Loving Every Jew

The Tanya tries to offer different suggestions as to how we are to motivate ourselves to do Mitzvot. Sometimes it is helpful to remember the satisfaction we felt when we overcame temptation. If we hold on to that feeling, it could help keep us in check.Other times the feeling of failure can push us forward. We never want to experience that emotion again and it, too can be a motivator.The Tanya further suggests the importance of loving our fellow Jew. This love begins with one loving himself. It should be followed by a spiritual connection with our fellow Jews. If it is only a connection based on materialism, it will not last. For example, connecting to someone because of their money or their athletic ability, will not create a lasting friendship. But sharing goals and ideals that creates a more spiritual connection, will endure.When we think of loving every Jew, we should attempt to make a spiritual connection of our common destiny and the Torah that we are all meant to observe.

Blessing Israel

One final message of yesterday's Parsha came from a Pasuk that is found two other times in the book of Breishit as well as in Balak. " Those that bless you will be blessed and those that curse you will be cursed."In essence, this is a three pronged warning to the nations of the world, that they had better treat the Jewish people in a favorable way. If they support the Jewish people and the State of Israel, they will be blessed. If they turn against Israel, they will pay a heavy price.We are a nation that dwells apart. When we rejoice, the nations of the world are sad. When we mourn, they rejoice. This has been our reality.A hopeful sign of Mashiach's arrival is the number of people and even nations, that are openly embracing Israel and Judaism. Ultimately, the whole world will recognize the truth of G-d and the Torah. In the meantime, those who support us will be blessed, and those who curse us will be cursed.

Loyalty

Shavua Tov. One of the messages of today's Parsha is loyalty. We have the very strange situation of Bilam's donkey speaking to him. Her first question was why did Bilam strike her three times. After all, she argued, she was his faithful companion for a long period of time. Had she ever done anything to harm him in the past?The donkey was really making two points. The first is that Bilam should have given her the benefit of the doubt and assumed that there must have been a good reason why she strayed from the path.The second reason is the lesson of loyalty. Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל, often emphasized this point. Too often people turn on a loyal friend or even spouse for something petty. In one moment, all of the years of loyalty and devotion is thrown out the window.This was what made חטא העגל, the sin of the Golden Calf so severe. After all that Moshe Rabbeinu promised and fulfilled, they turned on him for a short delay. We must never minimize the importance of loyalty.

Balak

The story of Balak and Bilam have many prophetic visions and is one of the more difficult Parshas to understand. The Alshich speaks of how Bilam had his free will taken away from him after three warnings as opposed to Pharoah who had five warnings before his free will was taken away.The Rambam adds that even today if a person acts consistently to turn away from Hashem and ignore His Mitzvot, his free will can also be taken away from him as Hashem will have decided to bring down such a person.A further message along the same lines is brought from the Talmud in Makot 10. There it is written that Hashem takes a person along the path that he wishes to take. If one chooses the path of righteousness, he will be helped from above. If he chooses the path of evil, that is where he will be led.Bilam chose the path of evil and went down in history as one of the most evil people that ever lived. He is mentioned as one of the individuals who lost his share of עולם הבא. Shabbat Shalom

Humility

The Orchot Tzaddikim spends a great deal of time emphasizing the importance of ענוה or humility. This ענוה is the key to all kinds of blessing. A person becomes a vessel towards being able to receive abundance from Hashem. When one is too full of himself, he has no place for this שפע, abundance, to enter.He further says that a true sign of humility is the ability to seek the counsel of a rabbi. One must realize that the wisdom that the rabbi possesses is coming from a high place. Especially today, when wisdom is measured by college degrees, it takes a certain degree of humility to take advise from a rabbi rather than a professional.Another example of ענוה is on the rabbi or teacher. He must have the humility and patience to explain things over and over again to students who don't understand things the first or second time. He should appreciate the student's desire to learn, and encourage him with love, patience, and humility.

