Author: Rabbi Milder

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Breishis -The Benefits of a True Fatherly Figure

Gadlus Ha’adam, the greatness of mankind, is realized through our ability to choose between good and evil in a deep intellectual fashion, as well as being able to express it with our power of speech. The potential to be able to reach great heights in physical prowess as well as in the spiritual realm in an artistic and creative manner is what gives us the impetus to strive to do good and make this world a better place.

The foundation of man’s greatness is encapsulated in this week’s Torah portion of Breishis, when he was created:

And G-D created man in His image; in the image of G-D He created him; male and female He created them. כזוַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים | אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם:



It is a well-known premise in Slobodka Mussar that through Gadlus Ha’adam, realizing the great potential inside each and every human being, the fact that we are created in the image of G-D, b’tzelem Elokim, we are given a sense of responsibility to emulate Him, to do what is right in the world, and to strive for character perfection.

However, there is another reason, besides the sense of responsibility, why Hashem created us in His image, and it is another motivator for us to strive for greatness and perfection. This reason is provided by the Sforno in his introduction to his commentary on the Torah.

The Sforno says that the Torah first tells us that the Blessed One created man in His image, as His likeness in order to choose to emulate His Creator as much as possible. For in this way he will perfect himself and his actions will be complete and honorable more than any other, just like what’s befitting to Him Who Is Blessed, who is exulted above everything else. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
It would seem that the fact that we were created in G-D’s image doesn’t just give us a sense of responsibility according to the Sforno; it is more than that. Once we have been endowed with a part of His very being and essence, in a sense, it is now a part of our genetic makeup, available to tap into and develop. Being that The Image of G-D is in our system, or genetic makeup, not as a physical DNA but in our soul, we now have the inkling to emulate the One who gave it to us. Just as a child is born with certain traits from his physical parents which are passed on to him and he learns to live with them and develop them for good or for bad, and because he has these similar genes to his parents therefore many times he has this drive to learn from them and to emulate them. They are his fatherly and motherly figures which many times he looks up to in order to learn from, so to Hashem created us in His Image so that we will turn to Hashem as a fatherly figure and emulate Him as best as possible.

Unlike physical parents who might have flaws and shortcomings, Hashem, however, is all good, all knowledgeable, all powerful, and all perfect. There is nothing bad that can come out of striving to emulate Him and learning from His ways. This means that this is worthwhile to do  and so the means which help us to follow Hashem is His Torah which guides us in what is right and wrong.

We are unlike animals or plants and other physical but inanimate objects, who are programmed to do whatever Hashem decides for them to do. Neither are we like the angels who are pure spiritual beings, that have a natural awe of Hashem which causes them never to err. We are potentially better than both since we are endowed with the Tzelem Elokim, with a Divine soul. We just must realize and tap into this part of ourselves, emulate our Father In Heaven, for if and when we do then then our greatness shines, and that is true Gadlus Ha’adam!

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Vezos Habracha – Refocused Trust in Hashem

Moshe Rabbeinu blesses all of Israel in his very last moments before his passing, in the Torah portion of Vezos Habracha which is read on Simchas Torah. In his blessing he says, “There is none like G-D, O Yeshurun; He rides across heaven to help you… That is the abode of G-D Immemorial, and below are the world’s mighty ones; He drove away the enemy from before you… Fortunate are you, O Israel: Who is like you! O people delivered by Hashem The Shield of your help…” (Devarim 33:26-29).


The Ralbag learns from these pesukim that it is fitting to trust that the goals of Hashem will be fulfilled, for he possesses all the might and authority to do whatever He wants, and the heavens won’t stop ensuring whatever He wants gets done because He created them and made them, and everything comes out of what is influenced by them. Since this is true, it is befitting the Jews to trust in what Hashem has in store for them concerning inheritance of The Land and the wiping out of the nations that were settled upon it. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Why does Moshe feel the need to reiterate to the Jewish people that they should be confident about Hashem fulfilling His promises of giving them the land and conquering the enemies upon it? Hadn’t Hashem clearly proven Himself faithful up until then by taking care of them with such miracles as the manna, the water coming out of the rock, and the security system of the Clouds of Glory protecting them throughout their 40 years in the desert? They had also gone into battle against various enemies like the giant, Og, and many other, whom they had miraculously defeated each time. If so, then why must trust in Hashem be reiterated?

It would seem that with all the trust and faith in Hashem that the Jewish people had at the time, there was still more strengthening of trust that could be had. And it required refocusing on it on a constant basis, especially when they were about to enter a whole new different situation, new rules, new settings, no more food from heaven, water coming out of rocks, and Clouds of Glory protecting them. They would now be on the offensive and then on the defensive, conquering the land Hashem had promised them. So although they were firm in their bitachon [trust in Hashem], another dose of restatement and inspiration could only make their trust stronger.

We live in a time of unknowns and confusion never experienced before. If the Jewish people upon entering the Land of Israel needed chizuk in their trust in Hashem, all the more so should we be constantly be reviewing and reiterating in ourselves that Hashem has a master plan and in the end we’ll look back and see how it plays out and how all is good coming from Him.

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Shabbos Shuva – Hashem’s Currency: Speech


The Shabbos in between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is called Shabbos Shuva because of the opening line of the haftorah, which states (Hoshea 14:2,3):

2: Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. ב:שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עַ֖ד יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּ֥י כָשַׁ֖לְתָּ בַּֽעֲו‍ֹנֶֽךָ:
3:Take words with yourselves and return to the Lord. Say, “You shall forgive all iniquity and teach us [the] good [way],and let us render [for] bulls [the offering of] our lips. ג:קְח֚וּ עִמָּכֶם֙ דְּבָרִ֔ים וְשׁ֖וּבוּ אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה אִמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו כָּל־תִּשָּׂ֚א עָו‍ֹן֙ וְקַח־ט֔וֹב וּנְשַׁלְּמָ֥ה פָרִ֖ים שְׂפָתֵֽינוּ:


The Radak says these pesukim refer to repentance, teshuva. Hashem is telling the
Jews, through the Prophet Hoshea, that they should return to Hashem “because you have stumbled in your sin. For you have seen that you have stumbled in your sin therefore it is befitting of you to return to Hashem the Blessed One, for nothing will get you up from your stumbling besides your repentance…” Then in the next pasuk it says “Take words with yourselves” which the Radak says means that Hashem is not asking them to repent through giving silver, gold or burnt offerings, rather with good words, that they admit their wrong doings and return to Hashem with all their heart, and not just lip service. (Click here for Hebrew text.)

It would seem from the Radak that Hashem doesn’t care for tzedakah or sacrifices; He desires our vidui, our verbal confession of sins, as well as a heartfelt commitment to distance oneself from the sin and regret it, in order to try never to do it again, which are the 3 main components of teshuva.

Yet we say in the Yomim Noraim tefilos, High Holiday prayers, “But repentance, prayer, and charity remove the evil of the decree!” This seems to indicate that tzedakah, charity, is expected by Hashem to be given. Also, part of the atonement process in the times of the Beis HaMikdash was bringing sin- or guilt-offerings, etc. So what does it mean that Hashem is not asking for the silver, gold and burnt offerings of the Jewish people?

We must say that the main part of repentance is the verbal repentance and regret, plus commitment in our hearts to not commit the sin again. The tzedaka and sacrifices are mearly a means of atonement, which help us on a physical, worldly level to understand the severity of our sins.

Why is our speech and heartfelt commitment more valuable to Hashem then our sacrifice of wealth and property? It is because in truth it is more valuable. Human beings were created in “the image of Hashem,” and our “G-dly essence” is our soul. The Orchos Tzadikim in his last chapter mentions that “Animals, too, possess nefesh and ruach, for lust and anger are found in them as they are in men, but a human being possesses a neshama in addition, which speaks and which distinguishes between truth and falsity.” The Chofetz Chaim takes this concept a step further in his Shmiras HaLashon chapter 30, “And now we should speak about the power of speech, which Hashem naturally endowed within the soul of a person, which make him different than other living creatures. He gave us the power of speech so we can speak to the Holy One Blessed Be He and to delve into His Torah, which is the purpose of creation.”

We see from here that speech is a heavenly and spiritual gift from Hashem to mankind, which means it is infinitely valuable and priceless since it is divine. It is in fact more precious than all the physical silver, gold, and sacrifices that come from the physical world.

This should be a lesson to us in valuing what we say and how we say it. May we merit eloquent speech to come out of our mouths before Hashem this coming Yom Kippur.

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Torah Riddles Test #141

Question 2: Why does the Vilna Gaon hold that you should pick up the lulav and esrog normally, the way the mitzvah is done and then say the blessing? You technically don’t even have to have in mind to not perform the mitzvah until after the blessing is said.

Background:

A. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 651:1) says the mitzvah of lulav and esrog is to take them into your hands.

B. Normally we say the blessing before doing the mitzvah.

C. The language of the blessing on the mitzvah of lulav and esrog is blessing Hashem “on the lulav being taken,” not blessed is Hashem “for taking the lulav.”

 Answer: The Rabbis specifically enacted the blessing to be past tense and not future tense so that it’s inclusive of already having the lulav and esrog already in one’s hands instead needing to pick it up immediately upon saying the blessing, since blessing are usually said with item in hand and then the action is done whereas here the action is done by putting it in his hand so the. Lessing is worded in a fashion where you could say the blessing in a matter which makes sense while still having the mitzvah in your hands (See footnote 42 on page 89 of Dirshum Mishna Berura.)

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Torah Riddles Test #140

1.    Question: Why can one even hire a carpenter i.e. a professional, to build a Sukkah on chol hamoed sukkos but cannot build a fence, even by yourself, on chol hamoed according to the Be’ur Halacha?

Background:

1. The first Be’ur Halacha in siman 540 begins by quoting a Ritva that only by rooftops that are usually not used but the person wants to be extra careful is one forbidden to build a fence around it on chol hamoed but he concludes that other poskim hold that even if the roof top is normally used and there is a definite mitzvah to build the fence still it should not be done on chol hamoed.

 2. The first Be’ur Halacha clearly and unequivocally concludes that no matter if the prohibition of doing expert and craftsman work on chol hamoed is rabbinic or on a Torah level it is permissible to have the sukkah built or fixed because it is for a mitzvah. It can even be fixed at the very end of chol hamoed when you don’t have to potentially use it because the Torah says “The holiday of sukkos you shall make for yourself seven days.” This implies for the entire seven days there is a mitzvah to have the sukkah so you can fix it and build it by anyone at any time of chol hamoed. He also compares building a sukkah to writing a mezuzah or tefillin to be used on chol hamoed which is needed for the need of the mitzvah at that time.


Answer: A fence does not have to be needed on Chol hamoed even if it is a mitzvah to make  because you can just close off the roof for the holiday whereas you need the Sukkah on throughout the holiday and the scenario of the refilling and mezuzah is also where you need them right now during chol hamoed. (Look in footnote 6 of be’ur halacha 540 in Dirshu Mishna Berura and Page 68 footnote 4 on the first Be’ur Halacha of siman 637.)

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Rosh Hashana – Venting: A Relief from Anger

The Orchos Tzadikim in the Gate of Anger unequivocally declare, “Anger is an evil trait. Just as scurvy (or in today’s age COVID-19) is a disease of the body, so anger is a disease of the soul… Anger blots out one’s concentration in prayer, and the Shechina (The Holy Presence) does not repose itself in the midst of anger. The angry person will not be very wise, for anger drives wisdom from one’s heart, so that he will not be able to answer correctly, and none of his words will be reasonable… Anger breeds arrogance in a person, and because of it he will not submit and will not acknowledge the truth… And one who is given to anger his life is no life (Pesachim 113b), and he is never happy. And since one is never happy, one does not accept what transpires with love and joy, one does not acknowledge the rightness of G-D’s justice with him and he cannot serve the Blessed One with joy. When a person is fasting or when he is beset by some affliction, he is more susceptible to anger. Therefore, he must be especially careful at such times nt to become angry.” 
Yet, the haftorah for the first day of Rosh Hashana which discusses the birth of Shmuel HaNavi is read because on Rosh Hashana, God remembered [for childbirth] Sarah, Rachel, and Chana. (Rosh Hashana 11a). Chaza”l say that Peninah, Chana’s cowife, tzara,, taunted her by saying such things as, “Have you bought something new for your baby?” She meant to provoke Chana to pray but was punished for doing so in a cruel manner. And the Pesukim relate, “And her rival would frequently anger her, in order to make her complain, for  Hashem had shut  her womb. And so he [Elkanah] would do year by year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, so she would anger her, and she wept and would not eat… And Chana arose after eating and after drinking, and Eli the priest was sitting on the chair beside the doorpost of the Temple of the Hashem. And she was bitter in spirit, and she prayed to the Hashem, and wept. And she vowed a vow, and said: to Lord of Hosts, if You will look upon the affliction of Your bondswoman, and You will remember me, and You will not forget Your bondswoman and You will give Your bondswoman a man-child, and I shall give him to the Hashem all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head. And it was, as she prayed long before the Hashem, that Eli watched her mouth. But Chana, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, and her voice was not heard, and Eli thought her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her: Until when will you be drunk? Throw off your wine from upon yourself. And Chana answered and said: No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit, and neither new wine nor old wine have I drunk, and I poured out my soul before the Lord. Deliver not your bondswoman before the unscrupulous woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation have I spoken until now. And Eli answered and said: Go in peace, and the God of Israel will grant your request which you have asked of Him. And she said: May your bondswoman find favor in your eyes; and the woman went on her way and ate, and her face was not (sad) anymore” (Shmuel Alef 1:6-18).

The Ralbag relates that Chana was [seemingly understandably] angry because her  Peninah angered her for she glorified herself with the fact that she had so many children and would degrade Chana for not having  any children. It got to the point that Hannah was truly depressed and would not eat or drink and she poured out her prayers with heartfelt tears opposite the Holy of Holies. Eli the Kohen Gadol saw her moving her lips, but no voice was heard and so Eli thought that she was drunk. He even reprimanded her on being a drunkard and Chana responded, ‘No my master, the matter is not like what you think, rather I am very much mean spirited from so much fasting and anger over my bad mazel… I do not speak like this out of drunkenness but because of a need to pray to Hashem and because of the anger that my tzara has angered me so I speak in this way to cause my will to reach Hashem and to quiet the noise of my heart from the anger, for the anger has quieted down a tiny bit through speaking and relating about it,’ just as Chazal say, “Worry in one’s heart, one should talk about it to others” and in this fashion she calmed down from her rage and depression. Eli prophetically told her that her prayers would be answered, and she went on her way satisfied that her prayers would  be answered and in fact they were. The rest is history. Shmuel HaNavi, one of the greatest prophets in Jewish History was born to her and her husband Elkanah. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
This episode seems to be in contradiction with Orchos Tzadikim which says , anger blots out one’s concentration in prayer, and the Shechina (The Holy Presence) does not repose itself in the midst of anger,” however Chana seemed to have had so much focus and intensity  in her prayers, while pouring out her tears towards the Heavenly Gate of Tears that her prayers were in fact answered. Yet she admitted that she was still in the throes of her anger which is why she looked like a drunkard while praying to Hashem. How could it be that her prayers were so focused with all that anger to the point that she was answered with such a tremendous gift as the merit to give birth to Shmuel HaNavi?

However, the Ralbag was in fact bothered by this issue and carefully acknowledged the problem. The Ralbag observed that when she first began to pray to Hashem she made an oath that if she would have a son he would be dedicated holy to Hashem, as a Nazirite for his entire life. That was her way of venting, of speaking out her troubles, and in this way she was able to take control of her anger instead of her anger and depression controlling her, and she was even able to use that anger to direct all her kavana, authentic intent, into beseeching Hashem  to finally grant her a child; which He did.

There is an incredible lesson here in anger management, that it’s very healthy to vent and speak out to someone what is troubling you as apposed to holding in the anger and letting it take over your life. However on a much deeper level we also see the immense power we have over our emotions, for the emotion of anger, as we saw in the Orchos Tzadikim can completely control a person and utterly ruin his or her life but even with one small piece of speech one can change the tides and take control of his or her emotions to the point that they don’t just dissipate but they can be used for your own good.

Chaza”l say that the manner in which Chana prayed is the source of the silent devotion, the Amidah, that we say quietly to Hashem every day, multiple times a day, as well as many other Jewish laws that apply to prayer, (see Berachos 31a). We are coming upon the season of prayer with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are we prepared to focus all our energy into our prayers and take control of any anger and frustration (if any) built up over the year? Chana, even in her throes of anger made such an impact on history by just taking control of the situation; may she be an inspiration for our prayers this coming year.

May we all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim conclusion of footnotes for chapter 6 halacha 5 finishing footnote 14 and 15 Conclusion of footnote 14

Continuing with what we have been discussing, off the topic of lashon hara, this time talking about gazing at women especially when they are immodest. The gemara in Bava Basra 57b says that one gaze at women as they are laundering their clothes in the river. And the gemara says if you could have taken a different route to where you want to go then you are wicked and the Rashbam adds that even if you were closing your eyes as you walked down the riverbank you are still wicked. The Chofetz Chaim asks why are they called wicked, how is it any different than walking by a place of idol worship where we poskined that if you aren’t planning on going there, just passing by to get to where you want to go, even if you could go some other way and you have no intent of benefiting from any sounds smells, or beautiful sights coming outvif the idolatrous place of worship then it’s permissible to pass by even if automatically you might get some pleasure which you are uninterested in getting. Even according to the Chochmas Adam quoted last week who says one should close his eyes, or at least squint, or close his ears, and or stuff is nostrils a bit so he cannot smell, then if he does that and walk by he is not considered wicked so why does the Rashbam consider him wicked in this case? The Chofetz Chaim answers that when it comes to stairing at women especially when dressed inappropriately one has to take extra precautions not to come to gaze at them because the yetzer hara, evil inclination is extra sneaky and strong to get you to sin. Tge lost for women is much stronger than any other lust, even if you say to yourself that you aren’t affected by it but the yetzer hara has his way of ensnaring any man and getting him to fall into a sinful trap. Therefore, extra precautions must be taken and if not then you are considered evil.

The Chofetz Chaim lends support to this concept from a gemara in Brachos 61a that says it’s better to walk behind a lion thatn in back of a woman and if you meet one on the road then quickly walk past her and move to the side. (Granted derech eretz kadma liTorah, and one must use proper manners to at least acknowledge any person, even a lady on the street with a greeting but then quickly walk past her and don’t linger, lest you might look upon her and begin to have inappropriate thoughts.)

There is a story about the Chofetz Chaim, in his late 90s a couple of years before he passed away he was in an inn overnight on his travels and at breakfast the waitress who was attending him and his accompaniment was wearing a shirt which was a above her elbows. When she left, he turned to his secretary and asked him if she thought he was an angel. He meant that even though he was at the ripe old age of upper 90s and he was a very righteous person, besides the fact it was only her elbows showing, still in all he was greatly concerned that maybe his evil inclinations will over power him and he’ll sin at least in his thoughts, so he wondered if she thought he was an angel who could not be effected by physical desires.

Footnote 15: Back to the laws of lashon hara, if a person cannot walk away from someone speaking lashon hara, neither can he rebuke him and it’s embarrassing to put his fingers into his ears then besides not believing a word spoken, and having no intent if enjoying what he is hearing, he should also sit there as a stone or as the Rabbeinu Yona says even should a look of disgust and if you don’t stay still as a stone then you are helping him commit the sin by somewhat giving credence and considered flattering a sinner which us a grave sin which makes one undeserving of having the Shechina, Hashem’s Holy Presence focus on him.

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Torah Riddles Test #139

 2.       Question: Why on Yom Kippur are you allowed to talk about what you are going to eat after the fast but one cannot talk about business on Shabbos?

Background:

A.      Both things are forbidden on that day. One cannot eat on Yom Kippur, and one cannot do business on Shabbos (or Yom Kippur).

B.      The Mishna Berura (307:1:1) says that the prohibition from the days of the Prophets against speaking about mundane things on Shabbos is that one is not allowed to speak on Shabbos about things he is forbidden to do on Shabbos since one has to feel as if all his work was completed by Shabbos, therefore the Rabbis enacted that one also cannot even talk about work which is forbidden to be done on Shabbos.

Answer: This prohibition just doesn’t apply to eating on Yom Kippur because one has no obligation to view himself as if he is satiated and has no need to eat on Yom Kippur, neither does fasting have anything to do with work, therefore there was no Rabbinic enactment on Yom Kippur prohibiting talking about eating after Yom Kippur (See Dirshu Mishna Berura 611:2:5:6, in back page 49).

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Torah Riddles Test #138

1.       Question: Why don’t we discontinue reading from the Torah or Megilas Koheles or Shir Hashirim on Shabbos just as we don’t blow shofar or read Megilas Esther on Shabbos?

Background:

A.      The reason why we don’t blow shofar or read megillah on Shabbos is because of a rabbinic enactment that if there is no eruv one might carry his shofar or megila four amos or more in the public domain in order to practice in front of a sage, who is an expert in the field.

B.      The obligation of reading the Torah on every Shabbos, as well as reading the Megilla of Koheles on the Shabbos of Sukkos and Shir Hashirim on the Shabbos of Pesach is an obligation on the tzibur, the entire community.

C.      Reading Megillas Esther and blowing shofar is an obligation on the individual.

Answer: If the obligation is incumbent on the congregation then there was no decree to discontinue the mitzva on Shabbos since the person doing it is probably and expert or trained enough to be sure not to carry the items in the public domain to practice. But an obligation on an individual, even if most of the time is done for them in a group, might still have various individuals try to fulfill the mitzvah themselves and therefore might practice in front of a rabbi beforehand to be sure they know what they are doing and so might come o care in the public domain on Shabbos (See Dirshu Mishna Berura 588:5:13:17).

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 6 note on the footnote 14 on halacha 5

The Chofetz Chaim went on a complete tangent off of lashon hara, to discuss in more detail the concept of unintentionally doing a prohibition in cases where you seemingly have no choice in the matter. He focuses on idolatry. Specifically the prohibition of benefiting from seeing idols or even there temples and services as well as listening to music sung or played at there services and the sweet smells that come from  those services. The Chochmas Adam seems to say that if a person does not close his eyes or his ears or his nostrils when passing by a place of idol worship, even if he has no intent of benefiting and this was let say the only way to get to work, it is still prohibited to go that way if you don’t close your eyes, nose, and/or ears because there is an automatic guarantee that he will be doing something wrong.

 The Chofetz Chaim disagreed on his premise that a person walking that way will automatically do something wrong because since he can potentially close his eyes, or at least squint so he can see where he is going without easily seeing what’saroind him, or stop up his nostrils to the point he can still breathe but cannot smell well, or put his finger in his ear is enough to get rid of the automatic wrongdoing notion. Though he does actively walk to the area of problem but his walking doesn’t combine with the passive sense of smelling, seeing or hearing if he does not want to benefit from it and had no intention of wanting to benefit from it, since the potential to avoid the forbidden thing is there, that makes it not automatic. However the Chofetz Chaim did say that let say the music is blasting so loud, or the smell is overwhelmingly sweetly pungent or it is right in front of you and you cannot avoid it by even potentially putting you fingers in your ears or squinting, or stopping up your nose with cotton or the like, then it is automatic and forbidden.    Also if a person didn’t have any hands or finger so had no way of potentially using them then the prohibition is also automatic so it would be a problem. In summary if you can potentially avoid something wrong even if you don’t but you truly don’t want to get any benefit from the wrong thing and you have no intention to enjoy it, even if it just automatically comes your way it is still not a prohibition though it is always best to avoid and go around it if possible.