Dvar Torah for Parshas Devarim- Message for Tisha B'av

       This Shabbos is not a normal Shabbos by any means. It is Tisha B’av, the anniversary of the destruction of both Batei Mikdash. Since we are not allowed to fast on Shabbos, we fast instead on Sunday but the actual day of Tisha B’av falls out on Shabbos itself. So even though outwardly it won’t look like we are mourning, we must, at least inwardly, spend some time on Shabbos thinking about the Churban and what it means for us. Perhaps this will help.

       Sefer Devarim is known as Mishneh Torah, the Review of the Torah. With Bnei Yisrael just a few weeks away from entering Eretz Yisrael, Moshe, knowing that he cannot enter with them, gives his final address to the nation. In our parshah, Parshas Devarim, he tells over some of the events that happened to Bnei Yisrael in the desert, including the story of the Meraglim, the Spies. He explains that the punishment for this was an extra thirty-eight years in the desert, where the entire generation involved with the sin, died, and only then, the Bnei Yisrael began their battles against Sichon and Og in preparation for their battles for Eretz Yisrael.

       At this point, the Meforshim point out a very interesting language switch found halfway through the parshah. “וַיְהִי כַאֲשֶׁר תַּמּוּ כָּל אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה לָמוּת מִקֶּרֶב הָעָם וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר” “So it was, when all the men of war finished dying from among the people, and Hashem spoke to me saying” (Devarim 2:16-17). Rashi points out that while Moshe had been telling over the story of the Spies and the travels in the desert in this parshah, whenever Hashem spoke to him, the word “וַיֹּאמֶר” was used. Why the sudden change at this point to the word “וַיְדַבֵּר”?

       The answer of each commentator depends on their understanding of the connotations of the words “וַיְדַבֵּר” and “וַיֹּאמֶר”. Rashi answers that the usage the word “וַיְדַבֵּר” shows an extra affection for Bnei Yisrael. This word denotes that Hashem spoke to Moshe directly, face to face, while the word “וַיֹּאמֶר” is used to refer to the normal way Hashem would converse with a Navi. This shows us that for all the fact that Moshe spoke to Hashem face to face in a way that no other person ever did, this was only in the merit of Bnei Yisrael. During the thirty-eight extra years in the desert when Bnei Yisrael were being punished, Moshe did not speak to Hashem in this way since the Bnei Yisrael were not on the proper level. Only at this point, when the punishment was up and they were about to enter Eretz Yisrael, was Moshe able to resume speaking to Hashem face to face. This shows the tremendous love that Hashem has for Bnei Yisrael, for it was not only Moshe, but every Prophet was only able to receive prophecy when Bnei Yisrael were deserving of it.

       The Kli Yakar gives the explanation that most Meforshim give on these two words. He says that when the Torah uses the word “וַיְדַבֵּר” when Hashem speaks to Moshe, it means that He is speaking in a more serious tone. In general, whenever the Torah uses the root word “דַּבֵּר” in any form, it is coming to rebuke. The word “וַיֹּאמֶר” however, is a less intense way of speaking. Based on this, the Kli Yakar asks how Rashi’s explanation makes any sense. How could the word which is a more serious way of speaking also be the word which implies a greater affection for Bnei Yisrael?

       To answer, he brings a pasuk from Mishlei, “כִּי אֶת אֲשֶׁר יֶאֱהַב יְהֹוָה יוֹכִיחַ” “for Hashem chastens the one He loves” (Mishlei 3:12). When a person truly cares about someone else, they will do everything and anything to make sure the person they love stays on the right path, including giving them heavy rebuke to show them what they are doing wrong. A person can even go so far as to completely lose his cool in these situations as he is completely consumed with keeping his loved one safe. However, a person will not be as strict with someone else since they don’t care as much. So when Hashem speaks with “וַיְדַבֵּר”, it makes perfect sense for it to show an extra affection to Bnei Yisrael, he is rebuking us because he loves us! By just speaking with “וַיֹּאמֶר” for all those years in the desert, Hashem showed us the worst thing possible, that He really did not care so much! But right when the punishment was complete, He came right back to us with the same love He had showed us all those years earlier.

       As we said, this Shabbos is Tisha B’av, the anniversary of the worst day in the history of our Nation. Over the thousands of years we have been in exile, there have been many questions; why are we still in galus? Why doesn’t Hashem bring us back and rebuild the Beis Hamikdash? One thing we must remember is that with every tragedy that has befallen us in our history, “כִּי אֶת אֲשֶׁר יֶאֱהַב יְהֹוָה יוֹכִיח”, the fact that these punishments happen is the surest sign of Hashem’s love! In fact, we cannot really call them punishments at all, they are reminders from Hashem of our true purpose in this world and of his love. The fact that he still reminds us after so many years is proof of this. Let us work on ourselves so that we may reach the level where these painful reminders are no longer necessary and may this be the last Tisha B’av where we must cry over the Beis Hamikdash. May it be rebuilt speedily in our days!  

Have a Shabbat Shalom and an extremely meaningful fast.

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Matos-Masei

As usual, on Wednesday afternoon I was juggling some ideas and deciding what I should write about this week. But after hearing the news of the passing of Moreinu Harav Elyashiv zt''l, I knew exactly what I should write up. This week's Dvar Torah is written L'ilui Nishmaso. I hope that my humble words might be worthy of his memory and that i might inspire you a little bit this Shabbos.

       This week’s double parshah of Matos-Masei finds Bnei Yisrael on the threshold of entering Eretz Yisrael. Many different preparations for entering the land are found in the pesukim. The journey through the desert is reviewed with all places of encampment named, different laws are given about inheritance and dividing up Eretz Yisrael amongst the tribes, the country’s borders are told, and positions of importance are distributed. But amongst all this excitement, the Torah gives us a somber and important lesson.

       This Friday is ראש חודש אב, the first day of the Hebrew month of Av which, according to the pasuk in this week’s parshah, is the Yahrzeit of Aharon HaKohen. The Gemarah in Rosh Hashanah tells us, “שקולה מיתתן של צדיקים כשריפת בית אלהינו” “The death of righteous men is equal to the burning of the House of God” (Rosh Hashanah 18b). There is another day in Av which we commemorate, the ninth, for the destruction of both Batei Mikdash. The Kli Yakar says that the reason these two events happened in the same month is to show us this idea that the Gemarah teaches us.

       He explains further that we already see from a pasuk in this week’s parshah that Av is a sad month. As we mentioned earlier, all forty-two places where the Bnei Yisrael camped are listed in the parshah. In the middle of this listing, the death of Aharon is mentioned at the camp of Hor Hahor, the place where he died. The final spot of encampment stretched from a place called בֵּית הַיְשִׁמֹת till a place called אָבֵל הַשִּׁטִּים. The word “הַיְשִׁמֹת” comes from the word “שממה”, which means desolate, which is also how Jerusalem is referred too after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. The words “אָבֵל הַשִּׁטִּים”, translate into “the mourning of the Shittim”, a tree that was used in the desert to build the Mishkan. This is in reference to Aharon as tzaddikim are compared to trees, a symbol of strength, throughout TaNach. These two places were put together to show how the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and the death of a tzaddik are equal.

       The Kli Yakar brings a second Chazal that seems similar to our Gemarah, but is slightly different. The medrash says, “גדול סילוקם של צדיקים לפני מי שאמר והיה עולם מן...חורבן בית המקדש” “The removal of righteous men is of greater consequence to the One Who Spoke and There Was a World than the destruction of the Holy Temple” (Yalkut 29). There are three very big differences between these two quotations. First off, the Gemarah said that the two events are equal while here we said that the death of tzaddikim is greater! Secondly, the Gemarah referred to the Beis Hamikdash as “The House of God” and the medrash here referred to Hashem as “The One Who Spoke”, why the different ways of reference?

       The answer lies in the exact understanding of these phrases. When the Gemarah says, “כשריפת בית אלהינו” “the burning of the House of God”, this refers to the burning of the actual physical structure of the Beis Hamikdash, while the phrase “חורבן בית המקדש” “destruction of the Holy Temple”, refers to the removal of Hashem’s Shechinah from the building, even without the actual structure being destroyed. Similarly, the death of a tzaddik refers only to his physical death. While a person’s physical body may die, his soul, his spiritual energy, can still affect the world. When the medrash says that the tzaddik has been “removed” from the world, it is referring to his spiritual influence.

        A tzaddik is called, יסוד עולם, a foundation of the world. His Neshama, his soul, is carved from directly underneath the כסא הכבוד, Hashem’s throne. A tzaddik gives fortitude and strength to existence itself! Not simply in a metaphorical way, it’s the reality! And the reality is that he gives more spiritual value to the world than the Beis Hamikdash. So when it comes to the physical death of a tzaddik (מיתתן של צדיקים), it is equal to the physical destruction of the Beis Hamikdash (שקולה כשריפת בית אלהינו). While the physical demise of both is a terrible thing, if the spirituality still remains, then we can survive. But the spiritual removal of a tzaddik from this world (סילוקם של צדיקים) is even worse than the removal of the spiritual influence of the Beis Hamikdash from this world (חורבן בית המקדש). This is also why the Medrash calls Hashem “The One Who Spoke and the World Was”, since in terms of supporting the world, a tzaddik is worth much more than even the Beis Hamikdash. Therefore, the death of a tzaddik is of greater consequence.

       Tisha B’av is approaching and we must begin to contemplate the loss of the Beis Hamikdash and what it means. After reading this, one might start to think that maybe we should focus more on the lives and tragic deaths of some of the great leaders that we have lost because, after all, they were much more important to our spiritual existence! We do discuss and mourn many of these tragedies on Tisha B’av but the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash is definitely still the centerpiece of this entire time period. I believe this is because it was the Beis Hamikdash that united us as a nation and connected us directly to Hashem in ways that a man, be he a tzaddik or not, could not.

       I was thinking what exactly we could use this principle for and I came up with this: nowadays, thousands of years after the Beis Hamikdash stood, it is very hard for any one of us to relate to and feel remorse over its loss. We need something else to make us understand exactly what it means to have something like the Beis Hamikdash in our midst and lose it for so long. The answer is lies in our tzaddikim. We have all lived through times of great men who have passed on and we can all remember exactly how we felt at the time and what it meant to us. We have said here that losing a tzaddik is even worse than losing the Beis Hamikdash; therefore, if we want to truly understand the loss of Tisha B’av, a good place to start is by remembering that feeling of loss of our tzaddikim and let that inspire us to a moving and meaningful month of Av.

Shabbat Shalom! 

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Pinchas

       In last week’s parshah, the Bnei Yisrael were showered with praises for their purity and modesty. But by the end of the parshah, this was not the case. After the plot to curse the Jews failed, Balak and Balaam tried their next idea, which did not. 24,000 men sinned with the women of Moav, including the Nasi of Shevet Shimon, Zimri. Moshe and the rest of the Elders were paralyzed as Zimri challenged them to tell him he was wrong. However, one man did not stay quiet. Pinchas, the son of Elazar and the grandson of Aharon HaKohen, went straight away and killed Zimri before he had even finished sinning. For this sanctification of Hashem’s name, he was handsomely rewarded in this week’s Parshah.

       This week’s Parshah starts off with Hashem telling Moshe what Pinchas’ reward will be. “...לכן אמר הנני נתן לו את בריתי שלום. והיתה לו ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהנת עולם...” “Therefore, say: Behold! I give him my covenant of peace. And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal Kehunah” (Bamidbar 25:12-13). What exactly is this ברית that Hashem gave to Pinchas and what is the difference between the covenant of peace and of the covenant promising him Kehunah (priesthood) forever?

       As we always do, let us see Rashi’s explanation first. He explains that “בריתי שלום” means that because of the great act that Pinchas did for Hashem, Hashem promised him eternal thanks, like someone who owes someone a favor and promises him friendship forever. Some commentators explain that Hashem promised Pinchas safety from Zimri’s family that none of them would try to take revenge. The Chizkuni adds in an interesting explanation. The halacha is that any Kohen who kills can no longer take part in Bircas Kohanim, the special brachah that the Kohanim give Bnei Yisrael. Hashem told Pinchas that he was still allowed to participate since he killed completely לשם שמים, for the sake of heaven.

       Two more explanations are given for “בריתי שלום”. There is a halacha that you are not allowed to determine a halacha in front of your rebbi on punishment of death. With Moshe Rabbeinu standing right there, Pinchas had no permission to act even though he knew what the halacha was! The Kli Yakar explains that this is what Hashem promises Pinchas. After Bnei Yisrael saw him act in front of Moshe, some of them might have thought that he was guilty and should be killed. Hashem told Moshe to tell Bnei Yisrael that this wasn’t the case, since Pinchas had defended Moshe’s honor as well (Zimri was taunting Moshe), he was not to be punished. The last explanation is from the Seforno who says that this “peace treaty” was with the מלאך המות, the Angel of Death. This means one of two things, either Pinchas would live a long time, we see in Sefer Shoftim that Pinchas was alive over 300 years later, or like the Medrash tells us, that Pinchas is Eliyahu HaNavi and is still alive and well till this very day.

       Now for the second ברית, the “ברית כהנת עולם” “a covenant of eternal Kehunah”. Rashi explains that when Hashem appointed Aharon and his sons to be Kohanim, he did not include any of their descendants who were already alive in this appointment; you had to have been born after this point in order to become a Kohen from then on. This meant that Pinchas was not a Kohen since he had been born way before this time. However, after this action, Hashem rewarded Pinchas by making him a Kohen. (For the reason why this was his reward, see last year’s dvar torah. Link below.) The Ibn Ezra adds that every Kohen Gadol from this point on was a descendent of Pinchas.

       The Ohr HaChaim grabs onto an interesting point here. He says that if Hashem was giving Pinchas the gift of Kehunah now, then there are two ways He could have given it to him: either that Hashem allowed him to become a Kohen together with his father and grandfather in spite of the fact that he was born after Hashem had made Aharon a Kohen, or that He gave it to him as a present just for him. In an interesting explanation, the Ohr HaChaim explains that it would be much better for this gift to have been given the first way rather than as a present. First off, if given the first way, Pinchas’ Kehunah is now connected directly to Aharon’s. Therefore, any complaints which had been made against Aharon’s status and answered could not be made against Pinchas. But if this was a present, then it’s a completely new story with Pinchas and his status can also be disputed. Secondly, if this was a present, it was only given to Pinchas, not to his children. But if it was given the first way, Pinchas plugs right into Aharon’s Kehunah and it would go to his children like it went to Aharon’s.

       The Ohr HaChaim explains that despite these problems, Hashem wanted to specifically give the Kehunah to Pinchas as a present rather than as a continuation of Aharon. This was to show that Pinchas’ actions were so great that he deserved to become a Kohen completely of his own accord with no help from his grandfather at all. In order to fix the two problems we mentioned, Hashem also gave him “בריתי שלום”, His own personal guarantee of peace, that no one would challenge him. And he also told him that the Kehunah would be “לו ולזרעו אחריו”, for him and his children after him.

       While we cannot receive the same reward as Pinchas, (we cannot become Kohanim unless we were born into it,) the lesson here applies to us as well. Pinchas did not act thinking that he would be rewarded, he acted only in order to preserve the honor of Hashem. Little did he know that as a result of his actions he would be given his life’s dream, to serve Hashem on the highest level possible as the Kohen Gadol. Who knows what our own actions may accomplish. Perhaps if we also serve Hashem purely for his sake, Hashem will change our fortunes as well, and grant us what we pray for.

Shabbat Shalom!

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah on Parshas Pinchas

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Balak

       This week’s parshah, Parshas Balak, brings Bnei Yisrael closer to entering Eretz Yisrael. After defeating the Kings Sichon and Og in last week’s parshah, Bnei Yisrael were now on the edge of the country of Moav, a border to Eretz Yisrael. Balak, the king of Moav, decided to preempt the Jewish attack and hired the sorcerer Balaam to curse the Bnei Yisrael. While traveling towards Moav, Balaam is involved in one of the most amazing miracles in history.

        While he did not directly disobey Hashem by going to curse the Jews, Balaam knew that he was not supposed to go and went anyway. Hashem became very angry with him and sent an angel to intercept him on the road. Balaam could not see the angel at first but his donkey saw it right away (the exact reason for this is discussed in the Meforshim) and tried to avoid it by going off the road. Balaam, not seeing any reason for this strange behavior, got very angry at the donkey and hit it. This same story repeated itself three times, the donkey tried to avoid the angel by leaving the road and Balaam would hit it for doing so. Finally after the third time, the donkey opened its mouth and started talking! After this, the angel finally revealed itself to Balaam. This miracle of the donkey talking is one of the most famous stories in Tanach and is discussed in Pirkei Avos (Ethics of the Fathers) as one of the ten items that were created at the beginning of time (See Avos 5:8).

       Instead of focusing on the actual miracle, I would like to discuss the story surrounding it. Looking in the pesukim, each of the three times the angel blocks the road, the pasuk mentions specifically where it happened. The first time it says, “וַתֵּט הָאָתוֹן מִן הַדֶּרֶךְ וַתֵּלֶךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה” “the donkey turned away from the road and went into the field” (Bamidbar 22:23). The second time, “וַיַּעֲמֹד מַלְאַךְ יְ־הֹוָ־ה בְּמִשְׁעוֹל הַכְּרָמִים…וַתֵּרֶא הָאָתוֹן אֶת מַלְאַךְ יְ־הֹוָ־ה וַתִּלָּחֵץ אֶל הַקִּיר” “The angel of Hashem stood in the footpath of the vineyards…and the donkey saw the angel of Hashem and she pressed against the wall” (22:24-25). The third time it says, “וַיַּעֲמֹד בְּמָקוֹם צָר אֲשֶׁר אֵין דֶּרֶךְ לִנְטוֹת יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול” “and he (the angel) stood in a narrow place, where there was no room to turn left or right” (22:26). It’s one thing for the pasuk to tell us that the same thing happened three times total but why does it have to say exactly where each one happened? Also, when the donkey talks to Balaam, she says, “מֶה עָשִׂיתִי לְךָ כִּי הִכִּיתַנִי זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים” “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?” (22:28). The word “רְגָלִים” is translated here as “times”, but in general this language is not used except for in reference to the שלש רגלים, the Three Festivals of Pesach, Shavuos, and Succos. So what is this word doing here?  

       Rashi on Pasuk 28 says that this language was used specifically to show Balaam that he wanted to wipe out a nation which would celebrate these three festivals every year. What is the significance of this specific mitzvah that this is the one Balaam is reminded of? Why not the mitzvah of Mezuzah or Shabbos? The Minchas Yehuda explains that the Gemarah in Chagigah (2a) says that while we have an obligation to visit the Beis Hamikdash during these three holidays in order to see Hashem, part of the reason we come is so Hashem can see us as well. The angel was telling Balaam, ‘How could you wipe out a nation that Hashem wants to see them three times a year’! The Levush answers differently and says that this is a case of מדה כנגד מדה, that Hashem does everything measure for measure. Hashem was not happy with Balaam going to help Balak and curse the Jews. However, when the Bnei Yisrael would go up to the Beis Hamikdash in the future, it would make Hashem very happy. Hashem was pointing out to Balaam this difference between his going and the Bnei Yisrael’s going.

       The Kli Yakar connects these two questions together and says that each place where the angel forced the donkey off the road is connected to one of the Three Festivals. When the donkey goes off the road into the field, this is in reference to Succos, on which we celebrate the harvest. The second time when she goes into a vineyard, this is in reference to Pesach since there are many references throughout Chazal comparing Bnei Yisrael at the time of leaving Mitzrayim to grapes being removed from the thorns during the harvest. The third time when the angel stands in a narrow passage with no room to move refers to Shavuos when we got the Torah about which it is said, “ארך ימים בימינה בשמאולה עשר וכבוד” “Longevity on its right, on its left wealth and honor” (Mishlei 3:16), the Torah surrounds you on all sides like that narrow passage.

       The Ohr HaChaim says that each place the angel stood was punishment for Balaamמדה כנגד מדה for how he disobeyed Hashem. Hashem had told Balaam originally that he could not go to Balak nor could he curse the Bnei Yisrael, however, Balaam only told Balak’s messengers that he could not go but not that he could not curse the Jews. Because of this, the messengers assumed that he was only trying to drive up his price and eventually came back to him with a more enticing offer. Because Bilaam strayed from the path that Hashem told him, his donkey strayed off the path into a field.

       When Hashem eventually “allowed” Balaam to go to Balak, he says, “אִם לִקְרֹא לְךָ בָּאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים קוּם לֵךְ אִתָּם” “If the men came to summon you, arise and go with them” (Bamidbar 22:20). The Ohr HaChaim explains that Hashem was giving Balaam a condition that he should only go with them if he was sure that this trip would be of personal benefit for himself. When Balaam started going, Hashem saw that he did not care for himself one way or another, he simply wanted to curse the Jews. Therefore, while the donkey was running away from the angel in the vineyard, “וַתִּלָּחֵץ אֶל הַקִּיר וַתִּלְחַץ אֶת רֶגֶל בִּלְעָם” “she (the donkey) pressed against the wall, and she pressed Balaam’s leg against the wall” (22:25), Hashem first tried a pleasant way to stop Balaam from going but once that didn’t work, he had to try a more forceful method.

       Finally, when Hashem “allowed” Balaam to go, he also told him that he should only say what He would tell him to say. Hashem saw while he was traveling that Balaam was not thinking about saying what Hashem would tell him to, rather, he was thinking about how he could manipulate the situation so he could curse the Jews. Because of this, Hashem had the angel confront him in a narrow place with no place to escape, to show Balaam that there is no escaping the will of God.

Shabbat Shalom!     

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah on Parshas Balak

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