Prohibition to Erase G-d's Name

The Rambam in הלכות יסודי התורה explains the Mitzva not to erase or destroy one of Hashem's holy names. There are primarily seven names that are forbidden to destroy. They are: the two ways of spelling Ado-nai, א-ל אלוקים אלוקינו ש-די and צב-אות. For erasing these names, one gets lashes.We are also not allowed to erase suffixes but prefixes such as the ב in בא-לוקים is not forbidden.If one tattooed one of these holy names, it is highly problematic as it cannot be defiled or disgraced. One should cover the name when he bathes or goes to an unclean place.If a Torah was written by an אפיקורס, a heretic, or an idol worshipper, or missionary, even though it contains one of these seven names, it should be burned. It has no sanctity and is highly טמא, impure.

Respecting Shabbat

The Talmud in Gittin speaks of people who may lose their wealth because of bad behavior related to Shabbat observance.One of the examples refers to one who examines his properties on Shabbat. He may examine his field to see what needs to be done after Shabbat such as weeding or irrigating. He is already planning for after Shabbat on Shabbat.The other example refers to one who cheapens Shabbat by having a large meal right before Shabbat begins. He is not able to have a proper meal because he has no appetite. We are commanded to only eat a סעודת ארעי, a temporary meal or snack on Friday. The rule is that one should stop eating three hours before candle lighting in order to show proper respect for Shabbat.Just as we are to observe the 39 מלאכות, we are to also observe that which Isaiah spoke of regarding the spirit and anticipation of the holiest day of the week.

Praying With a Miinyan

There is a great emphasis on the importance of davening with a Minyan. It's no small thing to be able to say Kaddish and Kedusha and Barechu with ten Jews. Simply put, such prayer brings down the Shechina, the Divine Presence.The Talmud in Gittin proves this point during its discussion of the Canaanite slave and the prohibition of letting him free. The Torah commands us that we are to enslave them under the heading of בהם תעבודו, that they should work for you.Nevertheless, the Gemara brings a case of Rabbi Eliezer who brought his Canaanite slave to Shule only to find nine people for the Minyan. He freed his slave to make the Minyan.The Rabbis ruled that even though it is a Torah commandment of בהם תעבודו, the needs of the community, even though prayer is rabbinical, overrides the Torah's positive commandment.

Struggle for Torah

Shavua Tov. There is a Pasuk that is very popular to analyze by way of exegesis from today's Parsha. In reference to the Red Heifer and the impurity of having come in contact with the dead, we are also taught the rule about "אהל", literally meaning "tent". The law is that this impurity is also transmitted by being under the same roof with a corpse.This is the reason why hospitals in Jerusalem have a warning sign for Kohanim not to enter until a deceased person is removed from the building. The text reads: זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל. The translation would be: " This is the teaching regarding a man who would die in a tent."The hidden message would be to paraphrase the verse and say, "This is the nature of Torah. A person needs to die for it." This is used to encourage students that in order for Torah to be absorbed, one must be prepared to die for it. This means that the fruits of learning Torah comes when one struggles for it.

Parshat Chukat

Parshat Chukat has many interesting stories including the Red Heifer, the death of Miriam and Aharon, the copper snake, and the fall of Sichon and Og.The main focus seems to be the sin of Moshe and Aharon and the hitting of the rock. There are many theories as to what exactly was their sin.The Alshich gives an unusual answer by saying that the talking to the rock symbolized the importance of discussing matters of Halacha. Moshe and Aharon missed the opportunity of planting a strong faith in Halacha to the nation. The Kabbalists say that if Moshe had not hit the rock, there never would have been disagreement in Halacha.There is further symbolism in the Parsha to the Written Law as evidenced by the well of Miriam, and the Oral Law as symbolized by the Mann.The Halacha was meant to be a balance between the Written and Oral Law, and ultimately we were to understand that the observance of Halacha was a fulfillment of G-d's will in this world. Moshe missed his chance to have this ingrained more strongly in עם ישראל. Shabbat Shalom

Bringing Honor to G-d

Chodesh Tov. The Rambam emphasizes that חילול ה׳, desecration of Hashem's name, is the most difficult sin to atone for. There are known cases of חילול ה׳ such as when one must risk his life rather than violate a commandment.However, there are lesser known cases that also fall under the category of חילול ה׳ where only one's death brings about complete atonement.There are three such examples from the Rambam. The first applies to one who violates a Mitzva for no other reason than to annoy, which is called, להכעיס, to anger. The second type of חילול ה׳ is making a false oath which shows no regard for Hashem and the Torah. And the third type is when one should have run away from sin as Yosef did, but his weakness in succumbing to the sin, shows his inability to show regard for Hashem and his Torah.In general, we should pay attention to act in a way that brings honor to G-d rather than making G-d embarrassed or ashamed by our actions.

Motivation

The Tanya gives advice as to how we are to motivate ourselves to keep away from sin. The recommendation is for us to have our sins right in front of us.This means that we should focus on the feeling of disappointment that we had with ourselves at the moment when we made bad choices and we did things that we are not proud of. That feeling of even disgust with ourselves should stay with us as a motivation that we never fall again as we once did.Years ago I was reprimanded by a young lady who I thought was being overly strict on a Halachic matter. She told me that I must not judge her for I have not been where she was. She told me that she was a Baalat Teshuva and she was being extra careful as she never wanted to go back to the place where she came from. This was the idea of having one's sins before him at all times.

Convictions

I was very moved by the Mussaf Davening this past Shabbat. It struck me that we say every week the following prayer: "May it be your will Hashem, the G-d of our fathers that You bring us up to our Holy Land and plant us within your borders."In addition, in all of our Shmone Esrei's we say, ותחזינה עינינו, May our eyes see a return to Zion in mercy. We must take pause and appreciate the reality that exists today that the doors are open to come to Israel to whoever wants it.It is important that we have peace of mind in knowing that we remain true to our convictions. It is also important not to take for granted that we have our own Land to come home to.It truly is a wonderful feeling to know that we had the courage to do what is expected of us as Jews. May the other part of the Mussaf come true where we experience the intense joy of the Temple service being reinstated with rebuilding of the Third Temple.

Money as a Test

Another point made by Rav Mann זצ״ל regarding yesterday's Parsha is the question of how we deal with money. He quotes a Pasuk from Kohelet that says, עושר שמור לבעליו לרעתו, "Wealth is reserved for its owners to his detriment."The connection is to how Korach was ruined because of his wealth. It confused him into feeling he was entitled to more honor than he deserved. Money gives a person a sense of power that he is better than others around him.The Orchot Tzaddikim says that money comes to a person as a Bracha, a blessing, a test, or a curse. In Korach's case it was definitely a curse as it led to his ultimate downfall. When money comes too easily or too quickly, it confuses people into making bad decisions.May we all be blessed with the kind of wealth that is a Bracha where it gives us peace of mind and enables us to do more Mitzvot. Rav Elazar זצ״ל made this very point when he once said, אם אין כסף אין מצוות. If there's no money, there's no Mitzvot.

Choices

Shavua Tov.Rav Shlomo Mann זצ״ל wrote a great deal about פרשת קרח. It was difficult to understand how such a wealthy man of prominence was able to make such a bad choice to enter into conflict with Moshe Rabbeinu.Rav Mann explains that in life we make many choices. Our thought process is either categorized as coming from holiness or thoughts that come from the negative side known as the Kelipa. In the words of the Talmud, שתי כליות יועצות, our two kidneys advise us. One advises us to do good and the other to do bad.The Torah itself admonishes us to "choose life". Korach's mistake was that instead of using his faculties of holiness to make the right choice, he allowed the negative forces to rule and convince him that it was the right thing to challenge the leadership of Moshe and Aharon.We must remember that whenever we have choices to make in life, we should try to connect with Hashem and ask for guidance. This will help us greatly to make the right choices that will allow us to succeed.

Parshat Korach

The message of this week's Parsha is the problem that arises from lusting for power. Korach was the wealthiest man in the world and he had an important task in carrying the holy vessels of the Temple.Many of the commentators blame the rebellion on Korach's wife who incited him to rebel against Moshe. Many felt that he should have known better as he did not trace his lineage to Yakov Avinu. He knew that Yakov handed over the secret words, פקוד פקדתי to the true leader that Hashem had chosen.The message, as emphasized by my dear student, Herb Maltz, was the danger of pursuing honor. Although most attribute lust to sexuality, the lust for honor can be equally damaging to an individual. All logic goes out the window when one is possessed by this lust as Korach was.He rebelled against G-d and the Alshich adds that he rebelled against the authenticity of the truth of the Mitzvot. He is removed from the world like no other Jew and is remembered in infamy as the one who did not know how to be happy with his lot in life. This led to his ultimate demise. Shabbat Shalom

Purity and Impurity

A Jew really has two struggles in life. The first is the recognition that G-d Himself created evil in the world. This is proven from the Book of Isaiah 46:7 where it's written, עושה שלום ובורא רע, that Hashem created peace and evil. It is our task to recognize evil wherever it appears and separate ourselves from it. This evil can be present both among Jews and non-Jews. We are rewarded for separating from it and punished if we succumb to it. The second struggle is between טומאה and טהרה, purity and impurity. This, too, is difficult as it's often not so clear what is purity and what is impurity. Most feel that we win this struggle by way of separation. If we try to live lives of holiness and we worship Hashem and observe the Mitzvot with enthusiasm, we will be elevated to higher levels of purity. טומאה is not necessarily evil, but it does have the effect of decreasing sanctity. The awareness of our mission to stay away from evil and impurities, will allow us to conquer them.

Good and Evil

The Tanya explains that Hashem reluctantly created evil in the world. The analogy was to someone who is asked to deliver a gift to someone who he strongly dislikes. He fulfills his task without even looking at the person.The same is true of how evil became a reality. Hashem certainly would have preferred not to have evil exist. However, the Tanya explains, evil became the device necessary in order to reward the righteous for separating themselves from it. And similarly, it was going to be the cause for punishing the wicked for attaching themselves to it.We are meant to constantly be aware of the good and evil in the world. This is the role of the Jew. We achieve קדושה by separating ourselves from the profane and from the other nations. We also separate from the clean and unclean animals. When we attain this קדושה, we are elevated because we have succeeded in not allowing evil to enter our lives.

Ezra

I urge everyone to study in depth chapters nine and ten of the book of Ezra. Details are given as to how Ezra reacted when he was told that numerous Jews, including men of stature, had intermarried and brought their foreign wives and non-Jewish children with them from the exile to Israel when the second Temple was being rebuilt.Ezra is devastated at hearing the news and goes into seclusion and fasting. He cries out to Hashem and says that he is thoroughly embarrassed by the despicable behavior of the Jews in violating the Torah.He says that Hashem is the Tzaddik by allowing the house of Israel to be rebuilt. He issued an ultimatum that every Jew must divorce his non-Jewish wife and send her away with the children born to them. Otherwise, he will seize their property and excommunicate them. Miraculously, the people complied and divorced their foreign wives and sent away their children.The text goes on to list 112 Jews who were guilty of intermarriage and expressed remorse for their actions. Ezra's anger subsided and the second Temple was cleansed of its impurity.

Lustful Thoughts

The Tanya was written for the common man even though it has many lofty ideas. There is also a great deal of Kabbalah in the Tanya. The book was written to elevate people and encourage them.One such idea of the Tanya is in regards to a person having sinful or lustful thoughts. If one has such thoughts and does not act on them, he should feel very proud of himself.On the other hand, if that same person expresses feelings of sadness or disappointment for even having those thoughts in the first place, the Tanya calls that individual conceited! The reason for this is that he thinks of himself as a Tzaddik. For only a Tzaddik is on such a level that he never even entertains sinful or lustful thoughts.For the majority or for us "Beinoni's", we should be content that we overcome temptation.