Ki Sisa

When Moshe goes up to Har Sinai, he ascends to Heaven to receive the Torah.  Moshe had told the people that he would be up there for forty days. When forty days had passed, and Moshe still hadn't come down the people gather around Aaron & demand a new intermediary between them & Hashem.  

The Torah informs us that the Jews had miscalculated the forty days that Moshe had stated.  Moshe had said forty complete days, nights included, whereas they counted the day he went up, which wasn't included in the count because there was no night with it. 

The Midrash tells us that when they saw that Moshe wasn't coming, the Sattan came to them and asked, where is Moshe your leader? They answered he went up to the heavens. Sattan said to them that Moshe had died. He made the heavens dark & showed the Jews what looked like Moshe's coffin in the heavens, convincing them that Moshe had died. Then, they had Aaron make them the golden calf & the next morning the posuk tells us וישכימו ממחרת.. וישב העם לאכל ושתו ויקמו לצחק , and they got up early the next morning, they ate & drank & got up to party.  

The Chafetz Chaim asks if that was what happened & the Sattan had convinced them that Moshe had died, then what kind of behavior is that, to get up the next morning & party. Shouldn't they have been full of grief; shouldn't they be crying & mourning for their leader, the man who took them out of Egypt & performed all the miracles for them? Wouldn't that have been the appropriate response? 

Additionally, when Hashem told Moshe הניחה לי, desist from me ואכלם & I will annihilate them. Moshe should have agreed with Hashem, for here is his nation for whom he did everything & the minute they think he's dead, they throw a party. ‎They don’t even have a day of mourning for their leader? Yet we see that Moshe, setting his honor aside, davened & showed Hashem that it would not be in His best interest to destroy the Jews. Moshe only cared about what would bring more Honor to Hashem. 

‎A Jew’s job in this world is to bring honor to Hashem in all that he does, to show all around him how pleasant he is because he walks in the way of Hashem. There should be no doubt in the sincerity of his convictions like Moshe who, even though the Jews threw a party when they thought he was dead, still prayed to Hashem to save them. 

There was a story told about Rav Sholom Tzidkiyau who was one of the prominent Mohel's in Eretz Yisroel. He was once asked to come to Hertzelia on Shabbos to do a bris. He asked the parents when the child was born & was told that it was born after Shabbos started. All the preparations were made for the bris & then, on Friday, for some reason the Mohel asked again exactly what time the baby was born & was told that it was born thirteen minutes after shkia. Now, that is bein hashmushos; when a baby is born in that time, you cannot do a bris on Shabbos. When the Mohel told this to the parents, they were terribly upset. They had invited the whole neighborhood, rented a hall, got the best caterer & now they can’t have the bris? Finally, he convinced them to have the party & just call it the pre bris party.  Then, on Sunday, just do the bris with a minyan. 

That Shabbos was rainy, cold & windy. In the middle of the party on Shabbos, the Mohel, who was an older man, walked in soaked from head to toe, after walking an hour & a half to get to the party. They asked him why he had come since there was no bris.  He answered, “I didn't want anyone to think that I said you couldn't do the bris today because I was lazy & didn't want to walk. So I came all this way to demonstrate that the only reason we couldn't do the bris was that a baby born in that time cannot have a bris on Shabbos. It would desecrate the Shabbos!

This teaches us how careful we have to be to show that our actions are ‎L’shaim Shomaim & that all that we do is to bring honor to Hashem!

Tetzaveh

Following the description of the construction of the mishkan & its vessels, the Torah describes the garments worn by the Kohanim. These garments set them apart from the rest of the people. ואתה תדבר אל כל חכמי לב אשר מלאתיו רוח חכמה , and you shall speak to each of the wise - hearted people whom I have invested with a spirit of wisdom.  

Reb Chaim Shmulevits explains the meaning of חכם לב, wise -hearted ‎, that a person has to prepare himself to have the heart of a wise man.  Once he has that kind of heart, Hashem will give him wisdom. Now, how does one prepare his heart to get wisdom? Shlomo Hamelech, whom we know was the smartest of all men, demonstrated how he achieved his wisdom. 

When Hashem appeared to Shlomo in Givon & asked him to choose one gift, Shlomo chose wisdom. Hashem was pleased with Shlomo that he asked for wisdom instead of wealth or long life etc. Behold I will do as you wish הנה נתתי לך לב חכם ונבון , I will give you a heart that is wise & understanding, Shlomo merited this great wisdom because of his intense desire for wisdom; he was willing to forgo wealth, health & power. 

All he wanted was wisdom. He understood that nothing else in this world matters besides wisdom. So we see what wise - hearted means one who has an intense desire for wisdom.  

 Maybe there is another reason why it's called wise hearted, for even if one is very wise but doesn't use his heart with the brain, he will still make mistakes. 

When Chana came into the mishkan to daven for children, Eli Hakohen mistook her behavior for drunkenness. How is it possible that someone as great as Eli could suspect Chana whom he knew was a tzadekkes. She is counted amongst the seven nevios. She was a great woman; how could he suspect her of being a drunk? Also, her answer doesn't make sense, for she answered לא אדוני אשה קשת רוח אנכי, which Chazal translate to mean, “you are not a master in this thing.  The Shechina is not resting on you so you don't have Ruach Hakodesh because you judged me for bad instead of for good.” Now, how do we understand that is it only those with Ruach Hakodesh that can judge favorably?

We also can't say that she inferred that he didn't have Ruach Hakodesh just because he made a mistake, for we see many times that a navi doesn’t know everything. 

Later, the parsha tells us about the urim v'tumim which was a piece of parchment with Hashem’s name on it, placed in the fold of the choshen.  According to the Ramban, when the kohen gadol asked a question, the letters from the names of the shevatim that were on the chosen would light up, spelling out the words of the answer.  However, sometimes the letters could spell out different words so it was only with Ruach Hakodesh that the kohen gadol understood what the answer was. 

With this, the Gaon explains Chana's answer. Eli knew that Chana was a tzadekkes. However, when he saw her acting strange, talking with no sound coming out, he didn't understand what she was doing. Therefore, he went to the Urim V'tumim to ask what was going on. When the letters ה, כ, ש,ר came up,  Eli put the letters together & read שכרה , drunk. Therefore, he said to her, “how long are you going to stay drunk? Stop drinking!”  

That’s why she answered, “no, you don't have ruach hakodesh, for you don't know how to put together the letters. They really spelled כשרה, like Sara, who was barren, too.  She was a broken woman who was just praying with a broken heart. You put the words together & came up negatively when you could have judged me favorably”. Maybe this is why it's called חכם לב wise-hearted, for it doesn't help only to be wise. One has to use his heart, too, and look at things favorably, ‎ giving people the benefit of the doubt! 

Terumah

Our Parsha opens with the command for the people to contribute to the mishkan. The Torah then discusses the various components & vessels to be kept there. One of the primary components was the שלחן, the table. ועשית שלחן עצי שטים , “you shall make a tabletop of shittim wood”. 

The Midrash says the word שטים is a mnemonic standing for , שלום, טובה, ישועה and מחילה , informing us that a person's table can bring him peace, goodness, salvation & forgiveness. If a person is generous & feeds people that need it, then the bread on his table is like a sacrifice granting the person forgiveness for his sins allowing all the blessings to follow.

Rabbainu Bachya says it was the custom for the pious in Tzefas to make their casket out of their table to show that a person doesn't take anything with him to the next world except for the charity that one gave and the good that one did around the table.  

‎There was a rabbinic scholar who asked the following question to Rav Chaim Kanievsky: I have an ‏elderly mother who ‎suffered terribly in the holocaust; not only was her whole family killed before her eyes, she too was tortured terribly. She called me to her bedside & said, “I feel like my time is coming to an end;  I want to tell you what kept me strong, what helped me make it through all the atrocities. It was the words of this prayer, ובכל זאת שמך לא שכחנו, נא אל תשכחנו , and through all this Your name we didn't forget, please don't forget us. 

These words were on my lips at all times; especially when things were at their worst, I took solace in these words. I interpreted them to mean that just like we didn't forget Him in this awful purgatory where we still yearn to keep His mitzvos, so, too, He shouldn't forget us and leave us in the hands of these evil wicked people. Now”, concluded the woman, “Hashem listened to my prayer & saved me & brought me up to the land of Israel.  I even merited children & grandchildren who are all following in the way of Hashem. For that, I give praise to Hashem who remembered me & redeemed me from death to life. 

Now, what I am asking you to do is that when it comes time for me to leave this world, I want you to put in my hand a paper with those words on it.  Just as those words got me out of the purgatory of the Holocaust, so, too, it will take me out of purgatory in the next world & take me to Gan Eden.” 

The rabbinic scholar wanted to know if he was allowed to put those words in her hand in the grave?

Reb Chaim answered that he was allowed but added that Hashem doesn't need it, for Hashem knows everything. The paper with the posuk won't do anything for her. However, don't tell her that part, for if it makes her feel better, then just do as she asks. 

‎This question  was asked in front of  הגר"א מן ‎who then asked Reb Chaim, since we know of many gedolim who asked to be buried with their seforim that they wrote, and, as well, Rabainu Bachya said that people used to be buried in their table, we see that there is something to this practice.  Why was this case any different?  

Answered Reb Chaim, “it's very different. The purpose of the gedolim was to show the people that the only thing one takes with him is not his gold & silver; rather, it's only Torah ‎& mitzvos that go with him”. As Rabbainu Bachya wrote, “it was to show that the only thing you take with you is the chesed & tzedaka that you do”. But this woman wanted to take this paper to guarantee a good judgement which Hashem doesn't need. He knows all. 

This should teach us to open our homes & our hearts to other people, to try to help out as much as we can, for the only things that will count in the long run are the things we did to help others. So, always have guests around the table to merit the blessings of  , שלום, טובה, ישועה and מחילה ,peace, goodness, salvation & forgiveness‎!

Mishpatim

This Parsha, which deals primarily with civil law & damages, gives practical application to the Divine revelations at Sinai.  

One of the laws is אם כסף תלוה את עמי את העני עמך , when you will  lend ‎money to My people, to the poor person who is with you. 

The Sefer Chasidim tells us that if Hashem gave wealth to someone who doesn't give money to the poor, then had Hashem given that wealth to someone else who would did, hundreds of other people would have been helped. The poor people will cry out to Hashem & say. " to this person You gave money that could have supported a thousand people! You gave it all to one person, someone who wouldn't help us at all?” 

Hashem will take retribution from the rich man as if he stole from hundreds of poor people. For Hashem will say to him, “I gave you wealth that you should give in accordance with your wealth to poor people & you didn't give it so now I'm going to pay you back as if you stole from them. It's

as if you’re denying that I gave you collateral, for the reason I gave you wealth was to help the poor & you took it for yourself.” 

The אלשיך explains from the words of the posuk, the gemara tells us that if someone leaves all his possessions to one child, ‎we say that he didn't mean to give everything to one child. Rather, he was just putting him in charge of the estate, for there is a general understanding that a father wouldn't cut out the rest of the children from the inheritance.  

So, too, Hashem. He gives wealth to some of His children & leaves the rest poor. Is it possible that Hashem would leave His children with nothing? No! The wealthy are put in charge of Hashem’s estate & should be helping out all those that need. This is why the posuk says אם כסף תלוה את עמי, when you lend money, don't become too conceited, for את העני, the portion of the poor person עמך is with you & you are just giving him his own money.

Reb Shalom Schwadron tells a story that exemplifies this point. There was a city that had a very wealthy man named Zalman, who always had on him a silver ‏ tobacco box from which he would give people tobacco snuff. This town also had a pauper named Moshe; he was so poor that on erev Yom Kippur, he didn't even have food in the house for the seuda mafsekes & went to shul for kol nidrai, hungry. 

When he arrived, he saw Zalman, wrapped in his tallis saying tefilas zakka.  Moshe, hungry & now not able to eat, remembers that‎ Zalman always has sniffing tobacco so he figures that at least he could get some of that.  He approaches Zalman to ask for a sniff, but Zalman responds, “now in the middle of tefilas zakka about to enter Yom Kippur, this is what you need?”

Moshe walked away dejected, looked up at the wall & said, "Hashem am I not even worth a sniff of tobacco?”  

‎That Yom Kippur, it was decreed in heaven that the roles of these two would be reversed. The day after Yom Kippur, Moshe met a relative who asked him why he looked so dejected. He explained how bad his situation was & that he didn't even have bread to eat. 

The relative lent him some money with which he bought some items. Then he sold them at a profit & bought some more. Quickly, he went from a poor man to a wealthy one. As quickly as Moshe became wealthy, Zalman became poor, Every turn Zalman took was a disaster. Every deal he did failed & he went quickly from the richest man in town to the poorest. 

The irony wasn't lost on Zalman & he went to his Rebbi, Reb Levi Yitzchak from Barditchev & told him all that happened, Reb Levi Yitzchak asked him, “did you ever do anything to cause the other man any pain? Did you ever hurt him?” Zalman was thinking & thinking & couldn't come up with anything that he ever did. The rabbi kept telling him there has to be something, think! Finally, he said the only thing I can think of is that once he asked me for "tabbak" in the middle of tefilas zakka & I didn't give him.

The rabbi cried out, “that's it”. Zalman asked, “what can I do to get ‎back my wealth?” The rebbe answered him, nothing it's too late. Since Zalman was crying to him that there has to be something I can do, the rebbi said, “well, if one day you ask him for "tabbak" and he refuses you, then the roles can be reversed again.” 

Years went by & Moshe, now the wealthy man in town, had a daughter who was getting married to the son of  the rav of the town.  It was a huge celebration & everyone in town was invited. As they were under the chuppa, Moshe was taking the Kesuba out of his pocket to give to the rabbi to read when, right then, Zalman walks up to the chuppa, taps Moshe on the shoulder & asks him for a sniff of "tabbak". Moshe looks at him, puts the kesubah back in his pocket & takes out the tobacco box & gives it to Zalman. 

‎Zalman faints! He had been waiting years for the perfect time to ask for the "tabbak" & now his chance was gone. 

This shows us how careful we have to be with other people. One never knows were the other person is coming from. What might seem insignificant, can be what causes them to crash. We have to recognize that whatever we have is a gift from Hashem & we have to use it the way He wants us to!