Friday, June 27, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Chukas

This week's Dvar Torah is dedicated in memory of Chaim Baruch Yehuda ben Dovid Tzvi. May it be a merit for his soul.
       
       In Parshas Chukas, we are told of the death of Miriam. One of the seven prophetesses and known in Chazal as someone who embodied the middah of kindness, her death was a tremendous blow to Bnei Yisrael as they traveled through the desert. Losing one of their leaders when they were so close to finally entering Eretz Yisrael made it even worse.
       A typical train of thought among Torah Commentators is figuring out the connection between two topics placed next to each other in the Torah, and the death of Miriam is no different. The story of her death directly follows the laws of the Red Heifer, which is used to rid people of tumah brought upon by a dead body. Chazal explain that the heifer also helps atone for the sin of the Golden Calf. They use a mashal to explain that just as the mother cleans up after the child, so too the “mother” heifer will clean up after the “child”, the golden calf. Rashi explains that this is the connection between the two stories. The same way the Red Heifer atones for the nation’s sins, so too does the death of tzaddikim atone for the nation’s sins.
       This idea of the death of a tzaddik atoning for the people is a well-known idea we find four times in the Torah. The other three instances are as follows: Right after the death of Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, the laws of Yom Kippur are taught, teaching us that just as Yom Kippur atones for our sins, so too does the death of tzaddikim. The second time is later in this parshah when Aharon is niftar. The pasuk mentions that he changed out of his special Kohen Gadol garments and gave them to his son Elazar. Again, Chazal explain the connection that just as the wearing of these garments atones for our sins, so too does the death of tzaddikim. Lastly, in Sefer Devarim when Moshe discusses breaking the Luchos, he mentions the death of Aharon immediately afterwards. Chazal explain that just as the breaking of the Luchos was an atonement for the nation, so too is the death of tzaddikim.
       The Kli Yakar explains that these four instances correspond to the four benefits a tzaddik provides to their generation. The first thing is that food and drink are provided to the world only through the merit of a tzaddik, similar to how a mother provides sustenance for her children. Chazal teach us that the well that sustained Bnei Yisrael in the desert was in the merit of Miriam. This corresponds to the Red Heifer who is also a mother protecting her children. The second benefit of a tzaddik is that they teaches Torah to the generation, and show the people how to properly serve Hashem. Therefore, when the tzaddik dies, it is as if the Torah is lost with him; just like when the Luchos were broken and we had no physical record of the Torah leftover (except for Moshe and Aharon, a further proof of this idea).
       The third benefit a tzaddik provides is that their merit is a protection from evil for the world, similar to how clothing protect a person’s body from the elements. And the last benefit a tzaddik provides to the world is by dying. Because of everything a tzaddik does for the world, upon his loss, the world’s loss is so great that it actually atones for people’s sins! This is how big the tzaddik’s impact can be!
       Sometimes we find ourselves surrounded by people whom we don’t know or even realize the impact they have on us, our friends, our community, and the world as a whole. Only after they are gone do we and can we truly appreciate not only what they meant to us on a personal level (if we do have that personal connection), but also what the world gained by having them around. Let’s take notice of the people around us who truly impact our lives. It’s not only us they are changing, it’s the entire world, even if the world doesn’t realize it.


Shabbat Shalom!





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Monday, June 23, 2014

The "Summer of Subscribers" Is Here!

Hello Subscribers! This has certainly been a great year for AIMeMTorah. Between the email list, our blog followers, and our Facebook page, we are now reaching over 140 people each week! Thank you for helping us reach this stage and may we keep growing! 

Every year during the summertime, we set aside a few weeks for subscribers to submit their own Divrei Torah. Usually it's only for a couple weeks, however, due to the overall success of the program and increased interest, we are now expanding this program to last throughout the entire summer! 
Here is your chance to have your Dvar Torah sent out to over 100 people, what a zchus! Divrei Torah can be written in someone's memory, someone's honor, or just to share your Torah thoughts with the world.

