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
Ki Savo – The Making of a Mentche
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.
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.
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.
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
Eikev – What’s Good About Shabbos?
This week’s Torah portion of Eikev begins, “This shall be the reward when you hearken to these ordinances and you observe and perform them; Hashem, your G-D, will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers ” (Devarim 27:12).
In the first medrish in the Medrish Rabba on this portion Hashem asserts: “‘Do you think I gave to you Shabbos as a detriment? I only gave it to you for your own good.’ How? Rebbe Chiya bar Abba said [that Hashem says], ‘You sanctify the Shabbos with eating and drinking, wearing clean clothes and delighting your soul; and I will give you reward.’ How do we know this? Because the pasuk in Yeshayahu (58:13) says ‘And you call the Shabbos a delight…’ What is written after that (58:14)? ‘Then you will delight on Hashem.’ ‘And he will give to you whatever your heart desires’ (Tehillim 37:4). The Jews said to Hashem, ‘When will you give us our reward for the mitzvos that we do?’ Hashem said back to them, ‘You will now eat from the fruit of the mitzvos that you do but it’s reward will be saved for the future in the World to Come and will be given to you then.’ How do we know this? From the fact that we call it in this portion, in this circumstance, ‘This shall be your reward when you hearken to these ordinances'” (Devarim Rabba 3:1). (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Why would Shabbos be a detriment to us? And in Hashem’s response, what does it mean that ‘we will eat the fruit of the mitzvah now? ‘
The Maharz”u has two ways to understand why people would think Shabbos is a detriment:
1. “[Hashem admits], It is suffering for you, for I forbade you any form of melacha (work that was done to build the mishkan) and business, as well as kindling and putting out a fire to the extent that even if an entire house is ablaze (assuming that it is a situation which is non-life threatening) it is still forbidden to put out the fire. To this [Hashem] says that the reward is much greater than the loss, for the loss is occasionally and very little and the reward is constant and in abundance.
What does it mean that the reward is constant?
The Maharz”u explains that the delight one will get from enjoying and observing Shabbos is that Hashem will always listen when this person cries out to Him. The Maharz”u proves this from pesukim in Iyov. Now we can understand what the fruit of performing the mitzvos in this world is and why it is constant. Imagine, just for observing Hashem’s Shabbos and enjoying it by eating fancy food and drinking delicious drinks while getting all dressed up, Hashem will always listen to your prayers when you cry out to Him. That is quite impressive fruit coming from your mitzvah on a consistent basis!
Somehow, this overshadows the circumstances when the house is burnt down and one loses all his possessions, and the many times when people lost their job and livelihood for the sake of Shabbos observance; why? Furthermore, the inconveniences that make the day harder, less comfortable, or supposedly not as pleasurable, like not being able to turn on and off lights, drive the car, write, or even choose things the way you want to choose them; why are they really worth it at the end of the day?
However, if one truly contemplates what it means for Hashem to listen to and answer ALL of your prayers in this world, the delight to have an all-powerful, all-knowing being willing to listen to you besides the belief and understanding of the infinite reward in the World To Come, then truly any supposed “detriments” are miniscule and insignificant. The key is that one must contemplate, imagine, and focus on the benefits and believe it is true, for then the detriments are truly insignificant.
2. The second possible detriment discussed by the Maharz”u is based on a very deep concept found in another medrish (Vayikra Rabba 13:3). “Mitzvos were only given to mankind in order to refine a person, to purify them from evil forces. [One might think] only the mitzvah of Shabbos specifically was not given to purify them from evil for they are commanded to eat, drink and to delight. There is no suffering, affliction, or purification. Not only that but you get rewarded for all the pleasure you have. However, even on Shabbos there is a refinement for one cannot eat whatever he wants just like during the week.”
This explanation is absolutely incredible if you analyze what the Maharz”u is saying! It seems people would think that Shabbos is a detriment, because if you go through all the mitzvos, there is a certain refinement that the mitzva does to a person by needing to abide by certain rules and not being allowed to do whatever one wants. For example, one cannot eat whatever he wants, there is the mitzva of kashrus. One cannot wear whatever he wants, there is the mitzva of shaatnez. Even mitzvos like tefillin have specific rules of where to place them and how to wear them; it can be a pain and a hassle to observe everything. But that was done on purpose by Hashem, to refine the human being from all negative effects inside and around him. Yet one might think that because there is a mitzvah to enjoy oneself on Shabbos then he can do whatever he wants. Eat the fanciest foods, kosher or not, drink the best wines, and wear the fanciest clothing! Imagine having a buttered pork chop, clam chowder, with chocolate mousse for dessert while wearing a Hugo Boss suit which is full of shaatnez! That might sound delicious and fancy (at least to some people), and it might be a great way to observe the mitzva of enjoying and honoring Shabbos; but what a detriment, because it is at the cost of transgressing other sins! Therefore, Hashem says it’s better to observe the rest of my mitzvos properly, as you would during the week, than to honor the Shabbos the best possible way.
Hashem says, “It is the effort that you put into doing things correctly and trying your hardest to produce proper intentions, not to do what you think is the best way to observe the mitzvos of Shabbos. If you listen to My will then I will listen to your prayers plus you will get much reward in the World to Come.”
Bonding with Hashem is the pure essence of Shabbos. Take advantage it has plenty of benefits and is well worth it!
Vaeschanan – Reality Check About Honesty
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The gemara in Rosh Hashanah 21b relates that there are 50 gates of bina, understanding, and all except for one were given to Moshe Rabbeinu, as it says “You give him dominion over Your handiwork, You placed everything under his feet” (Tehillim 8:7). Yet in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion of Vaeschanan, when Moshe is praying and beseeching Hashem to be allowed to enter the Land of Israel, Moshe says, “My Lord, Hashem Elokim, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand… Let me now cross and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon” (Devarim 3:24-25).
One of the lessons the Ralbag learns from these pesukim is that “it is befitting for a person to not glorify himself with his wisdom and understanding though he has attained so much of it. Rather it is better to view oneself as if one is greatly lacking, for in this way one will be quicker to beseech perfection. For don’t we see by Moshe Rabbeinu with all the power of understanding he had reached, he still considered himself very much lacking, to the point that he said he was just beginning the path of reaching perfection and for this reason he said, ‘Hashem, Elokim you have begun to show Your servant Your greatness etc.'” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We must put into perspective the situation. Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest prophet to have ever lived. He is referred to as the father of all prophets. The levels of spirituality and knowledge of Hashem is unfathomable, and to get a glimpse of what that means one should read the obscure medrish, Medrish Kitapuach Bi’atzei Haya’ar, which depicts Moshe’s ascent through the 7 Heavens when he went up Mount Sinai. Does this mean Moshe was lying when he said he has only begun to understand Hashem and His ways?
Granted Moshe is known in the Torah as the humblest person on earth, but even so, my Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Henoch Liebowitz zt”l, in a shmuz on this concept (Chiddushei Halev Bamidbar 12:3) says, ” humility is defined as recognizing one’s special advantages and strengths and therefore understanding his purpose in life, but nevertheless feeling that people are better than him. Moshe recognized all his advantages; he knew he was humble and more perfect than any other person. He also understood that his purpose in life is to be the greatest leader of the generation for the Jews, and still in all he felt that all the Jews are better than him, because they have advantages that he does not have.”
This does not sound like he is lying to himself; so why does it seem like he is lying to himself here and saying he is only beginning to know Hashem, if in fact he was really so close to Him already and on levels of wisdom and understanding that we can’t even fathom?
In fact, the Ralbag, in his first lesson on these pesukim refers to Moshe as perfect: “Those that are perfect only choose this physical existence in order to add on to their perfection. For this reason, Moshe told Hashem that the reason why he is requesting from Hashem to cross the Jordan to see the land was because Hashem had already started to show him His greatness and His mighty hand. For this reason, Moshe chose to enter the land which was known to be the choicest and most influential by Hashem, in order so that he can add perfection to his perfection and behold Hashem’s greatness and mighty hand more than what he has already seen until now. And he did not choose this in order to eat from the fruit of the land as fools have thought.”
We see from this Ralbag that Moshe in fact recognized his perfection, that he had fulfilled his potential in the desert, but he wanted to reach higher and greater heights of the infinite levels of perfection one can attain, and that is why he desired to enter the Land of Israel. If so, then why in the very next lesson does the Ralbag depict Moshe as thinking he has just started to gain understanding of Hashem and His ways; isn’t that not true?
However, it seems clear, and if one thinks about it, it makes a lot of sense, that no matter how smart one might be, and no matter how holy or close to Hashem a person has attained, it can be levels unfathomable to the normal human mind, still in all, to truly understand Hashem Himself, His ways, intentions and infinite wisdom is so vastly impossible that in fact Moshe was telling the truth when he said he has just started learning and understanding about Hashem and His greatness.
All the more so we have to never be satisfied with our spiritual and mental growth and always strive to gain more heights and reach more levels of understanding Hashem, His ways, and doing His will.
Devarim – Human Sensitivity to Authenticity
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A person’s sensitivity to the real truth is acute, and there is an apparent proof to this from a Medrish Rabba (1:4) in this week’s Torah portion of Devarim. The Book of Devarim begins with Moshe Rabbeinu rebuking the Jewish nation, climaxing with the curses in the portion of Ki Savo.
The medrish states, “Rebbe Acha the son of Rebbe Chanina said that Bilaam should have said the rebuke (the curses mentioned in parshas Ki Savo, according to the Maharz”u) and the blessings (bilaam said) should have come from the mouth of Moshe. However, if Bilaam would have rebuked them, the Jews would have just said an enemy rebuked us. And if Moshe would have given the Jews the blessings, then the nations of the world would have said their loved one blessed them. Therefore, Hashem said let Moshe who loves them rebuke them and Bilaam who hates them bless them so that it is clear that the rebuke and blessings are meant for the Jews.” (Click here fore Hebrew text.)
The Maharz”u explains that if the Jews would have heard the curses from the mouth of Bilaam, they would have said this is what he desires – but that is not really the truth. The nations of the world would have said that because Moshe, their loved one, desires to bless them, but what he said is not really true; therefore Moshe began to rebuke them as it says ‘These are the words etc.’
It is apparent from this medrish and Maharz”u that Bilaam should have been successful at cursing and rebuking the Jews, as he originally planned on doing. They would have been the same curses and rebuke as written in the Torah, but if he would have done that, they would not have accepted it as truth and would have thought it was just what he felt in his heart.
But why would they not accept the rebuke? First off, there is a medrish a few paragraphs later (1:9) which proves that if the Jews accept rebuke Hashem must then bless them. If that is the case, assuming they know this, as apparent from that medrish, then why would they not accept Bilaam’s rebuke, as it would all be for the good in the end? Surely if they would focus on what Bilaam would have said they might have even realized it would have been the truth, Divinely inspired by Hashem, since in fact the curses and rebuke did come from the Truthful Torah. So why would they have not accepted it, if it would have come from the mouth of Bilaam?
It must be that even though the reality would have been that Bilaam would have been saying the truth, and accepting the rebuke and curses upon themselves if they would do wrong would have been in their best interest because it would have guaranteed blessing from Hashem, still in all, if there is some excuse to rely on to not accept it as truth, then they would have denied its authenticity.
People are looking for authenticity. They want to hear things in a vacuum of truth without any possible biases that might overshadow the truth, therefore it is hard to accept even what is really the truth from someone whom there is reason to believe might be making something up.
May we see the Final Redemption speedily in our days, and no need for a fast.
Mattos & Maasei – Always Watch Your Back and Your Friend’s Back
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This week is the double portion of Mattos and Maasei, and it also concludes Sefer Bamidbar. In Mattos we find the Jewish people waging battle against the Midianites out of revenge for causing 24,000 Jews to perish in sin at the end of Parshas Balak. They were victorious in battle and collected many spoils from the war. We actually learn the laws of kashering utensils from this portion because of all the utensils collected from the non-Jewish Midianites after the war. Hashem told Moshe, “Divide the spoils in half, between those who undertook the battle, who go out to the legions, and the entire assembly. You shall raise up a tribute to Hashem from the men of war who go out to the legion, one living being of 500, from the people, from the cattle, from the donkeys and from the flocks” (Bamidbar 31:27-28). When the leaders of the army approached Moshe, “They said to Moshe, ‘Your servants took a census of the men of war under our command, and not one man of us is missing. So we brought an offering to Hashem: what any man found of gold vessels, anklet and bracelet, ring, earring, clasp, to stone for our souls before Hashem” (Bamidbar 31:49-50).
There is a very valuable lesson the Ralbag learned from here. “One who has received good from Hashem should recognize that good and thank Hashem for it because this will help not to forget Hashem. For this reason, the Torah tells us that the ministers of the 1000s and 100s donated a lot of gold vessels to Hashem for all the good He did for them, that not one person died in battle. For this reason also, Moshe required that they themselves bring all the gifts to the Tent of Meeting to leave it there for the incredible wonder that took place. For this reason also, Hashem commanded them to take a portion of the gifts to Hashem from the spoils to the Kohanim and Leviim to show them that all this incredible good came to them from Hashem and not due to their own power and strength.”
(Click here for Hebrew text.)
The leaders of the army felt humbled by the show of care and love that Hashem had for his children, and not one was killed or captured in the war with the Midianites. They had heartfelt gratitude towards Hashem for the miracles that had happened to them, so they felt a need to give back and to donate a chunk of the spoils to Hashem. The donations were publicized and placed at the entrance of the Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting) to enhance the gratitude towards Hashem. Hashem felt it was important that He had to give part of the gifts to the Kohanim and Leviim just to humiliate them by giving away part of the gifts so that there was no room to think that they could give themselves credit for the victory. (Parenthetically an interesting concept comes from this that repackaging gifts and giving them to other people is an embarrassment to the first giver if they find out what you did, so you should be sensitive of that matter). But why did Hashem feel he had to humiliate these donors in this way? Weren’t they clearly showing that they attributed 100% of their success to Hashem?
It must be that there is always room for the trait of haughtiness to slip in and every angle must be taken to avoid it, without any excuse. Hashem felt personally responsible to do this and not leave it up to free choice, for the leaders to choose to work on themselves to stay humble, since He would be the cause of them feeling this haughtiness potentially.
Pinchas – Making it Your Mitzvah
Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the month, is a special day, or two. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 417) sites the custom for women to refrain from strenuous work, like laundry on Rosh Chodesh. There are those who don’t shave, get haircuts, or cut their nails, based on a decree of Rebbe Yehuda HaChasid. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 419) says there is a mitzvah to enhance one’s meal on Rosh Chodesh. In many high school yeshivos they have a special Rosh Chodesh breakfast. From all this we find that the Jewish people treat the beginning of the month in an extra special manner.
In fact, according to the Sforno in this week’s Torah portion of Pinchas there is a special reason of why this is so. The Torah, discussing the Musaf offering brought for Rosh Chodesh, states: “On your New Moons, you shall bring a burnt offering to Hashem: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs in their first year, unblemished” (Bamidbar 28:11). The Sforno points out “that there used to be a Jewish custom on Rosh Chodesh that made it considered extra holy in some way, as the pasuk in Shmuel Alef (20:19) testifies, ‘Where you hid yourself on the day of the deed.’ This pasuk was referring to the fact that they did not go into work on Rosh Chodesh. This is why the pasuk here associated Rosh Chodesh with the Jews, ‘your head of the months’. We don’t find this by the festivals. It doesn’t say by Shabbos, your Shabbos or by Shavuos, your Day of Bikkurim, or by Sukkos, your Sukkos. The reason for this custom is because it would seem that the success of the Jewish people in this world is in some way similar to the moon, which by itself does not have light accept from what it gets from something else, i.e. the sun.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
We see from this Sforno that the concept of treating Rosh Chodesh as a special time or day for the Jewish people is a custom that dates back at least to the times of David and Yonatan, son of King Shaul, which the pasuk in Shmuel was referring to; but most definitely even before that. But what was so special about them not working on Rosh Chodesh? They didn’t work on the festivals and Shabbos either, as Hashem commanded, and doesn’t Chaza”l say greater is one who is commanded to do something and fulfills the command then one who is not commanded? Furthermore, we see throughout history how each Yom Tov was treated with extra care, with people going out of their way to get the best lulav and esrog set, beautifying their Sukkah, having elaborate seders on Pesach, etc. etc. So why in fact is Rosh Chodesh so special that Hashem and His Torah, which is not time-bound, foresaw that the Jewish People would decide not to work on Rosh Chodesh and treat it as a special day, any more than Shabbos and all the Yom Tovim, so that the Torah calls it “Your New Months”?
It is true that one who performs mitzvos because Hashem commanded him to is better than one who voluntarily performs mitzvos, because the one commanded is showing more dedication in following what he was told to do. However, that is not in contradiction with this, because no one was commanded to do anything by Rosh chodesh besides bring a Mussaf sacrifice. Hashem foresaw that because they all personally related to this time and made it very special for themselves to the extent that they chose to take a day or two off from work, depending on how many days Rosh Chodesh was that month and they made it festive and even sang partial Hallel to Hashem then they owned it and it’s called ראשי חדשיכם, “your New Months” in the Torah.
We can glean from here a very important lesson, for Klal Yisrael as a whole was commended for taking to heart and treating with extra care the time of Rosh Chodesh. It makes sense that on a personal level, of course everyone should treat all mitzvos with the utmost importance and beautify them, but an individual has the ability and should try to find one mitzvah which he can relate to more than any other and make it his, own, make that mitzvah extra extra special, then it will be yours!
(Parenthetically, in many editions of the Sforno this text is found as a reason why the Jews related personally to Rosh Chodesh more than any other time: “Although prior to the sin of the golden calf the Jewish people’s fate was totally independent of any foreign domination, described as חרות על הלוחות, a kind of absolute independence, freedom engraved on the Tablets (the first set no doubt), (compare Exodus 32,16) as well as Eyruvin 54 and Tanchuma, Ki Sisa 16), once they had sinned they (divested themselves of this privilege, (and) no longer made use of this “Royal crown” at all times as did the other nations, so that they did no longer appear to enjoy this advantage over the other nations of the world.
Ever since that spiritual disaster, the Jewish people could enjoy their original privilege of independence from the restrictions imposed by the fact that one is part of the “laws of nature” only on rare occasions in their history, whereas most of the time they were dependent on “light”, i.e. good fortune, from external sources not under their control. To that extent, their history reflects the situation of the moon with its periods of ascent and decline month after month. When the moon is not directly exposed to the light of the sun it becomes invisible. The expression אין מזל לישראל, (Shabbat 126) means that the Jewish people do not generate light of their own, do not work at being masters of their own fate, but rely entirely on Hashem to guide their fates. They receive this Divinely emanated light when their deeds are pleasing to Hashem.
This is why in the parlance of our prophets Hashem Himself is referred to as: “אור ישראל” Israel’s source of light. (compare Isaiah 10,16 as well as Psalms 27,1 where David refers to Hashem. as אורי וישעי, “my light and my salvation.”)
Whenever the Jewish people are in a state of sin, their sins act as a barrier between them and their G-D so that they are deprived of their source of light. When Isaiah describes their state of being when sinful, he speaks of their G-D hiding His face from them, as Israel walking in darkness harassed by the gentile nations. (Isaiah 59,2).
Whenever the Jewish people’s fortunes are at low ebb this represents a desecration of Hashem’s name, i.e. His reputation, as the gentiles refer to us sneeringly as עם ה’ אלה “are these the ones who describe themselves as Hashem’s special nation?” We can understand what our sages have said in Gittin 58 that whenever the Jewish people are in trouble, Hashem is automatically forced to share their troubles. Having linked His honor to the honor and glory of the Jewish people, He suffers with us, (allegorically speaking). Whenever we suffer, whenever we are in a state of being oppressed, Hashem is described as saying that “the pirate has attacked Me and you simultaneously.”
Seeing that the sin offering presented on Rosh Chodesh/New Moon’s day is an atonement for the Jewish people who are the cause of preventing the light of the moon to shine, or the reason it shines so weakly when it does shine, the sages in our prayers on that day referred to that sin offering as לכפר בעדם זכרון לכולם יהיו תשועת נפשם מיד שונא, “to obtain atonement for themselves. They were to be a memorial for them all, and a salvation for their soul from the hand of the enemy.” This is the reason that this is the only sin offering described as חטאת לה’, “a sin offering on behalf of Hashem.” Presentation of this offering is also in respect of the damage the sinful behavior of the Jewish people has inflicted on Hashem’s image among the gentile nations.
When we read about the dialogue described between the moon and Hashem in Chulin 60, where Hashem is eventually described as saying to the Jewish people “bring a sin offering on My behalf,” (in expiation for My diminishing the light of the moon) what the sage (Rabbi Shimon ben Pezzi) wanted to explain by putting such strange sounding words in ‘Hashem’s mouth’ is that ultimately the reason why the moon was diminished was because seeing it has a kinship with the Jewish people and they did not always live up to their lofty destiny, the moon [as a celestial representative of Hashem Himself, Ed.] therefore has to suffer alongside with them for their shortcomings. Seeing this may not sound quite fair, Hashem allegorically ordered a sin offering to be brought by the Jewish people on Rosh Chodesh/New Moon’s day in order appease the moon.)”