Tuesday, Iyar 16, 5782 (31st day of the Omer) / May 17, 2022

B"H

Tuesday, Iyar 16, 5782 (31st day of the Omer)/ May 17, 2022

This week’s Torah reading in the Diaspora is Parshat B’har. (In Israel Parshat Bechukotei will be read). Parshat B’har begins with the mitzvah of Shemitah – The Sabbatical year. 

The Parsha begins, “G-d spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai, saying, ‘When you come to the land that I am giving you, the Land should rest a Shabbat to G-d. Six years you may sow your field and for six years you may prune your vineyard and gather its produce. But the seventh year the land shall have a complete rest - a Shabbat to G-d.’”

During the Shemitah year, the owner of the field, and everyone else were equal. Everyone had the same rights to the produce of that year. The poor and needy can help themselves to whatever is in the field.

Q.   What lesson does the mitzvah of Shemitah teach us?

A.  The Shemitah year teaches us to better understand and appreciate the needs of the poorwho don't have their own fields and must continuously rely on the mercy and generosity of others.

During the Shemitah year, when everyone is equal, the wealthier people who own fields would have a better feeling and understanding of what the poor go through all other years. This gives them a better understanding of the mitzvah of Tzedakah and the importance of helping those in need.

On an extremely cold night, the town Rabbi was collecting money to buy firewood for the poor.  He went to the home of the wealthiest man in town and knocked on his door.  The rich man opened the door and seeing the Rabbi standing there in the freezing weather, invited him into the house. But the Rabbi didn't enter. Instead, he called the owner outside and started discussing with him about communal matters. 

The rich man, who wasn’t dressed properly for the outside, soon became very cold and began shivering.  Yet the Rabbi kept on talking and ignored his repeated requests to continue their conversation inside.

Finally, the Rabbi told him the purpose of his visit, "I need money for firewood so that the poor people can stay warm in their homes in this freezing weather." 

"I will give you as much as you need!" answered the rich man.  "But please come into the house.  I'm freezing and you must be too!" The Rabbi agreed and followed the rich man into the house.

After the rich man made his generous contribution, he asked the rabbi, "Why didn't you come in when I first invited you in?" 

The Rabbi smiled and said, "I wanted you to feel the suffering of the poor and the urgency of this request.  The longer we stood outside and the more you felt the cold, the more understanding you became!" It is the same with the Sabbatical year. It gives the wealthy a better feeling for the poor.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY

Monday, Iyar 15, 5782 (30th day of the Omer) / May 16, 2022

B"H

Monday, Iyar 15, 5782 (30^th day of the Omer)/ May 16, 2022

Yesterday, the 14^th of Iyar, was Pesach Sheini.  The literal translation of Pesach Sheini is, “The second Pesach.” In the time of the Holy Temples, Pesach Sheini was an important day with practical implications.

Here is how this special day came about.  The Torah, in Numbers chapter 9, tells us that one year after the Exodus, G-d commanded the Jewish people to celebrate the holiday of Pesach - the holiday of their freedom, by offering the Korban Pesach (Pascal sacrifice).  However, there were people who were spiritually impure due to carrying the remains of Joseph to be buried in Israel and one who comes in contact with a dead body cannot partake in the sacrifice. 

The men then came to Moshe and said, "Why should we be lacking the mitzvah of sacrificing the Passover sacrifice?"  The Torah tells us that Moshe brought their case before G-d. 

G-d told Moshe, "Speak to the children of Israel saying,'If a man among you or of your future generations shall be unclean as a result of [contact with] a dead body or will be on a distant journey, they shall make the Pesach offering to the L-rd on the fourteenth day of the second month, toward evening; they shall eat it with matzah and maror (bitter herbs)." 

Thus, the fourteenth of Iyar, became the “second Pesach.” In the days of the Temple, anyone who was impure or far from the Temple at the time of Passover, was given a second chance to perform the mitzvah, one month later on the 14th of Iyar.

Today we don’t have the Temple and as a result sacrifices are forbidden, so the application of Pesach Sheini as it was then, for the purpose of bringing the Pesach sacrifice, is not applicable.

However, the spiritual idea of Pesach Sheini and the lesson it teaches is forever. Pesach Sheini teaches us that we should never say, “We missed our chance and it’s too late.”  Pesach Sheini is all about having another chance! Indeed, G-d gives us always another chance and another chance.  But it’s up to us to take advantage of it.

Another important lesson is that G-d waited for the Jewish people to come forward and request this second chance. At times, it’s up to us to make that first move to show G-d that we really want that second chance.

The story of Rabbi Akiva is the best example of this.  The Talmud tells us that until the age of 40 Rabbi Akiva was an ignorant shepherd. Only at the age of 40, with the encouragement of his wife, Rachel, did he get his chance to study Torah. He studied diligently and forty years later, Rabbi Akiva became the greatest Talmudic sage of his time, leading a Yeshiva with thousands of students!

Pesach Sheini, teaches us to never give up if we failed the first time, for G-d always gives us a second chance.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY

Friday, Iyar 12, 5782 (27th day of the Omer) / May 13, 2022

B"H

Friday, Iyar 12, 5782 (27^th day of the Omer)/ May 13, 2022

One of the timeless lessons our sages gave us is found in the Pirkei Avot (Chapters of our Fathers), which we recite every year during the summer months.  Although these lessons were recorded over fifteen hundred years ago, they are as valid and practical today as they were then. 

One of the many teachings in Pirkei Avot is the following: “Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said, ‘He who fulfills one mitzvah acquires for himself one advocate, and he who commits one transgression acquires against himself one accuser. Repentance and good deeds are like a shield against retribution.’”

Rabbi Eliezer teaches us here the importance of even one mitzvah – one good deed, and the gravity of even one sin. 

One shouldn’t say, “What’s the benefit of doing one mitzvah, when all my life I haven’t done any mitzvot? Or what is the benefit of attending synagogue one time when I don’t attend it regularly? What is the benefit of putting on Tefillin one time when I don’t do it every day?

Rabbi Eliezer tells us that we should not minimize the importance of even ONE mitzvah.  For every mitzvah we do, even a single mitzvah, we acquire for ourselves a good advocate in heaven, which can make a big difference in our favor. 

By the same token, one shouldn’t say, “If I have done so many mitzvot what harm can it be if I commit only one sin?  Here too, tells us Rabbi Eliezer that even one sin can create an accuser in heaven who works against us.

Our sages say that the proper way to view the importance of a mitzvah and the gravity of a sin is as follows: “Every person should at all times view the world as being on a perfectly balanced scale. Every deed we do, even if seemingly a small deed, will tip the balance of the scale one way or another.

If we do a mitzvah, then the universal scale tips to the good side and blessings will flow to us and the world.  But if one performs a sin, the scale gets tipped to the negative side. 

Here we see the importance of even a single mitzvah.  What even one good deed can accomplish.

According to our sages, every mitzvah we perform is a form of tzedakah-charity. 

Just like through tzedakah-charity we help someone who needs our help, so too, with every mitzvah we do we are performing a charitable deed, for it is not only beneficial to ourselves, but also to the whole world. May we merit to do as many mitzvot as possible, but we should not undermine the importance of even one single mitzvah, for it may be that very mitzvah which will tip the scale for blessings and good.

SHABBAT  SHALOM

Montreal candle lighting time: 7:58 / Shabbat ends: 9:10