B"H

Thursday, Menachem Av 23, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / August 10, 2023

This Shabbat we bless the new month, Elul. The month of Elul will be the final month of this year, 5783. 

Rosh Hashana, which begins the new year, 5784, will be in five weeks, Friday night, September 15th.

In this week’s Parsha, Re’ay, we find the prohibition not to erase holy writings; nor to erase G-d’s name and not to destroy a place of worship.

This is why holy books, Torahs, Tefillin, Mezuzot, etc. that are no longer used, have to be buried. They cannot be disposed of in an undignified manner, like placing them in the garbage etc. They have to be treated with the utmost respect as they represent G-d’s word or name. Just like a Jew must be buried after passing, so too, holy writings have to be buried.

One of the many mitzvot in this Parsha is the importance of helping others who are in need. The Torah tells us, "If there be among you a needy person… you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother.  But you shall surely open your hand unto him, and you shall lend him sufficient for his need...  You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; because for this the L-rd your G-d will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hands to.”

A gentile philosopher once asked the Talmudic sage Rabbi Gamliel, "Concerning the mitzvah of charity your Torah commands, 'You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him.’ How is it possible for a person to give his possessions to others and not feel bad about it? After all, what you give away will leave you with less.  How can you be sure that you will not need it later?"

Rabbi Gamliel replied, "If a person asked you for a loan, would you give it to him?"

"No!  How can I be sure that he will repay me," said the philosopher.

"But if the person gave you collateral on the loan, would you then lend him?"

"In that case, I would."

"What if the governor or king guaranteed the loan, would you still demand collateral?" persisted Rabbi Gamliel.

"If the king guaranteed the loan, then I do not have to worry about getting paid and I would happily give the loan," he answered.

"You have just answered your own question!" responded Rabbi Gamliel.  "In Proverbs (19:17) it says that the money we spend to help the poor is in fact a loan to G-d." Now, if you are ready to trust a mortal king of flesh and blood to guarantee your loan, for sure you can trust G-d to repay us for the kindness and generosity which we do for the poor and needy.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY