Dear Friends;

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

” Parasha in a Nutshell ”

Parshat Noah begins by describing Noah’s righteousness, compared with the wickedness of his generation. As a result of Mankind’s evil, Hashem brings a flood to destroy every living creature, sparing only Noah, his family, and at least one pair of every animal species, who live in an ark during the lengthy flood. When the waters declined, almost a year after the rains first began, Noah sends out a raven and a dove so as to determine whether the land has dried sufficiently so that they can leave the ark to resettle the earth once again. Hashem promises that He will never again destroy all of Mankind by means of a flood, and He designates the rainbow as a sign for that eternal covenant.

Noah plants a vineyard, drinks from its produce, and becomes drunk. In his intoxicated state, he shamefully uncovers himself in his tent. While his son Cham dealt with his father inappropriately, Noah’s other two sons, Shem and Yefet, cover their father in a respectful manner. Once sober, Noah responds by blessing Shem and Yefet, and by cursing Cham and his son Canaan.

Generations pass and the world is repopulated. The people attempt to wage war against Hashem by building the Tower of Babel, and Hashem responds by mixing up their languages and dispersing them across the planet.

The Torah portion concludes on an encouraging note with Abraham’s birth and his marriage to Sarah.

” Dvar Torah ”

At the beginning of the Parsha, the Torah says: ” Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generation…..”. So, the obvious question that comes to mind is why does the Torah mention “in his generation”, when it talks about Noah’s righteousness? Well, there are two schools of thoughts. Some Chachamim praise the greatness of Noah’s righteousness, since it is very hard to stay righteous when you are surrounded with corrupt and evil people all around you. They say, He would have been even more righteous, if he would have lived in some other times. While others criticize him, for his righteousness is only apparent when is compared with his own generation. If he would have been compared to Avraham, for example, he would have never reached his level of righteousness.

With all being said, still Noah is the only person in the entire Torah to be given the title of “righteous” by Hashem himself. But the Chachamim say, despite Noah’s righteousness, he still didn’t have the zechut (merit) of becoming the forefather of the Jewish nation. Our family tree starts from Avraham and not from Noah. The Torah could have easily traced back Avraham to Noah and added him to the list of our forefathers, but decided not to. But why? What was he lacking, that stopped him from joining the Jewish nation?

I read a very interesting explanation given by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. He says that after the flood, Hashem tells Noah to get out of the Ark and fill up the earth once again — to grow and multiply. But once Noah got out of the Ark, he looked back at all the destructions. Overwhelmed by grief, he found refuge in wine. Instead of starting to build his future, he built himself a vineyard! He started his life as the most righteous person on the face of the earth, yet he ended his days drunk and shameful in front of his children. And that was his mistake; he looked back instead of looking at the future. This is why he couldn’t join the Jewish nation, because Judaism is a religion of the future. We build our future first, before we mend the past!

We can see this idea in the Jews throughout the history. The most obvious example are the Holocaust survivors. After the Holocaust, Jews didn’t sit paralysed by grief over the loss of their loved ones. They immediately started to build their future, above all, the land and state of Israel. What’s fascinating is that many of the Holocaust survivors did not speak about those years in concentration camps, even to their spouses or their children, sometimes for as long as forty or fifty years. Only when they had secured the future did they allow themselves to look back at the past. Only when they had built a life did they permit themselves to remember death.

Yes my friends, Judaism is a religion of the future! We are always thinking about building for our future and that’s the secret to our success. The land of Israel prospers continuously, because the Jews in Israel are always thinking about building for their future. Why do you think that the Palestinians never prosper and most of them live in poverty and under pressure?! Because they keep looking at the past instead of concentrating on their future. They don’t care to build their future; their only thoughts are about killing and destruction!

The Mashadi community has always been a great believer of the future too. When our fathers left Iran, they did not sit back and grieve for what they’ve left behind, but rather, they immediately started to build the future for their family and their children, and today we are enjoying the fruits of their labor. Even our leaders today, they all have a vision for the future. They see the needs of the community in many more years to come, and they act on it accordingly. May G-d bless them all.

So my friends, remember that it’s a great blessing to be a Jew and to have a vision for the future, a characteristic which unfortunately was missing in Noah who was only righteous compared to his generation!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parasha in a Nutshell ”

Parashat Vezot Haberacha begins by Moshe blessing the tribes of Israel before he passes away. Each tribe gets its own blessing, just like Yakov blessed each tribe individually. Reuven is blessed with life, Judah with success in battle, Levi with serving in the Temple and being teachers of Torah, Benjamin is beloved by G-d, Joseph is blessed by sweet fruits on his land, Zevulun with success in trade, Issachar with success in Torah studies, Dan with a might of a lion, Naftali with fertile land and sea and Asher with sons.

After blessing the people, Moshe goes up Mount Nebo and G-d shows him the entire “Eretz Yisrael”. Then Moshe passes away at the age of 120. He is buried by G-d, and until today, nobody knows his burial place. The Jews mourned for Moshe for 30 days, and then Joshua became the new leader, who was respected by the entire congregation, just like Moshe.

The Parsha, and the entire Torah, ends with describing Moshe’s greatness. ” There arose never again a prophet in Israel like Moshe, whom G-d knew face to face……. and the great awesome things which Moshe did before the eyes of the Egyptians and all Israel.”

” Dvar Torah ”

Every year, Parashat VeZot Haberacha, which is the last Parsha of the Torah, gets swallowed up by the Festival of Simchat Torah. It doesn’t have its own designated Shabbat like all other parashiot, and the Chag on which it is read, is so packed with activities such as singing, dancing, eating and drinking, that no one pays much attention to what is going on in the Parsha. Compared to the rest of the Parashiot in the Torah, you can find the least amount of commentaries on it, since most commentators are busy writing about Simchat Torah or Parashat Bereshit.

But why didn’t the Chachamim designate a Shabbat to the last parsha? How could they miss to comment on the last chapter of the Torah? For those of you who are book lovers, know for a fact that the last chapter of any book is by far the most exciting one of them all. Everyone is anxious to know what happens at the end! What will happen to the Hero? The excitement is overwhelming. Just before starting the last chapter, you feel the jitters in your body! Once you start reading the last chapter, there is no way you can put down the book until you have read the very last word. And then, you feel the ultimate satisfaction– which could be a feeling of accomplishment, excitement, joy, or even a feeling of sorrow. So, how come, we and the commentators, can’t reach the same level of excitement with our Holy book of Torah? After all, our Torah is a true-story book with its’ author being the G-d Almighty himself, and has Moshe Rabeinu as its hero. So, how can it be less exciting than any other book? Most of us even miss to read the English translation of the Parashat VeZot Haberacha, all together!!! Don’t you think its a little absurd? Don’t we want to know what will happen to Moshe at the end and how does the Torah end??

The answer is quite simple my friends. We don’t feel the excitement of the last Parsha of the Torah, because we believe that the Torah never ends!! That’s what Simcha Torah is all about! As soon as we finish reading the last sentence of the Torah, immediately, without a break, we start to read the first chapter, Parashat Bereshit. Apparently, there is no beginning or and end to our Torah. It seems that the Torah is just one continuous book! Once you realize that there is no ending, then there is no excitement to read the last chapter! We believe that every chapter of the Torah is as important as the other and we should feel the excitement at all times throughout the year when we read the Torah. The celebration that we do on Simchat Torah, is not because we have finished or started the Torah, but rather, the celebration is because Hashem has given us another year to review this wonderful book.

