Vayigash

After Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he sent them back to Canaan to bring his father back with them to Mitzraim. Filled with joy that his son was still alive, Yaakov begins his journey down to Mitzraim. Along the way, he stops in Beer-sheva to offer sacrifices before proceeding. The posuk tells us ויאמר אלוקים לישראל במראות הלילה Hashem spoke to Yaakov in night visions, telling him not to fear going down to Egypt for it was there that he would become a great nation.

The משך חכמה brings our attention to something quite unique in this posuk. We never find that Hashem talks to Avraham & Yitzchok at night. Only by Yaakov do we find that Hashem talks to him at night. What's the significance of this; why does Hashem talk to Yaakov at night?
The answer relates to the fact that Yaakov is now headed outside of the land of Canaan to live, the first exile of the Jewish people. Therefore, Hashem came to him at night to show him that, even in the darkness of the exile, Hashem can still be with Klal Yisroel. As the gemara says, when the Jews went to Bavel, the Shechina went with them.

We see Yaakov's connection to לילה by the korbanos, too. The gemara tells us that Avraham instituted the Shachris prayer, Yitzchok the Mincha prayer while Yaakov instituted the evening prayer, which represents the burning of the limbs on the mizbaiach which, unlike any other sacrifice, could be done at night too.
Chazal tell us that the Shechina doesn't rest on a Navi outside of Eretz Yisroel unless the Navi had already prophesied in Eretz Yisroel; just like the burning of the limbs on the Mizbaiach can be done at night only if the korban was started during the day.

‎Continues the משך חכמה, when the Jews hold on to the ways of their forefathers & uphold the ancient traditions, Hashem will be with them even in the most troubling, darkest of times. However, when we don't hold on to our fathers’ ways & forget the treaty we have with Hashem, then the Shechina leaves us & we’re on our own.
How can we avoid this? What can we do to ensure that we don't forget the ways of our fathers & keep Hashem with us in this bitter exile?

When Yosef brings his brothers to Pharaoh, he tells Pharaoh that they are shepherds, upon which the posuk says, that was כי תועבת מצרים כל רעה צאן, since all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians. The Chidushei Harim says that Yosef was giving the brothers advice that would be good for the Jews throughout the ages in exile. He said that they had a profession that was abhorrent to the Egyptians so that the Egyptians would stay away from them. He was telling the brothers not to try to imitate the lifestyle or culture of the Egyptians. Rather, the secret to Jewish survival is to remain on the outside, not getting too close to our host country.
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As Reb Chaim Volozhin used to say "if a Jew doesn't make Kiddush, to sanctify one’s self by maintaining a Jewish lifestyle, then the non-Jew will make Havdala for him & then he will realize that he's truly different. Nowadays this ‎is especially true with all the Anti-Semitism that's rampant in the streets. We have to make sure that we separate ourselves & maintain a holy lifestyle so that we will have Hashem on our side to combat the hatred & bring us to the final redemption!

MIKEITZ / CHANUKAH

‎Pharaoh summons Yosef to interpret his dreams; Not only does Yosef interpret the dreams, but he also offers advice on how to try to avoid the impending catastrophe, ועתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים. “Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man & set him over the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh had only asked him to interpret the dream. Why was Yosef offering advice too, even specifying what kind of person he would need to find to carry out the task. Ramban asks, isn't that a little presumptuous to start offering his own advice? He explains that Yosef understood that the reason Hashem had revealed to Pharaoh what he was about to do was so that he would take action. Yosef was a wise man & החכם עיניו בראשו " the wise man has eyes in his head" so he was subtly promoting himself to get the job.

Rav Tzvi Hirsch Farber explains this with a parable. There were two princes that were riding the train to the next town. Each one of the princes was more infatuated with himself & his honor than the next one. When they got to the station, an orchestra began playing to greet them. Each one of the princes, in his great quest for honor, was convinced that the orchestra was there for him. They couldn't convince each other, that the other one was more honored.

Arguing with each other as to who the music was for, they came upon a Jew from the neighborhood whom they decided to ask, “whom did the musicians come for”. The Jew, who hadn't a penny to his name for the upcoming holiday, told them that it would cost them fifty rubles for him to arbitrate. They agreed & paid him the fifty rubles. He told them, "the musicians didn't come for either one of you; rather they came for me so that I would have money for the holiday!”

Yosef, ‎ too, thought to himself why did Hashem have to tell Pharaoh what was going to happen in the future? It could only be so that I could rise to power; therefore he offered the advice & Pharaoh offered him the job just as he intended.

Now, wasn't it enough that Yosef was finally freed from jail? Why did Hashem make it that he ended up as king too?

One of the famous questions asked about the miracle of the oil lasting eight days on Chanuka is why did we need to find pure oil to light the Menora? Even if the oil had been impure, the rule that טומאה הותרה בציבור, spiritual impurity is allowed when it's related to the whole klal yisroel, would have allowed it to be used since the lighting of the Menora is a ‎communal obligation. Therefore, what was the reason Hashem had to make the miracle? The פני יהושע answers that the reason Hashem did that was to show his love for the Jewish people. Even at a time when they would have been allowed to use any oil, Hashem made a miracle for them to show that his love for them was still strong & He wanted them to serve Him in purity.

With Yosef too, Hashem could have arranged it for Yosef to get out of jail. Then, the famine would come without preparation & the brothers & Yaakov would end up in Egypt some other way. However, He did it this way to show His love for the Jewish people. Even though they had to eventually end up in Egypt, Hashem made sure it was done in the best way for them by making Yosef the king. Then, when his father & brothers came down, they were treated like royalty, demonstrating Hashem’s love for the Jewish people. Even in times of trial, Hashem is there pulling the strings behind the scene to ensure that it's as positive as could be. We have to recognize this & know that whatever is happening, Hashem loves us & is doing what He knows is best!

Vayeishev

Our Parsha concludes with the imprisonment of Yosef and his interaction with Pharaoh's baker & winemaker in prison. The posuk tells us, ויקח אדני יוסף אתו ויתנו אל בית הסהר, then Yosef's master took him & placed him in the prison, מקום אשר אסירי המלך אסורים , the place where the king’s prisoners were confined , ויהי שם בבית הסהר , and he remained there in the prison.

The הר צבי questions the extraneous wording of the posuk, for it seems that the words , ויהי שם בבית הסהר , and he remained there in the prison, are unneeded. The posuk had just stated that he was placed in prison, so obviously he was there? Also, what's the point in saying מקום אשר אסירי המלך אסורים , the place where the king’s prisoners were confined‎? What's the difference which prisoners were there?
Additionally, when Yosef asks the winemaker to remember him to Pharaoh, he asks him to remember him & get him out of הבית הזה, this house. However, he finishes the sentence by saying, “ I didn't deserve to be thrown into the בור, pit.” First, he calls it a house & then a pit. Why the difference?

The הר צבי explains that there are two types of imprisonment. If one is imprisoned for committing a crime, he has to remain until he can be proven innocent or until he serves the time for committing the crime. Then, he goes free. The second type of imprisonment involves the person who didn't commit any crime but is merely imprisoned at the whim of the king. For him, there is no set time for his release & actually very little hope that he will ever be released.
This is what the Posuk is telling us. Yosef was in the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. The seemingly extra words, that‎ he remained in prison, are telling us that he was to be there forever .
‎ Therefore, he asked והוצאתי מן הבית הזה , just get me out of this house where the king’s prisoners sit with no hope. Get me into the regular jail where I can have a judgment prove my innocence & be freed.

Imagine, Yosef was in a prison with no hope of ever seeing the light of day; one where every moment was absolute torture. Yet, one morning, he is concerned with two other inmates who looked upset.
Instead of focusing on his own problems, he turns to them & says four words that would, in the words of Rabbi Gideon Shloush, change history forever. He says, מדוע פניכם רעים היום , why are your faces downcast today? He noticed that something was bothering them & instead of looking the other way, he asked what's wrong. This led to his interpretation of their dreams; to his interpretation of Pharoh’s dream; to being freed & finally, to becoming the second to the king. Because he saw someone else's pain, he uttered four words that changed the course of history.

There's a story told about the בית הלוי. One Shabbos, someone came to him very agitated & upset, telling him that his daughter was in labor for three days & was in grave danger. He asked the Rav to daven for her.
To the man's great surprise, the Rav asked him if he had made kiddush yet. He answered no.
If that's the case, make kiddush with me, then wash & eat the meal with me. The man sat with the Rav & ate with him. The rav spent much time entertaining and conversing with this man. At the end of the meal, the Rav asked the man if he had enjoyed himself. When he answered yes, the rav said, “now go home & see how your daughter is.”

A short while later, the man comes running back announcing, “my daughter had a son. Both she & the baby are fine. Now I have to understand, why did the rav make me sit & make kiddush and eat the meal?”
The Bais Halevi answered that it's a posuk which says והתענג על ה ויתן לך משאלות לבך and delight in Hashem, for He will grant you the desires of your heart. Therefore, I asked you to eat so you would be calm and enjoy yourself. Then Hashem would grant your desires for good.
Yosef’s actions instruct us to look out for someone else, for he, even in his own miserable plight, noticed someone else who was down. The Bais Halevi, too, knew how to bring someone up so he could be helped. We, then, should also do something if we see someone who's down, so that we can bring them up!

Vayishlach

Thirty four years after leaving home, Yaakov is now on his way back.   Despite those years, Eisav's feelings haven't calmed and he is heading toward Yaakov with his army to settle the score.  In an effort to win him over, Yaakov then sends a massive gift. The posuk then tells us ויקח את שתי נשיו ואת שתי שפתיו ואת אחד עשר ילדיו, he took his two wives, his two handmaids, and his eleven sons and crossed the river Jabbok. 

Rashi explains that the reason that the number eleven was specified & not just  את ילדיו which would have then meant all his children, was to tell us that Dina was missing. Where was she? Rashi tells us that Yaakov hid her in a box so that Eisav wouldn't see her & want to marry her.

However, Rashi continues & says that Dina was captured by Shechem as punishment for Yaakov hiding her from Eisav.  Perhaps, if he had married her, she would have helped him change his ways.  

‎The question posed by many commentators as well as by רב אברהם יצחק סורוצקין is why was Yaakov punished since he was merely using common sense.  If Eisav, while living in the house of Yitzchok & Rivka, wasn’t influenced to change his ways, how would marrying this little girl influence him to change?

The gemara in Sanhedrin explains the reason why the prophecies of the destruction of אדום in the future were said by עובדיה.  עובדיה, who was raised by two wicked people & wasn’t influenced by them was chosen to prophecize on the downfall of Eisav, who was raised by two Tzadikim & didn't learn from their ways. This informs us that normally one who was raised by two Tzadikim should have been influenced by them; if he wasn't, then how could we expect that Dina would be able to influence him? 

He answers by bringing the Midrash Rabba that tells a story of two very pious people that were married to each other. For many years they had no children. One day, they turned to each other and said that for us to remain together without children isn't doing anything for Hashem. Let's divorce; maybe with other people we'll have children that will grow to serve Hashem. 

So, with heavy hearts they divorced & found other mates.  Unfortunately, they didn't do so well with their new mates who were way below their standard of piety. 
Interestingly enough, the pious man who married beneath him was slowly dragged down to her level while the pious woman who married beneath her, brought her husband up to her level. The Midrash tell us that this teaches us that spirituality comes from the woman. 

There is a special power that a woman has to influence her husband, whether for bad or for good.  As the posuk says, אעשה לו עזר כנגדו I will make him a helper against him.  Rashi explains if one is worthy, his wife will be a helper & if not she will be against him. That can also be explained to mean, if one is not worthy to go on the right path on his own, then his wife will be כנגדו to push him to go the right way. This is why a woman has that power to influence her husband to put him on the right path. 

This is why Yaakov was punished. He knew this concept and therefore he should have let Dina marry Eisav so that she might be able to influence him & turn his life around. Sometimes, we have to put ourselves out there even though it might not look like the right thing to do.  However, we may have the power to influence other people, so  we have to put ourselves out there to do our part!

vayeitzei

Our Parsha starts with Yaakov leaving באר שבע and heading to חרן. The posuk then tells us ויפגע במקום וילן שם , he encountered the place & spent the night there.

Rashi cites the gemara that says the word ויפגע means prayer, teaching us that Yaakov established the evening prayer. The Torah used the word ויפגע instead of ויתפלל to teach us that the land contracted for him, thereby making his journey shorter.

The gemara tells us that when Yaakov had passed by Mount Moriah & got to Charan, he realized that he had passed the spot where his father ‎and grandfather had prayed. He felt bad that he hadn't, so he decided to return there to pray. As he turned to go back, the land had contracted & he found himself at Mount Moriah.

The מכתב מאליהו notes how astounding it is that as soon as Yaakov had decided to return, Hashem had instantly made the earth contract so that he arrived immediately, teaching us that one good thought brings an immediate reaction from Hashem. When one just decides in his mind to do good, then Hashem instantly helps him to succeed.

We all know that when Yaakov finished his prayers, Hashem made the sun set so that he would go to sleep. During that sleep, he had the famous dream of a ladder stretched heavenward with angels going up & down. The sefer מדרש אליהו notes that the numerical value of the word סולם , ladder, is the same as the word ממון , money. Both equal 136. Based on that he interprets the posuk as follows: והנה סולם, by way of one’s money, one feels מוצב ארצה that his wealth came to him because of his strength & acumen, his dealings on the ground. In reality, וראשו מגיע השמימה everything is dependent on Hashem who sits in heaven. It’s with His will that one becomes wealthy or poor. As the posuk continues: מלאכי אלוקים עולים ויורדים בו the angels of Hashem that are in charge of sustenance will bring up the ones who deserve to succeed & bring down the ones who are meant to fail.

The בן איש חי explains what the connection is between the word סולם, ladder, & ממון, money, that it's specifically these words that are used to convey this concept.
Back in the days when a ladder was used to get into the house, one would put a nice sturdy ladder outside his home with each step being ornate yet sturdy. If the top step would start to brag & say that I'm the best one for the owner put me on the top, one could just take the ladder & turn it over; in a second the one on top is at the bottom & the one on bottom is on top which shows the top one that there is nothing to feel superior about. It’s not up to him, but rather up to the one that could just flip the ladder who's really in charge. Therefore, the Torah used the word סולם, ladder to demonstrate to us that one who's wealthy should use his wealth for the good & that one who is struggling shouldn't despair, for the ladder can always be turned.

Maybe we can take this a step further & say that just as when one has the intention to do something good, Hashem helps him & makes it happen right away, so too, when it's your time to succeed, Hashem will make it happen right away!

Toldos

When we are first introduced to Yaakov and Eisav the Torah tells us they were born, they grew up and went their separate ways, עשו איש ידע ציד איש שדה ויעקב איש תם ישב אהלים
Eisav was a hunter a man of the fields, Yaakov was a wholesome man abiding in tents.

The לקח טוב points out that while the Torah is telling us the essence of their characters, interestingly enough, it doesn't tell us about the great deeds or pure character of Yaakov. Rather, it says only יושב אהלים which is translated by the Targum Yonasan as תבע אולפן which we can understand by way of the posuk that states 'והיה כל מבקש ה which the Targum translates as כל
דתבע אולפן . This teaches us that a יושב אהלים is a 'מבקש ה , one who seeks out Hashem.

Similarly, in the description of Eisav, the Torah doesn't tell us about his wickedness or treachery but uses only the words איש שדה which the Targum translates as גבר נחשירכן . Tosafos translates this to mean נח ובטל . The Torah itself doesn't single out Eisav’s actions but says it all with these words that are his essence, meaning all his actions stem from בטלה , idleness.

What is a ' מבקש ה ? Reb Chaim Shmulevitz told his students that once when he was young, he went to the Nevardik Yeshiva where his uncle רב אברהם יפהן was the Rosh Yeshiva. During his stay, he asked his uncle to show him who was the most exemplary student there. His uncle pointed out one boy and said this is the most studious and then showed him another one and said he's the most intellectual and yet another was the most spiritual. Reb Chaim asked again, “I see that each one has his own qualities but who is the one that's above all the rest?”

Reb Avraham then took him to one of the corners of the bais medrash and said, “this boy is the one that's above all the rest.” Reb Chaim asked him, “I don't understand. When we went through all the boys and you told me the ones that were the best at each thing, this one's name didn't come up once. How could he be the best one? His uncle answered that this one's qualities are different from all the others because he's a מבקש . He's the מבקש of the Yeshiva; the one whose whole essence is just to get closer to Hashem, to fulfill the will of Hashem. We now know that boy as the Steipler.

This past week was a very difficult one for כלל ישראל . The massacre in Har Nof defies reason. People are asking themselves what can I do to help? What is Hashem trying to tell us? Maybe we could take this lesson from Yaakov and Eisav, to try to do something that could make a difference. If we look at Eisav's essence which is בטלה , wasted time, nothingness and Yaakov's which is a מבקש ה , one who is just looking to see what Hashem wants him to do, one whose only desire is to get close to Hashem. If we could try to minimize the wasted time and trivial things that we occupy ourselves with and instead try to get closer to Hashem by seeing what He wants us to do and what we could do to get closer to Him, then perhaps we, in our own little way, could make this world a better place!

CHAYEI SARAH

‎‎When Eliezer was sent to find a wife for Yitzchok, he arrives at the well with a plan on how to find the right girl. A few choice questions & tests will determine who will be the right one. Rivka passes the kindness test when she offers Eliezer & his camels to drink. Then, thinking she might be the right one, he asks her some questions including היש בית אביך מקום לנו ללין. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night? And she answers גם מקום ללון yes there is room for you to stay over. Rashi explains that while Eliezer’s question was ללין, is there room for the night, she answered ללון, there is room for many nights.
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Why would she answer him regarding something about which he didn't even ask? He asked to stay the night, so just answer that. Don't offer additional information.

There's a very interesting explanation given by רבי שמואל לעוו . The Ramban explains the previous posuk which states, " And it was when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a golden nose ring, its weight a beka, and two bracelets on her arms, ten gold shekels their weight.” It seems, says the Ramban, that there are words missing here. It should have said,"the man took a golden nose ring, put it on her nose & then the two bracelets on her arms. Therefore, he argues with Rashi & explains the posuk to mean: "the man took a golden nose ring and two bracelets 'to be' on her arms. ויאמר לה בת מי את , and he said to her, whose daughter are you? Only after she answered, the daughter of Bethuel, did he place the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.

Now even according to the Ramban who believes that Eliezer knew that Rivka was from Avraham's family before he gave her the jewelry, why would he jump the gun with the first girl without first seeing if there were any other girls in the family that might have been better? What convinced him that this was the one?

‎Answers רב שמואל, it was from the fact that she changed what he asked ללין, to stay one night, to ללון, many nights. How did he know? There's a gemara that states, ‎if one is going on the road & an unsavory character asks were he's going, he should tell him a destination further than he's going. Rashi explains: if he's going a mile, tell him two; for perhaps the fellow will want to ambush him & will wait at the end of his route. If one tells him a little longer, he will escape the danger.

Here, too, in his naiveté, Eliezer didn't suspect Lavan & Besual to be wicked people capable of murder. This is what Rivka wanted to warn him about. He should say that he wanted to stay for many days so that, even if they wanted to try to hurt him, they would wait thinking they had plenty of time. Eliezer would therefore be forewarned. From her answer, Eliezer saw that she would do the right thing even if it went against her family & which was needed in the wife of Yitzchok.

‎There's a story told of a man who was going to a different town and wanted to be treated with respect. So he went to the rabbi for him to write a letter of recommendation. After talking to him for a while, the rabbi saw that he was really void of all knowledge. Not wanting to turn him away empty handed, he wrote as follows: "If you want to know the worth of the one holding this letter, know that had he been in the time of Elisha Hanavi & stood by the wife of Ovadia the oil would never have ceased. The man was ecstatic with the letter that he thought said he was such a Tzadik that the oil flowed because of him. When he got to his destination and gave the rabbi of the town the letter, he was surprised when there was no grand gesture of respect for him, so he asked the rabbi if he had read the letter? The rabbi said that I read & understood it. The man asked what did you understand? The wife of Ovadia had one pitcher of oil & the Navi blessed her that the oil wouldn't stop as long as she had empty vessels. At the end, she ran out of empty vessels & the oil ran out. Obviously, your rabbi felt that your head was an empty vessel; had you been there, the oil never would have ran out!

There are times ‎ when we think that we are doing the right thing, that we are even getting affirmation from our friends that all we do is great. However, sometimes it's the total opposite. We don't realize what's happening. We have to take the lesson from Rivka; even when it means going against your family & friends, doing the right thing comes before all!

Vayeira

Hashem came to visit Avraham on the third day after Avraham's circumcision. While He was visiting, Avraham saw people in the distance and Avraham, whose desire to be hospitable came before his own health, asked Hashem to wait a minute while he went to invite the men in as his guests. As Rashi's second explanation of the posuk states, אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך אל נא תעבר מעל עבדך, if I find favor in your eyes, please pass not away from Your servant. This refers to Hashem not leaving Avraham until he gets back from his guests.

The gemara in Shabbos says that this posuk teaches us that hospitality to travelers is even greater than receiving the Divine Presence. The Simchas Aharon asks how could it be that the merit is greater when you honor an ordinary human being than when honoring the One that created them?
He answers that when one honors his friend and goes all out for him, it's a definite show of love. However, when one shows that same respect for his friend’s child, it's an even greater expression of love for the friend.

The only reason you’re welcoming the child is for the sake of the father since you don’t even get the feeling of camaraderie that you would feel with the friend himself. Therefore, it's an even greater expression of love toward your friend. When we respect Hashem, we are honoring our father. However, when we respect His children it's an even more powerful expression of love toward Hashem. So Avraham’s asking Hashem to wait was really honoring Hashem. Or, as Reb Avraham Chaim Feuer explains, there is no greater form of honor as emulation; when one welcomes guests he's emulating Hashem who would much rather you emulate Him then entertain Him.

The next posuk, though, says that Avraham told them יקח נא מעט מים take a little water to wash your feet which Rashi explains that he gave them the water via a messenger. Hashem then paid him back via a messenger. The Chaftetz Chaim explains that Avraham’s shortcoming was that he didn't do it himself; it's more honorable for a guest if he's served by the master of the house than by a messenger so Avraham should have been more careful with his guest’s feelings.

One year, late on the eve of bedicas chametz, R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld heard a knock at the door signaling the arrival of four respected community leaders from Budapest. After they talked for a while, the men asked if they could come to the rabbi for the seder the next night, an experience they said would be priceless. They offered to pay for the extra expense he would incur for them. ‎ When the rabbi agreed to host them and to accept their payment they were ecstatic although surprised that he took their payment. They had been assured that he would never accept their money. They returned the next night for the seder and were not let down by what they later described as "one of the most awesome experiences of our lives”.

On the first night of Chol Hamoed, R' Yosef came to his guests’ hotel room and put the money they had given him on the table. Since they lived outside of Eretz Yisroel and kept two days of Yom Tov, they couldn't even give it back to him. One of them asked R’ Yosef Chaim what the meaning was behind his action; if he didn't want the money, why take it initially? He answered that Pesach is the holiday of freedom and what kind of freedom is there for a person to feel like he's partaking of someone else's meal? Therefore I accepted your payment in order for you to comfortable in my home. Now that you enjoyed your Yom Tov, I can return your money.

Perhaps this can teach us how to treat other people, especially guests in our home. In addition to looking out for their needs, we must do it in the most honorable way. This would demonstrate that we really care for the other person which shows Hashem that we care for his children, thereby showing our ultimate respect for Him!

lech lecha

After the war with the kings, Hashem tells Avram אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך שכרך הרבה מאד , don't be afraid I will be a shield for you; your reward is very great. ‎Why did Hashem have tell him that his reward was very great?
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‎Explains הגר"א, we say in davening ‎מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן . Why mention three different forms of saying that Hashem is our protector? Just as there are three ways to have faith in Hashem, ‎so, too, there are three ways that Hashem comes to our aid.

‎Once a person does all that he could do on his own, Hashem helps him with the rest. That’s the first way. Second, the person doesn't do anything, yet Hashem saves him. Third, the highest level, a person does something that goes against common sense for the sake of Hashem and relies on Hashem to protect him. Then, Hashem will shield him from harm.

‎These are the ways of Hashem's divine providence: מלך עוזר, the king who helps, helps the one who tries on his own. ומושיע, the savior, who does it all on His own. ומגן, the shield, the one who shields even the people who put themselves in harm’s way for the glory of Hashem.

Avrum Avinu trusted in Hashem to this highest level, that he put himself in harm’s way for the sake of Hashem. Therefore, Hashem told him אנכי מגן לך I will be a shield for you ‎and protect you from any harm. That's what is meant by "your reward is very great; the reward for your total reliance on Hashem is very great, for that will ensure that you don't come to any harm.

Hashem guarantees that those who do mitzvos will be paid back by Hashem. We also know that it says שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא, there is no reward for mitzvos on this world. Perform the mitzvos now and in the next world you will get rewarded. The בן איש חי asks how could Hashem do that since there is a law that one has to pay a worker on the day he does the work; he is not allowed to postpone it. How could Hashem postpone our rewards?

Answers the בן איש חי there is another halacha that says if you hire workers through an intermediary, the law doesn't apply. Hashem, who gave us the Torah through Moshe, doesn't have to pay right away. However, that only applies to most of the mitzvos that were given through Moshe. What about the first two mitzvos of the עשרת הדברת which were given straight from Hashem? For those, He has to give us reward right away and that is the mitzva of emuna.

This is what Hashem was telling Avrum: אל תירא אברם, don't be afraid of how your children will survive this world if they don't get any reward for the mitzvos. Rather, אנכי the first mitzva of אנכי ה אלוקך will shield them. The merit of keeping that mitzva which came from the mouth of Hashem, will protect them for שכרך הרבה מאוד. The reward for the mitzva of emuna will be the merit that gets them through this world.
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By putting our total reliance of Hashem, we ensure that He will protect us. That's the only mitzva for which we get the reward here and now on this world. By putting our trust in Him, we enable Hashem to protect us against all odds and ensure that we are always taken care of!

Noach

When Hashem commands Noach to build the ark, He tells him צהר תעשה לתבה, a light make for the ark. Rashi mentions two opinions explaining what צהר is: one is a skylight so that the people in the ark could see out & the other says it was a precious stone that gave them light.
While the meaning of תיבה is normally "ark", it also means "word". Sefas Emes says that the "words" of one’s prayer & Torah study save him from the deluge of crass materialism and hedonistic obsession that floods the world.

The Zohar tells us that the name Noach alludes to the day of Shabbos, which is a day of מנוחה , rest. Just as Noach saved the world from being totally destroyed by the flood , so, too, the Shabbos saves us from being totally encompassed in mundane daily pursuits.

The גרי"ז tells a story of a girl that grew up secular & decided to become religious. However, her parents were against this lifestyle change and wanted her to act like they do so she quietly & secretly kept the Torah as best she could. Her parents owned a housewares store from which they earned a living.

One Friday, they came to her & said that they had to go out of town for a day & wanted her to open the store on Saturday. Not wanting to cause conflict, she didn't say anything & her parents left. Right before Shabbos, she went to the store & prepared whatever she could so that she could avoid desecrating the Shabbos. She turned on the lights & set up the store for the next day before Shabbos arrived. On Shabbos, she walked to the store & sat there with her siddur praying that no one came in so she could keep the Shabbos.

For most of the day her prayers worked & no one came in. She didn’t know how she would explain the empty register to her parents. They surely wouldn't believe that no one came in all day. Then, some time before the end of Shabbos, a man came in, started looking around & found a five dollar item that he liked. He asked her the price. She, not wanting to conduct business on Shabbos, told him it was five hundred dollars so that he would just leave her alone. The man was incredulous. How can this cheap item be five hundred dollars?? She said that if you don't want to buy it, you don't have to. He really wanted it & tried to get her to lower the price but she wouldn't budge. He left; then came back a few times, each time he offered a little more. She wouldn't budge and said, “just wait a little & my parents will be back so you can deal with them. She kept pushing him off so that she wouldn't have to desecrate Shabbos.

However, the man wouldn't give up until she said, “just wait a half hour & then we can talk”. The man was adamant, however, and said, “I'll give you double what you asked; for just sell it to me.” As they were arguing back and forth, the end of Shabbos arrived. She then said, “ok, I can sell it to you now but only at the five dollar price. The reason I asked for such an exorbitant price was that I didn't want to sell on Shabbos. Now that it’s over, I can sell it to you at the regular price. The man however, said, “I can't do that; once I said I would pay a price, I have to pay it.” Her praise to Hashem was twofold. First, she didn't have to desecrate the Shabbos & second, she made a tremendous profit.

When she told her parents what happened & showed them that keeping the Shabbos actually made more money than they made in a month, they, too, saw the beauty of Shabbos & that they wouldn't  lose out.

The אוצר התורה explains: the ark had a precious stone to light up the surrounding physical darkness. We, in turn, must take the day of Shabbos & use it to cast a light on our earthly existence. The power of Shabbos to be our safe haven from the everyday pursuits is even alluded to in the numerical value of the words of the Posuk. צהר equals 295, תבה equals 407, the combined value of 702 is the same value of the word שבת at 702.

We have to be able to tap into the power of Shabbos & totally disengage ourselves from the world around us. We have to appreciate that we will never lose out because of it. For that one day, let the spiritual uplifting surround us & last throughout the week to take us to new heights in our service of Hashem!

Beraishis

As we start the new cycle of Torah readings, we begin again with Sefer Beraishis which the Chofetz Chaim recommended as a faith restorer. He says that one who feels that his faith is lacking should learn the stories in Sefer Beraishis. He himself, when he got older, had a seder every morning in Sefer Beraishis after shachris.

Interestingly enough, Rav Shach once wrote to a student, "Every person has ups & downs except for someone like the Chofetz Chaim who is completely pure & righteous. However, for the normal person whose אמונה is sometimes shaky, I always found that learning Sefer Beraishis strengthened my אמונה.

The posuk tells us ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום רביעי , there was evening, there was morning it was the fourth day. Rav Zilbershtain recalled a story that happened when he was learning in Slabodka. He was sitting with the Chazon Ish when there was a knock on the door. A man walked in looking all upset & pained. He told the Chazon Ish that he didn't feel well for a few days & he didn't know what was wrong. Finally, it got so bad that he checked himself into the hospital. After countless tests, the doctors found an infection that was eating up his whole insides. He told him that unfortunately there is no cure for this infection & he has four days to live.    

The Chazon Ish listened to him pour out his heart & then opened a Chumash Beraishis. He turned to the beginning of Beraishis & said to the sick man, “look what Hashem created on the first day, all these creations; then on the second day He created more things; on the third day & then the fourth He created even more things. Look how many things Hashem created in four days. Don't you think He could create your cure in less time?

The Chazon Ish revived the sick man’s spirits inspiring him not to give up; rather he should daven for himself & pray to Hashem that he be healed from his infection. Since the doors of prayer are never closed, especially not from a sick person who is crying out in a time of pain, Hashem will send the salvation.

The words of the rabbi made a great impression on the man, who went home with a renewed sense of hope & began to daven like he never had before. Miraculously, as the Chazon Ish had said could happen, he was informed by the hospital that a new drug had come from America for which he could be a trial patient. He immediately had the drug administered to see if the drug worked.
The effects of the drug worked quickly to fight the infection. It would become the number one cure for this kind of infection! Within a short time, the man was back to himself with no trace of the infection!

Continued Rav Zilberstein, from this story we can see how much our belief in the power of tefila is lacking. Had we been asked if tefilos would have helped this man with days to live, how many would have been confident that it would help? Sadly, not too many would have agreed. Yet he believed it & it worked! As we go through the parshios of Beraishis, we must take out the tremendous lessons in אמונה in order to strengthen our own faith in the One above!

Beraishis

As we start the new cycle of Torah readings, we begin again with Sefer Beraishis which the Chofetz Chaim recommended as a faith restorer. He says that one who feels that his faith is lacking should learn the stories in Sefer Beraishis. He himself, when he got older, had a seder every morning in Sefer Beraishis after shachris.

Interestingly enough, Rav Shach once wrote to a student, "Every person has ups & downs except for someone like the Chofetz Chaim who is completely pure & righteous. However, for the normal person whose אמונה is sometimes shaky, I always found that learning Sefer Beraishis strengthened my אמונה.

The posuk tells us ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום רביעי , there was evening, there was morning it was the fourth day. Rav Zilbershtain recalled a story that happened when he was learning in Slabodka. He was sitting with the Chazon Ish when there was a knock on the door. A man walked in looking all upset & pained. He told the Chazon Ish that he didn't feel well for a few days & he didn't know what was wrong. Finally, it got so bad that he checked himself into the hospital. After countless tests, the doctors found an infection that was eating up his whole insides. He told him that unfortunately there is no cure for this infection & he has four days to live.    

The Chazon Ish listened to him pour out his heart & then opened a Chumash Beraishis. He turned to the beginning of Beraishis & said to the sick man, “look what Hashem created on the first day, all these creations; then on the second day He created more things; on the third day & then the fourth He created even more things. Look how many things Hashem created in four days. Don't you think He could create your cure in less time?

The Chazon Ish revived the sick man’s spirits inspiring him not to give up; rather he should daven for himself & pray to Hashem that he be healed from his infection. Since the doors of prayer are never closed, especially not from a sick person who is crying out in a time of pain, Hashem will send the salvation.

The words of the rabbi made a great impression on the man, who went home with a renewed sense of hope & began to daven like he never had before. Miraculously, as the Chazon Ish had said could happen, he was informed by the hospital that a new drug had come from America for which he could be a trial patient. He immediately had the drug administered to see if the drug worked.
The effects of the drug worked quickly to fight the infection. It would become the number one cure for this kind of infection! Within a short time, the man was back to himself with no trace of the infection!

Continued Rav Zilberstein, from this story we can see how much our belief in the power of tefila is lacking. Had we been asked if tefilos would have helped this man with days to live, how many would have been confident that it would help? Sadly, not too many would have agreed. Yet he believed it & it worked! As we go through the parshios of Beraishis, we must take out the tremendous lessons in אמונה in order to strengthen our own faith in the One above!

Beraishis

As we start the new cycle of Torah readings, we begin again with Sefer Beraishis which the Chofetz Chaim recommended as a faith restorer. He says that one who feels that his faith is lacking should learn the stories in Sefer Beraishis. He himself, when he got older, had a seder every morning in Sefer Beraishis after shachris.

Interestingly enough, Rav Shach once wrote to a student, "Every person has ups & downs except for someone like the Chofetz Chaim who is completely pure & righteous. However, for the normal person whose אמונה is sometimes shaky, I always found that learning Sefer Beraishis strengthened my אמונה.

The posuk tells us ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום רביעי , there was evening, there was morning it was the fourth day. Rav Zilbershtain recalled a story that happened when he was learning in Slabodka. He was sitting with the Chazon Ish when there was a knock on the door. A man walked in looking all upset & pained. He told the Chazon Ish that he didn't feel well for a few days & he didn't know what was wrong. Finally, it got so bad that he checked himself into the hospital. After countless tests, the doctors found an infection that was eating up his whole insides. He told him that unfortunately there is no cure for this infection & he has four days to live.    

The Chazon Ish listened to him pour out his heart & then opened a Chumash Beraishis. He turned to the beginning of Beraishis & said to the sick man, “look what Hashem created on the first day, all these creations; then on the second day He created more things; on the third day & then the fourth He created even more things. Look how many things Hashem created in four days. Don't you think He could create your cure in less time?

The Chazon Ish revived the sick man’s spirits inspiring him not to give up; rather he should daven for himself & pray to Hashem that he be healed from his infection. Since the doors of prayer are never closed, especially not from a sick person who is crying out in a time of pain, Hashem will send the salvation.

The words of the rabbi made a great impression on the man, who went home with a renewed sense of hope & began to daven like he never had before. Miraculously, as the Chazon Ish had said could happen, he was informed by the hospital that a new drug had come from America for which he could be a trial patient. He immediately had the drug administered to see if the drug worked.
The effects of the drug worked quickly to fight the infection. It would become the number one cure for this kind of infection! Within a short time, the man was back to himself with no trace of the infection!

Continued Rav Zilberstein, from this story we can see how much our belief in the power of tefila is lacking. Had we been asked if tefilos would have helped this man with days to live, how many would have been confident that it would help? Sadly, not too many would have agreed. Yet he believed it & it worked! As we go through the parshios of Beraishis, we must take out the tremendous lessons in אמונה in order to strengthen our own faith in the One above!

V'zos Haberacha / Simchas Torah

Close to his death, Moshe blesses the nation in poetic form. One of the stanzas reads תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהלת יעקב , the Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov. Rashi says, “it’s our heritage & we will not abandon it.”

All Jews know that the Torah is our heritage and the Importance and benefit of learning Torah. If we were to ask any Jew if they knew of the importance of learning Torah as well as the great reward for learning even one word of Torah, surely they would answer that they know. If that is so, why don’t people take advantage of every opportunity to learn Torah?  

The Chafetz Chaim once came into the Beis Medrash & saw groups of boys shooting the breeze instead of learning. He gathered them around him & told them this story: there was a fellow in town that was a little out of his mind. One day, he went down to the train tracks & started dismantling them. When the people of the town saw what he was doing started yelling at him! Are you out of your mind? what are you doing to the tracks? Do you know what kind of catastrophe can happen if you do that? He yelled back, what's the big deal? The tracks are hundreds of kilometers long & I'm only taking out a few meters!

Continued the Chafetz Chaim, a person who wastes a little time is like the fellow who just dismantles a little track. Although the time he's wasting is little, the damage is great.

There was a person, a regular guy, who was dancing with excessive exuberance on Simchas Torah. The rabbi came over to him & asked, “why are you so happy today? I learn & you rejoice?” The man answered, “Rebbi, on Yom kippur I said על חטא שחטאנו לפניך בכפת שוחד , asking forgiveness for the sin of taking bribes. What do I have to do with that sin? Who would bribe me? Am I a rabbi that someone would try to bribe me? No! But there's a rule that all Jews are responsible for one another, so I, too, am responsible for your sins. If so, I should also be able to be responsible for some of your Torah!”

Maybe the reason we don't take advantage of our time is that we think that someone else will do it for us. We’re willing to support the guy who's  learning so we don't have to learn as much ourselves. We'll try to reap the benefit of someone else's merit instead of getting our own. the Torah teaches us here the importance of getting our own merits, gaining our own share of the Torah and using every moment wisely. Let's take the opportunity on Simchas Torah to commit to a new year of learning where we do it on our own, for ourselves & put our time to good use!

Yom Kippur

The Mishna states אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מטהרים , praiseworthy are the Jewish people before whom you are being purified. ומי מטהר אתכם אביכם שבשמים , and who purifies you? Your Father in heaven. Then the Mishna brings two pesukim to prove this: one, וזרקתי עליכם מים טהורים , and I will throw on you pure water & cleanse you from all your sins; two, מקוה ישראל ה' מושיעו , just as the mikva purifies the impure, so, too, Hashem purifies the Jews.

Several questions arise. הגר"ח פלאג'י זצ"ל asks, what's the double lashon of  מי אתם מטהרים & then ומי מטהר אתכם? The posuk should have just stated, “praiseworthy are the Jews that Hashem purifies them”. Also, why do we need two separate pesukim to prove this? Why wouldn't one have sufficed?

He brings the explanation of the Tosfos YomTov who explains the pesukim as referring to two different types of teshuva. First, the proper way for an individual to do teshuva requires that person to feel on his own, the need to purify himself & make himself holy again. Wheen he goes to do it, Hashem will help him succeed. The second refers to a person who doesn't feel the need to repent; that person, Hashem will wake up to repent. This explains why the Mishna needs to say it twice. The first one says  לפני מי אתם מטהרים & brings a posuk to support that way. Secondly, it states ומי מטהר אתכם that Hashem Himself has to force you to become pure. It then brings a separate posuk to support that way.

Rav Galinsky elaborated with a mashal of two sick people who were in the same room in the hospital. They both had the same debilitating disease, both confined to bed & both had to take medicine to get well. However, the future of both looked grim. There was one major difference between the two of them. One was able to move his hand to pick up his own medicine & take it by himself. However, the other was too weak even to move his hand; he was reliant on others to give him the medicine. If someone didn’t give it to him, his future was doomed. So, too, there are those that at least have the power to do teshuva on their own, who realize that nothing happens on its own. If you don't make it happen, it won't happen. Others have to wait for Hashem to send them the message, hopefully before it’s too late.  

Another question involves the lashon of אשריכם ישראל; what is so praiseworthy about having Hashem purify us? The Yalkut Gershuni explains, based on a Chasam Sofer who asks how it is that mikva water can purify? When the person who's going in, touches it, the water too should become impure? He answers that, since the water is attached to the ground, it cannot become impure.

This means that the water purifies because it’s connected to its root, the ground. So, too, is the purification from Hashem, because a person is connected to his root, to Hashem. He created us from His own breath & we are a part of Hashem. That's the meaning of אשריכם ישראל praised are the Jews. What purifies us? Our connection & closeness to Hashem does. If we were not connected to Hashem through our Neshama which is a part of Him, we wouldn't be able to be purified.

We must take this opportunity that we have now to connect to Hashem with the first level of teshuva. We must do it on our own with the realization that we have to make it happen ourselves & not have to be reminded by Hashem. Take this Yom Kippur & use it to connect to our source, to Hashem Himself!

Haazinu/Rosh Hashana

The song of Haazinu is the song of the history of our nation, our ups & downs & ultimately our final redemption. One of the stanzas concludes with the words הלוא הוא אביך קנך , is He not your father, your acquirer?

Rashi gives an alternate translation for קנך meaning שקננך , for He nested you. The Chafetz Chaim says that's what the posuk is telling us. Is He not your father and your nest? Never stray far from Him. Just like the dove to which the Jewish people are compared always keeps in sight of the nest, so, too, we must always keep Hashem in our sight to be able to return to Him at any time.

Reb Chaim Berlin explains this beautifully by narrating a story that happened to him when he was the rabbi of Moscow. One day, a man came to him & asked him to circumcise his son in his house secretly. When Reb Chaim asked why the secrecy, he explained that he didn't live his life as a Jew & didn't want anyone to know what he was doing, so that no one would suspect that he was a Jew. Even more perplexed, the rabbi asked, why are you going through all this trouble? Why do you care if your son has a bris or not? After all, you’re embarrassed to be a Jew!

The man answered, “That's all true; however, I don't want to close the door on my son. Let him have the opportunity to make his own decision.”  

Like the dove who, when it leaves the nest, always looks back to make sure the nest is still in sight, so too, the Jew, even when he leaves his roots & strays from the ways of Hashem, still הלוא הוא אביך קנך he doesn't go so far that he can't see the nest & return to it when he's ready.

Where does this come from? How is it that Hashem is willing to take us back & that we want to come back?

Rabbi Reisman relates an interesting thought from Reb Isaac Sher. When we enter into the ten days of repentance, we add different things to the davening. One of them, זכרנו לחיים , asks Hashem to remember us for life while another states, המלך הקדוש , proclaiming Hashem our king. Interestingly enough, the more important one seems to be המלך הקדוש for if you forget the change, you have to go back. However, if you forget זכרנו לחיים asking Hashem to give us life, you don't go back. What is so special about המלך הקדוש ?

There are two kinds of laws: the law of beis din which is black & white. If something was done wrong, there is an exact punishment for it. For example, whether someone stole food because his children were hungry or just because he wanted to hurt the other person, the law is the same. Then, there is the king’s judgment which is not based on rigid laws. When Nosson Hanavi came to Dovid Hamelech & asked him what the law was in the case where a rich man, who had everything, stole the  only sheep this poor man had. Dovid said, “kill him!” Normally, the punishment for stealing isn't death. How could Dovid say that, with no dispute from anyone? This shows us that a king has the power to take mitigating circumstances into account & then render judgment.  

In selichos we say אל תבא במשפט עמנו don't come into judgment with us which seems like a pretty odd request when we are being judged now for the whole year.

What we are asking for, says Reb Sher, is for the king’s judgment, not the black & white judgment. We want the king’s judgment where He could take all mitigating circumstances into account.

Perhaps, this is why one can always come back & Hashem will always take him back because He’s the king & the king sees all the mitigating circumstances. He can forgive an individual’s dissension & let him back in the nest. Let's take the opportunity that's upon us to receive the King’s judgment for He will understand why we messed up & will take us back with open arms!

Netzavim / Vayelech

On the day of Moshe's death, he gathered all the people together to enter them into a covenant with Hashem warning them what will happen if they stray from the path of Torah. Moshe ends by saying, הנסתרת לה' והנגלת לנו ולבנינו עד עולם , the hidden ones are for Hashem & the revealed ones are for us & our children forever.  
Rashi explains  והנגלת לנו ולבנינו , the revealed ones are for us & our children, to eradicate the evil from our midst. If we don't, everyone suffers.

The Chafetz Chaim says that this teaches us that when the Jewish people accepted the Torah, they didn't only accept it upon themselves, rather they accepted that they would do whatever they could to strengthen Torah observance in Klal Yisroel. Essentially, they became guarantors for one another. Anyone in Klal Yisroel can be מוציא his friend in a Mitzva obligation even if one has already fulfilled that Mitzva. If your friend is lacking a Mitzva, then you too are lacking that Mitzva so you can exempt him. The opposite is true too. If you can stop your friend from sinning; if you don't, you get punished too.

However, this regards only the sins we know about, that we can stop. The ones we don't know about are the ones that are 'הנסתרת לה , they are hidden & are for Hashem to deal with.

The Chasam Sofer interprets the verse a little differently.  He says that the posuk is telling us how to live our lives so that we & our children will be able to carry out the words of the Torah. In order to do so, there has to be a proper balance between the holy & the mundane. Although our inner being & focus should be totally on the spiritual, we cannot remove ourselves from the mundane & the necessity to provide for our families. That's why the Torah is saying  'הנסתרת לה the hidden inner dimension of our lives has to be for Hashem, but the revealed mundane activities  לנו ולבנינו have to be for us & our children.

Additionally, he says that the posuk also alludes to how one could show his children & others around him the proper way to behave. There are righteous people that remain solitary & do all their good in private so that no one should know their greatness. However, they are lacking the ripple effect of people learning from them. The righteous person who does good publicly encourages empathy from other people.   'הנסתרת לה one who is good in private, his good is for Hashem, while the one who does good publicly  לנו ולבנינו עד עולם will ensure that his children follow in his ways & that will be everlasting through the generations.

Once, in the Chafetz Chaim’s town, there were some politics with the Chevra Kadisha. Some people went & established a new Chevra Kadisha. Before the inevitable feuds would break out, the Chafetz Chaim, old & feeble, walked up to the podium & said "my dear brothers, had you offered me a thousand rubles to come speak to you, I wouldn't have accepted. However, I feel the need to talk to you. I have been living here for over fifty years. I remember all the people that used to come here. Where are they today? They are remembered only by a headstone in the graveyard. One day, that's where we'll all be & have to give an accounting for our deeds

Remember gentlemen, that machlokes is among the worst of sins. When it's your turn to come to judgment, the fear & awe will cause you to grab onto any thread of hope & say, there was a man in our town named Yisroel Meir who was known to be a Torah scholar; he saw what was going on & didn't say anything. Therefore I'm begging you, don't mention my name. I have my own problems; I don't need yours.

Then, he broke down in tears... They disbanded the new chevra, while the old one did their work as a chesed for the next three years free of charge. Sometimes, speaking up can effect change.
The Torah teaches us that we are all connected; when people do wrong, we must attempt to correct them; conversely, when we act correctly, people will see it and hopefully follow suit!

Ki Savo

When we are told the brachos we will get for keeping the word of Hashem, the posuk states 'ונתנך ה לראש ולא לזנב והיית רק למעלה ולא תהיה למטה , Hashem shall place you as a head and not as a tail; you shall be only above and you shall not be below.

The sefer תכלת מרדכי asks, why does the posuk say לראש ולא לזנב as a head and not a tail which is an analogy to animals instead of using the phrase as a head and not a heel which would be more appropriate for people?

Additionally, asks the חיד"א, when discussing the curses, the Torah states, הגר אשר בקרבך יעלה עליך מעלה מעלה ואתה תרד מטה מטה, the stranger who is among you will ascend above you higher and higher, while you descend lower and lower. Why, when discussing the brachos, the Torah only states that you will be למעלה, above, but when it’s giving the power to our enemies, it says יעלה עליך מעלה מעלה that they will rise way above. Why, when we’re good, don't we get that beracha of מעלה מעלה?

The מר"ך answers as follows. When a person reaches the highest level, it is very probable that he will fall. However, if he just comes close but doesn't actually reach the highest level, it’s much less likely for him to fall. Conversely, when it comes to a person going downhill, the further he falls the better for him, for once a person hits rock bottom, the rebound back will come much quicker and stronger.

Therefore, by the brachos it says רק למעלה; only that you will go up but not all the way up so that ולא תהיה למטה, you won't go down. By not going all the way up, there is less chance that you will fall. Whereas by our enemies it says that they will rise all the way up so that they will eventually fall. However by the curses the Torah said that you will go all the way down, so that you will come back stronger.  

Perhaps that is why the Torah uses the analogy to an animal to recognize that when a person falls and goes down, it’s better that he falls all the way down to animal level so that the way up will be that much quicker and everlasting.  

There's a story told about ר' אליעזר אשכנזי that illustrates this point that when you get too high, it’s dangerous. He was one of the advisers to the king of Egypt who was so close to the king that he gave him a very exquisite ring to show his love for him. On the king’s birthday, ר' אליעזר was going to the palace to give the king a blessing. On the way, one of the king’s other advisers asked ר' אליעזר if he had forgotten the ring at home. When ר' אליעזר showed him that he was wearing the ring, the advisor hit his hand so that the ring fell into the river below.

By some miracle, he was able to find the ring and continue on to the king. When he arrived at the party, he was accorded much more honor than all the other advisers. When he got home, he was troubled for he felt that he had reached the highest level possible and said to himself לפני שבר גאון, before brokenness is grandeur.  He thought that after the great honor he got, there was nowhere left to go but down. So he took his precious stones and gold coins and got on a boat and headed out to sea.  It is said that a wise man is better than a prophet.
That very night, people conspired to tell lies about him to the king. When they did so, the king sent officers to go grab him and put him in prison!

We have to take this lesson and do things in moderation. Don't try to bite off more that you can chew for then you’re just setting yourself up for failure. Be careful when you climb so high that there's nowhere else to go. The Torah is teaching us here to always leave room to improve!

Ki Seitzei

Towards the end of the parsha, the Torah teaches us a very interesting mitzvah: כי תקצר קצירך בשדך ושכחת עמר בשדה לא תשוב לקחתו , when you harvest your crop in your field, and you forget a bundle in the field, you shall not go back to take it. It now belongs to the poor.

The Tosefta in Peah relates a story of a righteous man who forgot a bundle in the field & said to his son, “let's go bring a korban oleh & korban shelamim”. The son asked what's so special about this mitzvah that you want to celebrate more than any other mitzva? Answered the father, “every other mitzvah was given to us to be done with intent; however, this one was given to us to do without intent, for if you leave the bundle purposely you don't fulfill the mitzvah. Since Hashem felt me worthy of this bonus mitzvah, I celebrate.

Why the anomaly? Why is this mitzva done only unintentionally? Why didn't Hashem command us to deliberately leave a bundle over for the poor person? Also curious: why did the righteous man bring an oleh which atones for not doing a positive commandment? What did he do wrong?

The sefer אגרא דפרקא explains beautifully that we know that all one’s actions in this world are not for naught. Even ones thoughts are not for nothing. Accordingly, even when one davens without kavana, it’s not for nothing. The Zohar says that there is an angel that holds onto all the words & when this person says one tefilla with proper intent, all the previous tefilos go up with it.

The same would be true with mitzvos that require action. We would think that if we do them without intent, we’d lose them. However, instead of them being worthless, Hashem gives us the mitzvah of שכחה that only works without intent, so when we do this mitzva it brings along with it all the other mitzvos that were done without intent.
That's why the end of the posuk says למען יברכך ה אלקיך בכל מעשה ידיך that Hashem will bless all the work of your hands, for through this mitzvah, all the previous mitzvos are credited too.

When the righteous man saw that he forgot the bundle, he brought the olah for he understood that he must have had mitzvos that he did without intent. This meant that he had positive commandments that he didn't fulfill, so he brought the Shelamim as thanks to Hashem for letting him fix his misdeeds

Another anomaly in this parsha involves the בן סורר ומורה , the wayward son whom the parents have to bring to court to be killed. The gemara says that the wayward son never happened & never will happen. It is written just so that you should learn about it & get reward. The בן איש חי asks, “we know that we are supposed to learn, not to get the reward. Why here does it say that the only reason the Torah includes this is that we learn & get reward?

Perhaps we could answer this with what we have just learned. There are certain mitzvos that we do just as a catalyst for other mitzvos. The reason we need to learn something that seemingly has no point is so that it will then take all the learning that we do without the proper intent & bring it all along. This teaches us an important lesson. Even when mitzvos seem to make no sense to us, don't take them lightly for we can never know what else they are accomplishing!  

Shoftim

The Torah delineates the process for Bnei Yisroel to follow before they went to war. When all the soldiers were together, the officers gave some of those assembled a few ways to get out of serving. They announced, “Who just build a new house & didn't live in it? Go back home. Who planted a vineyard & didn't redeem it ? You also go back. Whoever is engaged to be married, go back home. Finally, they asked מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב ילך וישב לביתו , who is the man who is afraid & weak of heart? Return to your home.

Rashi relates the opinion of רב יוסי הגלילי who says that the fear referred to is the fear of the sins that one has. The Torah lists all the other things, too, so that the ones who fear sin won't be embarrassed to return home. By listing all the different reasons together, no one knows why the other person is leaving.
The gemara says that  one who talks between the head tefillin & the arm tefillin while putting on tefillin has a sin on his hands & goes back from the ranks of the warriors.
Why is this mitzva specifically singled out as the cause to send home the warriors? What's the connection between tefillin & the soldiers?

The פסקי הלכות להרא"ש says that the strengthening of the mitzva of tefillin gives strength to the soldiers. The Torah states וטרף זרוע אף קדקוד , he rips the shoulder as well as the head. Rabbeinu bachaya says that the B’nei Gad weren't afraid to live surrounded by the other nations on the other side of the Jordan because they were armed with two weapons: physical strength & the merit of the mitzvos they did. Chazal expound וטרף זרוע as the merit of the arm tefilin;  אף קדקוד as the merit of the head tefillin.  Rashi there says that B’nei Gad were such fierce warriors that they cut off in one blow with their swords, the head & the arm together.
Says הר"י וורמסר , that's why one can't interrupt between the head & the arm tefillin. Since the whole greatness of the warriors was that they could cut of the head & arm together in one blow, which in the posuk is analogous to tefillin, so tefillin, too, have to be done in one shot.

We see this connection between soldiers & tefillin in our days too. We see countless pictures of soldiers on tanks putting on tefillin stories or how soldiers found religion on the battlefield. A story that exemplifies this, that just happened in the war in Gaza

A true and amazing story told by Ohad Shaked:
I received a phone call on Sunday from “A,” one of the Iron Dome commanders who was a student of mine about 6 years ago. I was glad he called. “Where can a person learn Torah in Ramat Gan?” he asked me, leaving me baffled since he had drifted far from Torah and mitzvot. "I'm going to be released in a couple of months, and I want to learn in a Yeshiva - I saw the Almighty with my own eyes!” Nothing more and nothing less. “What happened?” I asked him. “A rocket was fired from Gaza. The Iron Dome can detect where the rocket is going to fall within a 200 meter radius. This particular rocket was heading to the Azrieli Towers, or to the railroad tracks. Either way, hundreds could have paid with their lives!

We sent the first “dome” and it missed. Then the second as well as the third dome missed. This was a very rare occurrence. To date, only two other such cases had occurred. I was in shock! We had four seconds before the rocket would hit. We had already informed and dispatched emergency services, the police and the fire department to the location.”

Then the commander spoke more excitedly as I kept on listening. "Suddenly, without any preliminary data from the Iron Dome system, (which calculates the possible wind currents, etc.) a strong eastern wind blew – a wind for which we had no logical explanation, and cast the rocket right into the sea. We were all in shock!!! I stood up and started screaming, ‘There is a G-d’! ‘There is a G-d!’ ‘There is a G-d’!!! I saw this miracle with my own eyes. No one told me about it; it was not reported to me. I saw the Hand of Hashem fling the missile into the sea!

Of course, this was not reported for security reasons. However, witnessing the miracles with our own eyes shows there is Hashem. I ran to one of the religious soldiers and asked him to put on tefillin. I took it upon myself to keep Shabbat, and that was the very best Shabbat I have ever had.” This is what he told me. I was so excited that it even brought a tear to my eye. "Ashrecha” (praisworthy are you) I said to him, “that you merited to witness this incident and to understand that it’s from Hashem”

The first thing this soldier did when he found Hashem was to put on tefillin. Our tefilin connect us to Hashem. Let's take this lesson to strengthen ourselves in our own battles by strengthening the mitzva of tefillin - our connection to Hashem!

Re'eh

In this parsha, there's an unusual Mitzva that goes against the normal kind nature of the Jewish people. Bnei Yisroel is told to wipe out an עיר הנדחת , a city where some of the inhabitants convinced the entire city to go serve idols. The Mitzva is to wipe out the entire city & burn it to the ground. After that command, the posuk continues with an apparently total contradiction. It states ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך , and Hashem will give you mercy & be merciful to you.

The Gemara in Shabbos learns from this posuk כל המרחם על הבריות מרחמין עליו מן שמים , whoever has pity on living beings, Hashem will have pity on him. The אור החיים elaborates &  says that since the command is to kill out an entire city, the act will infuse a person with an evil heart. As the Arabs tell us, the ones that murder at the word of the king have great enjoyment while they are killing. Any thought of mercy is foreign to them. They become ruthless, pretty much like the terrorists of today. To counter that, Hashem promises that even though naturally you would nowbecome ruthless, Hashem promises to give you mercy. Since Hashem runs the world מידה כנגד מידה, one who doesn't have mercy on others, Hashem won't have mercy on him.

Using this logic Rav Yisroel Salant explained a story in the gemara. During the time when the rains weren't coming, Rebbi Eliezer went up to daven; said twenty four prayers & still wasn't answered. Then Rebbi Akiva got up, said Avinu Malkinu & the rains poured down. The rabbis were busy talking, wondering why Rebbi Akiva was answered & not Rebbi Eliezer when a heavenly voice said, “it’s not because one is greater than the other, but rather because this one is מעביר על מידותיו & this one isn't. A question begs an answer here. If one lets things slide & doesn't get offended, then he is greater than the other. Why did the בת קול say that they were equal?

Rav Yisroel explains that there really was no difference between them in greatness. One, however, was a student of Bais Shamai whose method of serving Hashem was by the strict letter of the law while Rebbi Akiva was a student of Bais Hillel whose method was more easygoing. Neither was greater than the other; they just followed a different philosophy. So why was Rebbi Akiva answered? For Hashem runs the world מידה כנגד מידה & when Rebbi Akiva, who was  מעביר על מידותיו, asked for something, Hashem had to be  מעביר על מידותיו too, & answer him.

We see this concept, as well, by Tzedaka. If someone sees his income shrinking, he should give more tzedaka. That seems absurd! One has less so he should give more? However, it’s this same concept of מידה כנגד מידה: if Hashem sees that you are giving, then He will give you too.

This teaches us a great lesson about how careful we have to be when we interact with other people. We must treat them as we would want to be treated, for, in essence, that is what will happen to us. However we treat other people, Hashem will treat us!

Eikev

Our Parsha opens with the words והיה עקב תשמעון את המשפטים האלה , and it will be because of your listening to these ordinances.

Then, the Posuk goes on to list all the good things that will happen to you for listening: Hashem will safeguard you & bless you, multiply you, bless your produce & wine and all will be good in the land.

Rashi explains that the use of the word עקב instead of the word אם teaches us that this promise of tranquility is for listening to the relatively light commandments that one tends to trample on with the heel.

 The Zekan Aharon explains that Rashi is referring to a time period when Mitzvos are trampled upon. If, in a time period where the masses reject Torah & Mitzvos,  you take it upon yourself to observe them, you will be greatly rewarded.  

This describes the time period we live in. To accurately understand this, the Maggid of Kozhnitz cites a parable. There was once a rebellion in a kingdom which caused the king to sink into a deep depression. He was at the brink of losing everything. Then, a small group of subjects arose & promised to remain loyal to the king no matter what happens. Through thick & thin, they would be there for him. Even though this was a relatively small group; compared to normal times, the king wouldn’t have even paid attention to it. Now, however, when most of the kingdom was in rebellion, it meant the world to the king & helped revive his spirits, invigorate him & strengthen his resolve to save his kingdom.

The Nesivos Shalom continues this thought by saying that in our times we must assume a similar role. Because the vast majority of people have somewhat rebelled against Hashem, we, the faithful, must make a firm commitment to be His loyal soldiers until the very end. Our job is not to fight the rebels or put down the rebellion, rather to strengthen ourselves to insure that the inner circle is strong.

How do we do this? What's the secret to making sure we stay strong & don't join the rebellion?

The בעש"ט has a different explanation of the use of the word “עקב”. He says that it’s telling you that every mitzva that you do should be done as if it’s the last mitzva you will ever do. The עקב is at the end , so treat every mitzva like it’s the last one & then it will be done with the utmost purity, only for the sake of heaven.

If we could follow the advice of the בעש"ט to treat every Mitzva like it’s our last one & also follow Rashi’s advice to be careful of the little mitzvos, the ones that we think are unimportant, then we will assure ourselves that we will remain steadfast in our pivotal role of being a faithful soldier to the ultimate King!

Vaeschnan

Moshe pleads to Hashem to let him into Eretz Yisroel. The posuk says. ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההוא לאמר , and I pleaded with Hashem at that time saying. The פנים יפות asks why it says  לאמר which normally means to repeat over to others; since he was talking directly to Hashem what does the  לאמר signify?

At the beginning of the sh’mona esray we say 'ה שפתי תפתח ,  Hashem open my lips. The reason for this is based on the gemara that says that ר' חנינה בן דוסא would say that if his tefilos flowed smoothly he knew he was answered. However, if they didn't flow then he knew they weren't accepted.  We say this short prayer before we daven to ask Hashem that our tefilos should go smoothly so that they will be accepted. That, too, is why Moshe said  לאמר that before I even begin to pray, I'm asking that my prayers flow smoothly & then I will merit to be answered.  

Later on the parsha says ואהבת את ה' אלקיך , that we are commanded to love Hashem. Asks רע"א how is it that we are commanded to love? Is it possible to force someone to love someone else? He explains that before we say shema, we end with the beracha of הבוחר בעמו ישראל באהבה , who chose his nation of Israel with love. If Hashem loves us, then, since love is reciprocal, if Hashem loves us then it follows that we will love him too.

We see, too, that this love of Hashem is unconditional, as the תנא דבי אליהו explains what Hashem said to Moshe, " I can't tell you my all ways but I will tell you some; when I see a person who many not have many good deeds, doesn't learn or do mitzvos, but does stand & daven before me with utter devotion, I am obligated to them to double their livelihood.
How do we tap into this benevolence of Hashem?

The Chafetz Chaim says that all problems that befall us from which we aren't saved, are caused by our lack of sincerity in davening; we don't cry & increase our kavana. Once, one of the people that lived in Radin came to the Chaftez Chaim so that he should daven for them. The Chofetz Chaim asked the fellow if he had already davened for this himself. When the fellow answered yes, the Chofetz Chaim asked him to go home & get the sefer tehillim that he used to daven.

The man went home & returned a short while later with the tehillim & gave it to the Chafetz Chaim who looked at it, flipped through some of the pages & said to the man "this is called davening? I will show you what davening is". The Chofetz Chaim, despite his old age, walked slowly over to the bookshelf, took a chair & took down a sefer tehiilim from the top shelf. He gave it to the man who saw that  the pages were all hard & discolored from the many tear stains throughout the sefer. "This was my Mother’s tehillim; look at the pages covered with her tears; that's called davening!

Perhaps if we could train ourselves to daven with tears, to really feel what we’re saying, then, even if we don't do everything else right, we’re tapping into the love that we feel for Hashem. Then, He will turn that love around to us & answer our prayers!

Devarim

In our sedra, Moshe recounts the events of the past years & the travels that the Jews had taken. When they passed הר שעיר , Moshe relates that Hashem told him רב לכם סב את ההר הזה פנו לכם צפנה - literally translated, you have circled this mountain long enough; turn northward.

The כלי יקר explains that this posuk has a much deeper meaning which was important then as well as for all future generations. The concept of circling implies that one who is circling can’t step into the center. The Jews were circling הר שעיר (Eisav’s territory) but couldn't even step in because the Toarh says  פנו לכם צפנה which chazal expound to mean הצפינו עצמכם , hide yourself.

When Eisav is in power, hide yourselves. As the כלי יקר continues, הצפנה here means that if a Jew finds himself being successful in golus, when we are not in our own land, he should hide it from Eisav (the goyim). Since they feel that we stole the beracha from Eisav, any success that we Jews have causes immediate jealousy that we are stealing that success from them.

Similarly, Yaakov told his sons to go down to Egypt to buy food even when they had. He said, “why should we look better off than Eisav & Yishmael who think our success belongs to them”.

Unfortunately, continues the כלי יקר, that's the opposite of what people do in the exile. Even those who have limited income, manage to make themselves appear as if they have millions thereby causing the gentiles to detest them which is a cause for all the evil that befalls the Jews.
How can we not fall into this trap? How can we overcome the need to be ostentatious?

When רבי חיים מצאנז expounded these words, he said ההר is the yetzer hara, as it says: after the Tzaddik's life he will see his yetzer hara appearing to him as a mountain symbolizing the great climb up & the obstacles that were surmounted. צפונה is the purest form of יראת שמים which is embedded in the innermost recesses of the heart. This is what Moshe was telling the Jews: רב לכם , the abundance of Mitzvos & good deeds is in reality only to ward off the yetzer hara, for the essence of service to Hashem is to reach the level of pure  יראת שמים.

Perhaps, if we could strive to attain these levels of yiras shomaim by learning & doing mitzvos, then our focus would be on how we could sanctify the name of heaven rather than trying to outdo our friends & showing off which not only causes our friends to be jealous but also incites the nations against us. This is especially true nowadays when anti - semitism is at an all-time high & the nations of the world are all watching us. Let's take this lesson to heart & act in a way that doesn't draw attention to ourselves, thereby reducing the hatred until Hashem redeems us from this final exile!

Masei

The first words of our parsha are אלה מסעי בני ישראל these are the travels of the Jewish people, which the אלשיך explains as implying that the travels were because of them.  Hashem really wanted to bring the Jews straight into ארץ ישראל even more quickly than natural as we are informed that they did an eleven day journey in three days. However, because the people sinned, they were delayed forty years, so it was the people that caused these journeys. That's why it was called by their name.

We see that every person is responsible for what happens in his life. If, because of their sins the people caused themselves to wander for forty years, then how much more so on the positive side, if one follows the Torah & goes on the right path, he will bring upon himself only good while saving himself from any bad that comes to the world.  

There was a story told of a little boy who fell out of a third story window, landing on the ground. Hatzolah was called & they rushed to the scene expecting the worst. When they got there, however, they were shocked to see that the child was fine. They brought him to the hospital where the doctors, too, were astounded that this child fell three floors & nothing had happened to him. How was that possible?

The doctors were so dumbfounded that they sent someone to go to the house to see how it was possible. This is what they found. The building was three stories high; however it didn't start out like that. Originally, it was a one story house to which the owners added two floors as the family grew. When the house was one story, a drainpipe ran from the roof to the ground. Even after the owner built the additional two floors, the drainpipe remained. When the child fell from the third floor, his shirt got stuck on that drainpipe holding him there for a few seconds, breaking his fall.

Why would someone add two floors to his house & maintain a drainpipe that has absolutely no purpose from the old roof? When this man decided to add to his home, he first consulted his rabbi, רבי משה ניישלאס who told him that when he builds, he's not allowed to remove the old drainpipes. Even though the owner complained, saying that it’s going to be an eyesore and that they’re not needed because he's putting new ones on the new roof, the rabbi told him he couldn't do it. So he didn't.

When רב זילברטיין heard this story, he said that there is a possible reason why the rabbi didn't let the man remove the drainpipe. One of the commands of רבי יהודה החסיד was that one can't close up a door or a window in a home because the שדים are found there. The gemara, as well, says that sheidim are also found around drainpipes, so the rabbi applied the cheirim to that as well.

For twenty years, this house stood with old useless pipes marring the look of the house, for seemingly no reason other than listening to Daas Torah. Now, however, everyone saw that the reason was to save this child's life.

This shows us that even though we don't always understand the teachings of the Torah, if we follow them we'll come out ahead. As the רבי מסקולן says, the travels of our parsha were to get us to Eretz Yisroel. We have to realize that all the tribulations & trials that we go through in this bitter exile are merely to get us to the ultimate redemption. If we take this lesson to heart, trust our Chachamim & listen to the Torah, we will merit the geulah in our day!

Mattos

Hashem commands Moshe to go to war with the Midianites who caused the Jewish people to sin. Moshe tells the people to take a thousand solders from each shevet & go to war on Midian. The Torah continues וישלך אתם משה אלף למטה לצבא And Moshe sent out a thousand per shevet to the army.

The Midrash asks: Since Hashem told Moshe himself to go take vengeance on Midian, how can he send other people to do it? The Midrash answers that since Moshe had dwelled in Midian, he felt how can I go to war with a country that housed me?  
The Otzros Hatorah asks, what kind of answer is that? If Hashem commands you to do something, how could you send someone else in your place, no matter what your reasoning is?
He answers that the power of Hakaras Hatov is so strong & self-evident that when Hashem told Moshe to take vengeance on Midian, Moshe had no doubt, whatsoever, that Hashem couldn't have meant that he should go himself, but that he should send other people.

The Midrash also tells us that, in addition to the twelve thousand that went to battle, another twelve thousand went with them to daven , one person to daven for each person who’s fighting. They all went onto the battlefield together. רב חזקל לוינשטיין asks, why couldn't they just stay in the camp & daven; as well, why did there have to be a davener corresponding to every soldier.

He answers that the purpose was so the soldiers shouldn't say כוחי ועוצם ידי , my strength & my strong hand is what won this battle. By constantly seeing the ones that were davening they all understood that it was the power of the tefila that won the war.

Maybe we could take this a step further & say that another reason they had to go together is to teach the lesson of Hakaras Hatov; each person was doing his job. The soldier was fighting & the davener was davening. At times, it looked as if the Bnei Yisroel were winning because the soldier was fighting a good fight & at times there were miraculous events, presumably brought on by the davener. Each one was grateful to the other, teaching us that we have to be grateful for everyone's part in the good that happens to us.  

When רב איסר זלמן מלצר was very old & frail, רב שלום אייזן brought his son to the tzaddik for a beracha. He gave him a beracha to be a gadol in Torah & yiras shomaim. Then, on the day of the Bar Mitzva, everyone was shocked to see רב איסר זלמן walking slowly, with great effort, by himself from his house to the house of  רב שלום which was quite a distance. They ran up to him & asked him why he was exerting himself to come to the Bar Mitzva. When they had come to the rabbi's house, they only intended to secure a beracha!

He answered them, “I owe you a debt of gratitude. When you came to tell me about the bar mitzva of your son, I thought to myself, wow time really flies. I remember being at the wedding of רב שלום & now he's coming to tell me about the bar mitzva of his son...... Time goes by so quickly so I resolved right then to maximize my time. Since it was because of you that I had these thoughts, I owe you הכרת הטוב & wanted to share in your simcha.

These events demonstrate the importance of הכרת הטוב . From the soldiers saving each other’s lives to giving someone shelter to even causing someone to have thoughts that help him, the size of the benefit does not matter. Whatever the benefit, the Torah is teaching us to have   הכרת הטוב !

Pinchas

After the plague, which was averted only by Pinchas' courageous act to avenge the honor of Hashem, nearly destroyed the nation, the Torah once again counts the nation to see how many people are left.

The Torah then lists the names of the people who were left, with additional commentary on those who had something noteworthy happen to them.

One such example: ובני אליאב נמואל ודתן ואבירם, the sons of Aliav were Nemual & Dassan & Aviram. Then the posuk mentions an incident and continues הוא דתן ואבירם אשר הצו על משה ועל אהרן בעדת קורח , that's Dassan & Aviram that fought with Moshe & Aaron with the assembly of Korach.  

It’s very interesting to note that Korach himself, the instigator of the argument with Moshe, isn't mentioned at all when they list Shevet Levi. So why are Dasan & Aviram mentioned when they were only the sidebar to Korach, played a minor role. Why not Korach, himself; why does the Torah have to recount their part?

There is a fascinating explanation given by רב בן ציון ציזלינג. When it comes time to appoint a rabbi over a city, there is a great dispute among the people as to what kind of rabbi to appoint. The learners want a talmid chacham while the regular people want someone entertaining, a good speaker with good stories and the business men want a worldly rabbi.

Everyone wants one that is best suited for his needs. Then you have the people that join in the dispute just to add fuel to the fires. They’re not really interested in selecting a rabbi at all; they will just get involved in every argument just to keep the disputes going.  

This is how we could understand the story of Korach, who, at least, had cause to debate Aaron's appointment as Kohen Kadol. The bechorim were supposed to be the Kohanim or anyone from Shevet Levi, which had been selected as the shevet from whom the Kohanim would be selected. Therefore Korach, who was from Shevet Levi & was a Bechor, as well, had something to gain by debating Aaron. It could have been him instead of Aaron.

However, when we’re told that Dassan & Aviram were in this too, it’s astounding. Why would they get involved in a fight in which they had no stake. They were neither Levi'm nor Bechorim. That's why the posuk says הוא דתן ואבירם ... These are the instigators that get involved in disputes in which they can't gain. Rather, they just get involved for the sake of argument.

On the other hand, Hashem gives Pinchas the covenant of peace. What did Pinchas do? He stopped the plague that was destroying the people. He killed Zimri who was also instigating the people against Moshe. We must learn from here to stay far away from machlokes and not to get involved, especially in things that don't concern us. Then, we, too, will be blessed with the covenant of peace!

Balak

When Balak and his nation see what the Jews did to the Emori, they are frightened of what lies ahead for them. Recognizing that the Jews are not winning their wars in a natural way, they look for a solution that's not natural too. They go to hire Bilaam to go and curse the Jews utilizing the same power of the mouth that the Jews have.

Rashi tells us that one of the reasons that Hashem let His divine presence rest on a non-Jewish evil person was so the nations of the world wouldn't be able to complain, saying had you given us prophets, we, too, would have changed for the better. He gave them a prophet who not only didn't help them change for the better, rather made them worse by advising them to be promiscuous.

The problem, though, remains. The nations could say that You gave the Jews great leaders like Moshe while You gave us a leader who was a degenerate. Of course we wouldn't improve!

Explains the sefer לב אהרן , Chazal tell us that Hashem went around to all the nations of the world asking them if they wanted the Torah. Each one responded negatively until He reached the Jewish people, who accepted it. The nations of the world refused to accept the Torah yet wanted prophets, so Hashem gave them a prophet without the Torah. Originally, that prophet was the same caliber as Moshe; as Chazal tell us ולא קם נביא עוד בישראל כמשה , and there was no Navi like Moshe, by the Jewish people. Chazal expound that to mean by the Jewish people there was no one like Moshe; however, by the nations of the world there was - Bilaam.

Both started on an even footing; however, Moshe had the Torah and so rose to the greatest levels while Billam, who didn't have Torah, sunk to the lowest low. Without the guidance of the Torah, even a prophet is worthless.

In נובהרדוק , they told the following story to try to demonstrate this concept. Once, the Shamash came into the Shul to clean. He saw that the town thief came into the shul & walked up to the ארון קודש . Since the thief didn't see him, he hid under a bench to see if the thief would try to steal the Sifrei Torah. If so, he would catch him red handed. Much to his surprise, the thief opens the curtains & starts crying to Hashem. The shmash thinks to himself, “maybe the thief has someone sick in his household or something” so he makes an effort to hear what the thief is saying. He hears him saying over & over, "please Hashem give me Ruach Hakodesh".  

The shamash is appalled! How could this common thief be asking for Ruach Hakodesh? So he walks up to the thief, & asking him, “why are you davening for Ruach Hakodesh?” The thief answers him, “you really don't understand? Every day, I risk my life breaking into homes. Sometimes, I go into big fancy homes & find nothing to steal while, other times, I go into a plain home & there I hit the jackpot. I want Ruach Hakodesh so that I don't waste my time & risk my life for nothing!

We all start out the same. We all have the same opportunities as Moshe or Bilaam. We all ask Hashem for the same things: some use it for good & some for bad. Learn from the lesson of Bilaam & the thief; ask Hashem for everything but use it with the Torah's guidance. Then, what we do will be for the good & we will be able to strive to reach the level of Moshe Rabbainu!

Chukas

Miriam has already passed away and now Aaron’s time has come. Hashem tells Moshe to bring both Aaron & his son, Elazar, up the mountain where Moshe proceeded to take the priestly garments off Aaron & put them on his son, thereby transferring the mantle of leadership. Then, Aaron passes on & Moshe & Elazar go back down the mountain. The posuk then tells us: ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל , The entire assembly saw that Aaron had perished, and they wept for Aaron thirty days, the entire house of Israel.  

Rashi says the reason for the words  כל בית ישראל is to tell you that everyone, men women & children mourned for Aaron because he was אוהב שלום ורדף שלום, a lover of peace & a chaser of peace.

The בן איש חי questions this terminology. It would seem that אוהב  שלום ורדף שלום are two opposites; אוהב שלום is one who runs after peace whereas a רדף is one who chases away so a רדף שלום  would be one who chases away peace. How could Aaron possess these two seemingly contradictory traits & that's the reason he's missed?

The Chofetz Chaim relates a mashal of a charlatan who went to the town square dressed in elegant clothing looking for an unsuspecting victim. Then he saw a tourist looking around admiring the sights. The charlatan approaches the tourist saying, “I see you’re new around here; would you like me to take you around & show you the town?” The tourist gratefully accepts & they spend the day touring the city.

As night approaches, the charlatan invites the tourist to the fanciest restaurant in town telling him that since you are my guest for the day, I will treat you to an exquisite dinner. Elated, the tourist agrees and they order every imaginable delicacy. They're having a great time. As time goes on, the charlatan excuses himself, sneaks out the back door & runs away, leaving the tourist with a huge bill. Only then does it dawn on him that this man wasn't his friend at all, but a bitter enemy.

Sometimes, what seems like a great thing really isn't. Sometimes, in order to make peace, you have to push people away. Explains the בן איש חי, often, Aaron would go to make peace, telling one party how the other feels so bad, trying to make peace between them. However, this person’s "friends" go over to him trying to fan the flames of hatred by telling him, look what he did to you. How can you forgive him? He doesn't deserve your forgiveness.

In these times, even a lover of peace has to take the opposite approach & chase away those that are trying to prevent peace. These so called friends might make you feel good now, but will run when the bill comes. We have to take this to heart & learn to stay away from people that instigate fights. We must latch on to the other trait of Aaron, to be a אוהב שלום, a lover of peace staying far away from strife & running after peace!