Here's how it works. A list of the available weeks will be shown at the end of this email. If you are interested, please let us know anytime between now and the Sunday of the week you are interested in by sending us an email to AIMeMTorah@gmail.com. You don't need to worry about editing, posting, or any of the technical stuff, we will take care of that. More information will be given upon request. 
We are sending out the list now to give you plenty of time to look it over, decide if and which one you want to do, and give you plenty of time to prepare. We hope that everyone will get involved in this project. We enjoy it because it helps us get a better idea of the style of Divrei Torah our readers prefer, the better to serve you with, while also allowing our readers to share their thoughts with the general readership. Not to mention the Summer vacation that's much appreciated!

Looking forward to hearing from you! Thank you so much for your continued support and have a wonderful Summer! 


Available Parshiyos: (and the Sunday date of that week)
Parshas Chukas (June 22)
Parshas Balak (June 29)
Parshas Pinchas (July 6)
Parshas Mattos (July 13)
Parshas Masei (July 20)
Parshas Devarim (July 27)
Parshas Vaeschanan (August 3)
Tisha Bav (August 3)
Parshas Eikev (August 10)
Parshas Re'eh (August 17)
Parshas Shoftim (August 24)


The 'Summer of Subscribers' has ended, thanks to all our participants!

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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Korach

AIMeM would like to dedicate this week's Dvar Torah for the zchus of Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim, Yaakov Naftali ben Rachel, and Eyal ben Iris Teshurah. Please continue to daven for their safe return home.

       This week’s parshah focuses on the dispute between Korach and his followers against Moshe Rabbeinu. While on the outside it appears as Korach may have potentially had some legitimate points, the mishna in Pirkei Avos erases all doubts of that. “כל מחלוקת שהיא לשם שמים, סופה להתקים. ושאינה לשם שמים, אין סופה להתקים. איזו היא מחלוקת שהיא לשם שמים? זו מחלוקת הלל ושמאי. ושאינה לשם שמים? זו מחלוקת קרח וכל עדתו.” “Any dispute which is for the sake of Heaven will have a constructive outcome; but any dispute which is not for the sake of Heaven will not have a constructive outcome. What sort of dispute was for the sake of Heaven? The dispute of Hillel and Shammai. And which was not for the sake of Heaven? The dispute of Korach and his entire company.” (Avos 5:17). As much as Korach claimed he was acting on behalf of the entire nation, he really only wanted some extra honor for himself.
       But what exactly makes something a מחלוקת שהיא לשם שמים, a dispute for the sake of Heaven, and what makes it the opposite? Let us examine the dispute of Hillel and Shammai and see what made it so special.
       The gemarah in Eiruvin (13b) asks why we decide the halacha like Hillel over the opinion of Shammai (except for a handful of cases)? The reason given is because when they taught over the halacha in the beis medrash of Hillel, the teachers of Hillel’s school would give over the halacha they learned from their rebbi, Hillel, but not until they had given over the opinion of Shammai as well! The biggest thing Hillel was concerned with is that the truth of Torah should be told. Even in their own beis medrash, in order to make sure the students gave equal credence to both opinions, that they should consider either opinion when they made their personal halachic rulings, they told over their “opponents’” ruling first.
(Not to detract from Beis Shammai, the gemarah says that neither school held back from eating in each other’s houses or from marrying into each other’s families. There was a tremendous amount of respect and admiration on both sides of the aisle. However, in this specific act, Beis Hillel went above and beyond what was expected.)
       The Rambam in his commentary on the mishna explains that this is the difference between a dispute for the sake of Heaven and one that is not. When two people come together with different opinions, if the point of their discussions is to find out the truth regardless of who is right or wrong, there will be a constructive and peaceful outcome at the end of it, no matter how much they might fight during the actual discussion! However, someone who comes and argues simply to have their opinion heard and will not stop until it is, nothing good will come of it. This, explains the mishna, was the dispute of Korach. Korach did not want to have a dialogue with Moshe, in fact, the medrash explains that they went out of their way to avoid any dialogue with him. He simply wanted to win the argument regardless of the truth.
       There are numerous examples found in all sections of Torah where we see how important Shalom, peace, is to the Torah’s flourishing and how destructive machlokes can be. To bring one example of each: we know the famous teaching that when Bnei Yisrael reached Har Sinai, they reached a status of, “כאיש אחד בלב אחד”, “one man with one heart”. The entire nation had reached a stage of unity. It was at that time that Hashem decided that we were ready to receive the Torah. On the opposite end, Chazal tell us that the reason for the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash was because of baseless hatred between people.
       In all times, but specifically now when we are all davening for the return of the three kidnapped boys, it is imperative for us to be unified. Instead of coming into a conversation like Korach, let’s try to be like Hillel and Shammai. Two of the greatest minds the world has ever seen, yet, when they met, their concern was not for their own opinions, but that the truth should win out. If we can reach this lofty goal, or at least show we are working toward it, there is no question that it will be a tremendous zchus for all of Klal Yisrael.
V’Shavu Banim L’Gvulam. May we be zoche to see the Beis Hamikdash rebuilt speedily in our days!    


Shabbat Shalom!


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Friday, June 13, 2014

No new Dvar Torah this week

Due to unforeseen circumstances, there is no new Dvar Torah this week. Please click here to read last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Shelach.

Shabbat Shalom!


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Friday, June 6, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Beha'aloscha

       “וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה לְחֹבָב בֶּן רְעוּאֵל הַמִּדְיָנִי חֹתֵן משֶׁה נֹסְעִים | אֲנַחְנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֹתוֹ אֶתֵּן לָכֶם לְכָה אִתָּנוּ וְהֵטַבְנוּ לָךְ כִּי יְהֹוָה דִּבֶּר טוֹב עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל“And Moshe said to Chovav the son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moshe, we are traveling to the place that Hashem said, ‘I will give to you’. Go with us and we will do good for you, because Hashem has spoken of good fortune for Yisrael.” (Bamidbar 10:29). In this pasuk, we see Moshe’s father-in-law, Yisro, is leaving the Bnei Yisrael to return home. Moshe asks him to stay but to no avail. The commentaries ask several questions on this pasuk. First of all, why does the pasuk call him “Chovav” instead of how he’s been known until this point, Yisro? Secondly, why does Moshe use the word “נֹסְעִים ” when talking about Bnei Yisrael’s traveling, and the word “לְכָה” when telling Yisro to travel with them, why doesn’t he use the same language for both? Third, why does he say that Hashem spoke about good “עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל”, literally “on Yisrael”, instead of “for Yisrael”?
       Another question is brought from Yisro’s response. “ לֹא אֵלֵךְ כִּי אִם אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי אֵלֵךְ“(Yisro said,) I will not go, for I will go to my land and my birthplace” (10:30). Why does Yisro use the word “אֵלֵךְ” twice? The last question comes from Moshe’s response to Yisro. “וְהָיָה כִּי תֵלֵךְ עִמָּנוּ וְהָיָה | הַטּוֹב הַהוּא אֲשֶׁר יֵיטִיב יְהֹוָה עִמָּנוּ וְהֵטַבְנוּ לָךְ“And if you go with us, then we will bestow upon you the good which Hashem grants us.” (10:32). Didn’t Moshe already mention is Pasuk 29 all the good that Hashem will do for Bnei Yisrael? Does this mean that he didn’t promise Yisro any of it when he spoke about it the first time? Why does he need to mention it again?
       The Kli Yakar explains that the difference betweenנֹסְעִים , to travel, and לְכָה , to go, is in the mindset of the traveler. When a person “travels” in the Torah, it means not only are they physically leaving the place where they are coming from, they are mentally leaving as well; they are removing themselves as residents of that place and no longer identify with it. When someone “goes” in the Torah, it means that they are only physically leaving the place they are coming from. Moshe was telling Yisro that while Bnei Yisrael must completely, physically and mentally, remove themselves from the place they were leaving, Yisro did not have to do this. He only physically had to “go” with them. Moshe told him this because Yisro was a convert and Moshe thought that perhaps he would feel uncomfortable completely removing himself from his previous life. This is also the reason the pasuk called him “Chovav” which comes from the Hebrew word for affection or fondness. Moshe wanted to show Yisro that even though he was not a Jew by birth, the nation would welcome him with open arms.
       Yisro responds to Moshe that he is only “going” to the land of his ancestors. The Kli Yakar explains that Yisro was a little insulted that Moshe thought that he would be unable or unwilling to completely remove himself from his past and put himself entirely in with the Jewish People. Therefore, he makes a point of saying he is only going to his homeland, not traveling. In fact, the Meforshim say that he went back in order to convert the rest of his family! (Yisro’s descendants did eventually join Bnei Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael.) With this intention, Yisro’s mind would always be occupied with thoughts of Avodas Hashem and would in no way be persuaded to go back to his old ways.
       So what does Moshe respond to him? Moshe greatly admired Yisro’s sacrifice. To be able to give up your past and join another nation, which at this point in history is still more of a family, is no easy feat. Moshe felt that if Bnei Yisrael could observe Yisro and see how he broke off the wrong path and made a full commitment to Hashem and the Torah, they would also be inspired to continue on the path they were on and make a full “travel” to Eretz Yisrael, breaking off physically and mentally from their slavery in Mitzrayim. Therefore he makes special mention of all the good that Hashem promised Yisrael, to show Yisro that he could be the cause of it through his positive influence over the nation. But this could only happen if Yisro stayed with them. Because of his desire to bring the rest of his family to Torah, Yisro instead returned to Midian. Perhaps, if Yisro had been with Bnei Yisrael, certain events could have been avoided, such as the episode with the spies, found in next week’s parshah.
       We just celebrated this week the holiday of Shavuos when we received the Torah. Let us take the example of Yisro and make our own journey, a journey where we break off totally from whatever paths may entice us, and turn full steam into the proper way.


Shabbat Shalom!    


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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Dvar Torah for Shavuos

       On Shavuos we commemorate our receiving the Torah from Hashem at Har Sinai, however, the holiday is not just about the past. Chazal teach us that each Shavuos we are actually re-accepting the Torah on ourselves! Therefore, we must prepare for this in the proper way. In order to prepare ourselves for a real acceptance of the Torah, let’s go through in short what actions we must take in order to be ready to accept the Torah.
       The Sichos Mussar explains that when Bnei Yisrael came to Har Sinai, there were three things they needed to work on before they could accept the Torah; these three things are what we need as well to accomplish for our own acceptance.
       The first principle is to strengthen our will in learning Torah. We see many instances in our history of individuals who have embodied this principle, starting with Yaakov Avinu and the fourteen straight years he spent learning in the Yeshiva of Shem and Aver. It is important to note that this principle is not just a virtue of learning, but a prerequisite to being able to accept completely the yoke of Torah upon ourselves.
       The second principle is to use the trait of humility. Chazal teach us that the reason the Torah was given in the desert was to show Bnei Yisrael that Torah does not truly take hold of a person unless they lower themselves and treat themselves like a desert. Just as a desert does not have much to show off to others, so too we should not act as if we have what to show off. The most famous set of arguing Tannaim in the Mishna are the schools of Hillel and Shamai. In terms of deciding the halacha, we decide like Hillel besides for only a handful of cases where we decide like Shamai. The Gemarah in Eiruvin (13b) says that the reason for this is because when they taught the lesson in the school of Hillel, first they would say what Shamai taught, and only then would they say over what they learned from Hillel. Because of this show of humility, they merited that the halacha should be like them.
       The final principle to accepting the Torah is the unity of Bnei Yisrael. The pasuk says by the giving of the Torah, “ וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר “And Yisrael camped there opposite the mountain” (Shemos 19:2). The pasuk uses the language of a singular individual to describe the encampment of the entire nation to signify that they were all united together. The medrash teaches us that upon seeing this strength of unity, Hashem decided that right then was the time to give Bnei Yisrael the Torah.    
       The Arizal teaches us that on Shavuos we are judged on how much of a desire for Torah we will have over the next year. Rav Aharon Kotler explains that we must treat this day like Rosh Hashanah in the sense that just like on Rosh Hashanah it’s not enough to do teshuvah, rather we must also take upon ourselves certain actions to do throughout the year in order to establish ourselves as good people. So too on Shavuos we must take certain actions in order to show how much we really desire to make the Torah a part of our lives. By using these three principles, we can begin the process for becoming true acceptors of the Torah and make it an even stronger part of our lives.                                      



Chag Sameach!

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