Friday, Sivan 11, 5778 / May 24, 2018
B"H
Friday, Sivan 11, 5778 / May 24, 2018
This Shabbat we read Parshat Naso, the longest Parsha in the Torah, read on the Shabbat after Shavuot, the holiday of the Giving of the Torah.
The three-fold priestly blessing is found in this week's Parsha, Naso. G-d tells Moshe, "Speak to Aaron and to his sons saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel; say to them, 'May the L-rd bless you and guard you. May the L-rd make His countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the L-rd turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace.'”
This blessing is called "Birkat Kohanim" (priestly blessing). It is also called "Bracha Hamshuleshet" (three-fold blessing) because it contains three parts. This blessing is recited by the cantor every morning during the morning service.
This blessing is a three-foldblessing, because it was given in the merit of our threeforefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The blessing contains 15Hebrew words, corresponding to the amount of years that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived at the same time(Jacob was 15when his grandfather Abraham passed away).
The combined numerical value of the first letters of the three Hebrew words in the first part of the blessing, “May the L-rd bless you and guard you,” (Yud, Yud, Vav), add up to 26- corresponding to the numerical value of G-d's name.
G-d tells Moshe to say to Aaron, "This is howyou shall bless the children of Israel." The Hebrew word for "this is how" is "Koh", which has a numerical value of 25. This number is also significant;
1) It reminds us of the "S'hma Yisrael" (Hear O Israel) which has twenty five letters.
2) The word "Bracha" (blessing) is mentioned twenty five timesin the Torah.
3) The word "Shalom" (peace) the last word in the Priestly blessing, is also mentioned twenty five times in the Torah!
On the lighter side:After Shavuot, a rabbi once placed an ad in the local newspaper in which he reprinted The Ten Commandments.
The members of his congregation were astonished. "Why did you pay for a newspaper ad when we can read The Ten Commandments in the Torah?" they asked.
The rabbi replied: "I noticed that many members of our congregation take what they read in the paper very seriously. So I thought, perhaps if they read The Ten Commandments in the newspaper, they will take it seriously, too!"
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 8:11 /Shabbat ends: 9:25
Thursday, Sivan 10, 5778 / May 23, 2018
B"H
Thursday, Sivan 10, 5778 / May 23, 2018
Each Shabbat between Passover and Rosh Hashanah, many recite one chapter of the Pirkei Avot (Chapters of our Fathers). Thus, throughout the summer months we go through these chapters a few times.
After reciting each chapter, we conclude with the saying of Rabbi Chanania son of Akashia; “The Holy one, blessed is He, wished to confer merit upon Israel; therefore He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance."
The Torah commands us to fulfill 613 mitzvot. The Talmud explains that the mitzvot are divided into two general categories. There are 248 positive commandments; and 365 negative commandments (prohibitions).
The 248 positive commandments represent the limbs/organs of a person. The number 365 prohibitions represents the days of the year. The reason for these numbers is that Mitzvot serve to involve and protect a person's whole being and to cover every day of the year.
Our sages explain that G-d gave us Torah and mitzvot in abundance for our benefit. With so many mitzvot, there will be at least one or more mitzvot which each person can perform to perfection.
We must be careful not to change the mitzvot to conform to our standards. Rather we must raise ourselves to the standard of the mitzvot.
The following parable of the Magid of Dubna explains this point. A general once toured his training camps to check his soldiers' level of readiness. In one of the camps, the soldiers were shooting arrows at targets. Upon observing closely, he noticed that one of the soldier's arrows were all in the center of the target. The general was very impressed.
"You are a great marksman! How did you manage to get every arrow exactly in the center?" the general asked with amazement.
That's simple," the soldier replied. "The other soldiers first set up their target, then they try to hit it. I, on the other hand, first shoot my arrows, only afterwards do I place the target around them. Thus, I never miss..."
G-d gave us many mitzvot so that we can aim for perfection at some of them. He even commanded us to perform mitzvot which we would logically do on our own, even without being commanded, in order that we may be rewarded for them. It is far better to aim at the Divine targets, even if we miss a few, rather than create our own targets in order to feel satisfied and accomplished all the time.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
Wednesday, Sivan 9, 5778 / May 22, 2018
B"H
Wednesday, Sivan 9, 5778 / May 22, 2018
Shalom. I hope you all had a very wonderful holiday Shavuot.
Shavuot, the holiday of the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, was the marriage of the people of Israel and G-d. At Mount Sinai we exchanged vows with G-d, where we swore that we will never exchange Him for any other G-d and G-d vowed that He will never exchange us for any other nation. The Torah is the marriage contract between us and G-d.
We are now in California where we spent the holiday and are now looking forward to celebrating our granddaughter’s wedding next Tuesday, G-d willing.
From the spiritual marriage we all experienced on Shavuot, we are looking forward to the marriage of our granddaughter. May G-d bless you all to merit many happy occasions in your family.
This week’s Parsha, Naso, is read (in most years) on the Shabbat after Shavuot. Naso is the longest Parsha in the Torah. It is befitting that on the Shabbat immediately after Shavuot, the holiday when we received the Torah, we should read the longest Parsha.
In Parshat Naso we find the three-fold priestly blessing which was recited by the Kohanim (priests) in the Holy Temple. "May the L-rd bless you and guard you. May the L-rd make His countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the L-rd turn His countenance toward you and grant you Shalom-peace. And they [the Kohanim-priests] shall put My name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them."
Q. What is the connection between the three-fold-Priestly blessing and the fact that it is read from the Torah on the Shabbat after Shavuot?
A. Blessing in Hebrew is “Beracha” which begins with the letter, Bet, the second letter of the Hebrew Aleph Bet. The Torah also begins with the letter “Bet” (“Breishit”).
Our sages ask, why doesn’t the Torah begin with the first letter, Aleph? They reply, “G-d wanted to begin the Torah with the Bet for it is the letter which spells the word Beracha-blessing.” G-d wanted to tell us that through Torah we acquire blessings.
Thus, the Shabbat after the holiday of Shavuot we read Parshat Naso in which G-d gives us His three-fold blessing, to show us that through Torah, which was given on Shavuot, one acquires G-d’s blessings.
Q.The longest Parsha in the Torah and the longest chapter of Psalms and the longest Tractate of the Talmud have something in common. What is it?
A.The longest Parsha, Naso, has 176 verses; The longest chapter of Psalms has 176 verses; The longest Tractate of the Talmud, Baba Batra, has 176 pages.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
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