B"H

Monday, Sivan 21, 5778 / June 4, 2018

At the end of Parshat Beha'alotcha, which we read this past Shabbat, the Torah tells us, “The man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.”

Q.Moshe attained the highest spiritual level any human achieved. In many ways Moshe was even greater than the angels. How can we explain rationally the fact that Moshe was the most humble person on the face of the earth? Why did he feel so humble?

A. There is a saying in the Talmud, “Whoever has one hundred wants two hundred; whoever has two hundred, desires four hundred, etc.” The more one possesses, the more one desires. In other words, the more one has the more they feel they are missing. This is especially true with spirituality.

It is precisely for this reason that Moshe was so humble. Moshe attained the highest spiritual level and the highest level of Torah knowledge, more than any other human being. From his vantage point he realized that there was so much more beyond his reach. Thus, he felt he was missing much more than anyone else. This made him the most humble person on the face of the earth. 

In many synagogues there is a sign, “Da lifnei mi ata omed” – “Know before whom you are standing.” The reason for this is that prayer must be with humility. We shouldn’t come before G-d saying, “You owe me. I deserve that you fulfill my requests.” We should pray with humility; that G-d answer our prayers out of His infinite kindness, even though we may not deserve. Realizing before whom we are standing in prayer, helps us feel humble. The more we focus on G-d’s greatness, the more we realize our own shortcomings. This helps us pray with humility.

It was the same with Moshe. His knowledge of G-d’s greatness surpassed that of any other human being. Thus, he realized that with all his great virtues, he was so insignificant in the presence of G-d. As a result he was the most humble person upon the face of the earth.

Also, Moshe felt that his qualities were a gift from G-d. It was not his achievement, only that G-d chose him to lead the Jewish people. Moshe thought, had G-d chosen anyone else for this role, they would have surpassed his accomplishments. Thus, he was the most humble person.

A poor man once came upon a tremendous treasure of the most expensive diamonds buried in the ground. Afraid of being seen, he quickly stuffed his pockets with as many diamonds as he could. When his family saw the treasure, they were all jumping with excitement… But he was very sad. When asked why he was so sad, he replied, “You’re happy because this is all you see, but I know that compared to what I left behind, what I took is so insignificant. The same was with Moshe. Realizing how much was beyond him which he couldn’t attain, it made him feel very humble.      

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

Thursday, Sivan 24, 5778 / June 7, 2018

This week’s Parsha, Shelach, begins with the story of the “Meraglim” – the twelve scouts whom Moshe, upon the insistence of the Jewish people, sent to check out and explore the Promised Land.

Although G-d told them that the land flows with milk and honey and that they will inherit it, the Jewish people still had their doubts.  They wanted human confirmation that the land was indeed as good as G-d promised and that they will be able to conquer it.

For 40 days, the scouts traveled the land. In the end, ten of the twelve returned with a negative report.  The Torah says, "And they spread an evil report about the land which they had spied, saying, 'The land which we have spied is a land which eats up its inhabitants.'"  Only Yehoshua (Joshua) and Calev gave a good report, encouraging everyone to go ahead to the Promised Land.

Unfortunately, as a result of the spies' negative report, the Jewish people refused to continue to the Promised Land. The Torah tells us that, "They cried that night," wanting to return to Egypt. 

In punishment for their lack of faith in G-d, every male over the age of twenty (except the Levites, Joshua, Kalev, and the women) were barred from entering into Israel. Instead, the Jewish people spent the next 38 years in the desert. In total, they spent 40 years in the desert - a year for each day the spies scouted the Land.

As mentioned yesterday, the Parsha ends with the mitzvah of Tzitzit.  Tzitzit are the fringes which hang on the four corners of the Tallit (prayer shawl). The Torah explains the purpose of this mitzvah, "So that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments and observe them..." 

When we look at each of the four Tzitzit we see 8 strings and 5 knots. The numerical value of the Hebrew word Tzitzit (90+10+90+10+400) is 600. Together with the 8 strings and 5 knots it adds up to 613.  This is how, by looking at the Tzitzit, we remember (to perform) all the 613 mitzvot.

Also, the number of times that the longer Tzitzah is wound around the other strings totals 39 (7+8+11+13=39).  This number is the same numerical value as the two Hebrew words, “Hashem Echad,” (“G-d is One”) in the Shema. Thus, the mitzvah of Tzitzit reminds us also of the omnipresence of G-d – that everything in the world is by Divine Providence.

Q.Why is the mitzvah of Tzitzit recorded at the end of this Parsha, which tells the story of the spies?

A.Had the Jewish people remembered that everything is by Divine Providence, they would have avoided enduring the hardships of their forty years in the desert.

The mitzvah of Tzitzit reminds us that obstacles which we think stand in the way of observing G-d’s mitzvot are only obstacle illusions!

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Friday, Sivan 25, 5778 / June 8, 2018

This Shabbat we read Parshat Shelach, which tells the story of the twelve spies. Upon the request of the Jewish people, Moshe sent 12 spies to scout the land of Canaan, which G-d promised the people. As a result of the negative report of ten of the spies, the people refused to go to the Land. As a result of this sin, G-d decreed that all males over the age of 20 will die in the desert over the next 38 years.

Later in the Parsha the Torah tells what sacrifices to bring as atonement when the congregation or an individual commits the sin of idol worship accidentally.

In addition to the sin of the spies, we find in the Parsha another story of an individual who committed the sin of desecrating the Shabbat.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Barditchev once said to a Jew, who was non-observant, “I truly envy you.”

The Jew was shocked. “Rabbi, you know that I am a sinner. I don’t keep Shabbat, nor do I observe the holidays; I eat non-kosher foods, etc. Why would you envy me?”

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak answered, “Our sages tell us that when a person does Teshuva (repents) sincerely, out of love for G-d, all their sins are converted to mitzvot! When you will repent for all the many sins you committed during your lifetime, you will have more mitzvoth than I. For that I envy you!”

The Parsha concludes with the mitzvah of Tzitzit, which we have on our Tallit in order to remember to observe all of G-d’s mitzvot.

On the lighter side:Before the High Holidays, Mr. Goldberg took his Tallit to the same dry cleaners as he did for the past twenty years.  Not knowing that the cleaners had recently changed hands, he was a bit surprised when he was  greeted by the new owner - a recently arrived Chinese immigrant who bought the cleaners from its Jewish owner.

Noticing that the customer was a bit hesitant to leave the garment, the new owner tried his best to assure Mr. Goldberg. "I promise to do as good a job as the previous owner."

Two days later he came to pick up the Tallit and was shocked to see the bill for $25.

"Why so expensive?" gasped Mr. Goldberg.  "I gave this Tallit to clean for many years and I was charged only $5?"

"How can you compare his work to mine," replied the new owner.  "Did he spend three hours as I did, untying every knot in the garment?"

SHABBAT  SHALOM

Montreal candle lighting time: 8:23 / Shabbat ends: 9:40