Category: Food for Thought

זכרון ציפה תרצה – The Food for Thought Archives in blessed memory of Celia Rosenberg a”h

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Noach – Nimrod the Circus Master and Hashem’s Master Plan


Nimrod was a powerful ruler who had thrown Avraham into the burning furnace for not believing in idols.  Avraham was miraculously saved . Nimrod is first singled out in this week’s Torah portion of Noach amongst the genealogy of Cham. “And Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty man in the land. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.’ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land emerged Asshur, and he built Nineveh and Rehoboth ir and Calah. And Resen, between Nineveh and between Calah; that is the great city” (Breishis 10: 8-12).
The Radak on these pesukim says the reason why Nimrod was singled out from the rest of the children of Kush, son of Cham, was because of his power and kingship that was mentioned in the Torah. He used his power and strength to capture many nations and became king over them. Before him there was no person who had the desire and will to fill his heart with such power to rule a whole nation. The Torah mentions all the nations he conquered because he was the first king, before him each nation was led by a group of judges or leaders (possibly like a democracy. This all took place after the incident of the Tower of Babel.

The Torah also mentioned how Nimrod controlled and overpowered vicious wild animals, trapping them with his strength and tricks, to the point that people were so awed over how he controlled them. They created an axiom when people of that generation and generations after saw someone subdue and catch vicious wild animals, they would say he is like Nimrod. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
 It’s striking to point out that Nimrod became more known for his hunting than his monarchy. He was the first person to overpower and impress upon nations to rule over them as an authoritarian king. He set a precedent for all kings after him, all that power and wealth, the way kings carry themselves, the aura of royalty all stemmed from Nimrod, yet the Torah testifies he was not known for his kingship but rather people  remembered him for being a keen hunter, a circus master in essence, why is that?

It would seem that dazzling tricks and a show of “cool prowess,” in a nutshell, celebrity fame is more memorable than cunning skill and force to mobilize and build up an empire, in the eyes of people.

The Radak goes on to say that Nimrod first captured Bavel and ruled over it and then he captured Erech, Achad, and Kalneh. Those 4 were in the land of Shin’ar. He then captured other lands that were not mentioned. But then Ashur, who probably came from the line of Shem (see pasuk 22 here) settled in the land of Shina’ar. Ashur (predecessor of Assyria) either captured it from Nimrod or from his children after Nimrod died and he became king of that land. Ashur was King of Bavel and the surrounding areas. The children of Cham were displaced from those areas, the children of Kesed, the kasdians, from the lineage of Shem, also settled there.

This entire story is to inform us, “the whole world and everything within it belongs to Hashem” (Tehillim 24:1). “And not by strength does man overtake another” (Shmuel Alef 2:9). And He can take the kingship of a land and give it to another, whatever He sees fit, as it says: “And He gave to who He saw fit in His eyes” (Yirmiyahu 27:5). Everything depends on their deeds “for He is a G-D of faith, and there is no injustice” (Devarim 32:4). All this story, as we already wrote, that even though Ashur conquered many lands and built great countries, and the monarchy of Assyria ruled over them for a very long time, still in all the monarchs of Bavel took them over, namely, Merodach, Baladan Ben Baladen, Nevuchadnetzar, and his children, and after that the kings of Persia conquered them, and so on and so forth from king to king. This is how it is in  all the lands throughout history, in order to prove that the land belongs to Hashem. 
If one delves into the history of one nation conquering another they might find methods and strategies for how it happened but to understand why empires are constantly being toppled, and seemingly powerful kings like Nimrod and nations like Bavel, Assyria, Persia, and even Greece and Rome all topple, the logic only points to the fact that there must be an All Powerful G-D that runs the world and He is in charge of how history ultimately plays itself out. Learning about history through a Torah perspective will enhance your appreciation and strengthen your belief and trust in Hashem. The very fact that Nimrod was known as the hunter and not as the father of all kings throughout history is a testament to this fact that ultimately Hashem is the King Of All Kings and He’s the one who ultimately runs the world.

What’s incredible to contemplate is the fact that all the displacement and even loss of life during each war and conquest all ultimately are for the sake of realizing Hashem’s authority and power in this world. By focusing on this and getting more clarity that the only answer to all the mysteries is that there must be a G-D running the show, will bring one closer to Him and it will ultimately be a great comfort to know that someone is “running the show” in a world which on face value seems to be so chaotic, but on a deep level there is a master plan and we have the ability to watch it all unfold with peace of mind and serenity.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

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Breishis – Beyond Even the Shadow of a Doubt

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 Pirkei D’Rebbe Eliezer (chapter 12, 20) says that Adam HaRishon was created on Har Hamoriah, the Temple Mount. In chapter 11, the Pirkei D’Rebbe Eliezer says that in the 10th hour of the 6th day of creation, Hashem placed Adam into Gan Eden.

