaMikdash, even for one person, if he was the only one to believe it.

However, we have the strength and fortitude to never give up and to be steadfast to our belief system, and G-D willing, speedily in our days there shall be a sanctification of Hashem’s Holy Name with millions, if not billions of believers coming forth in the End Days for the Final Redemption, resurrection of the dead, and the building of the third and final everlasting Holy Temple. May it happen smoothly and peacefully sooner than later!

Posted on

Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 10 halachos 14, 15

 B’ezras Hashem next week I hope to finish the first part of Sefer Chofetz Chaim, the laws of lashon hara, and the week after starting the laws of rechilus.

Now that there is a permissibility to speak out in order to help the victims or for the sake of the truth to keep people away from doing this sin we have to. be super careful to meet the 7 rules stated in the beginning of the chapter which we’ll review now, but as an introduction you must first make sure the perpetrator didn’t do Teshuva and fix the problem then to speak out you have to meet the 7 prerequisites.

1. You had to have seen the incident yourself and not know of it from secondhand information because we know someone was damaged, but do you really know who did the damage.

 2. You have to do investigation to make sure the perpetrator had no justification for what he did, whether it’s stealing, hurting, or embarrassing someone etc. And the investigation must be through the lenses of halacha to see if he is really guilty or not. This is the hardest rule to get around because people very easily make justification that they know what they saw and understand what happened and know they are right, so it’s very easy to fall into the trap of lashon hara and tell others what happened for the sake of help, but they might have overlooked something.

3. If you think you can confront the perpetrator and resolve the issues you must do that before telling anyone. The Rambam and other Rishonim say this is the classical and simple application of the verse in the Torah of “You shall rebuke someone of your nation” (Vayikra 19:17).

4. Be very sure that the entire story you are telling is the truth without any trace of lie. One exaggeration whether adding something or leaving a fact onto matter how small might change the outlook of the listeners. Even if he is for sure guilty but he might not be as bad as your exaggeration implies so it’s a big sin of lashon hara to add or even subtract a detail that might change the impression people will have about the perpetrator.

5. Your purpose in sharing the information must be a positive one which is really the basis for this entire permissibility of speaking out. An added valid excuse to talk to someone is if one as to vent and get something off his chest if he has worries or anxiety in his or her heart, as Chaza”l say in Yoma 75a that if one has worries in his hear he should speak it out with others.

 6. If you can resolve the problem in some other way without telling anyone what happened then it’s forbidden to speak out. Even if you can resolve the issue with minimal guilt by not making the perpetrator look as bad as he really is then it’s a mitzvah to minimize the issue as long as the issue is fully resolved and won’t happen again. It’s a mitzvah, a nice thing to minimize guilt an example of this is in Choshen Mishpat 421:13 but it’s not an obligation because there is nowhere in Shas which clearly says minimizing guilt is the same as hiding it totally in regard to lashon hara.

7. You have to make sure that by speaking out to resolve the issue the perpetrator would not be punished more than what he would deserve if taken to court. However, if the perpetrator is very stubborn and he wouldn’t listen to Jewish courts then only with the consent and with the advice of Jewish courts one is allowed to take him to a non-Jewish court to fix the issue, see Choshen Mishpat 26:2.

The Chofetz Chaim warns that we see from all this that one is in great peril when he is faced with the position that he has to speak out because it’s very easy to mess up and speak lashon hara especially in terms of making sure you are correct about what you saw, and you don’t exaggerate one iota. This is what the pasuk in Mishlei 18:21 means that “Death and life is in the hands of the tongue.” One must think through and review in his head what he is going to say and how he is going to say it to be sure he meets all the rules because on the spur of the moment it is very easy to speak out angrily in this highly tenuous situation and slip up without thinking and be sure that you are only speaking out for the betterment of good and that’s all.

Posted on

Teruma – Patience with the Process

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.
This week’s Haftorah for the Torah portion of Teruma discusses the building of the first Beis HaMikdash just as the Torah portion discusses the building of the Mishkan . It begins, “And Hashem gave Shlomo wisdom, as He had promised him, and there was peace between Hiram and Shlomo, and they both made a peace treaty together” (Melachim Alef 5:26). The Ralbag points out that the Navi is telling us that the abundance of wisdom Shlomo possessed was the reason why there was peace between Shlomo and Hiram, for because of his wisdom Hiram loved him. (Click here for Hebrew text.)

