B"H

Monday, Tammuz 9, 5784 / July 15, 2024

Antisemitism began over 3,000 years ago, when G-d chose the Jewish people as His nation and proclaimed at Mount Sinai, “You shall be unto me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” The first one to wage war against the Jewish people, for no reason, was Amalek, as told in the Book of Exodus. This hatred against the Jewish people continued for the past 3000 years, in one form or another, until this very day as we have all experienced in the past year in Israel and globally.

This week’s Parsha, Balak, begins with the story of Balak, King of Moab, who sent for Bila’am to come and curse the Jewish people so that he could erase them from the face of the earth. 

Bila’am, who hated the Jewish people, even more than Balak and tempted by Balak's promises of wealth and honor, wanted to curse the Jewish people.  However, in a dream, he was warned many times by

G-d, not to curse them. G-d warned him to not even to bless them, “as they are already blessed.” The blessing of an enemy may be as bad as their curse.

In the end G-d placed words of blessing in Bila’am's mouth and each time he wanted to curse them, he ended up praising and blessing them. These were purely G-d’s blessings.

Although Balak took Bila’am to different places from where he could see the Jewish tents and dwelling places, so that he could find fault with Israel, which would give him an opening to curse them, G-d made sure that he saw only good, which resulted in blessings.

The following passage of Bila’am's praise for the Jewish people, as he viewed them from a mountain overlooking their encampment, is recited each day in our morning prayers, “How good are your tents Jacob; Your dwelling places Israel."

Many of our sages have always tried to find the good in another person. They were able to look beyond the person's external negative acts and see into the essence of the Jew's Neshama-soul.  As a result, rather than judging their brethren for their shortcomings as acts of sin, they were able to find the good and positive hidden within that act or the conditions in which they were performed.

The story is told of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Barditchev, who once saw a Jewish coachman, wrapped in Talit and Tefillin, in the middle of prayer, greasing the wheels of his carriage in preparation for a trip.

Someone else would have scolded the man for his lack of respect for his prayers. But Rabbi Levi Yitzchak lifted his eyes upward and exclaimed, "G-d, see what a great nation you have, this Jew, even when greasing the wheels of his coach, cannot refrain from praying to You!"

Our sages teach us in Pirkei Avot, “Always judge your fellow favorably.” Even when on the surface it seems that their act is not good, we should try and find the good in everyone. Judging others favorably causes G-d to judge us favorably too.  How we act towards others is how G-d acts toward us,

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.

B"H

Friday, Tammuz 6, 5784 / July 12, 2024

In this week’s Parsha, Chukat, we read about the passing of two of the greatest leaders of Israel: Moshe’s sister Miriamand her brother Aaron, the High Priest.  They both passed away in the same year, the 40thyear after the Exodus.  Miriam passed away on the 10^th of Nissan; Aaron passed away close to five months later, on Rosh Chodesh Av.  Moshe passed away less than a year after Miriam, on the 7^th of Adar and is  recorded at the very end of the Torah.

As leaders of the people of Israel, Miriam, Aaron and Moshe contributed not only to the spiritual welfare of the Jewish people, but also to their physical welfare.  

Q.  What was their contributions to the welfare of the Jewish people during their travels in the desert?

A.   Throughout the 40 years which the Jewish people were in the desert, a wellwas imbedded in a rock, which traveled with them and supplied the Jewish camp withall the water they needed.  When Miriam died, the well became dry.  In Aaron’s merit, Jews were surrounded with “clouds of glory,” which protected them from the elements and from enemy danger.  With Aaron’s death the clouds were gone. In Moshe’s merit they had their daily manna from heaven for forty years.

Q.    From where did they get their water supply after Miriam passed away?

A.   After Miriam’s passing the Jewish people complained that they had no water. G-d told Moshe to take his staff and together with Aaron speak to the rock and it will give water.  However, instead of speaking to the stone, Moshe hit the rock twice.  The rock began flowing water again, but not obeying G-d’s commandment precisely by hitting the rock, it was considered a sin and as a result, Moshe and Aaron were punished and barred entry into the Promised Land.

Q.    Why was the water supply for the Jewish people given in the merit of Miriam?

A.    G-d rewards measure for measure.When Moshe’s mother placed him in a basket at the river’s edge, 120 years earlier, due to Pharaoh’s decree to drown all Jewish males, Miriam stood by the river to watch over her brother.  Miriam made sure that Moshe was protected.  Because of her dedication to Moshe at the river, G-d rewarded her that the supply of water to the Jewish nation was in her special merit.

Also, Miriam had a special feeling and sensitivity for the young.  While still in Egypt, under the threat of grave punishment, she devoted herself to taking care of and saving Jewish babies who were born under Pharaoh's death decree.  Although Miriam was a prophetess and attained a very high spiritual level, yet she "lowered" herself and was devoted to bringing happiness and life to the "small" children.  Thus, in her merit, G-d gave "water", which, just like Miriam, has the nature and quality of descending from on high to the lowest levels.

SHABBAT SHALOM

Montreal candle-lighting time: 8:23 / Shabbat ends: 9:37

UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.

B"H

Monday, Tammuz 2, 5784 / July 8, 2024

This Shabbat we will read Parshat Chukat.  The Parsha begins with the words, "Zot ChukatHaTorah",  "This is the statuteof the Torah."

The 613 mitzvot fall into one of three categories: Eidut, Mishpatim,Chukim.  Those in the Eidut and Mishpatim category are logicalmitzvot. One can comprehend the reason behind these mitzvot.

The mitzvot in the category of Chukim(statutes) are those which have no logical reason. These are mitzvot which we humans cannot understand the reasons behind them. G-d commanded us to observe them, without giving us any reason for them. When we perform these mitzvot, we put aside our own logic and we observe them purely because it is G-d’s will.

This week's Torah portion begins with the mitzvah of Para Adumah- "Red Heifer." It is one of the mitzvot in the category of Chukim, as the name of the Parsha, Chukat, indicates.

The Torah tells us that when someone comes in contact with a dead body, they become "Tamei" - "spiritually impure".  To become spiritually clean again, the Torah commands that Elazar HaKohen, son of Aaron the High Priest, sprinkle on the person water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer.  The Torah details the entire process of preparing the red heifer and how the purification process is performed.

What is special about this mitzvah is that when performing the sprinkling process, the person who was unclean becomes clean, while the Kohen, who performed the purification process, becomes impure! 

According to our sages, this is one reason why the mitzvah of "Para Adumah" is called "Chukah" - a mitzvah with no rational explanation to it.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory, whose 30th yartzeit is tomorrow, the third of Tammuz, explains that although we can't comprehend the logic of this mitzvah, as the Torah didn’t give us the reason for it, we canlearn a very important lesson from it. 

The fact that the Torah commands the Kohen (priest) to personally help this individual, even at the cost of temporarily becoming impure himself and being unable to enter the Holy Temple, teaches us that we have to be ready to make personal sacrifices to help another Jew come closer to G-d. We cannot pass the responsibility unto others. Each of us usually comes in contact with people on a daily basis. If we can assist them in coming closer to G-d, in their spiritual purification, through Torah and mitzvot, it is ourduty to do so, even when it means sacrificingof our time, effort and even some of our spirituality.

Note:I will be visiting & praying at the Rebbe’s OHEL (gravesite) tomorrow on his Yartzeit. If you want me to pray for you and your family for good health, healing, success etc. please e-mail me the Hebrew names and mother’s Hebrew name and I will mention them. May ALL our prayers be fulfilled. Amen.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.