When we open to this week’s Parsha it seems as if we are reading a fiction novel.

I want to thank my dear friend and Chavrusa, Eliyahu for showing me this powerful piece of Torah from the Beis Halevi On parshas Ki Sisa.

We know that the commandment of the Red Heifer was called a “Chok”. A Chok is something with a reasoning so very deep, it is beyond the scope of regular human beings to understand. The Medrash tells us that the reasoning was revealed to Moshe but not to any other man. When the Messiah will come, at the point, he will explain it and we will understand, but until then we don’t know what the reasoning is.

However, if you take a look at Rashi, at the end of the chapter of the red heifer. you will see an interesting phenomenon. Rashi tells us from R’ Moshe Hadarshan that the reason for the red heifer is to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf.

How can Rashi tells us that there is a reason when the Medrash tells us an interesting fact and story about King Solomon / Shlomo Hamelech, he was the wisest of men as it says in Avos. Shlomo Hamelech said “I thought I understood the entire Torah, all the reasons behind all the mitzvos, that was until I came to the mitzvah of Parah Adumah / the red heifer. When I came to this mitzvah, I realised how deep  the reasoning is. If it is so deep, that I Shlomo, the wisest of men can’t understand it, then it must mean I don’t know anything about the reasons behind the Mitzvos.

You see, the human body has 365 veins and arteries and 248 limbs, a person’s body can not function with only part of his limbs or part of his veins working, everything is interconnected in a way that only Hashem can create it. So too, we have 248 times when G-d commands us to do something and 365 times when he commands us not to do something, and they are all connected, and Shlomo is telling us that if you can not understand one then you can not understand any of them.

When we do mitzvos, we don’t always need to know the reason behind everyone. If you want to know how to to do it, ask, but don’t make up new Torah and new Halacha. The roadway to hell is paved with good intentions.

How does Rashi then say that the reason is to atone for the Golden Calf? The answer is as follows, when we committed the sin of the Golden Calf, it came from a place of wanting to do the right thing with not even a clue of how to do it. We thought we understood everything and that is how we slipped to such a level, by keeping the Mitzvah of Parah Adumah, the Parah Adumah teaches us that we don’t always have to understand everything. That is the ultimate atonement for the Golden Calf.

Friends, we all want to do the right thing, the best way to ensure that we are doing the right thing is by accepting from our Rabbis, Rabbis who are more familiar with the Torah then we and have learnt and accepted from their Rabbis before them going all the ay back to Moshe Rabeinu. When we do that, we are actually showing our trust in Hashem and His loyalties, and in return for that he will shower us with Brochos Yeshuos V’nechamos and maybe even Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

Good Shabbos and Shabbat Shalom,

Zevi

Again, let me start off by saying that I am writing for myself and anyone that can gain from it is invited to read along.

As you know whenever I write something down i am doing it for myself to learn from, but feel free to join me.

The Medrash Tanchuma on this week’s Parsha brings two incredible parables that I would like to share.

There was a king that approached his closest loyalty. He told him “Come with me to a place and I want to give you a special present.” While they were on this journey the loyalty passed on. The King called the son of this loyalty and told him, “Look, I promised your father that I would give him a present, and I am not taking back my word, please come and take it.”

Hashem told Avraham, His Beloved, as it says “Bini Avraham Ohavai” “Avraham, my beloved “Lech Lecha Mei’Artzecha”, Come on a journey “El ha’Eretz asher Areckah” to a place that I will show you. “V’etein Lecha U’Lizarecha Es Ha’Eretz Hazos” and I will give to you and your children this land. Hashem says to Moshe “ Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov have died but I am still keeping the promise I made to give them and their children this land of Eretz Yisroel.

There was a king that approached his son and told him “look, I found a beautiful good and rich girl, one like no other, for you to marry, I want you to go and marry her.” The son does not believe his father and tells him “I want to see her”. The Father tells him ”You can’t see her yet but you can send a messenger to see her but I am not happy at your response because you don’t trust me, you will never see her in your home, as I am saving her for your son.”

Hashem had already told the Jewish nation before they left Egypt, I am taking you out to bring you to the land of milk and honey. Later on, it says again, “I am bringing you to a good place.” Even though it says “Shlach Lecha Anashim” you should send people to scout the land, you should know that it was not G-d who wanted them to go, He gave them permission, but because we did not trust Hashem, He said, “They will come back and tell you not to go, and you will not get it.” “Vayamas Kol Hador Hahu” and the entire generation who heard the Nevuah that Hashem took them out of Mitzrayim to take them to the Beautiful Eretz Yisroel died and it was left for their children.

And it was given to them, the children, those under 20 who did not die in the plague because Hashem made a promise that he will give to Avraham and his children, Eretz Yisroel.

My Friends, Hashem prommised “V’heishiv es Shvus Ami Yisroel”, I will return the captives, my nation Israel. Do we believe Him? Do we really trust that it can happen at any moment?

Do you think you can do a favor for G-d?

Does G-d need our favors?

The Medrash Tanchuma in this week’s Parsha says, “G-d says to Moshe ‘Don’t think that I Commanded you (the Israelites) to light the Menorah, because I need the light of a human being, but rather I gave you this commandment, just so I can give you more opportunities to do mitzvot’.”

We can’t do favors for G-d, G-d created us to give to us like a gushing faucet. It is our job to make ourselves into that “cup” to hold all that G-d gives us. How do we transform into that Kli HaMikabel / one that accepts? We build it with mitzvot, by doing mitzvot we build that vessel to house all that bracha. “Don’t think I need you to light the menorah, rather it is there as another opportunity to connect man and his creator. How Beautiful!!!!

The Medrash goes on to tell us, “G-d says to the Jewish people, ‘If you light the lights for Me, I will eventually light a big light for you when Mashiach comes’.” We know that the Torah is compared to light “Orah Zu Torah”. I think we get just a little glimpse, over here, as to the reward that is destined for someone who ignites the spark of another Yid with Torah, what kind of reward he will get.

Good shabbos to all,

Zevi

In this week’s Parsha, we see that when the Nesi’im, the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel, give their donation to the Mishkan, the temporary tabernacle in the desert, they are giving enormous gifts, many animals, etc. Yet, when it comes to the wagons, there were only six, meaning that every two leaders joined to donate one wagon. Why is this so, why are they being cheap and carpooling, all of the sudden. Look at all the gold and all the animals that must have ran up a large bill at the Farmer.

When Yosef tells his brothers to go tell their father, Yaakov Avinu, that he was still alive, he sent them with Agalos – Wagons. When we were kids, we were taught that since the last thing Yaakov studied  with Yosef was the case of EGLAH Arufa – a complicated case involving a dead man found between two cities, and who is responsible for the death. It is a very complicated case without going into too much detai,l though we are taught that the words Agalos – Wagons and Eglos – Calfs are similar.

But let’s understand this deeper, when they came to Yaakov and told him Yosef was alive, he was happy but when they showed him the Agalos, his spirit was lifted. Why?

When the Shevatim told Yaakov that Yosef was alive he was happy to see that the hatred amongst the brothers did not lead to Yosef’s death, when he saw the the Agalos he got excited, because he saw in Ruach Hakodesh, many years later in the Midbar, at the inauguration of the Mishkan, when possibly different leaders would want to outdo the other one, they chose to bring the exact same korbanos and even the wagons they shared, showing a tremendous achdus amongst the brothers, that is what lifted Yaakov’s spirit.

Good Shabbos to all,
Zevi

In this week’s Parsha, we learn about the Halachos of Shemitah. When the Torah talks about the Halachos of Shemitah, it mentions two Brachos. The first one is that “it will fill your intestines”, meaning that if you keep Shemitah, Hashem makes a miracle that in the 6th year you will be satisfied with less food. Later on, the Torah writes, “and if you will ask, what will I eat in the seventh year, I will make a miracle that the 6th year will produce enough food for three years.”

Why do we need both Brachos? Shouldn’t it be enough, that if I will be satisfied with less than from the normal amount of food from the 6th year, there will be enough? And if there will be enough in the 6th year for three years, why do we have to be satisfied with less?

In order to answer this, we need to understand what is the point in Shemitah. The point of Shemitah is to admit that there is a “Borei OIam in der Velt”, and He is sustaining us. It does not matter if Al Pi Tevah that if I don’t do my Hishtadlus, if I don’t do what it takes to earn my crops that I should survive but if I listen to what Hashem says, and I know that He is taking care of me, than I can be satisfied with less, but “if I will ask, ‘what will be in the seventh year’ and you are worried and you are not holding on the previous level of emunah than if you kept the mitzvah you will have enough for all three years.

This concept really applies to all Jews. You go and you see people working very hard and they can’t sleep at night, because they are always thinking “where is my next dollar coming from?” And you’re right that if they do their business kosher, and they do good Hishtadlus that Hashem gives them a lot but If you go and  take a look at The Kollel Yungerman who says I don’t need that materialistic life and I can be satisfied with what Hashem gives me, they are happier with much less.

Do we really believe “Hazan es Haolam kuloi betuvoi b’chein b’chessed u’brachamaim”?

Good Shabbos

Hashem said to Moshe, “Speak to the Kohanim, speak to them saying, to a dead man, you should not become contaminated.”

Why the redundancy? What is the purpose?

Rashi explains based on Chazal that the first time it says “Speak”, it is telling Moshe to speak to the Kohanim of his time. The second time it says “speak”, it is referring to the Kohanim telling their children, father to son, that they should not become tamei to a dead body. From here where we learn the entire commandment of educating our children, otherwise known as, the Mitzva of Chinuch.

The question is obvious, there are so many other mitzvos that we can learn Chinuch from and apply it to all cases, but why this one?

Maybe we can say that the answer is as follows, imagine little Ahron’l is walking out the door of the house holding a bat and ball and his father asks him, “Ahron tzadik’l, where are you going?” “To the game, Tatti, the boys are going to play.”

“Ahronk’eh, but where is the field?”

“Tatty you know the field, at the entrance of town.”

“Is someone picking you up?”

“No, we are walking. Chaim says he knows a short-cut.”

“Oy, Ahronk’eh, you can’t go that way. It cuts through a cemetery, I am afraid you can’t go.”

“But Tatty, everyone else is going and last week ,I could not play in the backyard, because there were little bugs running around and you were afraid that they would contaminate me, why can’t I just be like everyone else.”

“Ahron Tzadik’le the reason you can’t be like everybody else is because you are so special. You have what it takes to do the Avoda in the Beis Hamikdash, and you don’t want to ruin something so special, right?”

This story can help us understand why specifically from this Mitzvah that we learn the concept of Chinuch rather than by any other mitzvos. When Tatty can explain why his little boy is special and that’s why he should not do it, rather than you can’t because I said so, that is the way you can be Mechanech children Al Pi Torah Hakdoshah.

Good Shabbos to all,

Zevi

Why does the Torah mention the death of Nadav and Avihu when starting to talk about the Avoda of Yom Kippur?

The answer is, just as Yom Kippur atones for our sins, so to, when a great rabbi ascends to Heaven, the angels and all the heavenly creatures are excited to see him and that good feeling, so to speak, is what brings them to be more ready to forgive