This was a wisdom which was a gift from Hashem, which Hashem granted Shlomo in a prophetic dream – to be the wisest person in the world, after Hashem granted Shlomo  one thing, whatever he wanted. Yet with all this wisdom and, as the haftorah goes on to record, using this wisdom for the good, the betterment of mankind and to bring close the relationship between Hashem and His children through the building of the Beis HaMikdash, the palace for the Shechina, The Holy Presence of Hashem – still in all towards the end of the haftorah it writes, “And the word of Hashem came to Shlomo saying” (Melachim Alef 6:11). The Ralbag goes out of his way to emphasize at this juncture that since the Navi states after this “And Hashem appeared to Shlomo a second time as he did in Givon” we learn from there that this prophecy here did not come to Shlomo himself, but rather it came to him through some other prophet while he was building the Holy Temple. The Radak says that prophet was Achiha HaShiloni. (Click Here for Hebrew text.)
Though Shlomo was very young, taking the reigns at the ripe age of 12, he was very mature. So with all his wisdom and righteousness, why couldn’t Shlomo have a consistent line of prophesy with Hashem, especially during this important time of building the Beis HaMikdash, similar to Moshe Rabbeinu?

However, one has to realize the greatness of a prophet and what it takes to reach and stay on such a high spiritual level. It is a process of perfection which isn’t so easy to meet. This process is based on perfecting the levels set down in a gemara in Avoda Zara 20b by Rav Pinchas ben Yair. There are 11 levels before prophesy and to even start, Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair says that it begins with learning Torah. Only after perfecting those levels, the last one being the ability to resurrect the dead, is one able to reach the level of prophesy, but even the Amoraim, the rabbi in the times of the gemara, where there are stories of them resurrecting the dead, were not able to reach the level of prophesy. It is known that if one perfects his character based on the teaching of the Mesilas Yesharim, The Path of the Just, by Rav Moshe Chain Luzzato then one would reach the level of Kedusha, holiness, which is 3 levels off from prophesy. Yet Rav Yechazkel Sarna zt”l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Chevron, explains that the Ramban wrote a letter to his son, the famous Iggeres HaRamban, whose main topic is humility because he had reached the perfection of the level of humility, which is 2 levels below Kedusha. This was in the 1200s. The venerable Vilna Gaon attested about himself in 1700s that he had perfected the level of Prishus, separation, which is 3 levels lower than the level of humility. Nowadays they say that even the greatest of the generation at best can perfect the first two levels, of Zehirus, watchfulness, and Zrizus, alacrity. The reason for such a downslide throughout history is because of the concept of hiskatnus hadoros, the diminishing of the generations. In Judaism, we believe that the pinnacle of mankind was created by Hashem in the beginning with Adam. He was as close as can be to Hashem; physically, spiritually, and mentally, before the sin. The farther away from the source, the weaker we become in every way. Therefore, King Shlomo as wise as he was, a special gift given to him from Hashem, he still didn’t have the consistent level of prophesy as Moshe Rabbeinu had. That is why the Ralbag points out at this juncture that someone else came to him with a message from Hashem and he didn’t receive it himself through his own prophecy.

 It’s a process to reach such great heights, and one must realize it’s not an easy process. Chaza”l teach us “that a person was born to toil” and “according to his efforts is his reward.” There are even times when there are spurts of perfection, which go above and beyond the rule of hiskatnus hadoros, achieved through great diligence and intense discipline. Like by Matan Torah, where Chaza”l say the Jewish people reached the level of Adam before he sinned when they received the Torah.

In a similar vein, the Haftorah also writes, “And it was in the four hundred and eightieth year after the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt, in the fourth year, in the month Ziv, which (is) the second month of Solomon’s reign over Israel, that he did [begin to] build the house of Hashem” (Melachim Alef 6:1). This means it took 480 years for the Jewish people to be able to deserve starting to build the Beis HaMikdash! Can one fathom how long that is, almost five lifetimes of centennials!! A people who were at such great heights, living on miracles when they inherited The Land with Yehoshua; yet being ready to build Hashem’s Palace was a process that takes time.

Matters that are important don’t just happen overnight; the Jewish People received the Torah 2,448 years after the creation of the world. That is longer than our current exile! Chaza”l says that this current exile will end with the Final Redemption with the coming of Moshiach. May we merit to have a spurt of spiritual energy to reach this level of perfection speedily in our days. However, it is up to us to speed up the process, to pour all our energy into serving Hashem properly and deserving this illustrious time in world history, through learning Torah in-depth and mussar, books of character development, like Mesilas Yesharim, and at least trying to apply to the best of our abilities lessons from these sefarim, may we merit to have a spurt of perfection and end this long process towards the Final Redemption speedily in our days.

