Mikeitz

Our parsha opens with Pharaoh's dreams which trouble him and he is informed that Yosef can interpret them for him. He releases Yosef from prison to have him interpret his dreams. Yosef interprets the dreams as representing seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine; then he offers Pharaoh advice. ועתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים, and let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Then he gives him an outline of how to prepare for the years of famine.

The commentators ask why is it that when Pharaoh asked for a dream interpretation, Yosef interprets but then also offers advice on how to deal with what's coming. Why would he offer unsolicited advice?

Rav Tzvi Hirsch Farber explains with a parable. Two princes, each obsessed with his own honor, were traveling on the same train. When they got to the station, an orchestra was playing. Each one was convinced that the orchestra was there for him. Unable to agree, they decided to ask a Jew who was nearby. The Jew, who didn't have a penny for the upcoming holiday, was shocked when the noblemen asked him to arbitrate their argument. He asked them for fifty rubles as an arbitration fee and then told them that the musicians came not for either one them but for him, so he would have money for the holiday.

Yosef thought to himself, why would Hashem give Pharaoh this advance notice of the famine? It must be so that I can come to power. Therefore, he offered the advice that Pharaoh accepted as the posuk tells us ויאמר פרעה אל יוסף, and Pharaoh said to Yosef , אחרי הודיע אלקים אותך , after Hashem made known to you all this , אין נבון וחכם כמוך, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

The Maharal asks why, on Chanukah, do we commemorate the miracle of the oil? Where do we find any holiday that we celebrate because we were able to do a mitzvah? We normally celebrate because Hashem saved us from death. Even on Chanukah, when we say על הניסים , we don't mention the oil only that the small army of the Maccabees was able to miraculously defeat the great Greek army. Why, then, is Chanukah commemorated with the miracle of the oil?

He answers that, of course, we celebrate Chanukah because we defeated the Greeks. However, since people might think that the victory wasn't miraculous, Hashem made the miracle of the oil which was quite obviously a miracle. That's what we commemorate, for that shows us that just as the oil was a miracle so, too, the war was won by miracle. We have to be able to deduce one thing from the other. This is why the sefer מעגלי צדק explains the words בני בינה ימי שמונה,  “for those with understanding those who can understand one thing from another and recognize from the miracle of the oil the miracle of the war , ימי שמונה, we have a holiday for eight days”.

We see a recurring theme between the parsha and Chanukah, that we have to be able to see more than what's on the surface and use it to our benefit. We have to be נבון וחכם, wise and discerning. There's an incident that happened to the Rambam that emphasizes this point. A delegation of noblemen came to the sultan to inform him that his trusted Jewish doctor was planning to kill him! The sultan didn't know what to do. On the one hand, he didn't believe it for the Rambam was his close friend who had saved his life many times before. On the other hand, everyone was telling him this so he was getting worried for his own life.

After debating and getting advice on what to do, he decided to let the Rambam seal his own fate. He would make a lottery with two pieces of paper. On one he would write death, and on the other life; whichever the Rambam picks out will happen to him.

Now, the one in charge of the lottery was no friend of the Rambam, so he decided on a brilliant idea - he would just write death on both pieces of paper. He was so proud of himself for his ingenuity, that he made a party for all his friends and bragged so publicly about what he was going to do, that word reached the Rambam.

On the day of the lottery, there was an overflow crowd at the courthouse waiting to see what would happen to the Rambam.   They bring out the tray with two pieces of paper on it and told the Rambam to choose one. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed one and swallowed it.  He announced to the crowd, “you all saw that the tray had two papers, one saying death and one life. Now that I swallowed one, let's look at the other; if it says life, then you know I swallowed the one that says death and I deserve to die. However, if the one on the tray says death, then you know I swallowed the one that says life and I deserve to live. The sultan, who understood what had happened, was so impressed with the Rambam's genius that he said, "how great is the G-d of these people, that he gives them wisdom and saves them from all harm!"

Vayeishev

After being falsely accused by Potifar's wife, Yosef is thrown into jail.  The posuk which details this event appears redundant for it says ויתנהו אל בית הסהר, and he was placed in prison, ויהי שם בבית הסהר, and he was there in prison. Rav Zilberstein asks if the posuk says that he was placed in prison then we know that he's in prison. Why does it have to repeat again that he was in prison?

He answers that there are times when a person is put into a situation that's similar to being put in jail. Everything goes wrong; the person is hit with one thing after another and there doesn't seem to be any way out. The person doesn't want to be there so he'll try anything to get out, to run away from the problems. He may try to fix them, which, of course, is the best way initially to try to get out of a bad situation. However, if a person sees that no matter what he does it seems that Hashem wants him to remain in this situation, it is incumbent upon the person to trust in Hashem's judgment and not to fight it, rather להיות שם, one has to be there. He needs to remain in the tough spot and know that this is Hashem's will; this is what's best for us however unfathomable it may seem to the human mind. We must also understand that the situation that Hashem puts us in is the only way that we can fulfill our role in life.

This is what the Torah is telling us about Yosef. Instead of being depressed and bemoaning all the hardships that had befallen him: being taken away from his beloved father, being sold into slavery, and now being confined to prison, he was בבית הסהר, he was there living life as best he could in the situation he was in, without looking back.

We see a similar concept by Yaakov. Rashi brings the midrash that tells us that Yaakov just wanted to live in peace whereas Hashem said, “isn't it enough for the tzadikim, all that they will get in the next world; they want peace in this world too?”  Reb Chaim Shmulevitz asks what was wrong with Yaakov's request? All he asked  for was peace so that he could sit and learn and get closer to Hashem. Why was Yaakov faulted for that? Reb Chaim answers that the purpose of a person on this world is not to sit on easy street and then to serve Hashem. Rather, it's to serve Hashem when it's hard and tough. That's when the real service is, as the תנא דבי אליהו says, “greater is one mitzvah done with pain than one hundred mitzvos done without pain.”

The sefer שומר אמונים  gives us a different perspective on how to look at hardship. He says there are three reasons why Hashem brings suffering on a person. First, is to cleanse him of his sins.  The second is to give him added reward later, and third, to benefit the world, for when a tzadik gets suffering put on him, it saves the world from calamities. If the tzadik accepts the suffering with love, then his reward is unimaginable.

There was a story at the time of the בעל שם טוב where he came to a town of a tzadik who had tremendous suffering. The people came to the בש"ט to ask him to daven that the man get better but he refused. When his students wouldn't stop bothering him, he explained. Surrounding this town was a forest within which are hoodlums that want to come into the city on a rampage and kill and steal all that they can. However, the suffering of this one man is saving the city from the outlaws.

We never know what our hardships are for and what they do on a global scene. We have to believe that whatever Hashem does is best and there is a master plan. All we have to do is follow Yosef's lead and live the situation we’re in to the best of our ability, and with that we will merit the ultimate reward!

Vayishlach

After twenty-two years in the house of Lavan , Yaakov is finally heading home. He sends a message to his brother, Eisav, that he's coming back and wants to make peace. However, the messengers come back with the news that Eisav was already heading toward him with a band of four hundred men. The posuk then tells us Yaakov's reaction, ויירא יעקב מאד ויצר לו, and Yaakov became very frightened, and it distressed him.

The commentators debate about what was Yaakov frightened and what distressed him.  Why, after he had a commitment from Hashem that He would be with him, would he have any reason to fear. The Malbim explains as follows, ויירא יעקב, Yaakov was afraid of Eisav, and because of that fear ויצר לו he was distressed, because he understood that the reason he was afraid was that he was lacking in the trait of bitachon and therefore wasn't worthy of a miracle. The Malbim stresses "one who has trust in Hashem has no reason to fear any person;  if one is afraid it shows that his trust isn't complete."

The sefer Panim Yafos takes this a step further and says that when the posuk says הצילני נא מיד אחי כי ירא אנכי , save me please from my brother for I am afraid, Yaakov was saying, why do I need to daven for help only because I'm afraid. Since I fear him, it shows I don't trust with a full heart. As Dovid Hamelech said, ה לי, לא אירא מה יעשה לי אדם, Hashem is with me , I don't fear, what can man do to me. With the merit that I fully trust in Hashem, no harm will come to me.

It's said in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that when a person has misfortune come upon him, the best thing to do is strengthen one’s trust in Hashem. He continues and says don't even daven that the misfortune go away; just strengthen your bitachon. The yetzer hara in times of hardship tries to get a person down and get him to question Hashem and weaken one’s trust.  One must daven not to take away the hardship, rather daven that one shouldn't lose his trust in Hashem and the one will see miracles with Hashem's help, for bitachon, trust, helps more than prayer.  When one davens, in heaven they start to check into the person to see if he's really worthy but one who trusts wholeheartedly is guaranteed Hashem's kindness, no matter what.

Once, while רב יוסף שלמה כהנמן was in New York to collect funds, he was on the train when suddenly he was being surrounded by a bunch of hoodlums that were boxing him in. He took a piece of paper from his pocket that had an address on it and asked one of the guys that were blocking him in, where to get off to get to this address. The guys, thinking they found a real fool, said, “oh that's the next stop; you'll get off with us and we'll show you where to go. The Rabbi says, “great; I'll get off with you.” The doors open; everyone gets up to leave; the Rabbi allows the guys go before him; he hesitates a second,  the doors close and he's safe inside. 

Sometimes need to use different methods to get the desired result, Rav Kahanamen's first reaction was probably to scream, try to run and get away, which is analogous to davening; yet what he did was pretend to put his trust in them and he got away. The Torah is telling us that the key to get out of a problem is bitachon, so let's strengthen our trust and realize that all Hashem does is good!

Vayeitzei

At his parents’ behest, Yaakov flees from his home in Canaan and goes to the ancestral family home, birthplace of Rivka and hometown of her father, Besuel, and brother, Lavan. On the way, he is shown a prophetic vision that fortifies his resolve to spiritually survive the exile he is about to begin.(Torah Treasury)

According to the Baalei Hamesora, this parsha contains no "paragraph" breaks in the text. Sfas Emes understands this to mean that although Yaakov left the land of Israel physically, he never severed emotional ties with it from the time he left until the time he came back. His mind and heart were riveted on the land.

Another reason, says the Baalei Tosafot, for the parsha to be "closed" stems from Yaakov running away from Eisav secretly. Reb Chaim Shmulevitz asks, normally the reason why we have breaks in the parsha is to be able to stop and think about what we just learned. What does Yaakov running away secretly have to do with understanding the parsha?

Later, when the brothers told their father that the king of Egypt wouldn't see them again to give them food unless they brought down Benyamin, Yaakov says למה הרעתם לי, why did you do bad for me? The midrash says that this is the only time Yaakov said something meaningless, for Hashem says "I am working to make his son a king and he says I'm doing bad to him"? From here we see that the ways of Hashem are hidden. Yaakov was looking at what was happening right now, at the singular item that was taking effect right now which seemed very bad; however, a person has to know that in the overall scheme of things he will see even that which seemed bad, in a different light.

As the Vilna Goan wrote to his family,” tomorrow you may cry over what you laughed about today and tomorrow you may laugh over what you cried about today.”

While Yaakov was dreaming, Hashem came to him and addressed all his fears. One thing, the midrash says, it seems that Hashem didn't answer him was his fear of not having food and clothing. רב איסי says that he did answer him, for at the end of the posuk it says כי לא אעזבך ,I will not forsake you , that referring to sustenance.

The Dubne Maggid explains, there was a child who had to go on a long journey. His mother packed him up all kinds of food and clothes and whatever else he might need along the way. His father prepared a nice sum of money for him to take along for all his expenses along the way. Then, as they were preparing everything, the father feels that the trip would be a dangerous one for the boy to travel alone so he decides to go along with him so that he can protect him from the dangers of the trip.

As they are on the way, the boy realizes that he doesn't have any money with him. He looks up at his father all worried that he has no money on him. The father looks at him and says, “my son, I am here with you; I'm taking the trip with you; anything you need is on me; why would you need money?

What chazal are telling us is that when Hashem says כי לא אעזבך, I will not abandon you, it means that He will take care of all our needs. We have nothing to worry about because He is always with us. This is why the parsha had to be closed to teach us that just like Yaakov, who thought everything was going wrong when in reality we see that it was all being orchestrated by Hashem, we, too, have to realize that what we’re going through is being orchestrated by Hashem.
This is a personal message to all of us throughout the generations. Just as at the start of the exile of our nation Hashem sent us this message that He will be there guiding us, we have to know that every person, regardless of where we are and what we are going through, Hashem is with us on the trip and there is nothing to worry about!

Chayei Sarah

Eliezer travels to find a wife for יצחק and sets up a test that will determine which girl is the right one. One would think, says the sefer זכרון מאיר , that for the girl who will become the future mother of Klal Yisroel, the test would encompass her piety, emuna, pureness of heart and other noble traits. However, the only trait Eliezer tests her on is that of chesed and kindness; why only those?

He answers based on the Mishnah in Avos where Reb Yochanan ben Zakkai asked his students, “what's the best trait that a person should strive to perfect?” One said a good eye, the other said a good friend, yet another said a good neighbor, another said one who can see the outcome of his actions before he acts and Reb Eliezer said a good heart. Reb Yochanan said, “I agree with Reb Eliezer because all of your words are incorporated in his.” The Rav explained that it's the heart that drives all the other strengths, therefore that's the main point for someone to work on. If the heart is happy, then everything else falls into place and all of the other things will happen too. A good heart embraces everything. Therefore, it was enough to test her just with the mida of chesed. 

However, with just one random act of kindness, how could one tell if that's a person's essence? People tend to do kindness sometimes just to get rid of a guilty feeling and not necessarily because they are kind-hearted people. Also, how could Eliezer stand by and watch a little girl work so hard giving his camels waters to drink, when he was able to do it himself? This is exactly why it was such a big test and why it summed up her true essence. Since a camel can go a week without water, when it drinks, it drinks a lot! Additionally, Eliezer was a strong able bodied man who didn't really need the help of a little girl. Eliezer stood and watched while a little girl went and gave all ten camels water to drink. One would think that seeing him standing idly by, she would do it begrudgingly. However, the posuk says she did it happily, as the posuk continues, ותמהר and she hurried, ותרץ and ran. She did it happily with alacrity as if she were helping someone who couldn't help himself. This is the mida that Eliezer was looking for, someone in whom the mida of chesed was ingrained. This was the crux of her existence, her way of life. That’s what was needed to be the mother of Klal Yisroel. 

This mida is exemplified by our leaders as well. There are countless stories about our rabbis and the chesed they do. There are stories about Reb Moshe that show that the chesed must be part of the very fiber of a person. Once, the elderly shamash in the yeshiva asked Reb Moshe to send a few boys to come help him put up the schach on the yeshiva's sukkah. The next thing he sees is Reb Moshe up on the ladder putting up the schach himself! When chesed is a part of an individual, it doesn't matter if there are other people that can do it; one does it himself. Once, Reb Moshe was a guest in someone's home. The host, knowing that Reb Moshe got up early to learn, also got up early to be there. When he came into the room were Reb Moshe was learning, he saw that his five-year-old daughter was rolling a ball to Reb Moshe and Reb Moshe would look up from his sefer, wait till the ball got to him and roll it back to the little girl. The host said, “you don't need to play with her. If you stop, she will find something else to do”. Reb Moshe answered him, “she's your baby. Since I arrived, all the attention has been on me and not her. She must feel a little bad so it's my way of making it up to her.” There are countless stories about Reb Moshe's sensitivity and caring about others, no matter who they were. Perhaps this is why, when I asked Reb Dovid this week if one wanted extra merit what would be the optimum area to improve on, he answered without hesitation, “tzedakah and chesed”. This is what we can learn from the story of Rivka and from the leaders of our generation. Let's take this lesson to heart and increase our sensitivity to others and make chesed a part of us too!

Vayeira

Once Avraham has given the Angels food, they ask him where his wife, Sarah, is, to which he responds, “in the tent”. The Angel then tells him that next year I will return to you and your wife Sarah will have a son. Sarah heard from behind the door and laughed thinking, is it possible for an old couple like us to have children?

 Hashem then goes to Avraham asking him למה זה צחקה שרה why did Sarah laugh? היפלא מה' דבר? Is anything beyond Hashem?

The sefer אור יחזקאל writes that Hashem was disappointed that Sarah didn't believe the blessing of the Angels that she would have a son and it was considered a lack of emuna.

We need to understand this; she had no idea that they were Angels. She thought they were Arabs who were giving her a blessing that was an impossibility. If a collector goes over to a ninety-year old lady asking for a handout then blesses her that she should have children, would anyone pay any attention to that? No, so what's the disappointment in Sarah?

This teaches us how far emuna must reach, since everything is in Hashem's hands and there is no stopping Hashem from doing whatever He wants. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to believe that anything is possible. When one is blessed with a bracha that may seem impossible, the response must be amen, for Hashem can do anything. 

The midrash compares this to someone who brought two pieces of gold to a jeweler and asked him to make two rings. After a while, one of them broke and he went back and asked the jeweler if he could fix it. The jeweler responded, “do you think I can make the rings from scratch but I can't fix them? Of course, I can fix them!” This is what Hashem was saying to Sarah; I made you from scratch; I created you; don't you think I can fix you?

The ספורנו says the reason Sarah laughed was because she thought that what she was being told was just a bracha and not a promise from Hashem. She believed that the only way to turn an old lady back into a young one, which is like reviving the dead, was through a direct promise from Hashem or from תפלה משגת חן מאתו. In teaching us that prayer has the power to make what seems impossible a reality, the ספורנ uses an interesting term. What is תפילה משגת חן מאתו?

Rab Zilberstein explains that it means that the prayer is coming from someone who finds favor in Hashem's eyes. How does one do that? By overcoming one’s nature, when one doesn't always have to do things his way and gives in to the other person, when a person puts aside his way and does what is better for the other person, then he will find favor in Hashem's eyes. Hashem, likewise, will put aside His will for the will of that person. This is the key to have one’s prayers accepted by Hashem.

Surely, if one puts aside his will for the will of Hashem and accepts what Hashem gives him with love, his prayers will be answered.

I saw a story on the Daily Emuna about a childless couple for whom all the doctors had given up hope. They went to Rav Shlomo Bochner of Boneh Olam as their last opportunity. There was one top doctor who agreed to try to whom they went for treatment. A few weeks later, Chana sat in the waiting room with a Tehilim drenched with her tears. She was waiting for the results of what appeared to be her last possible chance of having a child. Unfortunately, Rav Shlomo had to inform her that the treatment had failed and she would never have a child.

 Less than a year later, Rav Shlomo received a call from the husband, Elchanan, who told him the following: "The night you told us the news, I felt as if a black cloud had enveloped me. I couldn't think straight. I was driving around late at night through the quiet streets, absorbed in thought. When I arrived home, I stumbled out of the car in a fog. I opened the front door and was shocked by the scene that greeted me. The table in the dining room was decked with the finest tablecloth and set with our finest dinnerware. My wife stood there smiling and said, 'We now ended one chapter in our life. We were dealt a blow today. I don't want to be angry with Hashem.  I want to make a Seudat Hoda'ah, a meal to thank Hashem for giving you to me and me to you. We have each other, and we are not angry. Let us enter the next chapter of our lives without bitterness. Let's celebrate what we have.' My wife served a magnificent meal that night. By the time I went to sleep, my wife's serenity had affected a considerable change in me. It seemed like I had only slept a few minutes when I heard the phone ringing at five am the next morning. It was someone from the hospital, asking me to return immediately. They had studied my chart,  and claimed there was something they could do. Now, Baruch Hashem, we just had a baby boy, and the Berit Milah is next week."

Lech Lecha

Our parsha presents the inability of our matriarch Sarah to have children. Why were the matriarchs barren? For God desires their prayers and looks forward to their conversations… He said: They are beautiful, they are rich; if they have children, when will I hear from them? (Midrash – Breishit Rabba 45:4) 
The midrash tells us further that not only was Sarah barren she didn't even have a womb making it impossible for her to conceive.
Rav Kahaneman asks why was it that Hashem had to make her without a womb? If He wanted her teffilos, wouldn't making her barren be enough? 

The parsha also relates the saga of Avraham and Sarah going down to Egypt where Avraham tells Sarah to say  אמרי נא אחותי את למען ייטב לי בעבורך say that you are my sister so that it will be good for me. Rashi says so that they will give me presents. What kind of person would let his wife be taken away so that things will be good for him? In essence, he is saying, “let the Egyptians take you and have their way with you as long as I'll be Ok.” Also, since when does Avraham take presents from kings ? He refused to take anything from the king of Sedom. 

On this last question, the בכורי אברהם answers that we are told מעשי אבות סימן לבנים , that what happened to our forefathers is a sign for the children; what happened to them happens to us. Just like Avraham went down to Mitzraim, so, too, did his children; just like Pharaoh was afflicted now, so would the Egyptians be later. What Avraham wanted was that his children should get gifts when they left Egypt, so, therefore, he wanted gifts. 

The Zohar writes that Avraham was not worried about Sarah getting harmed by the Egyptians because he saw that Sarah had an angel in front of her at all times, so he knew that, through miraculous ways, nothing would happen to her. He was only worried that he shouldn't get harmed because he was not on that level, so he had to ensure that he would be saved naturally. 

With these two answers, we can understand Rav Kahaneman's answer to why Sarah had to not only be barren but also have no womb. He answered that מעשי אבות סימן לבנים , for there were many periods of time throughout the history of our nation that all seemed lost ,when either spiritually of physically. Our nation seemed doomed and that by all natural means the Jewish people would cease to exist. Therefore, Hashem made it that Sarah had no womb for us to recognize that we would be able to survive even when it's impossible . 
Perhaps that's why, too, Sarah had to go through being abducted by the king,  surviving and coming out unscathed by way of miracle to ensure that the Jewish people, throughout the generations, will be able to survive the various exiles even if only by way of a miracle. 

Rav Kahanamen said that when his grandfather, the Ponevezher Rav, came to Israel after the war and wanted to rebuild, everyone told him it was impossible. He would never get back what we had; it'll never happen. Look what we have all just been through; it's over. He answered, that’s correct. We can't rebuild naturally but the Jewish people are born out of miracles and will survive with miracles. Look at the world now; there are probably more yeshivos than ever in history. 
We have to realize that nothing is impossible. No matter what’s going on and what one might think, we are a nation of survivors. Whether through natural means or by miracle, we have the ability to overcome any adversity and survive! ‎

Noach

When the flood has concluded,  Hashem, in his command to  Noach to go out & rebuild the world, promises that He will never send another flood to destroy the Earth. ‎Noach plants a vineyard, gets drunk & ends up in a uncompromising situation in his tent. After Cham tells his two brothers what's going on in their father’s tent, the posuk tells us: ויקח שם ויפת את השמלה וישימו על שכם שניהם, and Shem & Yafes took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders and covered their father. 

Rashi draws our attention to the fact that the Torah uses the singular form ויקח, he took, instead of ויקחו, they took. He explains  that the Torah is telling us that Shem exerted more effort in the fulfillment of the commandment to honor his father than Yefes. Therefore, Shem merited that his children were privileged & given the commandment of tzitzis, while Yefes, who also participated but to a lesser degree, merited that, at the end of days in the final war of Gog & Magog, his children will be buried in the land of Israel. 

Reb Zalman Sorotzkin explains the reasoning behind these two rewards. The mitzva of tzitzis that was given to the children of Shem, includes in it a guarantee that they will always have clothing, for, in order to be obligated to wear tzitzis, one has to have clothes. Mida K'neged Mida, he covered his father with clothes so his children merit to be clothed. As for Yefes, the promise that his children will merit burial is also Mida K'neged Mida, for just as he covered his father, his children will also be covered. 

This demonstrates that two people who do the same act, one doing it with the right intent & with his whole being while the other one does it only because his friend is doing it & feels he has to but doesn't really care. The first one’s reward is that, while he is alive, he will always have clothing, for he did the mitzva full of life. The other one also gets reward but ‎just as he did the mitzva without enthusiasm, “half dead”, he gets rewarded with burial. 

The Tzemach Tzedek relates a story about a simple farmer who lived in Israel. This man was unlearned & didn't even know what he was supposed to daven each day. Regardless, he was very careful not to miss any tefila despite the fact that he had no idea what he was saying. When he would come into Yerushalayim once a week to sell his produce, he would go to the rabbi who would show him what he had to say for the coming week. 

The rabbi tried to explain to him the basics & the general rule of what to say, but that was too much for him to comprehend. Therefore, the rabbi would meet him each week to explain what to say in the coming week.  One day the farmer comes to the rabbi & says that he won't be able to come to Yerushalayim for a few weeks, so he needs a prayer plan for the next few weeks which the rabbi gives him. 

About two weeks later, the farmer had to come to Yerushalayim unexpectedly. When he arrives, he finds all the stores closed & starts to panic. “Maybe it's Shabbos today & I miscalculated the days?” Quickly he finds someone who tells him that it's a public fast day & everyone is in shul davening. Now he's upset. “Why didn't the rabbi tell me about a public fast day. I didn't say any of the right prayers today.” He runs to the shul finds the rabbi; on the verge of tears, he asks why he didn't tell him about the special prayers for today‎?

The rabbi explained that this wasn't one of the regular public fast days; rather there had been no rain so they declared their own fast day to pray to Hashem to send them rain. This really confused the farmer. “Why do you have to call a fast day because there is no rain?” The rabbi asks him what they should do instead. The farmer answers, “do what I do when there is no rain; I go outside to the field & talk to Hashem. I say, “Father I need rain!” Then, it starts to rain. The rabbi says to him, “if that's what you do, then do it for us as well. They go outside, the farmer looks up and says, “Father, your children need rain; send them rain to sustain themselves. Immediately, it began to rain. 

Sometimes it's the sheer simplicity, the “pashtus”.   A whole town of people could be in shul davening for something  with no answer. Then, one simple person does the same act, says a prayer with his whole being & total belief because that’s his essence. He is answered. The message to us is that it's not about what we do; rather it's what we put into it.  It’s what it means to us that counts. Do we do it because the other guy did, or do we do it because we want to get closer to Hashem?  Ask yourself, “What is my motivation. What makes me tick?!”

Beraishis

The Torah begins by telling us that Hashem created the world with all that is in it. The earth was initially dark, so one of the first things Hashem created was light. וירא אלקים את האור כי טוב ויבדל אלקים בין האור ובין החשך, and Hashem saw the light, that it was good & He separated between the light & dark.  

Rashi explains that Hashem saw that the light was good & that it wouldn't be good for the light & dark to operate simultaneously, so He separated them. One’s time He made during the day & the other’s time during the night. Sifsey Chachamim explains that it can't really mean simultaneously, because that would be impossible, rather it means either that in one town it would be light & in another dark, or it means that it would be day for an hour or two & then night for an hour or two & then switch back. So, Hashem made it uniform that we have the daytime of light & the night of darkness. 

The Chofetz Chaim, however, says the posuk is trying to teach us about separation when things are intermingled: how we have to separate between the profane & the sanctified. In Eastern Europe, traveling peddlers would come to town selling tzitzis, siddurim,‎ mezuzos & other holy articles. They would set up a table in the back of the shul near the furnace; when prayers ended, the people would come & buy what they needed. 

Once, at a shul in Poland, the Rav, Reb Chaim Leib Mishkovsky, approached the table ‎to buy something & was shocked to see that, among the holy items were books of heresy, haskala literature. Without hesitation, he took the books & threw them into the furnace. The peddler complained; “rabbi, not only did you just cause me the loss of the cost of the books; you don't let me make a living; those books were my biggest profit.” 

The rabbi replied, “I will pay you the full retail price for the books I burned. Now that you say you won't be able to support your family, I will help you find another job.” The next day, the peddler went to the rabbi to ask him if he found him a job.  The rabbi answered, “yes, he was working on something & with the help of the local priest, he might have something for him.”  

“How can the priest help?” asked the peddler. “Well, last week I met the priest & he told me that the man who used to ring the church bells every morning, died. I will ask him to offer you the job. It's a respectable & decent paying position.” The peddler was shocked & insulted! “Rabbi, do you think I would sell my soul to be an assistant to the priest?” 

The rabbi replied, “listen to yourself. To ring bells to wake up non-Jews to go to church is unthinkable in your eyes, but to sell heretical books that will entice young Jewish children to idolatry is permissible?!”

How often do we do this in our own life? We put custom on a pedestal while transgressing real Torah laws without a thought? This is why, says the gemara, that we have havdala - the bracha of separation. Additionally, the bracha of chonain hadaas contains the word wisdom, for if there is no wisdom, there is no separation. We have to realize that just as, between day & night, the difference is obvious, so, too, the difference between the holy & the mundane, the Jew & the Gentile, must never be blurred. 

Let's take this new beginning, a fresh start to the year, to focus on what's important in our lives, to be able to make the differentiation between right & wrong, holy & profane & not have them intermingle, so we will merit the eternal light!  

V'zos Habracha / simchas Torah

Before Moshe is to take leave ‎of this world, he blesses each of the tribes. Then he tells each tribe the key to its physical & spiritual success. Two of them are combined in one posuk, שמח זבולן בצאתך ויששכר באהליך, rejoice , Zevulun in your excursions, and Yissachar in your tents. 

This partnership between Yissachar & Zevulun is the classic formula for the relationship between the supporters of Torah and the ones that engage in Torah study full time. Zevulun engaged in commerce to allow Yissachar to devote all his time to Torah study.  

Why is Zevulun mentioned first in the posuk? Shouldn't it be Yissachar, who studied Torah full time, be mentioned first? The Yesod HaAvodah answers that the Torah gives preference to challenge; spending one’s life in the beis medrash does not put one’s spiritual mettle to the test in the same way that a business life does. Moshe therefore blessed Zevulun first that he should be able to keep the proper perspective: his financial success should be looked at as a means rather than a goal. 

Reb Akiva Eiker shows us how to view our service to Hashem. The Torah begins with the letter ב   & ends with the letter ל which spells לב, heart. If one looks at the letters before & after ‎these letters in the alphabet, he will find כ before the ל and א before the ב spelling אך. Looking at the letters after those, we find after the ל the letter מ and after the ב we find ג spelling גם. There is a rule in the gemara that the word אך excludes something; the word גם includes something. The Torah is teaching us that, by putting the word לב to start & end the Torah, no matter how little one can accomplish in his Torah learning, like the אך or how much one can accomplish in his Torah learning like the גם ‎all that matters is that it's done with the לב, as long as whatever one does is done with the whole heart trying to get close to Hashem. 

‎During Simchas Torah in the year 1948 in the Ponevitch Yeshiva, the elderly Shamash was very moved by the dancing of the boys & the excitement they had for Torah. He started thinking "if only my children were still alive, they would surely be among these boys dancing so feverishly but alas they are buried under some patch of ground somewhere in Europe".

As he was t‎hinking about his children that were brutally taken from him and about how much Torah they could have learned had they still been here, his heart felt like it was going to burst from the pain and he started crying hot tears. He ran to where the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Kahaneman was sitting & cried "Rebbe, where are my children? Why were they taken from me? They could have grown & been giants in Torah & yiras shomaim. Why were they taken?

His cries tore the hearts off those who heard him & especially the Rav who also lost his family in the war. The Rav turned to him crying & said that, for them, we don't have to cry; they sacrificed their lives for Hashem.  ‎They are in a world now full of only good where they are learning in the bais medrash upstairs with all the holy people. Do you know why we need to cry?

We need to cry about ourselves! Where are we in the world?  We are here and how much could we accomplish with every second that we are here? Every second we learn, we are getting life for eternity, reward that we can't fathom, and what are we really doing? Are we taking advantage? It’s our job to sanctify Hashem with life, to live a life of Torah & take advantage of every second. 

