bamidbar / shavuos

The posuk says 'וימת נדב ואביהוא לפני ה ,and Nadav and Avihu died before 'ה. The Midrash says, Nadav & Avihu saw Moshe & Aaron walking up front,with them following,and the rest of כלל ישראל behind them. Nadav said to Avihu, when are these two old men going to die so we could take over? Then 'ה said, let's see who will bury who. They're going to bury you & they will lead the people. The בן איש חיי asks, how do we understand this midrash? Is it possible that נדב ואביהוא who were great tzadikim, were wishing the death of Moshe & Aaron? In the sefer בינה לעיתים he answers this in a very unique way. He prefaces it with the mishna in avos that says איזהו חכם - הלומד מכל אדם, who is the wise man? The one who learns from all people - from the young & from the old. The mitzvos of the Torah are divided into two categories. One is the mitzvos whose essence is abstaining from the pleasures of this world, like not gorging ourselves with food & drink, or staying away from forbidden pleasures & the like. It's these types of mitzvos that we need to learn from the younger generation. They have intense desires for these pleasures, & have the means to do them, yet still they cling to Torah & mitzvos. We have to learn from them, as opposed to the older accomplished tzaddik whom we could easily say doesn't have the desire any more. Therefore, it's no challenge for them to control themselves. The second category is mitzvos that necessitate the strength of a person such as getting up early to daven, be it in the snow or pouring rain & learning with full concentration, doing the mitzvos etc. For this we could look to the older generation to see how we should act. Even in their weakened state they still push themselves to the limit in the service of 'ה. This is what the mishna meant when it said to learn from all people. Learn from the kids how to control your desires, & learn from the elders how to push yourself to serve 'ה . This was the reasoning of נדב ואביהוא. They felt that the younger generation wouldn't relate to Moshe & Aaron in how to serve 'ה. Moshe & Aaron were so far removed from any earthly pleasures that נדב ואביהוא thought the people couldn't learn from them. Therefore they felt that if they were the leaders, being that they were young too, and still tzadikim, then the people would learn from them. Obviously their reasoning was wrong & Moshe and Aaron were the ones that led the generation. How is it that even though they were seemingly out of touch with the people they were still able to lead & connect to the people? There's a story told of רב יהודה בן עטר who was walking home one afternoon for lunch when he walked by the shop of a Jewish spice merchant who also wanted to go home to eat. However, for him to close the store required a lot of effort for there were big sacks of spices that he kept outside that would all have to be brought in. When he saw the great sage he turned to him and said with naive simplicity, "rebbi can you please do a chesed and just watch the store for a little so I can go eat?" The rabbi said, "sure my son, go eat & enjoy." The man left. The rabbi stayed & watched the store, all the while reviewing his learning. A short time later ר יעקב בן צור passed by & saw רב יהודה בן עטר manning the store. Bewildered, he said "what's the rabbi doing here?" With a smile רב יהודה בן עטר said "the owner gave me the opportunity to do a great mitzva of chesed & let me watch the store for a little while". ר יעקב got angry & said what nerve! רב יהודה said no, not nerve, rather simplicity. Additionally, in his naivete he taught me what the yerushalmi meant when it said about ר' יהודה הנשיא that because of his great humility he did whatever anyone asked of him. Continued רב יהודה, I never understood what he meant. If it meant he lent people money or gave charity, he was a very wealthy man! He was obligated to help others. If he meant going to make peace between man & his friend, that's obligatory too. So what did he do that was out of the ordinary that he only did because of his humility? It must have been for a situation like this, to watch the store of a spice merchant. Now If ר יהודה הנשיא, who was the leader of כלל ישראל did things like this, how much more so should I! This is how even the greatest leaders connect to the people with warmth & humility. Moshe as we know, was the epitome of humility, so he was able to connect to the people regardless of level. As we head into Shavuos & prepare to accept the Torah, we have to remember that humility is the prerequisite for Torah. Let's humble ourselves to be able learn from anyone in our quest to become closer to 'ה & His Torah!

behar/ bechukosai

The posuk says וכי ימוך אחיך when your brother will be impoverished והחזקת בו and you will strengthen him. Why does it say והחזקת בו it should say והחזקת אותו , you will strengthen him? Similarly, asks the Chafetz Chaim on the posuk of עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה, a tree of life for those who grasp it. Why does it say למחזיקים בה & not למחזיקים אותהthose who grasp it? He explains that even though it appears on the outside that the supporters of Torah are the ones that uphold it, in reality, it's the Torah that's upholding its supporters. So too over here, says the אדמו"ר מסקולען, one who uplifts & supports the poor man is in reality supporting himself. As chazal say, more than the homeowner does for the poor man, the poor man does for the homeowner. We can understand how this works from the following mashal from the דובנא מגיד. There was a wealthy man who had two sons who went to live in a faraway city. One was a successful businessman while the other was a pauper. After many years of not seeing their father, the wealthy son got a telegram from him saying that their younger brother was getting married, & he should get his brother & get whatever clothes & things that he needs & come back to town. He told him not to skimp on anything for whatever he spends for his father's honor he would be reimbursed. When the wealthy son read that letter he went out to the stores & bought expensive clothes & jewelry for himself, his wife & children. He spared no expense. As they were getting ready to leave, he remembered he had to get his brother too, so he sent messengers to find his brother. They found him in tattered clothes & barefoot, & they just put him in the carriage without even an explanation. As the carriage came closer to town people came out to greet them. First the wealthy brother came down from the carriage all dressed in his fancy clothes. All the people asked, who's that? The others answered, that's the son of the wealthiest man in town. Then the other brother came down in his raggedy clothes & barefoot, & the people asked, who's that? The answer they got was the same: the son of the wealthiest man in town who lives in the same town as his brother. While the people thought this was despicable, they didn't say anything. A few weeks after the wedding the wealthy son came to the father & said he had to go back home. The father said ok, so go. No one's stopping you. When he saw that he wasn't forthcoming with the monies he had promised, the son said, here's the bill for all I spent. The clothes for me my wife & kids, the money I spent on traveling; please pay me so I can go. The father said, I don't owe you anything. The son cried out, what do you mean?? You said you would pay for everything! The father said, read what I wrote again. I said that anything you spent for my honor I would pay for, but you didn't spend anything for my honor - only for your own. If you had done it for my honor then how could you have brought your brother here barefoot & in tattered clothes? Didn't you think that would cause me embarrassment & pain? Is there no better proof that everything you did you did only for yourself? Hashem is the same way with us. When we take care of the poor brother then whatever we spend on ourselves is on Him too & 'ה will make sure we have all that we need. However, if we neglect the poor man then we're on our own. By helping the poor person we're in reality helping ourselves; we're showing 'ה that even what we do for ourselves we're really doing for His honor!

emor

The posuk says ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל , and I will be sanctified amidst the בני ישראל. The gemara learns from here that when we say a דבר שבקדושה like ברכו , אמן יהא שמיה רבה and קדושה they can't be done with less than ten men. The חפץ חיים says that according to the זוהר, one who davens with a minyan & says קדיש and קדושה fulfills the positive commandment of ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל. He further elaborates with the gemara that tells us that when the Jewish people go into their shuls and answer  אמן יהא שמיה רבה, Hashem so to speak, shakes his head and says, "Praised is the king who's exalted in His house, the בית המקדש. Woe to the father that exiled his children & woe to the children that were exiled from their father's table". The רוקח says that 'ה continued saying, "when am I going to return to my sanctuary, when am I going to gather up all the people that are scattered among the nations? when they exalt the holiness of My great name." All this happens in heaven at the time there are ten men saying אמן יהא שמיה רבה. Hashem's love for כלל ישראל is aroused & he recalls our exile & will hasten our redemption. Also, says ר יהושע בן לוי, anyone who says אמן יהא שמיה רבה with full concentration will annul any harsh decrees against him. This is great for the men who go to shul every day and daven with a minyan, but what about women? How can they connect to 'ה? The sefer נחלת אבות relates an amazing story. There was a man named יוחאי who was married to a woman named שרה. They were married for many years. Unfortunately they had no children, & after a long time יוחאי was thinking about divorcing שרה. When she realized what he was thinking, she would fast & pray. With tears & a broken heart she cried out to 'ה that He should grant her a child. It was the night of Rosh Hashana and יוחאי had a dream. In it he was standing in a forest with thousands of trees. Some of them gave fruit & some of them were dried out. He was on one of the dried out ones, when suddenly he saw a man with a majestic appearance come into the forest with a pitcher in his hand. He would water some of the dried out trees & skip over others. When he got to the tree that יוחאי was on, he stopped, put down the pitcher & took out of his pocket a small flask & watered only that tree with the little bit of water from the flask. That little bit of water covered the entire tree & immediately that tree grew the most magnificent fruit. When he awoke he told his wife about the dream he had. He told her the interpretation is simple. The forest is this world & the trees are the women. Some give offspring & some are barren. On Rosh Hashana they're all remembered, & some will be given children & some will remain barren. You my wife were the tree that I was on, & you were remembered to have children that would enlighten the world with their Torah. Only one question remains. Why were all the other trees watered from the pitcher & my tree was watered from a little flask? After Rosh Hashana they went to רבי עקיבא and told him the dream, which he interpreted the same way, only adding that in truth, יוחאי's wife was supposed to remain barren, however, the flask that he saw watering the tree were her tears. The same tears she shed crying out to 'ה to grant her a child. Those tears washed away the judgment against her and she would have a son who will illuminate the entire world with his wisdom. That son was  רבי שמעון בר יוחאי. We see from here how powerful prayer can be, whether it's the men in shul answering אמן יהא שמיה רבה with full concentration, or the women at home davening with tears. Prayer has the power to annul harsh decrees & to bring us back to ירושלים where we'll be zoche to the rebuilding of the בית המקדש speedily in our day!

Achrei-Mos/Kedoshim

The Posuk says בצדק תשפוט עמיתך , with righteousness you shall judge your friend. Rashi says this means that one should judge his friend favorably. Rashi on the gemara in שבועות says that it means if you see someone doing something that you could interpret for good or for bad, you should interpret it for good & not suspect them of bad. Oftentimes when we see people doing things, we don't judge them favorably on the grounds that we see exactly what they're doing & feel there is no way they could be doing the right thing. However let's say that the person who was doing this was one's father or sister. Wouldn't we try to find some way to justify what they were doing? ר' דב יפה says it's similar to one who loses something very valuable. First he searches in all the places where it would normally be, then he'll even check in places where there's no reason for it to be. If he still doesn't find it he'll go back & check again even though he already checked, in the hopes that maybe he didn't check well the first time. So too over here we have to search for a way to judge the person favorably. It's said over about ר' אריה לוין that he always judged people favorably, even when it seemed far fetched, because of the following incident that happened to him. He was at the funeral of ר' אלעזר ריבלין who had a very close friend ר' שמואל קוק with whom he had worked with & been close friends for over thirty years. Suddenly at the start of the levaya ר' שמואל קוק left & went to a nearby store to buy a flowerpot. ר' אריה לוין thought to himself, how does a good friend do that? He couldn't find a better time to buy a flowerpot? After the lavaya ר' אריה לוין went over to him and said, I don't understand. You guys were like brothers. How do you leave the funeral to buy a flowerpot? ר' שמואל answered that the doctors had said that for contamination reasons, all of ר' אלעזר 's possessions had to be burned. Included in his possessions were his teffilin. I pleaded with the doctors with all my heart to let me have the teffilin so that they wouldn't be burnt. Finally, the doctor said that if I bring him a flowerpot by twelve o'clock he will put them in there & then I could bury them & they wouldn't be burnt. So you see, I had no choice. After that said ר אריה לוין, I took upon myself that no matter what a situation looks like, to judge favorably. The בעש"ט writes that when נתן הנביא reprimanded דוד המלך on the incident with בת שבע, he began with a story of two men - one rich & one poor. The only thing the poor man owned was one small sheep. One day the rich man stole the poor man's sheep. When דוד המלך heard that he was infuriated & said, "Let the man who did this die!" Then the prophet told him that this was just a mashal & he, דוד, was the rich man. דוד המלך had passed judgment on himself. This is how we are judged too. When we are to be judged on a sin that we did, we are shown someone else doing that same sin albeit in a different fashion. When we're all up in arms, saying how a person who does that deserves to be punished, we're really passing judgment on ourselves. We need to learn from here to always give the benefit of the doubt & judge people how you yourself would want to be judged, for you never know you might just be judging yourself!