Sunday, September 27, 2015

Dvar Torah for Succos

AIMeM would like to wish all of our readers a chag sameach and a wonderful Succos! Please click here to enjoy a Dvar Torah for Succos.

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Thursday, September 24, 2015

Dvar Torah for Parshas Haazinu

       Parshas Ha’azinu is primarily a song, broken into different sections of Hashem (through Moshe) congratulating Bnei Yisrael on accepting the Torah upon themselves and reminding them of the advantages and responsibilities that face them for the rest of time. Near the end of the parsha, when the song is finished, Hashem tells Moshe to hike up the mountain to his final resting place. It was from this spot that Moshe gave Bnei Yisrael their final brachos, which we find in the next parsha, V’Zos Habracha.
       After Hashem tells Moshe to go up the mountain, He continues and says, “וּמֻת בָּהָר אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עֹלֶה שָׁמָּה וְהֵאָסֵף אֶל עַמֶּיךָ“And die on the mountain upon which you are climbing and be gathered to your people” (Devarim 32:50). The Ohr HaChaim says that the structure of the word “וּמֻת” means that Hashem was asking Moshe to want to die at this time. (Remember, we mentioned in Parshas Vayeilech that even though Moshe couldn’t enter Eretz Yisrael with the nation, he didn’t necessarily have to die.) This request was made because according to the medrash, Hashem does not kill any tzaddik unless the tzaddik is ready to die. Therefore, He had to ask Moshe to want to die in order to be able to do so.
       The Ohr HaChaim gives three reasons why Moshe had to die and why in this place on Har Nevo. The first is based on a gemarah in Sotah (14a) that says Moshe was buried on Har Nevo directly opposite Beis Peor, the location where Bnei Yisrael sinned with the Moabite women. Every so often, the angel of Peor rises up towards the heavens to prosecute Yisrael for their sin, but every time he reaches the kever of Moshe, he stops, bows his head, and turns around. Moshe was buried there for that exact purpose.
       The second reason is more metaphysical. Hashem tells Moshe to go up, “אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עֹלֶה שָׁמָּה” “(the mountain) upon which you are climbing”. He is telling Moshe to “go up” and take the reward that he cannot gain in this world. Even though dying is hard, Moshe could leave this world with the knowledge that all of his hard work was about to be rewarded.
       The final reason has to do with the final part of our quote from the pasuk, “and be gathered to your people”. The standard translation for this line in the Torah is that the newly deceased person follows in the footsteps of the righteous people of previous generations and enters Gan Eden. The Ohr HaChaim explains that here is a special case. Moshe was deeply connected with the generation of people who we brought through the desert, more than any leader and nation have been connected in any point throughout history. This connection lasted even after Moshe’s death. Because of this connection, the people of that time were all brought into Gan Eden, without exception, through their connection with Moshe! However, if Moshe hadn’t been in Gan Eden first, the rest of the nation couldn’t have followed; therefore, Moshe had to die too. But, as we mentioned before, Hashem would not have done that unless Moshe agreed. So Moshe agreed, and made his last sacrifice for the Jewish People.   

Shabbat Shalom!



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Monday, September 21, 2015

Dvar Torah for Yom Kippur

AIMeM would like to wish all of our readers a Gmar Chasima Tova and a wonderful year. For the Dvar Torah for Yom Kippur, please click here.

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Thursday, September 17, 2015

Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeilech

       Parshas Vayeilech brings us even closer to Bnei Yisrael entering Eretz Yisrael, and with that, Moshe’s death. After hitting the rock, told in Parshas Chukas, Hashem told Moshe and Aharon that they would not be able to lead the nation into Eretz Yisrael. Now that Bnei Yisrael were about to enter the Land, Moshe knew he was not going with them.
       The parsha begins, “וַיֵּלֶךְ משֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל“And Moshe went, and he spoke all these things to all of Yisrael” (Devarim 31:1). All the commentaries ask where exactly did Moshe go? The Targum Yonason says that Moshe knew he was going to die soon, so he went to the Beis Medrash to give the nation one last mussar schmooze. The Ramban explains that he went to say goodbye to the people before he died. However, the pasuk is not clear if either of these answers (which are just two of many) is correct. Furthermore, in pasuk 2, Moshe says that his time in this world is up. Asks the Ohr HaChaim, how did Moshe know he was about to die? The gemarah (Shabbos 30a) explains that no one ever or will ever know when they are supposed to die, so how did Moshe know?
       The Ohr HaChaim explains with the help of a Zohar that says forty days before a person dies, his neshama leaves his body. (What this means exactly, is beyond the scope or understanding of this Dvar Torah, but it is not necessary to understand the overall theme.) As a result of their close spiritual connection with their inner selves, tzaddikim can tell when this happens. Furthermore, the name you have in this world is the name for your neshama. Meaning, your name, your personal point of reference, is not simply a title you are known by, it is actually the name of your neshama, and therefore, it is what you will be known by in Gan Eden when your neshama returns to Hashem (after you die).
       Therefore, when the pasuk says that Moshe “went”, it isn’t referring to Moshe physically going anywhere. Rather, it is referring to his neshama leaving his body and “going” back to Hashem. Moshe wanted to communicate this fact right away to Bnei Yisrael in order to prepare them as much as possible for life in Eretz Yisrael (without him), so he immediately told them and began teaching them what they needed to know (as evidenced by the end of pasuk 1, pasuk 2, and the remainder of the parsha). So even though generally people cannot know exactly when they will die, someone as spiritually connected as Moshe would know right away when his neshama had left him and would know he only had a few weeks to live.
       What did Moshe do with his last few weeks of life? He could have decided to take it easy; after all, he had successfully led the Bnei Yisrael through the desert, brought them the Torah, and dealt with every crisis that came his way. He could have easily justified spending the last few weeks relaxing. But he didn’t. The pasuk tells us that he went, he was proactive and spent all his remaining time teaching and guiding Bnei Yisrael as much as he could.
        We must learn from Moshe this lesson of always being proactive. It’s currently the Aseres Yimei Teshuvah; we must wake up and do teshuvah while we still have the chance! Like Moshe before his death, we cannot coast through this; we must do our best to improve before this uniquely opportunistic time ends.
       This week’s Haftorah is the last of a set of seven since Tisha B’av which offers consolation for Yerushalayim and the Jews. This week’s speaks about the beautiful scene that will be Yerushalayim when the Bais Hamikdash will be rebuilt and all the Jews will be back in Eretz Yisrael. Reading these words, we can see the beautiful picture contained in these words. This is the scene that will be if we can internalize the lessons of this week’s parshah.

Shabbat Shalom!



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Sunday, September 13, 2015

Dvar Torah for Rosh Hashana 5776

       AIMeM would like to wish all our readers a Shana Tova, a healthy and happy year!

