Va'eira

Hashem tells Moshe that He has heard the cries of the Jewish people who are enslaved in Egypt and that Moshe should go tell them that he will redeem the Jewish people, save them from the crushing burdens of Mitzraim, make them into his special nation and bring them into the of Israel. Moshe goes to the Jewish people to give them the news that soon they would be free; instead of the rejoicing one would expect, the Torah tells us לא שמעו אל משה מקצר רוח ומעבדה קשה, they didn't listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath and hard work. Hashem then commands Moshe to go to Pharaoh to tell him to send the Jewish people out of his land. Moshe replies, if the Jewish people wouldn't listen to me then surely Pharaoh won't listen to me.  

All the commentators ask what was the comparison? The Jewish people didn't listen to him because of   מקצר רוח ומעבדה קשה; they were overworked and could hardly breathe. Pharaoh, who didn't have any of those issues, perhaps would listen, so why was Moshe so sure Pharaoh wouldn't listen?

Rav Yosef Tzvi Ha’Levi explains,the Jewish people knew that this Egyptian exile was predestined for them from the time that Hashem had told Avraham that his children would be slaves. They also knew that the exile was supposed to last four hundred years. Since it was only two hundred and ten years, they were reluctant to get their hopes up and believe that the redemption was coming early. What Moshe told them was that it was actually the time.  He then gave them two reasons for the early redemption: first was מקצר רוח, translating it as if it was written מקוצר רוחניות, from a lack of spirituality, for we know they had already sunk to the lowest levels of impurity and second from ומעבדה קשה, the hard work; the work that they had to do was so hard that it fulfilled the hardships of four hundred years in only two hundred and ten. That’s what the posuk meant when it states that they didn't listen to him because of מקצר רוח ומעבדה קשה; they wouldn't listen to his explanations of why they were able to get out early. Now Moshe claim about Pharaoh is valid; if the Jews who stand to gain wouldn’t believe his reasons for the early redemption, surely Pharaoh, who has only to lose, won't listen to his reasons for the early redemption.      

At a family gathering, the Chafetz Chaim was lamenting about the state of his generation whom he felt were lacking in אמונה, belief in Hashem. The ר"מ בישיבת ראדין Reb Naftali said to him, what do you expect? Even when the Jews were in Egypt, they remembered the Avos and the Shevatim and knew that there was an end to their exile. Yet, the harshness of the exile made them fall into the darkest level of impurity. We, who are quite distant from the avos with no end in sight to our exile, why are you surprised that our אמונה is weak? The Chafetz Chaim said to him “excellent point; you will be an advocate for the Jewish people and your words should reach the heavenly throne".

Today, we must consider this same point. How can we, with no end in sight to out exile and with impurities all around us, increase our level of belief in Hashem?

Later in the Parsha, Hashem tells Moshe ראה נתתיך אלקים לפרעה; see I made you a lord over Pharaoh. The 'של"ה הק explains from the Midrash that when Moshe was a small child living in Pharaoh's palace, while riding on Pharaoh's shoulders, he took the crown off of Pharaoh and put it on his own head. Pharaoh saw this as a sign that Moshe would take his kingdom from him and therefore wanted to have him killed. The Angel Gavriel appeared as one of his advisers and told him to do a test with a hot coal and gold to see which he takes. If he takes the coal, you know he's harmless. With the angel’s help, Moshe selects the coal and puts it in his mouth which made it difficult for Moshe to speak clearly.

When Moshe came before Pharaoh to warn him and Pharaoh heard him speaking, he remembered the whole story of how Moshe got that speech impediment, realizing that his initial belief was correct. Moshe was going to try to take his kingdom from him. Now he was powerless to kill him. Many times we do something which, at the time, seems like the right decision, yet a little later on we realize that’s just what we didn't want to happen. Similarly, Pharaoh was correct in his reasoning to kill Moshe but then decided not to which came back to haunt him and his worst fears were realized. Why did that happen?  It’s because Hashem had different plans and worked it out that Moshe would be around to deliver the Jews from Egypt. Maybe if we take this to heart and recognize that Hashem is in control we will be able to strengthen our belief and Hashem will send someone once again to redeem us!

Shemos

As Hashem argues with Moshe regarding the mission to go down to Egypt to save the Jews, Moshe says to Him,“Send as Your emissary the one that You usually send”.  Rashi explains that he is referring to Aaron, for Moshe did not want to take the leadership away from his older brother, who was also a Navi. Hashem gets angry at Moshe for worrying about Aaron being upset and responds, “Not only isn't he upset, but he's coming to greet you with joy in his heart."

The Midrash adds that had Aaron known that Hashem would write that he went out happily to greet Moshe, he would have gone out with trumpets & drums to greet him.  The obvious question is would someone as great as Aaron have acted differently just because his behavior would be publicized?

Otzros Hatorah quotes the sefer קהלת יצחק who explains: we need to understand whether Moshe & Aaron were equal in stature.  If so, Aaron was older so why was he not the one appointed as the leader? רב הלל א"בד סואלק explains based on the gemara which relates the story about a drought in the land. Reb Eliezer went up to the pulpit to pray for rain but wasn't answered. Then, Rebbi Akiva went up & was answered.

The people then chattered about how Rebbi Akiva must be greater than Reb Eliezer until a Bas Kol established that it is not that one of them is greater than the other, rather Rebbi Akiva was answered because he is מעביר על מדותיו while Reb Eliezer is not. If that’s the case, one must wonder how they can be equal?  Rebbi Akiva overcomes his character traits while Reb Eliezer does not.  In actuality, neither one was greater than the other. However, Rebbi Akiva was the son of converts about whom chazal tell us their natural tendency to do bad is much greater. That is the reason the Torah warns us not to antagonize the convert. Therefore, Rebbi Akiva had to work much harder to control his natural character traits whereas Reb Eliezer, who was born into a holy family, didn't have to work as hard.  His natural tendencies were for good.  

The reason Rebbi Akiva was answered was that the harder it is for one, the more he is rewarded. Since he worked so hard to get where he was, he was answered as a reward but not because he was any greater.  Here, too, Moshe & Aaron were equal. However, Moshe was born with bad character traits while Aaron was born with good ones. In order for one to lead the nation, one has to be able to control it & be able to take charge in any situation. Moshe, who was tough by nature, had the character needed as he demonstrated by how he took charge, both at the time of Korach, & the Eigle. Aaron, by contrast, was a loving, kindhearted man who would have been too soft hearted to lead. One was not greater than the other; their natures were merely different.

When Hashem told Moshe to go lead, Moshe thought that Aaron would be upset. Therefore, Hashem told Aaron to go out & greet him to demonstrate he wasn't upset at all. In truth, Aaron should have gone out with drums & trumpets to show that there was no jealousy. However, Aaron, who was such a good hearted person, never even thought that Moshe would be jealous & that's why Hashem had told him to go greet him. Therefore he saw no need to bring a band. This is what the Midrash is saying: had he known that Hashem was telling him to go out & greet Moshe because Moshe thought that he would be jealous, then he would have brought the band to show that there wasn't even a drop of jealousy in him.

We have to learn from Aaron not to let jealousy be a part of us. If we truly believe that Hashem controls the world & gives each one of us exactly what we are supposed to have, then there can be no reason for jealousy. If we don't have it, then we must trust that we don't need it!

Shemos

As Hashem argues with Moshe regarding the mission to go down to Egypt to save the Jews, Moshe says to Him,“Send as Your emissary the one that You usually send”.  Rashi explains that he is referring to Aaron, for Moshe did not want to take the leadership away from his older brother, who was also a Navi. Hashem gets angry at Moshe for worrying about Aaron being upset and responds, “Not only isn't he upset, but he's coming to greet you with joy in his heart."

The Midrash adds that had Aaron known that Hashem would write that he went out happily to greet Moshe, he would have gone out with trumpets & drums to greet him.  The obvious question is would someone as great as Aaron have acted differently just because his behavior would be publicized?

Otzros Hatorah quotes the sefer קהלת יצחק who explains: we need to understand whether Moshe & Aaron were equal in stature.  If so, Aaron was older so why was he not the one appointed as the leader? רב הלל א"בד סואלק explains based on the gemara which relates the story about a drought in the land. Reb Eliezer went up to the pulpit to pray for rain but wasn't answered. Then, Rebbi Akiva went up & was answered.

The people then chattered about how Rebbi Akiva must be greater than Reb Eliezer until a Bas Kol established that it is not that one of them is greater than the other, rather Rebbi Akiva was answered because he is מעביר על מדותיו while Reb Eliezer is not. If that’s the case, one must wonder how they can be equal?  Rebbi Akiva overcomes his character traits while Reb Eliezer does not.  In actuality, neither one was greater than the other. However, Rebbi Akiva was the son of converts about whom chazal tell us their natural tendency to do bad is much greater. That is the reason the Torah warns us not to antagonize the convert. Therefore, Rebbi Akiva had to work much harder to control his natural character traits whereas Reb Eliezer, who was born into a holy family, didn't have to work as hard.  His natural tendencies were for good.  

The reason Rebbi Akiva was answered was that the harder it is for one, the more he is rewarded. Since he worked so hard to get where he was, he was answered as a reward but not because he was any greater.  Here, too, Moshe & Aaron were equal. However, Moshe was born with bad character traits while Aaron was born with good ones. In order for one to lead the nation, one has to be able to control it & be able to take charge in any situation. Moshe, who was tough by nature, had the character needed as he demonstrated by how he took charge, both at the time of Korach, & the Eigle. Aaron, by contrast, was a loving, kindhearted man who would have been too soft hearted to lead. One was not greater than the other; their natures were merely different.

When Hashem told Moshe to go lead, Moshe thought that Aaron would be upset. Therefore, Hashem told Aaron to go out & greet him to demonstrate he wasn't upset at all. In truth, Aaron should have gone out with drums & trumpets to show that there was no jealousy. However, Aaron, who was such a good hearted person, never even thought that Moshe would be jealous & that's why Hashem had told him to go greet him. Therefore he saw no need to bring a band. This is what the Midrash is saying: had he known that Hashem was telling him to go out & greet Moshe because Moshe thought that he would be jealous, then he would have brought the band to show that there wasn't even a drop of jealousy in him.

We have to learn from Aaron not to let jealousy be a part of us. If we truly believe that Hashem controls the world & gives each one of us exactly what we are supposed to have, then there can be no reason for jealousy. If we don't have it, then we must trust that we don't need it.

Vayechi

One part of the bracha that Yaakov gave Yehuda was חכלילי עינים מיין ולבן שנים מחלב ,Red eyed from wine, and white toothed from milk.
Rashi interprets this to mean that Yehuda will have an abundance of wine & milk.

In the gemara, Reb Yochanan has an interesting take on these words. He says that these words teach us that greater is one who smiles at his friend than one who feeds him. Although it says  ולבן שנים מחלב , read it as it’s better ליבון שינים, showing the white of your teeth, your smile, מחלב than material goods. As it says in אבות דרבי נתן you could give someone all the gifts in the world but if you do it begrudgingly, with a sour face, it means nothing. However, one who greets his friend with a smile, even if he gives him nothing, it’s as if he gave him everything.
What's so great about a smile? What does it really do?

There's a story told over by רב זילברשטיין that, at one of the rabbinical conventions where רב משה פיינשטיין זצ"ל & the פני מנחם מגור were participants, רב משה asked the rebbi to speak & introduced him as a גברא רבה , a great man.
The rebbi got up and said that if the פוסק הדור asks me to speak I have no choice. Let me explain, however, what he meant by calling me a גברא רבה.

The gemara says how foolish are those that stand up for a Sefer Torah but don't stand up for a גברא רבה a great man. For we see in the Torah that it is written that one who gets lashes gets forty; yet, the rabbis come along and say it means only thirty nine. See how much honor we should have for the rabbis since the Torah gave them the power to interpret & make changes.

Nevertheless, continued the rebbi, we see that someone who saves a Jew from being hit even one more time, thereby lessening this Jew’s pain, is considered a גברא רבה . So, too, I, who take hours from my day listening to all the problems of the people & comforting them as best as I can, can be called a גברא רבה which is why רב משה asked me to speak.
Sometimes all it takes is a smile & a kind word, to listen to someone else & ease their pain.

This is demonstrated, as well, by Moshe Rabbainu, says the sefer עלי שור. The gemara relates that the last thing Moshe did was separate three cities to be cities of refuge for the accidental murderer. Then, Hashem said to him הזרחת שמש לרוצחים , you let the sun shine for the murderers, praising him for setting aside the cities of refuge. Moshe Rabbainu , our greatest leader, found no other mitzva to do right before his death than to help out the downtrodden. He started out וירא בסבלותם seeing their troubles & ended with הזרחת שמש , making it easier for the downtrodden troubled ones.
How can we reach this goal? How do we learn to smile at everyone & try to help?

In the bracha of Hamalach, Yaakov said, וידגו לרב they should be abundant like fish. פורת יוסף asks, what are the good points of being compared to fish? He answers, that there is no evil eye & they multiply לרוב , greatly. However, the evil component of fish is that whichever is the bigger one, swallows the smaller one. Therefore, the bracha was  וידגו לרב without the "ו" so that they would be compared to fish only in the good points & not the bad.

Maybe that's how we could learn to smile at everyone. If we can train ourselves to only look at the good in people & not see the bad, then it will be much easier to smile at them & want to help. The Torah is teaching us here to only look at the good in people, no matter what kind of person they are & want to help them. By so doing & showing people that you care about them we will be making the world a better place!

Vayigash

After Yaakov is brought down to Egypt, he comes before Pharaoh who asks him, “how old are you.” Yaakov answers, “one hundred & thirty years”, to which he adds "few & bad have been the days of my life". The Daas Zikainim says that the reason Pharaoh even asked Yaakov how old he was because of Yaakov’s appearance. He looked extremely old. Therefore, Yaakov explained that he was only a hundred & thirty but had had a really hard life full of troubles which is why he looked old beyond his years.  

The Midrash tells us that Yaakov was punished for uttering those words. As he said those words, Hashem responded " I saved you from Eisav & Lavan; I returned Dina to you; I reunited you with Yosef; everything has played out for the best yet  you say that your life was bad? Because of that, for every word that you uttered, you will lose a year of your life. Your answer consisted of thirty three words from when Pharaoh asked his question. Therefore, that is the number of years that will be taken off your life.

The אוצרות התורה asks, what was Hashem's complaint against Yaakov? That he said he looked old because of all his troubles? Despite the troubles going away in the end, still he had years & years of troubles. That's what he was referring to when he answered Pharaoh.

The אוצרות התורה explains as follows, the שו"ע says that one should accustom himself to saying כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד , whatever Hashem does is for the good. The חכמת שלמה says that one should say גם זו לטובה , this too is for the good.
The sefer שומר אמונים explains the difference between the two sayings. When one says כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד, whatever Hashem does is for the good, he is waiting to see the good in the bad situation that he's in. This is displayed in the story of Rabbi Akiva who was refused a room in the town & had to sleep in the woods. First his donkey was killed; then his rooster was eaten; his candle blew out & he was all alone in the dark in the woods. His reaction was:  כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד , whatever Hashem does is for the good. When morning came, he found out that the town was looted by robbers. Had he been seen by his light or heard because of his animals, he, too, would have been captured. In the end, it all worked out.

Then you have the one who says, גם זו לטובה , this too is for the good, just like נחום איש גם זו. This is a much higher level where you’re not looking for the good in the situation but rather that the actual trouble that you’re going through is good. That's גם זו לטובה , even this trouble that I'm going through is good.

This was why Yaakov was faulted by Hashem. Hashem was telling him that even had I not taken you out of your troubles, you should have recognized that it was all good. How much more so since I took you away from your troubles & now you even see the good. You certainly shouldn't complain.

We see this same attitude with Yosef when he reveals himself to his brothers. He says to them,  “don't fault yourselves for selling me; it wasn't you. Hashem wanted me down here so that I could save all of your families from the hunger.” Not once did he blame them. Not only that, when he sent them to get Yaakov, he told them not to talk too much on the way. He didn't want them getting into it blaming each other as to who’s at fault. He realized that all that happened was orchestrated by Hashem & saw it only as good. This teaches us that no matter what happens, despite all appearances, we have to know it’s good!

Mikeitz

As Yosef predicted to Pharaoh, a famine spread throughout Egypt. Since Hashem had told Yosef through Pharaoh's dream what was going to occur, he had amassed stockpiles of grain that he was now selling to all those who needed. Yaakov sees that there's food in Egypt and instructs his children to go down to Egypt to buy food. The Posuk tells us וירדו אחי יוסף עשרה לשבר בר ממצרים , and the ten brothers of Yosef went down to Mitzrayim to buy food.

Rashi explains the reason the Torah describes them as brothers of Yosef & not the children of Yaakov is to tell us that they regretted selling him, thereby committing themselves to finding him & doing whatever it takes to get him back. The next Rashi then explains why the Torah had to say that there were ten brothers that went down; we knew how many there were. Rashi says it’s to teach us that each one’s feelings toward Yosef was different; there were ten different degrees of love/hate that each one felt for Yosef.
However, regarding going down to buy food, they all had the same mindset.

This Rashi is a little puzzling. In the previous paragraph, he said that they regretted what they had done to him & were all going down to Egypt with the intent go get him back at all costs. Yet, now, he's telling us that their feelings toward him weren't all equal. To go get food, though, they were all equal. Who cares what their intentions were about getting food. Additionally, why does it matter what each one’s personal feeling was, now that they regretted their mistake & were going to make good on it?

The אוצרות התורה tells us that one of the fundamental lessons of Chanuka is the power of the individual. The few and downtrodden, who with their powerful spirit, were not intimidated by lack of strength or manpower. They were prepared to go against all odds to fight for the truth.

The Sefer Chashmonaim says that when Yehuda went with a small group to meet the enemy, his men saw their camp & said how are we going to fight against this mighty enemy with so few of us? Yehuda answered them by saying " Is Hashem’s hand too small to deliver the many in the hands of the few? Will He hold back from saving us if we are many or few? Yehuda strengthened the resolve of his few warriors & together they conquered. One man leading, convincing the others not to fear, led to one common goal with each of the warriors coming to his own decision to join in the holy fight.     

Maybe what the Torah is telling us is that even when we’re doing the right thing & our basic goal is in line with everyone else's, on an individual basis we each have to do it in our way. The way each person does it, the way we understand it in our hearts, is based on one’s own unique abilities, strengths & weaknesses. Just because our goal is the same, doesn't mean the way we go about it has to be the same.  

Getting food is a basic need, so of course their mindset was the same. So, too, as the first Rashi says, they all regretted it in that their mindset was the same. They all knew that they had to get Yosef back; however, the way they would go about it would be different. Each one based on his feelings for Yosef, would go about it in a way that was right for him.

Perhaps the Torah is trying to drive the message home that our goals have to be the same to get closer to Hashem but no two people have the same feelings inside. Each person has to reach that goal in his own way with his own abilities. When we do things on our level & not on someone else's, we will be able to accomplish what we were meant to & ultimately succeed!

Vayeshev

In an attempt to save Yosef, when Reuvain heard the brothers plotting to kill him, he said, “let's not kill him; rather let's throw him in a pit, for he planned on coming back to save Yosef. The brothers listened to him. The posuk tells us ויקחהו וישלכו אתו הברה והבור רק אין בו מים,that, as Yosef approached, they took him & threw him into the pit & the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

When the גר"א was nine years old, one of the rabbis in the Beis Medrish asked this question: why did the posuk first spell the word pit , הברה without the letter "ו" while the next word is also pit,  והבור & it is spelled with a "ו"? No one was able to answer until little Elyahu said that Rashi quotes the gemara which asks why does the Torah continue by saying there was no water in it? From the fact that the posuk said the pit was empty, I already knew there was no water in it. It answers that the Torah is teaching us that, while there was no water, there were snakes & scorpions in the pit.

However, Ramban maintains that the brothers didn't know there were snakes & scorpions in there. Explains the  גר"א that this is what the Torah is telling us; the brothers didn't really know that there were snakes & scorpions in the pit. Therefore, the posuk says ויקחהו וישלכו אתו הברה spelling pit without the  "ו" to show that brothers thought that the pit was without anything.

This answers the obvious question: if Reuvain was trying to save Yosef, why would he throw him in a pit with snakes? Obviously then, the brothers didn't know the pit’s contents. Then, in the next word, the Torah alludes to the truth  והבור רק אין בו מים spelling pit in full with the "ו" to show that it was full, not of water but snakes & scorpions.

One does have to wonder about the significance of the Torah telling us what was in the pit. We know that the brothers tried to kill Yosef & Hashem saved him. What difference does it make to us what was in the pit that we needed all these allusions to what was really inside?

