Thursday, January 30, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Terumah

       Parshas Terumah begins the story of the construction of the Mishkan. In his introduction to Sefer Shemos, the Ramban explains that the Galus of Mitzrayim did not fully end until Hashem’s Shechinah was dwelling amongst Bnei Yisrael. In this world, the Shechinah can only fully dwell in the Beis Hamikdash. Until the Beis Hamikdash was built, the Mishkan served the same purpose. That is what makes this parshah so important.   
       Three of the most well-known and important utensils used in the Mishkan were the Aron (Ark), the Shulchan (Table), and the Mizbach HaZahav (The Golden Alter). A common feature amongst these three items was that each one had a golden crown built around its’ outer edge. Chazal explain that this was in reference to the three crowns we have in Judaism. The crown of the Aron represented the Crown of Torah study, the Shulchan’s crown represented the Crown of Royalty, and the crown of the Alter represented the Crown of the Kehunah (Priesthood).
        The Torah gives very precise measurements for each one of these items in amos (cubits). The dimensions of height, width and length, are written very clearly in the pesukim. The Kli Yakar makes a connection between the measurements of these items and the crown they represent.
       For each of the three dimensions listed by the Aron, each one includes a half amah in its measurement. For example, the length of the Aron was two and a half cubits. We mentioned earlier that the Aron represents the Crown of Torah study. The Kli Yakar explains that these partial amos are coming to show you that no matter how much you learn, your wisdom will never be complete. As we learn in Pirkei Avos, “Who is wise? He who learns from all men.” (Avos 4:1). There is always more to learn. The dimensions of the Aron were given in halves to remind us of this idea.
       The Shulchan represented the Crown of Royalty. In reality, this crown applies to every single Jew because, just like a king lacks nothing, so too every single Jew should recognize that Hashem gives him everything he needs. Therefore, he too lacks nothing! For that reason, the Shulchan’s length and width were in full measurements. However, the Shulchan’s height includes a half amah. This, explains the Kli Yakar, is so a person should realize that while he may have the opportunity to satisfy himself fully, a person should be careful not to completely give in to his physical desires. By building the Shulchan with a “broken” amah, we are reminded to break the hold our desires have over us.
       Finally, we have the Mizbach HaZahav, which represented the crown of Kehunah and contained only complete amah measurements. Its’ connection to the Kehunah is because only a Kohen was able to bring the incense offering on it, but the reason for its’ complete measurements is something deeper. Not only this mizbe’ach, but the Mizbach HaNechoshes (The Copper Alter) as well was comprised only of complete amah measurements. The purpose of both the mizbe’achs was to atone for man’s sins and bring him back to a level of “completeness”. The Mizbach HaNechoshes atones for the physical body of a person through animal sacrifices, while the Mizbach HaZahav atones for his spiritual self through the incense offering. In order to show us this great chesed He does for us, Hashem told Moshe to build the Mizbe’ach with only complete amos, just as we are made complete again by the korbanos.


Shabbat Shalom!


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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Mishpatim

       After receiving the Torah in Parshas Yisro, the Torah continues with Parshas Mishpatim which contains many technical cases necessary to living in a Torah culture. Why these are important to know right away and how they are directly connected to the Aseres Hadibros is a topic of discussion amongst the Meforshim. However, a lesser known fact about Parshas Mishpatim is that it contains the utterance of perhaps the most famous phrase in the entire Torah, Bnei Yisrael exclaiming “נעשה ונשמע”, “we will do and we will hear”. (Shemos 24:7)
       The first thing you notice about this phrase is that it appears to have been said out of order. Normally, you first listen to something and understand it before you commit to keeping it. Here, the Bnei Yisrael do the exact opposite! The Meforshim use this to show the strength of Bnei Yisrael’s commitment to Hashem, that they were willing to accept even that which they had not heard yet. They knew that if it was coming from Hashem, it would be good and worthwhile for them.
       Interestingly enough, if you look earlier in pasuk 3, the pasuk reads, “וַיָּבֹא משֶׁה וַיְסַפֵּר לָעָם אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה וְאֵת כָּל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וַיַּעַן כָּל הָעָם קוֹל אֶחָד וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה נַעֲשֶׂה “So Moshe came and told the nation all the words of Hashem and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in unison, ‘All the words that Hashem has spoken we will do”. (24:3) Over here the people say just the first part of the phrase, “נעשה”, and only later on in Pasuk 7 do they add on the second part of “ונשמע”.
       The Kli Yakar explains that there was a slight misunderstanding between Moshe and the nation. The nation thought that after hearing the Torah at Har Sinai, that would be the extent of the Torah included in the treaty they had made with Hashem. However, in the meantime, Moshe prepared animal blood to be sprinkled upon the nation as a final step in the consummation of the treaty. (See the commentaries for an explanation as to why this was part of the process.) He put half the blood in one container to sprinkle on Bnei Yisrael and the other half in another container to throw on the Mizbe’ach (Alter). When the Bnei Yisrael saw half the blood being put to the side, they assumed it was intended for a later time when the treaty would be renewed with them receiving an additional portion of the Torah. Therefore, they followed up their original declaration with “נעשה ונשמע”, to include the future mitzvos they would receive. Realizing their mistake, Moshe informed them that this would be the only time a treaty would be made; there were no further parts of the Torah waiting to be given.
       Whichever way we explain “נעשה ונשמע”, the principle of the matter remains the same. This phrase shows the complete emunah and bitachon Bnei Yisrael had in Hashem, as well as their eagerness to keep the Torah and perform as many mitzvos as they could. Even going so far as to commit to any future obligations that would be placed on them, without even having the slightest inkling as to what they would consist of. Let us strive for that same dedication in our own service of Hashem. By reaching this level, perhaps we too can grow to the same heights as that generation which was worthy of actually being the receivers of the Torah. Reaching this level will surely lead us to the Geulah Shelaimah.


Shabbat Shalom!



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Friday, January 17, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Yisro

       This week’s parshah, Parshas Yisro, contains the most important event in history, the giving of the Torah. Chazal teach us that if Bnei Yisrael had not accepted the Torah at this time, there would have been no purpose for creation, and the world would have instantly returned to its original state of nothingness. Yet even with the importance of this event, I would instead like to focus on the man for whom this parshah is named, Moshe’s father-in-law, Yisro. I will also be doing it in a little different style than what I normally do for this Dvar Torah.
       At the beginning of the Parshah, Yisro travels into the desert along with Moshe’s family to join Bnei Yisrael. Moshe greets him and affords him a tremendous amount of respect, bringing the entire nation along with him to greet Yisro with him.
       The next morning, Yisro observes Moshe judging the nation and takes issue with the process. The way the system worked was that Moshe was the lone judge while everybody who had a question or complaint would approach him and get their problem answered. Yisro felt this was disrespectful to the people that they had to stand and wait for a long time to have their questions answered. He also felt that by carrying this burden alone, Moshe would eventually become worn out. So he designed a new system where Moshe would appoint judges over a certain number of people. Whenever the person’s appointed judge could not resolve their problem, he would send the case up to another judge who was responsible for a larger number of people until eventually the case would work its way up to Moshe. This way, the simple problems were taken care of right away, making sure the people did not have to wait, and only the most difficult problems came to Moshe, thereby making sure he would not become worn out. Moshe listened to Yisro’s proposal, and without any hesitation, implemented his plan in full.
       This is an amazing story. Yisro was not Jewish, nor had he spent time amongst the Jewish People before this, so he would have no idea how judgments were supposed to work. Furthermore, while Yisro was a first-rate philosopher, he had tried every religion in the world before deciding that Judaism was the correct one, he was in no way a Torah scholar! And yet, he comes in and right away starts making changes which Moshe decides to implement immediately! Without even consulting Hashem! How could Moshe make these changes simply based on Yisro’s ideas? In my opinion, what should have happened was that Moshe should have told Yisro that while his suggestions were very logical, he simply did not have the experience with the Torah system necessary to know this is how things work. Or if Moshe decided these ideas could fit within the Torah justice system, at the very least, Moshe should have consulted Hashem before implementing Yisro’s plan!
       We see from here two very important principles of Judaism. The first is that this story is another example of the idea of how once the Torah was given to the Jewish People, it was ours to do as we pleased. This does not mean that we are allowed to change any of it, that is strictly forbidden by the Torah itself. What it mean is that the Rabbis, or anyone who knows how to properly study Torah, can draw any further conclusions they can understand from the written text of the Torah. This means that Moshe was able to decide the best way to judge cases and spread the knowledge of Torah without consulting Hashem. This is a very short explanation of a long discussion which is not our place to get into at the moment. Really, my main point is the next one.
       Chazal teach us a very important idea, “(If they tell you) there is wisdom amongst the nations, believe them. (If they tell you) there is Torah amongst the nations, don’t believe them.” This means that while the greatness and spirituality of our Torah knowledge and lifestyle was not shared with the nations of the world, this in no way means that they still do not have wisdom, some of which can even be applied to our lifestyle which is based upon Torah. 
       In practical terms, this means that anyone who may come up to us with a thought, even if it comes from an un-Torah educated mouth or culture, we must still take it into serious consideration. These ideas have the potential to come from a place of wisdom.
       This is what we learn from the story of Yisro. As we said earlier, Yisro had no Torah background, how could Moshe take his proposal for the system of Torah courts into consideration? The answer is that Yisro’s idea made sense, it came from a place of wisdom. Moshe realized this while listening to the proposal and therefore decided to put it into practice.
       How many times do we hear thoughts or ideas from people who we feel are “unqualified” to comment on, or “unconnected” to the subject we are dealing with. And how many times do we brush away their ideas because of this? Are we any smarter or more committed to the well-being of the Jewish people than Moshe was? These ideas do have the potential to help us. This does not mean that we must listen to ideas which attempt to undermine our Torah way of life. However, what it does mean is that when someone makes a suggestion to improve upon an existing system, we cannot dismiss it offhand. Let us learn from the story of Yisro to broaden our perspective and appreciate the wisdom Hashem has given all human beings and use it to improve our understanding and  further our commitment to the Torah way.


Shabbat Shalom!




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Friday, January 10, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Beshalach

       Parshas Beshalach begins with Krias Yam Suf (The Splitting of the Red Sea), continues with the beginning of Bnei Yisrael’s travels in the desert, and closes with the war with Amalek. As I mention every year, this parshah contains a plethora of topics to write on and narrowing down the topic is never easy. This year, I have decided to talk about the war with Amalek.
       As Amalek appeared ready for battle, Moshe began making preparations. “וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה אֶל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּחַר לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְצֵא הִלָּחֵם בַּעֲמָלֵק“And Moshe said to Yehoshua, ‘Pick men for us, and go out and fight against Amalek” (Shemos 17:9). Moshe tells his student, Yehoshua, to lead the army against Amalek while he will go to the top of the mountain and pray for their success. On the surface, this appears to be very strange. As great as Yehoshua was, and as close as Moshe’s connection was to Hashem, wouldn’t it make more sense for Moshe to lead the army on the battlefield? From a morale perspective, it would definitely make the nation feel better to see their leader leading the charge. And from a Torah perspective, these soldiers Yehoshua had to pick were not simple people. In the times of Tanach, only the most righteous individuals were picked to fight in battle. So would it not make more sense for the most righteous person in the generation, Moshe, to lead them?
       The Meforshim discuss this question and give a few different answers.
       The Ohr HaChaim explains that in the desert, Bnei Yisrael were constantly protected by the Clouds of Glory; nothing could get in or out without Hashem allowing it. The reason Amalek were able to attack Bnei Yisrael was because they had not spent time studying and examining the Torah and mitzvos that had been given to them thus far. (They had been given a few mitzvos before they received the entire Torah at Har Sinai.) There is a pasuk in Parshas Ki Sisa which states, “יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן נַעַר לֹא יָמִישׁ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֹהֶל“Yehoshua Bin Nun, a lad, did not depart from the tent” (33:11). The Ohr HaChaim explains that this means that Yehoshua would stay in the Beis Medrash after Moshe had finished teaching, in order to review what he had learned and study further. This extra dedication to Torah learning is exactly what Bnei Yisrael needed in order to defeat Amalek. Therefore, Yehoshua led the charge. (Just to be clear, this does not mean that Moshe or Aharon did not stay longer to study Torah as well. Just that this point was Yehoshua’s calling card.)
       The Ramban explains that while Moshe may not have been leading on the physical field of battle, he was the leader on the spiritual field. When Moshe went to the top of the mountain to daven for success in battle, the people who had remained behind observed him and followed his lead. His prayers spurred them on to pray with a strong intensity so that they should succeed. The Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah (29b) explains that when Moshe raised his hands in prayer, the entire nation prayed as well, lifting up and supporting the entire army in battle. As great as Moshe could have been leading the army, his true strength was in leading the people in pure spiritual matters (the battle was a spiritual matter as well) and guiding them to higher spiritual levels.
       These explanations seem to contradict a Rashi found in Pasuk 11. The pasuk says that Moshe’s hands became tired and he could no longer pray with the same intensity. Rashi explains that this happened since he allowed Yehoshua to lead the army instead of doing the mitzvah himself. According to how we’ve explained, however, Moshe was right to let Yehoshua lead! The Sifsei Chachamim explains that while Yehoshua was the right man to lead the army into battle, Moshe should have been the one to select the soldiers. By passing this duty on to Yehoshua, Moshe gave up on a mitzvah and weakened himself and the entire nation in the process.
       Learning Tanach and observing the figures of our early history, it is hard for us to get a clear picture of who our ancestors truly were and what level they were on. Using the answer of the Ramban, we get a little more insight into Moshe, perhaps the greatest man who ever lived. We see from this story how Moshe’s power of prayer was so strong, he was able to inspire all those around him to greater spiritual heights. Nowadays as well, we should seek out teachers and guides who help us achieve this same thing. It was not a coincidence that Moshe had this ability and was the leader of the nation, as obtaining a greater connection with Hashem is our true purpose and what we strive for each day.


Shabbat Shalom!  


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Thursday, January 2, 2014

Dvar Torah for Parshas Bo


       In Parshas Bo, after all the makkos, we finally reach the time when Bnei Yisrael actually leave Mitzrayim. The final three makkos are performed in this week’s parshah before Paroh lets Bnei Yisrael leave at the end. Another important event in this parshah is Hashem giving over the first mitzvah to the Bnei Yisrael as a nation, the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, which, coincidently, also fell out this week. Together with the mitzvah of Korban Pesach, this parshah has great significance to us on many levels.
       I’d like to focus on two pesukim in this week’s parshah. The first is when Moshe comes to talk to Paroh following Choshech, the Plague of Darkness. Paroh offers to allow all the people to go serve Hashem in the desert but they must leave their animals behind. Moshe refuses this offer and demands that Paroh allow the Jewish People to leave together with all their possessions. The response is as follows, “וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ פַרְעֹה לֵךְ מֵעָלָי הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ אֶל תֹּסֶף רְאוֹת פָּנַי כִּי בְּיוֹם רְאֹתְךָ פָנַי תָּמוּת.  וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה כֵּן דִּבַּרְתָּ לֹא אֹסִף עוֹד רְאוֹת פָּנֶיךָ“Paroh said to him (Moshe), ‘Go away from me! Beware! You shall no longer see my face, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!’. And Moshe said, ‘You have spoken correctly; I shall no longer see your face” (Shemos 10:28-29).
       Before Moshe left Paroh’s presence, Hashem gave him the final message for Paroh, the warning for Makkas Bechoros, the Killing of the Firstborn. Moshe tells Paroh how all the firstborns in Egypt will die and how this will drive all of Mitzrayim to beg the Jews to leave. Then, before Paroh can even respond, the pasuk tells us, “וַיֵּצֵא מֵעִם פַּרְעֹה בָּחֳרִי אָף“And he (Moshe) left Paroh with burning anger” (11:8). This reaction is very strange coming from Moshe. First of all, what exactly did Moshe get upset about? If it was because Paroh threw him out of the palace with orders to never return, we see later on in the Torah, Moshe was the most humble person who ever lived. That he should get angry at Paroh’s reaction does not fit in with this assessment. Furthermore, Rashi explains on Perek 10 Pasuk 29 that when Moshe said, “You have spoken well”, he was actually saying to Paroh that he was correct, this would be the last time Moshe would see Paroh in his palace! So there was no reason for Moshe to get angry that Paroh threw him out, he even agreed with Paroh’s decision!
       Furthermore, the gemarah in Pesachim (66b) tells us that if a Navi gets angry, his prophetic ability leaves him. Moshe received prophecy from Hashem about Makkas Bechoros at the same time he was told to leave the palace. How could he have received this prophecy if he was angry at Paroh? The question becomes even stranger when we consider the medrash on Perek 11 Pasuk 8 that when Moshe left in anger, he hit Paroh before walking out of the palace!    
       Rav Shimon Schwab ZT”L in his sefer, Maayan Beis HaShoeva, writes that obviously Moshe did not get upset because of his own kavod. Rather, the Chilul Hashem that Paroh had been causing every time he refused to let Bnei Yisrael leave and instead took makkah after makkah had built up a frustration inside Moshe which he had not yet reacted to. Now that Moshe had fulfilled his job of appearing in front of Paroh (as he told Paroh in 10:29,) he could finally let out his frustration at this incredible lack of respect for Hashem and did so in very clear fashion by slapping Paroh before stomping out.
       We see numerous times both in this and last week’s parshah the respect that both Moshe and Hashem afforded Paroh because of his position as king. (See Shemos 6:13, 10:1, and 11:8 for a few examples.) Until this point Moshe had been able to stomach Paroh’s chutzpah because of his continuing mission. However, now that the mission was over, Moshe showed Paroh exactly what he thought of his complete lack of recognition of the Ruler of the World, which went up to the point, according to the medrash, of publicly humiliating him.
       While it is easy for us to picture frustration coming out in this form, it was still an amazing act on Moshe’s part. Paroh was the king of Mitzrayim! And with Moshe inside the palace walls, no doubt Paroh had plenty of soldiers and other men ready to kill him on command. With this, Moshe showed his true Yiras Shamayim, his fear of Heaven; he was so upset by this continuing Chilul Hashem that he did something which in a normal situation would have been suicidal.
       While most of us will most likely not have an opportunity to demonstrate our Yiras Shamayim in front of a king, we must be ready to do so in whatever situation we might be prompted to show it. We will surely be tested at some point or another, and even if it is not as grand a stage as Moshe’s, if that is the platform that Hashem gives us then it might as well be the same.
May we see our Geulah soon.

Shabbat Shalom!


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