Posted on

Sefer Chofetz Chaim Chapter 10, Halacha 13 footnote 3

The Torah allows someone to share a complete story in detail, even outside of court, if the listener can help you get back what you lost or protect you from future harm, even if it makes the alleged perpetrator look quite bad. This applies to helping yourself or helping others. For example, if you heard someone say, “If I meat Reuvain at the game I am going to start cursing and ranking him out.” If you know this guy is the type of guy who doesn’t just say baseless threats but takes action, you definitely can warn Reuvain if it can protect him from any embarrassment or harm. This is not considered rechilus, telling on others because your intent is just to remove any damage and to hush the fight, so to by lashon hara if the purpose is to protect yourself and other, not to denigrate the perpetrator then it is not lashon hara.

The Gemara in Kiddushin 59a is a perfect proof to this concept. There is a case of miscommunication. Rebbe Gidel was trying to buy a land and Rebbe Abba bought it right under his nose. Rebbe Gidel went to Rebbe Zeira to complain and told him what happened. Rebbe Zeira says he’ll go to Rav Yitzchak Nafcha and tell him. Rav Yitzchak Nafcha waited until the holidays and went over to Rebbe Abba and asked him, “What is the status of a person who grabbed a date cake off the floor while a poor person was running after to get it?” Rebbe Abba said, “That guy is a bad guy.” Rav Yitzchak Nafcha said, “Then why did you essentially do the same thing to Rebbe Gidel?” Rebbe Abba said he didn’t know Rebbe Gidel was trying to buy it.

This case is obviously not a case where Rebbe Gidel went to court ad complained to Rebbe Zeira, acting as a judge, because the halacha is both litigants have to be at the court case to present the case in trial and Rebbr Abba wasn’t there. So why isn’t it lashon hara what Rebbe Gidel told Rebbe Zeira, especially as we see that he got the story all wrong, and how then can Rebbe Zeira go over to Rav Yitzchak Nafcha, who parenthetically was Rebbe Abba’s rebbe, and tell him secondhand knowledge of what happened? It must be that it is not lashon hara to seek out help from someone. Why didn’t Rebbe Zeira just go over to Rebbe Abba himself, Rebbe eira was a great rabbi and surely Rebbe Abba would have listened to him? It must be that Rebbe Zeira knew he was to far away from Rebbe Abba and would see him, so he told Rebbe Abba’s teacher and he dealt with the matter. So even secondhand information can be told for the sake of helping others.

Posted on

Mishpatim – “I Was Born That Way” is No Excuse

The events of the revelation at Sinai before and after are split up into 3 sections in the Book of Shemos. The first is in last week’s Torah portion of Yisro, a detailed account leading up to and including the actual giving of the Torah, andthe Ten Commandments. The second is at the end of this week’s portion of Mishpatim, which according to Rashi is an overview of what took place right before the Torah was given, including the famous proclamation by the Jewish people of na’aseh vinishma, “we will do and then we will listen.” The third section is in Ki Sisa, discussing what took place after the Jews received the Torah, specifically concerning the sin of the golden calf.

There is a famous Chaza”l about how Hashem went around to all the nations, giving them a chance to accept the Torah before he came to the Jews and they wholeheartedly said na’aseh vinishma, without even asking what was inside the Torah. There is a very important lesson that could be learnt from the version of the story presented in the Pesiksa Rabasi of Rav Kahana (21:3).
The medrish writes that in the beginning Hashem went to the descendants of Esav. He asked them, will you accept the Torah? They said before Him, “Master of the Universe, what is written inside it?” He said, “Don’t kill” (Shemos 20:13). They said, “The whole essence of our being is that our forefathers guaranteed we will live by the sword, as it says, ‘By your sword you shall live’ (Breishis 27:40), we can’t accept the Torah.” Afterwards Hashem went to the descendants of Ammon and asked them if they will accept the Torah. They said before Him, “Master of the Universe, what is written inside it?” He said to them, “Don’t have incest.” They said to Him, “The whole essence of our being came from incest, as it says ‘Thus, Lot’s two daughters conceived from their father’ (Breishis 19:16), we can’t accept the Torah.” Afterwards Hashem went to the descendants of Yishmael and asked them if they would accept the Torah. They said before Him, “Master of the Universe, what is written inside it?” He said to them, “Don’t steal.” They said to Him, “The whole essence of our being lives off of stealing and burglarizing, as it writes, ‘And he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be upon all, and everyone’s hand upon him’ (Breishis 16:12), we can’t accept the Torah.” Afterwards Hashem came to the Jews, and they said na’aseh vinishma, “we will do and then we will listen” (Shemos 24:7). For this reason the Torah writes, “He appeared from Mount Paran and came with some of the holy myriads; from His right hand was a fiery Law for them. Indeed, You showed love for peoples” (Devarim 33:2, 3). (Click here for Hebrew text.)

The Bi’ur on this medrish, explaining why the medrish brings the pasuk of “from His right hand was a fiery Law for them. מִֽימִינ֕וֹ אֵ֥שׁ דָּ֖ת (כתיב אשדת) לָֽמוֹ,” says in Hebrew, “ “ואפשר דדריש מימינו כמו מאמינו  . This means that it is possible to understand the Hebrew term that refers to “from His right hand” to be read as the Hebrew term for believers. The intention being that because of the faith and trust that the Jews entrusted in Hashem, and said, “we will do and then we will listen,” as it says in Gemara Shabbos 88a “About us, who proceed wholeheartedly and with integrity, it is written: “The integrity of the upright will guide them” (Proverbs 11:3), whereas about those people who walk in deceit, it is written at the end of the same verse: ‘And the perverseness of the faithless will destroy them,’” therefore the medrish concludes that they merited to have ‘a fiery law for them.’ (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The other nations seemed to have very valid excuses for why they couldn’t accept the Torah. What could they do, what could you expect from them if it is within their genetic makeup, the way they were born was with a drive to kill, act immodestly, or steal? They even proved it was part of their destiny because of the traditions they had from their progenitors which were even quoted in the Torah. For example the blessing Hagar received for Yishmael her son by an angel, and the blessing that Yitzchak gave to Esav. If that is the case, then why did Hashem pick the hardest mitzvah for them when they asked what was in the Torah? Why doom them from the start?

However, it would seem from Hashem’s response to the Children of Israel that what Hashem was really looking for was a people who truly believed and trusted in Him. So, when the other nations asked what was in the Torah, Hashem gave them the hardest mitzvah for them to observe to test their faith in Hashem and His Torah and obviously they were not willing to be faithful. If they would have been trusting and faithful, they would have realized and believed in the fact that they had the ability to overcome their inborn challenges and that Hashem would not have given them or even created mitzvos they would not be able to adhere to. But the Jewish people showed the ultimate enthusiasm and wholehearted true faith by not even asking what was inside the Torah but by blindly accepting “we will do and then we will listen.” For showing Hashem they were willing and ready to accept whatever Hashem commanded and expected of them they merited to have ‘a fiery law for them,’ they received the Torah, Hashem’s blueprints of creation and the handbook for mankind.

Posted on

CITE Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 10 halachos 12, 13

Halacha 12: If it’s not so easy to talk about someone who proactively did something against you, then all the more so to tell people how other didn’t do you a favor, like not lending money, or giving tzedaka, or not inviting you into their house as a guest, or even just not being friendly and going over to you with a smile saying hello. In all these cases and the like you cannot repeat them to other people especially if you are condemning an entire community who might be good kosher Jews who believe in Hashem. For example, to say people in New York are cold and not friendly, they are always in a rush and never say hello to strangers even if I am a guest in shul, that would be lashon hara even if it is true. (This example of New York is not to hint at anything specific. I just chose a location with a high concentration of Torah observant Jews all living in the same area.) However, the one exception would be that if you tell people of authority who will be listened to and they are able to speak out in the town and reprimand or inspire them to be nicer then you can tell them because it’s for a positive purpose, assuming your attitude is to try to help and create a positive outcome and you meet all 7 prerequisites. For example, if a person drove through a town with a Young Israel shul and no one went over to him to say hello. If he tells people in the next town what happened would be lashon hara but if he would go to the Young Israel headquarters and tell them and they have the clout to go over to this shul and speak to them to reprimand or inspire them to change their ways, that would be productive and permissible. (The Young Israel example is only given because it’s an easy example to make of an umbrella organization with many Shuls under its name, I was not trying to send any message across.)

Halacha 13: Now, one is absolutely and totally permitted in monetary cases to tell the authorities or people of influence like relatives of the perpetrator or anyone that can help him get his money whether stolen, damaged, or a bad business deal. He can even tell them of a threat so that they can help him avoid losing money or being hurt, as well as if they can help avoid future problems. A person has every right to protect himself and his money and get it back or compensated if owed to him or her. It is not lashon hara to tell the truth to people who can help you. Even in a nonmonetary situation for example to avoid being embarrassed or cursed at you can tell people, even his own family what happened and why you suspect this guy will go after you and scream at you, if you have a convincing story and they can help you avoid being yelled at and embarrassed then you are allowed to tell them the story so that they can convince the person not to confront you or wrongly speak out against you. This is whether to avoid an anticipated argument or to stop an ensuing argument or any embarrassment you think could be caused to yourself in the future. You can go over to them privately and not in a group of at least 3 because Rabbeinu Yona in Shaarei Teshuva (228) only says you need 3 for the sake of the truth to teach others lessons not to do bad things, if otherwise speaking out in public could be misconstrued as flattery or not convincing of being truthful, but in this case your story of a plea for help, even asked in private should be pretty convincing.