B"H
Tuesday, Shevat 16, 5776 / January 26, 2016
This week’s Parsha, Yitro, is the fifth Parsha in the Book of Exodus (Shmot). In this Parsha we read about the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Yitro was Moshe’s father-in-law. He was the priest of Midyan. When he heard of the miracles which G-d performed for the Jewish people, he decided to join them. The Torah tells us that he also brought with him Moshe’s wife, Tziporah, and Moshe’s two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish people seven weeks after the Exodus and six weeks after the splitting of the sea. During these six weeks, they witnessed the following major miracles:
1. When they stopped in Mara, they couldn’t find water fit for drinking, for the water there was “bitter.” G-d told Moshe to throw a branch into the water and the water miraculously became sweet.
2. Exactly one month after the Exodus, their food supply, which they brought with them when they left Egypt, was finished. For the next forty years, G-d gave them manna from heaven. Every day (except Shabbat), the manna came down and they would go out and collect their daily supply.
3. Then they came to Refidim and had no water to drink. G-d told Moshe to take his staff and strike a certain rock. Moshe did so and water came flowing from the stone. This rock traveled with them throughout their forty years in the desert and supplied them with all the water they needed.
4. While still in Refidim, Amalek waged war against the Jewish people. Moshe sent his faithful servant and student, Yehoshua (Joshua), to fight the Amalekites. While Yehoshua and his men fought the physical battle, Moshe helped them, through his prayers, to win the battle.
G-d wanted to demonstrate to the Jewish people an eternal lesson, that He is the One Who sustains them. Thus, dedicating time for Torah study each day will not diminish from their material needs.
Q. The Torah tells us that when Moshe went to Egypt to command Pharaoh to let the people go, he took his wife and children with him. Where were they all this time?
A. On his way to Egypt Moshe met up with his brother Aaron, whom he didn’t see for many years, since the time Moshe escaped from Egypt. He introduced his wife, Tziporah, and children to Aaron.
Aaron wasn’t pleased. “We are trying to get our brethren, who are already in Egypt out of there and you’re bringing your family into Egypt?”
Moshe realized that Aaron was right. He sent his wife and children back to her father, Yitro, while he continued on with Aaron to perform their G-dly mission to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt. Now, it was Yitro’s turn to bring Moshe’s wife and their two children with him to Moshe.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Friday, Shevat 12, 5776 / January 22, 2016 – HAKHEL YEAR
This week’s Parsha, B’Shalach, is about one of the great miracles which G-d performed for the Jewish people after leaving Egypt - The splitting of the sea.
The water stood like a wall, while the people of Israel crossed through it. But when Pharaoh and his army chased after them into the sea, the water rushed back to its original form and they drowned.
In the Parsha we also read about the “Shira,” the song of praise, which Moshe and the Jewish men sang, after crossing the sea, praising G-d for this great miracle. Moshe’s sister, Miriam, took a tambourine and led all the women, who followed her with their tambourines and with dancing.
Q. How many days after the Exodus, did the splitting of the sea take place?
A. On the seventh day after the Exodus.
Q. Passover we celebrate the miracle of the Exodus. Is there a special celebration for the crossing of the sea?
A. The first day of Passover is a day when work is prohibited (in the Diaspora the first two days), to celebrate the miracle of the Exodus. The seventh day of Passover is again a day when work is prohibited (in the Diaspora the seventh and eight day). This is to celebrate the miracle of the splitting of the sea, which took place on the seventh day after leaving Egypt.
Q. How many people came out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus?
A. The Torah says that about 600,000 men left Egypt. This number takes into account men between the ages of 20-60. In addition, there were men younger than 20 and older than 60. There were also women and children. In total, there were a few million people who left Egypt.
Q. Did everyone come out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus?
A. Our sages say that only one fifth came out of Egypt. The other four fifths didn’t want to leave Egypt. G-d punished them and they died during the plague of darkness and were buried then. The reason G-d punished them during the plague of darkness was so that the Egyptians should not witness it.
Q. Why did Pharaoh chase after them after he himself chased them out of Egypt?
A. Originally, Moshe and Aaron asked Pharaoh to let the people go for three days, in order to pray and serve G-d in the desert. Pharaoh was sure that after three days they would return. But when he realized that they were not coming back, he chased after them.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montrealcandle lighting time: 4:28 / Shabbat ends: 5:36
B"H
Thursday, Shevat 11, 5776 / January 21, 2016 – HAKHEL YEAR
This Shabbat is a special Shabbat – called Shabbat Shira – Shabbat of song. We read from the Torah Parshat B’Shalach, which tells about the miracle of the crossing of the sea, and the Shira– the songwhich the Jewish people sang praising G-d after their crossing, when they looked back and saw that the Egyptians, who were chasing after them, all drowned.
Although the Exodus from Egypt took place a week earlier, they were not completely free. In fact, when they saw the Egyptians chasing after them, they said, “Let’s go back to Egypt instead of dying in the desert.” Only after crossing the sea, did they realize that they were trulyfree.
Because of the reading of the Shira, this Shabbat is called, “Shabbat Shira” – “Shabbat of Song.” The congregation stands for the reading of the Shira.
As mentioned yesterday, in this Parsha, the Torah also relates how G-d provided the Jewish people each day with manna - bread from heaven. Jews went out and collected their portion of manna each day. On Friday G-d sent a double portion because on Shabbat the manna didn’t come down.
In commemoration of the double portion of manna which came in honor of Shabbat, we place two chalot (breads) for each of the Shabbat meals.
Q. Why didn’t G-d send enough manna for an entire week or month all at once? Why did G-d want them to to go out and collect the manna each day?
A. The Talmudic sage, Rabbi Shimon explained it to his students with the following parable: A king had a son whom he loved dearly and provided him with all his needs. At the start of the year, the king would give his son all that he would need for the entire year. The first few years, the son would visit his father very often, but as time went on, the son began visiting his father less and less, until he ended up visiting only once a year when he came to collect his yearly allowance.
The king wasn't happy with his son's lack of visitations and he decided to provide food for his son, one day at a time. From that day on, the son appeared before his father each day!
"The same happened with the people of Israel," explained Rabbi Shimon. "By having to depend upon G-d for their sustenance each day, the Jewish people were compelled to look skywards, to connect and direct their hearts to their Father in Heaven on a daily basis!"
Rabbi Shimon teaches us a wonderful lesson. The fact that G-d doesn't give us our needs all at once, may be a sign of His great love toward us. He wants to see us each day. He wants us to pray each day for His help, thus presenting ourselves before Him and reinforcing our relationship with Him every day.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Tuesday, Shevat 9, 5776 / January 19, 2016 – HAKHEL YEAR
In this week’s Parsha, B’Shalach, we find one of the amazing miracles which G-d performed for the Jewish people, after librating them from their Egyptian bondage. It was the miracle of the manna - the heavenly food, which descended each day, except Shabbat, from heaven.
The heavenly manna began exactly one month after the Exodus and was to be their daily food for a period of forty years. It stopped one month before they entered into Israel.
Q. What did they eat during that month – from the Exodus until the manna came?
A. They had the left-over matzah, which they ate the night before the Exodus. They also had the dough which they took out of Egypt, which baked from the heat of the sun, as told in the Torah.
Q. Why was the “bread from heaven” called, “manna?”
A. The Torah says that when they first saw the heavenly bread, the people asked each other, “mann hu,” “what is it.” The name “manna” is from the words “mann hu” – what is it.
Q. Before eating bread we recite the blessing, “Hamotzi lechem min haaretz.” We thank G-d for bringing forth bread from the earth. What blessing did they make on bread which came from heaven?
A. “Hamotzi lechem min hashamayim” - “for bringing forth bread from heaven.”
Q. The Jewish people witnessed so many great miracles, How is it possible that they rebelled and complained time after time during their 40 years in the desert?
A. When one lives in an environment of constant miracles, after a while one starts taking the miracles for granted, seeing them as a natural phenomenon. Jews were so used to miracles that they took them for granted. Even the daily manna from heaven became natural to them and they stopped seeing the miracle in it.
There is a lesson in this for each of us. We all experience miracles one time or another. There are times when we are in dire need of a miracle and pray to G-d. At that time we are ready to do anything for Him. Yet, too often, after the miracle occurs and we are helped, we tend to forget that it is G-d who came through, we take it for granted and forget that we owe Him. We must always remember that in truth we owe G-d much more than we are willing to admit. Our sages remind us that we owe G-d thanks for every breath we take! If we do the math correctly, we realize that G-d does so much for us. We really do owe Him!
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
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In loving memory of Harry Cons- Tzvi ben Betzalel HaLevi - Yartzeit was Sunday, 7th of Shevat.
May his memory be a blessing. May his soul have an Aliya and rest in peace in Gan Eden.
From the family
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