Friday, May 31, 2013

Dvar Torah for Parshas Shelach

       Parshas Shelach recounts one of the saddest episodes in the history of the Jewish People, the sin of the Meraglim (Spies). Moshe sent a representative, in fact the Nassi, from each tribe to scout out their tribe’s allotted area in Eretz Yisrael. When the spies returned, their report was designed to put Eretz Yisrael in a bad light. The Bnei Yisrael were quick to believe these distinguished men and refused to enter Eretz Yisrael, even though Hashem had promised them how wonderful the land was. As a result, the Bnei Yisrael were punished by having to spend forty years in the desert and that every adult of the generation would not enter Eretz Yisrael. The only adults to survive the trek through the desert were the only two spies to speak good about Eretz Yisrael, Moshe’s prize pupil, Yehoshua, and Calev ben Yefuneh.
       This week’s Haftorah tells how after the forty years, the Bnei Yisrael, led now by Yehoshua, prepared to enter Eretz Yisrael. Before bringing the nation across the river into the land, Yehoshua sent spies to scout out the land. The Meforshim are amazed by this. How could Yehoshua, not only someone who lived through the sin of the spies, but someone who was one of the spies himself, potentially make the same mistake again and send spies to scout out the land?
       The Malbim shows the difference between the two episodes by examining the exact purpose of sending the spies in each circumstance. He explains that there are two types of people who are sent as advance scouts, תרים and מרגלים. A תר is someone sent to scout out the land to make sure it is good for living. Is it inhabitable, good for growing crops, good climate, etc? In this case, each Shevet had to send one person in order to make sure their needs were taken into account. Furthermore, this person had to be well-respected within his tribe to insure that his word would be trusted. For example, while a prominent person from Shevet Reuven might have already be going, Shevet Zevulun would still send one of their own VIPs since they were looking for a completely different type of area than Reuven as well as the fact that most of the tribe might not even know who this person from Reuven was!
       On the other hand, a מרגל is a military spy, someone sent to scout out the land for strategic purposes. The purpose of these spies is all about finding the worst parts of the country, the uninhabited or insanitary places which make them easy incursion points. In this case, not only is each tribe not required to send a representative, it’s probably wiser that they don’t in order that military secrets are not leaked. The only person who need be represented here is the General of the army which means that only a small number of people will go. It also does not matter if they are well-respected, trusted people by the nation at large; the only person who needs to trust them is the General.
       This is the difference between the Spies in our parshah and the spies by Yehoshua. Hashem tells Moshe that he can send spies, “וְיָתֻרוּ אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן“and they will scout out the land of Canaan” (Bamidbar 13:2). Hashem told Moshe to send תרים, men whose sole purpose was to see if their tribe’s portion was fit for them to live and thrive, not to come back and say the land is unconquerable! This is also why Moshe sent a representative from each tribe together with the full knowledge of the entire nation; this was simply a tourist trip! However, the Spies treated it like a military mission, and found all the bad parts of Eretz Yisrael. For that reason, we refer to them as the מרגלים. This was the mistake of the Spies and Bnei Yisrael in believing them.
       In Yehoshua however, sending מרגלים was exactly what he wanted! Bnei Yisrael were about to enter the land and Yehoshua needed information on how to conquer it. This is why he only sent two men, who aren’t even named in the pasuk since their qualifications are not necessary (unlike in our parshah where each spy is given his own pasuk!). This mission was also carried out without public knowledge since it was purely a military mission. This is why Yehoshua was allowed to do what he did without any issues.  


Shabbat Shalom!


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Friday, May 24, 2013

No Dvar Torah This Week

Sorry, but there is no new Dvar Torah this week. Please enjoy last year's Dvar Torah by clicking here.

Shabbat Shalom!

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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Dvar Torah for Parshas Nasso

Due to the short week caused by Shavuos, there is no new Dvar Torah this week. Please click here to enjoy last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Nasso. B'ezras Hashem, we will return next week with a new Dvar Torah.

Shabbat Shalom!

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Dvar Torah for Parshas Bamidbar-Shavuos 5773


       “וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר“Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert…on the first day of the second month, in the second year…” (Bamidbar 1:1). Sefer Bamidbar opens with Moshe and Aharon being commanded to conduct a census of Bnei Yisrael. The medrash explains the special significance for which the pasuk needs to include the exact date when the census took place. (We have discussed the reasons for the census itself in previous years.) In Halacha, there are two stages to marriage. The first stage is called Erusin, betrothal, where the bride and groom were officially dedicated to each other but were not yet officially married. The second stage is known as Nisuin when the marriage becomes official.
       Chazal explain that when Hashem gave us the Torah on Har Sinai, it was as if he did Erusin with us. However, the marriage was not official till the Mishkan was completed a month before this census was conducted. The reason the Torah includes the date of the census is to represent the Kesubah, the marriage document which requires the date of the wedding to be written on it. At this time, our relationship with Hashem became official.  
       The Kli Yakar adds to this mashal the fact that this census took place eleven months after the Torah was given. A bride was typically given ten months between Erusin and Nisuin to prepare herself financially for marriage. For this same reason, Hashem gave us ten months between Matan Torah and the official dedication of the Mishkan, so that we should have time to adorn ourselves with the Torah which we were given as a wedding gift. The eleventh month was based on the gemarah (Kesubos 8a) that the celebration of a wedding could extend up to thirty days (or more) after the chuppah. A second way of calculating is instead of starting from the actual giving of the Torah, start instead from when we received the Luchos, which comes out to exactly ten months before the census.
       This simple and entertaining mashal has special significance as we approach Shavuos. From our standpoint, we must view the Torah not only as our guide to the world and the source of our closeness to God, which is already significant enough, but as a gift, the something which solidifies our relationship with our Creator! The same way a bride admires the presents she receives from her groom, so too must we look upon the Torah with that same admiration and longing. From Hashem’s perspective, our acceptance of the Torah is our confirmation that we are committed to our relationship with him. As long as we consider it important, Hashem will consider his relationship with us to be important as well. As we celebrate Shavuos and reaffirm our acceptance of the Torah, let us keep this in mind. If we value our relationship with Hashem, we must view the Torah as that idea which solidifies our connection to Him. The same way a bride and groom treasure theirs. Then we may truly bring our relationship with Hashem to its’ fullest potential.


Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!  




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Friday, May 3, 2013

Dvar Torah for Parshas Behar-Bechukosai

       This week we close out Sefer Vayikra with the double parsha of Behar-Bechukosai. Parshas Behar deals mostly with the laws of Shemitah; that every seventh year, no farm work is allowed to be done. This mitzvah shows us one of the biggest proofs to the Torah's validity. If planting is prohibited during the seventh year, what food will there be to eat in the eighth year? Hashem promises us in this weeks parsha, "וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלשׁ הַשָּׁנִים" "I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years." (Vayikra 25:21). In this pasuk, Hashem is essentially guaranteeing the truth of the Torah. By saying that the land will produce three years worth of produce at once, if it does not happen then the people will know the Torah is not true! Since our forefathers did indeed keep the Torah, it must be that this miracle occurred every Shemitah cycle.  
       The full context of the pesukim reads, "וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת...וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלֹשׁ הַשָּׁנִים"  "And if you should say, 'what will we eat in the seventh year?...I will command my blessing for you..." (25:20-21). The meforshim debate at what point exactly Bnei Yisrael's fears of a famine will start. The Ramban says that since the food harvested in the sixth year will last through the seventh year, as the typical practice is to eat food that was grown the previous year, Bnei Yisrael will start to worry only then about what they will eat in the eighth year. So Hashem promises that from the sixth year there will be enough food to last through the eighth. The Kli Yakar asks that this does not make any sense! If the food harvested in the sixth year will be enough to last through the eighth, why would Bnei Yisrael start to worry in the seventh? They already have the food for next year saved up! He explains that the amount of food produced in the sixth year will be the same amount as usual. However, that food will have a bracha on it that it will expand in your stomach so that much less food is necessary to fill you up. So while the amount of food looks like it can only last one year, it will actually be able to last for longer. This is why Bnei Yisrael will still worry after the food has been harvested, since it will not appear to be enough. 
       The Sichos Mussar, written by Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz, explains how this concept is the main point of Shemitah. The medrash at the beginning of Vayikra says that the people who keep Shemitah are called "גיבורי כח", which would be translated nowadays as "heroes". The medrash explains how a typical mitzvah is done in a moment, a day, perhaps even longer, but to perform a mitzvah for an entire year, especially one that compromises your livelihood, what shows more strength than that! 
       When Bnei Yisrael answered "נעשה ונשמע" at Har Sinai, they reached the level of angels; the same way angels are ready to perform a task even before they hear it, so too were Bnei Yisrael ready to accept the Torah before even knowing what it entailed. Same with those who keep Shemitah; the farmers show no hesitation or wonder how to survive the year with no crops or in the future with their land being ruined by the crowds of people trolling through to pick the free crops (all crops become ownerless on Shemitah and therefore everyone has equal rights to them). They simply accept the commandment from Hashem and practice "נעשה ונשמע". 
       The amazing thing about this mitzvah, which puts you on the level of angels, is that every single person has the opportunity to practice it! Even if you are not a farmer, different challenges arise just by living in Eretz Yisrael during Shemitah and by overcoming them, you fulfill the mitzvah. The fact that everyone has this chance shows how every single Jew has the potential (and maybe is expected to be) to reach the level of angels.  
       Still, with this opportunity comes a great responsibility. The Torah tells us that the punishment for not keeping Shemitah is Galus, exile from Eretz Yisrael. In fact, Chazal teach us that the first Galus lasted seventy years because Bnei Yisrael did not keep seventy Shemitah years. But why is the punishment so harsh? The Sichos Mussar explains that the point of Shemitah is to allow Bnei Yisrael to work on their bitachon, faith, in Hashem. This is why the mitzvah was given even to the simplest Jews, the unlearned farmers, and this is why the punishment for not keeping this mitzvah is so harsh; because without bitachon, a Jew is nothing. 
       This is what is so important about the Kli Yakar's explanation; if there is only enough food to last one year, what will be left for the next? According to the Kli Yakar, this is the test of Shemitah. Hashem promises there will be enough food even though it does not appear that way. The key is to trust in Hashem that this food will be enough for the future. By fulfilling the true purpose of Shemitah, we will be zoche to stay in Eretz Yisrael together with the rebuilt Beis Hamikdash!

Shabbat Shalom!

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Behar

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Bechukosai



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