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”. Rabbi Frand explains the reason as follows: “The pursuit OF righteousness must be done 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, nor can he take the side of a widow or an orphan. 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 join the prosecution team?! 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 yourself why? Why is the court disqualified? If the evidences are so strong against the accused, why can’t the court find him guilty?! Why does it matter if anyone is going to defend him or not? For example, if a serial killer is caught, and there are more than 10 witnesses who saw him kill someone each time, the guy is guilty and should be trialed and punished! So what that he doesn’t have a defence team?!

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. 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 in his defence 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 people —– we are here to love them!

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 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, once again, Moshe reviews the commandments of the Torah with Benei Yisrael. 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 have 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 even 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 you may ask yourself, why is Moshe so concern about 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 happy when we are giving charity or helping the poor?

Rabbi Frand gives a beautiful explanation to the above question. 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. When we are donating to charity, first we 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 reason we may feel unhappy about giving to charity is when we wrongfully think that we have made our money on our own. “I worked hard for this money”, we may say to ourselves. 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 on 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 participate in this 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 “

Although all parts of the Torah are equally important and should be all interesting, but in every Parsha there are always some sentences or paragraphs that catches your eyes. Well in this week’s Parsha, Moshe continues with his farewell speech to the Benei Israel. In middle of giving them advice on how to continue with their lives in the Promised Land without his leadership, he tells them the following sentence which really touched my heart:

“A Land that Hashem, your G-d, seeks out; the eyes of Hashem, your G-d, are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year “.

A beautiful statement about the land of Israel. G-d always watches over the Land of Israel. But why does Moshe need to tell them that? Why is it important for Benei Israel to know that G-d is always protecting Israel? What is the significance of this declaration?

Well, Rabbi Frand says that in order to understand this sentence, we need to evaluate the sin of the spies which occurred 40 years before. So, what exactly did the Spies do wrong? They honestly believed that it would be impossible to conquer the land. What they said was the truth. The people who lived in the land were giants. Even the greatest army could not defeat them. So why did they get punished?  

Well, The Baal HaAkeidah (a Torah scholar) suggests that the spies’ sin was to add editorial observations to the facts. They should just have described the situation, and left it to Moshe to interpret it for the people. They should not have proclaimed that there was no way for the Jews to conquer the land.

But Shelah, another commentator, rejects the approach of the Akeidah. After all, he says, Moshe did ask them to share information regarding the strength of people living in Canaan at that point, which requires subjective judgment. One cannot expect a messenger to deliver only the facts on a matter that is so subjective without adding a conclusion?! For example, when you want to buy a new home, you will probably get an inspector to inspect the house first. After doing an inspection, he will give you a report of all the problems that exists in the house. There is a plumbing problem in the bathroom; there is a leak in the roof; the kitchen faucet is not working; and so on….. But at the end, you want him to tell you if it’s a good house to buy or not. Same way, the report of the spies asks for a conclusion! Why should they be at fault?!

The Shelah suggests that Moshe was interested in hearing the Spies opinion, but not one based solely on military actions. Instead he wanted to hear their opinion based on spirituality and to show faith in G-d. Moshe knew that they would find fortified cities inhabited by powerful giants. But the appropriate response to such findings should have been, “Yes, they are strong, and yes, their cities are protected, and through natural means, we don’t stand a chance. But Hashem has told us that we should go into the land, so we will certainly defeat them.” They were supposed to remind the people that just as Hashem had saved them miraculously at the Yam Suf, the same way He will miraculously conquer the land for them too. The spies mistake was to not take into consideration the power of G-d!

But Rabbi Frand still has a problem with Shelah’s interpretation. He says that according to Jewish law, we cannot base our actions on miracles. For example, you cannot sit in the office do nothing and hope that miraculously a customer will walk in and buy something from you. You have to make the call, you have to travel out of town and try your best to sell. You should not rely on miracles only. Accordingly, you cannot expect from the spies to purely rely on a miracle to conquer the land! So why were they punished so severely?!

Rabbi Frand answers that although in all other areas of life, we should avoid depending on miracles as much as possible, when it comes to conquering Eretz Yisrael, we should ALWAYS rely on Hashem’s help. There is no way to live in Eretz Yisrael under natural circumstances. Without Hashem’s Presence, Eretz Yisrael is not inhabitable. And this is exactly the mistake of the spies. When it comes to conquering Israel, they should have relied on G-d’s miracles only.

And this is what Moshe is trying to teach them now that Israel is a special land, different than all other lands. Because it is “A Land that Hashem, your God, seeks out; the eyes of Hashem, your God, are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to year’s end”.

Yes my friends, Israel exists only because G-d is watching over it at all times! You don’t need to be a genius to realize how miraculously Israel continues to exist and prospers. Surrounded by millions or maybe billions of enemies, being continuously under attack, it still continues to thrive. Israel exists not because it has one of the best armies in the world, but rather, it exists because G-d is watching over it. Let’s not lose perspective. Israel’s existence is a supernatural phenomena!

A few years ago, Israel was under heavy attack by scud missiles. Israel used Iron Dome to intercept these rockets and B”H there were no fatalities. If you were in Israel at that time, you could have looked up in the sky and saw the Iron Domes intercepting the rockets. But if you would have looked beyond the interception, you would have probably seen the hand of 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 in this world. So, in this week’s Parsha too, Moshe continues to remind 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, why did Moshe add this phrase?!  What is the significance of this additional phrase?

Rabbi Frand explains 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 were poor. The parents could not afford to spend 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!”

It was so appropriate for Moshe to relate this message to Benei Israel  now, after they had spent their last 40 years in the desert.  Since 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 given 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 out of an obligation of repaying 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 ever buy for yourselves!

But remember my friends that respecting parents it’s not only about showing them courtesy by kissing their hands and standing up in front of them when you see them. Honoring parents is also about supporting them physically, mentally and financially when they get older. Unfortunately, there may come some days that we have to miss work, sleep and leisure time in order to be with them and help them in every way we can. But in no way we should feel proud of our actions and feel special for what we do. This is the least that we could do for our parents, and I’m sure we would all do a lot more for them if we were able to. The Chachamim say that someone who respects his parents does not deserve a pat on the back, but someone who does not respect his parents deserves a slap on the wrist.

So my friends, love and respect your parents as much as you can. This is what Hashem expects from you and this is what your heart should desire. Cherish every moments with them, because they won’t be with you forever…

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, since when a loved one passes away it creates a vacuum in the family members’ lives which is very hard to fill. So, how can a mourner cope with the pain? How can he 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 lack of memory, or forgetfulness, is a great blessing that Hashem has bestowed upon!

Tisha B’Av (9th of Av) is also a day 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 because the Shechina (G-d’s presence) has left us. It seems that our connection to G-d has been lost. Since the destruction of Beit Hamikdash, 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. And above all, we no longer had any true Prophets that could relate to us the words of G-d. To this day, many people still cry heavily and mourn on Tisha B’Av because we’ve lost our connection to G-d.

But the question that comes to mind is why can’t we find comfort 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 and 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 comes to the rescue and gives this beautiful explanation. He says that the formula for forgetfulness only works when the person is actually dead. Only after you bury the deceased, you can start to forget and find comfort. But if the person is only missing and is still alive, then you can not forget about him! 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 is watching over us and protecting us from the far.

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, it’s the ultimate day of “hope”! Because we strongly believe that Mashiach is going to come and build the third Beit Hamikdash and the Shechina is going to come back and live among us once again. The question is not “if” Mashiach is going to come, but it’s only a matter of time, “when”?! 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.

Keep in mind my friends that we have a G-d who is invisible. Although we can not see him, He can see us. We can not hear him, but He can hear us. We can not touch him, but he’s still in touch with us! He is still watching over us and He will never abandon us! And that’s the true message of Tisha B’Av…..

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 mourning 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 Parshat 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 leviim, 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 the first of the two Parshiot of this week, Parshat Matot, the Torah talks about when 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, a strange scenario takes place. 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.”

Although, what the Reubenites and the Gadites did was approved by Moshe, but still, their action was criticised by many commentators. The whole idea of leaving their children behind the Jordan River because they wanted a safe haven for their cattle was wrong. 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 too much 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.

Remember that nothing can replace the “time” that you spend with your children; not even an Xbox, iPhone or an iPad. Children need our attention and our guidance. We need them as much as they need us! 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 says that the desire for making money is greater than any other physical pleasures, since it is the only one that is insatiable. There is a limit on how much you can eat; there is a limit on how much you can drink or indulge in sexual activities. But there is no limit to how much money you can accumulate. The quest for wealth can become more obsessive than any other quest. And all too often, the children have to pay the price!

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Aaron’s grandson, Pinchas, is rewarded for his act of zealotry in killing the Shimonite prince Zimri and the Midianite princess: G-d grants him a covenant of peace and the priesthood.

A census of the people counts 601,730 men between the ages of 20 and 60. Moshe is instructed on how the Land is to be divided by lottery among the tribes and families of Israel. The five daughters of Tzelafchad petition Moshe that they be granted the portion of the land belonging to their father, who died without sons; G-d accepts their claim and incorporates it into the Torah’s laws of inheritance.

Moshe empowers Joshua to succeed him and lead the people into the Land of Israel. The Parshah concludes with a detailed list of the daily offerings, and the additional offerings brought on Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and the festivals of Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret.

” Dvar Torah “

After almost forty years of wandering in the desert, the Jews finally reached the borders of Israel and were allowed to enter it. At this point, Hashem tells Moshe how to distribute the land among the Children of Israel, which is by lottery, and a portion is given to each tribe. And each tribe distributes its land among the heads of each family, which unlike today’s times, the man of house was the head of the family. However, Tzelafchad, a man from the tribe of Menasheh, died in the wilderness and left no sons behind. He was not part of Korach’s rebellion and his five daughters wanted to make sure that they receive his share in his name. So they came up to Moshe, Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly asking the following: “Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s brothers!” Moshe, not sure of the law regarding father’s inheritance towards daughters, brings the issue before G-d, and G-d responds saying “The plea of Tzelafchad’s daughters is just: you should surely give them a hereditary holding among their father’s kinsmen; transfer their father’s share to them”.

However, in tracing the background of the daughters of Tzelafchad, the Torah seems to provide redundant information. The pasuk says: “The daughters of Tzelafchat, son of Hefer, son of Gilad, son of Machir, son of Menasheh, son of Joseph came near, …… and they stood before Moshe…” The Chachamim ask why did the tracing back their ancestors stopped at Yosef and didn’t go back to Jacob, Isaac or even Avraham? Rashi explains that the Torah is trying to show to us that the love for Eretz Yisrael is genetic. Yosef loved the Land of Israel and insisted that his bones be returned there after his death. This love for Eretz Yisrael ran in his family all the way down to Tzelafchad’s daughters, who insisted that they be given their fair portion in the Land.

Although, most commentators are satisfied with Rashi’s explanation, but there are still some who have doubts in Tzelafchad daughters love for Israel. Accordingly, they ask the following question: “How do we know their love for Eretz Yisrael was genuine? What if they were interested in the land for its financial benefit?”

Well, in order to answer this question, Rabbi Frand says that we first need to know who Tzelafchad was. There are difference of opinions regarding Tzelafchad’s identity. Some say that he was the wood-gatherer who desecrated Shabath and was killed, while others believe that he was among the group who tried to force their way into Canaan after the decree of the spies and was killed by the Canaanites. Either way, Tzelafchad’s death occurred some 38 years before the events of this week’s Parsha. If Tzelafchad’s daughters were interested in their father’s estate from a strictly financial point of view, why would they have waited 38 years to ask for it? Also, inheritance is not limited to land. What about his cattle? What about his other properties? Apparently, they were not interested in that. It was only now, when they were on the doorstep of Eretz Yisrael that they came pressing their claim for inheritance of their father’s portion. This is the demonstration of their love for the Land. They were silent regarding the cash and other valuable properties. However, their inheritance in the Land of Israel mattered greatly to them. And they inherited this affection to the Land from their great grandfather, Yosef!

Yes my friends, you don’t need to live in Israel in order to love Israel! Loving Israel is in our blood! Throughout the Jewish history, people showed their love for Eretz Yisrael even before seeing the land. Avraham left the comfort of his hometown, where he was well known and successful, to move to Israel, a land he has never seen before. Moshe Rabeinu pleaded with G-d several times to let him walk across the land just for once, which was unfortunately denied. Ruth, a gentile woman, followed her mother in law, Naomi, who had nothing to offer her, except the land of Israel!

So, what is it about this land that everyone is so crazy about? Is it because the land is holy and you feel closer to G-d? Is it because even the first time you step foot on this land, it feels as if you’ve come home? Is it because everyone around you is Jewish and you feel safe and secure living among your brothers? Is it because, Hashem protects and blesses the Land, as long as we keep his commandments? Is it because the land prospers miraculously, when it’s in the hand of the Jews? Or, could it be all of the above???

The Chachamim go as far as to say, that just breathing the air in Eretz Yisrael is a mitzvah! It is a privilege to live in our times; the time that we can walk freely on our land and see for ourselves the land flowing with milk and honey. It’s not a coincident that for 2000 years, when Israel was in the hand of other nations, it did not prosper and was just a desert. And now, only after 68 years, once the Jews took over, it has become one of the most advanced and productive countries in the world. We don’t need to be a genius or a Torah scholar to see that G-d wants the Jews to live in this land. He wants us to love and cherish this land, just like our ancestors did. The land that Moshe dreamed to put his feet upon it. Let’s not take it for granted!

In Iran, there is a city called Esfehan, and because of its charm, beauty and character, it’s been given the title of “nesfeh Jahan”– “half of the world”! But I’m afraid that they’ve got it all wrong, since the WHOLE world can be found in Israel!

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 issued 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 although not Jewish, feared G-d. According to the Moabites, Bilaam was a very powerful man. 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. Some Chachamim say that his vision of prophecy was in the same level, if not greater than Moshe. But the Chachamim say that he was a very wicked man. He was greedy and a fortune-lover. 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 the Israelites a few times! So how can we prove his wickedness and his greed?

Rabbi Berel Wein says that the answer can be found in the Parsha itself. So this is what happened in the Parsha:   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 Israelites rather than to fight them. And he chose Bilaam who supposedly had the power to curse.

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 tells 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 these 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! That was 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?? Even a simple “WOW” would have been sufficient!!!

Rabbi Wein explains that 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 at all! All he was thinking about was the fortune that he is going to accumulate once he completes his mission. When his donkey deviated from her path, he didn’t even stop to see what’s wrong with her. He just kept hitting her, to get her back on the path as fast as possible! Bilaam’s wickedness was not just his hatred towards the Jews, but rather, it was the greed and the love he had for fame and fortune, that blinded him from seeing the miracles 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 way! But when Bilaam saw a once in a lifetime miracle, a talking donkey, he just wanted to continue to go on his path, as if nothing has happened!

Yes my friends, it’s very easy to criticize others, but are we any different ourselves? I think there is a little bit of Bilaam in all of us. We all want to be rich and famous! We all have a little greed for fortune and glory! But with being so, we shouldn’t miss the miracles around us. In Judaism, miracle is not just a supernatural event that takes place, but rather, any act of G-d that we benefit from is a miracle! For example, 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. But do we spend sometime with our family to appreciate this, or all we think about is to go to work as fast as we can and make more money?! Do we dedicate anytime praying to Hashem each morning and thanking him for what he has given us, or the urge to accumulate more wealth doesn’t allow us to do so?! Miracles happen around us all the time. All we need to do is to open our eyes and appreciate them!

It’s sad but it’s true. A donkey who is known for lacking in intelligence, takes notice of a miracle and stops…….. But us human beings, the most intelligent creatures on the face of the earth, don’t see the miracles and continue on our journey of life in the fast lane!

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 is taught the laws of the “Red Cow”, whose ashes purify a person who has been contaminated by contact with a dead body.

After 40 years of journeying through the desert, Miriam dies and the people thirst for water. G-d tells Moshe to speak to a rock and command it to give water. Moshe gets angry at the rebellious Israelites and strikes the rock. Water issues forth, but Moshe is told by G-d that neither he nor Aaron will enter the Promised Land.

Aaron dies at Har Hahar and is succeeded in the High Priesthood by his son Elazar.

Venomous snakes attack the Israelite camp after yet another eruption of discontent in which the people “speak against G-d and Moshe”; G-d tells Moshe to place a copper serpent upon a high pole, and all who will gaze heavenward will be healed.

Moshe leads the people in battles against the Emorite kings Sichon and Og (who seek to prevent Israel’s passage through their territory) and conquers their lands, which lie east of the Jordan.

“ Dvar Torah “

The most striking episode in this week’s Parsha is the moment when the people complain about the lack of water. G-d tells Moses to take his staff and speak to the rock and water will appear. This then follows:

He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’  Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But G-d said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not have sufficient faith in Me to sanctify Me before the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land I have given you.”

There are difference of opinions among the commentators in regards to what actually Moses did wrong to receive such harsh punishment. Some say he lost his temper with the people (“Listen now, you rebels”). Some say he hit the rock instead of speaking to it. And others believe that he made it seem as if it was not G-d but he and Aaron who were responsible for the water (“Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?”).

What is puzzling still is why he lost control at that moment. He had faced the same problem few times before, but he had never lost his temper before. People have asked for water before. G-d then told Moses to take his staff and hit the rock, and water flowed from it. So when in our parsha G-d tells Moses, “Take the staff … and speak to the rock,” it was surely a forgivable mistake to assume that G-d meant him also to hit it. That is what he had commanded last time. Moses was following the same sequence.

What is even harder to understand is the order of events. G-d had already told Moses exactly what to do. Gather the people. Speak to the rock, and water will flow. This was before Moses made his ill-tempered speech, beginning,“Listen, now you rebels.” It is understandable if you lose your composure when you are faced with a problem that seems unsolvable. But Moses had received the solution. Why then was he so agitated about the problem?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says that the answer can be found in the Parsha itself. Earlier in the Parsha, the Torah says: “The people stopped at Kadesh. There, Miriam died and was buried.” Only then does it state that the people had no water. The commentators explain that the people had been blessed by a miraculous source of water in the merit of Miriam. When she died, the water ceased.

When Miriam died, Moses was in a state of enormous grieve. Miriam was his elder sister. She had watched over his fate when, as a baby, he had been placed in a basket and floated down the Nile. She had the courage to speak to Pharaoh’s daughter and suggest that he be nursed by a Hebrew, thus reuniting Moses and his mother and ensuring that he grew up knowing who he was and to which people he belonged. He owed his sense of identity to her. Without Miriam, he could never have become the greatest prophet of all times, talking to G-d face to face! Losing her, he not only lost his sister. He lost the person whom he owed his entire life to!

Bereaved, you lose control of your emotions. You find yourself angry when the situation calls for calm. You hit when you are supposed to speak, and you speak when you should be silent. Even when G-d has told you what to do, you are only half-listening. You hear the words but they do not fully enter your mind. This is what happened to Jacob when he thought he had lost Joseph. The Shechina departed from him for 22 years! And this is also what happened to Moses at the rock. He was not so much a prophet as a man who had just lost his beloved sister. He was heartbroken and not in control. He was the greatest of the prophets, but he was also a human with feelings and emotions! And that’s why he lost control of the situation which he had to pay a great price for it.

Yes my friends, our Parsha is about “Mortality”! G-d is eternal; we are mortal! Miriam dies, Aaron dies and eventually Moses dies too. Together they constituted the greatest leadership team the Jewish people has ever known, Moses the supreme prophet, Aaron the first High Priest, and Miriam perhaps the greatest of them all. The Parsha teaches us that even the greatest are mortal. Death is devastating, but it’s inevitable. For each of us there may be a Jordan we will not cross, or a promised land we will not enter. We are flesh and blood. We grow old. We lose those we love. Seemingly, we struggle to maintain our composure but inside we weep. Yet life goes on, and what we began, others will continue.

We may never know what exactly was the sin of Moses, or why it merited so severe a punishment. But we sure get to know that even the greatest leader of all time, his reign has to come to an end, whether we like it or not.

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 “

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

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

” Dvar Torah “

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes my friends, humility is one of the greatest characteristic anyone can possess, but humility does not mean to lower your self-esteem. Whenever you are blessed with some talents or special 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 get haughty, since you know that if Hashem would had given these qualities to others, they would be as good as you, or even better!

So my friends, the Oxford dictionary may define humility as a feeling of inferior, however, in Judaism, it’s acknowledging your talents, but remembering that it’s all G-d given!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

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

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

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

” Dvar Torah “

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

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

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

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

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

Yes my friends, you can also go through life as a tourist or as an inspector! The choice is yours! You can either explore and appreciate all the beauties surrounding you and be thankful to Hashem for all the blessings that He has bestowed upon you, or you can just look for faults and be dissatisfied with your life! Because if you look for faults, you will surely find them. My wife burnt the food…… The business is slow……. My house is too small…… and so on! But when you are dissatisfied with what you have, it means that you are not happy with what Hashem has given you and that’s wrong. It shows lack of faith. But on the other hand, you can look for the good things in life and be grateful to Hashem. Appreciate your healthy spouse and children being around you….. Appreciate the times and the country you live in, where you can live in peace and exercise your religion……Appreciate your health….. And so on! Remember that life becomes more meaningful when you appreciate it.

So my friends, if you decide to live your life as a tourist and capture the beauties around you, please be kind enough and share them with your friends too. In today’s times, it’s so easy to do so. You can post them on FB, Instagram or Snapchat them……..

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin