Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah on Rosh Hashanah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The Parshah of Nitzavim start by saying: “You stand today, all of you, before the L-rd your G-d: your heads of tribes, your elders, your officers, and every Israelite man; your young ones, your wives, the stranger in your gate; from your wood hewer to your water drawer.”

Moshe warns of the exile and desolation of the Land that will result if Israel abandons G-d’s laws, but he then prophecises that, in the end, “You will return to the Lord your G-d”.

Then Moshe says: “For the Mitzvah which I command you this day, it is not beyond you nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven… It is not across the sea…. Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it.”

Moshe also talks about freedom of choice: “I have set before you life and goodness, and death and evil; in that I command you this day to love G-d, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments… Life and death I have set before you, blessing and curse. And you shall choose life.”

“ Dvar Torah “

Le’ Eluy nishmat “Nissan Ben Gavriel”, my late father in law, Mr. Lotfollah Hakimi;

Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the “Aseret Yemei Teshuva”, the ten days of repentance. Although we start the Selichot prayers from a month before Rosh Hashanah, but that is only considered as a preparation for repenting. The actual “Teshuva” or repentance  process starts from Rosh Hashanah and ends at  Yom Kippur. It’s during these ten days that we reflect on the past year, recall the bad we did and the good we failed to do, apologise, confess and ask for forgiveness.

Yet, there’s almost no mention of Teshuva on the days of Rosh Hashanah. There is no confession, no selichot prayers, no “tachanun” is recited, no reference to the sins committed over the past year and no looking back. The only references to the process of Teshuva is a prayer reminding us that today our fate is being written for the next year: who will live and who will die, who will be healthy and who will be sick, etc……

Surely the beginning days of repentance should begin with repentance?! So why is there no mention of Teshuva on Rosh Hashanah?! Rabbi Jonathan Sacks summarizes the answer in one simple quote: In order to mend the past,  first we need to build our future.

This idea could be seen in the characters of the Torah such as Abraham. When Sarah died, Abraham was 137 years old. He lost the woman who had shared his life’s journey with him.  He might have been paralysed by grief. But the Torah says: “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and wept for her….. and then Abraham rose from beside his dead”. The Torah continues by saying that Abraham did not sit idle. He immediately bought a plot of land in Israel to bury his dead and arranged for a wife for his son. So instead of grieving about the past, he started to build his future. He knew that building his future comes before honoring the past.

But the opposite could be seen in the Torah too, in the character of Noah. After the flood, Hashem tells Noah to go out of the Ark and fill up the earth once again. But it seems that instead of looking forward, Noah looked back. Overwhelmed by grief, he found refuge in wine.  Before the flood he was the only person in the whole of Bible to be called righteous, yet he ended his days drunk and ashamed in front of his children.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says that this is precisely the reason why we don’t start the 10 days of repentance with repentance. On Rosh Hashanah, We pray that our names would be written in the book of life. We pray for prosperity and good health. We pray for peace in Israel and all over the world and we pray for our children. Only when we have finished praying for our future, only then, on the intervening days and Yom Kippur we can turn and apologise for last year. In Judaism the future comes before the past!

Yes my friends, in life, we do and sometimes we should regret the past. We should regret our sins and our mistakes. We should cry for tragedies and death. But we should always look forward to the future! We base our lives on the future. We work so hard throughout our lives, so that we can provide a better future for our children. We build great synagogues and Temples, so that our children can benefit from it. When our fathers left Iran, they did not sit back and and grieve for what they’ve left behind, but rather, immediately they started to build the future for their family and their children. And now we are enjoying the fruits of their labor. And this is what Rosh Hashanah is all about ……… building our future!

Accordingly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all Shanah Tovah U’Metukah. May this year be a year of health, happiness and prosperity for all of us, and peace in the land of Israel and across the world. A year that the sweet taste of honey remains in our mouths for the rest of the year. A year that we build a better future for our children and we see them grow.  And after Rosh Hashana, let us move forward towards Yom Kippur and regret the past and ask for forgiveness!

Shabbat Shalom, Shana Tova & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a short Dvar Torah;

“ Parsha in a Nutshell “

Moshe instructs the people of Israel: When you enter the land that G-d is giving to you as your eternal heritage, and you settle it and cultivate it, bring the first-ripened fruits of your orchard to the Holy Temple, and declare your gratitude for all that G-d has done for you.

Our Parsha also includes the laws of the tithes given to the Levites and to the poor. Moshe reminds the people that they are G-d’s chosen people, and that they, in turn, have chosen G-d.

The latter part of Ki Tavo consists of the Tochachah (“Rebuke”). After listing the blessings with which G-d will reward the people when they follow the laws of the Torah, Moshe gives a long, harsh account of the bad things — illness, famine, poverty and exile — that shall befall them if they abandon G-d’s commandments.

Moshe concludes by telling the people that only today, forty years after their birth as a people, have they attained “a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear.”

” Dvar Torah “

Harvest time! After months of backbreaking work, a farmer can finally enjoy the fruits of its labor. He can reap all of his crops and hopefully, it will cover his sustenance for the year to come. But before he can enjoy his freshly-harvested crop, the Torah commands in this week’s parsha that the farmer bring his “Bikurim”, or first-ripened fruits, to the Temple in Jerusalem as a gift to the Kohen. The sages describe the remarkable scene of thousands of people, rich and poor alike, come together in Jerusalem, rejoicing in song and dance with their baskets of fruit in hand, celebrating their successful harvest and offering thanks to Hashem.

Upon arriving in the Temple, the Torah commands: “The Kohen shall take the basket from your hand and leave it before the altar of the Lord your G-d”. The Talmud relates an interesting detail regarding this event. The wealthy people, would bring their fruits in exquisite gold and silver baskets and would hand them over to the Kohen. The Kohen would then remove the fruits and return the baskets to their owners. However, a different approach was used for the poor people. Unlike their wealthy counterparts, the less fortunate farmers who brought their fruits in cheap reed or straw baskets would not receive the baskets back from the Kohen; the fruits would remain inside the baskets until the Kohen took them home. The obvious question is, why does the rich get back his silver and gold basket, while the poor who might still have a need for his basket, goes home empty handed?! The Talmud comments regarding this ceremony that “The rich gets richer, while the poor gets poorer”!! Is this justice in the eyes of Hashem? The Torah who is the master in showing compassion towards the needy, seems to have missed this opportunity! Why is it so?

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetsky gives an interesting explanation. The wealthy farmer who owns many top quality fields, may probably have a lot of produce to present to the Kohen, and his fruits are beautiful and well-formed. The poor person, on the other hand, might only have a small field, and his produce is most likely of inferior quality. As a result, the amount of fruit that he brings to the Temple will be less, both in quality and quantity. If the fruits would be removed in order to return the baskets to the owner, the poor farmer would be forced to suffer the embarrassment of having people see his inferior gift. The Jewish law therefore prescribes that the fruits should remain hidden in the basket. The Torah feels that a person’s dignity is worth more than a few dollars. Let the Kohen keep the fruit in the basket. Let it at least have the appearance of being something substantial. Even if it will cost him the price of the basket, let the poor man walk out with his dignity. A person can always make a little more money. It is much harder to recoup one’s pride!

Yes my friends, the Talmud is teaching us that every person deserves to have dignity and pride. We should try our best not the hurt other people’s feelings and avoid embarrassing them. The Almighty demands from us not to humiliate another person, not to put anyone to shame and above all, not to take away someone’s pride. Every person deserves to be respected since we are all created in the image of G-d. The whole theme of the Torah is about having compassion for your fellow human beings and to love your fellow Jew just like yourself.

Remember that Hashem accepted both fruits of the rich and the poor. Both were given the same respect to enter the holy Temple and to present their gift to G-d. Both walked in with their pride and dignity and both left with a joy in their heart. In the eyes of Hashem, all of his children are dear to him the same way, and they should be dear to us too.

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Seventy-four of the Torah’s 613 commandments are in this week’s Parsha. These include the laws of the beautiful captive woman, the inheritance rights of the first-born, capital punishment for the wayward and rebellious son, burial and dignity of the dead, returning a lost object, sending away the mother bird before taking her young, and the duty to erect a safety fence around the roof of one’s home.

Also recounted are the judicial procedures and penalties for adultery, for the rape or seduction of an unmarried girl, and for a husband who falsely accuses his wife of adultery. The following cannot marry a person of Jewish lineage: a bastard; a male of Moabite or Ammonite descent.

Our Parshah also includes laws governing the purity of the military camp; the prohibition against turning in an escaped slave; the duty to pay a worker on time; the proper treatment of a debtor and the prohibition against charging interest on a loan; the laws of divorce (from which are also derived many of the laws of marriage); and the procedures for yibbum, marriage beyween the wife of a childless deceased to her brother-in-law.

Parsha concludes with the obligation to remember “what Amalek did to you on the road, on your way out of Egypt.”

“ Dvar Torah “

Parashat Ki-Tetzei begins with the laws of  “Eshet Yefat Toar” (a woman of beautiful appearance), which deals with the case of a soldier who encounters an attractive non Jewish woman while fighting a war, and desires her. The Torah allows the soldier in such a case to marry the woman after fulfilling certain conditions. The commentators explain that the Torah allowed this provision because the soldier would otherwise be likely to engage in forbidden relations with the woman. Human nature being as it is, G-d determined that it would be preferable to permit marrying an “Eshet Yefat Toar” so that soldiers would not be tempted to cohabit with a strange woman and commit a sin.

This section is followed by another exceptional law – the law of the “Ben Sorer U’moreh”, the rebellious son. The Torah commands that under certain very rare and unusual circumstances, a child who does not listen to the voice of his parents and conducts himself in an unrestrained manner is put to death. One of the requirements for a child to be considered a “Ben Sorer U’moreh” is to be a glutton, indulging in meat and wine, excessively. The Sages explain that if a boy displays an uncontrolled lust for meat and wine, he will inevitably reach the point where he will rob and murder in order to obtain the money he needs to satisfy this lust. Therefore, he should be put to death at the early stage of his life when he is still innocent, rather than allowing him to mature to a point where he will actually commit a crime deserving of death.

The Chachamim say that there must be a reason why these two laws are placed next to each other in the Torah. Accordingly, they have come up with the following explanation. The Torah wants to warn us that if a person marries an “Eshet Yefat Toar,” he will end up having a son who is a “Ben Sorer U’moreh.” Although marrying such a woman is technically permissible, it will likely result in the disastrous outcome of having a rebellious child.

But you may ask why?! If a person marries a foreign woman, which is permitted by the Torah, why should he end up with having a rebellious child? He did not commit a sin, so why should he be punished?

Rabbi Eli Mansour gives the following explanation. The Torah commands us to be “holy”. What does it mean to be holy? According to Rambam, being holy does not mean to just restrain ourselves from the things that are not allowed to us, but rather, to be holy means that we should even have control over the things which are even permitted to us too. For example, you are allowed to drink wine and spirits, but to be holy, you have to have control over how much you drink. In the case of “Eshet Yefat Toar”, although the person has not violated any particular law, but what he did was not considered holy, since he did not have control over his desires. And this is why marrying an “Eshet Yefat Toar” can lead to a child who is “Ben Sorer U’moreh”. A child who grows up in an environment, where the parent easily surrenders to his desires and places too much focus on the physical pleasures of life, can easily become a glutton, and may eventually reach the point where he resorts to criminal behavior to satisfy his lusts. In order to teach a child to have restrained over physical pleasures, the parents have to show restrained first!

Yes my friends, the most effective way to educate children is by acting as a role model. Children learn far more effectively with their eyes than with their ears.  They learn from watching us, not by being told what to do. The expression which says, “Practice what you preach”, can easily be modified to “Practice, and then you don’t need to preach”. Actions speak louder than words, and so our greatest asset in influencing our children is the personal example we set, exhibiting the kind of behavior we want our children to emulate.

The following story may not be true and is often used for humor purposes, but there is a great lesson to be learned from:    

Junior came home from day camp one day without towel.

“Where is your towel?” asked his mom.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “I could not find it after swimming. Maybe someone took it.”

The mother was annoyed. “Who could have taken your towel? It was a great towel! Junior you would never take someone else’s towel. You know I raised you better than that. Right?”

A few moments later, she was on the phone with the day camp director.

“Hello. There is a young thief in your camp!”

“How so?” “My son had a towel stolen from camp! He brought it in today and it was nowhere”

“Calm down,” came the voice on the line. “I am sure that no one stole it. Please describe the towel to me.”

“Sure I can! It was white and big. You could not miss it. It had the words “HILTON” emblazoned on it!”

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Moshe instructs the people of Israel to appoint judges and law-enforcement officers in every city.

A minimum of two credible witnesses is required for conviction and punishment.

A Jewish king may only have possessions and symbols of power adequate for the honor of his office, but not for self glorification.

Hashem promises the Jewish people that he will send them prophets to guide them, and Moshe explains how a genuine prophet may be distinguished from a false one.

The Parsha includes the prohibitions against idolatry and sorcery; guidelines for the creation of “cities of refuge” for the inadvertent murderer. Also set forth are many of the rules of war: the exemption from battle for one who has just built a home, planted a vineyard, married, or is “afraid and soft-hearted”; the requirement to offer terms of peace before attacking a city.

If a corpse is found between cities, the elders of the nearest city must take a heifer, slaughter it, and wash their hands over it, saying that they are not guilty of the death.

“ Dvar Torah “

The foundation of civilization is based on justice! No civilized society can survive without a judiciary system, and a set of law and order. And Judaism cannot agree more with this system. This week’s parsha starts off by telling us to appoint judges and lawmakers for ourselves. It continues by telling us the famous quote, “tzedek, tzedek, tirdof”….. “Justice, Justice, you shall pursue”……. But a better translation is: “Righteousness, Righteousness, you shall pursue”….. The Chachamim are puzzled by the repetition of word “righteousness”. Why does the Torah need to repeat it twice? Rabbi Frand explains that “The pursuit OF righteousness must also be pursued WITH righteousness”. We are not merely being taught to run AFTER justice. We are told to run AFTER justice WITH justice, which means that a person can only be trialed in a righteous way. That’s why the torah continues to explain that in order to pursue justice, we have to appoint righteous judges. A judge cannot take a bribe. A judge cannot take the side of the weak or the powerful, since the Torah says that a judge cannot show favoritism towards a widow or an orphan, nor towards wealthy and powerful. Indeed, a judge has to be totally unbiased and try his best to make a fair judgment.

In western societies’ court of law, where there is a dispute between two parties, the judge has to determine who is right and who is wrong; who has to be rewarded and who has to be punished. The judge’s main role is to find who is guilty and who is innocent. The judge has the full authority to make this decision. In a Jewish court of law, however, the judge has a different role. His role is not to just find the guilty party and punish him, but rather, his main role is to give the accused a fair trial — a trial which is based on fairness and righteousness. Indeed the Torah sets down numerous rules and regulations which delimit the judge’s power to judge, and ensure that when he does judge, he does so with utmost caution and sensitivity.

To get a better understanding of what it means by a fair trial, we can look at a criminal law discussion in the Talmud known as the “indefensible criminal” laws. The Talmud says: In the time of Beit Hamikdash, under the Jewish law, capital crimes were tried by a tribunal of 23 judges called a “Minor Sanhedrin.” After hearing the testimony of the witnesses, the judges themselves would split into two groups: those inclined to argue for the defense of the accused would serve as his “defense team” and seek to convince their colleagues of his innocence; and those inclined to convict him would serve as prosecutors making the case for his guilt. Then the judges would vote. A majority of one was sufficient to set him free, while a majority of two was necessary to convict.

But  what happens if all the twenty-three judges form an initial opinion of guilt?! What if the evidence is so compelling and the crime so horrifying that not a single member of the tribunal chooses to argue in the accused’s favor? In such a case, says the Talmud, the accused cannot be convicted and this court is disqualified from making a judgement!

But you may ask why?! If all the evidence is against the accused, he should surely be found guilty, wouldn’t you say so?! Why on earth is the court disqualified from convicting him?!

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains the rationale behind this law as follows: No man is so utterly evil that there is nothing to be said in his defense. There is always some explanation, some justification, some perspective from which the underlying goodness of his soul can be glimpsed. This does not mean that he is going to be found innocent, in the legal sense, by a court of law. But if not a single member of the court perceives the “innocent side” of the person standing accused before them, this court then obviously has very little understanding of who he is and what he has done. Such a court has disqualified itself from passing judgment on him. The Lubavitcher Rebbe therefore says that you cannot judge a person until you see something good in that person! Justice has to be done with righteousness, and righteousness is achieved when you can see the good in everybody!

Yes my friends, in order to judge a person, we need to hear something good about him first! That’s why the Torah is so much against “Lashon Hara”, evil speech or slander.  Because when you hear something evil about someone, you immediately become judgmental. But you can not judge him, because you haven’t heard anything in his defense yet! Judging people is one of the most difficult tasks and that’s why the Torah has  asked us to appoint professional judges who are righteous and know how to judge fairly. Us, the ordinary people, are not here to judge other people —– we are here to love them!

As we are approaching the “Yamim Noraim”, the days of repentance and judgement, there is no need to be so much afraid, since we know that we are being judged by the fairest Judge of all, the G-d Almighty himself. And we are quite confident that Hashem won’t judge us, until he sees something good in us first!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Moshe says to the people of Israel, “I place before you today a blessing and a curse” —  the blessing that will come when they fulfill G-d’s commandments, and the curse if they abandon them.

A Temple should be established in “the place that G-d will choose to dwell His name there”, where the people should bring their sacrifices to Him; it is forbidden to make offerings to G-d in any other place.

A false prophet, or one who entices others to worship idols, should be put to death; an idolatrous city must be destroyed. The identifying signs for kosher animals and fishes, and the list of non-kosher birds are repeated.

A tenth of all produce is to be eaten in Jerusalem, or else exchanged for money with which food is purchased and eaten there. Firstborn cattle and sheep are to be offered in the Temple and their meat eaten by the Kohen.

The mitzvah of charity obligates a Jew to aid a needy fellow with a gift or loan. On the Sabbatical year (occurring every seventh year) all loans are to be forgiven.

Our Parshah concludes with the laws of the three pilgrimage festivals — Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot — when all should go to “see and be seen” before G-d in the Holy Temple.

” Dvar Torah “

In this week’s Parsha, Moshe reviews the commandments of the Torah with Benei Yisrael once again. One of the commandments that he goes over is the mitzvah of giving charity. He tells them the following: ” If there will be among you a needy person, from one of your brothers in one of your cities, in your land that Hashem, your G-d, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not close your hand from your needy brother. Rather, you shall open your hand to him, and you shall lend him sufficient for his needs, which he is lacking.” Then a few pasuks later, Moshe continues to say: ” You shall surely give him, and let your heart not feel bad when you give him, for in return for this matter, Hashem will bless you in all your deeds…”.

Interestingly, there are two phrases that has caught our commentators’ eyes.  One is,”You shall not harden your heart”…… and the other, “Let your heart not feel bad”….. The Chachamim say that when the Torah repeats itself, it’s try to convey an important message. Accordingly, the Chachamim derive from these two phrases that helping the poor has to be accompanied with good feelings of heart, meaning that you have to give charity with happiness and joy! To feel happy is as important as the act of giving charity itself! Some Chachamim go as far as to say that the money given to charity without a joy and happiness of the heart, does not even count as part of your “Ma-aser”- 10% obligatory donation towards charity.

But the question that still remains is, why is Moshe so concern about us feeling happy when we want to help the poor? If a wealthy guy, for example, wants to write a $500,000 check to a charity organization, why should it matter if he gives the check with a frown on his face? Shouldn’t the organization take the check anyway? Money is money; isn’t it??!! Also, when the needy comes and knocks on your door, he doesn’t want you to “open your heart”….. he wants you to open your wallet! So what is the big deal if we are not so happy when we are giving charity and helping the poor?

To answer this question, I came across a commentary given by Rabbi Frand. He quotes a story from the Talmud that best explains the reason for being happy when giving charity:  During the time of our Holy Temple in Jerusalem, a Jewish livestock owner was obligated to give 10% of his new flock to the Temple. How was this done? Every year, around Rosh Hashana, he would pen all his cattle, from a year old and younger, in an enclosure. He would then open up the gate and let them out, one at a time. As each animal exited the enclosure he would count: one, two, three,…… seven, eight and nine. When he counted the tenth he would mark the animal with a red dye. That animal would then be set aside to be brought to Jerusalem. The procedure was repeated until all the animals were counted.

A question is asked regarding this prescribed procedure. Why make the rancher go through the whole process of penning the animals and then driving them out the exit one at a time? Why not just take ten percent off the top, add a few extra to ensure that no less than required ten percent was given, and avoid this seemingly time consuming and senseless procedure?

The answer is that a very profound message is being conveyed to the rancher by virtue of this process. As each animal goes out the door, it is as if the Almighty is telling the person, ‘One is for you, two is for you, three is for you…’ After giving the owner nine, the Almighty then asks for only one. After getting to keep nine, the rancher is content and realizes how all of his wealth comes from the G-d Almighty and although he is giving, but he gets to keep much more for himself.

Rabbi Frand says that this is precisely the reason why we should be happy when we give to charity. Before we give to charity, we first need to realize that everything we have comes from Hashem and we should be delighted that we are able to share a very small amount of it with others! The only way we may feel unhappy about giving to charity is when we wrongfully think that we have made our money with the strength of our arms and the intelligence of our brain. Only then, it will be difficult to give it away.

Yes my friends, when you are giving charity with joy, not only are you helping the poor, but you are also acknowledging that everything you have comes from Hashem. The word for charity in Hebrew is “tzedakah”. Tzedakah does not mean charity. It means “righteousness”. We don’t give charity because we have pity for the poor; we give charity because it’s the right thing to do. If Hashem has blessed us with wealth, then we should be delighted to share some of it with our needy brothers. If Hashem can be so giving, then why can’t we?!

So the next time a poor knocks on your door, make sure you open the door with a smile. Don’t think for a moment that you are doing him any favors by giving him money! On the contrary, he is doing you a favor! Because he is giving you the opportunity to do a great mitzvah. You’ve been given the privilege this time……… don’t let it go to waste!!

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope you’ll enjoy the following Parashat summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Moshe continues to encourage the Children of Israel to trust in Hashem and in the wonderful rewards which He will provide them if they keep the Torah. Moshe assures them that they will successfully defeat the nations of Canaan, at which point they must remove every trace of idol worship remaining in the Holy Land.

Moshe reminds them about the miraculous manna and the other wonders which Hashem provided for them throughout the past forty years, and he warns them to beware of their own future prosperity and military success which might cause them to forget Hashem. He further reminds them of their transgressions in the desert, retelling the story of the golden calf at length, and describing Hashem’s abundant mercy with them.

Moshe teaches the people the second paragraph of the Shema which stresses the fundamental doctrine of reward and punishment based upon our performance of the mitzvot. The Parsha concludes with Hashem’s promise that He will provide the Jewish people with protection if they observe the laws of the Torah.

” Dvar Torah ”

Gratitude is a feeling of being grateful or thankful.  When you feel gratitude, you’re pleased by what someone else did for you and also pleased by the results. Unlike indebtedness, you’re not anxious about having to pay it back.

In the early 1990s one of the great medical research studies took place. It became known as the “Nun Study”. Some 700 American nuns, all members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States, agreed to allow their records to be accessed by a research team investigating the process of ageing and Alzheimer’s Disease. At the start of the study the participants were aged between 75 and 102.

What made this study so interesting was that in 1930 the nuns, then in their twenties, had been asked by the Mother Superior to write a brief autobiographical account of their life and their reasons for entering the monastery. The results were astonishing. The more positive emotions – contentment, gratitude, happiness, love and hope – the nuns expressed in their autobiographical notes, the more likely they were to be alive and well sixty years later. The difference was as much as seven years in life expectancy.

Since the publication of the Nun Study, a new field of gratitude research study has been developed and they have come across some interesting discoveries. They have come to know of the multiple effects of developing an attitude of gratitude. It improves physical health and immunity against disease. Grateful people are more likely to take regular exercise and go for regular medical check-ups. Thankfulness reduces frustration and regret and makes depression less likely. It helps people avoid over-reacting to negative experiences by seeking revenge. It even tends to make people sleep better. Grateful people tend to have better relationships. Saying “thank you” enhances friendships and brings out better performance from employees.

But what medicine knows today about gratitude, Moshe knew thousands of years ago. In this week’s Parsha, Moshe talks to the Benei Yisrael about the importance of gratitude. He tells them the following: “When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them,  and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery … Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.”  Basically Moshe is telling them to be grateful to Hashem. What is interesting is that Moshe is not so worried about the lack of thankfulness during the difficult times, but rather, he is more concern about the lack of gratitude during the good times.

Moshe warns them that the worst thing that could happen to them would be that they forget how they got to the Promised Land, how God had promised it to their ancestors, and had taken them from slavery to freedom, sustaining them during the forty years in the wilderness. Israel as a nation, should never attribute its achievements to itself – “my power and the might of my own hand” – but should always ascribe its victories, indeed its very existence, to something higher than itself: to G-d Almighty. This is a dominant theme of book of Devarim, and it echoes throughout the book time and time again.

Rabbi Sacks says that part of the essence of gratitude is that it recognizes that we are not the sole authors of what is good in our lives. Although you don’t have to be religious to be grateful, but there is something about belief in G-d as creator of the universe that directs and facilitates our gratitude. It is hard to feel grateful to a universe that came into existence for no reason. It is precisely our faith in a personal G-d that gives force and focus to our thanks.

So now, It is not surprising to know that one of the most celebrated Holidays in the United States is “Thanksgiving”. It was Abraham Lincoln who issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863, thanking G-d that though the nation was at war with itself, there were still blessings for which both sides could express gratitude: a fruitful harvest, no foreign invasion, and so on. It seems that even the American people know the importance of gratitude to G-d!

Yes my friends, the Torah is teaching us the importance of being grateful to G-d. It’s not because Hashem needs to hear our appreciation, but it’s for our own benefit. Gratitude makes us feel humble and appreciate life more. It protects us from resentments and the arrogance of power.

The first words we say each morning – “Modeh ani”, “I thank you” – mean that we begin each day by giving thanks to Hashem. We continue with Brikot HaShachar ‘the Dawn Blessings’ which we thank Hashem for life itself: for the human body, the physical world, the land we stand on and eyes we can see with. And all of these prayers are meant to give us the strength to go through our day with joy!

It is not so difficult to be grateful to someone who has given you your life. No wonder the most common response to “How are you?” is Baruch Hashem — Thank G-d!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;
Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Moshe tells the people of Israel how he implored G-d to allow him to enter the land of Israel, but G-d refused, instructing him instead to ascend a mountain and see the Promised Land.

Continuing his “review of the Torah,” Moshe reminds them of the glorious seen at the Mount Sinai: ” Did ever a people hear the voice of G-d speaking out of the midst of the fire… and live? … You were shown, to know, that the L-rd is G-d… there is none else beside Him.”

Moshe predicts that, in future generations, the people will turn away from G-d, worship idols, and be exiled from their land and scattered amongst the nations; but from there they will seek G-d, and return to obey His commandments.

Our Parshah also includes a repetition of the Ten Commandments, and the first paragraph of the Shema. The Torah then tells us to bind “these words” as tefillin on our arms and heads, and inscribe them in a mezuzah and put them on the doorposts of our homes.

” Dvar Torah ”

The book of Devarim is all about Moshe’s final days of his life. So, in this week’s Parsha, as a great leader, Moshe reminds the Benei Yisrael the importance of keeping G-d’s commandments and prepares them for a life without his leadership. He tells them that the secret to their survival in the promised land is by keeping the commandments of the Torah. So not to our surprise, he relates to them the Ten Commandments once again, and reminds them how important it is to keep them. Although, the wording of the Ten Commandments said by Moshe now is almost identical to the one that they received at Mount Sinai about forty years before, but still, the commentators could find a few little changes.

One of the differences between Moshe’s version of the Ten Commandments and the original one is found in the fifth commandment which is to “Honor your parents”. The pasuk says: “Honor your father and mother, as Hashem your G-d has commanded you, so that you may live long….” The Chachamim immediately notice that Moshe has added a phrase to this commandment which is: “as Hashem your G-d has commanded you”. This phrase was not mentioned in the first version of Ten Commandments. So, what is the significance of this additional phrase?

Rabbi Frand, once again, gives an interesting explanation. He says that usually a mitzvah which sounds to be logical is much easier to keep. Honoring the parents should be common sense, since everyone knows that raising children is very costly, time consuming and needs a lot of patience, energy and dedication. Parents lose many nights of sleep and many days of work when raising a baby. Accordingly, every person also understands that he has a moral obligation to repay his debt of gratitude to his parents. Therefore, the least people can do is to honor their parents. It’s not so difficult to make a small payment on such a large debt.

But G-d forbid, what if you think that your parents didn’t do much for you when you were a child? Do you still have to honor them? I remember once, that my grandfather told me that when he was a kid back in Mashad, the majority of the Mashadies used to be poor. The parents could not afford to spend much money on their kids and the boys had to work from the early age of ten in order to support themselves and their families. But still, the children of those days had much more respect for their parents than we see today. And this is exactly what Moshe is trying to teach the Benei Israel that honoring parents should not depend on how much they’ve done for you in the past, but rather, you should honor your parents only because “Hashem your G-d has commanded you!”

Moshe waited until now to make this point, because it became more clear after living in the desert for forty years. During those years, raising children was much easier than it was ever before or after. The parents didn’t have to do much for their kids at all. They didn’t need to buy them food since there was manna from heaven. The children didn’t need new shoes or clothing since nothing ever wore out! They did not need to pay for Yeshivas or Talmud Torahs; since the Levites taught them for free! They did not need to take them on vacations or put them in summer camps, and I’m pretty sure that they didn’t need to go to orthodontist either!

Life in the desert for the parents was like a paradise since they didn’t have to do anything for their kids. But still, Moshe reminds them that the Torah demands that parents should be honored. Clearly, the obligation is to obey Hashem’s commandment rather than to repay a debt of gratitude.

Yes my friends, respecting parents should not be done because we need to repay a debt, but rather, we should do it because Hashem our G-d has commanded us to. They are the ones who have given us our lives and that’s all the reason we need to love, respect and support them for the rest of their lives. The Torah is teaching us that the parents are not obligated to have done anything for us to earn their respect. We have to respect them no matter what! And to help us to do this great mitzvah, the Torah is even telling us the reward for it: “so that you may live longer”! Therefore, honoring parents is the best life insurance policy you can buy for yourselves!

Remember that we shouldn’t do G-d’s commandments because it is the sensible thing to do, but rather, we should do them just because Hashem our G-d has told us to. If we start rationalizing each commandment, then the ones which don’t make sense to us, we would not keep! If we believe that Hashem is a superpower and He has a greater understanding than us, then we should keep ALL of his commandments regardless of them making sense or not. And that’s what Moshe was trying to teach the Benei Yisrael in the last few days of his life.

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah on Tisha B’Av;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Moshe begins his revision of the Torah to the assembled Children of Israel, reviewing the events that occurred in the course of their 40-year journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, rebuking the people for their failures and sins, and encouraging them to keep the Torah and observe its commandments in the land that G-d is giving them as an eternal heritage, into which they shall cross after his death.

Moshe recalls his appointing of judges and magistrates to ease his burden of judging people; the sending of the Spies and the people’s subsequent rejection of the Promised Land, so that G-d decreed that the entire generation of the Exodus shall die out in the desert. “Also against me,” says Moshe, “was G-d angry for your sakes, saying: You, too, shall not go in there.”

And at the end of the parsha, Moshe gives assurance to his successor, Joshua, who will take the people into the Land and lead them in the battles for its conquest: “Fear them not, for the L-rd your G-d, He shall fight for you.”

” Dvar Torah ”

“Mourning”, is a period of time that a person grieves for the death of a loved one. Mourning can be a very difficult and devastating period of time. A loss of life can be very painful, since it creates a vacuum in a person’s life which is very hard to fill. So, how can a mourner be comforted in these difficult times? How can he cope with the pain? Will he ever find comfort and solace?!

Well, our sages tell us that in order to receive comfort and feel relief from the pain of mourning, G-d has blessed us with a sense of “forgetfulness”. As the time passes by, and as much as we try not to, we start to forget about the deceased. And as we tend to forget, slowly, slowly, the pain starts to go away and we begin to get a feeling of comfort. If G-d forbid, the human mind didn’t have the power to forget, then the mourning period will never come to an end and the people will continue to mourn for the death of a loved one till the end of their lives. Although, memory is one of the great functions of the mind, but on the other hand, the loss of memory, or forgetfulness, is also a great blessing that Hashem has bestowed upon!

From the beginning of the month of Av till the end of Tisha B’Av (9th of Av) is also a period of mourning. We are mourning for the destruction of our two Batei Hamikdash (Temples) which were destroyed almost 2000 years ago. We are not simply grieving over a magnificent building which was destroyed a long time ago, nor are we crying over the Temple’s physical structure which was burned, but rather, we are crying over the loss of our connection to G-d which we still miss to this very day. By losing the Beit Hamikdash, the Shechina (G-d’s presence) seems to have left from our midst. We can no longer witness open miracles; we can no longer bring sacrifices for Hashem on daily basis and we cannot perform the Yom Kippur services in the holy of the holies. To this day, many people still cry heavily and mourn on Tisha B’Av because of the loss of our connection to the G-d Almighty.

But the question that you may ask yourself is why can’t we get comforted after so many years? Why doesn’t the formula of forgetfulness work in the case of Tisha B’Av? Why do the tears still come out of our eyes? Why doesn’t the pain go away? Surely 2000 years should be enough to forget!! Why should the Tisha B’Av mourning be any different to the mourning for a loved one?? After all, we tend to forget a loss of life after a few years, but it seems that we can not find comfort for the loss of our connection to G-d after 2000 years?!

Once again, Rabbi Frand gives the following explanation which really touched my heart. He says that we start to forget about the deceased, and feel less of the pain, only after the person is actually dead. But if the person is only missing and he is still alive, then the formula of forgetfulness does not work. Yaakov Avinu continued to mourn for his son Yosef, for a full 22 years and couldn’t find comfort– because Yosef was not dead; he was still alive! Accordingly, if we still feel the pain, if we still express the sorrow over the loss of Shechina, then it surely means that our connection to G-d is not dead. It is still alive! We just don’t see it, but the connection is still there! Although, the Shechina is not among us anymore, but we are confident  that Hashem would never abandon us and he would still protect us from the far. And this is why we still can not find comfort after 2000 years!

On the day of Tisha B’Av, “Tachanun” is not recited because the day has elements of joy to it. Although, Tisha B’Av is the saddest day marked on the jewish calendar, but it’s also the ultimate day of “hope”! Because we strongly believe that Mashiach is going to come soon and build the third Beit Hamikdash and the Shechina is going to come back and live among us once again. Even though, we might not have the “zechut” to see the Beit Hamikdash rebuilt in our times, but we are confident that our children, our grandchildren or great grandchildren will have the merit to see the glorious Temple build once again. And because of these happy thoughts, we don’t say Tachanun on this day.

Indeed, Tisha B’Av will be a day of festival and celebration one day and the whole world will know that our G-d is the only true G-d and we are his chosen people. We will all go back to the land of Israel and we will be respected by all of the nations around the world. In our mind, we have no doubt that the Beit Hamikdash will be built again. The question is not “if” we’ll ever have a Temple again, but it’s only a matter of time, “when”?!

May we see the coming of Mashiach very time soon, and hope that next year we will be dancing and celebrating on Tisha B’Av, instead of fasting and crying!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

” Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parshiot summary, followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parshiot in a Nutshell ”

Moshe teaches the rules and restrictions governing oaths and vows especially the role of a husband or father in either upholding or annulling a vow of a woman.

Benei Israel wage war against Midian. They kill the five Midianite kings, all the males and Bilaam. Moshe is upset that women were taken captive since they were the reason for the immoral behavior of the Jewish People. He rebukes the officers. The commanding officers report to Moshe that there was not even one casualty among Benei Israel.

The tribes of Reuben and Gad (later joined by half of the tribe of Menasseh) ask for the lands east of the Jordan as their portion in the Promised Land, these being prime pastureland for their cattle. Moshe is initially angered by the request, but subsequently agrees on the condition that they first join, and lead, in Israel’s conquest of the lands west of the Jordan.

In Parsha Masei, The Torah names all 42 encampments of Bnei Israel on their 40-year journey from the Exodus until the crossing of the Jordan River into Eretz Israel.

G-d commands Bnei Israel to drive out the Canaanites from Eretz Israel and to demolish every trace of their idolatry.

The boundaries of the Land of Israel are defined, and the tribes are commanded to set aside 48 cities for the levi’im, who do not receive a regular portion in the division of the Land.

Cities of refuge are to be established: Someone who murders unintentionally may flee there.

The daughters of Tzelofchad marry members of their tribe so that their inheritance will stay in their own tribe.

” Dvar Torah ”

In Parshat Matot, the Torah talks about the time that the Benei Yisrael reached the borders of Israel and were granted entry. But the task was not so easy, since the land was occupied by other nations. So, in order to conquer the land, they had to wage a war against the occupiers.

The Torah then tells us that the Benei Yisrael were just on the east side of Jordan River and were about to go into combat with the occupying nations. But suddenly, something strange happened. The representatives of the tribes of Gad and Reuven approached Moshe with a very seemingly shameful request. “We don’t want to enter Israel,” they exclaimed. “The land here is very suited for our cattle, and it would be quite beneficial if we were to remain here”. Moshe, shocked by their request, immediately starts his rebuke by recalling the calamity of the ten spies who successfully discouraged an entire nation from entering Israel. “Do you remember what happened 40 years ago? Do you want to, once again, demoralize your brothers and sisters as did the spies? Do you remember that your parents and an entire generation perished in the desert because of that sin? And now,” he concluded, “you have risen in place of your fathers to rekindle the burning wrath of G-d?” The representatives, sat quietly through the denunciation and then spoke. “No, Moshe,” they exclaimed. “It was never our intention just to remain here. We’ll build stables for our livestock and homes for our children. Then we will join our brethren in the fight for Israel. We will go in the front lines! Only after all is conquered will we return home and settle.” Moshe, who was calmed by the quick and obviously well prepared response, reviewed their request. “OK,” he countered, “you shall arm yourself for battle, cross the Jordan and fight with your brothers until Hashem drives out the enemy. Once the Land is conquered and settled, you can come back here and this land will be a heritage for you”. Then, he asks them to do what they asked for in the beginning. “Build cities for your children and pens for your livestock, and you shall observe the words that left your mouth.”

The Chachamim immediately took notice of the obvious change of words by Moshe. The Gadites and the Reubenites ask to built pens for their cattle first, and then built shelters for their children; while Moshe tells them to build shelters for their children and then worry about their livestock. Rashi explains that Moshe did so intentionally. Moshe wanted to teach them that children are more important than their possessions. Moshe sensed that their first priority was their money and property. The first thing that came out of their mouths was “let us build barns for our cattle!” The children were an afterthought. He promptly corrected them: “First take care of your children, and then worry about your cattle.”

Accordingly, many Chachamim criticize the request made by children of Gad and Reuben. Not because they wanted a land outside Israel, but because they were worried too much about their wealth! Their fortune meant everything to them! It was even more dear to them than their children! And that’s what bothered Moshe that he felt the urge to correct them.

Rashi explains that the whole conquest of Eretz Israel took more than 14 years and by the time the men of tribe of Gad and Reuven came back to their families on the other side of Jordan River, their toddlers and children became teenagers and young adults. The children hardly knew their fathers, and the fathers hardly knew their children! They missed the sweetest time of their children’s childhood, only because they were worried about their fortune!

Yes my friends, how easy is it for us to criticize our ancestors, but are we any different ourselves? When we put in so many hours in developing a business, on advancing professionally or establishing a practice, and our children get the short end of the stick, do we see ourselves making the same mistake as did the Gadites and the Reubenites? Unfortunately, a lot of times we make sacrifices for earning our livelihood that sometimes our children get lost in the shuffle. Sometimes we get so much involve in our businesses that we forget why we are working so hard for. To make more money becomes a priority and our family becomes a secondary. We lose focus. We start to gain a lot of capital and our fortune becomes more dear to us than our children.

But you may argue that you are spending so much time working, in order to provide a comfortable life for your wife and children. What’s wrong with that? Well, there is nothing wrong with that, but you have to remember that nothing can replace the “time” that you can spend with your kids; not an XBOX, not an iphone or an ipad! Children need our attention and our guidance. Remember that we need to be with them as much as they need to be with us! The reason that we work so hard is because of our children! Let us not lose focus! Let us not miss the sweet time of their childhood, and let us not repeat the same mistake as the Gadites and the Reubenites!

Rabbi Frand explains that the desire for money is greater than any other material drive, since it is the only one that is insatiable. There is a limit to how much a person can eat, to how many times he can commit adultery, but there is no limit to how much money he can accumulate. The quest for wealth can become more obsessive than any other quest. And all too often, the children have to pay the price!

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah:

” Parsha in a nutshell ”

Balak, the King of Moab, summons the prophet Bilaam to curse the people of Israel. On the way, Bilaam is seemed to be betrayed by his donkey, who sees the angel that G-d sends to block their way before Bilaam does.

Three times, from three different vantage points, Bilaam attempts to pronounce his curses; each time, blessings are issue instead. Bilaam also prophecies on the end of the days.

The people fall prey to the charms of the daughters of Moav and are enticed to worship the idol Peor. When a high-ranking Israelite official publicly takes a Midianite princess into a tent, Pinchas kills them both, stopping the plague raging among the people.

” Dvar Torah ”

We are all fascinated by talking animals. Although we know that in reality it would never happen, but we still love to watch it in the movies and cartoons. Best selling animation movies have been made out of talking horses, elephants, ducks and mice. We find it amusing and relaxing. But in this week’s Parsha, we learn about a talking animal that is no joke. The Torah tells us about a talking animal that brought no laughter to its rider!

Balak the king of Moav, after seeing the devastating defeat of the Amorite kings against Benei Israel, he realized that Moav would not stand a chance confronting them military. Therefore, he decided to use a secret weapon; to curse the Benei Israel rather than to fight them. So he hired Bilaam, the greatest prophet that the gentile world had ever seen, for this important mission: to curse the Jews. Bilaam’s fake reluctance at the beginning, was quickly turned into excitement when offers of honors and great wealth were added to his rewards. So, first thing in the morning, he saddled his trusted donkey and was on his way. He planned to travel to an overlook, where he would cast his spell on the Jewish Nation as they camped innocently beneath the wicked gaze of King Balak.

But along the way, a miracle happens. As Bilaam’s donkey ambled toward a narrow passage, it saw a frightening sight. An angel with a sword, blocked its path. The beast turned off the road to the side, and Bilaam struck the animal to get it back on the road. But again the angel stood in the passageway and the poor donkey, in fear, squeezed tightly against a stone wall, pressing Bilaam’s leg against the wall. The great prophet, who was proudly riding his donkey, did not see the angelic figure and reacted violently. Again he hit his donkey; this time harder . But the angel did not retreat. He began approaching the donkey and its rider. Suddenly the donkey crouched in panic, and Bilaam struck it again. But this time the donkey did not act like a mule. She spoke up. Miraculously, Hashem opened her mouth, and she asked Bilaam, “why did you hit me these three times? Aren’t I the same animal that you have ridden your entire life? Should not my strange behavior give cause for concern?”

When the angel, sword in hand, finally revealed himself to Bilaam, he was shocked and embarrassed for striking the innocent animal. He was left speechless, with only one thing to say: “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing opposite me on the road. And if you want, I shall return”.

What is disturbing is Bilaam’s immediate admission of sin. If he could not see the angel why did he admit guilt? Many riders would hit a donkey that presses their foot against the wall! Bilaam should have simply stated to the angel, “I did not know you were there and thought my beast was acting in a manner that required discipline.” Why the apology? If he truly did not know that the angel was there, why did he admit to sinning?

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetsky has an interesting way to explain the Torah by telling a story: On one of the final days of the Six Day War the Israeli troops pierced through enemy fortifications and forged their way through the ancient passageways of Jerusalem. They had reached the Kotel HaMaravi, the Western Wall, the holiest place in Judaism, the site of both the First and Second Temples. The young men, some of whom had yeshiva education, others who came from traditional backgrounds, stood in awe and began to cry in unison. The Kotel had been liberated! One young soldier, who grew up on a totally secular kibbutz in the northern portion of the state gazed at the sight of his comrades crying like children as they stared up at the ancient stones. Suddenly, he, too began to wail. One of the religious soldiers, who had engaged in countless debates with him, put his arm around him and asked, “I don’t understand. To us the Kotel means so much. It is our only link to Hashem, to his Temple and the holy services.This is the most moving experience of our lives. But why are you crying?”

The young soldier looked at his friend, and amidst the tears simply stated, “I am crying because I didn’t feel the urge to cry!”

Bilaam, the greatest of gentile prophets, realized that something must be wrong. A simple donkey saw the revelation of an angel, and he did not! He realized that there are experiences he should have been able to grasp and appreciate. If he didn’t, it was not a donkey’s fault. It was not an angel’s fault. It was his fault. He realized then and there that it was he who was lacking. Although, Hashem sent the angel to block the donkey, but it was actually him who Hashem wanted to stop! Bilaam had sinned, because his greed for fortune and honor had blinded him to see the will of G-d!

Yes my friends, when we are faced with tragedies in life, we should see the Divine hand in it. When we are faced with difficulties in the path that we are going, we should stop and think what are we doing wrong?! Maybe Hashem is not happy with what we are doing?! Only when we realize what we are doing is wrong, only then, the vision of an angel standing in front of us will appear! Remember, that G-d doesn’t want to hurt us, and if we are faced with a tragedy, it’s only because Hashem wants to put us back on the right track!

Keep in mind that Hashem is watching over us the whole time. May we see the hand of G-d in the good times in our lives and not just in the time of tragedy!

Shabbat Shalom, Happy 4th of July & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Korach, Datan and Aviram, and 250 leaders of Israel rebel against the authority of Moshe and Aharon. The rebellion results in their being swallowed by the earth. Many resent their death and blame Moshe. G-d’s “anger” is manifest by a plague that besets the nation, and many thousands died. Moshe intercedes once again for the people. He instructs Aharon to atone for them and the plague stops. Then G-d commands that staffs of all the tribes, be placed in the Mishkan. In the morning the staff of Levi, bearing Aharon’s name, sprouts, buds, blossoms and yields ripe almonds which proves that Levi’s tribe is chosen for priesthood and verifies Aharon’s position as the High Priest.

The specific duties of the levi’im and kohanim are stated. The kohanim were not to be landowners, but were to receive their sustenance from the tithes and other mandated gifts brought by the people to the Mishkan.

” Dvar Torah ”

Humility! Oxford dictionary defines it as having a feeling of insignificant, inferiority, low in rank and not “proud”. It denounces superiority and promotes equality. In every society, humility is respected as one of the greatest characteristic anyone could possess. The beauty of this characteristic is that you should not be able to see it in yourself, but rather, it should be seen in you by others. It’s a characteristic that you can not claim; it’s a characteristic that you have to earn!

In this week’s parsha, however, we see a different definition of humility. The story starts with Korach gathering two hundred and fifty men, all of them leaders of tribes, men of renown and G-d fearing people, and they came and challenged Moshe and Aaron’s authority in front of the whole congregation. And they said to Moshe and Aaron: ” It is too much for you! For the entire assembly, ALL of them are holy and Hashem is among them. Why do you elevate yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?”

At first Moshe tried to reason with them but was unable to succeed. So, he decided to have a contest for the leadership. Moshe said to Korach, ” tomorrow, let each man take his fire-pan and you shall place incense on them and you shall bring your fire-pans before Hashem, 250 fire-pans, and yours and Aaron’s. ” And G-d shall decide who is the chosen one!

But just before the contest, the Torah relates to us something very peculiar. It says that ” Moshe was exceedingly distressed, and he said to the L-rd, “Do not accept the offering [of Korach and his cohorts]. I have not taken a donkey from a single one of them, and I have not harmed a single one of them.” And eventually Moshe prayed for their destruction in such a terrified way that the ground opened its mouth and they all got buried alive!

Wow, very harsh words from Moshe! The Torah claims that Moshe was the most humble man on the face of the earth. These are not the words you expect from the most humble person! A humble person should not be offended when criticized or challenged for leadership in this matter! One would have expected Moshe to turn to G-d and say, “Almighty, perhaps You should consider allowing Korach to assume my position—he is far more qualified than me! I am more than happy to give up my position to the worthier candidate!” This is what you expect from the most humble man to say and not to pray for the destruction of the opponent! So how do you explain Moshe’s dis-humble reaction here? Is Moshe truly a humble person or not?!

Rabbi Berel Wein gives the following interesting explanation to this question. He says, in Judaism, true humility is not a result of an undervaluation of one’s talents and accomplishments. Such is a false humility, for it is built on a false foundation. Rather, the truly humble individual is keenly aware of all his strengths and qualities—but simultaneously recognizes that all these talents are G-d-given, and therefore do not constitute a reason to feel superior to another whom G-d has not bestowed such talents. “Perhaps,” the humble person thinks, “if the other person had been blessed with the same gifts, he would have accomplished the same as me—if not more!”

Moshe recognized that G-d had blessed him with tremendous leadership qualities, and he therefore absolutely rejected the notion of giving up his position to anyone, since that would disrespect G-d’s decision. What really upset Moshe was not Korach’s challenge for his leadership, but rather, it was Korach’s inability to see that it was G-d who had chosen Moshe and has given him the leadership qualities. So, he felt that Korach’s argument was not against him, but against G-d Himself. And that’s what ticked him off. Moshe could have tolerated someone disrespecting him, but he could have never tolerated someone disrespecting G-d!! And that is a true sign of humility; acknowledging G-d and standing up for G-d!

Korach’s mistake was, he failed to see that Moshe never elevated himself above others, he just did what Hashem commanded him to do. In Judaism, a leader does not stand above the people. He serves the people, and he serves G-d, and that’s what Moshe did at its best!!

Yes my friends, humility is one of the greatest characteristic anyone can possess, but humility does not mean to lower your self-esteem. Whenever you are blessed with some qualities, whether it is beauty, intelligence, leadership quality or any other talents, there is no need to deny your talents, but you should always remember that it is G-d who has given you such qualities. This way you would never feel proud of yourself and brag about it to others, since you know that if Hashem would had given these qualities to others, they would be as good as you, or even better!

So remember my friends that the true definition of a humble person is someone who does not honor himself, but rather, he has respect and honor for others and above all, for the G-d Almighty himself. Those who are humble do not elevate themselves above others…….. they elevate others to be above them!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Moshe sends twelve spies to explore the Land of Canaan. Forty days later they return, carrying a huge cluster of grapes, a pomegranate and a fig, to report on the land of Israel. But ten of the spies warn that the inhabitants of the land are giants and warriors “more powerful than we”; only Caleb and Yehoshua insist that the land can be conquered, as G-d has commanded.

The people weep that they’d rather return to Egypt. G-d decrees that Israel’s entry into the Land shall be delayed forty years, during which time that entire generation will die out in the desert. A group of remorseful Jews storm the mountain on the border of Land and are defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites.

A man violates the Shabbat by gathering sticks and is put to death. G-d instructs to place fringes (tzitzit) on the four corners of our garments so that we should remember to fulfill the mitzvot of Hashem.

” Dvar Torah ”

Do you know what is the similarity and the difference between a tourist and an inspector? They both explore their surroundings, however, a tourist explores his surroundings to capture the beauty, while an inspector explores his surroundings to look for faults!

In this week’s Parsha, we read about the tragic story of the spies. An entire generation of the Jewish People perished as the result of the incident of the spies. The Torah says that right before entering the land of Israel, the people asked Moshe to send out agents to investigate about the land. So, Moshe sent out twelve spies one from each tribe, all of them Princes, men of renown, G-d fearing people and physically strong. Their mission was, to see the Land — how is it? And the people that dwells in it — are they strong or weak? Are they few or numerous? And how is the Land in which they dwell in it — is it good or is it bad? And how are the cities in which it dwells — are they open or are they fortified? And how is the land — is it fertile or is it lean? ……. and so on!

After forty days, the spies returned and ten out of twelve spies, unfortunately, brought an evil report. They said that ” we have no chance in concurring the land. The people that we saw in it were huge! We were like grasshoppers in their eyes. The land that we passed through, inhale its inhabitants “! And the people accepted the spies’ report and they wept that night. And they said to one another, ” let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt! ” And Hashem got angry at the spies and at the people. All the spies who brought the evil report died in a plague, and all the people who wept that night had to wander in the desert for forty years and die in the desert. Only their children were allowed to enter the land in the future.

The question that comes to mind is quite simple.  Why were the Benei Yisrael punished so harshly? We can understand why the spies were punished, but the whole generation to die in the desert and not be able to enter the promised Land, just because they panicked, is hard to digest. Surely if all the 12 spies would have brought back a positive report, the people would have never asked to return to Egypt. The spies caused panic amongst the people and that’s why they cried that night! It was the spies’s fault — not the people’s! So why was Hashem so angry at the people? The people just believed their ears. Is that something very wrong?!

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky gives a very interesting explanation to this question. He says that it was the people who wanted the land to be checked out……. it was not Moshe, nor the scouts! They demanded a thorough inspection! They wanted chapter and verse and an in-depth survey: Can we conquer the land? Can we defeat the enemy? How big are the people who dwell in it? Is the land fertile or barren? How closed are their cities? The spies’ mission was doomed to fail from the start since the nation didn’t want the spies to be mere day-trippers returning with a few souvenirs and some happy memories. They wanted them to act as inspectors and look for faults which they did find them quite alright! But the inspection wasn’t necessary since G-d had already promised them that the land is very good and He will conquer it for them. The whole nation showed lack of faith in G-d even before the spies entered the land and that’s why Hashem was so angry at them. And because they didn’t believe in G-d, they found themselves on the longest journey in history — forty years, each year corresponding to the forty-day trip of the spies. In principle, G-d was not opposed to the spies entering the Land, as we see forty years later that Yehoshua also sends spies before conquering the land. However, the mission of Yehoshua’s spies were no more than a “tourism” trip, sufficient to breathe the holy air of the Land, absorb its sanctity, and return refreshed and inspire the people. But unfortunately, this was not the case for Moshe’s spies………… their mission was to look for faults!!!

Yes my friends, you can also go through life as a tourist or as an inspector! The choice is yours! You can either explore and appreciate all the beauties surrounding you and be thankful to Hashem for all the blessings that He has bestowed upon you, or you can just look for faults and be dissatisfied with your life! The episode of the spies teaches us never to lose faith in Hashem. Hashem has promised never to abandon his children, and if we are faced with difficulties, we should never give up hope! Hashem will always protect us and will never punish us, if we have faith in Him and if we follow his commandments. Remember that our G-d is a compassionate G-d, who is slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth. He believe in us and all he expect from us is to believe in him too!!

So my friends, live your life as a tourist and enjoy your life. Capture the beautiful moments with your friends and family. Just don’t forget to include Hashem in your fun life too. He wants to be with you too…….

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Aaron is commanded to raise light in the lamps of the menorah, and the tribe of Levi is initiated into the service in the Sanctuary.

A “Second Passover” is instituted in response to the petition “Why should we be deprived?” by a group of Jews who were unable to bring the Passover offering in its appointed time because they were ritually impure. G-d instructs Moshe on the procedures for Israel’s journeys and encampments in the desert.

The people are dissatisfied with their “Heavenly Bread” (the manna) and demand that Moses supply them with meat. Moshe appoints 70 elders, by divine order, to assist him in the burden of governing the people.

Miriam speaks negatively of Moshe and is punished with “Tzaraat”; Moshe prays for her healing with the famous expression: “El Na Refa Na Lah”, which means:”Please G-d, heal her now.” The entire community waits seven days for her recovery.

“ Dvar Torah “

Moses! The greatest prophet of all times. The man who performed miracles left and right, who was the voice of the Divine word, who was not afraid to confront Pharaoh nor his own people, the man who shattered the tablets engraved by G-d himself and who challenged Him to forgive His people, “and if not, remove me from the book You have written”! The man who led a nation known as “stiff-necked people” for more than 40 years. Moses was a figure of strength, yet compassionate at the same time.

But in this week’s Parsha, we see a different picture of Moses. A man who does not have the strength to carry on and wants to give up. This is how the story goes: The people are complaining again about the food. They have manna but no meat. They falsely fantasize about: “How we remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt for free! And the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic!” This was one act of complaint too many for Moses which broke him down. He in turn says to G-d:  “Why did You bring all this trouble to your servant? Why haven’t I found favor in your eyes, that You are placing the burden of this entire people on me!  Did I conceive this people or give birth to them, that You tell me to carry them in my lap the way a nurse carries a baby… I cannot carry this whole nation! The burden is too heavy for me!  If this is how you are going to treat me, please kill me now, if I have found favor in your eyes, because I cannot bear seeing all this misery!”

Wow, what happened to Moses? The same man who wanted to give up his life for the sake of his nation, now he wants to give up his life because he can’t stand his nation! It’s not the first time that the Benei Israel complained and it won’t be the last. So why is Moses so upset? What made him break down?!

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks gives the following interesting interpretation. He says that Moses greatest characteristic was his humbleness. That’s what made him the great prophet that he was. But in this week’s episode, we see Moses losing this great characteristic, even though, it was just for a short period of time. Listen again to what he says: “Why have you brought all this trouble upon ME? … Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? … Where can I get meat for all these people? … I cannot carry all these people by MYSELF; the burden is too heavy for ME.” In every sentence he used, you find the words “I,” “me” or “myself.” He sees the Israelites’ behaviour as a challenge to himself, not G-d. Moses lost his temper, because he started to think about himself; something which opposes humility!  Rabbi Sacks says that humility is not thinking less of yourself; It is thinking of yourself less. True humility means silencing the “I.” For genuinely humble people, it is G-d, and other people and principle that matter, not me. This was Moses trademark up to now — not to think about himself, but unfortunately, he lost it for a while!

But it was only for a short while. He regains his humble character after Hashem shares his spirit with seventy elders to help him out, which brings an end to his depression. Towards the end of the Parsha we see a fine demonstration of Moses humbleness. Moses’ own brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, started slandering about him. The cause of their complaint was the “Kushit” woman he had taken as wife which is beyond the topic of our discussion. The point, though, is that  Moses was betrayed, or at least slandered, by those closest to him. Yet Moses is unaffected and is undisturbed by the complaint of his own brother and sister, praying to G-d on Miriam’s behalf when she is punished with leprosy. It is here that the Torah makes its great statement: “Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than any other man on the face of the earth”. He had recovered his humility.

Yes my friends, humility is one of the greatest characteristics anyone can possess. It makes you realize that life is not just about you, but it’s about others too. It helps you to be more caring. It makes you to be calm and not get angry. It is also the greatest single source of strength, for if we do not think about the “I,” we cannot be injured by those who criticise us.

It’s amazing how different we are with the other nations. Other nations’ leaders are proud, magnificent, distinguished by their dress and appearance. They built temples in their own honor. Their role is not to serve but to be served. Everyone else is expected to be humble, but not they. Humility and majesty do not coexist in their cultures. But our greatest leader was the most humble person on the face of the earth! Moses title was not king, lord or your majesty, but rather, he was called “eved Hashem”, G-d’s servant! And this is the beauty of our religion……

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parashat summary followed by a Dvar Torah on Shavuot;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Parshat Bamidbar, is primarily involved with the census taken of the Jewish people in the second month of their second year in the desert. After listing the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel, the Torah presents the totals of men between the ages of twenty and sixty for each tribe, the overall count being 603,550. The encampment structure is then described, with the tribe of Levi in the middle, safeguarding the Tabernacle and surrounded by the twelve tribes of Israel, each in their own designated area. The appointment of the tribe of Levi as the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people is presented, and their own census is taken, apart from the rest of Israel.

The Parsha concludes with the instructions given to the family of Kehat, the second son of Levi, for their role in dealing with the most sacred parts of the Mishkan.

“ Dvar Torah “

Out of all the three Pilgrimage festivals (Shalosh Regalim) marked on the Jewish calendar, Chag Hashavuot seems to be the least exciting one of them all. It lacks in fun activities, when compared to other two Festivals, Pessach and Sukkot. There are no huts to build, no family gathering for the seders, no endless glasses of wine and above all, no “dayeynu”! Instead, we get an all night study session, which is a challenge for most of us to stay up and learn, and a dairy meal – not very enticing in this age of lactose intolerance and weight watching.

But on the other hand, the theme for Shavuot seems to be the most important one of them all. On Pesach, we celebrate our liberation and on Sukkot, we commemorate our

forty years of living in the desert under G-d’s protection. However on Shavuot, we celebrate the receiving of the Torah which should be the most important one of them all, since it was only then when we saw G-d’s revelation and we officially became his Chosen People. So, when it comes to celebrate Shavuot, not only it should not lack in activities, but on the contrary, it should be the most exciting festival on the Jewish calendar!

So, to make up for the lack of fun on Shavuot, it’s customary to read the book of Ruth which is my favorite books in the entire Tanach! In short, the story of Ruth which should touch everyone’s heart is as follows:

The book of Ruth opens with the account of the migration of a wealthy man named Elimelech, along with his wife Naomi and their two sons, from the land of Israel to the immoral society of Moav. Elimelech was leaving the Holy Land to escape the pressures of the poverty-stricken Jewish people who were constantly asking him for handouts. Soon after their arrival, Elimelech dies and the two sons marry royal Moavite princesses — one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. After a short period time, the two sons also died. Having lost both her husband and her sons, the righteous Naomi decides to return to her homeland and bids farewell to her daughters-in-law. Orpah, at first refusing to abandon her mother-in-law, decides to stay in Moav. Ruth, on the other hand, cleaves to her faith and ascends to Israel with Naomi, willing to encounter the harsh poverty which awaited them, stating the famous quote to her mother-in-law, “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people are my people, and your G-d is my G-d; where you die, I will die and be buried”.

Poor and hungry, Ruth gathers bundles of wheat that have been dropped by the reapers in the vast fields of Boaz, a prominent Jewish judge who was also a relative of Naomi’s late husband, and feeds her mother in law. Eventually, Boaz takes notice of Ruth’s righteousness and asks her for her hand in marriage. Their great-grandson is King David, which was one of the greatest kings Israel ever had.

So, you may ask yourself, what is the connection between the Book of Ruth and Shavuot? Well, a few different answers are given. One is that Shavuot is also known as the Harvest Festival. The book of Ruth gives us a picture of the harvest, and how the poor was treated in the harvest season with sympathy and love. Another reason is that Ruth was the ancestor of King David who was born and passed away on Shavuot. But the ultimate connection is found in Ruth’s famous quote to Naomi, ” Your people are my people, and your G-d is my G-d “. Ruth who was just a convert, was willing to follow her mother-in-law’s uncertain destiny just because of her strong faith in Hashem. So too, when the Benei Israel were in the desert, uncertain of their future and destiny, accepted the Torah on Shavuot, wholeheartedly, and proved that they do truly believe in G-d. They too said the famous quote “Naasei Ve Nishma”, we shall observe and then we shall listen!

Yes my friends, the Festival of Shavuot and the book of Ruth carry the same message with them. They both teach us to have faith in Hashem and never give up hope. On Shavuot, we remind ourselves about our commitments to Hashem and our everlasting love for him, just like the commitments of a bride and a groom under a Chupah. We also read the book of Ruth to remind us that even at the darkest point in our lives we should never give up hope. Life without hope is meaningless, and hope can only be achieved through faith. On Shavuot, we might lack in physical activities, but in spirituality we are having a blast! We should know that G-d never abandons his children and as long as we keep his commandments, his protection and his blessings will be bestowed upon us!

Shavuot is like a honeymoon in which G-d and his people, imagined as bridegroom and bride, are alone together, completing their union in love. In a love relationship, trust is the key factor to its success. G-d believes in us —— all we need to do is to have faith in him too!

Shabbat Shalom & Chag Sameach;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parashiot summaries, followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parashiot in a Nutshell ”

On the Mount Sinai, G-d tells Moshe the laws of the sabbatical year: every seventh year, all work on the land should cease, and its produce becomes free for the taking for all, man and beast.

Seven sabbatical cycles are followed by a fiftieth year — the jubilee year, on which work on the land ceases, all servants are set free, and all ancestral estates in the Holy Land that have been sold revert to their original owners. Additional laws governing the sale of lands and the prohibitions against fraud and lending money for interest are also given.

G-d promises that if the people of Israel will keep His commandments, they will enjoy material prosperity and dwell secure in their homeland. But He also delivers a harsh “rebuke” warning of the exile, persecution and other evils that will befall them if they abandon their covenant with Him. Nevertheless, “Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away; nor will I ever destroy them and to break My covenant with them; for I am the L-rd their G-d.”

The Parshah concludes with the rules on how to calculate the value of different types of pledges made to G-d.

“ Dvar Torah “

In the first two Parashiot that we read this week, Behar, the main topic of discussion is about the laws of “Shemitah”- the Sabbatical year for the land of Israel. All agricultural work in the Land of Israel must come to a stop during every seventh year cycle. The laws of Shemitah requires the land to be at complete rest for the entire seventh year. It means that on the seventh year there should not be any planting of seeds, plowing, pruning or harvesting. Additionally, any fruits which grow of their own accord are deemed ownerless and may be picked by anyone.

If you really think about it, this is a very difficult mitzvah to observe, especially in the old days, when the majority of the people were either farmers or shepherds. Not only you were unable to plant in order to feed your own family, but cutting off your livelihood completely for an entire year, can be very worrisome and challenging.

However, Hashem gives his assurance for those who keep the laws of Shemitah. The Torah says: ” The land will give its fruit [in the preceding years] and you will be satisfied; you will dwell securely upon it”. After such a powerful promise, the Torah then brings up a hypothetical question raised by the people, namely, “What will we eat in the seventh year — behold! we will not sow and we will not gather our crops!”. And then Hashem reassures the people by saying: ” I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year and [the land] will yield a crop sufficient for three-year period “. This means that the sixth year will give sufficient crops until the end of the eight year, since anything planted in the eight year, will only produce its crops in the ninth year.

Although, it’s great to have such a guarantee by the G-d Almighty himself, but the Chachamim are bothered by the way the assurance is given. After the Torah tells them that ” The land will give its fruit and you will be satisfied”, why should there be a doubt in people’s mind to ask ” What will we eat in the seventh year?” Why does Hashem need to promise again that the sixth year will produce three times a regular year?? Shouldn’t the first assurance be sufficient??

Rabbi Yissachar Frand gives the following beautiful explanation to the above question. In order to answer the question, first we need to see why did Hashem give us the mitzvah of “Shemitah”. He says, the reason that Hashem has given us this mitzvah is not because the land needs to rest. Land does not need to rest! This is apparent from observing the lands outside Israel. The non-Jews work their fields year after year after year, without a break, and they still produce good quality crops and fruits! Do you think that the vineyards in California or France produce less quality grapes than the ones in Israel? Accordingly, Rabbi Frand says that the whole purpose of Shemitah is for the farmers to take a break from their routine lives and come to realize that it’s not because of their hard labor that the land produces so much crops, but rather, it’s because of G-d’s will. Hashem can still feed the farmer even if he doesn’t do any work! The seventh year is the time for the farmers to take their minds out of the physical world and engage themselves in spirituality. It’s the time to remind themselves that their livelihood comes from the Heaven above, and not from the strength of their arms, nor from the intelligence of their brain!

Accordingly, Rabbi Frand concludes that the mitzvah of Shemitah is a test! It’s a test of faith! Those who are true believers are satisfied with Hashem’s first assurance; that ” the land will produce its fruit and you will be satisfied “. They fully trust in Hashem that he will provide, and they are satisfied with whatever Hashem provides for them! But those who lack in faith, they want to see a physical miracle. That’s why Hashem gives a second assurance for those people, that ” in the sixth year you will yield three times the regular crops! Since these people don’t have a strong faith, Hashem doesn’t want them to enter the seventh year being worried! He shows them the miracle beforehand! Hashem can tolerate people who lack in faith, since even these people are blessed to get crops for the seventh year. But G-d forbid, for those non-believers who don’t keep the Shemitah laws at all, the Torah says that they will eventually be thrown out of their lands!

Yes my friends, all of our sustenance comes from the Heaven above. No matter how smart we are or how mighty is our physical strength, our livelihood is fully dependent on G-d’s will! And to realize that, we need to take sometime off from our routine lives and spend it with the Almighty. Although the laws of Shemitah does not apply to many of us anymore, but we still have the Shabbat. Accordingly, our sages use the same reasoning to explain Shabbat. The reason that Hashem has given us Shabbat is not because we need a day of rest, but rather, once a week we need to stop working and come to realize that whatever we’ve achieved in the previous week is not because of our hard work and our intelligence, but it’s because of Hashem’s generosity and blessings, and He’s the one who provides our livelihood! It’s a day we should spend with the Almighty, go to Shul, pray and be thankful to him!

So my friends, remember that Hashem will provide and all we need to do is to have faith in him. He’ll stand up to his task, if we’ll stand up to ours!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

This week’s Parsha begins with the special laws dedicated to the Kohanim, the Kohen Gadol (“High Priest”), and the Temple service. A Kohen may not become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, unless it’s a close relative. A Kohen may not marry a divorcee, nor a harlot; and a Kohen Gadol can only marry a virgin. A Kohen with a physical deformity cannot serve in the Holy Temple, nor can a deformed animal be brought as an offering.

A newborn calf, lamb, or kid must be left with its mother for seven days before being eligible for an offering; one may not slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day.

The Torah then discusses the festivals throughout the year: (Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret); followed by two constant mitzvot maintained in the Mishkan: the lighting of the menorah every day and the displaying of the “show-bread” every week.

The parsha concludes with the horrible incident of a man who cursed G-d’s name (blasphemy) and was subsequently punished with the death penalty at Hashem’s command.

“Dvar Torah “

In this week’s Parsha, in the middle of the detailing the Jewish Holidays of the calendar year, the Torah gives us the following commandment: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not remove completely the corners of your field as you reap and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them; I am Hashem Your G-d.” Basically, we are commanded to leave over certain parts of our harvest to the needy and the stranger in our midst. A Jew must leave a corner of his field for the poor. Likewise, if he forgets to pick up certain parts of the harvest, these too become “Gifts for the Poor”.

Rashi explains the phrase “For the poor and the strangers you shall leave them….”, means that you should leave the crops for the poor and they will pick it up themselves; you may not assist them with their gatherings.

Once again, Rashi’s explanation sounds strange to me. It needs clarification. Why can’t we help the poor with his gathering?! If we are suppose to have compassion for the poor, why not go all the way and give him a helping hand too?! I’m sure if you would take a poll whether or not it would be preferable for a field owner to help the poor people collect their gifts from his field or make them do it themselves, the overwhelming response would have been that the field owner should be a nice guy and lend a sickle or offer a helping hand to the poor who came to his field. But strangely enough, Rashi says that the Torah rules to the contrary. The commandment says: “Leave it for them.”…… Do not be a nice guy. Do not help them! The pasuk concludes with the words “I am Hashem your G-d”. Rashi says that the intent is a promise: “If you leave them alone and allow them to pick it up themselves, I am the L-rd who will give you your reward.”

Once again, Rabbi Yissachar Frand gives a beautiful explanation to the words of Rashi. When the poor person comes to the field and the owner comes to greet him and says: “Let me help you collect your stuff”, or alternatively, when the owner rushes to cut down the stalks for the poor person and hands it to him, the owner is in effect telling the poor person, “Listen here, I AM giving you a present.” But the Torah is telling us otherwise! The leftover crops are NOT gifts from the landowner. They BELONG to the poor person! If the owner participates in the collection, he is acting like the OWNER of those items. When the owner gives a gift, he expects the poor person to be grateful to him and appreciate his generosity. But the Torah says, NO! Leave it for the poor and the strangers. The Torah’s message to the land owner is: “You are not the owner of that portion of the field. The portion of the crop that falls or gets forgotten from the outset belongs to the poor!” The way to convey that is for the land owner to take no part in the distribution of these items. Let the poor collect it themselves — it is after all their property in the first place! Only when the landowner comes to realize that it’s not him who is helping the poor, but it’s Hashem our G-d, only then he’ll be qualified to be rewarded by the L-rd!

Yes my friends, when Hashem has been good to us and we’ve been blessed with extra funds to give to charity, we should not think of our charitable donations in terms of “I am giving MY money to you.” G-d made me the steward over this money. It is as if I am the trustee of a foundation. When the trustee of a foundation gives out the money, it is not his money. It belongs to the foundation. He is merely a trustee, charged with guaranteeing that the funds are distributed. Similarly, when we give out money to charity, we are not giving out the money from our own pocket — it comes from G-d’s table!

That’s why the ultimate form of charity is to give money to the poor, without him knowing where the money came from! Because the poor person should not be grateful to the donor, but to the G-d Almighty himself!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parashiot summary, followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parashiot in a Nutshell ”

G-d warns against unauthorized entry “into the holy.” Only one person, the Kohen Gadol (“high priest”), may, but once a year, on Yom Kippur, enter the innermost chamber in the Sanctuary to offer the sacred ketoret to G-d.

Another feature of the Day of Atonement service is the casting of lots over two goats to determine which should be offered to G-d and which should be dispatched to carry off the sins of Israel to the wilderness.

The Torah warns against bringing sacrifices anywhere but in the Holy Temple, forbids the consumption of blood, and details the laws prohibiting incest and other deviant sexual relations.

The Parshah of Kedoshim begins with the statement: “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy” followed by dozens of mitzvot (commandments) through which the Jew sanctifies him or herself and relates to the holiness of G-d. These include: the prohibition against idolatry, the mitzvah of charity, Shabbat, sexual morality, honesty in business, honor and awe of one’s parents, prohibition against taking revenge and holding a grudge against another Jew; and also the ultimate principle of Torah is mentioned, which is:

— Love your fellow as yourself.

” Dvar Torah ”

Parashat Kedoshim, the second Parsha of this week’s double Parashiot, begins with the words: Hashem spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them, “Kedoshim tihyu ki kadosh ani Hashem Elokeychem” — “You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy”! The question that immediately comes to mind is, what exactly does it mean to be “Holy”?! The Oxford dictionary defines holiness as being “an act of  dedication or devotion to serve G-d”! To other religions, Christianity in particular, the ultimate holiness is achieved, when you entirely dedicate your life to G-d. According to them, to achieve the highest level of sanctity, one should lock himself up in a monastery on the top of a mountain and serve G-d the entire day. One should not get married and be indulged in sexual activities. But this is not what the Torah means by being “holy”. So, what does it mean to be holy according to jewish religion?!

Well, there are many different interpretations according our sages.  Even among our early commentators there has been disagreements about the exact meaning of the phrase “You shall be holy”. Rashi, for example, interprets the mitzvah as one of self-control. He says that you can become holy if you can refrain from engaging in forbidden sins, mainly, forbidden relationships. The word “Kadosh” literally means, “separate”. Thus, the meaning of “You shall be Kedoshim” is “You shall be separated – from forbidden relationships.”

Ramban on the other hand, disagrees with Rashi, which is not so unusual. He says that “You shall be holy” is not just about having self-control over forbidden sins. Rather “to be holy” means to have self-control over activities which are permissible to you too. For example, we are allowed to eat, but to be holy, we should not be a glutton. We should put a limit on what we can eat and how much we should eat. We are allowed to drink wine, but to be holy, we need to drink to moderation. We are allowed to have relationship with our wives, but we should not do it voraciously. Holiness can be achieved by restraining oneself somewhat from even those physical pleasures that the Torah permits.

But the beauty of our religion is that, there is no definite right or wrong answer to Torah’s questions. We would just continue to read the commentaries until we find the one which sooths our heart the most. Accordingly, I came across an interpretation given by “Chatam Sofer”, one of the leading Orthodox Rabbis of European Jewry in the first half of the nineteenth century, which really touched my heart. He says that the answer to how to be holy is given in the pasuk itself. The Pasuk says: “You shall be holy, because I, Hashem your G-d, am holy”. So, in order to reach the ultimate level of holiness, we have to act like G-d. But, we don’t know much about G-d’s characteristics, except his 13 attributes of mercy mentioned in the Torah which says: “G-d is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth…” So in order to reach the highest level of holiness, we have to be compassionate towards our fellow Jew and act kindly towards him, just like Hashem is toward us! That’s why the rest of the Parsha is mainly about how to act compassionately towards your fellow Jew. It talks about how we should care and respect our parents. It talks about not to take advantage of the “blindness,” handicaps and mistakes of others. It talks about our obligation to give to the poor. It talks about not to take revenge and not to hold a grudge. And above all, to love your fellow Jew like yourself.

Yes my friends, according to Chatam Sofer, “holiness” is not measured by the level of your observance, but rather, it’s measured by the level of your compassion towards your fellow human beings! That’s why, in order to be a holy Jew, we can not isolate ourselves like the monks and live on top of a mountain. To be holy, G-d wants us to live in the midst of our people in order to show that we do care about them. In order to be holy, one must get married and one must raise children, and one must belong to a community. One must show that he cares about his family, his parents, his community and his fellow Jew. Nobody can reach the ultimate level of holiness all by himself. You can not separate yourself from the rest of your people and think you can become a very holy person. Ultimate holiness is achieved when you can show that you care about others, and you can get along with everyone else. And thats what holiness is all about: “Love, respect and compassion towards your fellow Jew….”

Unlike the gentiles, where they search for holiness by looking at the relationship between man and G-d, we find holiness by looking at the relationship between man and man. So, make sure that you have respect for everyone. You’ll never know……. anyone can be a very “holy” person!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following two Parashiot summaries followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parshiot in a Nutshell ”

The Torah commands a woman to bring a korban after the birth of a child. A son is to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life.

Tzara’at is a super-natural plague, which can afflict people as well as garments or homes. If white or pink patches appear on a person’s skin, a Kohen is summoned. Judging by various signs, such as an increase in size of the afflicted area after a seven-day quarantine, the Kohen pronounces it tameh (impure) or tahor (pure).

A person afflicted with tzaraat must dwell alone outside of the camp until he is healed. The afflicted area in a garment or home must be removed; if the tzara’at re occurs, the entire garment or home must be destroyed.

The Torah describes the purification procedure for a person afflicted with tzara’at upon conclusion of his isolation. This process extends for a week and involves sacrifices and immersions in the mikvah. Then, a kohen must pronounce the afflicted pure.

Ritual impurity is also caused by a seminal or other discharge in a man, and menstruation or other discharge of blood in a woman, necessitating purification through immersion in a mikvah.

” Dvar Torah ”

The main topic of discussion in this week’s Parashiot is a disease called “Tzara’at”. There is no real translation for this disease, since this disease never existed in any other cultures, but it’s somehow similar to Leprosy, with the exception of not being contagious. This disease does not have any scientific proof, nor any medical remedy, but rather, it is a heavenly disease brought down by Hashem and cured by Hashem. The Chachamim say that this disease is a punishment for committing a sin, mainly the sin of “Lashon Hara”, gossiping and evil talking about someone else. This disease is a disfiguration and a discoloration of human skin, but it can also fall on a person’s hair, beard, clothing, household items and even home. When a person suspects that he has been afflicted with Tzaraat, he does not need to see a physician, but rather, he has to go to a Kohen. The Kohen then evaluates the afflicted area, and if he sees the symptoms, he quarantines him. After a week, he looks at the blemish again, and if it has increased in size or depth, he declares the victim “tamei”, impure, and he has to leave the camp and be isolated from the rest of the congregation. Only when he is healed, he may enter the camp again, which is a sign that he has repented his slanderous ways. And the only way he would get cured, is by coming to realize what he did was wrong and repent.

The whole procedure of Tzaraat was quite embarrassing. If contaminated with the disease, the Kohen had to accompany the convict to outside of the camp in front of the whole congregation and he had to announce in loud voice that he has Tzara’at. The Chachamim say that the punishments given in the Torah are usually measure for measure. The same way that the victim of an evil gossip is avoided and disrespected by everyone else; the same way the gossiper is put to shame and forced to isolate himself from the rest of the community.

The Torah then tells us that the fate of the stricken man is totally dependent upon the will of the Kohen. Unlike today’s time, the victim could not ask for a second opinion! The kohen is shown the negah (blemish) and has complete authority to declare it “tamei” (impure) or “tahor” (pure), which determines the faith of the victim whether he could stay or leave the camp. In fact, even if all signs point to the declaration of impurity, if the kohen, for any reason deems the person tahor or refuses to declare him tamei, the man remains pure and stays in the camp. But the way the Torah describes the examination procedure by the Kohen is quite strange. The Torah says: “And the kohen shall look at the “negah” affliction on the skin and behold it has changed to white and appears deeper than the skin of the flesh – it is tzara’at and the kohen shall look at the man and declare him tamei”!

The question that comes to mind is quite simple. How many times does the Kohen need to look? If he looks at the blemish and it’s clearly tzara’at, then why does he need to look at the man again before publicly declaring him impure?! As the saying goes; if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck!

Rabbi Kamenetzky gives a beautiful explanation to this question. The kohen who is instructed to deal with the stricken individual should not only look at the affliction, but he must also look at each person, individually! The Kohen must realize what consequences his verdict will bring upon the person and what the victim has to go through! Even if the “negah” has all the attributes that should lead to a declaration of impurity, there are other factors that must be weighed. If the man is a groom, about to be wed, impurity must not be declared. If the man is expecting a new baby sometime soon; if he is moving to a new house or if it will ruin any upcoming festivities, then a declaration of contamination must be postponed. The kohen, a man of love and peace, is not expected to embarrass or humiliate the afflicted person when he is in a state of joy, but rather, he is obligated to hide the truth. We would think that a person who has committed Lashon Hara and has humiliated someone publicly, deserves to be humiliated himself! But the Torah is telling us otherwise! The Kohen is expected to show compassion even towards a sinner! The purpose of the tzara’at is not to punish the person or “chasbe shalom” to get back at him, but rather, it’s suppose to make him realize what he did was wrong and help him to change his ways. And that’s why the Torah demands from the Kohen to look beyond the blemish and look at the man himself!

Yes my friends, there is a great lesson we can learn from here . When we want to announce something embarrassing about someone else in public, whether it’s true or not, we should think of the man first, and evaluate the consequences of our action! How would our announcement affect his life? It’s very easy to call someone a thief, a crook, a womanizer or an alcoholic, but we have to remember that these stains may stay with him for the rest of his life. The torah is telling us that embarrassing someone publically is so wrong that sometimes we are allowed, even obligated, to hide the truth! If Hashem has so much compassion even towards a sinner and doesn’t want to embarrass him in public, then how much more we should have compassion for our fellow jews and not to humiliate them in public!

Remember that words are stronger than actions. You can hurt someone a lot more with words than with your actions……

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Parshat Shemini begins by discussing the events which occurred on the eighth and final day of the inauguration service in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). After months of preparation and anticipation, Aaron and his sons are finally installed as Kohanim (priests) in an elaborate service. Aaron blesses the people, and the entire nation rejoices as Hashem’s presence rests upon them. However, the excitement comes to an abrupt halt as Aaron’s two elder sons, Nadav and Avihu, offer a “strange fire before G-d, which He commanded them not” and die before G-d. Aaron is silent in face of his tragedy.

Aaron is informed that the Kohanim are forbidden to enter the Mishkan while intoxicated, and the Torah continues to relate the events which occur immediately after Nadav and Avihu’s tragic death. The portion concludes with a listing of the kosher and non-kosher animals, and various laws about tumah, ritual contamination!

“ Dvar Torah “

Tragedy! Oxford dictionary defines it as “a very sad event; a serious drama with an unhappy ending which often involves someone’s death”! Tragedy is unfortunately something that we have no control over it. It can happen to anybody.The rich and the poor, the religious and the secular….. no one is immuned from it. How do we deal with a tragedy, how do we react to death of someone close to us, how do we cope with the pain? These are the questions that we all pray we would not need to know the answers for, but in reality, it’s inevitable for a tragedy not to happen to any of us.

In this week’s parsha, we also learn about a very painful tragedy. The two elder sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, die together in an instant. The story goes as follows: After the completion of the construction of the “Mishkan” (G-d’s mobile Sanctuary), it was time for Mishkan’s inauguration. The excitement was filled in the air. Everyone came to watch this joyful event, somewhat similar to the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the tallest building built in the city — in this case, the house of G-d. The structure of the Mishkan was completed and all the vessels were placed in their right spots and the altar was all ready to begin the first sacrifice ceremony. Aaron and his sons have been appointed as the only Priests to do the ceremonies. For seven days Moshe, Aaron and his sons rehearsed the inauguration ceremony procedures, and finally, it was on the eighth day that G-d’s Presence would finally descend upon the Mishkan, and it was time for the ceremony to start. The congregation were anxiously waiting to watch this fascinating, never-seen-before event.

But, suddenly, the celebration went terribly wrong. The Torah tells us that just before the ceremony started, the two eldest sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, entered the Mishkan without authorization. They decided to offer their own incense, something they assumed would surely bring joy to their Creator. But tragedy struck. A fire came forth from the heaven. And the fire that should have consumed their offerings, consumed them instead, and they both died in an instant! Moshe tried to console Aaron by saying: “of this did Hashem speak, saying ‘I will be sanctified through those who are nearest to Me, thus I will be honored before the entire people.” And the Torah reveals to us Aaron’s reaction:  “And Aaron was silent”. The man who had been Moses’ spokesman could no longer speak. The man of speech became speechless!!

The immediate question that comes to mind is, why?! Why did Nadav and Avihu have to die in such tragic way? What did they do that it was so wrong?! It seems that they just brought an unauthorised sacrifice. But it was still just a gift! The same G-d of mercy that forgave the entire nation for their despicable sin of the Golden Calf, why couldn’t he find it in his heart to forgive two of his loyal servants for bringing an unwanted gift for Him by mistake??

Well, many explanations are given. Some say that the reason for their death was that they came drunk into the sanctuary in front of G-d. Others say, they were too eager to exercise leadership, that’s why they took their own initiative which was disrespectful in the eyes of Hashem. Another opinion says that they disrespected their teachers Moshe and Aaron, by not consulting with them first before bringing their own offering. And the commentaries goes on and on and on….

But still, to me and maybe to Aaron too, none of these explanations justifies their tragic death. The punishment does not justify the act! Yes, maybe they had a drink or two before they entered the Holy of the Holies, maybe they were too eager to get to a leadership position, but to die in an instant in front of the whole congregation…. is this justice?!

After searching for an answer for awhile, I came across a beautiful explanation given by Rabbi Frand. He says that although, all of the explanations for Nadav and Avihu’s death may be true, but none of the explanations should be convincing, because we should never be content with the reason of death! Hashem wants us to feel sorry for the deceased and to feel compassion towards the dead! Every dead person deserves to be mourned for! We are not here to judge people and to find a justified reason for someone’s death!! We are here to love everyone and accept that the only reason for someone’s death is because of G-d’s will! Do we have to understand G-d’s will? No! But do we have to accept Hashem’s decisions? Yes! Nadav and Avihu should not be remembered as two drunken outcasts who committed a sin, but rather, they should be remembered as the high Priests and the loyal servants of G-d who were rightfully given a respectful funeral and mourning period. Aaron kept complete silence after this tragedy, because any show of emotions or any spoken words could have revealed lack of faith in G-d! His silence shows that although he may not have understood why his sons died, but he still believed in Hashem, wholeheartedly!

Yes my friends, our religion is not a religion of logic; it’s a religion of faith. In times of distress and tragedy, sometimes we search for answers but our efforts seems to be used in vain. We are not content. Nothing seems to make sense. We may even start questioning G-d’s decision, chasbe shalom, but it does not give us the right to lose faith in him. After all, if we believe that G-d is a superpower, then our lack of understanding should not bother us so much, since we believe that G-d has more power of understanding and judgment. We learn from Aaron’s silence that not being content with the reason for a tragedy is not a sin, but losing faith in Hashem, is! Remember that our G-d is a compassionate G-d, who is slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth. He loves his people and he wants the best for us. He doesn’t want to hurt us, and if we are faced with a tragedy, we should believe that Hashem knows what is best for us and we should accept his decision.

Yes, Oxford dictionary may define a tragedy as a “a very sad event with an unhappy ending”, but in Judaism, a tragedy is defined as “a sad event which is an act of G-d beyond human understanding, and we have faith in Him that he surely knows what he is doing!”

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;

Martin