Chukas

The first words of our parsha: זאת חקת התורה, are normally translated as “This is the statute of the Torah." However, the Targum translates דא גזירת אוריתא, “This is the decree against the Torah." Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss said that it's no coincidence that this week, when the Targum hints to a tragedy against the Torah, is the week we lost Rabbi Zlotowitz, who opened the Torah to so many. In the history of our people, few have paralleled his contribution to Torah. From the people who have a new clarity in learning that they couldn't have had before, to those that never would have opened a sefer if not for Artscroll, losing him is a decree against the Torah. 

Further in the parsha, we read ותמת שם מרים, Miriam died there. Rashi explains that the reason the Torah told us about the death of Miriam right after the laws of the red cow, is to teach us that just as the red cow brings atonement, so does the death of the righteous. Artscroll’s Otzer Hatorah poses this question, “Why does the Torah teach this to us specifically with the red cow and not any other korban?" Answers Reb Itzele of Ponevezh, while all other sacrifices grant atonement, the role of the one who brings it is passive. The kohanim eat the meat and the owners are granted atonement. Not so with the red cow; one must be sprinkled with its ashes to achieve purity. Likewise, the death of the righteous calls upon us not to accept it passively but to adapt to their refined character traits. What character trait can we improve on?

The Torah proceeds to tell us that there was no water for the people, so Moshe was told to go to the rock, talk to it and it would give water. Moshe went to the rock, but instead of talking to it, he hit it and was punished, seemingly for hitting the rock. The פנים יפות explains a little differently. Chazal tell us that Hashem would literally speak through Moshe; he would open his mouth and Hashem would talk. When the Torah states that Hashem told Moshe “talk to the rock," it meant that Hashem would really be talking and the rock would listen to the word of Hashem. However, upon the Jews’ complaint, Moshe got angry and yelled at the Jews. We are told that when a person gets angry, the Shechina leaves him. Moshe realized that the Shechina had left him, so he was afraid that if he spoke to the rock, it wouldn't listen because Hashem wasn't talking.  In order not to cause a chillul Hashem, he chose not to talk to the rock, but hit it instead.

We need to realize that, even if we have a good rationale when doing something wrong, if it's something that's against what Hashem wants us to do, rationalization will only backfire. It ends up so much worse. We also see how destructive anger can be, for Moshe’s anger caused him to lose his right to enter the land.  A story is told about a Rebbi who was always very careful to come to his class on time. One day, because his wife was sick and he was taking care of her, he couldn't leave on time. 

When he finally left, he was rushing as quickly as he could to try to make up the time. He finally arrived at the yeshiva out of breath, sweaty from rushing to make up some time, and was only about fifteen minutes late. He ran in and sat at his desk when one of the boys stuck out his arm and pointed to his watch with his other hand. The Rebbi was flabbergasted; “What a chutzpa this child has showing him that he's late. Does he know what I just went through to get here?” He was about to blow up at the student, but, he had a policy that, if he got angry, before he would do anything, he would wait an hour. 

Therefore, he waited. When recess time came, this boy came up to him again pointing at his watch saying, “Rebbi, look at my new watch. I just got it and wanted to show it to you.” Proudly, the boy continued, “You’re the first one I showed it to!” Imagine, had the Rebbi acted upon his anger, he could have destroyed that boy. Because he waited and saw what the boy really meant, catastrophe was avoided. Perhaps this is the lesson we must take in emulating the righteous, stop before we get angry and always give the benefit of the doubt!

Korach

This week’s parsha relates the story of Korach and his followers who rebel against Moshe and Hashem. In his quest for honor, Korach, who felt slighted, gathered a group together, instigating the people against Moshe and Aaron. Moshe prepared a test requiring all two hundred and fifty people, as well as Korach and Aaron, to offer the ketores. Whichever one that Hashem chose would be the true leader. Hashem chooses Aaron, while Korach and all his followers are swallowed up into the ground in an unprecedented punishment. Eliezer then takes the pans that the rebels had used to offer the ketores, and makes them into thin sheets of copper to use as a covering for the mizbaiach, an everlasting reminder of this event. 

The posuk continues: ולא יהיה כקרח וכעדתו, and he shall not be like Korach and his followers. The Gemara views this as an independent negative commandment; learning from these words that anyone who maintains a quarrel transgresses this commandment of not being like Korach and his followers.

There is a story that happened at the time of the first world war. There was a very respectable man who had a very precious coin, a golden Napoleon, that was worth a fortune in those days. He kept it hidden behind his sefarim in the bookshelf. One Erev Pesach, they were cleaning the house and took the sefarim off the shelf to clean. His young son found the gold coin and, not knowing its value, ran to the candy store and came back with a handful of candy.

When this man came home and saw all the sefarim outside, he immediately remembered the coin he had hidden and went to get it. When he couldn't find it, he was obviously very upset wondering out where it could have gone. As he looked around, he saw that his young son had handfuls of candy. When asked where he got the candy, he said he had found a coin on the shelves, went to the candy store and got candy for his coin. 

Immediately, the man went to the candy store to ask the owner if he had the expensive coin. However, he responded, “No, the kid came in here to buy candy but all he had was a copper coin worth almost nothing.” The other man and his friends said, “You're lying, the kid said he took the coin from the shelf. The only coin there was the gold Napoleon, you're trying to steal it.” The store owner said, “No way; he came here with a copper coin.” This went back and forth with more and more people taking sides. Unable to resolve the situation, they went to bais din which ruled that the store owner had to swear that he didn't get the gold coin or pay it back. Now, this storekeeper had a tradition never to swear, so he said, “I have never sworn for anything in my life and I won't start now; I will pay it back even though I didn't take it.” It took him a year but he managed to pay it all to the other person. However, people in town took his refusal to swear as an admission of guilt. They talked bad about him, stopped coming into his store and his income tumbled. He was even embarrassed to walk the streets.

A number of years later, the father of the boy received a letter from America stating: “A number of years ago, I was walking past your house where I saw your son outside playing with a gold coin. I was in a very bad situation then, so I thought to myself, if these people have so much money that the kids can play with gold coins, they probably wouldn't mind if I borrowed it. I gave the kid a copper coin and sent him to the candy store. I took the gold coin as a loan and now I'm repaying it back to you. I hope you can forgive me.

There are numerous lessons to learn from this story. The ציצים הפרחים said that, when one of the elders of Yerushalaim repeated this story, he concluded as follows: all the principles in the story have some saving grace; the storekeeper, who refused to swear, suffered embarrassment and loss of income but will gain in the world to come. The father, who suspected him, judged by what he saw; who could have fathomed that someone else took the coin? The bais din had the same excuse as the father.  Even the man who took the coin was able to rationalize in his head that it was just a loan, never dreaming what would happen because of him. So, who does the blame lie with? The answer is all the people who took sides, the people who couldn't stop talking about it, the people who had to get involved in a fight that had nothing to do with them, the ones that embarrassed and tormented the shopkeeper. This is what the Torah is trying to tell us. Don't be like Korach and his followers to strengthen arguments, just to add fuel to the fire. This is an independent negative commandment, to teach us how far we have to stay away from strife!  

Shelach

The time had come for the Jewish people to enter the land of Israel. Instead of placing complete trust in Hashem, they asked to send spies out to canvas the land. Hashem agreed to their request and handpicked one man from each tribe to go spy out the land. The Torah calls them כולם אנשים ראשי בני ישראל המה, they were all distinguished men; heads of the Jewish people. Rashi reiterates that at that time they were all honorable men.

What happened? We need to understand how leaders, honorable men that were hand- picked by Hashem, could come to distort the truth and turn the nation against Hashem and against the land of Israel!

The Chidushei Harim explains that the spies had lofty intentions​. In the desert, they had lived a completely spiritual life. They were totally dependent on Hashem for their everyday life. They were fed by the manna; their water came from a rolling rock that travelled with them. They had clothes that didn't wear out and a constant, perfect climate enabling them to spend all their time in spiritual pursuits with no worries at all. The spies feared that once the people would be in the land living an agricultural lifestyle, having to work the land and having all the worries that come with regular, natural life they would regress from their lofty spiritual status. Although their intentions were good, what they failed to realize was that Hashem knows what He's​ doing and what's most conducive for spiritual growth.

The Sfas Emes elaborates on this and says that the supernatural existence of the Jews in the desert was meant to infuse the Jewish people with the spiritual resources to live a Torah life. However, their true mission is to take the natural, everyday existence and make it holy. To live supernaturally with everything handed to you on a silver platter takes away the challenge and that's not what Hashem intended.

After Moshe gains forgiveness for the Jews, Hashem, instead of destroying the nation, says that only those that sinned against him will perish slowly over a forty-year period in the desert. The posuk excluded one person from this punishment, "ועבדי כלב עקב היתה רוח אחרת עמו." But my servant Caleb, because a different spirit was with him and he followed me wholeheartedly, I shall bring him into the land.” 

Now we know that there were two spies that didn't join in the dismal report, Yehoshua and Caleb. Why was only Caleb praised? Why was he singled out, implying that he was more praiseworthy than Yehoshua?

The אור החיים explains, the Torah, by its choice of words, teaches us that: ועבדי כלב, my servant Caleb, he is called “my servant” affording him the same title as Moshe;  עקב, because היתה רוח אחרת עמו , he had a different spirit in him, meaning that he, unlike Yehoshua, who was good from the start, had to fight to be good. He was torn; he really wanted to join the other spies but overcame his natural inclination. As the posuk concludes, וימלא אחרי, he followed after Me, to do the will of Hashem. That's why the Torah only mentioned Caleb, for here in the story of the spies, the Torah is teaching us that the goal in life isn't to have everything come easy.  Unlike the spies, who thought that let's stay in this supernatural existence, the purpose of life is to have challenges and overcome them, to live in the normal world with everyday struggles.

The Haftora tells us the story of Rachav, the harlot, who, when Yehoshua approached the land and sent spies whose mission was a success, hid these spies and told them the fears of the people. She also made a deal with them to save her family when they would capture the city. The Gemara tells us that, after they left, she had a change of heart, changed her ways and converted to Judaism. She then married Yehoshua with whom she had seven prophets. This shows us that, the greater our challenge, the greater we can become. It's up to us to meet the challenge, overcome and thrive!

Beha'aloscha

The Torah describes the initiation rite of the tribe of Levi which was to be the one that served in the Mishkan. It also tells us ומבן חמישים שנה ישוב מצבא העבודה, from fifty years of age he shall withdraw from the legion of work, ושרת את אחיו, he shall minister with his brethren. Rashi tells us that the fifty year old, although he stops carrying the pieces of the Mishkan, still performs other rites such as the closing of the gates.

The Mishnah in Avos says בן חמישים לעצה, a fifty-year-old for advice, and Rav cites our verse ושרת את אחיו, he shall minister with his brethren, as explaining that it means he will give the younger kohanim advice.

Now, what kind of advice can the fifty-year-old give and why does Rashi specifically say that they can still help with closing of the gates and not the opening of the gates?

The Chidushei Harim answers this question with a parable. A man was lost in the forest and spent years wandering through it, unable to find his way out. Suddenly, in the distance he saw an old man heading toward him. Overjoyed, he ran over to him. “Tell me how does one get out of this forest?” The old man replied sadly, “I too am lost for many, many  years. I have been hopelessly wandering here unable to find my way out. One thing I can help you out with is I can tell you where not to go, I can tell you the paths that lead nowhere and where you shouldn't go.” The Chidushei Harim continued, “when a person reaches fifty, he already knows what not to do, he might not yet know everything he's supposed to do, but what not to do he has already mastered. Therefore, Rashi says he helps with the closing of the gates, for his advice is where not to go, what paths need to be closed off. His whole purpose now is just to assist the younger kohanim.

At the conclusion of the parsha, we are told the story of Miriam who had to stay outside the camp for seven days while the entire nation waited for her. Rashi explains that this was mida k’neged mida - she waited for Moshe when he was put in the river, so now, the whole nation waited for her.

The אוצרות התורה explains the importance of this comment, for what did Miriam do? She had a little baby brother that was being put in the river without mercy. It's a natural inclination to want to know what would happen to him. She was in pain for her baby brother; how could she not go see what happens? Yet, the Torah tells us that even though it was the normal thing to do and it was only for an hour or so until he was taken out, as payback, she was rewarded that the entire nation had to wait for her. This teaches us how important it is to Hashem that we feel each other's pain. Miriam whose feeling for her brother was natural, was still accorded such honor. Surely, one who feels his friend’s pain, and does something to help him even though he’s not his brother, how much more so will he be rewarded.

When one is holding a heavy burden, everyone understands the need to bend to help him. So,, too, when one is carrying a heavy burden of troubles, one has to bend his heart to feel his pain. The Torah is teaching us how important it is to be there for someone else, whether it's to give advice, or to just be there for someone and feel their pain. The reward is immense. Let's take this opportunity to increase our awareness of other people's troubles and do all in our power to help each other out!

Naso

There is an interesting sequence of pesukim in our parsha that seemingly don't go together. One posuk’s topic is about making restitution for monies that one stole, והשיב את אשמו. The next presents the laws of giving a tenth to the kohen, איש אשר יתן לכהן לו יהיה. Finally, the Torah describes the laws of the wayward wife, איש איש כי תשטה אשתו.

To explain why the posuk of giving maaser comes right after the posuk that deals with the sin of stealing, the Bina L’Itim explains, people live with a misconception concerning what is theirs and what is not. They think the money they have in the bank account is theirs while the money given to charity is not. It is this outlook that causes people to decrease their contributions, stealing from the charity that one is required to give. However, this perception is false; the money one gives away to holy causes is permanent, whereas one’s personal fortune is temporary. This posuk teaches us את קדשים לו יהיו, that what one donates to holy causes, shall be his. The Gemara tells us of King Munbaz who, during a famine, used a large part of the Royal Treasury to sustain his subjects. His brothers and family came to him complaining, “your fathers increased the fortunes they inherited, but you waste yours.” Replied Munbaz , “my fathers deposited in this world, while I deposit in the next​. They saved for others, while I save for myself.” Charity is an investment in one's future.

Concerning the next posuk, Rashi brings the Gemara that explains why the subject of the Sota is next to the subject of giving maaser - to teach us that, whoever has truma and maaser and doesn't give it to the kohen, in the end he will have to approach the kohen to bring his wife the Sota. It appears that the Gemara is saying that because one didn't give the maser, his wife will go astray and become a Sota. Now, asks the ,ברכת שמעון what does the sin of the husband have to do with his wife's actions? Also, every person has his own right to choose to do right or wrong so how is it possible that a woman will sin as a punishment for the sin of the husband? If anything, the Gemara should have said that the man will get tzaraas and himself need to come to the kohen?

The אוצר התורה brings a story about a wealthy man in 1928 who, at the age of forty six, suffered a massive heart attack. The doctor told him that if he continues working at his current pace, he will only live another five years. He decided to retire and enjoy the remainder of his life in Florida. He purchased annuities that would support him comfortably for forty years, and moved into a beautiful home. He began distributing large amounts of money to charity. His favorite tzedaka was the Ponevezher Yeshiva. One day he called R’ Berel Wein. “Rabbi, I’m now eighty six years old, and a terrible thing has happened. I’ve outlived my income. When I was younger, the doctors only gave me five years to live. I conservatively bought forty years of annuities. Now, all my doctors are dead and my annuity has been spent. I’ve lived within my means but beyond my years. I’m going to have to sell my house and change my entire standard of living at such an old age”. R Wein knew that the Ponevezher rosh yeshiva was coming into town, so he told him not to do anything yet. When R’ Kahanamen came to see him and listened to his story, he knew that this man had given over a million dollars over the years to the yeshiva. He was shocked and said this can't happen. R Wein started to explain to the rabbi how it happened, but the Rav was one step ahead. He said to his friend, “ for forty five years you supported Torah, now Torah is going to support you. Rav Kahanamen made a startling decision . He immediately put the man on the yeshiva's payroll and for the remaining two years of his life he was officially a fundraiser for the Ponevezher Yeshiva. As they left, Rav Kahanamen said to R’ Wein, “charity is a two-way street. It benefits the giver as well as the receiver. We’ll just redirect some of his money back to him.

Perhaps, with this concept, we can understand why the man who doesn't give, will end up with his wife by the kohen. When a person doesn't give and is stingy, it's not only with the kohen but with his wife, too, causing fighting and contention which can cause his wife to go astray and end up needing the kohen. It's not so much a punishment but rather a natural outcome of his actions. Charity is a two-way street; if one gives, one gets back. If one doesn’t give, he can lose everything. Let's take this opportunity to increase what we give, for in the end it's really what we get!