Category: Food for Thought

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

Posted on

Vayeishev – Covering Up a Scandal


Yosef’s brothers felt they were halachically entitled to eliminate Yosef. They convened a rabbinic court and determined that he was out to get them, so they had a right to defend themselves; their lives were at stake. They didn’t realize that on some miniscule level what was driving their decisions was a bias (negia) of jealousy that they had towards Yosef over their father’s favoritism towards him.
 But when they saw Yosef coming towards them, the Medrish Tanchuma (2) in this week’s Torah portion of Vayeishev relates that “they saw him from a far… took him and threw him into a pit… there was no water but there were snakes and scorpions in it. What did Reuvein do? He went and sat atop of one of the nearby hills intending to go down and take Yosef out at night. The nine other brothers were sitting all together in another location all with the same intent to kill him. An Arab caravan came traveling by. They said, ‘Let’s go and sell him to these Arabs, they will bring him to the ends of the desert (i.e. away from us and not a threat anymore). They sold him for 20 silver coins. They each got 2 coins and bought a pair of shoes with them. Does it make sense that such a handsome young man (of the age of 17 at the time) could only be sold for 20 silver coins? Rather because he was thrown into a pit with snakes and scorpions, he was so scared his facial countenance changed, he went pale and looked green, therefore they sold him for 20 silver coins to buy shoes. They then said amongst themselves that we should set up a cherem, boycott, to excommunicate anyone who would tell their father Yaakov. Yehuda said, Reuvein is not here and a cherem, would only be effective with a minyan of ten people. What did they do? They brought Hashem in to be the tenth to establish the cherem, to ensure no one tells their father. When Reuvein came down that night to take Yosef out of the pit and didn’t find him, he ripped his clothes and cried. He went back to his brother and said ‘The boy is missing and I have come back.’ They told him about what happened and about the cherem, and he was quiet. And even Hashem, even though it writes in Tehillim (the last pasuk of perek 147) “He told His words to Yaakov” but this He never told him about because of the cherem. This is why Yaakov said, ‘Yosef was torn apart.’ Rebbe Mana said, for the sale of Yosef the tribes were smitten, and they didn’t have an atonement for their sin until they died…and as a result of what they did a famine came upon the Land of Canaan for 7 years and the brothers of Yosef went down to Egypt to buy food and provisions from the Egyptians and eventually found Yosef alive, and the cherem was lifted. Yaakov heard he was alive, and the Torah says ‘the spirit of Yaakov their father was alive again.’ Was he dead? Rather he was revigorated from the cherem and the Ruach Hakodesh, the Holy Spirit that had disappeared from him came back and rested upon him again.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
 If the brothers were wrong, and in fact Hashem punished them and didn’t fully forgive them until their deaths, then why did Hashem collude with them to hide the story from their father Yaakov? Indeed this caused their father intense anguish for decades, to the point that the Bechor Shor says Yehuda couldn’t stand watching his father sitting in such mourning, and that’s why the next perek says that Yehuda had left the family for a time. Hashem is All Just, All Truthful; how does it seem honest and justified to be involved in such a coverup?

The Etz Yosef, quoting Rabbeinu Bachye, says that “Hashem’s partnership and enjoining in this coverup was vital for the sake of the safety of the Jewish People and the Honor of Hashem. They were afraid that if G-D forbid the matter was leaked and revealed to Yaakov of what happened, he would curse them with an eternal curse. The result being that the Jewish People coming from the seed of Yaakov would never come about, and there would be no one to spread and publicize the teachings of G-D.” 
Hashem runs the world through the laws of nature for the most part, using miracles as a last resort. Based on the natural psychology of a human being, it is possible that even someone as great of a tzadik as Yaakov Avinu, if he would have heard what actually happened, the results would have been cataclysmic, reverberating to the end of time. There would have been no Bnei Yisrael to be the light onto the nations, princes of the King Of All Kings, to be the shining example of His word, the Torah. However, that being said, Hashem did exact due punishment on the brothers. Still in all, isn’t a lack of transparency a level of dishonesty; Hashem is by definition all-honest and truthful ;so how could He have taken part in a coverup?

We must emphatically say that a lack of transparency is not untruthful or dishonest by definition, and can be justified and needed at times for the sake of preserving stability and the ultimate truth. There are certainly times when hiding something could lead to lies and not fixing or solving things that could be damaging, but there are other times, like in this case, where taking care of the problem “privately” without making a big deal out of it, and making it known to everyone, is not only justified but the right thing to do.

Good Shabbos,
 Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

Posted on

Vayishlach – Good Judgement Bad Intentions

A few years after King Shaul and his son Yonatan were killed in battle against the Philistines, Avner, a cousin of King Shaul and the general of his army, appointed Ish Boshes, a son of Shaul, as heir to his throne. Although Avner knew that Shmuel had anointed Dovid (see Shmuel Beis 3:9) he inferred from a pasuk in this week’s Torah portion of Vayishlach that there had to be another king from the tribe of Binyamin before the kingship went to the tribe of Yehuda. When Yaakov was returning to Eretz Yisrael from his long sojourn with Lavan, Hashem blessed him saying: “I am the Almighty G-D; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a multitude of nations shall come into existence from you, and kings shall come forth from your loins” (Breishis 35:11). Since only Binyamin was not yet born, this meant that more than one king would emerge from the tribe of Binyamin. Thus, although Avner did not deny that Dovid would be king, he felt that Ish Boshes should reign first (see Breishis Rabba 85:2). That this would delay the beginning of Dovid’s reign would not be a rejection of Shmuel’s anointment, since even Shmuel had not given the kingship to Dovid while Shaul was alive.


Yet, the Riv”a, after quoting Rashi that the words of the pasuk, “and kings shall come forth from your loins” refer to King Shaul and Ish Boshes, quotes a question the Chizkuni had, based on a gemara in Sanhedrin 20a: “Why was Avner punished for delaying the House of Dovid’s reign for two and a half years? And though Rashi had explained that he appointed Ish Boshes as king, and if Avner had not appointed him then Dovid would have been the ruler, nevertheless, why was Avner punished for this if his psak, decree, was based on a gezeiras hakasuv, a decree from the Holy Scripture? Rather it must be that his intentions were to humiliate Dovid by delaying his rule by two and a half years.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)


We must put in context what exactly Avner did wrong. Avner wasn’t a bad person; in fact, the Mizrachi, commentary on Rashi, says that Avner was a tzadik, righteous, and in analyzing the pasuk that Avner used to justify the appointment of Ish Boshes, Rashi says:

and kings. Shaul and Ish Boshes, who were of the tribe of Binyamin, who had not yet been born. (Avner interpreted this verse [in this sense] when he crowned Ish Boshes, and the tribes too interpreted it [in this sense] and became friendly again with Binyamin, as it is written: “No man from us shall give his daughter to Binyamin for a wife” (Jud. 21:1)-they retracted this and said, “Were he (Binyamin) not to be counted among the tribes, the Holy One, blessed be He, would not have said to Yaakov, ‘and kings shall come forth from your loins.’”) [Old Rashi manuscript from Tanchuma Buber Vayishlach 29] וּמְלָכִים.  שָׁאוּל וְאִישׁ בֹּשֶׁת, שֶׁהָיוּ מִשֵּׁבֶט בִּנְיָמִין (בראשית רבה), שֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא נוֹלְדוּ (וּפָסוּק זֶה דְּרָשׁוֹ אַבְנֵר כְּשֶׁהִמְלִיךְ אִישׁ בֹּשֶׁת, וְאַף הַשְּׁבָטִים דְּרָשׁוּהוּ וְקֵרְבוּ בִּנְיָמִין, דִּכְתִיב אִישׁ מִמֶּנּוּ לֹא יִתֵּן אֶת בִּתּוֹ לְבִנְיָמִן לְאִשָּׁה (שופטים כ”א), וְחָזְרוּ וְאָמְרוּ אִלְמָלֵא הָיָה עוֹלֶה מִן הַשְּׁבָטִים לֹא הָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אוֹמֵר לְיַעֲקֹב וּמְלָכִים מֵחֲלָצֶיךָ יֵצֵאוּ:

This pasuk was used to save the tribe of Binyamin from being annihilated in Sefer Shoftim. So, justifiably, Avner, a righteous person, interpreted this pasuk to mean that Ish Boshes was destined to be anointed as king before Dovid. How then can the Riva and Chizkuni say that Avner had malicious intent to humiliate Dovid?

We must say that in fact Avner wasn’t outright malicious, and only on a very miniscule, perhaps even subconscious level, had some level of bias, a negia, to want to humiliate Dovid. Perhaps because he was from the family of Shaul and his general, and for that reason he deserved to be punished by Hashem.
We see from here that it’s possible to be doing the right thing, but if it’s with the wrong intentions, even if it’s not so obvious that the intentions are wrong, Hashem looks into the nook and crevices of everyone’s heart and knows what his or her true intentions are, and exacts judgement. Therefore, we have to make sure when choosing to do the right thing to try to do it with the best intent possible.

Posted on

Vayetzei -Guilty Conscience 


In the beginning of the Torah portion of Vayetzei, Yaakov has a “realistic” dream of angels going up and down a ladder from the ground to heaven. The Medrish Tanchuma (2) says that those angels were the ministering angels for each empire that subjugated the Jews and exiled them: Babylonia, Madai/Persia, Greece, and Edom/Rome+.
 The Medrish relates, “Rebbe Brechia says in the name of Rebbe Chelbo and Rebbe Shmuel ben Yoseina we learn that Hashem showed Yaakov Avinu the ministering angels of Bavel go up and down, and of Madai go up and down, and of Greece go up and down, and of Edom (Rome+) go up and down. Hashem said to Yaakov, ‘Why don’t you go up?’ At that moment Yaakov Avinu got scared and said, “Just as they have a going down I also will have a going down.’ Hashem said back to him, ‘If you go up you won’t come down.’ He didn’t believe Him and didn’t go up. Rebbe Shmuel ben Yoseina extrapolated this from the pasuk, “Nevertheless, they sinned further and did not believe in His wonders” (Tehillim 78:32). Hashem said to Yaakov, ‘If you would have gone up and you would have had faith, you would never had gone down, but since you didn’t have faith, then your children will be subjugated to these four kingdoms in this world through all types of taxes.’ Yaakov asked Him, ‘Will it last forever?’ He said back to him, ‘”Do not fear my servant Yaakov, the word of Hashem, and don’t be afraid, Israel; for behold, I am saving you from distant places, and your descendants from the land of their captivity” (Yirmiyahu 30:10). From the land of Magelia, from Aspamia, and their neighboring countries. And Yaakov will return from Bavel, and have quiet from Madai, tranquility from Greece and no trembling from Edom. For I will decimate all the nations you will wind up in who clear out their fields, but you Israel who leave a corner of your field, I will not decimate, rather I will cause you to suffer in this world in order to cleanse you from your sins, to be ready for the future to come.’” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

 The Etz Yosef explains the conversation Hashem had with Yaakov. Yaakov thought that there are no guarantees for the righteous in this world, since he might come to sin. Normally when a guarantee by Hashem does not come through a prophet it is usually on condition that the one being promised to, does not sin. So, because this guarantee was directly from the mouth of Hashem to Yaakov, Yaakov was afraid that transgressions would cause him to lose Hashem’s guarantee. When the medrish says that Yaakov didn’t trust, it means that he didn’t trust in himself, just like Chaza”l say: “Don’t trust in yourself until the day of your death.” However, Hashem said back to Yaakov that even though he or his descendants might sin, He will not bring them down from their greatness. Rather, they would take from the Hand of Hashem punishment through other forms of suffering. Yaakov was still hesitant and didn’t go up, so the Etz Yosef explains that Hashem’s response to that was that since you didn’t believe in yourself and didn’t trust in My kindness to fulfill My promise that even though they will sin against Him, still He plainly said, ‘And you shall not fear’. Accordingly it’s written by Avraham Avinu that “he believed in Hashem,” and the Ramban there says that Avraham believed in this guarantee in the righteousness of Hashem and His Kindness and not in His reward that he gives out. Therefore Avraham was not scared lest sin might make him and his descendants undeserving; but Yaakov, since he didn’t trust that Hashem would protect him even when they sin, and he thought the guarantee was on condition that they wouldn’t sin, he was therefore punished, and it was decreed that his children would be subjugated for their sins, and would not merit Hashem by Himself handling the accounting of their sins.
 Yaakov Avinu is one of our forefathers, he was the grandson of Avraham Avinu, and overlapped with him for the first 17 years of his life. (Avraham died in 2123 and Yaakov was born in 2108 from Creation). Hashem testifies in the Torah that he was yoshev b’ohel, sitting in the Tent learning the Torah his father learned from his father, with diligence and sincerity. So how could he have missed this lesson, that Avraham lived by that we must have trust in Hashem and His righteousness and kindness, and not out of expectations of reward?

We must say that in truth Yaakov did believe intellectually that Hashem has the ability to treat him with righteousness and kindness even if he or his descendants will have sinned. However, we must say that on some miniscule level he had a negia, an emotional bias of a guilty conscience, which made him ashamed if he would sin. This bias, though based on a Torah teaching that one should not trust himself until the day of his death, seemed to have stemmed from a focus on his belief in Hashem’s system of reward and punishment, as opposed to Hashem’s kindness and righteousness. It would seem on some level Yaakov was focused on, hope for, and expected reward for his actions, albeit a spiritual reward in Olam Haba. He therefore got caught up, presumably subconsciously, because of his guilty conscience, in the idea that he might not be deserving of Hashem’s kindness and he couldn’t come to terms with the fact that Hashem would act with him and his descendants with righteousness and kindness. Even after Hashem reiterated His guarantee to act in a kind fashion with them.

This is the power of the evil inclination’s weapon of a negia, bias, to focus us on one concept, in this case the Torah concept of strict judgement of reward and punishment of Hashem and overlook or ignore the correct  Torah concept applicable to that  specific situation, in this case being Hashem’s mercy and kindness.

The way to get rid of a negia is to uproot it from its core. In this case getting rid of the drive for reward, and in fact if Yaakov would have used the concept of “not trusting yourself until you die” to evaluate himself to see why he was not listening to Hashem to go up the ladder, then he might have realized he was being driven by a negia and would have changed course, to choose the proper decision. For not passing this difficult test in his prophetic dream, he was punished.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

Posted on

Toldos – The Action of Fathers is a Sign About Their Children 


(Note their is no dvar Torah for Chayei Sarah in 5785.)

When discussing the twin brothers, Yaakov and Eisav, what comes to mind is a polite scholar and a vicious hunter or warrior. In fact, this is what we envision what Yitzchak is referring to when he says, (Breishis 27:22):

“The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Esav.”הַקֹּל֙ ק֣וֹל יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב וְהַיָּדַ֖יִם יְדֵ֥י עֵשָֽׂו:

The gemara in Gitten 57b darshans (extrapolates) a deeper meaning behind the words of this pasuk: “Another interpretation, ‘the voice is the voice of Yaakov’ There is no prayer that works which isn’t based in the seed of Yaakov. ‘And the hands are the hands of Eisav,’ There is no victorious war which isn’t based in the seed of Eisav. And this is what Rebbe Elazar said, ‘you will be concealed with the prowling tongue’ (Iyov 5:21), with an argumentative tongue you will be concealed.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The Maharsha has a novel approach in explaining this gemara. He says that the gemara’s drasha comes from the fact that the Torah repeats the term “the voice,” which must mean that “his voice” is a sign for his children, just as Chaza”l says (Zohar 1:144a and see the Rashi on this pasuk), that “His voice” is referring to the way he talked, he speaks entreatingly: “Please rise my father etc.” So too the voice of his children in times of suffering [will beseech Hashem in the same manner.] And the repetition of the hand, “and the hands are the hands of Eisav” is referring to war which occurs through the hand, as the Torah writes (Shemos 14:31), “the great hand etc.,” and this is a sign to his children that they will be victorious in the hand of war. This could also be understood the opposite way, for condemnation, as it says in a medrish (Breishis Rabba 65:20), “the children of Yaakov are dependent on their voice. When the children of Yaakov complain with their voice, the hands of Eisav will control them, as it says, “The entire community of the children of Israel complained against Moses and against Aharon in the desert…. Amalek (descendants of Eisav) came and fought with Israel in Rephidim” (Shemos 16:2, 17:8). This is what the gemara means when it says, “for Rebbe Elazar said… with an argumentative tongue you will be concealed,” for if there will be an argumentative tongue amongst the children of Yaakov they will be concealed by the hand of Eisav. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
 The opposite of condemnation (chovah) is merit (zechus), and it would seem that because of the merits of Eisav, who was known to be a warrior as we see from Rashi and the Sifsei Chachamim (Breishis 27:15) that he killed the mightiest warrior of the time, Nimrod, and took his cloak, his descendants would merit to be victorious in many wars. In fact we find that the Roman Empire, which descended from Eisav, conquered and ruled over the entire inhabited world at some point in history. What follows is that the prayers of the descendants of Yaakov, when beseeching Hashem in times of suffering, are answered in the merit of Yaakov. For just as he spoke to his father politely we will beseech Our Father In Heaven graciously for his help in our times of need; but He will only answer us because of the merits of Yaakov.
Why are the prayers of the Jews and the success in war of the children of Eisav dependent on their ancestors, Yaakov or Eisav? Shouldn’t success be based on their own merits, if they deserve it? Granted, Hashem enables everything to happen, but he gives us free will to decide how much kavana, intent, we put into our prayers, as well as in which way we approach Hashem. He also allows people to put in the effort to make up their plans and strategies in war. So why should this all be attributed to ancestors that lived thousands of years ago?

It would seem that even though free choice does play a role, to the extent that our tongue could create opposite results, for condemnation which leads to being ruled by the enemy or for merit which deserves salvation, but Hashem built into this world that without the merits of Yaakov, or Eisav for that matter, the merits of their actions won’t come into fruition. This can be used as another realization in emuna, belief in Hashem and how He runs his world and could be a very humbling thought to ponder.

Posted on

Vayera – Compounding Mitzvos

Towards the end of last week’s Torah portion of Vayeira is the epic episode of Akeidas Yitzchak, the binding of Isaac. Avraham Avinu perfectly performed a mitzva, the will of Hashem, with such alacrity, complete intent, and focus, that its merits have ramifications throughout history.

In fact, right after the event, the Torah relates, “The angel of Hashem called to Avraham a second time from Heaven. And he said, ‘By Myself I swear, the word of Hashem, that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one, that I shall surely bless you and greatly increase your offspring like the stars in the heavens and like the sand on the seashore; and your offspring shall inherit the gates of its enemy. And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your offspring, because you have listened to My voice” (Breishis 22:15-18). 
The Sforno explains on these pesukim that Hashem, by Himself, swears that He will bless Avraham, ‘I G-D say that since you have done this thing… that I shall surely bless you. “And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your offspring,” ‘When the nations will all call upon G-D’s Name to serve Him with one accord (based on Tzephaniah 3:9), they will all seek blessings through your seed and endeavor to emulate them.’ “Because you have listened to My voice,” ‘Because the reward of one mitzvah is another mitzvah (Avos 4:2), therefore you will merit (through this willingness to sacrifice Yitzchak) that your children will be a banner for the nations, teaching them to serve the Almighty, and this will be considered as a righteousness for you.’ (Click here for Hebrew text.)

The impact of Akeidas Yitzchak lasts for generations. According to commentaries on the Sforno by Rav Rephael Pelcovitz and Rav Yehuda Cooperman, the Sforno is alluding to a pasuk in Tzephania which the Radak says is referring to the days after the war of Gog and Magog, where all the nations that are left will want to reap the benefits of Avraham’s blessing and convert to Judaism as a unifying force accepting Hashem as One, led by the Torah leaders, the Gedolim, of that generation. 
One would think that such an impact and everlasting blessing is due to some unique circumstance which comes about once in history for specials reasons. However, the Sforno says the logic behind why Avraham’s deed had such a powerful impact is based on a Mishna in Pirkei Avos which is applied to every single individual. The Mishna (Avos 4:2) there states, “Ben Azzai taught: ‘ You should run to do a mitzvah, even if you think it is not important, and you should run away from a sin; for doing one mitzva leads you to do another mitzva and doing one sin leads you to do another sin; the reward for doing a mitzva is the opportunity to do another mitzva and the consequence for doing a sin is the opportunity to do another sin.” The Sforno on this mishna observes that “even though at times the mitzva or sin is an easy one and seems not worth running after or running away from, in itself but its ramification are otherwise because a mitzva causes another mitzva and a sin causes another sin to happen. The reason for this cause and effect is because the reward in this world is only that G-D gives us the opportunity to keep and prepare ourselves to do another mitzva, as explained in a Medrish Tanchuma (Ki Setzei 1) that it can be derived from the order in the Torah that observance of the mitzva of sending away the mother bird will lead to the mitzva of putting up a fence on one’s roof, which will then lead to the mitzva of tzitzis, etc. This is coming to teach us that if you fulfill the mitzva of sending away the mother bird one merits to prepare himself for the mitzvos that follow it. So to the consequence and delight of a sin in this world prepares one to sin again.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We see from the Sforno on this mishna that the merit of performing one mitzva will prepare one to be ready to perform another mitzva, it’s magnetic in a sense. Once one gets into the mode of doing a mitzva, other mitzvos are drawn to you and G-D forbid the same is true when one gets into the mode of sinning. This magnet seems to be a reward or consequence for the initial mitzva or sin. But how does this fit with what the Sforno is saying by Akeidas Yitzchak? Once Avraham died the magnet should be gone, and even if you say it lives on through his children, but for as long as for thousands of years until the last generation before Moshiach, whenever that is? Where is the magnetic connection? What does the Binding of Isaac have to do with Avraham’s descendants thousands of years later being “the banner,” leading force for the nations to accept Hashem as the only G-D and insisting on converting?

It must be that this magnetic power of doing one mitzvah that leads to another not only works for an individual, but it is generational. It makes sense that the better a mitzva is performed the stronger the magnet it produces to attract more mitzvos, for whoever does it. Furthermore, each mitzva one magnetically attracts, its reward is attributed to him according to the amount Hashem calculates. Therefore, because of the impact Akeidas Yitzchak had, and the complete perfection of a mitzva Avraham performed he created such a magnetic pull it lasts to the end of time throughout the generations and he is attributed with righteousness for all the mitzvos that are performed.

Good Shabbos,
 Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

Posted on

Lech Licha – We Need a Revolution!


One of the basic tenants of Judaism is the belief in the coming of The Messiah, may he come speedily in our days. But it’s been thousands of years, many tears, and much blood and sweat. Signs and predictions that have come and gone. How is it that we keep up our faith and stay strong?

Within the Torah portion of Lech Licha it discusses the “Bris Bein Habesarim,” the special covenant Hashem made with Avraham. There the Torah states, “And it happened, as the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Avram; and behold- a dreadful darkness, great, fell upon him” (Breishis 15:12). The Daas Zekeinim has a lengthy piece on this pasuk and in the midst of it he writes: “And further there is to prove from here the bondage of four kingdoms. ‘A dreadful darkness’ refers to the Greek kingdom, for they darkened the eyes of the Jews from all the mitzvos in the Torah. ‘Great’ refers to the Medinite (Persian) kingdom who tried very hard to sell out the Jews, (i.e. Haman and the Purim story). ‘Fell’ refers to the Babylonian kingdom where the crown of the Jews fell through them. ‘Upon him’ refers to the Children of Yishmael (the Arabs), through them the son of Dovid (the Moshiach) will flourish and spring forth as it says, ‘His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon him, his crown will shine’ (Tehillim 132:18).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The Daas Zekeinim points out that this pasuk refers to four empires that had overwhelming control over the Jews. The Greeks mission was assimilation, a spiritual destruction. Madai (or Persia) sought to eradicate us, a physical destruction, and Babylonia stripped us of our kingship and sovereignty, more of a psychological depreciation of the Jewish People. One would think the 4th country would be Rome who persecuted and exiled us until this day by the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash; but interestingly enough the fourth (not even referred to as a kingdom) is the children of Yishmael, the Arabs, who are definitely today at the forefront of Jewish persecution. And the Daas Zekeinim doesn’t describe how they persecute us but just says that the pasuk alludes to the fact that within their reign of power Moshiach will come forth. He bases it on a pasuk in Tehillim.

The Metzudas Dovid points out that this pasuk in Tehillim specifically uses a term ‘being dressed in shame,’ that the enemy will be completely enclosed, wrapped in shame just like clothing completely enwraps the body; whereas King Dovid will have a shining royal crown, meaning his greatness will be enhanced exceedingly. The Radak takes it a step further and says that ‘being dressed in shame’ is the complete opposite of what it says two pesukim before in pasuk 16: “I will clothe her priests with salvation,” those that serve before Hashem and pray on behalf of the king, and the enemy of the king I will dress in shame. In applying these explanations to the Daas Zekeinim that quotes this pasuk, he is saying that during the period of history when the Arabs will be the major arbiter of tyranny, Moshiach will come. And this time will be evident from the fact that the Arabs will be completely and utterly humiliated and disgraced and the King Moshiach Ben Dovid will be extremely glorified; complete opposites. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We have to appreciate what this means and how this can be applied to our mitzva of yearning for Moshiach to arrive, which is one of the thirteen basic tenants of belief in Judaism. With all the signs and predictions of the heralding of Moshiach throughout the ages we have to realize what it really takes for Moshiach to reveal himself. Not even a generation like the Purim story, where the gemara in Shabbos 88a says the Jewish People unified together to reaccept the Torah voluntarily as they did by Har Sinai, was enough to bring Moshiach and the permanent state of bliss that the era of Moshiach entails. The Radak speaks of complete opposites in the state of the enemy vis-a-vis the Jews. Are we truly at that state; what exactly are we yearning for and expecting?

We must say that with all the predictions and signs that Moshiach is coming, this should not be used as a fuel for hope, and when he hasn’t come yet and time passes yet again, our hopes are dashed. Rather we must use our yearning for Moshiach and the signs that we are on the brink of him coming as an impetus to aspire us to be better people, to do much more than what we normally do, to deserve Moshiach to reveal himself. Because for Moshiach to come, in a positive light, we need real change, a revolution!

If the generation of Mordechai and Esther, or the generation of King Chizkiyahu (See Sanhedrin 94a), couldn’t bring Moshiach –  as great of a unifying force as they were – then it must be, and it makes sense that, it is something which needs a revolutionary process of great change and commitment, in order for this new era in history to take place. So, one cannot feel their hopes being dashed if Moshiach still hasn’t come, even if the signs are here, because the signs are instead supposed to be used as inspiration to better ourselves. To inspire us to put in all our efforts to reach our potential in life; and if we all realize this and work at full capacity to fulfill our potential, then he will come.

Hashem is ready and willing for Moshiach to reveal himself; it’s up to each and every one of us to earn and deserve this new state of being, may it come speedily on our days.

Posted on

Breishis/Noach – The Awesome Power of Man

This dvar Torah is dedicated in memory of Dr. Marshal Benner, who passed away right before Yom Kippur. He was among the first people signed up to receive Food for Thought. Yehi Zichro Baruch!


Sixteen hundred and fifty years after the creation of mankind Hashem brought upon them the destruction of the world, with The Flood, in the times of Noah.

The Torah gives us a glimpse as to the extent of the evil perpetrated by the generation at the end of the Torah portion of Breishis and the beginning of the portion of Noach. In perek 6 pasuk 5 the Torah states: “Hashem saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every product of the thoughts of his heart was but evil always.” In pasuk 12, the Torah states, “And G-D saw the earth and behold it was corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted it’s way upon the earth.”
The Agadat Breishis depicts the general sense to what extent the generation was wicked. The Agadat Breishis (1:4) states: “‘Hashem saw the wickedness of man,’ This is what the pasuk means when it says, ‘There is an evil I have observed beneath the sun, and it is prevalent among mankind’ (Koheles 6:1). The Holy One Blessed Be He said, ‘See what these wicked ones have done! When I created them I gave them two assistants, one good and one bad, and they abandoned the good assistant and clung and attached themselves with the bad one.’ How do we know this? For Shlomo said, ‘There was a small town with only a few inhabitants; and a mighty king came upon it and surrounded it, and built great siege works over it” (Koheles 9:14). ‘A small town’ refers to one’s body. ‘A few inhabitants.’ refers to the limbs of the body. ‘And a mighty king came upon it,’ is the evil inclination. ‘And built upon it great siege works over it,’ is because the evil inclination plans to trap man with great traps. ‘Present in the city is a poor wise man who by his wisdom saved the town, yet no one remembered the poor man’ (verse 15 in Koheles chapter 9). This wise man is the good inclination. ‘By his wisdom he saves the town’ for the good inclination directs man towards life. ‘Yet no one remembered the poor man,’ Hashem said that not only does these wicked people not turn the evil inclination into the good inclination, but they make the good inclination into the evil inclination, as it says, ‘And that every product of the thoughts of his heart was but evil always’ (Breishis 6:5).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

Rav Chaim Palagi in his commentary on this medrish, called Avi HaNachal, explains the last part of this medrish; that in fact Avraham had transformed his evil inclination into good as mentioned in a Talmud Yerushalmi. King Dovid just killed his evil inclination in his heart, but these wicked people in the era of the flood made their good inclination bad. As hinted to in Mishlei (2:14), “who are glad to do evil” with the evil inclination, those “who rejoices in the duplication of evil” when they also convert the good inclination to bad which results in two inclinations for bad. This is also hinted to in Melachi 2:1:, ” whoever makes bad good,” referring also to the good changing into bad… (Click here for 
Hebrew text.)
It appears to be true that man has the power to change his evil inclination into good, or good inclination into bad. Yet these concepts are so esoteric; spiritual forces that Hashem created to help drive a person to live and make free choices in his lifetime; how then does this possibly work? How can we make sense of it? How can any person transform a spiritual being that Hashem created into something else? It makes sense that man can be manipulated by the evil inclination and completely ignore his good inclination, or vice versa, but how can he transform what’s good to bad or what’s bad to good? We see from this concept the awesome greatness and power of mankind endowed in every individual; but how does it work? How is it really possible?
 Rav Yisrael Salanter zt”l in his Iggeres HaMussar defines what exactly are the evil and good inclinations. “…We can apply these 2 categories of sin in order to find compromise between 2 schools of thought, concerning the definition of the evil inclination and good inclination. The first more common view asserts that the evil inclination is the force of impurity in man that induces him to sin. Whereas the good inclination is the force of holiness in man that aspires him to perform good deeds. The second school of thought asserts that the evil inclination is the force of desire that looks to get pleasure from every sweet thing in its time… whereas the good inclination is the straight intellect that looks and gazes towards the inevitable consequences of our deeds, namely, the trepidation of fear of Hashem and His exceedingly horrifying judgments. And he chooses the advantageous way to conquer his desire, so that he will be sated with delight and with wondrous pleasure in the World To Come. The glory of the pleasure is beyond description.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Rav Yisrael Salanter goes on to assert and to prove that the good and evil inclinations are made up of both schools of thought. The good inclination is both a holy force and one’s straight intellect, whereas the evil inclination is both the forces of impurity and physical desires.
The Etz Yosef on this medrish explains why the big king is considered the evil inclination and the poor wise man is the good inclination. It is because a person before he is born learns the entire Torah in his mother’s womb and is caused to forget it when he comes out, and for 13 years (12 years for a girl) his evil inclination has control over him and when he turns bar mitzvah he has the chance to use his good inclination, but his evil inclination is older by 13 years and it’s a big struggle for his good inclination to be heard.
Based on all this I humbly believe that the medrish discussing the good inclination being transformed to evil, and the Avi HaNachal mentioning that Avraham transformed his evil inclination to good, they are referring to the second school of thought. According to this opinion, Avraham took control of all his senses and physical desires with his great intellect, to the point that all his desires were good, based in fear of Heaven. However, the generation of the flood used their intellect for their physical desires, transforming the good into bad.
We find children with implicitly good natures and other children who are a handful. This could be because the force of impurity or the force of holiness are focused more in some children than others for many different reasons. But a child’s physical desires nurture and grow from the time they are born, along with the capacity to think clearly and maturely, in ways which are deep and profound, which only start to truly take root once they are bar or bas mitzvah. This is the period during which one’s intellect starts to expand and mature, when one can start to handle and develop deep concepts like Fear of Hashem. And if a person takes advantage of his or her newfound gifts to fight off all the physical habits and enjoyments one is used to, then he or she can be victorious in the fight between good and evil. Indeed, if they really master their intellect, then they can destroy evil from inside them or even transform it into good as Avraham did. However, if one never uses or improves on his wisdom or intellect, then the big king, the evil inclination, will not let them see good too easily.

What is worse though is when one actually uses one’s intellect, which was originally made for the potential to do good, for evil. People have the ability and tendency to rationalize and make up great hypotheses and theses, which sound very logical, as to why what is really wrong should be good. But this is all rationalization, lacking fear of Hashem; “Without wisdom there is no fear but without fear there is no wisdom” (Avos 3:17).

A person has the ability to be controlled by all types of physical desires and use his intellect to rationalize that what he is doing is correct; that it is justice, fair, and of moral grounding. Not only that, but he can also philosophize and prove that his way is the right and only way. When this happens, his evil inclination transforms his good inclination into bad. That is what the Agadat Breishis says happened to the generation of the flood.

Posted on

3 Weeks – Shiv’ah Asar B’Tammuz & Tisha B’Av


Rav Avigdor Miller zt”l in his preface to the Gate of Bechina in Chovos Halevavos says, “One of the main purposes of praying is to stimulate our minds to think. But what are the thoughts that we should have? They are not in the prayers themselves. However, proper use of the regular prayers can serve as a table of contents and an index to almost all the general principles of the Torah, especially the duties of the mind, including love and fear of Hashem.”

My Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Henach Leibowitz zt”l, has a shmuz about the impact of deep, heartful prayer and how it could have prevented the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash. Melachim Beis (22:14-20) relates: “And Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah the son of Harhas, the keeper of the raiment, and she was sitting in Jerusalem in the study-hall, and they spoke to her. And she said to them, ‘So has Hashem, G-D of Israel spoken, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, ‘So has Hashem said, ‘Behold I bring calamity to this place and upon its inhabitants-all the words of the scroll that the king of Yehuda read. Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to pagan deities, in order to provoke Me with all the deeds of their hands, My wrath is kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.’ And concerning the king of Yehuda who has sent you to inquire of Hashem, so shall you say to him, ‘So has Hashem, G-D of Israel said, ‘The words are what you heard. Since your heart has become soft, and you have humbled yourself before Hashem, when you heard what I spoke about this place and about its inhabitants, to become a desolation and a curse, and you rent your garments and wept before Me, I, too, have heard [it],’ says Hashem. Therefore, behold I gather you in to your forefathers, and you shall be gathered into your graves in peace, and your eyes shall not see any of the calamity that I am bringing upon this place.’ And they brought back word to the king.”

There was a delegation that went to Chulda the prophetess, asking that she pray on behalf of the Jewish People to try to stop the upcoming destruction and exile threatened by the Babylonian forces. Rashi addresses why they went to Chulda the Prophetess and not to Yirmiyahu, who was a great prophet in that day and age: “Our Rabbis said that because a woman is more merciful than a man, he, therefore, did not send to Yirmiyahu. “

This Rashi is based on a gemara in Megilla14b that says: “Huldah was a prophetess, as it is written: “So Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess” (II Kings 22:14) as emissaries of King Josiah. The Gemara asks: But if Yirmiyahu was found there, how could she prophesy? Out of respect for Yirmiyahu, who was her superior, it would have been fitting that she not prophesy in his presence. The Sages of the school of Rav say in the name of Rav: Huldah was a close relative of Yirmiyahu, and he did not object to her prophesying in his presence. The Gemara asks: But how could Josiah himself ignore Yirmiyahu and send emissaries to Huldah? The Sages of the school of Rabbi Sheila say: Because women are more compassionate, and he hoped that what she would tell them would not be overly harsh.” The Maharsha on this gemara adds that women are compassionate and will beseech mercy in order to change bad to good.

The Rosh HaYeshiva zt”l, in summary, put into perspective the situation. Yirmiyahu was the leader of the generation and a greater prophet than Chulda. He was extremely compassionate and had all the other pristine attributes of a righteous and modest leader. He clearly understood the state of emergency and the dire state of Jewish People, for he was the one who wrote Megillas Eichah, Lamentations. If that was the case, then why in fact did the delegation not go to him? The gemara answers because Chulda was a woman, someone who has more of a natural tendency to be compassionate, even more than the greatest prophet and leader of the generation. Although he was proven to be compassionate and very merciful, on some miniscule level the delegation believed Chulda would muster more kavana, intent, in her prayers because of the natural, inborn feelings of compassion that any woman has, especially such a prophetess as her. That is why they went to her as opposed to Yirmiyahu to pray on behalf of the nation to save them from destruction. It would seem that it would have worked if she had prayed on their behalf, but prophecy said they were doomed as mentioned in the pesukim.

The Rosh HaYeshiva zt”l concludes by saying that the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash was an incredibly great tragedy for the Jewish people, which we have been mourning for over 2000 years. It is apparent from what we just discussed that the little bit more of intent that Chulda would have had over Yirmiyahu in her prayers could have prevented the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. From all this we learn how much we must invigorate and focus our emotions in order to add to our prayers more intentionality, since kavana, intent, is what tips the scales for our prayers to be answered. Indeed, even a minimal amount of additional kavana might cause a change to the decree of Hashem in matters that can be world changing. (Chiddushei Halev Megillas Esther 5:8 see the second part). The attitude towards prayer mentioned above by Rav Avigdor Miller might help with expounding on kavana.

The mussar sefer, Menoras HaMeor (5:3:3:1), discussing fast days, says that fasts are a great help in repentance for two reasons:
1. To weaken one’s body and break one’s haughty heart which sinned.
2. To squelch one’s physical desires and to clear one’s fats and blood according to one’s guilt and feel as if one is offering his body as a sacrifice to Hashem.
Just as when one has a physical ailment, such as a stomachache, the way to heal it is to stop eating, so too it is it beneficial for a spiritual ailment. But the opposite is also true; for one who is not sick, or if he is sick and his whole body is weak, then if he does not eat he will get sicker and weaker. So to mistreat your body without reason will also harm you.

 In the next chapter the Menoras HaMeor quotes a gemara in Taanis 26a which says there were 5 things that happened on the 17th of Tammuz:
1. The luchos, tablets were smashed,
2. The Daily Offering was suspended due to a decree by the enemy,
3. The walls of Yerushalayim were ruptured open by the enemy,
4. Apostumus burned a Torah scroll, and
5. In the days of the evil king Menashe he set up an idol in the heichal, sanctuary of the Beis Hamikdash.

On Tisha B’Av 5 things also happened:
1. It was decreed the Jews in the desert would not enter The Land,
2. The first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed,
3. Also the second,
4. Beitar was captured,
5. The city of Yerushalayim was plowed like a field.

After discussing how Tisha B’Av is the most severe fast, the Menoras HaMeor quotes another gemara in Taanis 30a in the name of Rebbe Akiva which says that whoever works on Tisha B’Av will never see a sign of blessing from that work, whoever  eats on Tisha B’Av will not see Yerushalayim in its joy, but whoever mourn over Yerushalayim will merit to see Yerushalayim in its joy as the pasuk in Yeshayahu (66:10) states: “Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her all those who love her: rejoice with her a rejoicing, all who mourn over her.” (Click here for Hebrew text)

There is an imperative concept to mourn over the destruction and exile; however that obviously isn’t the ideal. Men, especially women, and children have the ability to potentially get us out of this exile by mustering up heartfelt prayers like never seen before, so that instead of mourning over Yerushalayim we will rejoice!

There is a lot to daven for, in general for the physical safety of the world and the moral fabric of society but specifically for the safety of the Jewish people and ultimate peace in Eretz Yisrael may it come speedily in our days.

Pray well,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder
Dovid Shmuel ben Sarah Leah 
I am having surgery on my shoulder in a couple of weeks, and this will be the last dvar Torah indefinitely until I recuperate enough to get back into the swing of things.

