B"H

Wednesday, Tammuz 6, 5781 / June 16, 2021

Parshat Chukat is read this Shabbat. It begins with the mitzvah of "Para Adumah" - "Red Heifer."

The ashes of a red heifer mixed with water were used to purify those who came into contact with a dead body so they could enter into the Holy Temple or eat of the holy sacrifices. The sacrifices were forbidden for someone who was impure, especially those coming in contact with the dead.

Death symbolizes the very opposite of holiness and G-dliness, which is called "life". One who came in contact with a dead person became spiritually contaminated and had to go through the process of "purification."  Through the Para Adumah – the red heifer, a person was transformed from a state of spiritual impurity to a state of spiritual purity.

The Torah calls this process "ChukatHaTorah."  “Chukah” applies to the mitzvot in the Torah that have no logical or apparent reason. This mitzvah is considered illogical due to the paradox of this commandment. While the spiritually unclean person becomes clean through the process of the Para Adumah, the Kohen (Priest) who performs part of the process, becomes impure!

The irrationality of this mitzvah also has a rationale. This mitzvah teaches us that to make the leap from impurity to spirituality; one has to commit to G-d’s mitzvot beyondthe limitations of one's logic. One has to put their own rationale aside in order to perform G-d’s will.

There is another important lesson in this mitzvah. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that Para Adumah teaches us the extent a Jew must go to help another one spiritually. Just like the Kohen-priest who was prepared to become impure in order to purify and elevate another Jew, so too, if need be, one must make personal sacrificesto help a fellow Jew come closer to G-d.

Our sages tell us that when we make a personal sacrifice to help another person, we benefit from this too. The following story illustrates this point..

Two peddlers were walking from village to village to sell their wares. One cold winter day it began snowing heavily and walking became treacherous. After many hours, one of them was so overcome by the cold and exhaustion that he fell to the ground.

The partner, also shivering from cold, realized that his friend would freeze to death if left alone. He immediately went to work on his friend, massaging him, moving his hands, feet and limbs, so they wouldn't freeze. He worked for many hours, even though he too was freezing from the cold. Finally, a coach drove by, picked them up and brought them to the city where they were attended to by a doctor.

The one who massaged his friend boasted that hesaved his friend's life.

But the doctor told him, "True you saved his life, but he saved your life too... Had you not massaged him and used your hands and feet to help him, you too would have suffered from frostbite!" Sacrificing to help others is helping ourselves.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Friday, Tammuz 8, 5781 / June 18, 2021

This week’s Parsha, Chukat, tells of the passing of two of our greatest leaders, Miriamand Aaron.

Miriam is first mentioned in the Torah in the Book of Exodus (Shmot) in connection with Pharaoh’s decree that every Jewish male who will be born shall be thrown into the river. Miriam, who served as midwife to the Jewish women, didn’t obey Pharaoh’s decree. Instead, she made sure that the babies lived and were taken care of.

We also find that after the Jewish people crossed the Sea, Miriam led the women in song. The Torah tells us that she and the women took their tambourines and sang G-d’s praises for His great miracles. Our sages tell us that the women had more faith than the men. They were sure that G-d will redeem them. They prepared tambourines while still in Egypt for this special occasion.

Throughout the forty years that Jews spent in the desert their water supply, which had to supply millions of people, came from a well embedded in a rock. The well travelled with them wherever they went. This rock-well was in the merit of Miriam. Thus, when Miriam passed away, in this Parsha, the water supply stopped. It returned only when Moshe mistakenly hit the rock, instead of speaking to the rock. The Parsha tells us that for this mistake, Moshe was barred from entering into the Promised Land.

There is an ancient custom to draw and drink water from a well or natural spring after Shabbat. This is based on the saying of the sages that the waters of Miriam’s Well flow through all the wells and natural springs every Saturday night, and anyone who encounters it and drinks of its waters will be healed. Miriam passed away at the age of 125. Our sages say that G-d took Miriam’s soul via a G-dly kiss.

Aaron’s passing is also in this Parsha. G-d told Moshe to tell Aaron and his son, Elazar, to go up the mountain called, Hor Hahar. There they entered a cave. Moshe took off Aaron’s special Priestly garments and he put them on Elazar. G-d wanted Aaron to see his son becoming High Priest.

In the cave there was a bed prepared and a lamp lit. Moshe told Aaron to lay down on the bed; stretch out his feet & close his mouth and eyes. At that moment G-d took Aaron’s soul with a G-dly kiss. When Moshe saw how peacefully Aaron’s soul was taken, he desired to die the same way. Indeed, Moshe also merited to die the exact way Aaron did, via a G-dly kiss.

Aaron was 123 years when he died. The Torah tells us that the ENTIREhouse of Israel mourned Aaron’s passing. Yet, with Moshe’a passing, at the end of the Torah, it doesn’t say that the entire house of Israel mourned. Our sages explain that for Aaron, not only the men but also the womenmourned. Because Aaron was a peace maker. Whenever he saw people quarreling he would try to bring peace between them. He would especially get involved in bringing peace between husband and wife. Thus the ENTIREhouse of Israel (men and women) mourned his passing. Moshe’s strength was teaching Torah to the men. Thus, when he passed away it was mainly the men who mourned after him.

SHABBAT  SHALOM

Montreal candle lighting time: 8:28 / Shabbat ends: 9:44

B"H

Tuesday, Tammuz 12, 5781 / June 22 2021

In his week’s Parsha, Balak, the Torah tells how Balak, King of Moab, after seeing that the Jewish people were victorious against the two mighty kings, Sichon & Og, feared the Jewish people. He hired Bilaam to come and curse the Jewish nation. He thought that this way he may win in battle against them and get rid of them.

Bilaam, who, as told in the Parsha, was blind on one eye, had special spiritual powers. He was happy to go and curse the Jews. However, he knew that he needed G-d’s permission to do it. When G-d appeared to him in a dream, he told G-d his plan. In the beginning G-d wouldn’t allow him to go. Then He gave him permission, but warned him to say only what G-d will tell him to say.

On the way, an angel blocked the road three times and the donkey, who saw the angel, stopped each time. Bilaam who didn’t see the angel, hit the donkey each time. After hitting the donkey the third time, G-d opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Bilaam: “What have I done to you that you hit me these three times?” The angel then told Bilaam, “Go with these men, but you may only speak the words which I will tell you to say.” In the end, no matter how much Bilaam tried to curse them, only blessings came out of his mouth. In many of his passages he predicts about the coming of Moshiach.

Q.Why does the Torah tell us that Bilaam was blind on one eye?

A.On this day, the twelfth of Tammuz, ninety four years ago, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, of blessed memory, was liberated from Russian prison. He was imprisoned for spreading the teachings of Torah. As a result, he was sentinced to death. Then, his death sentence was miraculously exchanged for his being expelled from Russia instead.

As a small child, he once asked his father, “Why did G-d create us with two eyes? I can see even with one eye?"

His father replied, “A person needs two eyes so that with the left eye, which represents judgment, he should look at himself in order to find his own faults and correct them. At another person, however, one should always look with the right eye - with compassion and kindness." The Torah tells us that Bilaam had no vision in one eye - he lacked seeing the good in the Jewish people.

In one of the concentration camps, there was a German Nazi commander. He was extremely cruel to the Jews in his camp. He had only one seeing eye, his left eye was made of glass.  It was made so perfect that one couldn’t distinguish it. One evening he called one of the Jews and said to him, “If you can recognize which is my false eye, I will give you a decent meal. But if not, I will shoot you on the spot!”

The Jew looked at him and said, “It’s your left eye.”

“You’re correct,” said the Nazi. “I will give you the meal I promised. But how did you know?”

“I saw that only your left eye looked at me with sympathy and compassion…”

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY