Parshas Va'Eschanan


This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have
a speedy and complete recovery.

A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write
for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I
see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are
encouraged to skip them.

If readers have any comments, especially critical ones, they would be
most appreciated.


Question:

Throughout the parshah, it says many times that if we keep the Torah,
it (whatever "it" exactly means) will be good for us in the land of
Israel. Why does the Torah need to tell us this so many times,
especially in the same parshah?


Internalizing and Changing


In last week's devar Torah about organization (available at
http://tamimah.blogspot.com/), we learned that with the incident of
the spies, the Jewish people's lack of organization caused them to
overlook the fact that G-d would fight for the Jewish people and
enable them to conquer the land of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:30),
resulting in a mass panic and rebellion. Ultimately however, they
issue was that they forgot the simple fact that G-d was running the
show.

What caused them to forget and what are the proper steps to resist
forgetfulness?

I believe the second question is addressed in this week's Parshah:

"Listen, Israel, Hashem is our Lord, Hashem is One and Only. Love
Hashem your Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all
your might. These words which I am commanding you today must remain on
your heart. Teach them to your children and speak of them when you are
at home, when traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you
get up. Bind [these words] as a sign on your hand, and let them be an
emblem in the center of your head. [Also] write them on [parchments
affixed to] the doorposts of your houses and gates" (Deuteronomy
6:4-6:9).

Rashi cites our Sages who tell us that a way to come to love Hashem is
to have the Torah on hearts. And I believe the next verse, "teach
(literally sharpen) them to your children" teaches us how to always
have Torah on our hearts.

Our Sages comment "'and you should sharpen them' that the words of
Torah should be sharp in your mouth that if a person asks you
something, you not stutter and reply but rather answer immediately…"
(Kiddushin 30a).

Rashi there comments:

They should be sharp in your mouth: Review them and examine their
depths, that if a person asks you, you will not need to stutter but
rather you will be able to immediately answer.

I believe Rashi is explaining that our Sages are telling us, the way
to have Torah on our hearts, to internalize it, is to know it well.
Knowing it well means having reviewed the material frequently and to
understanding it on a deep level. But why is this the way to
internalize Torah?

As an introduction, we should understand that evil is essentially
falsehood. On a practical level, giving in to anger, physical urges
and infatuations almost never leads to tangible benefits. On a deeper
level, all that exists, exists because G-d wills it to exist. Since
G-d does not want sin, when one sins, on a certain level, one is
ceasing to exist.

Rav Wolbe (Alei Shor, 89) cites the Ramchal who says that G-d created
us with an evil inclination. Additionally, He also gave us an
intellect, which, if fully utilized, has the power to utterly
annihilate our evil inclination. Our intellect allows us to discern
truth, allowing us to distance ourselves from evil – falsehood. Given
our intellects' tremendous power, in order for us to have free will,
G-d made it that our intellects begin in 'potential.' This means that
naturally, our intellects do not function even close to their full
strength, leaving room for the evil inclination to have power.

One may know something intellectually but not have internalized it.
For example, we know that speaking ill of others is evil. However,
this knowledge unfortunately does not restrain us from spreading
slander. Learning but not internalizing knowledge results from the
intellect operating only in its natural level. However, through
contemplation, one strengthens the intellect and develops it to its
full potential. When the intellect is functioning at such higher
levels, it means that one has internalized a certain piece of
knowledge.

The Ramchal illustrates this with a comparison. Frequently, the Torah
is compared to fire and light. The Ramchal says that when a person
first learns a piece of Torah, it is like a coal. When one
contemplates this piece of knowledge, he so to speak, fans the coal
and builds it up into a fire which provides warmth and light and
nullifies our evil inclination. If one neglects one's Torah knowledge,
meaning one does not contemplate it, the goal, will further dim.

Thus, getting back to the Rashi, by reviewing material and
understanding it at deep levels, one strengthens the intellect,
internalizes the Torah, and negates the evil inclination.

Food for further thought and discussion:

1. Compare Rashi on the Chumash to the Rashi on the Gemara

Gemara: Our Sages comment "'and you should sharpen them' that the
words of Torah should be sharp in your mouth that if a person asks you
something, you not stutter and reply but rather answer immediately…"
(Kiddushin 30a).

Rashi:
They should be sharp in your mouth: Review them and examine their
depths, that if a person asks you, you will not need to stutter but
rather you will be able to immediately answer.

Rashi on Chumash:
And you should sharpen them:
It is the language of sharpening, that they should be sharp in your
mouth, that if a person asks you something, there will be no need to
stutter but rather say (reply) immediately.

2. What steps can be taken to make oneself a more contemplative person?

Have a good Shabbas,

Mordechai

Parshas Devarim

This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have
a speedy and complete recovery.

A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write
for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I
see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are
encouraged to skip them.

If readers have any comments, especially critical ones, they would be
most appreciated.