The pasuk in this week’s Torah portion of Breishis states and Rashi comments:

Now Hashem, G-d took the man, and He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it. (Breishis 2:15) טווַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעָבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ:
took: He took him with pleasant words and enticed him to enter. — [Gen. Rabbah 16:5] ויקח: לקחו בדברים נאים ופתהו ליכנס:  

 The Gur Aryeh, wondering what it means that Hashem took Adam with words and why He did so, explains that for a person it is not possible to just physically take him or her, since the essence of a person is the fact that he or she is an intellectually thinking organism, and it is not possible to physically take them. For even though one’s body could be taken, one cannot just take one’s mind or intellect. Therefore Rashi explains the word “took” to mean that He took with words, and it therefore makes sense that He took also his mind, meaning with permission, through talking to him. So too, anytime the Torah writes the word “took” in reference to a person, Rashi explains it in this fashion; that he was convinced through words, so that the taking would be with the consent of the person. For the mind is the main essence of a person, and if this is not done then a person really isn’t taken, since the main essence of a person is his or her mind and intellect. 

Based on this Gur Aryeh, it would seem that if a person is captured, he or she is not willfully taken away unless he is convinced to go where he or she was taken, that is why Hashem didn’t just take Adam and place him in Gan Eden, He also told him what He was doing. However, Rashi also says that He had to manipulate, or literally seduce, Adam to enter Gan Eden. The Gur Aryeh asks why Adam had to be enticed to enter Gan Eden? However, he answers that this enticement was just to tell him he is entering Gan Eden; Hashem would not have taken him and brought him into Gan Eden without telling him because it would not be considered him going willfully. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Wouldn’t you trust your loving father if he told you that you are moving to a new beautiful place? Now what if your father was a very powerful and wealthy king; you would be even more excited about where he was going to take you! All the more so if He is the King of Kings, All Powerful, All Loving, and only does good. Shouldn’t it be then obvious to Adam that Hashem, Master Of The Universe, would bring him to the most delightful place that would be perfect for all his needs and desires? Furthermore, Chaza”l say Adam was created by Hashem already an adult, with not just mature understanding, but on such a level that the angels mistook him as G-D, being that he was literally the son of G-D, formed by Hashem Himself, without any intermediaries helping Him. Hashem had to put him to sleep in order for the angels to realize Adam wasn’t the all-perfect G-D that Hashem is. Someone on such a level with such a relationship with Hashem, why would it need to be spelled out that he was being placed in Gan Eden as if he needed convincing that this is right for him?

It is true that it was very obvious that Hashem would only want and give Adam what would be best for him, and Adam knew that, however Hashem wanted to make sure Adam accepted with crystal clear, authentic clarity what he was getting himself into.

We see from here that there is a difference between the obvious and real clarity.

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Vezos Habracha – Mourning in Hashkafa


We have experienced over the past year and change the passing of Torah giants as well as world leaders. These are losses that have impacted people in a very deep way and have left marks that make us wonder what will be in the future, what is next, where are we heading? However, mourning for these tremendous losses can be put into perspective through one of the final pesukim in the entire Torah from the Torah portion of Vezos Habracha. “The Children of Israel bewailed Moshe in the plains of Moav for thirty days; then the days of tearful mourning ended” (Devarim 34:8).

The Ralbag learns from this pasuk that “it is improper to mourn a person too much, and even though he [or she] had the greatest of qualities possible. For we see that Moshe Rabbeinu with all his tremendous qualities in governing and greatness, still in all the Torah was not in agreement that they should mourn him for more than 30 days, which was the same mourning period for Aharon.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

Besides the great loss of a leader, of a person of tremendous character, an example for every single person to emulate, there is another element which should be addressed, if one internalized what it says in Iggeres HaRamban, “At all times you should think in your heart that it is as if you are literally standing before Hashem and His Holy Presence is upon you since His Honor fills the entire world…and you shall be bashful from all people,” and Rav Yechazkel Sarna zt”l, Rosh Yeshiva of Chevron, explained that after you accept the reign of your Creator upon yourself, to always be like a servant before his master, you shall also accept the reign of your friend upon yourself” like a servant before his master” because each person was created in the Image of G-D. We find in the sefer Reishis Chochma also the concept of subjugating oneself before his friend just like he would before one’s Creator. (Click here for Hebrew text.)

If that is properly internalized then a loss of a friend and especially a loved one, and all the more so the loss of great leaders should be something which is almost insurmountable to overcome. If one truly felt the respect the way one should feel for every single person appreciating the quality of everyone’s loss and especially one that has such an impact on your life, it makes sense that the mourning process over their loss would be long and hard. However, the Torah says there is a standard, a line to be drawn even for the greatest of people, those who are most honorable and respected, there is still a limit.

We see from here that it is totally natural and healthy to mourn for the dead but within limits and though it might be hard to get over such a grave loss understandably, but the Torah knows it is within our ability to be comforted.

Hashem’s consolation to us is that He is eternal and will always be by our side to sustain us and guide us, this is the ultimate comfort.

