Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

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

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

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

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

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

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

“ Dvar Torah “

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

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

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

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

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

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

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

” Dvar Torah “

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

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

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

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

” Dvar Torah ”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;
Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

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

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

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

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

” Dvar Torah ”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

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

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

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

” Dvar Torah ”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

” Dear Friends;

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

” Parshiot in a Nutshell ”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

” Dvar Torah ”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;

Martin