       As the month of Elul comes to a close and Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yimei Teshuva begin, it is time to look forward to the next ten days, but also to look back at what we have accomplished over the past month. One idea I wanted to focus on is the concept of eimas hadin, fear of judgement. There are many stories told of not even 100 years ago when the month of Elul was a serious time in the Jewish world. Many people wouldn’t speak, there was little excitement or enthusiasm, and overall, there was a feeling of overriding tension that weighed heavily on everyone’s mind.
       Nowadays, even among the most pious of people, while the idea of Elul is strong, the same sense of eimas hadin does not exist. What happened? How come this feeling, so strong only 70 years ago, has all but disappeared from our lives? And how do we bring it back in time for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?
       The Alter of Kelm zt”l, one of the foremost experts on the subject of mussar, says that in order for  you to change your perception of anything, your emotions and intellect must be on the same page; because if they aren’t, no matter how logical a subject may be, you will not accept it as your perception. This is one of our main goals at this time of year, to awaken our hearts to the correct path, because otherwise, we can never change our actions.
       There is a famous medrash that if we want to bring Hashem into our lives, He only requires us to open a tiny hole for Him, and He will enlarge that hole to fill up the entire space. This, explains R’ Shalom Schwadron, the Maggid of Yerushalayim, in his famous sefer on Elul, Kol Dodi Dofek, is referring to the effect of the physical world on our neshama. If our hearts are totally filled up with Olam Hazeh, there is no room for Hashem to come in. But by removing just a small piece, He will expand it until it fills the entire space.
       This, explains the Maggid, is the reason why we don’t have the same level of eimas hadin nowadays. It’s not that we are bad people, there are in fact many good, righteous Jews who have a strong belief in Hashem and keep the Torah and mitzvos; however, we have all absorbed the effects of Olam Hazeh more than previous generations. It’s not even necessarily our fault, we have more opportunities to enjoy Olam Hazeh than our ancestors did; however, it is our responsibility still to keep our hearts and minds straight.
       The good news is that it is well within our abilities to return to this previous level. By removing the effects of Olam Hazeh from a small place on our hearts and opening up that piece to Hashem, He will quickly fill us our entire hearts and minds with the knowledge and recognition necessary for us to connect to Him and make Him the biggest part of our lives. (This doesn’t mean that we have to give up Olam Hazeh, just that we must make sure our priorities are straight. Though that may mean giving up some of the things we enjoy.)
       During the Aseres Yimei Teshuvah, Hashem is more present in our lives than any other time of the year (See Yeshaya 55:6). There is no better opportunity than now to start training ourselves to allow Hashem into our hearts and minds. And if we are successful at this time, perhaps this will be the last Rosh Hashanah we spend in galus.

K’siva V’chasima Tova!    


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Friday, September 11, 2015

No Dvar Torah This Week

Due to unforeseen circumstances, there is no new Dvar Torah for this week, Parshas Nitzavim. We will return, B'ezrat Hashem, next week with a new Dvar Torah for Rosh Hashanah and Parshas Vayeilech. In the meantime, please click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Nitzavim.

Shabbat Shalom!


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Friday, September 4, 2015

Dvar Torah for Parshas Ki Savo

       This week’s parsha, Parshas Ki Savo, begins with the mitzvah of Bikkurim, to bring the first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash as a gift to Hashem. This mitzvah has many deeper connotations to it, some of which we have discussed in this forum before. Here is another of those explanations.
       The Kli Yakar points out an interesting fact about Bikkurim. The pasuk says, “וְהָיָה כִּי תָבוֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בָּהּ“And it will be when you come to the Land that Hashem, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, and you will inherit it and settle it” (Devarim 26:1). The only other mitzvah which uses the phrase “וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּ” is in Parshas Shoftim by the guidelines of appointing a king. The connection between the two is simple. The reason why Bnei Yisrael will want a king is so they can be like all the nations surrounding them. Even though Bnei Yisrael are not supposed to have a king, they will be so secure in their possession of Eretz Yisrael that they will look to outside their heritage and adapt other philosophies. Similarly, after possessing the land, Bnei Yisrael will forget all the miracles performed by Hashem who brought them to Eretz Yisrael, and will only remember all the battles waged by their own hands. They will look at all the success they will have settling the land and conclude that it was their own ability that brought them such prosperity. In both these cases, something is needed to remind Bnei Yisrael of how they came to possess Eretz Yisrael.
       These two words, “וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּ”, are fitting to use because we assume that we own Eretz Yisrael as an inheritance from our ancestors, the Avos, and that we settled it under our own power and national right. But this is not the case. By bringing the first of our fruits to the Beis Hamikdash, specifically the Seven Species that are special to Eretz Yisrael, we remind ourselves that we came to possess this Land only through the goodness of Hashem.
       As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we can use the lesson of the Bikkurim to help us prepare for the big day. By learning to appreciate Hashem as the true cause of everything good in our lives (and by recognizing how much good we have), we can begin to truly make Him our King. May we all be zoche to a favorable judgment.


Shabbat Shalom!   



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