Order in Thinking


In our Parshah, Moses reviews a tragic point in Jewish history, the
spies who convinced the Jewish people not to want to enter the Land of
Israel. But what went wrong? According to the Netziv, in the following
verses, Moses is pin-pointing the problem:

"I said to you, 'You have come to the Amorite highlands, which God our
Lord is giving us. See! God has placed the land before you. Head
north and occupy it, as God, Lord of your fathers, has told you. Do
not be afraid and do not be concerned.' All of you then approached me
and said, 'Send men ahead of us to explore the land. Let them bring
back a report about the way ahead of us and the cities that we shall
encounter'" (Deuteronomy 1:20-22).

Rashi comments:
All of you then approached me: in a state of disorder. But further on
(Deut. 5:20-21) it says, "You approached me, all the heads of your
tribes and your elders, and you said, Behold [the Lord, our God] has
shown us [His glory and His greatness]." That approach to me was
proper-young people respecting their elders, sending these before
them. Here, however, you approached me all of you, in a state of
disorder, the young pushing aside their elders, the elders pushing
aside their heads.

The Netziv says that Moses is telling us that not only was the spies'
report problematic, the very fact that they were sent was problematic
and reflected a lack of trust in G-d. (This is consistent with Rashi's
approach but the Ramban disagrees.) This insight of the Netziv may
even be supported by the fact that just prior to the disorganized
request for the sending of the spies, Moses told the people "Do not be
afraid and do not be concerned." Still, how does a lack of orderliness
reflect in a lack of trust in G-d?

I believe the answer lies with the fact that, as Rav Wolbe (Alei Shor
2, 319) mentions, orderliness displays a strong will. An orderly
person clearly wants to accomplish something; he has defined and
prioritized his goals and developed a plan on how to achieve them.
Lack of order usually means one has not really thought things through
very well but is rather acting on a spur of the moment.

(Regarding orderliness and one's will, Walter Pauk, in How to Study in
College, page 31, writes "A thoughtfully constructed time schedule can
increase your sense of control in four ways. First, because your
schedule is written down, your plans seem more manageable. You can
start working without delay. Second, you know you'll study all your
subjects - even those you dislike – because you've allotted time for
them in your schedule. There's less of a temptation to skip disliked
subjects when study time has already been allotted for them in your
schedule. Third, a schedule discourages you from being lazy. You've
got a plan right in front of you, and that plan says, 'Let's get down
to business!' Fourth, you can schedule review sessions right from the
start and avoid last-minute cramming for tests." That order stems from
a strong will is also demonstrated in another way. Rav Wolbe (Alei
Shor, 68) says that, perhaps oddly enough, an orderly person is also a
flexible person. I believe that this is because order and flexibility
both stem from an understanding of priorities. The orderly person does
not break with schedule because he knows that whatever he had planned
to do is more important than whatever else he could be doing. The same
person however will quickly break their schedule when something more
important comes up.)

The Jewish people had clearly not thought through all the implications
of " God your Lord is going before you. He will fight for you, just as
you watched Him do in Egypt" (Deuteronomy 1:30). Had the Jewish people
thought through things a bit more, they would have realized that G-d
was totally in control of the situation and they had nothing to fear.
Thus we see that orderliness is an essential component of trusting in
G-d.

[[Emes L'Yaakov says something like this. When it arrives, look it up]]


Biography of Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda, the Netziv:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naftali_Zvi_Yehuda_Berlin


Food for further thought and discussion:

Can one be too orderly?
Is there a relationship or trend between orderliness and creativity?

Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Mishpatim



This in the merit that my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal, will have a speedy and complete recovery.



I want to apologize that this devar Torah is not as complete as it normally would be, my parents will be in Israel.





Judaism, Animals, and People



This is not intended to be a thorough survey of how Judaism views animals and people; such a discussion is completely beyond my ability. However, I just want to give a few notes about the subject.



In this week's parshah, it says:



"If you see the donkey of someone you hate lying under its load, you might want to refrain from helping him, but [instead] you must make every effort to help him [unload it]" (Exodus 23:5).



On this, the Orchos Tzaddikim (Gate of Cruelty), cites our Sages (Bava Metzia 32b) who say that causing pain to animals is a violation of a Biblical prohibition. We must be kind even to animals.



However, this kindness only goes so far. The Torah says:



"If a man performs a sexual act with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal shall also be killed. If a woman presents herself to an animal and allows it to mate with her, you shall kill both the woman and the animal. They shall be put to death by stoning" (Leviticus 20:15-16).



Our Sages (Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:4) ask why is the animal killed and one of their answers is "so the animal should not pass in the market place and [people] will say 'This is the [animal] that So-and-so was stoned because [he had relations with] her'" and the Gemara interprets this to refer to G-d not wanting to disgrace the dead. In other words, we kill an animal in order that a dead sinner not be embarrassed!



Thus, we must be kind to animals but an animal's importance cannot even come close to being compared to that of a human.





Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Beshalach







This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.



A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.





In last week's devar Torah about addiction, I was not referring to medical addictions such as alcoholism or smoking; such people can never return to any middle and must always stay away from their addiction. Rather, I was referring to unbalanced character traits such as being too generous or too stingy.





Question:



"The Israelites saw the great power that God had unleashed against Egypt, and the people were in awe of God. They trusted in God and in his servant Moses" (Exodus 14:31).



Why does awe precede trust?





Serving Faithfully



"They moved on from Elim, and the entire community of Israel came to the Sin Desert, between Elim and Sinai. It was the 15th of the second month after they had left Egypt.

There in the desert, the entire Israelite community began to complain against Moses and Aaron.

The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by God's hand in Egypt! There at least we could sit by pots of meat and eat our fill of bread! But you had to bring us out to this desert, to kill the entire community by starvation!'

God said to Moses, 'I will make bread rain down to you from the sky. The people will go out and gather enough for each day. I will test them to see whether or not they will keep My Torah" (Exodus 16:1-4).



In the middle of the desert, the Jews ran out of food and complained. It may seem hard to imagine how people who had witnessed such miracles could complain in such a manner but let us not forget that the adults were also concerned about their children's survival. This idea I heard from Emes L'Yaakov.



Regardless, I have two questions:

1. Had the Jews not complained, what would have happened? There seems to be no indication that had they kept silent, they would have been provided for.
2. In verse 4, what exact was the test?



It seems to me that G-d did not want the Jews to simply stay silent despite the fact they had no food. Rather, G-d expected them to pray. Unlike in Egypt, where despite their oppression, all physical needs were taken care of ("There at least we could sit by pots of meat and eat our fill of bread"), G-d expects us to work. The Jews were right to react to their lack of food but they should have reacted radically differently. Perhaps something like 'G-d, we trust you, please give us food' rather than "If only we had died by God's hand in Egypt!" Even if the Jews had received prophecy that G-d would be starving them to death, the Jews should have responded with teshuva (because decrees can always be changed) while accepting the fact that G-d is just.



Once the Jews need to work for themselves, they now need to learn not to trust in their own labors and efforts. Rashi says one component of the test was that each day, the Jews gather only what they needed for that day and no more. They needed to trust that if G-d deems it proper, there will be more food for them the next day, and the day after that, and so on. In effect, G-d was saying that the Jews should work but ultimately realize that sustenance comes from G-d, if He wants the Jews to be fed, they will be fed and if He doesn't, they won't be fed. It is not up to us. [[See 16:28]]



Finally, I think another component of the test was to 'gather only what they needed for one day and keep the Torah,' meaning that they would not even worry about the next day, they would not get stressed out, panic, and abandon spiritual pursuits. [[This might be what the Rashbam is saying. See also Rashi on 16:32]]



I think this idea is expressed in Psalm 78 where the Psalmist discusses G-d's miracles, especially those related to the Exodus from Egypt and in the desert:



"We shall not hide from their sons; to the last generation they will recite the praises of the Lord, and His might and His wonders, which He performed. And He established testimony in Jacob, and He set down a Torah in Israel, which He commanded our forefathers to make them known to their sons. In order that the last generation might know, sons who will be born should tell their sons. So they should put their unshakeable trust in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments. And they should not be as their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, who did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God" (Psalm 78:4-8).





Food for thought and discussion:



We don't have prophecy these days. While we must always say that G-d will do what He knows is best, how much effort must we devote to tasks?



Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Yisro



This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have speedy and complete recovery.



Question:



According to the Rambam, the Ten Commandments (referred to by the Torah as the Ten Statements in Deuteronomy 4:13) actually contain 14 commandments. Why then call them ten?





A Servant of Others





"The next day, Moses sat to judge the people. They stood around Moses from morning to evening" (Exodus 18:13).



At this point in time, whenever anybody had a question, they went to Moses and he spent the entire day answering questions. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, thought this would wear Moses out so he advised Moses to set up a court system:



"'But you must [also] seek out from among all the people capable, God-fearing men - men of truth, who hate injustice. You must then appoint them over [the people] as leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. Let them administer justice for the people on a regular basis. Of course, they will have to bring every major case to you, but they can judge the minor cases by themselves. They will then share the burden, making things easier for you'" (Exodus 18:21-22).



Moses listened to Jethro's advise:



"He chose capable men from all Israel, and he appointed them as administrators over the people, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. They administered justice on a regular basis, bringing the difficult cases to Moses, and judging the simple cases by themselves" (Exodus 18:25-26).



There is one difference I would like to point out:



Jethro's advice:

they will have to bring every major case to you, but they can judge the minor cases by themselves



Moses' fulfillment of the advice:

bringing the difficult cases to Moses, and judging the simple cases by themselves





What is the significance of this change?



I don't remember where I heard this but the answer is that a leader is a servant of the people, both the community and also every individual, and thus a leader wants to help his or her people. Thus, no question is too trivial.



Moses changed the system because he would wear out, not because he didn't want to serve the Jewish people.



In his later years, when one would ask Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky (who lived for 90 years), why he merited such a long life, he answered, "My feeling is that Hashem has granted me these extra years as a gift to use for others" (259). He never had a shammos, a secretary, of any kind deciding who would get to speak to him and who would not, either he or his wife would answer the phone (279). Additionally, he wouldn't let the phone be taken off the hook, not even during naps, out of fear that somebody needed to speak with him (259) and Reb Yaakov couldn't talk to a caller, he would still personally explain to the caller that he was involved in something else (251). Although eventually Reb Yaakov and his wife needed somebody to answer the phone for them, it was not to prevent people from speaking with them (279).



All citations are from the Artscroll biography of Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky.





Food for Further Thought and Discussion



How do we balance devoting ourselves to our families and to others? Obviously, we must help others and our family and friends must come first. But what is the balance?



Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Bo







This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.



A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.







Question:



In Exodus 13:1-2, G-d gives a command to Moses. Compare the short command to what Moses does in 13:3-16. Why did Moses need to add so much?





Curing Pharaoh


I need to reexamine these ideas.

This idea is largely based on a devar Torah I heard at Yeshivas Medrish Shmuel last week.



One student there asked the question, whatever it means that G-d is hardening Pharaoh's heart, why could Pharaoh simply not remember that each time he agrees to free the Jews and changes his mind, more plagues come on Egypt? This student answered that it was as if Pharaoh had an addiction and people who are addicted can't break their addiction by simply saying 'next time I'll do better.' Such rationalizations deny the core problem and prevent a solution from being found.



How does one cure such a problem?



The Rambam establishes that we are to balance our character traits:



"The way of the upright is [to adopt] the intermediate characteristic of each and every temperament that people have. This is the characteristic that is equidistant from the two extremes of the temperament of which it is a characteristic, and is not closer to either of the extremes. Therefore, the first Sages commanded that one's temperaments should always be such, and that one should postulate on them and direct them along the middle way, in order that one will have a perfect body. How is this done ? One should not be of an angry disposition and be easily angered, nor should one be like a dead person who does not feel, but one should be in the middle - one should not get angry except over a big matter about which it is fitting to get angry, so that one will not act similarly again. Likewise, one should not have lust except for those things which the body needs and without which cannot survive, as it is written, "The righteous eat to satisfy his soul". Similarly, one should not labor at one's business, but one should obtain what one needs on an hourly basis, as it is written, "A little that a righteous man has is better, et cetera". Nor should one be miserly or wasteful with one's money, but one should give charity according to what one can spare, and lend as fitting to whoever needs. One should not be [excessively] praised or merry, and nor should one be sorrowful or miserable, but one should be happy for all one's days in satisfaction and with a pleasant expression on one's face. One should apply a similar principle to the other temperaments - this is the way of the wise" (Laws of Character Temperaments 1:4)



However, regarding how to cure a character flaw, he writes:



"They tell someone who is of an angry disposition to establish himself, and that if he is hit or cursed he should not react, and he should follow this way until his angry disposition has left him. If he was haughty, he should subject himself to a lot of disgrace and sit low down, and should dress in torn rags which are a discredit to normal clothes, and do similar things until his haughtiness has left him and he returns to the middle way, which is the good way. Once he has returned to the middle way he should follow it for the rest of his life. Other temperaments should be treated in this manner - if one was far over to one extreme, one should move oneself to the other extreme and accustom oneself to it for a long time, until one has returned to the good way, which is the intermediate characteristic that each and every temperament has " (Ibid 2:2).



We move to the extreme to reach the middle.





Food for thought and discussion:



The Rambam (Ibid 1:7) says that regarding a trait that needs improvement but is not extreme, one can simply accustom oneself to acting properly and need not first move to the other extreme.



How do we draw the line between an extreme trait which requires extreme measures to fix and a problematic trait which requires less effort to fix?



Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Vaera

This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.

A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.


Question:

"Pharaoh sent word and discovered that among the Israelites' livestock, not a single [animal] had died. But Pharaoh remained obstinate and would not let the people leave" (Exodus 9:7).

Why should Pharaoh care if the Jews' livestock were spared the plague?


Slavery and Freedom

"And Hashem spoke to Moses and Aaron and commanded them regarding the Children of Israel and Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to take out the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt" (Exodus 6:13).

This verse seems quite strange; what can it mean to command the Jews to free the Jews from Egypt?

Rav Baruch HaLevy Epstein in his Torah Temimah cites the Jerusalem Talmud:
"Rav Shmuel son of Rav Yitzchak said, 'On what were they commanded? On the section [of the Torah dealing with] releasing servants'" (Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh HaShana 3:5).

It is clear that Pharaoh is being commanded to free the slaves and our Sages understand that this same command was given to the Jews. If we say the Jews had slaves, one could say that it is not just to demand Pharaoh release his slaves while the Jews keep their own. And even if we say that no Jews had slaves, Pharaoh could not be ordered to free slaves who, once free, will acquire and oppress slaves.

On a deeper level, I think this Medrish also relates to the purpose of our slavery in Egypt. G-d commanded us:

"Do not hurt the feelings of a foreigner or oppress him, for you were foreigners in Egypt" (Exodus 22:20)

Nechama Leibowitz (Studies in Shemot, volume 1, p 5-8) cites many verses where we are told to remember our servitude in Egypt and not to oppress others and to go out of our way to help people. We must become models of freedom and kindness to the entire world.


Food for thought and discussion:
What can we do to apply these ideas every day on a personal level, not solely by attending rallies (which are very important), but also in our daily life?

Information about Rav Baruch HaLevy Epstein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Epstein

Have a good Shabbas and Rosh Chodesh,
Mordechai

In this week's Parshah, Moses and Aaron requested permission from Pharaoh for the Jews to leave Egypt and serve G-d for three days but the King of Egypt denied their petition and proclaimed:



"…[the Jews] are lazy (נִרְפִּים)! Therefore they cry out, saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our G-d.' Let the labor fall heavy upon the men and let them work at it, and let them not talk about false matters" (Exodus 5:8-9).



In order to combat his slaves' laziness, Pharaoh increased their labor. However, the Tyrant's reasoning seems quite foolish and counterproductive; if the Jews are lazy and thus want a break, the harder they are pushed, the more they will want time off!



Rashi, translating נִרְפִּים as lax, solves our problem, and he explains that Pharaoh reasoned that since the Jews had free time, they could think of "idleness" and thus wanted to serve G-d. By driving the Jews harder than ever, Pharaoh hoped to deny the Jews the ability to contemplate anything other than their immediate task at hand. The Torah tells us that Pharaoh's tactic worked; in Exodus chapter six, G-d commanded Moses to relay words of comfort and inspiration to the exhausted Jews but they "did not hearken to Moses because of [their] shortness of breath and because of [their] hard labor" (Exodus 6:9) which Rashi understands to mean that "they did not accept consolation."



Given that Children of Israel's broken state, why would G-d command Moses to comfort them if they were simply too worn out to listen? It must have been that, as difficult as it was, the Jews in fact had the ability to pay heed. In fact, the Seforno views the Jews' failure in accepting Moses' words as a lack of trust; had they trusted in G-d, they would have found the strength for listening.



How exactly did the Jews' inability to concentrate stem from a lack of trust? According to the Gur Aryeh's interpretation of Rashi, the Jews' shortness of breath, one of the factors preventing them from listening, resulted from stress. What exactly is stress? It is worrying about a situation beyond one's physical control. One who trusts in G-d will accept conditions beyond their physical control, regardless of its justice. Despite the cruelty inflicted on them, had the Jews fully trusted in G-d, instead of worrying, they would have accepted their current situation. By doing so, their thoughts would have remained free to contemplate spiritual matters and they would have accepted G-d's comfort.



"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."
Serenity Prayer

Parshas Vayechi



This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.

A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.



Question:

“Joseph then ordered his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father. The physicians thus embalmed Israel” (Genesis 50:2).

How could Joseph have Jacob embalmed?!



Healthy Growth


Joseph then took the two boys. He placed Ephraim to his right (to Israel's left), and Manasseh to his left (to Israel's right). He then came close to [his father]. Israel reached out with his right hand and placed it on Ephraim's head [even though] he was the younger son. He [placed] his left hand on Manasseh's head. He deliberately crossed his hands, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, he was displeased. He tried to lift his father's hand from Ephraim's head and place it on Manasseh's.
'That's not the way it should be done, Father,' said Joseph. 'The other one is the first-born. Place your right hand on his head.'
His father refused and said, 'I know, my son, I know. [The older one] will also become a nation. He too will attain greatness. But his younger brother will become even greater, and his descendants will become full-fledged nations.'
On that day [Jacob] blessed them. He said, '[In time to come] Israel will use you as a blessing. They will say, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' ' He [deliberately] put Ephraim before Manasseh. (Genesis 48:13-14,17-20).

Why did Jacob, after all the trouble such things caused hive, put the younger son ahead of the older one? Additionally, why did Jacob see Ephraim and Manasseh as a model that we should bless our children to be like?
In the Artscroll Pocket Zemiros (religious song) book (pages 10-11), it cites Agra d’Pirka who says that while Ephraim was greater than Manasseh, Ephraim was not arrogant and did not look down on his brother and Manasseh was not jealous of his younger brother. I think then the blessing is that we should all grow as much as we personally can while neither being jealous nor haughty.


Food for thought and discussion:

The blessing to be like Ephraim and Manasseh is for sons while the parallel blessing for daughters is to be like the Matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. The two blessings seem to be completely different (for girls – the Matriarchs, for boys – two grandchildren of Jacob), what is going on?

These blessings are given at Friday night before the Shabbas meal. Why?


Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Vayigash



This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.



A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.





Question:



"And they told him, saying, 'Joseph is still alive,' and [they told him] that he ruled over the entire land of Egypt, and his heart changed, for he did not believe them. And they told him all of Joseph's words that he had said to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, and the spirit of their father Jacob was revived. And Israel said, 'Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.'" (Genesis 45:26-28).



Why did Jacob only believe his sons that Joseph was alive when he saw the wagons that were sent?





Do it Yourself



Jacob and Joseph are about to be reunited for the first time in 22 years. The Torah tells us:



"And Joseph harnessed his chariot, and he went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and he appeared to him, and he fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck for a long time" (Genesis 46:29).



Joseph was viceroy of Egypt and surely had many things to do. Why did he prepare his chariot when he could have had it done for him?



Rashi comments:

And Joseph harnessed his chariot He personally harnessed the horses to the chariot to hasten to honor his father.



Rashi says that the reason Joseph harnessed the chariot was in order "to hasten to honor his father." How will Joseph doing it himself speed anything up?



Joseph coming out to meet his father would be honoring him. But when Joseph, second in command of Egypt, prepares the chariot himself in order to meet his father, he is showing that his father his so honorable that it is fitting for such an important person to do menial work in order for Jacob to be honored. Furthermore, because preparing the chariot will give honor to Jacob, Joseph, wanting to honor his father as soon as possible, wants to start immediately and thus he readies the chariot.





Food for thought and discussion:

Since it is better to do a mitzvah oneself rather than use an agent (Kiddushin 41a), why does G-d sometimes require us to use agents such as Kohanim (the priests) who offer the sacrifices for us?

Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Mikeitz



This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.



A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.





Question:



While Joseph ruled as Pharaoh's second in command, why did he not attempt to contact his family?





Cause and Effect



In last week's Torah portion, Joseph was thrown into prison. There, he interpreted the royal cupbearer's dream that he would be released and restored to his position. This indeed happened. In this week's reading, two years after his encounter with the cupbearer, the King of Egypt has a dream and, turning to Joseph to interpret it for him, Joseph is released from jail.





Why was Joseph released? On the surface, we would say because Pharaoh needed Joseph to interpret the dream. However, the Beis HaLevy cites a medrish that gives a different reason.



"And it was at the end of two years that Pharaoh dreamt…" (Genesis 41:1).

This alludes to the idea in the verse 'He put an end to darkness…' (Job 28:3). [G-d] put an end [set a limit] to Joseph's time in prison. Once the end came, 'Pharaoh dreamt'" (Translation from the English Beis HaLevy, page 153)



The Beis HaLevy says that instead of Pharaoh's dream being the reason that Joseph was freed, in reality, the medrish says that Joseph needing to be freed was the reason Pharaoh dreamt.



We don't and can't know how Divine providence works on a daily basis but we need to realize that what we see may not be correct.



Food for thought and discussion:

How is this idea related to Chanukah?

Also, does this idea pose a problem for the idea of free will and reward and punishment?





Biography of the Beis Halevy

http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/ybsolov.htm



Have a good Shabbas and happy Chaunkah,
Mordechai

Parshas Vayeshev



This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.



A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.





Question:



"The Medanites sold [Joseph] in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officers, captain of the guard" (Genesis 37:36)



"Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's Egyptian officers, the captain of the guard, had purchased him from the Arabs who had brought him there" (Genesis 39:1)



Who sold Joseph to Potiphar?







Acting Effectively



When Joseph's brothers saw him approaching, they thought of ways to kill him.



"Reuben tried to reason with his brothers. 'Don't commit bloodshed. You can throw him into this well in the desert, and you won't have to lay a hand on him.' His plan was to rescue [Joseph] from [his brothers] and bring him back to his father

When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of the long colorful coat that he was wearing. They took him and threw him into the well. The well was empty; there was no water in it. The [brothers] sat down and ate a meal. When they looked up, they saw an Arab caravan coming from Gilead. The camels were carrying gum, balsam, and resin, transporting them to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, 'What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover his blood ? Let's sell him to the Arabs and not harm him with our own hands. After all, he's our brother, our own flesh and blood.' His brothers agreed" (Genesis 37:22-27).



Both Reuben and Judah successfully convinced their brothers but regarding Judah , the Torah goes out of its way and tells us that the brothers agreed which Rashi takes to mean that it was a full agreement. By implication, when they agreed to Reuben, it was not so wholehearted. Why the difference?



R. Francis Nataf, in his new book Redeeming Relevance (page 104), says the difference is that Judah waited until the brothers had eaten a meal and calmed down in the meantime.



While Judah should have told his brothers to let Joseph free (Rashi on Genesis 38:1), we can learn the lesson that effective leadership requires acting at the right moment.





[[If we say the brothers did not sell Joseph, then the Torah saying that they agreed to Judah is not redundant.]]



Food for thought and discussion:

How is this idea related to Chanukah?



Have a good Shabbas and happy Chaunkah,

Mordechai

Parshas Vayetzei

This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have speedy and complete recovery.

Question:

Why when Abraham and his midwife, Hagar, have relations and a child, problems arise and not with Rachel and Leah’s midwives?


Taking for Giving

“And Jacob uttered a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and He will guard me on this way, upon which I am going, and He will give me bread to eat and a garment to wear; And if I return in peace to my father's house, and the Lord will be my God; Then this stone, which I have placed as a monument, shall be a house of God, and everything that You give me, I will surely tithe to You’” (Genesis 28:20-22).

Nechama Leibowitz (Studies on Genesis, 307) asks how is Jacob able to make such a vow, if G-d does X, I will do Y? G-d is not a candy machine where we do things for Him and He does things for us, how could Jacob make such an offer?

She answers that in truth, Jacob is simply saying I want to give to G-d, I want to build Him a “house” and give tithes, G-d please only give me the means to do so. This is ideally what prayer is about, requesting so we can give back.



Food for Further Thought and Discussion
How do we develop this attitude of everything I have is to be used for G-d’s service in general and especially regarding prayer?

Have a good Shabbas,
Mordecai

Parshas Toldos



This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.



A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.





Question:



With Jacob "stealing" his brother Esau's blessing, the Torah seems to paint Jacob as a terrible person. However, Jacob was a tremendous spiritual giant. How can we textually show that he was righteous ?



(Whether he was right in taking the blessing or not is another question. Rav Hirsch for example, says that everybody was wrong.)







Judaism and Changing Times





The Torah was given about 3500 years ago and much has changed since then. Within recent history, we have witnessed the Enlightenment and the fall of the ghettos, the Holocaust, and the creation of the State of Israel. Is Judaism and halacha still relevant to this modern era ? To answer this question, we must first understand what halacha is and I think we can find the beginnings of an answer within our parshah.



Earlier, we saw G-d commanding Abraham (Abram at the time) to leave his birthplace for the land of Israel which would be given to him and his family forever. However, upon arrival, the Torah tells us:



"And there was a famine in the land, and Abram descended to Egypt to sojourn there because the famine was severe in the land" (Genesis 12:10)



Why would G-d send Abraham to Israel and once he arrives, bring about a tremendous famine ? Rashi comments:



a famine in the land in that land alone, to test him, whether he would think ill of the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, Who ordered him to go to the Land of Canaan, and now He was forcing him to leave it. [from Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer , ch. 26]



Rashi tells us it was a test; a test to see if Abraham, who had just been promised the land and is now being forced out, would loose faith or think that G-d was cruel. Our Sages in fact say that G-d tested Abraham ten times and passed them all (Pirkei Avos 5:3) and Rashi there says that this famine was one of those tests that Abraham passed.



In this week's Torah reading, regarding Isaac, we find something slightly different.



"And there was a famine in the land, aside from the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham , and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar.And the Lord appeared to him, and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land that I will tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and I will bless you, for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham, your father" (Genesis 26:1-3).



The Torah goes out of its way to compare this famine with the famine Abraham experienced. However, unlike Abraham left Israel for Egypt and it is viewed meritoriously, G-d tells Isaac that he cannot leave the land of Israel! Why? Rashi comments:



Do not go down to Egypt For he [Isaac] had in mind to go down to Egypt as his father had gone down in the days of the famine. He [God] said to him, "Do not go down to Egypt." You are [as] a perfect burnt offering, and being outside the Holy Land is not fitting for you. [Tanchuma Buber, Toledoth 6; Gen. Rabbah 64:3]



Unlike Abraham, Isaac, after being bound on an altar to be offered up to G-d is considered like a "perfect burnt offering" and it is not proper for him to leave Israel. Rashi says that Isaac was going to do what Abraham did, head to Egypt, but G-d said no, things are different.



My teacher, R. Moshe Lichtman, explained in the name of Reb Hershel Schachter, how these two famines and the different obligations (Abraham being supposed to leave v.s. Isaac who is commanded to stay) give us an insight into the nature of Torah and Jewish law.



Within Jewish law, there are certain underlying principles which never change. However, while the principles do not change, there application does change. Take for example, these famines. In the first famine, Abraham was supposed to leave, he was following the principles that applied in his situation. Isaac's situation was different and thus a different law applied.



Similarly, my teacher R. Yehoshua Hershberg, gave the example of the Traveler's Prayer, a prayer recited by travelers before undertaking a dangerous trip. Its central principles and legal concepts are found within the Talmud. Image the posek, a Rabbi who decides Jewish law, who is asked does one recite this prayer on airplanes or not. What must he do? What is his task?



He must first determine the correct understanding of the concepts given in the Talmud and its commentaries and based on these principles, he must create a definition of the type of trips which require the Traveler's Prayer. Next, he must fully understand the scenario, in this case, the airplane flight. Once he understands what it means to fly on an airplane, the posek must simply say, does this trip fall fit the conceptual description of trips which require the prayer. If it does fit, then the prayer must be recited. If it does not fit, the prayer must not be recited.



[[Comparing and contrasting, ideal math]]

Rav Soloveitchik in Halakhic Man, compares Jewish law to mathematics. Just as a math and science can describe and classify all phenomena with reality, Jewish law can do the same. Once the mathematicians create the conceptual categories, for a scientist, the question is only, for example, does this rock fit the definition for Rock Category X in which case it was formed by A, B, and C or does it fall into Category Y in which means E, F, and G. (Obviously this is a tremendous oversimplification of the relationship between math and science and the scientific endeavor). So too in Jewish law; G-d created certain conceptual definitions and our job is to apply the principles correctly and act on them. The difference is that while a scientist will tell one what something is, the Torah tells us what we are to do. In essence, the Torah contains ethical ideals which must be acted out in the right situations and at the right times.



The Judaism relevant to and practiced by our ancestors is just as relevant today. Outer forms may change. While on the outside, it may seem that the Judaism practiced ages ago is gone, this is far from the case. The situations have changed and thus new approaches are required but beneath the surface, it is all the same Judaism given by G-d.



[[Daas Torah that everything is halacha but perhaps this is not so simple. Rav Wolbe that the application is mussar. Psak v.s. lomdus.]]





A biography of Reb Hershel Schachter

http://www.yutorah.org/bio.cfm?teacherID=80153



Food for thought and discussion:

Based on this, how should one study Jewish law?



Have a good Shabbas
Mordechai

Chayei Sarah

This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.

A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.



Question:

This week, Abraham sends his most trusted servant back to his (Abraham's) homeland to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Why could Isaac's wife not come from somewhere nearby and why specifically did she need to be from Abraham's birthplace?





Active Thinking





Abraham's servant, when finding a wife for Isaac, had one primary criteria, that she constantly go the extra mile to help others. When Rebbeca offered to provide the servant with water and give water to all his camels (camels drink a lot of water), he knew she might be the right match. This is how the Torah records it:



"'Drink, Sir,' she replied. She quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink. When he had finished drinking, she said, 'Let me draw water for your camels, so they can [also] drink their fill.'

She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and ran to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels. The man was astonished at her, reflecting silently to determine whether or not God had made his journey successful" (24:18-21)



In the last verse (The man was astonished at her, reflecting silently to determine whether or not God had made his journey successful), one of the Hebrew words jumped out at me. When the Torah says that the servant was silent, it conjugates the verb in the causative form. Instead of saying he was quite, it says he caused himself to be silent. (While the verb is not reflexive, it is masculine so the servant must also be the one who is active.)



The Torah says that the servant caused himself to be quite to reflect on whether Rebbeca was the right match for Isaac. I think this teaches us that to really understand something, we need to think actively, to contemplate a matter and dissect it from all angles. Active contemplation is, I think, an important aspect of religious life.



Reb Noach Weinberg provided an illustration of the process (http://www.aish.com/spirituality/48ways/Way_45_Expand_Your_Ideas.asp ):



"As an example, let's take the concept, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18)



1) Basic Point: We should act with love toward others.



2) Implication: Love can be defined. What is the definition of love? To take pleasure in another's virtues. Every human being has virtues. To "love" means to excuse the faults, and focus on virtues.



3) Conclusion: If the Almighty said: "Love human beings," then humans must be intrinsically lovable. This is confirmed by the fact that almost everyone has at least two people who love him -- his parents. So if you're having trouble loving someone, ask yourself: "If I was his mother, what would I love about him?" This unlocks an amazing new dimension. Every human being is gorgeous. We simply need to see it.



4) Derivation: What is lovable about human beings? It must be something common to all human beings. Which is: Humans are created in the image of God.



5) Extension: Since we are commanded to love others, that means love is something which can be commanded. This goes against common perception that while it's nice to love others, love cannot be obligatory. But Judaism says otherwise. Which leads one to ponder: Who can teach me the secret how to love all people?



6) Parallel: If the Almighty instructs us to love others, it must mean that He loves us. How do we know that? Because when we love someone, we also want others to love that person. Since God loves us, He wants us to love each other, too.



7) Corollary: Part of loving someone is protecting them from harm. Therefore, "love your neighbor" also means fighting for human rights, working against injustice, stopping violence.



8) Consequence: If everyone practiced "Love your neighbor," the world would operate with a far greater degree of patience, tolerance, understanding, communication, appreciation, unity, etc. This one principle would transform human history! When we love each other, take pleasure in each other, and work together, we harness the full potential of the universe. Do you sense the power?



9) Appreciation: Look back at the time of the Greeks, the Babylonians, and the Egyptians who murdered, enslaved, impaled. History shows that it was Judaism -- with its innovative declaration to love humanity because we're all made in God's image -- that introduced and inspired civil rights and justice into the world. The Jews said: "We are all in the image of God, and you've got to love all humanity." This idea succeeded because the Torah specifies detailed laws how to translate that love into action. Gradually, the Jewish message became accepted by all mankind. Incredible!"







Through this active contemplation, we will understand ideas more fully and internalize them.



[[See Rav Elyakim Krumbein (http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive.htm#mussar ) quoting Rav Shlomo Wolbe as to why this is needed]]




Food for further thought and discussion:

What idea would I like to analyze and understand metter?



Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai