B"H
Friday, Menachem Av 17, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / August 4, 2023
This week’s Parsha, Aikev, records Moshe's words of guidance to the Jewish people before his death.
Moshe reminds the people that if they keep G-d’s commandments, G-d will fulfill His promises to them. He also tells them that all their trials and tribulations, during their forty years in the desert, were likened to a father reprimanding his son when he goes astray. It is out of G-d’s love that He does whatever necessary to make them go in the right path so that they would observe His commandments.
Moshe says to them, “Now Israel, what does G-d, your G-d, demand of you? Only to fear G-d, your G-d; to follow all His ways; to love Him; to serve G-d with all your heart and with all your soul.”
The mitzvah of reciting the Grace-after-Meals is also found in this Parsha, “And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless the L-rd your G-d for the good land which He had given you."
Q. Moshe tells the Jewish people that loving G-d and serving Him with all your heart and soul and performing all the commandments is easy. How so?
A.It all depends how we look at it. Our sages tell us that Torah and mitzvot are like gold and diamonds. If we have that attitude, then the more mitzvot we observe, the more we benefit and the wealthier we become spiritually.
Our sages teach us in Pirkei Avot: “The Holy One blessed be He, wished to make the people of Israel meritorious; therefore, He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance.”
Two people were walking on the road on a very hot day, each carrying a heavy load. One is carrying rocks and the other diamonds. They were both sweating and bent over with their heavy load.
As they were walking, the one carrying the rocks saw more rocks, but he was too tired and didn’t even bother to pick them up. But when the one carrying the diamonds saw more diamonds, although his load wasn’t any lighter, he was so happy to add more and more diamonds to his load!
It is the same with Torah and mitzvot. It all depends how we view them. If we see them as rocks, then they do become heavy and burdensome. But if we value them as diamonds, then the more the better. Their value makes all the effort worthwhile.
Q. The Grace-after-Meals consists of four blessings. Who instituted these four blessings?
A. Mosheinstituted the first blessing. This was instituted when the Jewish people received the manna in the desert. Joshua established the second blessing, upon entering the Land of Israel. King David and King Solomon established the third blessing. The fourth blessing was instituted after the destruction of the Second Temple.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 8:00 / Shabbat ends: 9:08
B"H
Tuesday, Menachem Av 21, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / August 8, 2023
In this week's Parsha, Re'ay, the Torah commands us about the mitzvah of Tzedakah - charity.
"If there be among you a needy person... you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother... 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."
In essence, all 613 mitzvot are rooted and based on the concept of charity because performing any mitzvah brings positiveness, goodness, and spirituality into this world. The entire world benefits.
According to Maimonides, one should continuously visualize that the scale of good and evil in the world, and in one's life, is perfectly balanced. By performing even one mitzvah, one tips the scale to the good. Thus, every mitzvah and good act we do is a performance of charity on a global scale.
In addition to the physical act of giving to charity, we must also perform it with heart and soul. The Torah states that when helping the needy, "Your heart shall not grieve when you give to him because for this the L-rd your G-d will bless you in all your work."
In fact, our sages say, “More than what the giver does for the poor person, the receiver, does for the giver.” The reward for giving is much greater than what they gave. It’s more than just giving… It’s a great investment.
The Talmud teaches us, "Whoever gives charity to the poor is blessed with six blessings; and whoever speaks to him soothing words is blessed with eleven blessings. Thus, one who gives charity in a manner that comforts the poor person receives seventeen (6+11) blessings! This has the same numerical value as the Hebrew word, "Tov," which means "good."
"The mitzvot are compared to a candle," Proverbs states. Our sages explain: "Just a person can light many candles from one candle without diminishing any of the light from the original candle, so too, through the performance of the mitzvah of giving charity, one's wealth is not diminished. In fact, it is blessed."
Our sages tell us that the mitzvah of giving the tithes to the poor and needy is expressed in this Parsha with the words, "Aser T’Aser" which can also be read as "Aser TeAsher" which means "give tithes and you shall be wealthy." The Torah tells us that through giving tithes (charity) one will gain wealth.
The Talmud makes the following analogy about charity. Two sheep were crossing the river. One was sheared and the other not. The one full of wool mocked the sheared one for allowing herself to be sheared. But as they went deeper into the water, its wool absorbed the water, and it drowned. The one who was sheared made it across safely. So too, says the Talmud, "Whoever gives of their money to charity will make it across safely and be saved in this world and in the World-to-Come. "
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Wednesday, Menachem Av 22, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / August 9, 2023
As mentioned yesterday, one of the mitzvot in this week’s Parsha, Re’ay, is about Tzedakah (charity). “You shall surely give him. And your heart shall not grieve when you give him; because for this the L-rd your G-d shall bless you in all your works and in all that you put your hand to.”
The Talmud tells the following story: A Roman general asked Rabbi Akiva, "If your G-d loves poor people, why doesn't He feed them Himself? Why does he leave their care in the hands of others?"
Rabbi Akiva replied, "Because G-d wants to give us the opportunity to perform the mitzvah of Tzedakah-charity, for this mitzvah will save us from punishment in the World-to-Come."
"Just the opposite!” exclaimed the general. “Helping the poor will bring you punishment in the World-to-Come. I will explain this with the following parable, When the king is angry at his servants, he throws them in jail. Surely anyone who is kind to them will be punished by the king. The same goes for G-d. If He punished someone to be poor, for sure one who shows them kindness will be punished."
"Your analogy is wrong," replied Rabbi Akiva. "I will give you a different example. The king's son sinned against his father. In punishment, his father, the king, threw him in jail. Then a person had pity on him and was kind to him. Do you think that the king will be angry? Surely the king is happy that someone took pity on his son. The same is with helping the poor,” said Rabbi Akiva. “When we help them, we are helping G-d's children, and this invokes G-d's love and mercy upon us.”
Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Pshischa said it is not enough to give only because you pity the poor person. You should also give because it is a mitzvah to give – because we are commanded to give.
When a poor person came to him for alms, Rabbi Bunim would give him twice. When he was once asked by a poor man why he gave him twice, he replied, “When you approached me for a donation, I gave you out of pity. I felt terrible for you and gave it so that I would feel better. It was selfish. The second time I gave was to fulfill G-d’s mitzvah of giving charity!”
The Parsha continues, “For the poor shall never cease from the land, therefore I command you, saying: You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and to your needy, in your land.”
Q. Why does the Torah preface helping the poor, with, “The poor shall never cease from the land.”
A. Trying to impress upon the wealthy people of the town to be generous and help the poor, a rabbi said, “It is for your own benefit that you should support the poor. For if you don’t feed the poor; or if you refuse to give them clothing and heating in the winter, and, if G-d forbid, they starve or freeze to death, some of you will have to become poor and take their place, because the Torah says, “For the poor shall never cease from the land...”
The mitzvah of Tzedakah hastens the coming of Moshiach. May it be speedily in our days, Amen.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY
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
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