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Haazinu – Finding Your Portion in Torah


Shiras Moshe, the Song of Moshe, is what takes up most of this week’s Torah portion of Ha’azinu. Towards the beginning of the song states, “My lesson will drip like rain” (Devarim 32:2). He was referring to the Torah he taught the Jewish people.
The Medrish Tanchuma (Haazinu 3) asks why the Torah is compared to rain, and answers that just as rain erodes rocks as it says, “Stones are worn away by water” (Iyov 14:19). So too, the Torah wears out a heart of stone. This is what our sages of blessed memory said: if it’s a rock, let it melt, and if it is iron, let it blow up. Therefore, it is only good for a person to kill himself over words of Torah and to be involved in it constantly day and night, as the pasuk says, “And you shall toil in it day and night” (Yehoshua 1:8). This is what they say, “If a person tells you, ‘I have toiled and have not found,’ do not believe him.” And this is why it is compared to rain; for just as rain, the world cannot exist without it, because it needs to sprout vegetation in a positive way. So too the world cannot exist without Torah, as it says, “If not for my covenant (Torah) day and night I would not have placed the laws of heaven and earth” (Yirmiyahu 33:25). And just as rain comes down little by little (drop by drop), so too the Torah in the beginning reads alef (1), beis (2), gimel (3), daled (4) which are small amounts, but in the end it accumulates into greater amounts: kuf (100), reish (200), shin (300), tav (400). In this way also, one should begin learning Torah and afterwards he’ll be able to stand over the Torah and all its details.

The Etz Yosef in the name of Rav Avraham, the brother of the Vilna Gaon, from the Sefer Maalos HaTorah, explains in detail what the medrish means when someone says, ‘I toiled and did not find it,’ you should not believe him. Based on a gemara in Nida, when a baby is in its mother’s womb it is taught all the Torah. When it comes out the angel smacks him above the lip and he forgets everything. What is the point of all this learning if he is going to be made to forget it anyways? However, based on what the Alshich writes by “And give our portion in your Torah,” we can explain that because all the souls stood at Mount Sinai and each one of them accepted their part in the Torah, about this the gemara says “I toiled and I found it,” then you can believe him. Just like a person who found his lost object, since it is a part of him, and therefore if it would not have been taught to him in his mother’s womb, he would not have been able to reach his portion in the Torah, even if he would have toiled a lot. If he would not have forgotten, he would not need to toil, and if so then there goes all the need for reward and punishment. Therefore, the angel taught him his portion in his mother’s womb, and this is considered learning the entire Torah; meaning all of his portion of Torah. And when he leaves into the airspace of the world, he will forget everything, and afterwards, through much efforts of toiling, he will find what he lost. So, if a person says I toiled and could not find it, you should not believe him, because that is impossible! (Click here for Hebrew text.)
If one was to think about the power of Torah and its complexity, one might get overwhelmed and think ‘what’s the point of trying to tackle it and understand it, it is so above my abilities, unfathomable! Something which has the power to melt the heart of the most stubborn and harsh of men, which can only be successfully understood and applied through breaking one’s back, with all one’s sweat and blood, it’s just not for me, it’s too much!’ There are very few people who really know how to make weapons of mass destruction, nuclear or chemical weapons that could melt away metals and blow up stone, and the Torah is compared to just that. But to psychologically break the most bitter and evil of habits and ways, it is all-encompassing of how to live everyday life, and it is the blueprint of the cosmos. Such profundity and subtleties could be very overwhelming and one is told that the only way to achieve clarity is to kill yourself over its study. How can it be for everyone?

The medrish here with the Etz Yosef seems to be giving steps to how anyone can fulfill their maximum in Torah without getting overwhelmed.

  1. First off, one must have the attitude that it’s his life force he can’t live without; it is just like water or air. Also, it brings the greatest success to the world, and the world cannot exist without it; so it’s worth learning it correctly and living by it.
  2. Furthermore, one does not have to simply jump into it. Start slowly, and the more one gets into learning the more it compounds and multiplies, just as the gematria of the alpha beis starts 1-10 but doesn’t continue 11, 12, 13, but multiplies 20, 30 40, and eventually in the end 100, 200, 300, 400. So too, one’s knowledge and ability to understand the profundity of Torah and its depth and breadth will multiple with Hashem’s help as one continuously toils in it.
  3. The Etz Yosef in the name of Rav Avraham the brother of the Gr”a makes Torah learning even more palpable! The Torah is so vast and there are infinite layers. However, Hashem sets aside a portion for each Jew. Some portions are bigger than others, and each of us does not know the exact portion that we will be getting, but we don’t have to be overwhelmed that we must know everything, to its fullest extent and depth. Rather we have to put in a full effort to learn what we can.
  4. What is even better is that we aren’t trying to find something we know nothing about. In the deep recesses of our mind and heart this portion of the Torah lays, that our angel taught us in the womb. It is just forgotten about; but it is there, and when it is found, it’s guaranteed to be as exciting as finding a lost object you have been looking for, for a very long time! The feeling of excitement and elation upon being reunited with it will be palpable, because you looked so long and hard for it. It won’t feel like something foreign to you that you must get used to; rather it will be your own part in Torah, which you are destined to have and are simply becoming reacquainted with.

That makes it much easier to look forward to, and worthwhile to put in, many hard-working hours to go searching for it, plumbing through the depths and breadths of books, as well as listening and interacting with Rebbeim, colleagues, and students to find your lost portion of the Torah that belongs to you.

That’s an exciting adventure and a worthwhile enterprise to spend your life advancing!

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Vayeilech – Jealousy of the Living

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.