As we finish this cycle of the Torah & prepare to start anew, what are our goals? How do we make this ‎year better? Perhaps, if we realize that even though most of our time is spent out in the world, and most of our spiritual challenges consist of showing how a Jew is supposed to live & deal with people,    

Nevertheless, if we could make the commitment to utilize the time we do have for learning & doing mitzvos, to take advantage of the time we are given here, that no matter how much or how little it is, if we do it with all our heart, it will be considered as if we lived a complete Torah life!

‎

Haazinu

‎The song of Haazinu‎ is the song of the history of a nation, for just as a musical composition has decrescendos & crescendos, so, too, the history of the Jewish people has its diminished times, periods of calamity, that will be followed by the joyous crescendo of the great finale, the ultimate redemption. (Otzros Hatorah)

One of the stanzas in our parsha states: ויאמר אסתירה פני מהם , and He will say I shall hide my face from them, אראה מה אחריתם, and see what is their end, כי דור תהפכת המה, for they are a generation of reversals. Rashi explains that they reverse Hashem's good will to anger. 

However, Reb Zusia of Anipoli saw the end of the verse in a good light. He translated the posuk as follows: "I shall hide my face from them" - let them act carelessly for a while. "I see what their end will be" - I'm not so worried about how they are acting now, for ‎"they are a nation of reversals" who have the potential to reverse in an instant from sinfulness to repentance. 

We just completed the fast and contrition of Yom Kippur. Ask anyone how it was & they will answer, “it was a great, inspiring, beautiful davening”.  However, looking around the day after doesn't seem much different; for the most part, we still look the same, act the same & dress the same. So what changed? 

What did we accomplish? ‎What could we still accomplish?

The Chafetz Chaim tells us a story about a wealthy man, who had many different businesses & ‎many employees. One day, his newly married nephew needed to go to work & came to him looking for a job. The wealthy man was very happy & told his nephew, “this is perfect; I need someone I can trust to oversee all the different businesses & workers to make sure everything runs smoothly.” 

The nephew was delighted for it was an easy job; he didn't need to get his hands dirty & the uncle was going to pay him a nice salary at the end of each month. The wealthy man took a piece of paper, wrote on it all the daily activities of the workers, gave it to his nephew and said, “come to me at the end of the month & we will go over the list;  then I will pay you”. 

He took the paper & was so excited that he would be making so much money‎. As soon as the month was up, he came to his uncle to get paid. The money was waiting for him, but first his uncle wanted to review with him all that was going on in the companies. He asked his nephew to report & the nephew rattled off the entire paper by heart, every worker and what they were supposed to be doing. The uncle was impressed that he knew the ‎schedule by heart but he wanted to hear how the workers were doing. Were the businesses performing properly? However, the nephew just kept repeating the chart; he knew nothing else. The uncle asked, “did you think I was paying you so much money just to memorize the chart? The chart was only a guide for you to know what to do, not just to say!”

At Ne’ila, the high point of Yom Kippur we all shout out the יג מידות, the thirteen attributes of mercy.  When we say these to Hashem, we should be forgiven & He will answer our prayers.  However, it doesn't seem like that is always the case. The Chafetz Chaim explains that we are like that nephew, just saying the list. The יג מידות are not just a prayer; it is the manual for what we have to do, not just say. We need to emulate the attributes of Hashem, be‎ compassionate, merciful, kind, etc. If we emulate Hashem & go in His ways by being nicer to people, looking out for each other's benefit, 

trying to emulate Him, then we will merit change, forgiveness & the answering of our prayers!

‎

Vayelech

 The Midrash writes that the first word of our parsha, וילך, connotes  ‎reproof. What reproof was Moshe giving? The sefer Minchas Ani explains that Moshe's reproof is contained in the next posuk where he says " I am one hundred & twenty years old today today my days & years are filled.”  The Zohar writes that even Moshe didn't know until that day that this was to be the day of his death. His reproof was that no one knows when his time is up & one should have his purpose for being in this world in front of him always, as it says, repent one day before your death. Since no one knows when that day is, there has to be a constant state of awareness as to what we are doing with our time.

As the parsha states: ולמדו ליראה את ה אלקיכם כל הימים אשר אתם חיים על האדמה, and they shall learn to fear Hashem all the days that you live on the land. Why does it say that you should fear Hashem all the days? Isn't it a given that as long as one is here, he has to fear Hashem?
Reb Simcha Zissel of Kelm says that the words "all the days" does not refer to the phrase to fear Hashem, rather it refers to the words "they shall learn"‎ - developing a reverence for Hashem Himself is a life-long learning process & something that has to be cultivated each & every day. We need to develop a consistency in our level of commitment to Hashem.

The Chafetz Chaim compared this to a sick man who met his friend. “How are you”, asked the friend. The sick man replied, “I'm seriously ill & running a high fever.” The friend said well, tell you the truth you don't look so bad. The sick man replied, actually today I'm not doing too bad; my fever is down & I'm feeling OK. So, asked the friend, why did you tell me you’re sick? The sick man replied, that's the nature of this sickness; one day I'm delirious with high fever & the next day it's gone but 2 days later it's right back; so trust me I'm sick.

This, says the Chafetz‎ Chaim, is how we approach the mitzvos. Some days we are perfectly healthy serving Hashem fully & then other days we slip into sin.  Our ultimate goal has to be to serve Hashem & revere Him all of our days. The first time the Satmar Rebbe saw a neon sign on a butcher shop that had the words בשר כשר , kosher meat ,flashing on & off he said, that's America; sometimes kosher, sometimes not.

Another interpretation of what Moshe meant when he said "I am a hundred and twenty years old today" is that we should make sure our days are not wasted; he was saying that his hundred & twenty years were complete to that very day, not lacking. The של"ה הקדוש explains that every day that we do something good, that day is internalized for us forever; that day belongs to us.  However, days that we use for bad are considered like dead days; they are wasted.

‎As we approach Yom Kippur, let's take this lesson to heart & commit ourselves to have a greater awareness of Hashem in our lives, to constantly develop our awe & reverence for Hashem. Rabbi Shlomo Gissinger once told me that one way to gain reverence for Hashem especially on these days from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur is by concentrating on the word מלך every time we make a bracha. That will be a constant reminder that Hashem is our king. If we can do this on a constant basis, we will ensure that we don't let any of our days go to waste & all our days will be good for eternity!

Netzavim

Our parsha opens with the words אתם נצבים היום, you are standing today. The commentaries explain that this parsha is always read the Shabbos before Rosh Hashana, therefore these words are referring to us, that we are all standing today; we made it through this past year & are ready to ask Hashem to forgive us for all our misdeeds this past year & for Him to grant us another year filled with blessing. 

One of the most important things we have to do going into the new year is to have all our sins forgiven so we can start with a clean slate, as the posuk says ושבת עד ה אלקיך ושמעת בקלו, and you will return to Hashem & listen to His voice.   

The gemara tells us that whoever does a sin & is embarrassed because he just sinned, is forgiven for his sins. How does that work? The Ben Ish chai explains: we know that Chazal tell us, whoever embarrasses his friend in public is considered as if he killed him because, the gemara explains, when a person gets embarrassed and all the blood drains from his face, it's as if he took away his lifeline. 

This is how he explains the gemara, for when a person who sins gets so embarrassed on his own, it's considered like death for him. Since one way to erase ones sins is through suffering & death, when a person gets embarrassed which is equivalent to death, one gets forgiveness for his sins, provided, of course, that one did teshuva, regretting his sins. 

The חיד"א writes ‎that every person knows the sins that he did & wants to repent, however if he were to be told that in order to repent he had to do many fasts or other inflictions of pain to get that repentance, he wouldn't be able to cope with it. There is another way which is,  להעביר על מדותיו שמעבירים כל פשעיו, ‎one who is able to look away when someone wrongs him, Hashem too will look away and forgive his sins. 

He continues by saying that when the mishna states, לא מצאתי לגוף טוב משתיקה,  I have found nothing better for the body than silence & the Rav explains ‎that's referring to one who listened to someone degrade him & was silent. By doing that, one has his sins forgiven.  That’s why, explains the חיד"א , it specifies לגוף that it's good for the body, for then a person can still eat & drink & doesn't need any illness to have his sins forgiven, there is nothing better than that. Therefore, if one is quiet when slighted, it's good for the body for it won't have to suffer to gain forgiveness.  

There's a story told by ר' בנציון גרינפוס ,one of the students of the Chafetz Chaim‎. Once, he walked into the home of the Chafetz Chaim & saw him crying & all upset. He asked what's wrong & what had happened that he was so upset? The Chafetz Chaim answered, I just finished learning the sefer Raishis Chachma where it says that anyone who has embarrassment on this world & is silent, has his punishment in Gehenom removed because his sins are forgiven. So now I'm upset & wondering why heaven is punishing me that no one embarrasses me; don't I too deserve to have my sins forgiven?

‎The sefer Raishis Chachma lists ten different things one gets for overcoming the natural tendencies to get angry when slighted & concludes with this thought. After one realizes how much one is rewarded for this midah, one should be ready to suffer a little embarrassment to gain great reward. It's like one who is holding two jugs, one with water & one with expensive perfume. Something happens & he has to drop one of them. Obviously he should drop the water to retain the expensive perfume. So, too, with anger, if a person will take the small hit to his ego and ignore the hurt he will gain so much more with the forgiveness of sin & all the other blessings that come with it. Let's take this lesson to heart as we approach Rosh Hashana, to be saved from any other hardship & be blessed with a great new year!     

Ki Savo

‎ The Jews’ entrance to Eretz Yisrael created the obligation to fulfill the Mitzva of bikkurim, bringing the first fruits to the Bais Hamikdash & giving them to the Kohen; ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום לה' אלקיך, You shall come to the Kohen who will be in those days‎, and you shall say to him "I declare today to Hashem that I have come to the land that Hashem swore to our forefathers to give us. 

‎The Malbum questions the wording of the posuk: how is it that the one who comes to bring his Bikkurim starts by saying הגדתי היום, I declared today in the past tense? He hasn't said anything yet; the whole declaration comes after he waves the bikkurim, so why does the posuk utilize the past tense like he already declared something? 

He answers that when the Torah says הגדתי, I declared, it doesn't necessarily mean something that you declare by mouth. Rather, even something that's shown by your action can be considered a declaration. The person comes with his bikkurim willingly & with joy demonstrating that the whole point of his coming is to show that he recognizes & gives thanks to Hashem who gave us the land.  

An anomaly we see by bikkurim is that the poor people give the fruit that they bring with the basket they brought it in, while the rich people just give the fruit & take home the basket. The מהרי"ד מבעלז explains ‎that the posuk says ושמרת ועשית, which Rashi explains to mean that when one brings the bikkurim, a heavenly voice blesses him that he should come again next year to bring the bikkurim. Therefore, the rich man who brought his bikkurim in a gold basket, gets his basket back so that he will be able to use it again next year. However, we take the poor man’s cheap reed basket as if to say to him, next year you should merit to bring the bikkurim in a gold basket. 

This demonstrates two things.  First, that we show our gratitude to Hashem for giving us the land & recognizing that the fruits come from Him. Second, that for doing that, we get the blessings of wealth. What does one have to do with the other? The sefer באר מים חיים explains with a parable. 

If a child is wise, he will understand that when a father gives ‎a gift to him, the father is not obligated to do so; the father gives it because of the love he has for the child. When the child thinks like that, then the bond & the love the child has to the father will be strengthened & the child will be very happy & thankful to the father.  

‎When the father sees how happy & thankful his child is, he will be filled with joy & want to give that child more & more. On the other hand, if the child is not so bright & feels that everything is coming to him, when he gets something, he is not thankful, for he feels that it is incumbent upon the father to give him presents.  He feels that whatever he gets is not enough, so he is never happy, This type of child actually dissuades the father from giving gifts; the father has no desire to keep giving. 

This is the way Hashem treats us when He sees that we are acknowledging that the land is His & everything we get is from Him. We bring the first fruits happily to the Kohen. We are showing our gratitude; therefore, both the rich man & the poor man get the blessing of wealth. Since we are thanking Hashem for everything we have, He will want to give us more ‎& more. So let's count our blessings & be thankful so that Hashem will shower us with only good!

Ki Seitzei

Towards the end of a long list of mitzvos, the parsha states אבן שלמה וצדק יהיה לך איפה שלמה וצדק יהיה לך, a perfect & honest stone shall you have, a perfect & honest measure shall you have. למען יאריכו ימיך על האדמה, so that your days shall be lengthened on the land.

Rashi says if you will do that then you will have much. 

Why is this mitzva so important that it promises ‎long life & financial success?

  

Chazal tell us that the first question one is asked at the final judgment is whether ‎or not he dealt honestly in business. The gemara tells us that someone who deals honestly in business is considered as if he kept the whole Torah.     

The Chafetz Chaim says that one shouldn't say that since everyone else is cheating in business, I can too. Rather, one should know that cheating in business is a lack of trust in Hashem. We know that Hashem sets what we're going to make over the year on Rosh Hashana.  Hashem definitely did not establish that the way you will earn your money is through cheating, so one who trusts that Hashem is in charge of his livelihood, will have no reason to try to get it dishonestly. 

Chazal tell us that for all other sins Hashem doesn't pay us back right away but waits until the measure of the sin is filled up. For one who deals with false measures, Hashem punishes right away. Why? Because Hashem works mida k'neged mida which means Hashem treats us as we treat others. Therefore, if one didn't measure properly & cheated people with measurements, Hashem won't deal with his measure the way He deals with other people by waiting to punish until the measure of sin is filled up. Rather, He will punish right away. Therefore, it says if you use the proper measures then you will have long life because Hashem will not rush to punish. 

The sefer Mordechai Avraham relates a story that many years ago in Bavel, there was a famine.  It hadn't rained in months; the whole country was dried out from thirst. The king, who knew that the Jews had the power of prayer, called the rabbis together & said if it doesn't rain in the next seven days, all the Jews have to leave the country. 

The rabbis made a day of fasting & prayer but the rains didn't come. It was approaching the seventh day & still no rain so they sent out a call around the town that everyone - men, women & children -  should come to the main shul. They would storm the heavens. Thousands of people came to pray to Hashem for rain so that they don't get expelled from their homes into the desert. After hours of prayer & no answer, the rabbi called out, “if there is anyone here that could save us & doesn't do it, great is his responsibility”. 

Suddenly, one man calls out, “wait for me” & runs out of the shul. This man was a simple man who sold vegetables. He ran to his store & brought his scale, put it on the table & called out, "Hashem, in the merit that all my life I was careful to use the correct weights & never cheated anyone & was careful never to take money that wasn't coming to me, in the merit that my hands are clean from thievery, have mercy on Your people. As he finished speaking, the heavens filled with clouds & the rains came. 

We see the power of honesty in business.  Even a simple man that is honest has the power to make miracles, for honesty shows that you have complete trust in Hashem that He will take care of you. ‎Perhaps this is why we are promised long life and financial success for being honest. It’s not just doing one mitzvah; it's the epitome of emuna; it's the rock solid trust that whatever you need‎ Hashem will take care of and that's equal to all the mitzvos.  If you are doing everything for Hashem, so of course Mida k'neged Mida He will do everything for you!

Shoftim

The greater part of this sidra deals with laws intended to implement Torah standards in the society the Jews will ‎establish in the land of Israel. The first requirement is to establish a court system, to administer justice and protect the interests of all segments of the community. (Torah treasury)

One of the key qualifications of the judges of this new court system is to be of high moral standards, not accepting bribes. ‎כי השחד יעור עיני חכמים ויסלף דברי צדיקים, for the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words crooked. Earlier in the Torah when it talks about bribery, it says that it will blind the eyes of the shrewd, while here it says that it will blind the eyes of the wise. The Vilna Goan ‎explains that a judge must master two talents. First he must know all the halachic laws that apply to the case & second he must possess enough practical knowledge to understand the nuances of the case. He must be wise & shrewd. 

There was once a young man who came before an old rabbi to get tested for semicha. After testing him on all four parts of halacha and finding him very knowledgeable, the rabbi asked him if he knew the fifth part. The young man looked at him puzzled, "I only know of four parts; what's the fifth?" The rabbi answered, common sense. Without that, you can't put the other four parts to use.  

Right after telling us about the judges, the Torah ‎says not to plant a tree that will be used for idol worship. Reish lakish says that the relationship between these two laws tells us that whoever appoints a judge that isn't up to par is as if he planted a tree for idol worship. Now, what's the connection between the two? An idolatrous tree is worse than a regular idol because a regular idol, you see it & know what it is, so one will stay away from it. However, the idol tree just looks like a regular tree from the outside; there is no way to tell that it's an idol. So, too, a judge that's not qualified; from the outside he might look like a respected rabbi but on the inside he's contaminated & will corrupt the people. 

Then the Torah tells us not to erect a single stone as an altar even if he intends to use it to sacrifice to Hashem. Even though, during the times of our forefathers, this type of worship was beloved by Hashem, once it was taken up by idol worshipers, it became detestable to Hashem. Another reason this type of alter is forbidden says the Igra D'kalla, is because a monolith is a symbol of immovable strength. While strength & unbending commitment are generally positive traits, they can sometimes be counterproductive. Life's challenges are constantly changing & each generation has its own challenges that weren't there before. One must translate the timeless lessons of the Torah into effective strategies for one’s own time & not render oneself a spiritual monolith, unable to adapt to the unique challenges of his life & time. 

In the early days of the state of Israel, the Chazon Ish suggested changing the language used to teach in the schools from Yiddish to Hebrew. Although he generally encouraged Yiddish speaking in the schools, he felt that if they taught in Yiddish, many of the children who didn't understand the language would be lost. Some die hard traditionalists questioned his decision. He replied with a story. There was once a great general who won a major victory by devising a brilliant strategy. As could be expected, he became a national hero. Years later, the country was again at war & they brought back the aging general to lead the troops to war. However, this time his strategy failed miserably & he was stripped of his old glory. 

 Shocked by his defeat, he attempted to understand what happened. A close friend explained, your strategy is brilliant but the battlefield has changed. The new situation demands a new strategy. 

The Chazon Ish‎ concluded, there was a time when Yiddish was our protective shield against the outside world. However, today the battle is different which demands a new strategy. Today the challenge is to ward off ignorance; therefore, we must teach in the common tongue, which is Hebrew.    

‎How much more so is this true in our time when the world has changed so much.  We can't be fooled by those who masquerade as rabbis & give us all a bad name. Rather we must devise a strategy that works in our time to instill in ourselves & our children a love for yiddishkeit!

Re'eh

The Torah addresses the special status of the Jewish people as Hashem’s children & enumerates various things that people of such an exalted status can & cannot do. Among the items mentioned are the birds that we cannot eat, one of which is the chasidah, which Rashi tells us refers to the stork. It’s called the chasidah? because it does chesed with its friends by sharing food with them. 

‎There is a gemara that says that mice are wicked creatures for when one spots a pile of fruit he summons all his friends to come partake in the feast. Why do we praise the stork for sharing ‎its food & criticize the mouse?

Maayana Shel Torah explains the difference. The stork gets its food from nature, eating fish or other small insects that are ownerless, ‎so when it shares its food it's sharing from its own. However, the mouse is stealing other people's food. It goes into people's homes, finds food & calls all his friends to join in the theft. So while they are both sharing their find with their friends, the mouse's comes at the expense of others & kindness done at another's expense is actually wickedness. 

Right after the laws of what we can & cannot eat, the Torah tells us עשר תעשר את כל תבואת זרעך, tithe, you shall tithe the entire crop of your planting. The gemara tells us that in instances where the wording is doubled, that it means you should keep doing it even up to 100 times. Here, however, it seems problematic to say that you should give a tenth 100 times because we know that a person shouldn't give more than a fifth of his money to charity.  If you’re going to give 100 times, it will be way more than a fifth. 

The Vilna Goan explains that really here, too, it could mean 100 times, for we know that there is a special blessing on one who gives charity. עשר בשביל שתתעשר, give so that you will get wealthy. Therefore, if you give a tenth then you will get more money & be required to give again. When you give again, then you will get more  & the cycle will keep repeating itself even 100 times.  

There's a story told about רבי חיים מטשרנוביץ when he was a rebbi for school children. One of his students recounted that one Thursday, the rebbi was teaching them this parsha & kept going over this concept of giving to someone even 100 times. He kept repeating it & said, “if someone comes to you again & again, don't say I already gave you; rather keep giving & give again”. He went over it so many times that one of the students thought to himself, if the rebbi keeps stressing this to us, he must be on this level to want us to be on that level, too. Just to be sure, when this boy came home, he asked his father to give him the rebbi's pay for the month so that he could give it to him. The father gave him the money;  the boy took it & cashed the money into 100 ten dollar bills. 

‎Then he went to the local town beggar and told him that the rebbi has a lot of cash.  He should keep going to him to ask for money at least 100 times.  

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Then the boy went to the rebbi, gave him the cash & the rebbi took it and put it in his drawer . A few minutes later, the beggar comes knocking on the door & the rebbi gives him a 10, then goes back to his learning. A few minutes later, another knock on the door. It's the beggar again. The rebbi smiles at him & gives him another 10. This scene repeats itself all through the day until all the money is gone. The boy, seeing that his rebbi was really a tzaddik & practiced what he preached, felt bad that now the rebbi would have no money for the month. He went back to his father, crying & told him what he had done. The father, seeing that his son really felt bad, gave him the money again to give to the rebbi with an apology. 

The boy went back to the rebbi with the money & with real remorse tells him what he did & begs the rebbi's forgiveness for putting him in that situation & challenging him like that. The rebbi forgives him and says, “don't worry; it was no challenge”. That is what Hashem said to do & if you do it, there is no way to lose out. 

We need to take this lesson to heart & know that if we follow what the Torah tells us to do, we won't lose out. However, that only works if we do it for ourselves. To be pious on someone else's account is not what the Torah wants from us. As we come into Elul, we should all try to improve ourselves, but sure that on our climb up, we’re not hurting anyone else!    

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Eikev

Our sedra opens with the words והיה עקב תשמעון את המשפטים, if you will listen to the mitzvos וברכך, Hashem will bless you. ‎The sefer רמיזי תורה asks how could the Torah say that if you do these mitzvos you will get material rewards when the gemara tells us that you don't get reward for mitzvos on this world; that's reserved for the world to come when you get eternal reward? 

He answers that the Mishna states that the reward for a mitzva is the opportunity to do another mitzva & the joy a person has when he does a mitzva counts as another mitzvah.  He gets rewarded for the joy he had when he did the mitzvah, separately from the mitzva itself.  

So he explains that the material reward on this world referred to in the Torah applies to the simcha that the person had when he did the mitzvah. The reward for the actual mitzva that you had to do, is reserved for the world to come.

Chazal tell us the word והיה connotes ‎simcha which is what the posuk is saying; when you do the mitzvos with simcha, then you will get all the material blessings of this world.  

Rav Moshe Leib from Sosuv used to say that the same way a person guards his money, he should guard his service to Hashem. The best way to guard your service to Hashem is to do it constantly with joy. 

The classic translation of  והיה עקב תשמעון ‎is if you listen to the light mitzvos, which Rashi interprets as the ones that we trample with our heel, then you will get the blessing. The Midrash tells us that one doesn't know the reward he gets even for polishing his shoes before Shabbos and it quotes the posuk in shir hashirim מה יפו פעמיך בנעלים & the Midrash ends with a posuk in Yeshayhu ויקרא ביום ההוא לבכי, how we will cry when we will see the reward. 

The רה"ק מאפטא  explains this midrash with a parable. There was a poor man who went begging from town to town who  rested along the way between the towns on a big rock or pile of dirt that he found. One day, after he rested on a small hill, he saw that the rocks around there looked pretty so he decided to fill his pockets with them in case they were worth something. However, as he walked from town to town, he got tired from the extra weight of the stones, so he started throwing them out until he had nothing left. When he got to a town where he had a friend, another poor man. They were looking for some money to get food. As he's searching his pockets, he finds one of those stones, so he & his friend say, “let's go to the jeweler maybe they’re worth something.”  

The jeweler sees it & immediately offers them $1000. They’re shocked so he takes their silence for a refusal & doubles his offer. When the friend sees that, he says, “wait a minute. let's go to town & see the big jeweler. we'll for sure get more.” He turns to his friend, sees him crying and says, “what's wrong. You’re gonna be rich!” The poor man tells him, “do you know how many of these I had that I just threw away? Do you know how much more I could have had?

This, רה"ק מאפטא explains, is going to be us at the end of our days. When we see the eternal reward that awaits us even for the smallest mitzvah, we will cry over how many we threw away. How can we avoid this? How do we capitalize on our available mitzvos so that we don't leave them behind?

Perhaps, if we accept upon ourselves one mitzva that we enjoy and do that mitzva with simcha, then our reward will be another mitzva that we enjoy.  Then, we will keep going up in our joy in mitzvos, making sure we don't lose out on any. In addition, we will merit the material rewards of this world, too, for doing our mitzvos with simcha!

Va'aschanan

Moshe, as he's recounting all that has happened over the years, ‎reminds the Jews that he won't be going into the land with them & that they should be very careful not to anger Hashem. 

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Then he warns them that their children, ‎who did not personally experience the exodus, will be in danger of slipping into the pagan culture of the Canaanites & being exiled from the land. 

However, he reassures them that all will not be lost; even while the Jews are in exile they will eventually return to Hashem Who will return us to our land, as the posuk states, ובקשתם משם את ה' אלקיך ומצאת כי תדרשנו בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך , from there you will seek Hashem, your G-d and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart & soul.

The posuk starts with ובקשתם, you will seek, in the plural implying ‎that the masses have to seek Hashem for Him to be found; then it says ומצאת, you will find Him in the singular. Why the change?  

The Gra' bases his answer on a gemara which relates the story of two people who had the same problem and went to pray for it to be resolved. One of them was answered & one of them wasn't answered.  ‎The gemara asks why was one answered and the other not? The gemara answers, the one who was  answered prayed with kavana, concentration, while the other one didn't. Our posuk can be explained the same way.  ובקשתם, in plural, many people searching, ומצאת, He's found in singular, meaning only certain individuals will find.  Which ones? As the posuk concludes, כי תדרשנו בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך, when you search for Him with all your heart and soul; meaning that one who davens with all his heart & soul, one who has kavana when he prays, will be answered.

Rabbainu Bachya explains a little differently.  He says, had the Torah also written ומצאתם in the plural, one could have thought that in exile it's only if the masses search & pray to Hashem ‎that we will be answered but the prayer of a lone individual will not be answered. To counter that notion, the Torah says ומצאת, in the singular, to tell us that, as long as even the individual is sincere & prays with his heart, he too will be answered.

Perhaps Rabbainu Bachya is telling us something a little deeper, that ‎one shouldn't be influenced by the masses. One shouldn't think that “what's the point of my prayers if no one else doing it?” One might look around at the masses that don't seem to take davening seriously & be disheartened.  Therefore, the posuk says ומצאת, you, as an individual need to look into yourself & find Hashem. 

A baker in the city of Cracow named R' Yekel was very poor. He had three daughters to marry off & had no money to do it. He davened to Hashem with all his heart & soul to help him out of this situation. One night, he had a dream that he was standing in Prague beside the Vlatava River, before a bridge that crossed to the royal palace. In his dream, he was told that an enormous treasure was buried beneath the bridge. When he woke up & remembered the dream, he just laughed it off but then, when the dream kept repeating itself every night, he decided to travel to Prague. 

It was a long, tiring journey, but, when he arrived before the royal palace, the scene was exactly as it had appeared in his dream! Yekel went under the bridge to figure out how to dig without attracting attention. Suddenly, a guard appeared right in front of him demanding to know what he was doing. Too frightened & tired to come up with anything, he told the guard about his dream. The guard started laughing, stupid Jew! Why do you take dreams seriously? I too have had such dreams. For months I have dreamed of a treasure buried beneath the oven of a baker named Yekel, in Cracow. Do you think I'm going to travel to Cracow to search for Yekel's oven? Forget your foolish dream ‎& leave! Yekel retuned home & lo & behold, beneath his oven lay a treasure. With the money, he married off his daughters & built a shul to express his gratitude to Hashem who had answered his prayer. 

‎Yekel thought he had to go far to search for his treasure, when really it was right there in front of him the whole time.

‎All he had to do was look. Sometimes we, too, do the same thing. We look to what others are doing or think that we have to go somewhere far to find Hashem when in reality He's right here with us. All we have to do is look!‎

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Devarim

Sefer Devarim  (the Parsha which always precedes Tisha B’Av), opens with Moshe rebuking ‎the Jewish people for their past sins. Moshe, knowing the spiritual challenges that the Jews would face upon entering the land, feared they would view these challenges complacently, confident in their ability to resist the influences of the Canaanite land. Therefore, he admonished them with their previous failings to warn them that they might fail again. Moshe intended that his admonition would awaken a spirit of vigilance & self-scrutiny that would protect them in the years ahead. 

However, the opening posuk doesn't seem to be saying anything more than the location where this took place. Rashi explains that each word is alluding to various incidents that took place over the years where the Jews had sinned. 

Reb Chaim Shmulevitz explains that the reason the Torah just alludes to these sins rather than saying them explicitly is to teach us that, even when one has a legitimate reason to rebuke, he must exercise the utmost care not to embarrass those that he's rebuking. 

The Ben Ish Chai quotes the Maharam Shiff who explains the posuk הוכיח תוכיח את עמיתך, you shall reproof your friend. He says that it means that you shouldn't rebuke someone in a way that will embarrass him; rather you should rebuke your friend, someone who never did that sin, & discuss it with him within earshot of the sinner so he will hear the reproof without being embarrassed. 

It is said that when Reb Zisha had to rebuke someone he would go within earshot of the individual & talk to himself saying "Zisha how could you do something like this? I feel terrible, I'll never do it again" and the person would hear & get the message without any embarrassment. 

The gemara tells us that it's better to throw yourself into a burning furnace than to publicly embarrass another Jew. There’s a story told about Reb Yisroel Yaakov Lubchansky that exemplifies this. The shul in Baranovitch was heated by a wood burning stove which, if no one fed the stove wood overnight, the shul would be ice cold in the morning. The shamas was supposed to come early in the morning to feed the stove so it would be warm when the people came in the morning. However, he relied on the poor people that would sleep there to keep the stove going. 

One morning, the Rabbi comes in & it's freezing in the shul. No poor people slept there that night & the shamash didn't show up to warm the shul. So the rabbi, not wanting the people to blame the shamash for the cold shul, started the fire in the stove & started loading the wood into the stove. The shamash walks in & sees someone loading the stove & calls out "good morning". Now the rav didn't want the shamash to know that he was the one who was doing the shamash's job loading the stove because then he would be embarrassed, so he didn't respond.

The shamash, just seeing him from the back, thought it was one of the poor people who was disrespecting him by not responding, so he called out again " good morning". By now, the fire had caught on & Reb Yisroel’s face was getting hot.  He prayed that the shamash would just move on so he could get out without the shamash knowing who was loading the stove. The shamash, though, was waiting for his response. Furious, the shamash yells, “you ingrate; you don't respond when someone talks to you”. He pushes him almost right into the oven & then walks away. Only then, with his beard badly singed, did the rabbi pull himself out of the oven & leave the shul before the shamash could see him.   

So great was his resolve not to embarrass the shamash, he let himself get burned!

The Torah is teaching us here how careful we have to be not to cause anyone, no matter who, any embarrassment. The commentaries find many different things alluded to in the words of this posuk. In a similar vein, the  Gra' says אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה , these are the words that Moshe spoke. What are the words? As the posuk continues אל כל ישראל , to all of Israel, that we should be one nation together, peaceful, that we should all just get along & have unity between us. 

The first step toward that unity could be if we are careful about what we say to others & make the utmost attempt not to embarrass one another. Doing so, we could repair the hatred that caused the destruction of the Bias Hamikdash & have it rebuilt speedily in our day!