Posted on

Chukas – Frustration: OK, Anger: Not

The passing of Miriam in this week’s Torah portion of Chukas was the catalyst for Moshe’s notorious sin of hitting the rock. As the Torah says, “The entire congregation of the Children of Israel arrived at the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there. The congregation had no water; so they assembled against Moshe and Aharon. The people quarreled with Moshe, and they said, ‘If only we had died with the death of our brothers before Hashem…’Moshe and Aharon moved away from the assembly to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they fell on their faces. [Then] the Glory of Hashem appeared to them. Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: ‘Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aharon, and speak to the rock in their presence so that it will give forth its water. You shall bring forth water for them from the rock and give the congregation and their livestock to drink.’ Moshe took the staff from before Hashem as He had commanded him…Moshe raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, when an abundance of water gushed forth, and the congregation and their livestock drank. Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon, ‘Since you did not imbue faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them’” (Bamidbar 20:1-12).
There are many lessons the Ralbag learns from this episode in the desert and by putting it all together we will, b’ezras Hashem [with G-D’s help], learn an important lesson. When Miriam passed away the Ralbag says that when one person from a group dies the whole group should be worried. For we see that when Miriam died, immediately the [potential] for death was decreed on her brothers even though they were of such great stature, to the extent that they both died within a month of each other. As was explained in the Torah and in the Prophet Yehoshua, that Moshe didn’t live more than a month after Aharon passed away. Aharon died on the first of the month of Shevat in the 40th year of traveling in the desert as explicitly stated in parshas Massei (33:38), and Moshe died on the first of the month of Adar as stated in the Torah (Devarim 34:5-8) and in the Prophet Yehoshua, as Chazal explain. (There is an argument between the Medrish Rabba Esther 7:11 who says Moshe was born and died on the first of Adar and the Gemara in Megilla 13b who says that Moshe was born and died on the seventh of Adar. The Ralbag seems to be siding with the Medrish, but either way they all died in close proximity to each other.)
The Ralbag learns another lesson; that one should feel distressed over the death of the righteous because their passing makes an impact. We saw that when Miriam died the water from the rock, known as the Well of Miriam, which previously delivered water to the entire nation, stopped doing so. A similar thing happened when Aharon passed away; in whose merit there were the Clouds of Glory. This impacted the lives of all the Jews, even though Moshe Rabbeinu, the master of all the prophets, was still alive at the time!
This being the case, after Miriam passed away, the water ceased coming forth from “the well,” and the Jewish people began to complain of terrible thirst. Hashem was not upset at them over a lack of faith in Him and in fact the lesson the Ralbag learns from here is that “it’s unfitting to denigrate a person very much for blurting out inappropriate words in times of pain, loss, and injury. For when the Jews were experiencing great suffering due to thirst and were afraid of dying, they lashed out with very harsh words against Moshe, and we don’t find that they were punished for this. On the contrary, Hashem wanted to give them water in the fashion explicitly mentioned in the pesukim above.”
Yet when it comes to Moshe Rabbeinu hitting the rock, the Torah states that before doing so Moshe told the Jewish people, “Now listen, you rebels, can we draw water for you from this rock” (Bamidbar 20:10)? Moshe was punished and lost his right to live and lead the Jewish People into the Land of Israel. And the Ralbag learns from here that “a person should distance himself from the attribute of anger, as anger was the reason why Moshe didn’t execute Hashem’s intentions perfectly, as commanded. Even though he was of such a great height, and reached such greatness in perfection of his character. Hashem had said to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water. As a result of his action, bad things continued for the Jews with the fact that harm came to their prophet.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We have to put into perspective what took place. Everything started with Miriam’s passing, which left a void on the Jews, who in her merit had been given water.  For this reason, Hashem overlooked any offensive rhetoric that was inappropriately lashed out at His prophet Moshe Rabbeinu, and even planned a great miracle for the water to return. However, what must also be taken into account is that Moshe was in the same plight, and he felt even more pressure knowing the concept that he should be worried once someone in his group, one of his sibling in this case, had passed on. It seems in fact that the mazel of Moshe and Aharon was susceptible, and they were tested to see if they would be deserving of severe punishment. That was probably troubling and on the forefront of Moshe’s mind, in addition to mourning the great loss of his sister. That being the case, then wasn’t Moshe in the same position as the rest of the Jewish people, in a state of agony and pain? So he also should have been exempt from any punishment for acting and speaking rashly?
Yet he was punished, and the Ralbag does not say it was because on his level Hashem judges stricter; rather the Ralbag says it was due to his anger. It must have been that on some miniscule level, Moshe let anger enter his heart, which allowed him to speak and act as he did, which minimized the miracle that could have taken place, which “impacted” Hashem’s goal.
We see from here that there is a difference between being angry and being agitated. Moshe slightly crossed the line into feeling anger and that caused him not to fulfill Hashem’s will with exactitude. (It must also be that because Aharon was standing right there at the time, next to Moshe, and didn’t make sure that Moshe executed Hashem’s instructions perfectly, so he was also punished with Moshe. We see this in the Ralbag, lesson 9, later on).
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Dovid Shmuel Milder

Posted on

Korach –

Going Cold Turkey Vs. A Slow Weaning
There is a well-known debate in the substance abuse community as to whether it is better to go cold-turkey or slowly wean your way off of an addictive substance or behavior. Although there are two different schools of thought, the latter, weaning, seems to be more prevalent. However, one might think that in a situation of clear and imminent danger, or under immediate threat, it is best to go cold-turkey and stop things at once.

The opposite, if possible, is taught in this week’s Torah portion of Korach, where there was an immediate threat of a rebellion and action had to be taken quickly. But as the Ralbag explains, there was a process put in place in order to win over the rebels. The Torah states, “They assembled against Moshe and Aharon, and said to them, ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and Hashem is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above Hashem’s assembly?’ Moshe heard and fell on his face. He spoke to Korach and to all his company, saying, ‘In the morning, Hashem will make known who is His, and who is holy, and He will draw [them] near to Him, and the one He chooses, He will draw near to Him. Do this, Korach and his company: Take for yourselves pans. Place fire into them and put incense upon them before Hashem tomorrow, and the man whom Hashem chooses he is the holy one; you have taken too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi’” (Bamidbar 16:4-7).

The Ralbag in his Toaliyos learns a lesson that “it’s befitting for a person, when he sees people who want to do the wrong thing, that he should steer them from the bad little by little. If he would try to change them in one shot, they would not listen to him because of their steadfast will in their mission. For this reason, we find that when Moshe wanted to steer Korach and his followers from the bad, they had chosen, he began by addressing the goal they were trying to achieve. He said that Hashem chooses who is fit to be a kohen. This was considered a wise statement because he showed them that this whole matter came from Hashem, and their claim in the position was useless. This was also considered one of the great attributes and wisdom of Moshe that he began appeasing them with this statement because they were not giving up on their request. He then went on to explain to them in a fashion which would really appeal to them, which would have completely changed them from the bad they were engrossed in. And for this reason, Moshe fell on his face before Korach to beseech him to not continue in this manner.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

The obvious question is: what did Moshe Rabbeinu do that was so incredible? He just told the truth, that all these appointments to leadership roles were appointed by Hashem? And it didn’t even work! In the end there was a whole process that had to be played out, and after several attempts and thousands of people dying miraculous deaths, the nation conceded that Aharon and his family deserved the priesthood, and the rebellion was squelched. But why take so much time; why not act forcibly, immediately to get rid of the problem?

It must be that if Moshe would have forcibly gotten rid of the problem instead of strategically going through the whole process that he did, then the acceptance of his actions would not have been as well met as it was in the end. For in the end no one ever questioned the rights of the priesthood ever again. What was so incredibly smart was the strategy he took to first try to appease them, to state the obvious, before employing more extreme tactics to prove his point and them wrong. This resulted in a more lasting impact, even though in the short-term people weren’t getting the message so quickly.

This is the philosophy of why weaning usually works better than going cold-turkey.