Moshe Rabbeinu was lucid until the very end of his life. He also had reached the 39th  level of intelligence, right under the 40th, highest level. He certainly could remember everything in his lifetime with this brain capacity, besides the fact that he must have done a cheshbon hanefesh, a calculation of all the wrong he might have said or done in his lifetime. Yet when Hashem told him in this week’s Torah portion of Vayelech (31:14):

“Behold, your days are approaching [for you] to die. Call Yehoshua and stand in the Tent of Meeting, and I will inspire him. So Moshe and Yehoshua went, and stood in the Tent of Meeting.” ידוַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־משֶׁ֗ה הֵ֣ן קָֽרְב֣וּ יָמֶ֘יךָ֘ לָמוּת֒ קְרָ֣א אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ וְהִתְיַצְּב֛וּ בְּאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד וַֽאֲצַוֶּ֑נּוּ וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ משֶׁה֙ וִֽיהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ וַיִּתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד:

The last Medrish Tanchuma in this Torah portion says that Moshe responded
before Hashem, saying, “’Master Of The World, with a word that I praised you with, for I said (Devarim 10:14):

Behold, to Hashem, your God, belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth, and all that is on it. ידהֵ֚ן לַֽיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּשְׁמֵ֣י הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּֽהּ:

You are striking me down?’ Hashem said back to him, ‘You are compared to a bad neighbor who sees what comes in but does not see what comes out. This is what you said about my children,

Behold, the children of Israel did not hearken to me. How then will Pharaoh hearken to me, seeing that I am of closed lips? יבוַיְדַבֵּ֣ר משֶׁ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵ֤ן בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹא־שָֽׁמְע֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאֵיךְ֙ יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי פַרְעֹ֔ה וַֽאֲנִ֖י עֲרַ֥ל שְׂפָתָֽיִם:

And you spoke out slander about My children.’” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

The Medrish Rabba on this portion has the same medrish almost verbatim. The Maharz”u on the medrish explains the parable (mashal) of the bad neighbor and the parallel application (nimshal) to what Moshe Rabbeinu learnt from the parable. The mashal is  “One who sees his neighbor bringing a lot of stuff into his house and he thinks it belongs to his neighbor and he is jealous of him. He does not see that the stuff belongs to other people and what comes in immediately comes out. Or the neighbor has a lot of expenses (like a big family to take care of or expensive rent) and whatever profit he earns he must immediately spend, so in reality there is nothing to be jealous of. [In the nimshal Hashem says to Moshe,] ‘So to you focused your eyes on something positive and you forgot to focus on something negative that you had said before Me and you switched out one behold for another behold.’” The Maharz”u also points out that when one has good speech it creates merits, and bad speech creates punishment, which must be why that word, “behold,” was used to proclaim his death; since Moshe used it to slander the Jews 40 years before. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
There is a rule in Torah learning that the nimshal must fit perfectly with the mashal, meaning the application must be an exact fit to the parable. How does that work in this case? In the parable, the neighbor was jealous of his fellow because he didn’t see the whole picture, but, in the application, Moshe didn’t realize why Hashem was proclaiming his death with the word “behold” if he himself used it to praise Hashem, and Moshe forgot he also used it to slander the Jews. Where do we see any mentioning of jealousy by Moshe? And forgetting is very different than not understanding the full picture; so what does the nimshal (application) have to do with the mashal (parable)?

As we said earlier, we must assume Moshe remembered everything, he was not forgetful. On the contrary, the Torah went out of its way to point out a few times that he had forgotten a halacha only when he was in distress or on some level angry. It must be that Moshe Rabbeinu on a very miniscule level felt jealous of everyone who would be staying alive and be given a chance to enter The Land of Israel, and that jealous bias caused him to overlook and forget the time he had slandered the Jews while using the word “behold,” which is why Hashem used that word to proclaim his incoming death. Now we can see an exact parallel between the mashal and the nimshal.

The lesson we should take away from here is the power of a negia (a bias), which can affect even the greatest of people and even at the very end of one’s life. And even at some mini level it can still make an impact and cause even the smartest people to overlook something they should have realized.

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Netzvim – Listening to the Wake-Up Call


Days before Rosh Hashana it’s very appropriate to be reading the Torah portion of Netzavim. In one segment of this week’s Torah portion, it discusses a time in the Land of Israel where people will be going astray and worshipping idols or anything besides Hashem. Hashem will even send warnings through nature for them to repent and fix their ways however they will not heed to the signs as it says, “Perhaps there is among you a man, woman, family, or tribe, whose heart strays this day from Hashem, our G-d, to go and worship the deities of those nations. Perhaps there is among you a root that produces hemlock and wormwood. And it will be, when he [such a person] hears the words of this oath, that he will bless himself in his heart, saying, “I will have peace, even if I follow my heart’s desires,” in order to add the [punishment for the] unintentional sins [of this man] to that of [his] intentional sins. Hashem will not be willing to forgive him; rather, then, Hashem’s fury and His zeal will fume against that man, and the entire curse written in this book will rest upon him, and Hashem will obliterate his name from beneath the heavens” (Devarim 26:17-19).
Rav Saadia Gaon, not being as concise as usual, depicts the very decrepit state these people are in. They are rooted in poison and are as bitter as bitter melons. “They calculated in their mind saying, ‘I will only have peace, and I will go according to the desire of my heart in order to rid myself of the draught through getting drunk. Hashem will not be willing to forgive him for this, rather Hashem will get very angry, and His wrath will be upon him and all the curses (from the previous parsha) will cling to him.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
It sounds like this person or people are quite delusional! They are steeped in terrible habits and ways, to the extent of believing and worshipping in idolatry, and they are so far gone that the Torah says their roots are bitter and poisonous. Besides that, they seem to be getting hit with violent warnings from Hashem to repent, and they are totally oblivious to the signs and decide to just drink away all their problems and follow whatever naturally gets rid of the present problems. They use whatever their heart desires, to the extent that they tell themselves everything is fine, I am doing nothing wrong. Meaning, they feel they can turn to science and any natural means to find solutions and resolve problems and ailments that are around them. And at the end of the day, they can just drink away all their problems as if they didn’t happen.

At that point, Hashem rains down terror on them, and the Torah goes on to say, “The later generations will say, your children who will arise after you and the foreigner who will come from a distant land, when they will see the plagues of that Land and its illnesses with which Hashem has afflicted it… And all the nations will say, ‘For what reason did Hashem do so to this Land; why this wrathfulness of great anger” (Devarim 29:21-23). The Torah goes on to say that the nations will be told that because these people rebelled against Hashem and His Torah they were severely punished and thrown out of the land of Israel.
 The Torah concludes this section by saying, “The hidden are for Hashem, our G-D, but the revealed are for us and our children forever, to carry out all the words of this Torah (29:28). Rav Saadia Gaon says on this pasuk that the later generation, your children that will come afterwards, “shall take mussar, learn a lesson, and should say this, ‘The hidden are for Hashem, our G-D and all that is revealed they are for us and our children…'”
 What is this lesson that we, the later generations, are supposed to take to heart, and how is it related to what the earlier generations did wrong?

The root of the problem with the earlier generations was not the idolatry itself, or any other sin they had committed, but the way they handled the situation when Hashem sent signs and warnings to repent. Instead of looking at their inner self and figuring out how to change their own lives, they looked around and tried to fix all the problem that came their way; draught, famine, sickness, etc. using scientific solutions. When those didn’t work, they turned to hallucinogens, but they ignored the real issue. Therefore, the lesson the later generation should take is that the hidden reasons behind why things in this world happen, be it climate change and the weather, pollution, disease etc. is for Hashem to deal with. We have to focus our time and energy into what is revealed to us, which is “to carry out all the words of this Torah.”

This does not mean we must stay ignorant of the sciences and not understand how the human body and the natural world around us works. However, it must be done in the framework of being sure our focus is to learn and observe the Torah, Hashem’s blueprints of creation and the handbook for mankind. If the Torah is our focus and the physical world is just part of our understanding of serving Hashem to the optimum, then the world would be a better place and we would not have to turn to alcohol or other substances to escape reality.

Good Shabbos and a good gabentched year,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

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Ki Savo – The Making of a Mentche

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The Medrish Tanchuma in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion of Ki Savo discusses a bunch of scenarios where it seems one is creating a situation out of nothing. The Torah states:

This day, Hashem, your God, is commanding you to fulfill these statutes and ordinances, and you will observe and fulfill them with all your heart and with all your soul. טזהַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֗ה יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ מְצַוְּךָ֧ לַֽעֲשׂ֛וֹת אֶת־הַֽחֻקִּ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְאֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֑ים וְשָֽׁמַרְתָּ֤ וְעָשִׂ֨יתָ֙ אוֹתָ֔ם בְּכָל־לְבָֽבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ:

The Medrish Tanchuma (Ki Savo, paragraph 1) asks, “What does ‘This day, the Lord, your God, is commanding you to fulfill’ mean? Is it only until then that Hashem command the Jews, wasn’t this the fortieth year, as it says ‘And behold in the fortieth year in the eleventh month’ (Devarim 1:3), so what does ‘This day’ mean? Rather this is what Moshe told the Jews, ‘Everyday the Torah should be cherished and loved by you as if today you accepted it on Har Sinai.’” 
This is the first example of creating a perception which seems to go above and beyond time and space and transform the simple understanding of reality. In this circumstance one has the ability to have a fresh love of Torah, so much so that the excitement and feeling is palpable – as if he is now there, at Har Sinai, when the Jewish people first received the Torah. Even though, in reality, it could be many years later, even thousands of years later, and that feeling can potentially be felt every day!

Another example the medrish gives, from the next part of this pasuk: “’and you will observe and fulfill them’ Rebbe Yochanan said anyone who performs a mitzvah in verity, the pasuk treats him as if this mitzva that was just fulfilled was given on Har Sinai.”
This seems to be saying that if a person authentically fulfills a mitzva in its entirety and purity, then it’s as if that very mitzva came out of Har Sinai, with all it’s holiness and incredible value. Even if one is in some other country like America, performing the mitzva. It sounds very special!

The Medrish quotes Rebbe Yochanan again, “Rebbe Yochanan further said, whoever does the Torah in it’s verity, the Torah equates him as if he made himself, as it says,

And Hashem commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, so that you should do them in the land to which you are crossing, to possess. ידוְאֹתִ֗י צִוָּ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔וא לְלַמֵּ֣ד אֶתְכֶ֔ם חֻקִּ֖ים וּמִשְׁפָּטִ֑ים לַֽעֲשֽׂתְכֶ֣ם אֹתָ֔ם בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֛ם עֹֽבְרִ֥ים שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ:

The pasuk does not say ‘la’asos osam,’ to make them rather ‘la’asoschem osam,’
to make you, (not osam with a vav, as the Etz Yosef points out in the name of the Minchas Shai, rather ‘osam’ without a vav, which can be read ‘isam’). From here we see that the Torah attributes it as if he created himself.”

The Etz Yosef quoting a Maharsha explains why it is as if we create ourselves if we learn Torah in its pure authentic truth, “because before one learns Torah in its authenticity, the difference between man (adam) and animal (biheima) is nothing. And when one knows the ways of the Torah his whole essence separates from all the other living creatures and he becomes a man (adam), which is the purpose of him being created.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
How is it possible to say that a person is no different than an animal until he learns Torah Li’amisa, Torah to its truest extent? We all know from the beginning of Breishis that man was created b’tzelem Elokim, in G-D’s image, with an intellectual and spiritual soul. We have the ability to think and make decisions on a level many times deeper than any animal. We can choose between good and bad; we don’t just run on instincts. The power of speech and communication that we have is far more advanced and complex than that of any animal. Doesn’t this obviously make any human different and distinct from any animal?! In fact Hashem acknowledges this difference in every single human being as it says in Pirkei Avos (3:14): “He would also say: Beloved is man, for he was created in the image [of G‑d]; it is a sign of even greater love that it has been made known to him that he was created in the image, as it says, ‘For in the image of G‑d, He made man’ (Breishisr 9:6)!” 

However, it would seem from the Maharsha that the Etz Yosef is using to explain the Medrish Tanchuma, that although it is true that mankind is set apart from the animals from the very beginning of creation, however all the qualities that make a human different than the animal is in fact only a potential difference. At best, it makes a human into an “animal plus.” And only when one uses these qualities to take that potential and actualizes it by using them for the ultimate purpose of creation, which is to learn Hashem’s Torah to its truest extent and apply it to one’s lives, only then does one transform him or herself from an “animal plus” to an adam, a person.

We can now understand the rest of this Mishna in Pirkei Avos quoted above, “Beloved are Israel, for they are called children of G‑d; it is a sign of even greater love that it has been made known to them that they are called children of G‑d, as it is stated: ‘You are children of the Hashem your G‑d’ (Devarim 14:1). Beloved are Israel, for they were given a precious article; it is a sign of even greater love that it has been made known to them that they were given a precious article, as it is stated: ‘I have given you a good purchase; My Torah, do not forsake it’ (Mishley 4:2).”

Hashem, out of His over bountiful love for His children, gave us the opportunity to go well beyond our physical state on earth, and transform ourselves into spiritual beings, by giving us His Torah. Giving our own selves the ability to convert our being, which is already part physical and part spiritual, but naturally leaning to our physical, animalistic tendencies from birth, and by choice allowing us to lean more towards the spiritual side of our essence by giving us the Torah to learn it’s depth and profundity in order to be closer to Hashem and His ways.

In this way Hashem gave us the ability to actually transform ourselves from mere creatures like any other animal into distinct people, (adam), mankind.

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Ki Seitzei – “There Are No Atheists in Foxholes”


One of the 6 mitzvos that have to do with remembering is found at the end of this week’s Torah portion of Ki Seitzei. “You shall remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt, how he happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear G-D. [Therefore,] it will be, when Hashem your G-D grants you respite from all your enemies around [you] in the land which Hashem, your G-D, gives to you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget” (Devarim 25:17-19)!
Rabbeinu Bachye describes the strategy we undertook and should undertake towards the nation of Amalek. “After you inherit the land you shall wipe out the remembrance of Amalek as written in Shmuel Alef (15:3): ‘and you shall slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ This is in order so that people won’t say this ox came from Amalek. Furthermore Chaza”l taught that they used black magic to turn themselves into animals. They were able to transform into whatever animal they wanted to therefore the pasuk spelled out that every animal should be wiped out, from the ox to the sheep and the camel to the donkey, and in this way the wisdom of the Torah outsmarted their wisdom.”

 Rabbeinu Bachye further says that Hashem destroyed their power in Heaven as Bilaam prophesied would happen, so that in the beginning they will be lost from on high (their ministering angel will be destroyed), and in the end they will be wiped out in this world. Rabbeinu Bachye learns out that they will not be forgotten as long as they aren’t wiped off the face of the earth. But in the times of Moshiach, when they will finally be wiped out, they will be forgotten from this world, and only then will Hashem’s Holy Name and Throne be complete. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We see from here that the ultimate travesty is being forgotten about. But why is Amalek worse than any other nation that has attacked and ravaged the Jewish people? Certainly, there are far worse and horrific stories of enemies that have attacked and persecuted us; so why does Amalek seem to be the worst of them all?

Rabbeinu Bachye explains in his simple understanding of these pesukim that what Amalek did with us was an injustice by out of the blue coming against us from a faraway land, and not remembering the covenant of G-D. They attacked the rear, the weakest people, who didn’t have the strength to walk. It is normal for camps running away from the enemy, and the enemy doesn’t have the power to breach the camp; but they came from behind and struck the end of the camp, the weakest part. Not only that but another indication that they were not G-D fearing was that the Amalekites attacked while all the Jews were tired in Refidim, and thirsty for water.

Why is it so bad that they attacked from behind? Wasn’t it smart strategy to surprise attack from behind, when the Jewish people were tired and weak, catching them off-guard and ruining their morale? What does it have to do with a lack of fear of Heaven? And they weren’t Jewish anyways, so why is that such a claim against them?

It would seem that Rabbeinu Bachye is saying something quite incredible! The fact that they attacked the weak showed that they were in fact more afraid of people and their strengths, than Hashem. It must be that when an army normally attacks the front or the side, even if it is a surprise attack, but it shows that they aren’t afraid of their enemy and this is an indication at the very least, on some subconscious level, that they fear Hashem. For if otherwise, why would Hashem express in the Torah a claim against Amalek that they are not G-D fearing, even if they had the chutzpah to attack right after the whole world saw the splitting of the sea and the drowning of the Egyptians? (Chaza”l says that when the sea split every water in the world split as well, for everyone to know what’ was going on). But if the fact they attacked right after those open miracles was a reason, why they are fearless then that has nothing to do with striking from behind the infirm and weak?! Therefore, it must be from the fact that Hashem has such a prejudice against Amalek for what they did and how they did it and calls it a lack of yiras Hashem. Therefore, anyone else who has the moral decency to not attack the weak, from behind, must have at least a sliver of fear of Hashem inside them.

We see from here that inherent in everything in creation there is an inkling of fear towards Hashem. Unfortunately, people have the ability to completely ignore it; but they also have the ability to chooose to embrace it. The more they embrace it the bigger a mentche they become.

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Shoftim – Hamas: Violence Against the Peace

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There are two types of wars in Jewish law: 1. Milchmes Mitzva – an obligatory war like against the seven Canaanite nations and Amalek, and 2. Milchemes Reshus – an optional war which we find, for example, King David engaged in when capturing the Syrian area in his time.  There is a spiritual aspect to these wars besides the physical conquering or annihilation, as Rabbeinu Bachye describes that an optional war is a war against the mazel or astrological essence of the nation; this is why women and children had to be spared. But an obligatory war is meant  to destroy the whole essence of the nation, even its ministering angel that was in charge of the nation, and therefore men, women and children were required to be annihilated. Also, the obligatory mitzvah of offering peace before going to war, which is in this week’s Torah portion of Shoftim, as it says, “When you draw near to a city to wage war against it, you shall call out to it for peace” (Devarim 20:10). This only applies to an optional war, however as we see by Yehoshua, one is allowed on some level, in certain ways, to offer peace during obligatory wars.

What is the halachic definition of peace with a non-Jewish nation? Rabbeinu Bachye says they must accept two things upon themselves, and if they don’t accept both, then the Jews can engage them in battle. First, they must accept the seven Noahide laws to observe them. Second, the tax of the king, which is that they must be ready to serve the king of Israel physically and monetarily, for example building bridges, weapons, palaces, and the like. In fact, we find by the Cannanite nations that the Givonim made peace with the Jews and became water carriers and woodcutters, as the Medrish Rabba (Shoftim 5:14) says. The medrish also relates that the Girgashi ran away from the Land of Canaan, and for doing so Hashem rewarded them with the continent of Africa. Thirty-one other kings went out to war against the Jews and were eventually annihilated, men, women, and children.

Rabbeinu Bachye asks an obvious question, which is very important to be addressed. “If your heart is hesitating and saying we are doing hamas, corrupt violence, against children that never sinned against us, behold this is a judgement from Heaven and a written decree. Furthermore, since Hashem uprooted their power from heaven (their ministering angel mentioned earlier was taken out) then what we do down on earth is as if we didn’t do anything, just as our Rabbis taught in Sandhedrin 96b, ‘as you killed a nation that was already dead, you burned a Sanctuary that was already burned, and you ground flour that was already ground.’ This is not considered hamas, corrupt violence, and it is not considered murder because they are already killed.

Furthermore, even if you don’t consider them already killed murdering the children is not corrupt violence because they are a branch of the root of disobedience, this hasty embittered nation, for they would undoubtedly follow in the ways of their forefathers, to do what is abominable to Hashem, which He hates, and the Jews will learn from them. It is even mentioned in this parsha, ‘In order so that they will not teach you to act like all of their horrid ways.’

Perhaps you might say when they grow up, they will want to join our covenant and repent. Go out and learn from The One who permitted their blood [to be spilled,] Hashem who knows that they will not repent. So to Yeshayahu (14:21) explicitly says, ‘Prepare a slaughter for His sons because of the iniquity of their forefathers, lest they rise and inherit the land, and fill the surface of the earth with enemies.’ If that is so then isn’t anyone left alive a cause of very great damage more than if they would be killed? It is a very logical step to think that it is better for a person to do minimal damage in order to avoid great damage for we find cordial and intelligent people jumping off roofs to save themselves from danger, or one severing his hand, leg, or any other limb to save his own life, or drinking very bitter liquid in order to get rid of a sickness, in all these case one is not being violent to himself, rather he is performing a kindness with himself in order to live. If a person does these acts to himself and it’s not considered hamas, unwarranted violence, certainly then it would not be considered hamas, unwarranted violence if he did similar to others. For this reason, the Torah permitted killing the children, and doing minimal damage in order to avoid great damage that would come to the world if they would be left alive. This is not hamas, rather it is something logical that one should contemplate intently.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

What, in fact, is the difference between Hashem declaring an all-out war on the Canaanites and Amalek, men, women and children, verses let say Muslims, who would declare in the name of G-D “convert or die” to anyone, or the Crusaders, or even Hitler and Nazi Germany for that matter?

However, besides the fact that we don’t engage in forced conversions, in order to authentically become a Jew, one must choose whole-heartedly to be a part of the vanguard elite of Hashem’s children, who willingly walk in His ways and do His bidding. Expecting the nations to fulfill the seven Noahide laws are very simple expectations that non-Jews are anyways expected to fulfill since the time of Noach, and halacha expects Jews to treat their workers with respect and dignity.
But furthermore, this belief that Hashem wants men, women, and children of only these specific nations to be annihilated from the face of the earth isn’t just some shallow, baseless, and forced belief system which has no value to it. On the contrary, Rabbeinu Bachye says that part of believing this is the right thing to do is to challenge the very premise and to deeply contemplate what Hashem wants from us in this situation. Indeed, we must understand why Hashem felt the need to destroy whole nations from the face of the earth.

We see from here how important and vital deep intellectual thinking and truthful understanding are in order to truthfully trust and believe in Hashem and His ways. It’s the difference between Torah Judaism and the rest of the world.

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Re’eh – Bitachon: Using Money Wisely


The end of this week’s Torah portion of Re’eh discusses the Yomim Tovim of Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos. In fact, this section is read on the last day of Yom Tov in exile.

While speaking about Shavuos the Torah writes, “Then you shall observe the festival of Shavuos for Hashem, your G-D; the voluntary offerings that you give should be commensurate with how much Hashem, your G-D, will have blessed you” (Devarim 16:10). By the Chag of Sukkos, in pasuk 17, the Torah concludes, “Everyone according to what he can give, according to the blessing that Hashem, your G-D, gives you.”
 The Ralbag learns from these pesukim that it is appropriate for all people to limit their expenses according to what they have earned, in order so that they can consistently spend for these particular mitzvos. Without this attitude one might throw away all his earnings in one shot and be left with nothing. For this the Torah says, “commensurate with how much Hashem, your G-D, will have blessed you” and it also says, “Everyone according to what he can give, according to the blessing that Hashem, your G-D, gives you.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Shavuos was a time of bringing the bikkurim, first fruits, to the Beis Hamikdash. It was a time of great celebration and elaborate decorations for this gift to Hashem. Sukkos, even today, has the mitzvos of sukkah, lulav and esrog where one has a chance to fulfill many mitzvos in the most beautiful and exquisite way. If a person internalizes the importance of performing mitzvos with the enhanced mitzva of beautifying the mitzva, then without a doubt there would be an urge and a push to spend a lot of money to ensure the mitzvah is done properly in the most tremendous way possible. Why not take out a loan and deal with paying it back later?!

For all that Hashem does for us every moment of our lives, the least we can do is go all-out in doing His will and performing His mitzvos. One would think it is a matter of bitachon, trust and faith in Hashem, to spend whatever you feel appropriate in fulfilling mitzvos and glorifying them. Surely Hashem will give you the ability to pay back the loan in exchange of doing His service. Yet there is a gemara, in Bava Kamma 9b, that talks about this very issue and says “Hidur mitzvah ad shlish” one should only spend up to a third of his expenses and nothing more in beautifying a mitzvah. Why is this so? Why can’t we spend more money; what about bitachon that we will be able to pay it all and get more money to live in the future?

However, we see from this Ralbag that the opposite is true, proper bitachon, trust and faith in Hashem, dictates that one should have the proper bitachon that what Hashem has given him or her to spend on a mitzvah is the blessing one is deserving from Hashem, and one must use it and perform it wisely.

It’s not so easy to know exactly how much to spend and not spend in the performance of mitzvos or really anything in life, but really properly serving Hashem involves taking the time to accurately calculate what is within your means to spend on performing the mitzvah at hand, making sure you don’t spend too much or too little. The effort put into calculating exactly how Hashem wants you to perform the mitzvah and accepting the blessing Hashem gave you, and the opportunity of performing the mitzvah the way which is destined for you to perform is a show of true faith and trust in Hashem.

Every person has their own potential to be fulfilled in life. Hashem expects us to live within our means when doing His will. This will facilitate a constant and consistent ability to serve Hashem properly which is our purpose in this world.

Good Shabbos and chodesh tov,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder