B"H

Monday, Elul 9, 5782 / September 5, 2022

This week's Parsha is Ki Teitzei (Deut. 21:10). One of the many commandments in the Parsha is, "When you shall cut your harvest in your field and you will forget a sheaf in the field, you should not go back to fetch it. For the stranger, the orphan and for the widow it shall be."  (Deut. 23:22).

During the month of Elul, the final month of the year, when we prepare for the day of judgment and pray for a Shana Tova - a happy and healthy New Year, it is very important to be more generous and to give more charity, to help the poor, the less fortunate and the needy.

The following Talmudic story is worthwhile remembering at this time of the year. 

One Rosh Hashana night, the great Talmudic Sage, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, had a dream.  He saw that his nephews would have to pay 600 golden dinars to the tax collectors. Rabbi Shimon, wanting to save them this aggravation, sent charity collectors to ask his nephews to contribute more charity than usual throughout the year.

"Why do you want us to give more charity this year than usual?" they asked.  Rabbi Shimon answered, "If one doesn't give willingly to the right things, he ends up having to give forcibly for the wrong things."

At the end of the year, a special military tax was imposed on the people of that city. Rabbi Shimon’s nephews were assessed 600 golden dinars. When they refused to pay this large amount, they were thrown in jail.

Rabbi Shimon heard what happened and ordered his nephews' records of charitable donations be brought to him. Upon calculating how much charity they gave, he realized that they were 6 dinars short of the sum of 600. "Bring me six dinars," said Rabbi Shimon, "and with G-d's help, everything will be good."

"But they want 600 dinars!  What goodwill six dinars do?" Rabbi Shimon urged them to do as he said.

With the six dinars in his hand, he went to the tax collector and succeeded in persuading him to take the six dinars and free his nephews. Only then did Rabbi Shimon tell his relatives of his Rosh Hashana dream.  "Had you given the full 600 dinars for charity, you wouldn't have had to go through all this misery," Rabbi Shimon told them.

"If you knew this all along, why didn't you tell us your dream at the beginning of the year?  We would have gladly given the 600 dinars for charity to save us from the tax!"

Rabbi Shimon replied, "One should perform a mitzvah for G-d’s sake and not for selfish reasons. Had I told you about my dream at the beginning of the year, all the charity you gave during the year would have been for selfish reasons. By not knowing the dream, you performed the mitzvah of charity to its fullest."

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

& SHANA TOVA – A HAPPY HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

B"H

Friday, Elul 13 5782 / September 9, 2022

This week’s Parsha is Ki Teitzei - the sixth Parsha in the Book of Deuteronomy.  In this Parsha we find more mitzvot than in any other Parsha of the Torah (74 of the 613 mitzvot). 

The 613 mitzvot of the Torah fall into two categories: 1) Mitzvot between one person and another.

 2) Mitzvot which are between us and G-d. 

Most of the mitzvot in this Parsha concern behavior between people.  The fact that this Parsha is always read in the month of Elul, when we prepare for the New Year, teaches us that to prepare for the New Year, we must be especially careful how we behave toward our fellow.

One of the mitzvot in the Parsha is to refrain from "Lashon Hara," derogatory talk about others.  The Torah states, "When you go out in battle against your enemies, you shall keep away from every evil thing (Deut. 23:10)."  In the Torah, there are no vowels. In this case, the two Hebrew words, "Davar Ra" can also be read as "Dibur Ra," which means, you shall keep away from "speaking evil."

Later in the Parsha, the Torah repeats this message.  “Remember what the L-rd your G-d did to Miriam on the way when you came forth from Egypt." Miriam spoke to Aaron about their brother Moshe.  Although Miriam didn't mean any harm, yet, because she spoke about him in a derogatory way, she was punished.  This further reminds us that gossiping and speaking evil about others is a sin.

The Talmud says that Rabbi Alexandrai would announce, "Who wants life? Who wants life?"  Everyone would gather and reply, "We want life.  Give us life!"  

Rabbi Alexandrai would then recite the verse in Psalms 34: "Who is the man who desires life and who loves days of seeing only good? Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceitfully."

In Proverbs, King Solomon, the wisest of all people, gives the following advice, "Whoever watches his mouth and tongue, protects himself from troubles."

Honoring a commitment is also in this Parsha. We are also commanded to honor our charitable commitments. The Torah says, "When you shall make a vow unto the L-rd your G-d you shall not be slack to pay it... That which has gone out of your lips you shall observe and do." 

A collector for a worthwhile cause made an appeal in the synagogue on Shabbat.  The people pledged generously.  However, after Shabbat, no one came to pay the pledges. 

The following Shabbat he said to the congregation, "I see that when the Torah passes by, you stretch forth your hands and kiss it.  But when it comes to giving charity, you pledge with your mouth.  You have it all wrong!  You should kiss the Torah with your mouth and give charity with your hands!"

SHABBAT SHALOM & A HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR

Montreal candle lighting time: 6:58 / Shabbat ends: 8:00 

B"H

Monday, Elul 16 5782 / September 12, 2022

From Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur, we recite four special passages during the Amidah prayers, asking G-d to inscribe us in the Book of Life. 

In the first passage we say, "Remember us for life...inscribe us in the Book of Life"; The second passage is, "Who is like You merciful Father, who in compassion remembers His creatures for life."; The third passage is, "Inscribe all the children of Your covenant for a good life." 

In the fourth passage we pray to be inscribed, "In the Book of Life, blessing, peace and prosperity, deliverance, consolation and favorable decrees."  We begin by asking for the very basic, life; after we ask for everything else, blessings, peace, prosperity etc. 

In the world we live in today, many are, unfortunately, more occupied with pursuing wealth than with health. In the hustle bustle of day-to-day life our priorities may become distorted, and we tend to forget to appreciate and be thankful for the miracle called LIFE, which G-d grants us every second of every day.

In the Modim prayer, recited three times daily, we thank G-d, "For our lives which are in your hand, and for our souls which are entrusted to You, for your miracles which are with us daily." In the New Year we are reminded of our priorities - to be inscribed in the Book of Life.

A chassid once came to his rebbe complaining that he had a bad year financially. The rebbe asked him, "How is your health and the health of your family?" The chassid replied that health was, thank G-d, good.  The rebbe then quoted the words of the Talmud, "He Who gives life will surely give sustenance!"

The rebbe explained it with a parable, "A wealthy businessman was traveling home from the fair. He had with him a large sum of money. The return home was long and he stopped at an inn for Shabbat. As it is not permitted to carry money on Shabbat, the businessman had no choice but to give his wallet, which contained 5,000 rubles plus 5 kopikes (pennies), to the innkeeper for safekeeping until after Shabbat. 

"During Shabbat the businessman was worried whether the innkeeper was trustworthy and will he ever see his money again. Immediately after Shabbat he asked for his wallet which the innkeeper returned. The merchant went back to his room to count the money and found all 5,000 rubles intact. 

The rebbe now turned to his chassid and asked, "Do you think that after realizing that the innkeeper returned the 5000 rubles, would the businessman still be worried whether the five pennies-kopikes were also returned? Only a fool would suspect the innkeeper in not giving back the five kopikes when he was trustworthy with 5000 rubles!"

"G-d gave you and your family life which is worth far more than anything else in the world. If you have true faith that life and health comes from G-d, you should also have faith that He will provide you with your livelihood as well. Our sages say, “He Who gives life will surely give sustenance!"

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY & SHANA TOVA