Ki Seitzei

When the Torah tells us the mitzva of returning a lost object it says והתעלמת מהם השב תשיבם, hide yourself from them; you shall surely return them. The gemara learns from this that there are times when one is allowed to hide himself & act like he doesn't see the lost object. For instance, when the one who found it is a respectable person & the object is something that's beneath his dignity to carry around.

The next posuk says לא תראה את חמור אחיך או שורו נפלים בדרך והתעלמת מהם הקם תקים עמו, you shall not see the donkey of your brother or his ox falling on the road and hide yourself from them; you shall surely raise it with him. When the posuk says you have to help him pick up the animal it uses the same wording - והתעלמת מהם - that it did by your friend's lost object. Here it doesn't make any distinctions as to who has to help, even though here too it might be disrespectful for a dignified older gentleman to be unloading & loading a donkey.

Rashi says that from the word עמו we see that if the one you're supposed to be helping says to you, "since you're obligated to unload, unload it yourself", you are no longer obligated to unload.

That is something we don't see by other mitzvos; that your obligation is contingent upon someone else's actions. Another interesting thing notes רבינו בחיי is that here when the Torah tells us this mitzva it says לא תראה את חמור אחיך don't see your brothers donkey falling on the road, whereas in פרשת משפטים when it tells us this mitzva it says חמור שנאך, your enemies donkey. Why the distinction?

The חפץ חיים says we learn from here how 'ה deals with us. If we ask 'ה for things & then try to accomplish them, 'ה will help us. However, if we ask for things & then sit back & wait for it to come to us then 'ה doesn't have to help. Just like if the owner won't help unload his donkey, we are no longer obligated to help him.

He explains with a parable. There was a person who fell on hard times & was waiting in the street when he knew a certain rich man would pass by. As the rich man passes he implores him to help him out. He has a business venture but just needs some capital. The rich man is overcome with pity & says, please come to my house tonight & I will give you what you need.

Nighttime comes and the rich man is waiting, but the poor man never shows up. He figures there must have been an emergency. The next day as the rich man is walking down the street, the poor man approaches him & goes through his whole story again. The rich man tells him again, come to my house tonight and I will give you what you need. Again the poor man doesn't show.

The next day when the poor man once again approaches him on the street, he gets angry and says you're not for real! How many times are you going to ask me for help & and not show up when I say I will help you??

Every day we ask 'ה in davening to help us be better people, guard our tongue, open our hearts to Torah, to fear Hashem... but then we don't try to act upon our requests. This posuk says the חפץ חיים is teaching us the way to success if we want to be successful in our learning, in watching what we say , in business etc. We have to not only ask 'ה to grant us these things, but to also go out & try to do them, and. when we put in the effort 'ה will have to help us.

Perhaps this is why there are no exceptions to this mitzva, for who doesn't need this divine assistance? No matter how old or distinguished, we all need 'ה's help to succeed. To explain why it says over here to help your brother, & earlier on it says to help your enemy is because, says רבינו בחיי, the way to love someone is to do things for them. If at first this man was your enemy, now that you helped him he will become your friend. This mitzva makes you forget the hate & love will overcome.

Imagine, we have the power to have 'ה helping us, & by so doing changing any anger He might have toward us to love. Let's take the opportunity to act upon our requests, enabling divine assistance & granting us the ultimate goal, 'ה's love!

Shoftim

After the Torah warns us not to look into the future through sorcerers or black magic, it says תמים תהיה עם ה' אלקיך one should be complete with 'ה
Rashi explains that to mean that one shouldn't go after the fortune tellers to see the future, rather trust in what 'ה has in store for you & whatever happens, a person should accept wholeheartedly & then will be together with 'ה.

The אור החיים explains it a little differently & says that the only reason one would look to the future is to see what's in store for him. If he's not happy he'll try to change or fix whatever he feels is missing. The Torah tells us, תמים תהיה עם ה' אלקיך that if one will wholeheartedly trust 'ה they would not feel as if the were missing anything. As for their worries, even if the future would show something bad, it's not a definite. Like we saw by אברהם אבינו, even though the future said he wouldn't be able to have children, he who wholeheartedly walked with 'ה, did have children. So if one trusts 'ה there's no reason to look to the future.

The אור החיים's approach makes sense that we shouldn't look to the future & try to change it for 'ה knows best. However, what's Rashi trying to tell us when according to Rashi you're not trying to change anything, rather you're looking to the future to see if things will work out so you don't have to stress as much. Is that so wrong?

The עלינו לשבח opens our eyes to what Rashi is teaching us here, & says that everyone who thinks into their life can certainly look back & realize that it pays to wholeheartedly trust in 'ה, not look to fortune tellers. Rather to happily accept whatever 'ה gives and trust that it's for the good for in the end each one of us can bring proof by our own experiences that 'ה was two steps ahead. We know He only wants to do what's good for us. Therefore the best approach to life is to cast all your burdens on 'ה , to rely on Him wholeheartedly, & not try to foresee what's going to happen by going to fortune tellers.

He explains this with a parable. There was a traveler walking with a big bag over his shoulder, trudging down the road, when suddenly the skies open up & the rains relentlessly come down. he looks out hoping for carriage to come by. Suddenly he sees a fine carriage coming & he waves it down. The wealthy man stops for him & invites him onto the carriage. The traveler gratefully accepts & sits down in the carriage with his soaked bag on his lap.

The wealthy man looks over at him & says, why are you holding your heavy wet bag on your lap? Just put it on the floor of the carriage. The traveler says, you were kind enough to give me a ride & refuge from the rain; I don't want to trouble you anymore so I'll just hold my bag. The man looks at him incredulously & says, I'm carrying you & your bag anyway. It makes no difference if you relieve yourself of the burden; for me it's all the same.

As we laugh at the foolishness of the traveler, think - aren't we doing the same thing? Why do we carry around our "pekelach", always looking for an angle on how to somehow lighten the load, when we could just cast out burdens on 'ה? He's taking care of us anyway & controlling what happens, so why won't we relieve ourselves of the burden & cast it all on Him?!

This is what Rashi means. Don't look to the future, don't look for reassurance, rather wholeheartedly accept whatever you get, for if we don't worry & cast our "pekelach" on 'ה, then we are assured that whatever we're getting is what's best & there's no reason to worry.
Let us all cast our burdens aside & let 'ה do the worrying for us!

Re'eh

When it comes to the mitzva of צדקה the Torah warns us ולא ירע לבבך בתתך לו כי בגלל הדבר הזה יברכך ה אלקיך, and let your heart not feel bad when you give him, for because of this matter, Hashem will bless you.

The אוצרות התורה asks, why is it that by the mitzva of צדקה the Torah has to make us promises to help us fight against the yetzer hara and guarantee us that we'll be blessed? The yetzer harah tries to get us not to do all the other mitzvos too, so why the extra emphasis by צדקה ?

He explains that the mitzva of צדקה is unique that even the yetzer hatov can convince one not to do it by saying, "how do you know that this person is worthy of your charity? You're not doing a mitzva just throwing away money". To thwart that thought the torah says ולא ירע לבבך, let your heart not feel bad while giving to anyone, for not only will you get reward, יברכך ה אלקיך, you will be blessed too. Why is that true? For the Jewish people, even if they're not always doing what they should, are still considered Hashem's children. What father wouldn't want you to feed his children even when he's angry at them?!

That's why the Torah says כי בגלל הדבר הזה for because of this thing. This thing being that you're giving charity to people who don't necessarily deserve it. In essence, what you're saying by doing that, is that we are all 'ה's children no matter what. That's how 'ה will consider you like his child & will bless you no matter what.

The gemara says poverty is a גלגל הוא שחוזר בעולם , a wheel that revolves around the world, and the only way to avoid it is by increasing the money one gives to tzedaka. For if you give then you show that you care about 'ה's children & then He will care about you.

The סבא מקלם asks, why did 'ה make the world like this that one gives charity to one who is needy,then 'ה gives the giver a bracha because of the needy one. Wouldn't it have been simpler to just bless the poor man & let the rich man keep what he has?

There's another gemara that says אין צדקה משתלמת אלא לפי חסד שבה that the reward for tzedaka is based upon the chesed that's involved, including the caring, the time & effort put in, & giving where you feel it.

This is exemplified by the following story which happened in Yerushalaim & was told over by ר' יחיאל מיכל גוטפרב. There was a knock at the door of a talmid chacham's home & a poor woman was standing there. She asked him for some chicken to eat. This man was a person who sat & learned all day & did not have a lot of money. He had 14 children & they subsisted on the barest necessities. He tried explaining to the woman that the only chicken he had was in the fridge & it was for the upcoming חג, & that this was the only time his family ever had chicken. If he was to give it to her they wouldn't have any for the חג . However she was adamant that she needed chicken & was crying to him about her sorry state & her hunger.

This man thought to himself, if this woman isn't ashamed to ask me for the food right out of my kids' mouths then it must be she really needs it. Nothing will happen if we don't have chicken for the חג; we'll survive.

Without a moments hesitation he tells her ok, wait here & I will go to the fridge & get it. The man goes to his ancient, beat up refrigerator & opens the door. As he opens the door he lets out a shriek of pure terror, for what did he find in the fridge? His three year old son who got locked inside & couldn't get out! The boy was almost totally blue & not breathing!

Miraculously, Hatzala was able to revive him. Afterward, the doctor said that had he been in there even seconds longer he wouldn't have made it.

This man felt the poor woman's pain & in an act of צדקה that was pure חסד, went to feed her. By doing so he saved his child's life.

Maybe this is why 'ה made the world this way, for there are times when it's not all about money; it's about showing you care, & there are times that we need those zechusim in our lives & need to show that we go out of our way for other people so that 'ה will have a reason to go out of His way for us!

Eikev

The חפץ חיים brings our attention to three pesukim in this parsha, each with a similar theme, each worded differently. The first one states, ושמרת את מצות ה' אלקיך ללכת בדרכיו וליראה אתו to keep the mitzvos of 'ה, to go in his ways & to fear Him. Note that it says first go in 'ה's ways, then fear him.

A little later, the parsha says כי אם ליראה את ה' אלקיך ללכת בכל דרכיו ולאהבה אותו only to fear 'ה, go in his ways & to love him. Note that here it says to fear Him before it says to go in His ways.

Then, toward the end of the parsha, it says: כי אם שמר תשמרון וגו' לאהבה את ה' אלקיכם ללכת בכל דרכיו ולדבקה בו to keep the mitzvos, to love 'ה, to go in His ways & to cling to Him. Here it puts going in His ways after love of 'ה but before clinging to Him.
Why the change?

The חפץ חיים explains that there are three levels in the service of 'ה; one is fear. We know that we have to fear 'ה.
The second level is love, to serve 'ה not out of fear of punishment, but rather out of love.

The third level is דבקות, clinging. The רמב"ן explains that the difference between love & clinging is that love is something that could be periodical. Sometimes one has intense love & sometimes the feeling isn't that strong. On the other hand, דבקות is an intense love that is in one's heart continuously and allows one's soul connect to 'ה.

The חפץ חיים continues that the Torah is teaching us that one cannot attain  any level unless one accustoms oneself to go in the ways of 'ה. This includes being merciful, compassionate, & kind. That's why the first posuk says, first go in His ways & then fear Him, for to even attain the simplest level of fear one must go in 'ה's ways and perpetuate kindness.

Then, the next posuk teaches us that even after you attain the level of fear, don't think that you can just sit all day & learn or delve into holy thoughts. Rather the posuk says, first fear me then go in my ways & then love me. It's teaching us the process to get to the next level. Once you attain the level of fear, reaching the level of love is only through going in His ways & doing kindness.

The last posuk refers to one who has attained this level of love for 'ה . This person, in all likelihood, removes himself from the pleasures of this world & might feel that he now has the right to immerse himself only in spiritual pursuits in order to attain the third level of clinging to 'ה. He might think that he doesn't have to associate with other people or waste time helping others. For him the posuk says, even after one reaches the level of לאהבה את ה' אלקיכם, one must continue   ללכת בכל דרכיו , going in His ways of doing kindness for people. Only then the posuk concludes  ולדבקה בו you will cling to Him. Only by emulating 'ה's ways of kindness & mercy can one achieve the ultimate closeness to 'ה.

There's a story told about the Steipler that exemplifies this point. Once, a young kollel man went into him to ask how he should structure his day: what he should learn in the morning, night, afternoon etc. After the Steipler finished directing him in what manner to spend his day, the young man got up to leave. The Steipler called him back & asked him to sit down & told him, "You know that you have to help out around the house too". The man was flabbergasted. He thought the Steipler was calling him back to tell him to learn kabbala  or something of that nature but to help around the house? The Steipler repeated, “I see that you are a big masmid, but you must also know that you also have to help around the house. The man said, “my wife is a big tzadekes & she wants me to only learn & do nothing else.” The Steipler answered, “that's her mitzva, but your mitzva is to help her. Every day when you come home, remember to ask her how you can help.”

This demonstrates how important it is to help other people & not feel that there are more important things to do. Rather, we have to follow 'ה's lead & be merciful, compassionate & kind, enabling us to get as close as we can to the level of דבקות to 'ה!

Va'eschanan

The posuk says את ה אלקיך תירא you should fear Hashem your G-d. The gemara relates how one of the Rabbis would expound every place that the Torah writes the word את & find something that it's coming to include. When he got up to this posuk he couldn't find anything else to include, for how could the Torah be telling us to fear anyone aside from 'ה? The gemara continues that ר' עקיבא then came & said את ה' אלקיך תירא is coming to include תלמידי חכמים. That they merit the same honor as 'ה

The בן איש חי asks, why was it that ר' עקיבא merited to know how to expound this posuk while the rabbi who worked so hard expounding all of the את 's didn't come to this understanding in the posuk? Also why does it say until ר' עקיבא came? Where did he come from?

The בן איש חי explains that this limud is very novel & can't even come from a deep understanding of the Torah, because reasonably, how could one say that we have to give a Torah scholar the same honor & respect that we have to show for 'ה?

The gemara tells us that four people went up to heaven by saying the name of 'ה, & peeked in on the שכינה. The first one, בן עזאי peeked & died, בן זומא peeked & went crazy, אחר peeked & went off the derech, & ר' עקיבא went in & out peacefully.

What happened to אחר? He peeked in & saw the angel מט"ט sitting. Since it says angels are not allowed to sit, אחר said maybe there are two kingdoms: one of 'ה & one of מט"ט. Since he has his own kingdom, he's allowed to sit. Immediately after אחר said that, מט"ט was kicked out of the inner sanctuary & was flogged with 60 lashes of fire, to prove to אחר that מט"ט was no better than any other angel. Then מט"ט was asked, why didn't u stand up for אחר, a תלמיד חכם, when he came in? Then you would have avoided all of this pain & humiliation.
From this incident we see that angels are even supposed to stand up & show respect for תלמידי חכמים, how much more so mere mortals.

This is why, says the בן איש חי, it was ר' עקיבא who was able to make that derasha, for only he was there in 'הs presence & saw what's expected in heaven, that's where he came from & understood how much respect is required to be given to תלמידי חכמים.

The חפץ חיים learns from הר סיני the great respect that's due to תלמידי חכמים. If someone were to touch הר סיני they would die. Now just as the mountain that doesn't have feelings or intellect, but yet would cause someone to die if one touched it, because it became holy when the Torah was given on it. Even more so for תלמידי חכמים who are infused with Torah & have feelings & intellect. If one slights them there will certainly be retribution.

I saw a story by R' Yechiel Spero about a town in Poland where there was a rav by the name of rav Leibish Mintz. He was a big תלמיד חכם who learned day & night, but yet still managed to be there for his congregation. Alas a rumor started spreading in the town that he had gone to secular schools. Some of the people started distancing themselves from him, and asking other dayanim their shailos. An epidemic broke out in the town, & the officials forbade any large gatherings to avoid spreading the disease. However, there was a wedding planned for that night. Even though the rabbi said not to have it for he felt it was dangerous, his opponents planned to have the wedding anyway. The rabbi announced that whoever shows up to this wedding will be arrested. While the people were upset they had no choice but to listen.

That Rosh Hashana as they were about to blow shofer & the rabbi walked to the bima to call out the sounds of the shofar, one of his opponents blocked his way & said, for our tekios we need someone who doesn't speak Latin like you! The rabbi was stunned. The man continued, when we need someone to call out to a goyish god we'll call you! The rav admonished him for his insolence, but the man wasn't done. To the horror of everyone, he slapped the rabbi in the face!
A riot ensued & the police were called in to escort the rabbi out. The rabbi left the town a few days later, embarrassed & disgraced.
The name of the town was Oswiecim,Poland.
Or, as we know it: Auschwitz.