The Even Azel explains Rashi to be teaching us a life lesson. The only way to escape the clutches of the Yetzer Hara is by the study of Torah. One who studies Torah can gain clarity in understanding what He wants us to do, for without Torah, one is vulnerable to the figurative snake. This is what the Torah is teaching us. As we know, the Torah is often compared to water as stated in the gemara אין מים אלא תורה , water is nothing but Torah. The forces of sin, on the other hand, are symbolic of the נחש , the snake. The Torah is therefore alluding to that fact that if there is no מים , no Torah, then there will be  נחשים ועקרבים , snakes & scorpions which are symbolic of sin.

The message is quite clear: the way to keep ourselves away from sin is to immerse ourselves in the Torah. The more time we put into learning the more we understand our purpose & that will be what saves us from sin!

Vayishlach

When Yaakov realized that he must meet his brother Eisav, the posuk tells us ויקם בלילה ההוא ויקח את שתי נשיו ואת שתי שפחתיו ואת אחד עשר ילדיו he got up that night & took his two wives, & his two maids, and his eleven sons. Previously, we were told that he had twelve children so Rashi asks: what happened to Dina? Why was she left out of the count?

Rashi explains that she was put into a box to hide her, so that Eisav wouldn't see her & want to marry her. Yaakov was punished for that since, had Eisav married her, she would have had a positive effect on him turning his life around. Instead she was hidden in a box, Eisav missed the opportunity to change & as punishment to Yaakov, Dina was captured by Shechem.  

The sefer, Nachalas Yaakov, asks how is it that Leah is complimented for not wanting to marry Eisav. The posuk praises her, saying that her eyes were weak from crying because she thought she would end up with Eisav, inferring that what she did was noble & correct. However, Yaakov is criticized for withholding Dina. If Dina could have turned him around for the better, surely Leah could have.

Nachalas Yaakov answers that had Leah married Eisav at that time, she would not have been able to bring him around. He was habitual sinner, transgressing all the cardinal sins. However, now he had softened up a little. As the posuk tells us when he met Yaakov, he was overcome with emotion & kissed him wholeheartedly. At this time, however, there was a chance for him to come back & Dina could have been the one to accomplish that.  

Still, how could we fault Yaakov?
Where do we see that a momentary feeling could have a lasting effect?

One day, a woman knocks on Rabbi Zilberstein's door, telling him a fascinating story that happened at her kibbutz. A few days ago, a hailstorm in our area hit our kibbutz hard with damaging winds & hail. The houses on the kibbutz are built two together attached under one roof. As the hail was coming down, making frightening noises on the homes & damaging the roofs, people were astonished to see one house where the roof on one side was getting hammered by hail while the other side of the same roof was not touched at all!

It was astounding that every home around this one, including the one to which it was attached, was pummeled by hail while this one lone house wasn't touched. The people then realized that a widow lived in that house. Even though this was a secular kibbutz, one of the kibbutzniks remembered that there were pesukim in the Torah that forbade one from causing anguish to a widow. He said "if Hashem himself watches over the widow in such a wondrous manner, it’s a sign that the Torah must be true!"

The woman continued the story. She said that the people from the kibbutz went into the house where the widow herself was astonished at what happened. The widow then told them that just a few days prior she had had feelings of repentance & wanted to change her lifestyle. This showed her that her decision was the right one.

Perhaps we can equate this story to Yaakov. Just as this woman had feelings of repentance followed by a sign that pushed her over to make the move, so too, Eisav had momentary feelings of love for Yaakov. These were, in essence, feelings of repentance. Had he seen Dina at that time, she could have been what was needed to push him to make the complete change. Instead, she was hidden & the opportunity was lost, teaching us not to let an opportunity slip away. If we’re inspired, act on it; if we could be there for someone else, don't hide; accept the challenge & together we could make the world a better place!

Vayeitzei

As Yaakov leaves באר שבע he passes the future place of the Beis Hamikdash and falls asleep. Hashem appears to him in a dream, promises him the land of Israel with children as populous as the dirt on the ground & that He will be with him & watch over him. Yaakov wakes up, incredulous that he slept in such a holy place as the house of Hashem.

The posuk then recounts what happened next: וידר יעקב נדר לאמר אם יהיה אלקים עמדי ושמרני בדרך הזה אשר אנכי הולך ונתן לי לחם לאכל ובגד ללבש. Yaakov swore that if Hashem will be with me & watch me on this road that I am traveling, give me food to eat & clothes to wear, I will return to my father’s house & Hashem will be a God to me. Then this stone shall become His house & from all that He gives me, I will give back a tenth to the poor.

It seems as if Yaakov's faith is conditional," if You will watch over me then you will be a God to me" & then he ends with, “ if it all works out then I will give a tenth back to You by giving to the poor.” How is that the goal of him coming back unscathed? Can Yaakov's faith be conditional? Is charity the ultimate goal if the conditions are met?

A story is told about one of the wealthy men of Jerusalem, מר אורנשטיין ,who lived at the edge of Meah Shearim who always gave generously to help out other people. One day a poor man who was collecting money to marry off his daughter came to him. Expecting a small donation, imagine this poor man’s surprise when the rich man offered to pay for the entire wedding! Seeing that the poor man was taken aback; in order to appease him, the rich man said I will pay on one condition, that you invite me to the wedding. The poor man readily agreed & took the money.

Ecstatic, the poor man went home & told his wife & daughter the great news so they began preparing for the great day. The day finally arrived; everything was prepared. All the guests were there as the chupa was about to start when the father suddenly remembered his promise to the rich man. He realized that, in all the excitement, he forgot to invite him. Not wanting to go back on his word, he stopped the wedding & explained to all assembled what had happened. He then suggested that they all go as a group to the rich man’s house & bring him back to the wedding.

Meanwhile, at the home of מר אורנשטיין ,Arabs had broken into his home, forced him to open his safes & had taken all that was there. However, they weren't satisfied with that & proceeded to tie up מר אורנשטיין & his wife demanding more money & jewelry. As the thieves were about to start beating them, the sounds of trumpets & hundreds of people marching toward the house interrupted them. When they heard the noise, they became frightened & fled, leaving everything behind.

When the wedding party entered מר אורנשטיין 's house, they found him & his wife tied to the beds. They quickly untied them & מר אורנשטיין told them all that transpired, concluding that had they not showed up at that minute, chances are that my wife and I wouldn't still be alive! צדקה תציל ממות.

Yaakov's faith wasn't conditional. No matter what transpired he was going to be faithful to Hashem. Perhaps this is why the goal was צדקה for the gemara tells us that if someone gives צדקה even on the condition that his son should live it’s still considered as complete charity. Even if the person’s son doesn't live, the charity was still given wholeheartedly. We can extend this thinking to Yaakov. He based his condition on charity to ensure that he would make it back, for צדקה saves from death. By pledging to give צדקה no matter what, he showed that his faith was really unconditional which teaches us that giving צדקה will save us from all harm and even if for reasons unbeknownst to us it doesn't turn out the way we want; our faith still has to be unshakable!

Toldos

The parsha starts out telling us that יצחק got married & couldn't have children. He & his wife then davened , were answered & she became pregnant with twins.
As we know, there was constant struggle inside of her causing her to inquire of Hashem through Shem as to what was going on.
She was told שני גוים  בבטנך ושני לאמים ממעיך יפרדו  two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated.

Ramban explains that Hashem was telling her since these two nations hate each other & will be at war with each other, they are already quarreling in the womb foreshadowing what will ultimately transpire between them as nations. But now, they will rest & she will find peace & tranquility.

It’s a little difficult to understand how, after being told that your children would be separate nations always fighting & hating each other, she should now find peace & tranquility?

The word גוים, nations, is written here as גיים proud ones. Rashi says that proud ones is referring to Antoninus, the Roman emperor, & Rebbi ,the prince, leader of the Jewish people, who were both so wealthy that they were able to have seasonal produce on their tables year round.
Again, it is difficult to understand why Hashem would be telling her about two people who would descend from her children generations later. How does that appease her?

The sefer אמרי שפר explains that Avraham sent Eliezer specifically to his family to find a wife for יצחק because he saw that only from his family would his son have good children; Rivka knew this too.

The midrash tells us that יעקב came from יצחק 's side that was holy & עשו came from Rivka's side that was impure. Once Rivka saw that when she walked by a church עשו tried to come out she thought to herself "what did they need me for if because of me, these kind of children will come to the world?" So Hashem said, "there are two nations in your womb, Rebbi & Antoninus. Despite the fact that Antoninus was from Eisav, he was still a Tzadik.

The gemara tells us that there was a tunnel that went from Antoninus's palace to Rebbi's home & that every day he would go & learn with Rebbi taking two slaves with him. One he would kill when he got to Rebbi's door while the other one would wait for him to go back. Then he would kill that one when he got home so that no one would know that he went to learn with Rebbi or he would have been killed. Not only did Antoninus go & learn with Rebbi but he would serve him as well, catering to his every need.

This is what was originally supposed to occur: Eisav serving Yaakov. Hashem was telling her that even though Eisav was bad, one of his descendants would be good. Only through Rivka could that have happened, for had יצחק married a girl from Canaan, there would have been no good goyim. Now that he married Rivka, there was Antoninus & others that followed him.

Perhaps this is why the Ramban said she could find peace; for even though there would be the fighting now, there would also be a time of rest during the time of Rebbi & Antoninus. Then, the descendant of Eisav & the descendant of Yaakov would finally be at peace & and serve as an example of how it was meant to be. This teaches us that no matter where a person comes from or where he's been, there is always the chance to turn around & know that all will turn out right. Even if it takes generations, it’s never too late!

Chayei Sara

Avraham sends his servant Eliezer back to his hometown to find a wife for his son. Eliezer takes ten camels and heads out. When he arrives he stops at the well & says a prayer, asking Hashem to send him the right girl for his master's son. Then the posuk states ויהי הוא טרם כלה לדבר , & it was when he had not yet finished speaking והנה רבקה יוצאת that suddenly Rivka came out.

The Ben Ish Chai asks, why does it say the word הוא? It appears that it's superfluous. It could have just said ויהי טרם כלה לדבר , & it was as he finished speaking. He answers that the Torah wants to emphasize Eliezer's prayer. The Midrash tells us there were three people who were answered right away & one of them was Eliezer. Not only that, but eliezer was the first one to be answered immediately. After him came Moshe Rabainu & then Shlomo Hamelech.
Since he was the first person in history to have his prayer answered immediately, it says הוא, this one. Eliezer, who was the first one in the world to be answered right away, didn't even complete his prayer, and was answered.  

What was so special about Eliezer's prayer that the Torah has to make a point to tell us that he was the first to be answered?

There's a story that's brought by the ברכי נפשי about רב משה אהרן שטרן the mashgiach of kaminenetz. He said that his grandfather רב יעקב יוסף הרמן was once dealing with a shidduch & was in a quandary not knowing which way to go. Either they would break it off or go full force. One morning he came to the Kotel & poured his heart out davening fervently for a hint from above on how to proceed. As he's davening, one of the papers that were in the cracks of the Kotel came & rested at his feet. He picked it up & it was a page from the siddur, that said וארשתיך לי לעולם , I will betroth you to me forever. Needless to say the shidduch went through.

The ברכי נפשי says that we see from here how a prayer that comes from the recesses of your heart can bring supernatural results. Such is the power of prayer.

This works even for simple things. There's a story told about רב פנחס מקוריץ whose students heard him saying at the end of shemona esrai יהי רצון מלפניך שהמשרתת תחזור ,may it be your will that the helper returns. His students, who were sure that this was some kind of lofty prayer went looking into all the seforim on davening to find what this one was for but to no avail. They couldn't find it anywhere. They asked their rebbi, what's the meaning behind that prayer you said at the end of davening? The rebbe explained that there was really nothing hidden about it, rather he was simply praying that the nurse that his wife had had for many years who was now leaving would come back because his wife was weak & really needed her. The students learned from him that no matter what you need or how mundane it is you can ask Hashem for it.  

Perhaps this is what the Torah was teaching us by stressing that Eliezer's was the first prayer to be answered. His was the first prayer that really came from the heart to teach us that when we really want something, no matter how big or small, we can ask Hashem for it. If we really pray from the heart & mean it then hopefully we too will be answered instantly!

Vayeira

When on the behest of Sara, Avraham sends Hagar & Yishmael away, Yishmael gets sick & finishes all the water they had in the middle of the journey. Hagar, fearing that her child would die, is overcome with feelings of helplessness and throws Yishmael under a nearby tree so as not to see him die. She then sits down & begins to cry.

Hashem hears the cries of the boy & sends an angel down to Hagar. The angel tells her to pick up the boy & then ויפקח אלקים את עיניה  Hashem opened her eyes ותרא באר מים ותלך ותמלא את החמת מים & she saw a well of water. She went, filled the skin with water ותשק את הנער & gave the boy to drink.
Interestingly enough, the Midrash says הדא אמרת מחוסרת אמנה היתה from here we say that she was lacking in her faith , for, by filling up the flask with more than she needed at that moment, she showed that her trust in Hashem was lacking.

Asks הגרי"ל חסמן, this Midrash is very puzzling. This is a woman who is alone in the forest with a sick child with no water, who miraculously comes upon a well. Shouldn't we expect her to take for later?
He answers this question with a parable. There was a man who was invited to travel with the king in his entourage with the understanding that the king will provide all that's needed for the journey. If this man would bring his own food & drink, it would be a personal affront to the king.  

We are all riding in Hashem's chariot. Therefore, every time we worry, it’s a personal affront to Hashem who's taking care of us. This is what the claim against Hagar was. After she had seen the great miracle where a well was created just for her, she should have realized that Hashem would be with her & provide for her as needed. Just as she had water now when needed, she would have later too. There was no reason to take extra.

This says ר' אליהו לאפיין  shows us that each person is provided for & judged based on one’s own level of faith. Since we know that one should not rely on miracles, how then could we have a claim against Hagar for taking more. She also shouldn't rely on miracles. He answers that a woman like Hagar who left her father’s home, the home of a king, to attach herself to Avraham should be held to a higher standard. A woman who was accustomed to speak to angels & whom the angel even informed that her son would be made into a great nation, was a woman who was riding in Hashem’s chariot. For her, this was a lack of faith.  
To what extent are we not to worry?

The gemara in Megila says the rabbis didn't understand the verse השלך על ה' יהבך , cast your burdens on Hashem, until one time they were traveling & the Arab camel driver said to them, cast your baggage on the camel. That's when they understood what the extent of bitachon is supposed to be. Just as when you cast your baggage on the camel, you don't feel it anymore, so too, when you cast your burden on Hashem, it has to be that you won't feel it or worry about it because you gave it over to Hashem to carry for you.

As the Midrash says, when a big fish chases a smaller fish as prey, it never catches it. Had it caught and swallowed it from behind, then the fins of the small fish would choke the big fish on the way down. Hashem, too, in his infinite wisdom, made it so that the small fish just swims headfirst, straight into the mouth of the big one. In this way, the fins just fold down without causing any harm. Turns out the big fish chases his food but doesn't catch it for it would just hurt him. Then his food just comes from somewhere else & comes straight to him.

How many times do we see this in business? We go after one deal. When it doesn't work out, we think all is lost until, from out of nowhere, a better, easier one develops. This is what we have to appreciate from here. We have to trust that we’re riding in Hashem’s chariot. If we put our baggage on him, we don't have to worry. No matter how things look, we are not in control & Hashem will take care of us!

Lech Lecha

When Avraham was traveling to Egypt & was worried that the Egyptians would kill him in order to take his wife Sara, he said to her אמרי נא אחתי את למען ייטב לי בעבורך וחיתה נפשי בגללך , please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me for your sake, and that I may live on account of you.
 
Rashi explains למען ייטב לי בעבורך, that it may go well with me for your sake to mean that Avraham was hoping to get presents from the king of Egypt because of Sara.
There are a number of questions on this. First, asks 'ר יעקב ניימן , if the two things he was worried about were them not killing him & giving him presents, shouldn't he have mentioned  first that he wouldn't be killed & only as an afterthought the presents? And if he's worried about his life, why is he being so polite saying please let's do this. Shouldn't he have just said this is what we have to do? Additionally it seems way out of character for Avraham to be vying for presents. What's his reasoning?
 
When we analyze what the essence of Avraham Avinu's mission in life was, says ר יצחק זילברשטיין, we see it was to instill the belief in Hashem to the entire world thereby glorifying Hashem’s name in the world. Showing people that by going in the way of Hashem you won't lose out. Avraham saw that by spreading this fact he strengthened the belief in Hashem & the recognition of truth in the world.
 
The gemara gives us advice on how to have a happy home. אמר ר' חלבו לעולם יהא אדם זהיר בכבוד אשתו שאין ברכה מצויה בתוך ביתו של אדם אלה בשביל אשתו. Rav Chelbo says a person should always be careful with his wife's honor, for blessing only resides in one’s home because of his wife. As the posuk states ולאברם היטיב בעבורה and he treated Avraham well for her sake. Rava added to that by advising his townspeople to honor their wives so that they will become wealthy.
 
What Avraham wanted to do in reference to the gifts, says ר יצחק זילברשטיין, was to spread the word to the world that his wealth only came to him because of his wife.  He wanted everyone to know that his wealth was only in his wife's merit so that everyone who would hear about Avraham's wealth would learn from him to accord their wives great honor so that all would be good for them too. It wasn't that Avraham wanted gifts, rather he wanted to teach the Torah's way to treat one’s wife & that when one honors his wife the material blessings will come too.   
 
The מסילת המהרשא asks, where do we even see that Avraham honored his wife so much that we are learning from him that all bracha comes from the merit of one’s wife?
He answers that by the fact that Avraham's life was on the line & still he asked his wife please do this for me so that I will live, we see how much he honored her & wouldn't force her to do anything even if he might be killed.
 
Perhaps that's why he put the gifts first. If his whole mission in life was to spread the word & belief in Hashem, then by him getting the gifts & being able to show that success comes from honoring one’s wife & that that's the Torah way, then that was his life & that's what comes first. The gifts were just a vehicle for him to show Hashem’s ways & that's what mattered to him more than anything.
 
Rebbizin Kanievsky once went to a wedding by herself & after maariv R’ Chaim asked his shamas if the rebbetzin came back yet. When the shamas told him that she was back already before maariv, he said I wish I would have known because when she's not here I worry too much & can't concentrate. In a similar vein, she once told one of her friends that she doesn't like to leave the house because R' Chaim had said he doesn't learn as well when she's not there.  
 
We could learn from here how to treat our wives, how to care for them & know that when we treat our wives with caring & respect Hashem will shower the ultimate blessings upon us!

Noach

Our Parsha begins by introducing Noach saying נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדרתיו, Noach a righteous man, perfect in his generation.

Rashi, in explaining what the word  בדרתיו is coming to teach us says, that some of our rabbis explain it to Noach's credit; had he been in a generation of righteous people he would have even been greater. Then, others use it to discredit him saying that only in his decadent generation was he good; had he been in the generation of Avraham, he wouldn't have amounted to much.

Many commentators ask: if we can interpret something for either good or bad, why would anyone choose the bad rather than just judge him for good?

The Chazon Ish says that these two interpretations are really the same thing. One who is in a society where spirituality is, at best, frowned upon if not actually scorned, is bound to be influenced & dragged down by his surroundings. As the Rambam writes, " People’s actions and character are deeply affected by the opinions, actions and spiritual level of their friends & acquaintances." So, objectively, Noach never became the great person he could have been had he lived in Avraham's generation. The amount of energy he needed to resist succumbing to his generation’s evil ways & negative atmosphere, but to also propel himself to the next level was just too much.

However, the spiritual level he did reach even under those circumstances was extraordinary given the society he lived in.
What was it that compelled Noach to be different than everyone else? What was it that kept him straight?

The Alter of Novardok says that the ones who interpret our posuk negatively don't necessarily mean it to reflect badly on Noach. Rather it’s the reason that he went the other way. When he saw what was going on in his generation and the perverse level of the people, he made tremendous effort to distance himself from them. Therefore, he turned himself into a great person. Had he lived in Avraham's times, there wouldn't have been that perversity to disgust him & propel him to greatness.  

The Chafetz Chaim wrote about the declining spiritual level of Eastern Jewry during the 1920's & 30's. Since the spiritual level was much lower, every small spiritual accomplishment was just as important as the great accomplishments of the previous generations, for it took a great inner strength to go against the trend & grow spiritually.

When one lives in a society that is perverse, that perversion has to propel him to be better than the norm. One must be turned off by such a society & develop a moral prerogative to better oneself. We, in our generation, can surely relate to Noach. We need to realize that no matter how small our accomplishments are they really count. We should learn from him that even if society sinks to a new low level, we cannot let it overcome us. Rather, let it disgust us, so that we, too, can be perfect in our generation!

Bereishis

The posuk says ויברך אלקים את יום השביעי ויקדש אתו. Hashem blessed the seventh day & sanctified it.
According to the Zohar, Shabbos is the source of all blessing, both physical & spiritual. As the midrash explains ברכת ה' היא תעשיר the blessing of Hashem grants wealth, is a reference to Shabbos.

That it's the source of spiritual blessing we can understand. However, asks the Ben Ish Chai, it would seem that the blessing of wealth is the antithesis of keeping Shabbos. Shabbos is the day when we have to put aside all of our material pursuits not to do even the slightest bit of business. Since that is the case how is it specifically on Shabbos when we are commanded not to do any work that that's the day that gives us the blessing of wealth?

He continues by saying that of course the bracha that we get is from the work that we do all week however this bracha that encompasses us during the week stems from the holiness of Shabbos & its blessings. As the Zohar says all blessings come from the seventh day.

Where do we see that Shabbos causes material wealth? Continues the Ben Ish Chai, when the Torah tells us about material wealth it uses three main terms to define wealth. דגן , תירוש, ויצהר when a person is blessed with these three things one is blessed with all encompassing blessing.

If one will notice immediately at the onset of shabbos we sanctify the Shabbos with these three things. First we make kiddush on wine , תירוש & on the table at the time is the lechem mishne , דגן & all the while the table is lit up by the Shabbos candles preferably from oil , יצהר.
So we see that the Shabbos & its Mitzvos send us the all encompassing bracha of דגן , תירוש, ויצהר.
How do we merit this bracha?

There's a story told over about a young man in Lithuania who bought a car & would shuttle people from the town to the train station on the outskirts of town. Slowly he started working later on friday & starting earlier after Shabbos until he was actually desecrating Shabbos publicly. All the admonishments didn't help & even the Rav tried to stop him but to no avail. His father was a sickly man who turned a blind eye to what was going on.

One day ר זלמן סורוצקין who was the Rav of this town was in Vilna for a gathering of all the rabbi's that was headed by the Chofetz Chaim. On his way home he was on the same train as the Chofetz Chaim who was on his way home to Radin. At a stopover The גרז was looking out the window & saw the sickly father hobbling toward the train. He went over to him to ask how he was & the man said he was going to get on a train to Radin to get a bracha from the Chafetz Chaim. His grandmother had come to him in a dream & told him to ask the Chofetz Chaim for a Bracha. The גרז told him that he was in luck & wouldn't have to make the trip to Radin because the Chafetz Chaim was right there in the train station!

The sickly man told the Chafetz Chaim his story & asked him for a bracha. The Chafetz Chaim was shaking & said to him " can I give a bracha? Do you think my bracha will help? Only shabbos can give you a bracha , shabbos is the source of all blessing. If you observe shabbos you will get its bracha & then mine could help. If you think that by you alone keeping shabbos you will get the bracha look at the posuk it says לא תעשה כל מלאכה אתה ובנך ובתך you, your sons & your daughters. It's the only Mitzva that the Torah says is the parents' obligation to make sure they keep it too. The man was sobbing & promised to make sure his children also kept shabbos & the Chafetz Chaim gave him his bracha.

The way we can get our bracha for the week & have all our material needs taken care of & merit true wealth from Hashem is by us & our families observing the shabbos to its fullest!

Succos

When the Torah commands us to take the ד' מינים on Sukkos it says ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון, and you should take for yourself on the first day. Chazal explain why it says to take the four species on the first day when in reality we take them on the fifteenth day. They explain its ראשון לחשבון עוונות the first day of the new accounting for sins for the year.


To clarify the words of Chazal why Sukkos would be the start of the new accounting for sins for the year, ר' לוי יצחק מבארדיטשוב explains as follows. The days from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur, the teshuva that one does is normally תשובה מיראה , teshuva out of fear of the outcome of our judgment. However, right after Yom Kippur, when we are all busy with all the Sukkos preparations , building the Sukka, getting the ד' מינים etc., that's considered תשובה מאהבה , teshuva out of love, for the fear is gone & the love of the mitzvos takes over.


We know that when a person does תשובה מיראה, all one’s intentional sins turn to accidental ones, and when one does תשובה מאהבה, one’s sins turn into merits. So Hashem in His infinite mercy wants us all to come back to Him out of love. Therefore, on this yom tov when we are doing everything out of love, He waits to count our sins, so that He will know how many merits we have instead of our sins. That's why it’s called the first day of our accounting of sins for the year; for it’s the first day that Hashem counts all of our sins that He turned into merits & can then give us goodness & blessings for the year.


There's a story told about Reb Avraham, the brother of the Vilna Gaon, who after he got married left Vilna to live in a different town. His brother, the Gaon, sent him a letter to move back because he wanted to learn with him. His brother sent back a letter saying that he couldn't because his wife wouldn't move for the following reason.


In those days it was very hard to get a nice esrog & the ones that you could get were very expensive. One year, there were none to be found until one merchant came to town with only one esrog demanding an exorbitant price. At that time, the town would usually chip in & buy it together so there would be one esrog for the whole town. This time, they decided that they would have to forego the mitzva because they didn't have enough money to buy it. When the wife of Reb Avraham heard this, she was broken hearted & turned to her husband & said "how could it be that we won't have an esrog for sukkos?" Then, she had an idea. She said, “we’re living in a house that we got as a wedding present. We don't really need it so let's sell it & then we could buy the esrog. That's what they did.


When Reb Avraham told his wife about his brothers request to move to Vilna he asked his wife & she said we can't go because every time I walk by that house we sold to fulfill the mitzva of esrog I'm filled with such happiness & I can't give that up.


What's so special about the mitzva of esrog that people are willing to give up so much for it & happily?


Another reason why its called ראשון לחשבון עוונות is because the first sin done by man was the sin of the עץ הדעת & the fruit that he ate was the esrog.

The Ramban write that by us fulfilling the Mitzva of esrog we are atoning for the first sin of man.


Maybe that's why we are so connected to the esrog because by our fulfillment of this mitzva we are rectifying the original sin. Not only that, but we are also turning all our sins into mitzvos erasing all sin. If we are able to eradicate all sin, then perhaps we could bring back the original world without any worry or strife & have only bracha straight from Hashem!

Yom Kippur - Vezos HaBeracha

As Moshe nears his death, he takes the opportunity to give one last blessing to the shevatim; however instead of going in order he puts Yehuda after Reuvain.

Rashi says he did that because both Yehuda and Reuvain admitted to a wrongdoing they did.
Rashi continues with the gemara that says that during the forty years in the desert, the bones of Yehuda were rattling around in the coffin because he accepted excommunication on himself. Moshe said in Yehuda's favor "who caused Reuvain to admit his wrongdoing? Yehuda.” In that merit, Yehuda’s bones stopped rattling and went into their proper place.

The question is: how could it be that Yehuda caused Reuvain to admit his wrongdoing when the teshuva that Yehuda did was for the story with Tamar. We know that Reuvain was doing teshuva even before Yosef was sold, which was way before the story with Tamar even happened. How could it be that Yehuda caused Reuvain to do teshuva when he hadn't even sinned yet?

The Chasam Sofer once stated in a Shabbos Shuva drasha that the posuk says סור מרע ועשה טוב, separate from evil and do good. First you have to separate from evil and then you can do good. That's the way teshuva has to be done; first you have to resolve to remove yourself from sin and then do good, unlike people who will go to shul, daven and say tehillim. However, when they leave shul, they go back to repeating the same sins as before. As the Rambam explains teshuva, one has to leave his evil ways and resolve in his heart not to sin anymore. Only then will he be forgiven for the past; the main thing is to say aloud and admit what he’s doing wrong and resolve not to do it anymore.

The ממעינות הנצח says that first Reuvain thought that the way to do teshuva was by fasting, davening and wearing sackcloth. As Rashi explains why Reuvain wasn't there when Yosef was sold, because he was busy fasting;
He was busy doing what he thought was teshuva.
That's what he learned from Yehuda, that the real teshuva is the admission of what you did wrong and the resolve not to do it again.The purification of your heart is what counts.

Sometimes it’s hard to make a real resolve. Do we just give up?
Rav Shach said that he heard from רב יחזקאל לונשטין an insight on how to approach teshuva. While in Russia, when it would snow, every person was responsible to shovel in front of his house or shop and the police would come around to make sure it was be done. If it wasn't, they would issue a ticket. The people didn't really want to shovel so much so when the police would come around, they would grab a shovel and start shoveling so the police would think that they were doing it and leave them alone.

The mashgiach continued, even if we can't do a proper teshuva, at least grab the shovel and start the process.
This Yom Kippur, let’s learn from Yehuda not just to pay lip service without changing our ways. Rather we must resolve to remove ourselves from sin admit what we did wrong and at least start the process to become better people!

Rosh Hashana - Haazinu

Our Rabbis teach us that on the days of Rosh Hashana the ספרי חיים & ספרי מתים , the books of the living & the books of the dead, are opened.

The אוצרות התורה asks, it's understandable that the books of the living are opened in order to review the actions of people during the past year & judge accordingly, but why do we open the books of the dead? They were already judged at their time of death & can't do anything else. Why does Hashem judge them, too, every year?

The Maharsha interprets ספרי חיים & ספרי מתים the way most of us were taught, that it’s to judge the living & in which book they will be inscribed for life or death.

However, הגאון רבי יהושע הלר explains a little differently. There are two types of mitzvos, one where the mitzva itself is paramount, like shabbos or lulav where the observance of the mitzva itself is what counts. Then you have mitzvos that bear future fruit, things that you do now that have a lasting effect. For example, you inspire someone & because of you that person changed his ways & became a better person & his children became better. For that, you get credit every year even after you're gone.

The first Rosh Hashana after a person is gone, the heavenly court summons him & puts him in a better place than he was initially assigned. The person wonders how is this possible? I can't do any more good deeds. How did I get elevated? The answer is that while you were up here, someone down there was inspired by you; one of your teachings enlightened someone; a story about you triggered someone else to change; you get rewarded for all that because it came about because of you.   

How can we accomplish not only getting inscribed in the book of life but making sure what we do counts for eternity?
In the song of Haazinu which is the song of the history of our nation, the Torah states הלה' תגמלו זאת עם נבל ולא חכם, is it to Hashem that you repay this, O people who are vile & unwise?

The Chafetz Chaim explains this rebuke with a parable. A father married off his son & gave him a large sum of money as a wedding present. The son still lived off his father for many years. All his needs were taken care of. After a while, the father told the son that it was time for him to fend for himself. The son took all the money that he was given & went to the marketplace. When he got there, he saw some gold utensils that he really liked which the people told him were a great deal. Without checking them out too much, he spent half his money on them. With the rest of the money he bought bonds that he was told were worth a lot more then he paid for them. Pleased with his purchases, he set home happily anticipating the profits he would make.  

When he got home, he showed his father what he bought. After a little examination, he saw that, even though it looked like real gold, it was just gold plated & worthless. You wasted half the money I gave you. Let me see what else you bought. The son brought out the bonds & showed his father. Look, the amounts that are written on here are a fraction of what I paid! Again the father looks & sees that the documents are forged. He loses patience & says, not only won't you make any money but it's a crime to even own these documents. You will probably end up in jail for having these!

Look what you did to me, continued the father, I raised you until today; I took care of you; I even gave you the opportunity to succeed. You act like a blundering fool. First, you just look at the glitter & buy gold plated worthless utensils. Then, to add insult to injury, you buy forged documents to land us in jail!

This, says the Chafetz Chaim, is us. First, Hashen brings us into the world  and gives us everything we need to succeed. Instead of using our intellect to serve him, we're fooled by the glitter & use it for nothingness. Even worse, we sin with it & can get punished.

The posuk is saying Hashem has given us the tools we need, each person on his own level. Just as a father gives his son what he needs to succeed, we need to examine our lives to see where we're lacking & study the Torah & do mitzvos instead of looking at the glitter.

If we could take this lesson to heart & focus on what Hashem wants us to do, then not only will we make our lives & the lives of our children more meaningful, we will also no doubt inspire many others, leading to the ultimate goal: inscription for eternity!

netsavim - vayalech

The Torah tells us that when we return to Hashem He will gather us from around the world and bring us back to the land of our forefathers. All the curses will go on our enemies and we will get an abundance of blessing. Then the posuk continues, כי המצוה הזאת אשר אנכי מצוך היום לא נפלאת הוא ממך ולא רחקה הוא, for this commandment that I command you today, it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשתו , rather the matter is very near to you in your mouth and in your heart to perform it.
 
The Ramban says that the mitzva referred to over here is the mitzva of teshuva, for that is the mitzva that's near to you and easy to do because its  בפיך ובלבבך לעשתו it’s in your mouth to admit what you did wrong and in your heart to accept upon yourself to be better from now on. It’s something that requires no outside intervention, one does it oneself.
 The אוצרות התורה asks, how can you say that teshuva is easy and near to you? We all know how hard it is to break a habit and stop doing whatever sins you're used to doing and not to give into temptation and change your ways.  How could the Torah say about teshuva כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד that is so close to you to do?
 
Someone once asked רב משה פיינשטיין זצ"ל why many of the children of the immigrants who came from Europe to America in the previous generation didn't remain frum. They withstood great trials to remain shomer Shabbos; a lot of them went through fifty two jobs each year because they were fired every week when they didn't show up on Shabbos. How is it after such self-sacrifice their children didn't remain shomer Shabbos?
 
Reb Moshe answered that even though they had great self-sacrifice they failed on one point. Each week after being fired, they would complain and become depressed and upset about it saying, "It’s hard to be a Jew". The children grew up constantly hearing how hard it is to be a Jew in America and that it required great self-sacrifice. They felt that they weren't on that level of constant hardship so they left it all behind. Contrast that with the ones who when they too were fired every week came home full of joy exclaiming to their families how lucky they were to be able to withstand the tests and trials that they were given and now would be able to keep Shabbos properly. Those children were infused with a love for Shabbos and mitzvos and remained true to Torah.
 
Perhaps what the Torah means over here is a different kind of Teshuva. Conceivably it's referring to a teshuva of attitude. For the most part we all try to do the right thing. We daven three time a day, we learn when we can, do chesed give tzedaka etc. But are we happy about it? Do we complain as we do it? Maybe what the Torah is telling us is that teshuva can be easy. You're already doing the right thing, now its בפיך ובלבבך לעשתו it's in your mouth and heart to do it. Do it with the right attitude; make that change of heart and be happy with what you're doing. Always show the love you have for Mitzvos so that your children will see that they’re enjoyable and you’re happy when you do them and will want to share the joy and emulate you!

Ki savo

As the Torah warns us of all the bad that will befall us if we don't keep the Mitzvos, one of the reasons it gives for the curses coming upon us is תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב , because you did not serve Hashem, your God, with gladness and with goodness of heart.  

It’s incredulous, wonders רב האי גאון that because we didn't perform the Mitzvos with joy, these devastating curses would befall us?!

In contrast, רבי אלעזר אזכרי זצ"ל relates in his sefer, that the secret to the greatness of the אריז"ל & the reason he was able to accomplish so much, was because of his tremendous simcha when performing the mitzvos. He explained the posuk as follows: תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרוב כל because you did not serve Hashem, your God, with gladness and with goodness of heart out of an abundance of everything. He says מרוב כל means that the simcha one gets from a Mitzva should be, מרוב כל , a greater happiness than any other pleasure in this world, greater than gold or jewels. The Mitzva has to be the ultimate happiness which was the simcha of a mitzva that the  אריז"ל had.  
Why does this simcha merit such greatness?

There's a humorous story told over by Reb Henoch Alexander about a farmer who couldn't get his son to  learn even the alef bais. He went to the big city & brought back a teacher to whom he promised great compensation if he could get his son to learn. Getting through was not easy but the efforts paid off. After a few months during which the teacher toiled tirelessly to teach this boy, he finally taught him the alef beis with the vowels.

Excitedly, he called the father to come listen to the son read. The teacher pointed to the letters which the boy read each perfectly. Then the teacher went back over them asking him what's underneath the "alef", "beis" etc. He was doing great until the teacher asked what's underneath the "hei". When the boy didn't answer, the teacher asked again what's under the "hei". Again, he wouldn't respond. The father started asking him but still he wouldn't open his mouth. Finally, in frustration, the father hit him & yelled, “what's under the "hei". The child, with a pleading voice, said to his father ,”if you’re going to continue to beat me, I will have to tell everyone that the calf you stole is hidden under the hay.

Reb Henach concluded by saying, when we can't find it in ourselves to serve Hashem with joy, it’s because there's some sin hidden beneath the surface that’s causing our unhappiness.
It’s not that the curses & punishments come because we didn't serve Hashem happily. Rather, because of the root of the problem, which is we are too entrenched in sin to serve happily. Contrast that with the Arizal who wasn't plagued with sin & therefore was able to reach the highest plateau of Torah learning & even prophecy.

Most of us probably won't get to the level of the  אריז"ל , but let's at least try to find the underlying reason why our Mitzvos are not always done with the greatest joy. Let's find what's  hidden under the hay that's holding us back from experiencing the true joy of mitzvos. Then, let us eradicate it so that we will be able to put the joy back into Yiddishkeit & doing mitzvos!

Ki Seitzai

Our Parsha begins כי תצא למלחמה על איביך ונתנו ה' אלקיך בידך ושבית שביו , when you go out to war against your enemies, & Hashem will deliver him into your hand & you will capture its captives.
Rashi says that the war we're referring to here is מלחמת רשות, one that's not a mitzva but rather an optional war.  

Many commentators say that the battle we’re referring to is the constant battle with the Yetzer Hara. The gemara says that one’s evil inclination would overpower him every day if it weren’t for Hashem himself interceding & helping one to overcome it. How do we merit for Hashem to intercede on our behalf?

As the posuk says כי תצא למלחמה על איביך you go out to battle & then  ונתנו ה אלקיך בידך Hashem will give him into your hand. As we have all seen at one time or another when trying to battle the yetzer hara, you thought something was out of your control; he had overpowered you. Then you really tried; you took a step back & said I won't do that anymore. All of a sudden the impossible became possible; something you thought you couldn't control became controllable because, once you went to war, Hashem helped you.

The main thing, says the Chafetz Chaim, is to go to war. Then, not only will you succeed in conquering the Yetzer Hara, as the posuk continues  ושבית שביו you will take captives. These captives, he continues, are the sins that you did before you went to battle. Once you go to war with him & win, then all those sins you did beforehand you will take back from him. When one does complete teshuva, even the sins he did prior to then become merits.

How does Rashi’s commentary of an optional war coincide with the war against the yetzer hara? That can't be optional!

Once, when the Chafetz Chaim was very old, he woke up early one morning & thought to himself, “I'm too old to get up this early in the freezing cold. It’s not healthy for a man my age.” He almost went back to sleep when he jumped up & yelled at the yetzer hara saying " you won't convince me to stay in bed! Look, you’re way older than I am & you came a lot farther a lot earlier to try to get me not to go to daven. Well, I will learn from you. Just as you never stop doing what's incumbent upon you, I will never stop doing what's incumbent upon me, no matter how old I get".

Maybe this could resolve the two commentaries. Really, the war with the yetzer hara isn't optional. However, at times, like the story with the Chafetz Chaim, it may seem optional. It may seem like there's no war. He had a great point: how could I endanger my health to go to shul when I could just daven later at home. Really that is the war. The Yetzer Hara tries with things that make sense at first; little things that seem optional. Then, when he gets you on that, he moves onto bigger things. That's why, says the Choftez Chaim, we can't give in on anything because once you let him in, he takes over. Imagine two partners & one notices that the other is stealing from him, does he just let it slide saying, “hey it was just a little?” No. If he does that, then the partner will keep stealing more each time.  

We have to take this lesson from this parsha. Don't let the yetzer hara convince you that mitzvos are optional. If he does, he won't stop. But, if you fail, know that all you need to do is make that resolution & go to war. With Hashem's help you will conquer!

Shoftim

At the beginning of our Parsha Moshe tells us to appoint Judges & Officers throughout the land, שפטים ושטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך.

The commentators all ask why it says  תתן לך in the singular when it’s addressed to the whole nation. They answer that it teaches us that each one of us has to judge all of our actions to see if they conform to the Torah or not.

The אוצרות התורה adds that from the singular  תתן לך we also see that a person has to know that it’s only himself he must watch. There's no comparison to what someone else does. Each person is judged based on his own individual qualities, strengths & weaknesses; no two people are alike. What for one person is a mitzvah, could be a sin for the other. We can't look to see what the other is doing & justify our actions.

The בן איש חי explains that the Torah is hinting here that it’s incumbent on every one of us to appoint our own judges; the brain & the heart that rule over our limbs & our feelings to turn us to do good. One way for that to work is by always judging oneself & taking to heart what will come out of one’s sin. Recognize how low he can sink if he lets sin overcome him.

The next posuk also gives advice how to judge yourself: לא תטה משפט , don't pervert judgment, don't always judge yourself for good when going over your actions. On the contrary, if you find fault in your actions, embrace it & work on it to fix it. In that way, you will constantly improve yourself.

Learn from דוד המלך who, when נתן הנביא confronted him about his sin, even though he had good reasons. he answered " I sinned to Hashem". The Navi then said, Hashem will remove your sin. Dovid admitted his sin & was forgiven. Unlike שאול המלך, who when confronted by שמואל הנביא about not killing the king of Amalek, made up excuses justifying himself thereby losing everything. We can't deny or justify our sins; we need to acknowledge them & fix them.

The עלינו לשבח adds, that שפטים ושטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך.... לשבטיך is referring to an individual person’s troubles. The word  לשבטיך hints at troubles, as it says שבטך ומשענתך המה ינחמוני ,  to teach us that one has to examine himself to establish the cause of his troubles. This concept of determining from what sin these troubles came is exemplified by the following story.

There was a woman whose son was born with a serious birth defect & would never be normal. While the whole family took it very hard, when people would come to console her, she would say " I know why Hashem brought this hardship on me".

This woman had a playgroup for little children. One day, a woman came to enroll her son who had this same defect, but I wouldn't take the child. No matter how much the mother pleaded & cried that I take in her son, I just couldn't do it. Now Hashem has paid me back & has given me a son like that so that I would feel that woman's pain.  

This woman, instead of just assigning it to chance, saw the hand of Hashem & was able to realize her own wrongdoing & make changes. This is what the Torah teaches us here. We have to watch ourselves, find what we’re doing wrong & fix it.
If we could do that, we will be sure to triumph in the ultimate judgment in the heavenly court!

Parsha thought: Re'eh

When the Torah tells us what will happen when we inherit the land it says that we have to destroy all the alters & monuments that were used for idol worship. Then it says when you enter the land Hashem will choose a place where you will bring all your offerings. Then the posuk says ושמחתם לפני ה אלקיכם אתם ובניכם והלוי אשר בשעריכם כי אין לא חלק ונחלה אתכם , you shall rejoice before Hashem, you and your sons and the Levite who is in your cities, for he has no share and inheritance with you.

The Posuk is seemingly strange. It's implying that the reason for the Levi to rejoice is because he has no inheritance & no share in the land. Wouldn't that be a reason for him not to rejoice? Why does the Torah say that that's his reason to rejoice?

The Ohel Yaakov explains that while for the average person getting a share of the land & all its goodness is a reason to rejoice, for the Levi who is on a higher plane, he rejoices that he has no share & no worldly pursuits so he is free to dedicate all his time to the service of Hashem.

Interesting explanation although how does that coincide with the rest of the posuk that says ושמחתם לפני ה אלקיכם אתם ובניכם ובנתיכם ועבדיכם ואמהתיכם והלוי אשר בשעריכם כי אין לא חלק ונחלה אתכם which includes even the children & slaves, implying that everyone is together on the same level? If the Levi's simcha is one of spiritual bliss & everyone else's is on the mundane how does the Torah equate them?

There were two young boys who grew up together through childhood into adulthood & always remained close throughout their yeshiva days. They both got married & joined the kollel. After a few years one of them got a job opportunity & moved away. Years passed & the one who went into business was very successful & became wealthy, while the other one didn't have much money, but became an accomplished Torah scholar. One day they ran into each other & told each other about their lives. The businessman was overcome with envy & thought to himself, " Had I remained in yeshiva I too would be great in Torah.. What a shame that I had to leave it." His friend on the other hand, was thinking " maybe I too should have gone out into the word. Would it be so bad to have some financial security?"

On the surface it might seem like the kollel man is more connected to Torah then the businessman, when in reality it's the business man who really is, since it"s the desire that matters. Perhaps what the Torah is telling us by equating everyone from the slave to your children & then the Levi, is that no matter what your stage in life or what your doing, as long as your heart is in the right place & your connection is with Hashem & His Torah then all are equal. It's not what you do but how you do it & where your heart is.

As the Otzer HaTorah says " True spiritual status is determined not by how one spends his time, but by what one values." The גר"א מולנה explains the reason the posuk starts off saying ראה אנכי נתן , see, I place. Instead of ראה אנכי נתתי , see I placed. Is to teach us that Hashem gives us the choice each & every day to choose good or bad. Let's take the opportunity no matter what we do, to want to choose good that at least our desire should always be to get closer to Hashem & His Torah!

Eikev

When we sleep at night, a spiritual impurity rests upon us. When we wake up, the impurity leaves our body & settles on our hands, so we wash our hands to get rid of the impurity.

Why, asks the מליץ יושר, did the Torah choose the hands of all the limbs on one’s body to have this impurity rest until washed away? He answers that a person might err & say כוחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה,my strength & the might of my hand made me all this wealth. One attributes his success to the might of his hands. Since there is no greater impurity than believing in one’s own power, it is the hands that get the impurity to show that believing in the strength of our hands is impure.

The next posuk says כי הוא הנתן לך כח לעשות חיל that is was He who gave you the strength to make wealth. It is interesting to see that אונקלוס translates this as " that it was He that gave you advice to buy possessions." Chazal say that reshaim are full of regrets. If that statement would be referring to regretting sin, then they wouldn't be called reshaim, but rather tzadikim. So it must be referring to regrets regarding the mundane. The בש"ט explains that they’re called reshaim because they regret the mundane, for one has to believe that all his dealings are under the guidance of Hashem. He is the one who puts the ideas into one’s head so to regret a deal or purchase that one feels didn't go well is showing that he doesn’t believe that all comes from Hashem. A tzaddik would realize there is no reason to regret for that was the will of Hashem.   

To help us understand this, ר"י לוינשטיין would bring the words of the חובת הלבבות that says: just as with life & death everybody realizes that it’s all in the hands of Hashem, so, too, we must believe regarding worldly matters.

There's a story told over by רבי חיים חייקין that exemplifies this point. Once, ר' אליהו לידר was a guest in the home of a wealthy man  & overheard him bragging to his friend that nothing could harm him. He had so many different avenues of income that even if one or two failed, there were always others that worked. He had unlimited funds, so he felt invincible. When the rabbi heard him talking like that, he was afraid for him & asked him to refrain from such talk. However, the wealthy man just continued to revel in his monies.

A few years later, Tsar Nikolai passed through the town of this wealthy man. On his way, he went on a bridge that this man had built. However, these bridges were built to handle light loads which was normal for that city. When the Tsar came with his whole entourage & fully laden carriages, the bridge collapsed under them, killing some of his best soldiers. This was an affront to the Tsar himself. Since the one responsible was a Jew, undoubtedly the penalty would be death. Before they would realize who was responsible, the wealthy man ran out of town with just the clothes on his back, penniless.

Left with no choice, he had to go around begging for food. One Shabbos he ended up in the same house as ר' אליהו לידר . When he saw him, he cried & said "I still hear your words ringing in my ears......

The Chofetz Chaim used to tell this story often to prove that a person has no control & everything is given & taken by Hashem.  
If only we could internalize this lesson & really believe that we have no control, we could put our complete faith in Hashem & have no more worries!

Va'eschanan

When recounting Mattan Torah, Moshe describes the extent of the people’s proximity to Hashem by saying אתה הראת לדעת כי ה הוא האלקים אין עוד מלבדו you have been shown to know that Hashem is Lord; there is no other power besides Him. אוצר חיים questions the inclusion of the word  לדעת for if we are shown something, of course it’s that we should know. What's  לדעת coming to teach us?

The עלינו לשבח recounts a fascinating story that he prefaces with this thought; there are times in one’s life that one feels his world is crashing in on him with no one to save him. One looks for a segula or anything that can save him, usually to no avail. However, there is one segula that can help: the segula of רבי חיים מוולזון who writes in his sefer נפש החיים that a person has the ability to ensure that no bad befall him by taking away any reliance in man. He should think & believe in his heart that only Hashem does & controls everything.

He writes that when one establishes this fact in his heart, that there is no force but Hashem, then no force will be able to harm him. One should read & study these words to make them a part of oneself saying; הלא ה' הוא האלקים האמיתי ואין עוד מלבדו יתברך שום כוח בעולם , וכל העולמות כלל מלא רק אחדותו יתברך, ומבטל בלבו ביטול גמור ואינו משגיח כלל על שום כח ורצון בעולם, ומשעבד ומדבק טוהר מחשבתו רק לאדון יחיד בה. כן יספיק הוא יתברך בידו שממילא יתבטלו מעליו כל הכוחות והרצונות שבעולם שלא יוכלו לפעול לא שום דבר כלל. ( Hashem is the true G-d & there is no power other than Him, and all the worlds are filled only with His oneness, nullify your heart completely & don't take into account any other power or will in the world & when your pure thoughts are only on Hashem then He will insure that no outside force or will in the world will be able to dominate you)

There are countless stories told of people who were saved by focusing on these words in their time of trouble. I will share one. Although a few years prior a valve had been implanted in Rabbi Peretz's heart, now suddenly he wasn't feeling well again. His blood counts were down & he was taken into the hospital. After the doctors checked him, they concluded that they would have no choice but to operate & replace the valve, a very dangerous operation. The family secured the services of the best surgeon to perform the operation, which they scheduled for that Sunday. However, once the doctor saw how sick Rabbi Peretz was, he couldn't operate until Thursday to give Rabbi Peretz time to get back some strength.

Meanwhile, a friend of this man’s brother, Rabbi Vizel, told the brother that in a situation like this, he should try the segula of the גר"ח. On Monday, the brother took the sefer with him to the hospital & the family read that chapter. On Tuesday they were informed that it wasn't enough to read the words, rather they had to learn them & to accept upon themselves with a full heart to strengthen their belief in אין עוד מלבדו until they’re convinced that there's no outside power. By the fourth day, they had learned this segula over & over. They were so strong in their belief that the only way out was with the help of Hashem.

Later that day, the brother & mother had to go out for a little & were going to return that night to be with him for the operation in the morning. At home, the phone rang & he sees that it’s the hospital calling. He wonders, “what now?” Picking up the phone, he hears them say, “no operation tomorrow.” His heart sinks for he thinks it’s because his brother still isn't well enough. Instead, they tell him that the doctor did one last check up before the operation. To his shock & surprise, there was nothing wrong with the valve; the operation was canceled & the man was able to go home.  

Perhaps this is what the לדעת is coming to teach us: that it’s not enough just to believe that Hashem is the one who controls everything. We have to really know it, live it, learn it & make it the core & essence of our lives. If we could do that, we will merit to have Hashem be the only one calling the shots for us & no outside force could ever harm us!

Devarim

As Moshe is recounting the years in the wilderness he recalls the time when he appointed leaders over the people. He says, איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם , how can I alone carry your trouble & your burden & your quarrels?

Rashi explains this to mean that the Jewish people were troublesome, rebellious & quarrelsome.

Ramban says that we could learn from these words three things that are incumbent on leaders of our nation. טרחכם, your trouble, that the leaders should trouble themselves to teach the people Torah. ומשאכם , your burdens , that the leaders should carry the nation on their shoulders by praying for them & trying to alleviate any problems that they have. וריבכם , your quarrels, the leaders should try to resolve the quarrels of the people.

Moshe felt that it was his responsibility to see to all of the needs of the nation. The אוצר התורה relates a story that shows how our leaders emulate this trait.

Reb Moshe Weinberger relates this story as told to him by the one it happened to: " I was a young boy when my parents sent me to learn in the yeshiva in Grodno. It was a three day train ride, however, my parents were so poor they didn't even have the train fare, so I had to walk. Supplied with meager provisions & warm wishes, I set out. My parents told me to ask Jews along the way to share their food with me when mine ran out. Throughout the journey I slept on hard benches in the back of shuls, or even on the hard floor & had to beg for food from the kindhearted people along the way. Aside from the dangers of the journey, I was naturally worried whether I would even pass the entrance exam & be admitted into the yeshiva. All throughout the trip I reviewed the page of gemara I prepared, & by the time I got there I knew it by heart.

I finally arrived tired & hungry, but anxious to be tested. I was directed to the home of the Rosh Yeshiva , Reb Shimon Shkop to take the exam. Reb Shimon greeted me warmly & asked where I came from. He then said to me, I have only two questions for you. I was sure the exam was about to begin & I was ready!
Reb Shimon continued, my first question is, "when was the last time you had a hot meal?' I was taken aback by the question, & after a slight pause replied, around three weeks ago. Reb Shimon got up & prepared a hot meal for me himself after eating my fill I was really ready for the test.
Reb Shimon said, now for the second question. When was the last time you slept in a bed? Again the unexpected question & I answered that I couldn't even remember the last time. Reb Shimon went into the bedroom made up the bed & told me to lay down. I slept there all night, only finding out later that he had given me his own bed.
This was my entrance exam to Grodno.

After telling R' Weinberger this story, the student, now an old man, concluded, "Many years have passed and much suffering & pain have come my way , including the loss of my entire family to the Nazis. Throughout all the tragedies, the one thing that kept me connected to yiddishkeit were those two questions - my entrance exam to Grodno!

We can take a lesson from our leaders how much care & sensitivity we have to have for our friends. How to see what is needed without being asked & in that way rectify the sins of שנאת חינם that destroyed the Bais Hamikdash & may it be rebuilt in our days!

Matos/Maasei

The end of our parsha concerns the unintentional murderer, one who kills unintentionally and has to go to a city of refuge. In a seeming paradox, the only way for the accidental murderer to go free is by the death of the כהן גדול.

Numerous reasons are given. Rashi maintains that the כהן גדול should have davened that a tragedy like that could never happen. So great is the responsibility upon the כהן גדול that the gemara in Makkos says that, if during the trial, the כהן גדול dies, a new one is appointed after which he's sentenced, he doesn’t go free until the second כהן גדול dies.

The gemara continues by asking what should the second כהן גדול have done. Now the unintentional murderer has to wait for him to die. The gemara answers that he should have davened that the murderer be acquitted & he didn't.

What is the great concern we have as to what the כהן גדול must have done wrong? Why must he have done something wrong? Why must we find reasons why the unintentional murderer’s freedom hinges on his death ?

The mishna tells us that even though the cities of refuge on the other side of the Jordan were set aside right away, they didn't afford refuge until the ones in Eretz Yisroel were separated too. The משך חכמה gives an interesting explanation as to why; whenever one would kill unintentionally & have to go to a city of refuge, he always held out hope that the כהן גדול would die. However, they all knew that אלעזר, the כהן גדול, would be the one to distribute the land. Had the ones in Transjordan worked, there would have been no hope of anyone going free because the land wasn't divided yet, therefore אלעזר wasn't going to die. The Torah wouldn't sentence someone to exile with no hope of freedom! Therefore, those cities couldn't be functional until after they had captured & divided Eretz Yisroel & set aside three more in Eretz Yisroel.

Interestingly, the mother of the כהן גדול would bring these unintentional murderers food & drink in order that they shouldn't daven that the כהן גדול die. Imagine, these careless individuals who had no regard for human life that they killed another person, would even daven for the כהן גדול, the leader of Klal Yisroel, to die so they could go home. Had the mother of the כהן גדול not befriended them & given them food & drink convincing them not to pray, their tefilos would have helped to cause the כהן גדול to die early; how powerful is prayer that comes from the heart!

I heard an interesting peshat from Rabbi Paysach Krohn. The second beracha in the Amida is מחיה מתים which we all take to refer to the resurrection of the dead. In fact, it says  מחיה מתים three times in that beracha. What are they all referring to?

Rabbi Krohn says that the first one is referring to the sustenance that Hashem gives us, for without food we couldn't live. The second one says מלך ממית ומחיה , king who causes death & restores life, refers to one who is on the brink of death when miraculously Hashem brings him back to life. The third one refers to the afterworld.

There's a story told about the sister of the חזון איש that exemplifies this. When she was a little girl, she got very sick & all the doctors gave up hope. She lay there lifeless with no hope at all; the chevra kadisha were already by the bedside just waiting but the חזון איש didn't give up. He davened with all his heart & soul that the little girl would recover. With tears & a broken heart he cried out to Hashem to heal her. His prayers broke through the heavens & miraculously she started to recover.

This is perhaps why we are so concerned about why the freedom of the unintentional murderer hinges on the death of the כהן גדול. We see that the fault of the כהן גדול was that he didn't daven hard enough for the people but this murderer now would daven from the heart. This teaches us that prayer is the ultimate tool; no matter how bad things seem, there always has to be a way out. Just as the Torah wouldn't put even a murderer in a situation where there's no way out, we would not be put in a situation with no way out. We could learn from the murderer that when it seems there's no other way out, the answer is prayer. If we were to pray from the heart and really mean what we daven for, then Hashem will answer us!

Pinchas

After Pinchas avenges Hashem's honor by slaying Zimri & the Midianite princess, Hashem tells Moshe; צרור את המדינים והכיתם אותם, antagonize the Midianites and smite them. The בן איש חי asks, why does it have to say צרור את המדינים antagonize the Midianites when it says והכיתם אותם smite them. Is there any greater antagonizing than killing them?

Additionally, the next posuk gives the reason as כי צררים הם לכם , because they antagonized you. The real reason is because they caused them to sin. Shouldn't it have said כי החטיאו לכם, because they caused them to sin ?

The Midrash says that we learn from here that one who causes his friend to sin is worse that one who kills his friend. The reason for this is that one who kills his friend removes him from this world, but one who causes his friend to sin removes him from this world & the world to come. There were two nations who tried to physically destroy us: Edom & Egypt, & two who tried to destroy us spiritually: Ammon & Moav.
Regarding Edom & Egypt the Torah tells us לא תתעב do not abhor them, but regarding Ammon & Moav it says 'לא יבא עמוני ומואבי בקהל ה, the Ammoni & Moavi can never be part of the Jewish people for it's worse the one who causes others to sin than the one who kills us. Therefore it says צרור את המדינים, antagonize them.

The sefer Zichron Meir says that we really see this concept from the pesukim themselves. The Midianites did two things to the Jews. First, they caused them to sin & second the caused thousands to die in a plague. The sin that they committed is stated explicitly in the pesukim, however the plague where thousands died is only hinted at, showing that the Torah's viewpoint is that spiritual devastation is worse than physical devastation. However, by people it's usually the opposite. If someone caused physical harm to someone he won't be forgiven & whomever he damaged will try to get retribution. On the other hand, When if someone caused someone else to sin its usually forgiven with great benevolence.

There's a story told about הגאון רב משה פיינשטיין. When he was a Rav in Russia there was a Jew in town who was disenchanted & would make tremendous problems for the other Jews in town. He would constantly run to the government to tell them what they Jews had done wrong. One day this man got very sick & was about to die. On his deathbed he gave a note to the chevra kadisha that said he regrets all the trouble he put everyone through & wants forgiveness for his wrong doing. He asked that they bury him like an animal outside the graveyard in disgrace, & that way he will have some atonement for his sins.

The chevra kadisha came to Reb Moshe to ask what to do. He answered that according to halacha one is not in charge of his body, therefore he cannot control what happens to his body after his death. Therefore, we must do like the halacha requires & give him a regular Jewish burial. They were bewildered. Here the man wants us to disgrace him so that he can get forgiveness for his sins, so why can't we do it? Rav Moshe answered, our job is to do what the halacha states & not what a person wants. Therefore, we have to bury him like tha halacha states & that is a regular burial. So they did as he told them.
Some time goes by & the caretaker of the graveyard sees people from the government are coming to check up on this mans grave even going so far as to open up the grave to see what's inside. The caretaker went over to them to see what was going on. They told him that this man had sent them a letter before he died saying that the Jews hated him because he would snitch to the government & that they would bury him like an animal in disgrace, so they were checking to see how he was buried. If it was in fact true, the whole town would suffer. When the caretaker told the people of the town what happened they all saw how right Rav Moshe was by sticking to the Halacha.

Maybe that's why it says צררים הם לכם, because they antagonized you, instead of because they caused you to sin, to teach us this lesson. If someone causes you to sin it should be antagonizing to you & you shouldn't just brush it off.
The reason why it also says to antagonize them when it says to kill them, is to teach us a lesson. Killing them was only able to be done at that time, not in today's times. Therefore it says to antagonize them to teach us that when someone tries to get you to sin you have to antagonize them & get them away from you & not be nice & forgiving, for when it comes to Torah values we have to be strong & unyielding.
If we can strengthen ourselves to avoid temptation we will be one step closer to the coming of Moshiach in our day!