But all being said, I still feel that it is necessary to say a few words about the last chapter of the Torah. So, at the end of the Parsha, which is the last few hours of Moshe’s life in this world, we see that Hashem finally reveals his emotions. He talks so highly of his beloved servant, Moshe Rabeinu. He tells us that never again we shall see such a human being who can talk “face to face” to the Almighty, who can perform Hashem’s miracles with such greatness. Unlike all other prophets who could only communicate with Hashem in a vision, Moshe talked to Hashem face to face at anytime he wanted to. To Hashem, Moshe was not just another human being; he was someone dear to him. Not only Hashem talked to Moshe constantly, but He also consulted with him, He argued with him, He taught him, He listened to him, he punished him and he praised him. In the mortal world, it seems that Moshe was Hashem’s best friend; his buddy so to speak. The Torah finally tells us that the time has come for Moshe to die and be gathered to his people. How do you think Hashem felt at that time? Yes, we believe that once a person dies, his soul will go to “Olam Haba”, a place which the soul gets closer to Hashem; but as a human being, as a flesh and blood, he had to say goodbye to his friend. The Halacha says that when a person passes away, the closest relative is responsible to do the burial. In the case of Moshe, Hashem felt that he was his closest family, and that’s why Hashem buried Moshe himself. It makes you wonder how painful it was for Hashem to bury his best friend?!?!

Yes, our hero dies at the end, but there is no reason to be sad, because Moshe left this world with dignity and pride as the best prophet of all times. A person who we still talk about him after 3000 years, needs to be praised. Moshe’s name is mentioned in nearly every Parsha of the four out of five books of the Torah. In “Pirkei Avot” its written “tov shem mi shemen tov”, which means a good name is better than a good oil since it lasts for much longer time. Moshe, was loved and respected by G-d because he in turn loved the Benei Israel so much that he was ready to give up his life for them! His love and devotion for his nation earned him the title of “the greatest prophet of all times”!! Anyone who has been loved by Hashem so much, should be adored by us too! May he rest in peace. What a great zechut we have to be a part of a nation who had Moshe Rabeinu as its leading prophet!

Although, Hashem punished Moshe for hitting the rock instead of talking to it, by not letting him enter the Land of Israel, but it did not take anything away from the love and respect that he had towards him. And this is the greatest lesson we can learn from Hashem. Sometimes our children might do something that they are not suppose to, and we may end up punishing them. But that should not take away, by no means, from the love and respect that we have towards them. We punish our children because we love them and we want them to improve and not because, G-d forbid, we don’t like them!

A good book, you may read twice, maybe 3 times, but after that, the excitement starts to drift away. But with the Torah it’s different. Even after reading it so many times, you can never put it down. You want to read it again and again and again. Because every time you open the book, you can still find something new in it. So, I Look forward to review this wonderful book together with you guys, once again, next year.

Chag Sameach, Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Dvar Torah on Rosh Hashanah;

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 repentance  process starts from Rosh Hashanah and ends at  Yom Kipppur. 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 none of this on Rosh Hashanah. There is no confession, 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, etc……

Surely the beginning of the days of repentance should begin with repentance?! So why there is no mention of Teshuva on Rosh Hashanah?! Lord  Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, gives an answer to this question by the following quote: To mend the past,  first you have to secure the future.

This idea could be seen in the characters of the Torah such as 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.

But the opposite could be seen in 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 weep for her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife”.  Then we read how Abraham bought the first plot of land in Israel and arranged for a wife for his son. G-d had promised him before that the land of Israel is his and that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, yet when Sarah died, he owned no land and had one unmarried child. Instead of complaining to G-d that He had not fulfilled his promises, he understood that he had to take the first step. First he had to build the future. Only then, he could honor the past.

And that’s what we do on Rosh Hashanah. The Torah reading is about the birth of Isaac, which is one of the forefathers of the future Am Yisrael. 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 on Rosh Hashanah, 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!

We can see this phenomena taking place in our generations too.  After the Holocaust, Jews didn’t sit paralysed by grief. They built the future, above all the land and state of Israel. Also, 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 all of you Shanah Tovah U’Metukah. May this year be a year of health, happiness, prosperity and above all, peace in the land of Israel and across the world. A year that the sweet taste of honey stays with you throughout the year. A year that we build a better future for our children and we see them grow.  And only then, may we move forward towards Yom Kippur and regret the past and ask for forgiveness!

Shana Tova, Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parshiot 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.”

The Parshah of Vayelech recounts the events on Moshe’s last day of earthly life. “I am one hundred and twenty years old today,” he says to the people, “and I can no longer go forth and come in.” He transfers the leadership to Joshua, and writes the Torah in a scroll which he entrusts to the Levites for safekeeping in the Ark of the Covenant.

The mitzvah of Hak’hel (“Gather”) is given: every seven years, during the festival of Sukkot of the first year of the shemittah cycle, the entire people of Israel — men, women and children — should gather at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, where the king should read to them from the Torah.

The Parsha concludes with the prediction that the people of Israel will turn away from their covenant with G-d causing Him to hide His face from them, but also with the promise that the words of the Torah “shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants.

“ Dvar Torah “

Once again, we have double parashiot and with your permission I would like to say a few words on the second parsha, Vayelech.

Parashat Vayelech starts off by saying: ” Vayelech Moshe – And Moshe WENT, and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them: ‘I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no longer go out and come in, for Hashem has said to me, you shall not cross this Jordan.” He said these words on the last day of his life, which was his 120th birthday. The time had come for him to gather to his people and kiss this world goodbye.

But once again, the commentators are puzzled by the wording of the Torah. The Torah says “Vayelech Moshe”– and Moshe went…. But, where did he go? Where was his destination?! In fact, his “moving” action was so powerful that the parsha is named after it; “And he went”! From reading the plain text, it seems that he didn’t go anywhere?! He was still among his people, where he was for the past 40 years of his life. So, why does the Torah say that he went? And if he went somewhere, why does it keep us in suspense of his destination?

After searching for an answer for awhile, I came across a beautiful explanation given by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky. He says the following: The Torah wants to emphasize the fact that Moshe didnot sit idle. Even on the last day of his life, he went, he moved, he inspired, he taught, he blessed and he accomplished. Although, on the last day of his life, he rightfully deserved to sit back and let others come to him and show their final respect, but instead, he decided to move and take the initial step. The same enthusiasm that Moshe had in leading his people through the desert, the same vigor Moshe had when ordering Pharaoh to let my people go was still in him until the last moments of his life — until the very end. While he was still going forward, there was no dying down. And that’s what the Torah is trying to tell us: until the end, Moshe never stopped — Moshe “went”!

Yes my friends, life is all about moving forward and improving ourselves. Whether in business, relationship or spirituality, we need to have the enthusiasm to move forward and try to improve at all times, because once we stop, there is the danger of falling back and failing. As we learn from the parsha, there is no limit or time frame for improvement. Moshe moved forward till the last second of his life. He utilized all of his time to fulfill the will of G-d and to improve his relationship with the Almighty. He never stopped! He never gave up! And this is the kind of “enthusiasm” that we need to learn from the greatest prophet of all times.

Parashat Vayelech always falls around the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because it carries the same message. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we reflect on the past year, recall the bad we did and the good we failed to do. We apologise, confess and ask for forgiveness. And after Yom Kippur, we try not to repeat the bad we did before. But Hashem doesnot expect us to become perfect, since EVERY year he wants us to fast and ask for forgiveness, as if he expects us to sin year after year after year. All he wants us to do is to just improve. He doesn’t want us to sit idle— he wants us to keep moving forward just like Moshe did till the last moment of his life!

Remember my friends that there is always room for improvement. You can always study more, observe more, love more, sacrifice more and care more. All you need to do is to make a “move”!

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  ”

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”. The Talmud relates an interesting detail regarding this event. The wealthy people, who brought their fruits in exquisite gold and silver baskets, would hand the baskets to the Kohen with the fruits still inside. The Kohen would then remove the fruits and return the baskets to their owners. However, there was a different approach used for the poor people. Unlike their wealthy counterparts, the less fortunate farmers who brought their fruits in cheap 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? The rich gets 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 and 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 Kamenetsky gives a very interesting explanation. The wealthy farmer who owns many top quality fields, he probably has 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 one 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 halachah 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 significant. 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 Torah is teaching us that we should respect other people’s dignity and pride. It’s telling us how we should go out of our way in order to protect the feelings of others and to avoid embarrassment. The Almighty demands from us not to humiliate another person, not to put anyone to shame and above all, not to destroy anyone’s pride. Every person deserves to be respected since we are all children of Hashem. The whole theme of the Torah is about having compassion for your fellow human beings and to love your fellow Jew just like yourself.

Showing compassion for our fellow Jew is an important thing to do throughout the year, but as the Day of Judgment is approaching soon, it is more critical. Our sages tell us that Hashem deals with us in the same manner that we deal with our peers. If we are merciful towards others and we treat them with kindness and compassion, then Hashem will also be merciful towards us and judge us with compassion too.

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, and they should be dear to us too.

Shabath 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 ”

One of the most difficult tasks for any parents is to raise their children. There are no set of rules to follow. Even if there is, there is no guarantee that it will work on every child, since each child is different. One of the biggest nightmare for parents is, G-d forbid, to be faced with a problematic child? What should they do?

Well, in this week’s parsha, the Torah talks about a wayward and rebellious son (Ben sorer u’moreh). The Torah says: ” If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son, who does not listen to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they discipline him but he still does not listen to them, then the parents shall grasp him and take him out to the elders of the city and say to them, ” This son of ours is wayward and rebellious; he does not listen to our voice, he is a glutton and drunkard ….. All the men of the city shall pelt him with stones and he shall die;”

The Chachamim say that the reason the boy is put to death is because the parents notice a trend in their young son’s spiritual development that will almost inevitably lead to a lifestyle involving robbery and perhaps even murder. Therefore the Torah advises that he should be put to death “at the stage in life when he is still innocent,” rather than allowing him to mature to a point where he will actually be fully deserving of death.

But the Talmud says that an actual case of “ben sorer u’moreh”, stoning of a child, has never happened and will never happen. No parents would have the heart to take their son to be stoned to death! The Torah is merely mentioning this law just for educational purposes. So, if the whole purpose of this law is to educate us, let’s see what we can learn from it.

The commentators notice something very interesting in the paragraph and accordingly, they come up with the following question. Why does the Torah separate the father’s and the mother’s voice when describing the rebellious child, but when the parents present their case in front of the court, they sound united-” he does not listen to OUR voice”?!

Rabbi Frand gives an interesting interpretation. In describing a rebellious child, the Torah is trying to stress that the parents were not of one voice and one opinion! The child did not listen to his father’s voice and independently he did not listen to his mother’s alternate voice either. When the child hears mixed messages, he does not listen to either parent and he goes after his own heart and hence, he becomes rebellious. Only subsequently, when the child has already left the right path, do the parents come and, sadly, tell the elders of the court: “Now we are together. Now we have a unified voice and we know that what our son is doing is wrong.” Unfortunately by then, it is too late. The son has already became a rebellious child, and it’s very hard to bring him back!

Yes my friends, There are no secret formulas to raising good children. Raising children is the most difficult job in the world. However, there are clearly certain things parents should try to avoid. Parents should always present a unified message of their expectations to their children. When a child hears mixed messages – one thing from the father and another thing from the mother – that is a garden in which weeds can grow. Parents may have disagreements among themselves as to what is the proper course in raising children. But those disagreements need to be decided among themselves; in private! When parents come before their children, they need to articulate a clear, decisive, and uniform message. When they reach the status of “our voice” rather than “the father’s voice” and “the mother’s voice,” their chances for success will be much greater.

It fascinates me to see that from every law in the Torah, we can learn something, even if the law does not apply to us. Whether the Torah talks about the sacrifice ceremonies in the Temple, all the way to the laws of Shemitah, there is always a lesson to be learned. That’s why our sages say that all parts of the Torah are as equally important. We have a very precious book in our possession, let us cherish it at all times!

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”….. “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. The torah continues to explain that in order to pursue justice, we have to appoint a 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 a western society’s 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. However, in a Jewish court of law, 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 people 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 for a judge to pursue fairness and righteousness, we can look at the laws governing the “indefensible criminal”. It goes as follows: 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 Jewish law, the accused cannot be convicted and that court is disqualified from making a judgement!

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 a good in everybody!

Yes my friends, judging people is one of the most difficult tasks. That’s why the Torah asks us to appoint professional judges who should make judgments and not us, since we don’t know all the facts. In the Talmud it says “Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place.” The commentators explain that what the Talmud is really saying is, “Don’t judge your fellow, ever,” since “his place” is a place where you can never truly be. Why do you think that the Torah is so much against “Lashon Hara”? It’s because when you hear something evil about someone, you immediately become judgmental. But that’s wrong since you haven’t heard anything in his defense. You cannot judge a person by just listening to one side of the story?! And that’s why we should try to avoid judging the people as much as possible.

The Torah wants us to pursue justice, but it wants us to do it the right way! And the only right way to find justice is to see the good in everyone!! Remember, we are not here to judge people —— we are here to love 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 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 ”

Once again, in this week’s Parsha, Moshe revises the commandments of the Torah with Benei Israel in the last few days of his life. One of the commandments that he reviews with them, 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 catched our commentators’ eyes.  One is,”You shall not harden your heart”…… and the other, “Let your heart not feel bad”….. Accordingly, they come up with the following question. Why is Moshe so concern about the feelings of heart when it comes to helping the poor? Why does it matter if we feel good or not when we give charity?! After all, when the poor comes and knocks on your door, he is not after love and affection, but rather, he’s after your money! He doesn’t want you to “open your heart”….. he wants you to open your wallet!! Subsequently, 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 a 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 count as part of your “Ma-aser”- 10% obligatory donation towards charity!!

But you may still ask yourself, what is the big deal if we are not so happy when we are giving charity and helping the poor? If a guy, for example, wants to write a $500,000 check for 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, it is not so easy to be joyous when giving money to charity. After all, you might think that the money you give to charity, is the amount that you would be able to spend less on yourself and on your family! So, why does the Torah insists so much that we should be happy when giving charity?

To answer this question and how to reach the ultimate level of joy when giving charity, once again, Rabbi Frand comes to the rescue. He quotes a story from the Talmud that best explains the reason for being joyous 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 time, 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 endure this 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 charity. We first have 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! If G-d forbid, we feel unhappy about giving charity, it may be because we think that we made our money with our hard work and our own intelligence, and it’s hard to give it away! But this is the wrong way of thinking and it’s not true. And that’s why the Torah is so concern about feelings of heart when it comes to giving charity.

Yes my friends, the reason that we give charity is not because we have pity for the poor; we give charity in order to acknowledge that whatever we have are given to us by Hashem and we should be extremely happy to be given the opportunity to help the poor. Everything we have is a blessing from Hashem. And if Hashem has blessed us with wealth, he expects us to share a little of it with others. If Hashem can be so giving, then why can’t we?!

So the next time a poor knocks on your door, make sure you smile when you open the door. 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 take part in this wonderful mitzvah. You’ve been given the privilege this time……… don’t let it go to waste!!

Shabbat Shalom & 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 ”

In this week’s Parsha, Moshe once again, reviews the adventures of the Benei Israel in their forty years journey in the desert. He tells the people that all of their accomplishments throughout their lives are not because of their own intelligence and strength, but rather, they are all because of Hashem’s generosity and blessings that he has bestowed upon them. And to prove his point, Moshe reminds the people of the “Manna”, the heavenly bread that Hashem provided for them throughout their forty years journey in the desert. He tells them that “Hashem afflicted you and let you hunger, then He fed you manna……. in order to make you know that man does not live on bread alone, but by the utterance of G-d’s mouth does man live.” Then a few pasuks later he says: ” He (Hashem), who fed you manna in the desert which your forefathers did not know, in order to afflict you and in order to TEST you, to do good for you in the end.”

Well, accordingly, the Chachamim ask the following question. What kind of a test is Moshe talking about? Up till now, we thought that the purpose of the manna was to supply the Benei Israel with nourishment, but now, Moshe is telling us otherwise that the purpose was to test the people?! So, what kind of a test was the test of manna?

Well, as usual, the commentators have different interpretations in regards to this question. Since the time and the space don’t allow us to discuss them all, so we shall discuss just a few of them.

Rashi explains that the “Test” was referring to the laws that govern the manna. One could not store away any manna for the next day. One had to collect a double portion on Friday, since there was no manna showered down on Shabbat. And so forth. Hashem wanted to see if we could follow a simple set of rules or not! But unfortunately, some people failed the test and kept some manna for the next day and it got rotten. And some people went out on Shabbat to collect manna, but they couldn’t find any!

Rambam on the other hand, explains that the “Test” was to see if the people who have received the heavenly bread on a daily basis for forty years, do they still see it as a miracle after a while, or does it become part of their normal lives and they see it as an act of nature? He says that unfortunately, after a while, for most of the people traveling in the desert, the manna became part of their routine lives and they didn’t see it as a miracle anymore. Only when they entered Eretz Israel, when the manna stopped, then they realized what a great blessing they’ve been having in the past!! Sometimes, unfortunately, we don’t realize what a great blessing we have until we don’t have it any more!!

Sforno, who is another great medieval commentator from Italy, explains that the test of Manna was a test of affluence. When Hashem provides your livelihood with an ease, it gives you a comfort of mind, and plenty of leisure time. You see, in the desert, the Benei Israel had it very easy. They didn’t need to worry about making money since everything was provided for them for free. They didn’t need to worry about food, they had Manna. They didn’t need to buy new clothes, because their clothes never wore out. They didn’t need to worry about their mortgage payments since they all lived in tents. They didn’t need to work in order to make a living. They had a lifestyle which gave them a lot of spare time on their hands. But the test was to see what would they do with their spare time? Would they spend the time thanking Hashem for all their blessing and try to study Torah in order to get closer to G-d, or did they spend the time complaining to Moshe and going after the forbidden sins? Unfortunately we see that the Benei Israel didn’t pass this test either. They didn’t appreciate the easy life that Hashem provided for them in the desert and they kept complaining to Moshe instead of appreciating G-d’s miracles!

Yes my friends, the test of manna is an ongoing test in every generation. When, G-d forbid, we are faced with troubles and sickness, life-threatening danger or even death, we all become religious. We all come to Kanissa. We all pray with enthusiasm. We all say Tehillim with tears streaming down our cheeks. We all give charity generously. But when things are going well, when they are going extremely well, do we give much thought to the Almighty? Do we still put on our tefillins everyday? Do we still go to Kanissa every Shabbat? Do we still give charity generously? And above all, do we still spend time on studying our precious Torah?

So remember my friends, showered with blessings without an effort is a dangerous thing! When we are blessed with prosperity, health and happiness with an ease, it gives us a great amount of leisure time and freedom of action. What would you do with you spare time? And this is the great test of “Manna” that challenges us in every generation! Let us hope that we are all challenged with this test and let’s hope that we’ll all pass it too.

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 you be comforted in these difficult times? How do you cope with the pain? How does a mother who loses her dear child in defending our land continue with her life? Will she 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 most important functions of the mind, but on the other hand, forgetfulness which is the loss of memory, is a great blessing that Hashem has bestowed upon us in order to get consolation in a time of mourning!

Tisha B’Av is also a period of mourning for us. 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 after so many years? 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’t get over 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 someone, and feel relieved from the pain of mourning, 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 the Torah tells us that Hashem would never abandon us and he would still protect us from the far. And this is why we still can’t get over the pain!

On the day of Tisha B’Av, “Tachanun” is not recited because the day has elements of festivities to it. Although, Tisha B’Av is the saddest day marked on the jewish calendar, but it’s also the ultimate day of “hope”! We believe that Mashiach is going to come and build the third Beith Hamikdash and the Shechina is going to come back to us once again. Even though, we might not have the “zechut” to see the Beith 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. We have no doubt that the Beith Hamikdash will be built again. The question is not “if”we’ll ever have a Temple again, but it’s only a question of time, “when”?!

I wish everyone an easy and a meaningful fast and hope that Hashem will answer our prayers and protect us from the hands of our evil enemies.

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 ”

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 this week’s Parsha, we read about the cities of refuge. A man who kills someone accidentally is exiled to an “Ir Miklat”, a city of refuge. In additions to killers, a very distinguished group of people, the Levites, lived in those cities. Their job was something similar to today’s Rabbis. They traveled throughout Israel, teaching and preaching the Jewish laws. The sentence imposed on the killers was also very unique. It was not defined by time, but rather by circumstance. The killers would only go free when the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) would die. In Talmud it says that the Kohen Gadol’s family were quite worried. They were not concerned that there would be an assassination plot against the Kohen Gadol, but rather, they were worried that the convicts would pray that the Kohen Gadol would die before his time, thus releasing them early. In order to deter the inmates from praying for the death of the Kohen Gadol, the mother of the Kohen Gadol would distribute food and clothing on almost, daily basis, and made sure the inmates were taken good care of.

Well, this law seems a little strange and needs some clarification. The questions that come to mind are as follows: Why should the freedom of an inmate depend on the death of the High Priest?? Why did the Levites have to live in the cities of refuge? Why was the inmate’s prayer so powerful that the Kohen Gadol’s family were so worried?? And above all, why should Kohen Gadol’s Mom’s homemade cookies be sufficient to bribe the inmate not to pray for his son’s death??

Once again, Rabbi Mordekhai Kamenetzky comes to the rescue and gives the following beautiful explanation: The cities of refuge were not jails, nor were they mere detention camps. They were environments in which reckless people became aware that careless actions have serious consequences. They were constantly under the influence of their neighbors, the Levites. They would observe how they have dedicated their lives to teaching and helping others. They would see the importance of awareness and care for fellow beings.

The mission of the Kohen Gadol’s mother was not just to bribe the inmates with food. It was to develop a bond with those people whose carelessness ended a life. The inmates saw the love a parent had for her son as she subconsciously pleaded with them to spare her child. They saw how a total stranger, despite her self-esteem, would make sure that their needs in the city of refuge were taken care for. They may have even thought of the loved one they have killed and his family. After developing an awareness of the importance for life, they would never be able to pray for the death of anyone else, even if it meant their own freedom. In fact, they may have offered their years for the merit of the Kohen Gadol’s life.

And finally, you may ask yourself, what did the Kohen Gadol do wrong that his life is jeopardize by an accident which took place without him being aware of?! Rabbi Kamenetsky says, one of the duties of the Kohen Gadol was to pray for welfare and the well being of the entire congregation. If the Kohen Gadol was completely pure in his mind and his body, then ALL of his prayers were heard and accepted by Hashem. The fact that an accidental death happened during his time, shows that he was lacking purity or “Kavana”, concentration, during his prayers.

So, the whole purpose of the cities of refuge was not to punish the killer, but rather, it was a comfortable place to teach a killer the importance of life. The inmate saw how the levites care for the other people and how a mother cares so much for the life of his son. The inmate learns about the importance of love, starting from loving an immediate family, all the way to loving a stranger!

Yes my friends, once again, the Torah is teaching us the importance of life. Taking a life away is considered one of the gravest sins. Even an accidental death has its consequences. Life is so precious that we should cherish every moment of it. We should love and respect other people’s life and we should be against hatred and killing. We should pray for the well being of everyone around us, and pray that no one should lose their lives before reaching the old age, just like the way the Kohen Gadol used to do!

At these difficult times, when our young dear soldiers are risking their lives in order to protect our land and our people, let us pray for their safety and for their lives! It seems that our dear soldiers already know the importance of life, since even in the battlefield, they have respect for the enemy’s lives and they try to avoid civilian casualties! If only the enemy would have had the same respect for their own lives, then there would never be a war!!

Shabbat Shalom & 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 ”

For the first time in the Torah, the whole Parsha is dedicated to the lives of a foreign king and a gentile prophet. The king being Balak, the king of Moav and Bilaam being the prophet who was not Jewish but feared G-d. Bilaam was a very powerful prophet. His strength was not in his arms, but rather in his mouth. He had tremendous power of speech. Whoever he blessed was blessed; and whoever he cursed was cursed. The Chachamim say that his vision of prophecy was as equal, if not greater than Moshe. They also say that he was a very wicked and greedy man. But how do they know that? As you read through the plain text, it seems that he followed Hashem’s orders every step of the way?! He even blessed Benei Israel a few times! Up till now, I always thought that when the Chachamim don’t like someone, they just bad mouth him and make him look bad in our eyes. But I was proven wrong, since the commentators demonstrated that the greediness of Bilaam can be found in the plain text of the Torah itself. So let us see how do they demonstrate this to us?!

The story goes as follows: 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. And he chose Bilaam who had a great power of speech to do this.

So, Balak sends messengers to Bilaam to invite him over to come and curse the Jews. Bilaam asked the messengers to stay overnight, so that he can ask Hashem what to do, in his dream. G-d told Bilaam, “Do not go with them; do not curse the people, for they are Blessed”. Bilaam relayed that message to Balak’s messengers.

When Balak heard that Bilaam would not come, he assumed that the reason was because the proposed reward was inadequate — that he had tried to get away too cheap. Therefore, Balak sent a more prestigious delegation promising Bilaam a great reward and granting him his every wish.

Bilaam, tells the new delegation that “Even if Balak will give me his entire treasury filled with silver and gold, my hands are tied — I can only do what G-d permits me to do.” But still he asked them to stay overnight to see if G-d would let him to go on this mission. This time, however, Hashem tells him that he can go, but only the words that He puts in his mouth shall he speak.

The next morning, Bilaam wakes up early, prepares his donkey, and heads back to Moav together with the messengers. Along the way, a miracle happens. An angel holding a sword, who is seen only by Billam’s donkey, blocks the path. The animal had no choice but to move sideways rather than forward, crushing Bilaam’s leg against the wall by the side of the road. During this time, Bilaam, unaware of the supernatural circumstances that made a change in donkey’s behavior, is furious. He strikes the animal three times to get him back on the path. Another miracle occurs! The donkey begins to talk. He carries on a brief conversation with his Master.

“Why did you hit me three times?” asks the donkey.

Bilaam replies: “Because you mocked me! If only there were a sword in my hand I would kill you!”

Wow! What a fascinating reaction by Bilaam! A donkey starts to talk, and all Bilaam wanted to do was to kill him?? The last time an animal spoke was about 2000 years before when the serpent spoke to Eve. This was big miracle miracle! Even if Bilaam was a great prophet and was used to seeing miracles; this wasn’t an everyday kind of a miracle! It occurred every 2000 years!!! So, why wasn’t Bilaam surprised at all?? A simple “WOW” would have been sufficient!!!

Rabbi Berel Wein gives the following interesting explanation: Bilaam was so eager to reach his destination, to reach to his place of fame, fortune and glory that he completely missed the miracle. His greed for money was so much, that a talking donkey did not surprise him! All he was thinking about, was all the fortune that he is going to get when he accomplishes his mission. When his donkey deviated from her path, he didn’t stop to see what’s wrong and why is she doing this. He just kept hitting her, to get her back on the path as fast as possible! Bilaam’s wickedness was not just because he hated the Jews, but rather, it was the greed that he had for money and fortune, that blinded him from seeing the miracles happening around him. Some Chachamim even put Bilaam’s donkey at a higher intellectual level than Bilaam himself, since when the donkey saw a supernatural phenomena, like seeing an angel, she understood that she cannot continue on her usual path– she needs to change her path! But when Bilaam saw a once in a lifetime miracle, a talking donkey, he just wanted to continue going on his usual path, as if nothing has happened!

Yes my friends, unfortunately there is a little bit of Bilaam in every one of us. It is natural for a man to have greed for fortune, glory, fame and success. We all want to be rich and famous. But with being so, we shouldn’t miss the miracles around us. Keep in mind that we are all surrounded by miracles. Yes, maybe we don’t see a talking donkey nor a splitting of the sea, but we have other miracles in our lives. Every morning when we wake up and we are alive and healthy and we see our wife and children being healthy too, is a miracle. Do we spend sometime with our family appreciating this, or all we think about is to go to work as fast as we can and make more money?! Do we spend sometime praying to Hashem and thanking him for what he has given us, or the urge to accumulate more wealth doesn’t allow us to do so?! Miracles don’t need to be supernatural events, but rather, any act of G-d which we benefit from is a miracle! Let’s not miss them!!

So my friends, miracles do happen! You don’t need to be a genius to see the miracles, all you need to do is to open your eyes! Remember that a donkey who is one of the most unintelligent animal, saw the miracle around him, but Bilaam the prophet missed it all together!!

Shabbat Shalom, Happy 4th of July & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha 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, is defined as the quality of being humble. 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 have. The beauty of this characteristic is that you should not be able to see it in yourself, but rather, it should be seen by others in you. 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, this is a very strange statement by Moshe if you ask me! The immediate question that comes to my mind is as follows: Is this the same Moshe that we all know? Is this the same Moshe who has always prayed for his people’s survival, and now he prays for their destruction? The Torah claims that Moshe was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Is this what 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 opposition! So how do you explain Moshe’s dis-humble reaction here? Is Moshe truly a humble person or not?!

As I was reading the commentaries, I came across the following explanation given by Rabbi Berel Wein which really touched me. 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—or perhaps even 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!

Moshe was truly the most humble person on the face of the earth. What Korach failed to see was 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, it’s a great thing to be humble, 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! And that’s what humility is all about.

In Judaism, a humble person is defined as someone who does not honor himself, but rather, he has respect for others and respects G-d. Those who are humble do not elevate themselves above others…… they lift others to be high!!!

Shabbat Shalom and 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 ”

It always made me wonder about the motivation of someone who runs a marathon and comes in last. The charming couple in their sixties, strolling together towards the finish line–what made them do it? Each year, some 36,000 people line up to participate in the New York City Marathon, a grueling 26-mile route that runs through all five Boroughs of the city. Of those thousands, only one will come in first. Why do people run the marathon, knowing that they have no chance of coming in one of the top ten, top hundred or even the top thousand? Why do we still see the great joy on the face of the person who finishes at 35,898th position?! What’s the difference between the person who finishes last and the spectator who is just standing on the sideline?

Well, the answer is quite simple. The people who run the marathon race, their aim is not to finish first, but rather, their aim is just to be a part of the race. For them, just completing the marathon itself is a badge of honor and pride, even if they finish last in the race.

In this week’s Parsha, the Torah describes the encampment of the Benei Yisrael in the desert. After hearing the sounds of the silver trumpets, the twelve tribes of Israel packed up their camp, lined up in designated order, and marched forth to their next destination. The tribe of Dan always marched last.

Their job was to bring up the rear and gather up any objects left behind; from missing socks, perhaps, all the way to lost children. They cleaned up after everyone else. It was not a very glorious role. Not nearly as impressive as leading the tribes, like Judah, or carrying the holy vessels like the Levites. But it was a job that needed to get done. They were dedicated to their job and they did never complain. They were just happy to be part the “race”, the race to serve Hashem!

And in addition to run a baggage claim department, the Danites also acted as a role model to the rest of the tribes. They were respected by the rest of the tribes because they never lost perspective. They showed everyone the importance of caring about other people’s property and be sensitive towards others. Those tribes who were the leaders or had an important job such as carrying the Mishkan, sometimes would have become “baalei gaava”–haughty and they could have lost perspective. They would forget that it is Hashem who has given them their leadership positions. But by looking at the tribe of Dan and seeing how dedicated they are to their jobs, they learned to be humble again. The Danites, although were in last place, but they stayed focus to their job and were happy with what they were assigned to. They did what needed to be done and took care of the needs of others. With a wonderful blend of self-esteem, they felt no need to get ahead. They took pride in what they did and they were extremely happy just to be part of Hashem’s army!

Yes my friends, life is just like a marathon race! The aim is not to finish first, but rather, the aim is to just be part of the race. And let’s not lose perspective. The race for “life” is not about who can accumulate more capital in their lifetime, nor is it about who can take the leadership positions, but the race is all about who can serve Hashem and be part of Hashem’s army. We are the Chosen people and we need to stay the Chosen people! This means that we have to follow Hashem’s commandments. But it doesn’t mean that we all have to lead the race! Not everyone has to become Rabbis and great Talmid Chachams. Everyone can run at its own pace! As long as we try to do the best we can and we stay focused to our responsibilities as a Jew, we are doing fine. We started the race as a Jew and we have to finish the race as a Jew. Let’s not stop in the middle!

So my friends, take pride in being a Jew, and be proud to be part of the Hashem’s race and be happy that you are not a spectator on the sideline just like the other nations the world!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” 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 ”

This week’s Parashat Bamidbar, which is also the start of the book of Bamidbar, begins with a census of the Israelites. That is why it is known in English as the book of “Numbers”. The first few chapters in particular are a statistician’s delight! It lists the number of army-age men in each of the twelve tribes, both individually and in the aggregate. This is the third time in span of a single year that Hashem takes the census of Benei Israel. He counted them when they were about to leave Egypt. He counted them after the Golden Calf to establish how many were left. And now that the building of the “Mishkan” was completed and He was about to cause His presence (Shechina) to rest upon them, He counted them again.

The question that comes to mind is why did Hashem want to count the Israelites so many times in such a short period of time? Surely one would have been sufficient! Well, Rashi says that the acts of counting in the torah are gestures of love. When G-d counts the Israelites it is to show that He loves them. The more he counts us, the more he loves us!

But the Torah itself warns us about the dangers of counting the Jews and advises us against it. We find the reason for it given in the book of Shemot where it says: “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each must give to G-d an atonement for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you count them.” This means that there is a risk involved when counting the Jews and we should try to avoid it as much as we can. We see that when centuries later, King David counted the people, there was Divine anger and 70,000 people died.

So, if counting is an expression of love, why is there a prohibition against counting the Jews? Why can G-d count the Jews but not us?! What is the significance of this prohibition?!

Well, there are many interpretations given by our commentators, but the one that I liked the most is given by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of United Kingdom. He says that in taking any census, there is a tendency to focus on the total crowd. For example, here is a nation of 60 million people, or a company with 100,000 employees or a sports crowd of 60,000. Any total tends to value the group or nation as a whole. Counting devalues the individual, and tends to make him or her replaceable. If one soldier dies in battle, another will take his place. If one person leaves the organisation, someone else can be hired to do his or her job. That’s why G-d tells Moses that there is a danger, when counting a nation, that each individual will feel insignificant. “What am I? What difference can I make? I am only one of millions, a mere wave in the ocean, a grain of sand on the sea-shore.”

But when Hashem counts us, is different. He values each individual. The Hebrew word for “to count” is “lifkod” or “lispor”. But the Torah does not use these words for counting the Jews. Instead, the phrase used for counting is, “Se’u et Rosh” which means to “lift the head”. Hashem tells Moshe that when the people come to me for taking census, make sure that they each lift their heads up and be proud of who they are, because they each count and they matter as individuals to me!

Yes my friends, every soul is precious and dear to G-d. We each have  different characteristics and a different role in life. Some of us are meant to be politicians, businessmen, teachers, musicians, scientists, speakers or even writers. Some of us are meant to take care of the elderly and sick. Some of us are meant to raise children. Everyone has a purpose in life and contributes to the society. Each role is as important as the other. The Chachamim say that even a beggar has an important role in life, because if he wasn’t around, none of us could fulfill the mitzvah of giving charity.

The Torah teaches us that each individual counts, however, there is a world of difference between “individuality” and “individualism”. Individuality means that I am a unique and valued member of a team. Individualism means that I am not a team player at all. I am interested in myself alone, not the group. Judaism values individuality, not individualism!

So my friends, we are all important individuals, but we are all part of a team. And the only way a team can succeed is when its members get along and respect each other!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

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 ”

This week’s parsha starts off with such a promising note. Hashem tells the Benei Israel,  ” If you walk in my path and observe my commandments, then I will provide your rains in the right time, you’ll eat and you’ll be satisfied, you’ll live in your land peacefully, I will make you fruitful and increase you, I will walk among you, I will be a G-d unto you and you will be a people unto me…”.

But after such soothing words which gives us great encouragement to do G-d’s commandments, the Torah suddenly changes it’s calm tone of voice into harsh words of criticism. It gives a lengthy harsh rebukes and talks about the troubles and punishments that will come upon the Jewish People if they are disobedient. Thirty consecutive verses of nightmarish misery and suffering, all destined to fall upon the Jewish people when they don’t follow Hashem’s commandments and they commit a sin. Many of the words used are so appalling that they are difficult to read. Indeed, the Chazan is expected to read these verses quickly and in a quieter voice than usual in the Shul, in order to not get the people in a bad mood on Shabbat.

However, after reading these chilling words, an interesting question comes to the minds of our sages. Why is Hashem so angry at the people if they are disobedient and commit sins?? Hashem knows that human beings are just flesh and blood and inevitably they would fail sooner or later and they will sin!! From the beginning of creation, nearly all of our great leaders including Adam HaRishon, Moshe, Aaron and King David committed sins. Every year for Yom Kippur Hashem commands EVERYONE to fast! It’s not an optional fast just for the sinners! It’s as if Hashem expects EVERYONE to sin!! So why all these harsh rebukes and punishments if we sin?! We are talking about the same compassionate G-d who is slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth. Not long ago the entire nation were involved in the sin of the Golden Calf, and Hashem found it in his heart to forgive them! So, what happened now?! What does Hashem expect from us? What is really bothering Him so much? Why does Hashem intensify the punishments if we continue to sin? After all, He knows that we are never going to stop sinning!

Rabbi Berel Wein gives the following explanation. He says the answer is given in the midst of the rebukes itself. The rebukes or punishments intensifies seven times in the passage and the Torah tells us the reason for it. At the end of each series, Hashem says: “If you behave casually with me and refuse to heed me…”, which means “if you think that the sufferings were merely coincidental, then I’m going to intensify the punishments!!” Hashem is not so much bothered by our sins, but He gets mad if He sends us a warning, or a punishment so to speak, and we don’t see it! Hashem wants us to acknowledge his actions! The Torah warns us repeatedly that we will continue to suffer as long as we attribute our suffering to “chance” rather than to our sins. Any kind of misfortune or suffering that may be fallen upon us, should be a wake up call for us! We should be able to see it as a will of G-d. We should look into ourselves and try to find what sins are we committing and try to correct them and repent. But G-d forbid, if we see a misfortune as an accident or bad luck, then we have infuriated Hashem’s anger. We should know that anything that happens to us, whether good or bad, is a will of Hashem and we should acknowledge it. Hashem does not expect us not to sin, but if we do sin, Hashem expect us to acknowledge it and try to repent. If we forget, he might send us a warning and he expect us to see it.

Yes my friends, Judaism does not believe in accidents or “luck”. Everything that happens to us is Hashem’s will. If a person wins $1M in lottery, it’s not because he picked the lucky numbers, but rather, it’s because Hashem wanted him to win the million dollars! If G-d forbid, we get into a car accident, the whole point is not to see if it’s the other guy’s fault or not, but rather, what matters is for us to realize that it was Hashem’s will that we happened to be in the accident. We should never rationalize our destiny as “this is my luck” — instead, we should see it as the will of G-d. If G-d forbid, we are faced with suffering, we should look into ourselves to see if we are doing anything wrong, and try to correct ourselves if we can. Conversely, if we are blessed with good things in life such as prosperity, good health, good wife, healthy children and so on, we shouldn’t think that we’ve been “lucky” or attribute them to our intelligence. Instead, we should see all these blessings as Hashem’s generosity that he has bestowed upon us and we should acknowledge and be grateful to Him on a daily basis.

Remember that Hashem loves us and he doesn’t want to hurt us. If he punishes us sometimes, it’s because he cares for us and he wants to discipline his loving children. All he expect from us is to love him back and not to shut him out of our lives. What he wants, he has already said it passionately at the beginning of the parsha……  “ I will walk among you, I will be a G-d unto you and you will be a people unto me…”.

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”

Once again a good portion of this week’s Parsha is dedicated to the Kohanim. I always wondered why does the Torah dedicate so much of its “air-time” and scripture to the Kohanim? After all, the Torah isn’t such a long book, and it covers the entire story from the Creation all the way to Jews entering the land of Israel, a timespan of a few thousand years. But nearly half of the Torah is dedicated to the Kohanim and the services they do in the Temple, services that are not even relevant to our lives today. Why? It didn’t take me too long to figure out the answer. Hashem, as well as anyone else, loves to talk and brag about his favorite child who is  the most loyal and obedient out of them all! They are the ones who make him proud and he adores them the most! And anyone who is dear to Hashem, should be dear to us too. That’s why its very important to have respect and admiration for our beloved Kohanim!

But after all the love and the affection that exists between Hashem and the Kohanim, we suddenly come across a very strange commandment given in this week’s Parsha. The Torah says: …..a Kohen, who is blemished, blind, lame, having a nose with no bridge, having one limb longer than the other, with a broken leg or arm, with abnormally long eyebrows, with a blemished eye, a dry skin eruption, moist skin eruption, or crushed testicles, “shall not come near to offer a sacrifice to G-d.” Basically, the Torah is telling us that a Kohen who is disabled or exhibits an array of unpleasing features is disqualified from performing his duties in the Temple!

A very disturbing commandment if you may ask me! We consider ourselves a spiritual people,  a people who are commanded to have compassion towards others, a people who look out for the unfortunate among us, a people who are obliged to judge each other by their character—not by their wealth, intellectual knowledge or their physical appearance! Still, when it comes to the kohen serving in the Temple, the Torah clearly looks down and disqualifies the unfortunate!!

So, here we have G-d Himself telling us that those unfortunate individuals among us, as mentioned above, who have done nothing wrong to cause their abnormalities, are disqualified from serving in the Temple. After learning about this commandment, how does He then expect us to treat the disabled, handicapped or the deformed better than He is willing to? After all, aren’t we suppose to imitate G-d? We believe that no one is more fair and just than the Almighty himself. But we see that the United States of America shows more compassion towards the disabled than the Torah. There are many laws in this country which protect the rights of the disabled and the handicapped. So why does Hashem has to discriminate against the unfortunate? What does He have against the people who unfortunately have disabilities?

Rabbi Berel Wein gives the following interesting explanation: A Kohen working in the Temple is both a representative of people and also an agent of G-d. The Kohanim act as the priests or the “ambassadors” for the Jewish people. The Jewish people are supposed to be inspired and awed by the service in the Temple. It would be distracting and detracting for a physically disabled Kohen to perform the service, as holy as he may be. You see, us human beings expect our representatives and Ambassadors to be in excellent physical form and well dressed, someone who is energetic with magnetic charm and charisma! The average height of the United States male Senator is over six feet tall! All of them are well dressed, well spoken and are among the high class society. Because people are influenced by physical stature of their representatives.

The same logic is used for the disabled Kohen. G-d forbid, Hashem does not discriminate against people with disabilities. A person with a disability is as important and as dear to Hashem as any other person. Hashem does not have a problem with a disabled Kohen, but he thinks that we might have! He’s worried that we won’t be able to take it! The problem is not Hashem! We are the problem!! If we don’t have a Kohen with an excellent physique representing us in the Temple, we might lose interest in coming to the Temple and serving Hashem. The Kohen is suppose to be our connection to G-d, which has to be pleasant, charming and appealing! To us human beings, unfortunately, looks does matter, and Hashem knows that. It’s not Hashem who discriminates the disabled Kohen, but rather, it’s our inability to accept an agent of Hashem to be anything less than perfect!!

Yes my friends, Judaism is against any kind of discrimination against the disabled whatsoever. We are obligated to help and respect the disabled as much as we can! Every jewish soul is holy and accounted for. Every disabled person can do all of the mitzvot in the Torah if he is able to. Every disabled man may be counted for a minyan (10 people), should be Bar-Mitzvad at the age of 13 and can get married, if he is able to. The Chachamim go as far as to say that the neshama (soul) of a disabled person, whether mentally or physically, is more pure and holy than an average person; and getting a beracha from these kind of people can sometimes be more effective than getting a beracha from a “perfect” Kohen!!

So my friends, the next time you see a disabled person, don’t try to distance yourself from him, but on the contrary, try to come close and ask him for a blessing. You’ll never know, you might get a blessing of a lifetime!

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 ”

Towards the end of Parashat Acharei Mot, the Torah talks about the forbidden relationships. It talks about prohibitions against sexual relationships with someone’s parents, step-parents, children, step-children, siblings, step-siblings, aunts, uncles, and the like. It even talks about the prohibition against marrying two sisters at the same time, since this will create a rivalry between the two sisters who are suppose to love each other, rather than to hate one another!

Towards the end of all these prohibitions, the Torah also condemns male homosexuality. It says the following for a man: ” Do not lie with a man as you would with a woman. It is an abomination.”

Although the Torah clearly condemns the act of homosexuality, but in today’s modern day society this prohibition is widely challenged.
The people who are pro homosexuality come up with some strong and valid arguments.
In favor of the homosexual, they say that he cannot control his sexual preference. They even bring in “genetics” to explain his preference. They continue their argument by saying that sexual preference is subjective. It is inappropriate to label heterosexual behavior as proper and homosexual behavior as a perversion. Two people study a single piece of art. The beauty of the work inspires one. The other observer finds the work boring and mediocre. Is one correct and the other mistaken? Of course not! Each is entitled to his or her individual opinion. Why should the issue of sexual preference be treated differently? How can heterosexuality be regarded as more proper than homosexual preferences?

Well, how does our Torah answer these questions? How do our Chachamim comment on this issue? Since homosexuality is a very sensitive subject, many of the Chachamim try to avoid talking about it and I couldn’t find much commentaries on this topic. But still some of the medieval commentators such as Rambam, Ramban and Ibn Ezra do reveal their opinion.

Despite all of the modern notions about homosexuality, the Torah considers it unnatural, and therefore is an abomination.  It is forbidden without exception!! Something which is a disgusting act in the eyes of Hashem, should be a disgusting act in our eyes too. All the Chachamim agree that the Torah clearly condemns the act and there is no way around it. But the question that still bothers me is how do the Chachamim explain the genetic issue?? What if a person is really genetically attracted to other men?? What if it’s not his fault and he was born like that? What if he really isn’t attracted to women at all?

Although most of the Chachamim disagree that homosexuality is a genetic or a medical issue, but for the argument’s sake,, let’s assume that it is true. Accordingly, our sages gave the following explanation for the genetic issue problem: They say that the answer to this dilemma lies in the Pasuk (verse) itself. The Torah says that “you shall not lie with another man”……… It doesnot say you should not desire another man!! The Torah is telling us that even if you desire another man, you should have control over your desires!! Just because you desire something, doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to have it!! For the same reason that if you really desire to be with a married woman but you need to have control over your desire since the Torah forbids it, so too, to be with another man, you also need to control yourself since it’s what Hashem demands from you. Hashem never gives us a commandment that is impossible to keep! Since it is written in the Torah in Parashat Nitzavim; ” The commandments that I give you today — it is not distance from you and not far from you. It is not in the heaven, nor across the sea…. Rather, it is very close to you; in your mouth and in your heart to perform it.” Yes, for some people it might be easier to keep a mitzvah, and for some it might be more difficult, but it’s never impossible!!

But the argument doesn’t end here. The homosexual person might say: ” But I’m really not attracted to women?! To me, that is a disgusting act!!” How do we answer this question now?

Well, when I was a kid, I had a friend who would never eat beef, chicken or fish. He would not even come close to them. He claimed that it made him feel nauseous. So every day and every night his Mom had to make him a separate dairy dish for lunch and for dinner. Until one day she was fed up, and she said to herself: ” I had enough! No more of this nonsense!!”. So from that day on she made sure to only make beef, chicken or fish for lunch and dinner everyday. The boy did not eat anything for a few days, but the Mom continued with her stubbornness. He cried, he moaned and he complained, but it was to no use. Until one day, he came to realize that for sure there is not going to be any food other than beef, chicken or fish any more, so he started to eat some of the dinner that the Mom prepared. At the beginning, he did feel nauseous, and he did threw up, but the Mom did not give up. Everyday he ate a little bit more and more and he felt less and less nauseous until eventually he began to like eating meat!

Same idea goes with sexual relationships. If a person knows for sure that there is no alternative than sleeping with the opposite sex, then eventually he is going to like it. Only when there is a choice that he can compare, only then he can show preference towards the forbidden relationship. Some people can only drink soda and not plain water. But if there is no soda ever, do you think that they are not going to drink water?

Yes my friends, Judaism is all about having control over our desires. Hashem wants us to overcome our desires and to be in full control. And this is what separates us from the other nations and makes us the unique nation of G-d; His “Chosen People”! Hashem wants us to have control over what we eat, what we say, what we see, what we hear, and above all, to have control over our sexual desires. All these prohibitions in the Torah is for our own good and is for making us stronger people. Being free to do whatever you want, is not freedom; it means that you are not in control; your desires are controlling you!!

So my friends, remember that Hashem never gives us a commandment which is impossible to keep. It might be challenging, but it’s never impossible!

Shabbat Shalom, Chag Sameyach & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The Torah describes the purification procedure for a metzora (a person afflicted with tzara’at) upon conclusion of his isolation. This process extends for a week and involves korbanot and immersions in the mikveh. Then, a kohen must pronounce the metzora pure. A metzora of limited financial means may substitute lesser offerings for the more expensive animals.

Before a kohen diagnoses that a house has tzara’at, household possessions are removed to prevent them from also being declared ritually impure. The tzara’at is removed by smashing and rebuilding that section of the house. If it reappears, the entire building must be demolished.

The Torah details those bodily secretions that render a person spiritually impure, thereby preventing his contact with holy items, and the Torah defines how one regains a state of ritual purity.

” Dvar Torah “

Parashat Metzora, which is usually read together with last week’s Parashat Tazria, is always read in the month of Nissan. Accordingly, the Chachamim say that there must be a connection between the parsha, the month of Nissan and Chag HaPesach. So, what is the connection?

Well, we all know that Pesach starts on 15th of Nissan, and from the beginning of the month, we, specially the women, are all extremely busy with final stages of house cleaning and getting rid of all the Chametz. I don’t think there is any other Mitzvah in the Torah that the Jews, especially in our community, take it so seriously and perform it at its best. Getting rid of the Chametz is so important to us that we clean our homes from top to bottom so immaculately, by cleaning behind every piece of furniture, scrubbing behind the stove and under our refrigerators, switching over the dishes, covering the countertops, cleaning our basements and much, much more. By the 14th of Nissan, there won’t even be a trace of any chametz left in our houses!

In this week’s Parsha, the Torah also talks about some kind of “house cleansing”. The Torah says: ” When you enter the land of Canaan that I give to you as a possession, and I inflict a tzara’at disease upon a house in the land you possess, the owner of the house shall come and tell the Kohen saying, “Something like an affliction has appeared upon my house.” The Kohen shall command; and they shall clear the whole house before he enters to examine the affliction, so that nothing else in the house shall become contaminated.”

As we had discussed in last week’s Parsha, according to most commentators, “Tzara’at” is a heavenly disease that falls upon people’s homes, furnitures, clothing and eventually on human skin due to committing the sin of “Lashon Ha’ra”, gossiping and negative talking about someone else. The affliction process was something as follows: The wall of the house of the person who indulged in evil talk will undergo a color change. If the person repents, the house becomes pure again; but if he persists in his evil ways, so much so that his house is demolished, then his furniture and accessories will suffer discoloration, but they will regain their purity if he repents. If he fails to abandon his bad ways, to the extent that they have to be burnt, then his garments are affected by the tzara’at. If he repents, they regain their purity…. and if he continues with his ill behavior, the affliction will eventually fall on his body.

This evaluation brings up the following question. We know that this disease was not contagious because it was brought upon a person who committed a specific sin, and could only be stopped if he repents and stops his evil ways. So, why does the torah tells the person whose house walls are afflicted by tzara’at to empty the contents of his house before the Kohen comes to examine it so that the household items won’t become contaminated? We know that if he repents and stops from his slanderous ways, the disease is going to go away and the house will become pure again?! So why to go through the hard process of cleaning the house?

Rabbi Frand gives the following beautiful explanation. The household items of the person whose walls might be afflicted by tzaraat is not going to become contaminated. The only reason the Torah is telling him to remove all the contents of the house, is to give him a warning that if he doesn’t stop from his slanderous ways, his household items are going to be afflicted by the disease too. During the process of taking out the household items, the person may come to realise that what he is doing is wrong and he needs to stop. There is no way to purify the house unless he purifies himself! House cleansing has to be accompanied by spiritual cleansing! All the effort that he has put into taking out all the contents of the house is going to go to waste, if he doesn’t stop from his evil ways. Only then, when he changes himself, does the hard labor of house cleansing become productive and the household items will remain pure!

Yes my friends, in Judaism, physical cleaning has to be accompanied by spiritual cleansing too. They go hand in hand. When you clean your house so thoroughly from any Chametz in your possession for Pessach, you have to make sure to clean the chametz inside you too! Chametz is a fermented dough that rises. The Chachamim say that the chametz within us or the “spiritual chametz” so to speak, is the “Ga’ava”– the person’s ego and the sense of superiority that he has over the others. Pessach is the time to get rid of all these. We should respect every human being for what they are and we should never look down on other people. Just because we might have more money than others, or better looks, a better looking wife or a larger family, doesnot make us superior over them. We are all children of Hashem who deserve to be respected equally. Keep in mind that all the effort and the energy that you’ve put into cleaning your house will be worthless if you don’t get rid of the chametz inside you too!

Pessach is the time to get rid of any grudges you might have towards your fellow Jew. Pessach is the time to get rid of any anger you might have toward your loved ones. Pessach is the time to forgive others and to come close to them again. Pessach is the time to love and not to hate. If we can do all these, then we can proudly say that we have got rid of ALL of the chametz in our possessions, both physically and spiritually! And then, we can be sure to have a Happy and a Kosher Passover!

Shabbat Shalom and Regards;

Martin