B"H
Tuesday, Iyar 27, 5784 / June 4, 2024 (42nd day of the Omer)
Mazal Tov. I’m writing this Torah Fax from New York, where we celebrated our grandson’s engagement last night. May G-d bless us all to continue celebrating simchas in good health and happiness.
This past Shabbat we blessed the New Hebrew month, Sivan. Rosh Chodesh is Thursday night & Friday. The holiday of Shavuot, when we celebrate receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, will be next week, Tuesday night & Wednesday. In the Diaspora, where we celebrate two days holiday, it will also be celebrated Wednesday night and Thursday.
Sivanis a special month because G-d brought the Jewish people to Mount Sinai on Rosh Chodesh Sivan and gave us the Torah six days later. In the Torah, the month of Sivan is called, “The third month.” In the Torah the months are counted by numbers. The first month is the month of Nissan, thus the third month is the month of Sivan. The names of the months, as we know them today, were assigned after the writing of the Torah.
This week’s Parsha, Bamidbar, which begins the fourth book of the Torah, the book of Numbers, is always read on the Shabbat before the Shavuot holiday.
The last verse of last week’s Parsha is: “These are the mitzvot which G-d commanded Moshe for the Children of Israel (Jewish people) at Mount Sinai.” This week’s Parsha. Bamidbar, begins, “And G-d spoke to Moshe in the desert of Sinai… Count the congregation of the Children of Israel… From twenty years and up, all that are able to go to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall count them.” G-d commands Moshe that the heads of each of the twelve tribes should be with them for the counting.
Q.Our sages teach us that the Torah readings of the Shabbat before a holiday have special lesson for the holiday which takes place that week. Why is the counting of the Jewish people so important that we read it before Shavuot?
A. The purpose for counting the Jewish people was to show G-d’s love for His people. G-d wanted to demonstrate that each and every Jew is important to Him. An object which has great value and importance is checked and counted by the owner from time to time. So too, this counting of the Jewish people, which is the third count of the people in just over one year, was to display G-d’s love for them. It is for this very reason, G-d’s love for us, that He gave us the Torah.
Q.Why did G-d want Moshe and Aaron and the heads of the Tribes to perform the counting? Anyone could have done the counting, why bother the leaders of the people to it?
A. This too brings out the above point that the counting was to express G-d’s love for them and to show the importance of every Jew. G-d wanted to show that it was not just a count for the sake of knowing their numbers. G-d didn’t need a counting for that. It was to point out to them and to everyone the extent of G-d’s love for them, for this reason G-d wanted Moshe and Aaron and the leaders to be involved.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND VERY SUCCESSFUL DAY
UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.
B"H
Friday, Iyar 23, 5784 / May 31, 2024 (38th day of the Omer)
With this week’s Parsha, Bechukotei, we conclude the Third Book of the Torah. This Shabbat we bless the New Hebrew month, Sivan, the month in which we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot - the holiday when we received the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Last week we recited the fourth chapter of Pirkei Avot. One of the lessons our sages teach us there is by the Talmudic sage Ben Zoma: “Who is wise? Who learns from everyone. Who is strong? Who subdues his evil inclination. Who is rich? Who is happy with his lot. Who is honorable? Who honors others.”
“Who is rich? He, who is happy with his lot.”A poor man found a wallet with 1,000 rubles. The following day he heard that Yossel the banker lost his wallet with 1000 rubles and promised a hefty reward of fifty rubles to the one who returns it. He quickly went to the banker’s house, knocked on the door and when Yossel opened the door he handed him his wallet with the 1000 rubles.
Yossel took the wallet, counted the money, and then said, “I see you already took your reward! There was one thousand and fifty rubles in the wallet and there is only 1000 there now.
“But that’s not true,” protested the poor man. There were only 1000 rubles there. You owe me the reward. The two men argued and, in the end, decided to go to the rabbi to settle the case.
The poor man claimed that there was 1000 rubles in the wallet and he was owed the 50 rubles reward for returning the wallet. But Yossel, the banker, said that there were 1050 rubles in the wallet and that he didn’t owe him anything. “Rabbi, I trust you believe me,” the rich man added.
“Sure, I believe you,” replied the rabbi. Now the rich man was full of smiles and the poor man was devastated. But then the rabbi took the wallet and gave it to the poor man. “It’s yours. You keep it!”
“What are you doing,” protested the rich man angrily. “You don’t believe me, rabbi?”
“Sure, I believe you that you had 1050 rubles in your wallet. However, I have to believe that the poor man who returned the wallet, is also an honest person. If he was a thief he would have taken all the money for himself. Now that I know that you are both honest people, I have to believe that the wallet in question is not the one you lost. Thus, until the rightful owner is found, the wallet stays with him. You will just have to wait until someone who finds a wallet with 1050 rubles comes forward…”
How true are the words of our sages, “Who is rich? He who is happy with his lot.” It is the key to riches and the key to true happiness. When we become too greedy, we sometimes outsmart ourselves and lose even what rightfully belongs to us. May we be blessed with true happiness. Amen.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 8:17 / Shabbat ends: 9:33
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.
B"H
Thursday, Iyar 22, 5784 / May 30, 2024 (37th day of the Omer)
This Shabbat we read Parshat B’chukotei - the last Parsha in the Book of Vayikra (Leviticus).
The Parsha begins, "If in My statutes you will walk, and My commandments you will keep, then I will give you rain in the right time, the Land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will produce fruit... you shall eat your bread with satiety and dwell in safety in your Land. And I will give peace in the Land, and you shall lie down and no one shall make you afraid... You will chase away your enemies and they will fall by their own swords… I will place My dwelling in your midst… I will walk among you.I will be your G-d and you will be My people!”
G-d promises the Jewish people that if they observe the commandments, they will merit His many blessings. Later the Parsha details the many sufferings which the Jewish people will experience if, G-d forbid, they do not obey the commandments.
The blessings are contained in 10 verses and the punishments in over 25 verses. Yet in reality, the blessings outnumber the curses because they are general blessings in which many more blessings are included.
The purpose of mentioning the punishments is to impress upon us the importance of obeying the mitzvot. The blessings are mentioned because G-d wants to bless us, but the punishments are mentioned so we can avoid them, because G-d does not want to bring them upon us.
G-d says, "And I will walk among you, and I will be your G-d and you shall be My people." This is indeed a special blessing to recognize that G-d walks among us at all times.
The following tale explains it beautifully and is worthwhile giving some thought when we go through difficult periods in life, which we all go through one time or another.
A person, who through his lifetime experienced very difficult periods, finally returned his soul to its maker. In heaven he was shown a replay of his entire life. He was shown all the steps he took throughout his life; where he went and what he did. To his amazement he saw four footsteps, instead of only two. “But I have only two feet? Why do I see four footsteps?” he asked the angel.
“Two are yours and two are G-d’s. He walked with you wherever you went!” replied the angel.
“But why, as I watch the very difficult times in my life and the difficult steps I went through, I see only two footsteps? Where was G-d then?”
The angel looked at him and smiled, “You’re mistaken. The two footsteps you see during your difficult journeys through life are not yours! They are G-d’s footsteps! During those times G-d carried you!”
A powerful message indeed!
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND VERY SUCCESSFUL DAY
UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.
B"H
Tuesday, Iyar 20, 5784 / May 28, 2024 (35th day of the Omer)
This Shabbat we will recite the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot. In the beginning of the chapter our sages tell us that the world and everything within it were created by the Ten Divine Sayings which are recorded in the beginning of the Torah – in Book of Genesis.
Also, the number of Commandments on the Two Tablets which G-d gave to Moshe at Mount Sinai were, Ten. Our sages explain the connection: Through the observance of the Ten Commandments, which include all the commandments, we sustain the world. This way we become partners with G-d in creation.
The Talmudic sage Rabbi Chanania ben Akashia said, "The Holy One blessed be He wished to confer merit upon Israel, therefore He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance." Thus, all the mitzvot of the Torah were given for our benefit in order to "confer merit" upon Israel.
The Midrash states that the Torah was the "blueprint" by which G-d created the world. Just as an architect builds according to a pre-written plan, so too, G-d created the universe according to Torah.
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, compiler of Pirkei Avot cautions us, "Be as careful in the performance of a seemingly minor mitzvah as of a major one, for you do not know the reward given for the mitzvot." Being the "blueprint" of creation, each mitzvah is very significant.
Rabbi Yaakov, the Magid of Dubna, explains this with a wonderful parable. An architect visited another country and saw a most beautiful palace. He decided to build the same palace for his king. He found the plans of the palace and copied it in great detail on a small piece of paper.
When he came back home, he asked someone to make an enlarged but accurate copy of his blueprint. The person worked diligently and when he was finished, he proudly showed the architect his drawing, expecting a handsome reward.
When the architect carefully studied the copy, he shouted, "You missed one dot which was in the original. Why did you leave out the dot?" The man, not understanding why the architect was so upset, replied, "It was only a small dot, I didn't think it was that important."
The architect replied, "The blueprint that you copied was drawn at a greatly reduced scale. The small dot represents one of the pillars which support the entire upper floor of the palace. If this pillar is not in place, the whole building will collapse! It may look like a dot, but it is essential to support the entire structure!" The same, says the Magid, is with the mitzvot. What we may think is a "minor mitzvah," may be the very pillar which has a major effect on the upkeep of the entire universe!
Modern day example: Just try sending an e-mail without the little dot in the address… Some mitzvot may seem to us minor, but like the seemingly minor dot, they make a major difference!
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.
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