Kohelet

This Shabbat we read the book of Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon. This time of year was the most prosperous for Jewish farmers. There is always a tendency for people to become complacent when they are prosperous. The rabbis were very much aware aware of this phenomenon and instituted the reading of this book on Shabbat Chol Hamoed.There was great controversy as to whether Kohelet should be considered worthy to be one of the books of Tanach. Many saw it as a very negative, pessimistic book. Shlomo repeatedly talks about how all is vanity. He claims to have tried every endeavor "under the sun," and everything was futility.The conclusion of the rabbis was that the ending of Kohelet made it all worthwhile. "Fear G-d and keep the commandments for this is all there is to man."If we walk away from this Chag strengthened in our יראת שמים, fear of Heaven, we have a clear sign that we have been elevated spiritually.

אחדות

A major theme of Succot is the idea of אחדות, unity. The intention of the sacrifices was to bring unity to the whole world. Seventy bulls were offered in total during the holiday, corresponding to the seventy nations.The idea of אחדות is represented primarily by the taking of the ארבעה מינים, the four species. Each specie is supposed to represent a different type of Jew. The Etrog that possesses the good taste and good smell is symbolic of the Jew with good thoughts and good actions. The willow has no taste and no smell which represents the lowest level Jew.Nevertheless, we take all four species to unite all Jews of all backgrounds. As a people, we are strongest when we are united. All of our problems come through factionalizing, and separation.Our Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur prayers came with the words, ויעשו כולם אגודה אחת, that we should all become one unit with a complete heart in serving Hashem.

Mashiach and Succot

Moadim Lesimcha. There is a dispute in the Gemara as to whether Mashiach will be coming on Succot or on Pesach. Therefore, we read the most Messianic Haftarahs on both Succot and Pesach.On the one hand, the world was created in Tishrei, so it would seem appropriate for a "new world" taking place at that time. On the other hand, Nissan was the month of our redemption from Egypt, so that Nissan would be a good time for the final redemption.The Talmud in מסכת עבודה זרה claims that at the time of the redemption, the nations of the world will claim that they were not given a fair chance to show their worthiness to be part of the abundant blessings. Hashem challenges them to see if they could observe the Mitzva of Succah to show their love for Torah. They built Succot but could not tolerate the heat. They kicked down their Succot. Hashem confirmed that even a simple Mitzva like Succah was too hard for them, proving that only the Jewish people were worthy of the Geula.

ענני הכבוד

Shavua Tov. One of the lesser known concepts of Succot is the connection between the ענני הכבוד, the Clouds of Glory, and the Succah.Actually, the Succah is meant to remind us of the ענני הכבוד. The Succah was the dwelling place of the Jewish people in the desert. This is the reason the Torah commanded us to sit in the Succah altogether, to remind us of the Succot in the desert.In the merit of Aharon, the ענני הכבוד traveled for forty years with the Jewish people in the desert. It literally protected them from dangerous animals and from potential enemies. It even ironed and kept their clothes clean and pressed. The key symbol is "protection" that the ענני הכבוד represented.We are to be strongly aware that our lives and our very existence depends on Hashem's protection only. Living in our flimsy Succot for seven days, brings home this point. Succah, ענני הכבוד, and Hashem's protection.

שב ואל תעשה

There is a concept in Halacha called שב ואל תעשה, which means that even though there is a positive commandment, an עשה, involved in the performance of a Mitzva, there are situations when you can sit back, שב, and not do the Mitzva.An example of this is how we do not perform the עשה of taking a לולב on Shabbat, because of the rabbinic concern that you might come to carry it in a public domain. One would think that the Torah commandment of taking the לולב would outweigh the rabbinic concern.Nevertheless, the law of לולב (as well as blowing שופר on Shabbat) is pushed aside because of this principle of שב ואל תעשה.

Post Yom Kippur Joy

Moadim Lesimcha. Now that we have completed Yom Kippur, we are meant to feel an overwhelming sense of Simcha. We are meant to go from one Mitzva to another to keep the momentum going. Most try to immediately work on their Succahs shortly after breaking the fast.In the time of the Beit Hamikdash, there was no happier time of year than Succot. The Gemara tells us that people barely slept the whole week of the holiday because of all of the rejoicing.It is the only holiday that is called זמן שמחתינו, the time of our joy.Just like the people celebrated with the Kohein Gadol until midnight after successfully entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, this joy should continue throughout the year. We should always feel Hashem's abundant blessings which will help us maintain this Simcha.

וידוי

The Rambam explains that the essence of Teshuva is וידוי, or confession. On Yom Kippur, there are ten Viduys in the course of the day, beginning with Mincha before the fast begins.It is always difficult for a person to have to swallow his pride and say, "I was wrong." It certainly takes a degree of humility to admit one's wrongdoing.If we carefully examine the actual וידוי of אשמנו בגדנו and the numerous ועל חטא שחטאנו that we say on Yom Kippur, the overwhelming majority of those sins have to do with man and man. Many are related to dishonest business dealings and many deal with misleading people and treating them disrespectfully.I strongly recommend that each of us take with us a good translation and explanation of the וידוי. It will help immensely in getting us in the mood of sincere remorse and Teshuva. גמר חתימה טובה.

חרטה

Another important to know during these עשרת ימי תשובה is חרטה, or regret. One of the keys to repentance is to regret the improper deeds that we have done with the resolve that they will not be repeated.The Rabbis speak of חרטה as a kind of prerequisite to doing Teshuva. One must not make excuses for himself or rationalize to justify bad behavior. By demonstrating true regret, we are not likely to repeat the offense.Once we have achieved חרטה which is accompanied by real disappointment in ourselves, we have pretty much finished the job. It becomes unproductive to dwell on our shortcomings. The ability to recognize and show remorse, will allow us to move on.There is a certain balance that we must keep between being too much down on ourselves and complacency. The יצר הרע is tricky and we are not to get off course from serving Hashem with great joy, on the one hand, and humility, on the other.

חרטה

Another important to know during these עשרת ימי תשובה is חרטה, or regret. One of the keys to repentance is to regret the improper deeds that we have done with the resolve that they will not be repeated.The Rabbis speak of חרטה as a kind of prerequisite to doing Teshuva. One must not make excuses for himself or rationalize to justify bad behavior. By demonstrating true regret, we are not likely to repeat the offense.Once we have achieved חרטה which is accompanied by real disappointment in ourselves, we have pretty much finished the job. It becomes unproductive to dwell on our shortcomings. The ability to recognize and show remorse, will allow us to move on.There is a certain balance that we must keep between being too much down on ourselves and complacency. The יצר הרע is tricky and we are not to get off course from serving Hashem with great joy, on the one hand, and humility, on the other.

Sins Between Man and Man

Shavua Tov. During these final days of עשרת ימי תשובה, we are to focus on different aspects of coming closer to Hashem and repenting.There is a pretty well known statement of the Rabbis that teaches us that Hashem is able to tolerate when one sins against man and G-d, but He cannot tolerate when people sin against one another. An example of this was the reason for the "flood". Despite the horrible sins that generation was committing, it was stealing, a sin between man and man, that sealed their fate.For this reason, Yom Kippur only atones for sins between man and G-d, and does not atone for sins between man and man. Therefore, between now and Yom Kippur, we are to sincerely ask for forgiveness from anyone we may have wronged, so that we can enter Yom Kippur with a clean slate.

Shabbat Shuva

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Shuva. It is given this name because of the first two words of the Haftarah, שובה ישראל. We are to return עד ה׳ אלוקיך, until Hashem our G-d.It is difficult to understand how one returns UNTIL Hashem. It would make more sense to say simply that one needs to return to Hashem. Why "until"?The message here is that it is obvious that one cannot reach the level of Hashem as His greatness is really unfathomable. What is expected of us is that we never stop trying to work on ourselves and improve ourselves.I have been privileged to know several elderly holy Jews who even into their nineties are doing self examinations to work on their character.Perhaps this Shabbat is teaching us never to be complacent. There is always room for improvement. We should also surround ourselves with people who also see working on themselves as a priority. This is how we return עד ה׳ אלוקיך, "until" Hashem. Shabbat Shalom

Talmudic Assimilation

It is interesting that as far back as the Mishna, there was a concern about assimilation. The Talmud in מסכת גיטין described the difficult life Jews had to endure under the Romans.There were times when things were so bad, that Jews sold themselves to the Romans in order to make money. The Rabbis did not want people to make a habit of this. If someone did this three times, they would not redeem them.They also made a point regarding the children. As long as they were with their father, they were protected. If the father died, however, they would redeem the children, for fear of קילקול, which is translated as assimilation. If they were to remain among negative influences, they would learn from their evil ways.So we see, Jews always needed to be on guard so that they not learn from Gentile practices.

Fast of Gedalia

Tomorrow is צום גדליה. The assassination of Gedalia is mentioned at the end of Kings II. The story takes place after the destruction of the Ist Temple by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia.He appointed Gedalia governor over a small city called Mitzpa, that was north of Jerusalem. Jews began returning to Mitzpa as they heard that a new Jewish community was being established with the approval of Nebuchadnezzar. There was a glimmer of hope of recovery for the Jewish people.All of this hope was ruined by Yishmael son of Netanya. In a cowardly act of jealousy, he murdered Gedalia at a banquet hosted by Gedalia. He refused to pay attention to warnings endangering his life.Nebuchadnezzar was infuriated by this act and the Jews that remained went into exile to Egypt. The Prophet Jeremiah warned them not to go as he saw that Nebuchadnezzar would eventually get to Egypt and slaughter the Jews. Unfortunately, Jeremiah was right and there was great tragedy. For this reason, we fast on the third of Tishrei.May the עשרת ימי תשובה bring salvation and hope to כלל ישראל.

Rosh Hashana

Shavua Tov. Tomorrow night we begin Rosh Hashana and עשרת ימי תשובה, the Ten Days of Repentance. We are grateful to Hashem that we have this opportunity to clean our slate and have our sins forgiven.On Rosh Hashana we do not ask for forgiveness. The purpose of this holiday is to establish that Hashem is King of the Universe. You will notice that the term מלך is used numerous times throughout the Rosh Hashana prayers.We must be clear that there is a Ruler to the world to whom we are subservient. We must reiterate in our minds how small we are in relation to Hashem's greatness.The famous prayer, ונתנה תוקף, is said on Rosh Hashana to emphasize this point. This is the climax of the Mussaf service. We mention that we are like sheep passing before the shepherd where he chooses who will live and who will die. We also must face the reality that some might perish in the coming year.We shout out that Hashem is the Eternal G-d and תשובה תפילה וצדקה can change the decree.Without recognizing Who it is that we must ask for forgiveness, there would be no point in asking. Rosh Hashana makes it clear that it is to our Father in Heaven. Shana Tova

פרשת נצבים

This week's Parsha has two principle ideas. The first is the covenant that Moshe Rabbeinu made with the Jewish people before his death. The emphasis here was that this covenant was not only for that generation but for all generations.Every Jew must realize that he, too is part of that covenant made with Moshe. It carries with it a great responsibility to live by the principles as set forth by the Torah as taught by Moshe Rabbeinu. We cannot be oblivious to this covenant.The second point of the Parsha speaks about Teshuva. One must not think that returning to Hashem and the Torah is something that is insurmountable. We are reminded that this matter of Teshuva is in the heavens or is elusive. We must know that this Mitzva is very near to us. If we desire to return, we will be able to and we will be helped by Hashem. May we all merit to do sincere Teshuva and be written and inscribed for a שנה טובה. Shabbat Shalom

Unfulfilled Vows

One of the themes of the High Holidays is the idea of guarding one's speech. In particular, we are to be aware of unfulfilled vows that we may have made. Speech is very powerful and at times biting, insulting words can take years for a person to recover. The words can be like daggers and can be very harmful.By way of a homiletic interpretation, the Rabbis said that one should never make vows, even if he fulfills them. They equated the making of a vow to making a forbidden altar and the fulfillment of the vow, to offering a sacrifice on that altar. It is better to have that vow annulled rather than fulfill it.Realizing the power of speech, vows can be misleading. It may get someone's hopes up in anticipation of the vow׳s fulfillment. And when not fulfilled, there is great disappointment.This is why we do the התרת נדרים ceremony on ערב ראש השנה and this is why we begin Yom Kippur with כל נדרי. We do not want to begin the new year with promises made and not kept.

Bad Habits

Regarding the laws of Teshuva, there is one particular Halacha in the Rambam that is worth mentioning. It is obvious that one must do Teshuva for known actions like stealing or eating forbidden foods.But what also needs Teshuva are bad habits that we might have. If a person knows that he has a problem with anger or being too egotistical, or he knows that he tends to be lacking in compassion and generosity, he must also do Teshuva for these. The Rambam says that Teshuva for bad habits is more difficult to do than for forbidden actions. We must do Teshuva for everything.Rav Yisrael Salanter said that the loudest sound in the world is the sound of a bad habit breaking.

Liberating Holy Articles

Another problem that existed for Jews to deal with during our years in the Exile, was how to repossess holy articles taken or confiscated by the enemy. This was especially problematic when we were being oppressed under foreign rule.If we heard that a Torah scroll or Tefillin or Mezuzot were held by Gentiles, we needed to act as a community. On the one hand, we did not want these objects desecrated. But on the other hand, we did not want to encourage the non-Jews to steal these articles and use them as a means to extort money from us.The Rabbis established that an amount of approximately 12% was the maximum to be paid over market value in order to save these objects.Still another problem existed after being returned to the Jewish community. There was serious doubt as to whether such a Torah could be read after being in the possession of non-Jews. If we were certain that a Torah was written by a heretic, it needed to be burned. So in most instances, these items were put in גניזה or storage until it could be determined that they were written by a proper kosher scribe.

בעתה אחישנה

Another point worth mentioning are the last two words of the Haftarah from Isaiah Chapter 60. It ends with בעתה אחישנה, in it's time, I will hurry it. This refers to Messianic times and what it will take for the Mashiach to come.The Talmud clarifies this apparent contradiction. Either Hashem will hurry the Mashiach or he will come in its time. If we deserve it, the Mashiach can come in a minute. And if they don't deserve it, he will still come but at the designated time as Hashem sees fit.Most opinions are that we are living in the period of בעתה, where Hashem has decided that it's time for the Jewish people to come home and rebuild the Third Commonwealth even though we don't deserve it. Enough Chilul Hashem and enough darkness in the world. The time of Mashiach is very near. All of the signs are there. We only need to open our eyes.

Keeping a Low Profile

Shavua Tov. The Parsha we read this morning mentions that if we observe the Mitzvot, we will find blessings in אסמיך, our storage areas. It is strange that the blessing is found in the storehouses as opposed to all of the other places it could be found.The Rabbis say that the Torah is teaching a hidden message. אין הברכה מצויה אלא בדבר שאין העין שולטת בו. The blessing is not found except in a place where the eye cannot see.The message is that it's always important to be modest in all of one's affairs. This is especially true regarding one's financial affairs. The less people know, the better it is. There is a real concern for עין הרע, the evil eye, as people have a tendency to be jealous of others which could sometimes prove damaging.This is particularly true for Jews living in the Diaspora. They are encouraged to keep a low profile so as not to arouse the jealousy of the nations. Keeping a low profile is always good advice.